Pure Craziness and a Sneak Peek!

Things have definitely been crazy lately- CRAZY! While I know that's no excuse for my lack of blog posts (shame on me!), that's the best excuse I've got! Summer is right around the corner and it's going to be an awesome one. I don't think I've ever had a busier summer (ok, maybe that's lie), but I've definitely never had so many weekends booked so ahead of time. As of three months ago, I NEVER used a planner. I'd buy them every year in college, use it for a week, and then decide that it was useless because I'd never use it. It would sit at the bottom of a junk pile, with a few homework assignments from the first week of class (because I'd try to be good and actually use it!), but after that first week- nope, wasn't going to happen!

I now rely religiously on my planner. Has it made me more organized? Yeah, I think so. I'm kind of impressed that I've been using it so much- let's see how long this lasts ;) I have wonderful people filling it up- whether it's for WEDDINGS (!!), engagement shoots, family shoots, a little bit of vacation time, or even just ME time. It all goes in there- thaaank goodness.

So, as I was saying, I apologize for the lack of posts, but I think I'll blame it on my full planner. ;) Not only do I have AWESOME shoots to post (including my very first wedding), but my new blog/website is on its way! How excited am I?! VERY! So be patient with me- it's going to be a heck of a summer! ;)

Oh, and for you guys that do keep reading (you are insanely awesome- no, seriously), here's a little sneak peek of the oh-so-cool Mr. and Mrs. Taylor :)

Mother's Day Shoot | Old Town Alexandria

A few weekends ago I spent some time with a beautiful family on a very special weekend- Mother's Day weekend! Kathleen asked me if I could do a quick shoot with her and her two beautiful daughters in Old Town before I drove home to spend some time with my Mom. Of course I couldn't say no to that!

You might recognize Kathleen and little Katharine Grace from this shoot! Katharine has gotten so big since the last time I saw her- plus, she walks/runs EVERYWHERE! She's tough to keep up with!!



Oh, and did I mention that it was SUPER windy? Sheesh! We finished the shoot just as it started to pouuuur!



Look at that cutie ;)





They'd sit Katharine down for a second and she'd automatically want to get up. She was a crawling machiiine!











Isn't Beth gorgeous- plus she's a smarty-pants!



I LOVE this picture because every time the wind would start gusting Katharine would get all excited and go "woooooo!"







I had such a fun time hanging out with these fabulous ladies! I hope every mother had a wonderful Mother's Day! Everything you do means so much to your children- we should celebrate mother's every day of the year! (Although, I do feel like there should be "kids day" too- I know, I know- eeeeveryday is kid's day!) ;)

Nina and Chris | DC Engagement

A few weekends ago I had so much fun hanging out with Nina and Chris at the Franciscan Monastery in DC. Nina and Chris were such a blast to work with! I had never met them before, but as soon as they saw my car pull up in the parking lot they were both waving. Right when I got out of my car Chris walked up to me and complemented me (his momma taught him well) and we all just started talking like we already knew each other. This super fun and lovable couple is getting married on October 2nd, and I am thrilled to be shooting their wedding!

On another note, seriously, the Franciscan Monastery is BEAUTIFUL! If you haven't been, go! Ok, well go after you're done checking out the pictures, of course. ;)

Here are a few of my faves, but if you want to check out the rest of the pics, CLICK HERE!



We got to the Monastery nice and early so we could roam the place and not worry about having to duck out of the way when the big tour groups game- it was great.










This picture has some funky shadows, but it's just so peaceful.



So cute, right?!




It's so sparkly and preeeetty ;)

















Nina and Chris are both very spiritual, so we took a little break in one of the many beautiful gardens along with some beautiful statues.






They asked if we could take a few pictures in the church- ohhh boy, was that church stunning or what?!













They're seriously adorable!



Nina and Chris- thanks so much for spending the morning with me and suggesting such a magnificent place to take pictures at! It was such a pleasure and I caaaaaannot wait to shoot your wedding in October! yay! :)

If you want to check out the rest of the pics, CLICK HERE!

Gracie and Ron | Fredericksburg Engagement

Meet Gracie and Ron! They're adorable together, so comfortable around eachother, and I'm sooo excited to be shooting their wedding on September 18th! Yaaaay! They met each other in high school at their church and then continued onto the University of Mary Washington (ahem, myyy alma mater...whaaaat up!).

You know what this means, right? I got to take a trip to the beeeautiful UMW campus that I miss oh-so-much to meet this awesome couple! I hadn't met them before, but because UMW is a fairly small school, I definitely recognized them. My roomie, Kay, joined me for the shoot (thanks for carrying my 500 lb. Mary Poppins bag) because she worked on the school paper with Gracie.

Ron was a business major (totally the best major EVER) and now he's earning his masters degree (smarty pants) at the UMW Grad School. Gracie currently works at a newspaper going on with her awesome journalist-self. ;)

Gracie and Ron will be married on September 18th RIGHT on the Rappahannock river. Kay and I stopped by the ceremony/reception venue after the shoot and I was thrilled to see it! Ohhh man, I already have the shots in my head- they have colorful canoes and a vintage bus and, of course, the beautiful river. Aweeeesome. :)

So we started off at one of my favorite buildings on campus, Lee Hall.













Then we headed down to the amphitheater- another one of my favorite places on campus, that I didn't take full advantage of when I was in school. Not many people go down there, but it is definitely a hidden gem on campus.










There are beautiful carved trees all around the area...looove it.











































Oh, and then we thought it would be cute to blow on dandelions- except they were the MOST stubborn things eveeer!






Gracie and Ron, I'm so so excited to shoot your wedding in just a few months! You two were so much fun to work with! Thanks for getting me back to UMW- I'll never stop loving that campus! :)

Want to see the rest of the pictures?? CLICK HERE!