Kerri: Expecting

This wasn't just a maternity shoot for Kerri, but little Charlotte just turned 3 on Saturday (the same day as "Mr. Bert", my husband). Out of the five couples in our small group from church, three are pregnant! I promised maternity sessions for each, and Kerry and Jason are the second go-round. They are a super cute family and I cannot wait to meet Jocelyn next month. Babies, babies everywhere!

I'll give you the mushiest one first. In honor of Father's Day...Charlotte and Jason.

This is Charlotte. If you met her, you would love her-I promise! She is quite the charmer and has a fun-loving personality...oh, and a fondness for gum. Haha. She's been known to dig through purses in search of a piece, so I knew it would be an effective bribe during the session. Sure enough!

Look at these boots...I love them.

I have to explain the get-up. This is her ballerina dress, which putting on prompted her to twirl round and round across the yard. It has sparkles galore, but fits Charlotte to a t!

Love, love, love this! I just realized that I didn't post any with Kerri's face, but I think this one makes up for it.

Rob + Emma: Married

So this was the wedding I've been waiting on for quite a while. Emma and I met 10 years ago when I visited England, and we've kept in touch ever since. When she emailed me to let me know that she and Rob would be getting married, I didn't think there was much of a chance that I would be there (even though I always said I would!). Lo and behold, Bert and I were given an amazing opportunity by my parents (thanks Mom and Dad!) and we just returned last night from five days in Europe.

We had an amazing time, and I will blog about our journey in a couple of days. Right now, it's time for a little bit of Rob and Emma. These two have been together for about seven years (correct me if I'm wrong guys) and are so stinking cute. I know there are some differences anyway between American and English weddings and receptions, and they went the route of non-traditional, at least from what I can tell. It was definitely cool to experience something completely different, and even get to be a guest at the same time!


The day began with the girls getting ready at Emma's house. We then headed over to the church in a black taxi, one of those old-timey cars that London is known for.

During the ceremony, the couple, best man, maid of honor and minister all leave to go sign the marriage register. It was really a neat thing and Rob and Emma were able to have a quiet moment before visiting with the guests.

Can you believe this is just in the church hallway? I saw the sunlight streaming in, actually on another guest, and knew that I had to get Emma in that spot!
So after some yummy cupcakes (thanks to their friend Nikki!) and talking with everyone, the newlyweds and some of the guests headed to a more formal reception at Denbies Vineyard.

This place was beautiful, just as I knew it would be. It embodies the stereotypical "English Countryside" that Americans (at least me!) picture in their minds. We didn't have a long time due to some strong winds, coming rain, and hungry guests, but I quickly got some of Rob and Emma just enjoying each other for a bit.

Dinner was an intimate time of speeches, conversation, and delicious food. I truly enjoyed my time getting to know some of Rob and Emma's friends and of course getting to see Emma again. This was an incredible trip and will hold memories for years.

Rob & Emma~I hope you guys are having a fabulous time in Paris and the South of France right now. Thank you for everything, especially for the chance to photograph the biggest day of your lives. I hope to see you soon~let's not make it long!

Holly + Phil: Married

As promised, here are some shots from my sister's wedding this weekend. It was held at the Valentine Museum in downtown Richmond, in the garden, and turned out to be a gorgeous day! I am exhausted from the whirlwind weekend and will be packing today to leave town again tomorrow. Anyway...

A few images that lent themselves well to a vintage look...

They rented out a really cool trolley to take the guests to Penny Lane Pub after the reception, but first just Holly and Phil took a ride to the Capitol and I got to tag along for a mini-session. The Capitol holds a lot of memories for them both-Holly works right next door and they attended a huge gala there together.

In the garden at the museum~

Holly in hiding, reviewing her vows. They wrote their own, and I was doing well holding myself together until Phil began his. So sweet and completely honest. He really is the perfect guy for Holly and absolutely adores her.

Coming into the reception and seeing friends and family.

