Danielle & Ed | Metropolitan at the 9 Wedding

I'll never forget meeting Danielle and Ed and thinking, "OK, I want to work with this couple." Besides being fun and funny and personable and kind, they are just good people and you understand that the minute you meet them.

Danielle and Ed's wedding was such an awesome reflection of them. It was full of all these great moments. Simple, touching, hilarious. The entire day was such a great tribute to them and the people they love. Some of the most notable moments of their fall wedding day include:

• Danielle's parents opening their gifts from their daughter. Danielle and her sister and parents are so close and have such a beautiful relationship. It was so fun to watch them all support each other and laugh and cry together all day.
• All the thoughtful ways Danielle included her grandparents in her day, including wearing her late grandma's bracelet and doing a special dance with her grandpa at her reception.
• Watching how much respect Ed's family and friends have for him. Not surprising because that guy is pretty cool. ;)
• Ed's varied emotions as Danielle walked down the aisle. Their's was the sweetest "first look" I've ever photographed.
• The wedding party being champs about taking photos in a wind storm! We actually lucked out with the weather as it called for rain all afternoon, so I'll take that wind thankyouverymuch.
• Danielle's dad's touching toast to his little girl. I'm telling you. This family.
• Ed's brother gifting the newlyweds with a pumpkin during his toast. Hilarious.
• Ed serenading his new wife with Home. :)
• And … drumroll, please … Ed and his dad serenading the entire crowd with their harmonica skills. That family is talented!

Danielle and Ed, I can't thank you enough for all your kindness and generosity over the last year-and-a-half. It was SO FUN to photograph your wedding day, and it just made me adore you two even more. Hugs!

Ceremony: St. Dominic
Reception: The Metropolitan at the 9
Videographer: Infocus Studios
Florist: Life in Bloom
Cake: Michael Angelo's
Band: The Avenue
Makeup Artist: Lisa Adams
Hair Stylist: Monica Colagiovanni
Bride's Dress: Allure
Bride's Shoes: Badgley Mischka
Bridesmaids' Dresses: Bill Levkoff
Honeymoon: Maui!

GoodReads | The Kitchen House

I would read fiction all the time if I could, but I try to change it up some to, you know, better myself and stuff. ;) So, these two books I'm about to share with you all are POLAR opposites. One is reminiscent of The Help and the other is all about photography. Maybe there's something in here for you? The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom. I don't give many books five stars on GoodReads (I'm one of those people who takes the rating system VERY seriously) but this one was worthy of all five. The story takes place in the early 1800s on a Virginia plantation and bounces back and forth between a slave's point of view and the story of an Irish girl who was brought to the plantation after she was orphaned on the trip to America. The story is so suspenseful, and I think it's an important one to read. If you liked The Help, I think you'll like The Kitchen House. (*****)

Fine Art Wedding Photography by Jose Villa. Before I even started it, I might have been a little biased about this book because I think Jose Villa is absolutely brilliant. For those of you who don't know, he shoots film, which I am in awe of, and he gives lots of tips about that process and how he gets his signature photos. If I ever start to shoot film, I will reread this book because it'd be super helpful for a beginner. I even learned a lot as a digital shooter, and I think it's always helpful to get inside another photographer's head and see how they do things. I will say that I was a little turned off by how flippantly he talks about "making portraits." He makes it sound like there's nothing to it, which is not true at all, but I guess he a) doesn't have enough pages to really dive into the nitty gritty and b) has to make it his work seem effortless. Those you that read this book, what did you think? (****)

Katie & Kyle | Wedding Sneak Peek

Our 2013 wedding season has officially begun! :) I'm so glad I got to start it with Katie and Kyle's beautifully classic downtown wedding this past weekend. It is obvious to see how much they love each other and how much they are loved. So many of their family and friends traveled from out of town to celebrate with these two, and every one of them was friendly and welcoming. Here's just a little peak at their day. A full blog post will be live next week!

101 in 1001: #26 Find My Photography Style.

A couple weeks ago, I was updating my website portfolio and I came to this realization. All my photos went together. They were consistent. They had a similar look and feel. I did a little dance around the room because I knew I had officially found my photography style.

When I wrote "find my photography style" on my 101 in 1001 list, I knew it was a tad ambiguous. I mean, there's just no measurable way to find your style, and I figured if I was lucky then MAYBE I would be happy with where I was at when my 101 list ended.

But over the past few months, I kept hearing myself telling Nathan, "I really like this photographer's work but his style is just so different than mine." Or, "If a bride tells me she wants dramatic lighting, I should send her to this photographer because I'm just not drawn to dramatic lighting." I knew these things all along, of course, but I was finally finding the courage to say out loud, "You know what? My style of photography is not for everyone. And I'm OK with that."

My photography style will continue to evolve as I continue to work in this industry, but the most important thing is to stay true to myself. To know what I like, what I want to create, what types of couples I am drawn to. If I know all of that and am brave enough to say no to the work that just doesn't fit my brand, well, I think I will be on to something.