Dancing with Dad, who by the way introduced himself as father of the groom. Huh? That's okay, at my wedding, he said something about Mr. and Mrs. Rhiannon Berry. I don't think he likes public speaking all that much!

The cheesy grin planted on Phil's face was, as we soon found out, an indicator of the cake smashing that was about to follow.

But the cake...not your typical wedding cake, rather three tres leches (milk-soaked) cakes from one of Holly's favorite Richmond restaurants. That stuff flew off the table!

The groom's cake...

I loved seeing all of my family and close family friends together again. This is the last of our generation on my mom's side to get married and will be awhile before we have any more of the big weddings, so it was a little bittersweet. It truly was a day to remember.

Holly & Phil~I hope the two of you have a long wonderful life together. Phil, I am excited about you "officially" joining our family and I thank you for taking such good care of Holly. Many blessings to both of you!

(I flubbed my Matron of Honor speech...started rambling because of the emotion, so this was the redo...I'm much better writing than speaking...I get it honestly!)

Missy: Expecting

This is Missy...she and her husband Jim are good friends of ours, so naturally I was thrilled to shoot her maternity portraits. I am even more excited about the arrival of JJ next month, who by the way, better not come while I'm on vacation! We finally got some beautiful weather and headed outside...here are just a few I liked at first glance, but I'm sure there will be plenty more favorites!

Let me just tell you...Jim gets red in the face about some topics, so I thought he might be just a tad uncomfortable smooching in front of me. Boy was I wrong! This is one of the "innocent" ones...I'll save the steamier ones for the private gallery!

I would probably use this look on 50% of my images if I could get away with it! Don't Missy's features play well with the vintage-y feel?

Alright, this is it for a little while...but don't worry, I'll be back with plenty of pictures! I'm heading to Richmond tomorrow for my "little" sister's wedding (and no, I'm not shooting it...I've been assigned to cater to her every whim as matron of honor...haha).

Hopefully I will have a few minutes when I get back to post the images I do get of Holly's big day, because I'll be home for a day before I leave again for LONDON!!! Can you tell I'm just a little pumped? My friend Emma is getting married and Bert and I were given the chance to go visit...and this one I do get to shoot. Now how many Britains have the chance to have their American friends come to their wedding and photograph it? Just kidding! It is a fabulous opportunity for me and will definitely expand my horizons. Plus, I can't wait to see how different British weddings are...after coming to my wedding, Emma said there are so many things we do differently. If you want to check out her reception location, here it is... http://www.denbiesvineyard.co.uk/Amazing, huh?

Sisters: Mother's Day

I had to wait to post these so that I didn't ruin a Mother's Day surprise. These three sisters, Whitney, Jocelyn, and Kaitlyn (all absolutely gorgeous by the way...I don't know how I keep getting all these beautiful people to photograph!) wanted to do a series of portraits for their mom, so we went for the urban look and got some shots downtown.

These first two are my favorites, but I'm having a hard time deciding which one I like better.

Kaitlyn~

Jocelyn~

Whitney~

Girls...I hope your mom loved the gift!

Aiden: One

Sweet little Aiden was teething and just feeling somewhat under the weather, so it took a bit to get him warmed up. But when we did, I got some great smiles and even a view of his cute teeth in between him pointing out the truck, the dog, and whatever else he could find!

I am diggin' this shot! I think it's the balance between strong and soft...

Another shot of the piggies~they're so cute I couldn't resist.

Mitch + Heather: Married

Everything seemed to line up for Heather and Mitch on Saturday. The weather was beautiful, the flowers were absolutely gorgeous, the guests were busy dancing away, and the sun set at the most opportune time.

They got hitched at Randolph Memorial Baptist Church in Madison Heights and then headed up to Winton Country Club outside of Amherst to celebrate and let loose a little bit. I had only driven past Winton before, but it's even prettier out back. What a view!

See what I mean about the sun?

I couldn't decide if I like this one better in color or black&white. What do you think?

Let me preface this next one...you can't see Heather's face, but she has cake all over...so don't feel too bad for Mitch.