A Bellingrath Gardens Engagement

I have loved Bellingrath Gardens for as long as I can remember. I’ve been there several times, in all different seasons. If you’ve only been to this gorgeous place for the Magic Christmas in Lights, then you’re definitely missing out! There is so much to see during the daytime!

I’ve long wanted to photograph an engagement session at Bellingrath Gardens. When Ashley said that’s where she and Ryan wanted to go for their session, I did a happy dance. Then I prayed for good weather! Ashley and Ryan live in Texas, so we planned their session for a weekend when they’d be here to take care of a lot of other wedding business. Mobile is known to be a rainy season, but this winter has seemed especially wet. As the date for the session drew near, the forecast didn’t look promising.

Luckily, there was one day of good weather forecasted during the time Ashley and Ryan would be in town and somehow it worked with all our schedules for us to push the session back by one day. Talk about the best decision EVER! Not only did moving the session by a day give us rain free skies, it also gave us some dreamy golden light!

Ashley worked at Bellingrath for 10 years, so she had many favorite places on property. She and I both love the Japanese Gardens, so it was a must-stop on our list. I really hoped the Japanese Magnolias would still be in bloom the day of our shoot and they were! It was such a dream! I was a bit sad when the sun set and all the light was gone because I just didn’t want this session to end!

A Quebec City Proposal

I can’t introduce you to Ashley and Ryan without sharing their incredibly amazing proposal story! I ask all my couples to share their proposal story with me because I truly love hearing those stories. Often I’ll hear the story from the bride’s perspective, but it’s extra fun when I get to hear the groom’s version of the story as well!

Ashley’s mother’s family is from Quebec, Canada. She and Ryan planned a trip to the city along with her parents. It was going to be the first time for Ryan to meet Ashley’s grandfather. Ashley says they were walking around the Old Town of Quebec when she noticed her mom and Ryan acting a bit strange. She just couldn’t figure out what was going on! Ashley wasn’t thinking a proposal was about to happen. In her mind, they were just sight seeing and she was perplexed at why her grandparents were bothering to see a place they’d been to countless times before.

Ryan had selected Chateau Frontenac for the proposal location the day prior when they had been touring the city. Ashley’s mom had arranged a day of sight seeing so that Ryan could choose the perfect place for his proposal. Ryan says Ashley loves surprises, so he knew from the beginning that he didn’t want her to suspect anything. In fact, he found the perfect ring only two weeks before the Canada trip!

When they arrived at the overlook at Chateau Frontenac, Ryan took Ashley aside, got down on one knee, and asked her to be his wife. Ryan remembers hearing gasps from the crowd of tourists who were watching their magical moment. Everyone cheered as soon as Ashley said yes! She was one hundred percent surprised!

 

A Mobile, Alabama Bridal Portrait

Bridal portrait sessions are such a beautiful Southern tradition. I love that they give the bride the opportunity to wear the dress ahead of wedding day. You spend all that time searching for the perfect one. Why not wear it as much as possible, right?! I also love that bridal sessions let me spend time getting to know my brides even better ahead of wedding day. Normally, I’ve already worked with them and their groom on their engagement session. But, in Annie’s case, this was her first time in front of my camera.

Annie was living and working in Texas ahead of her wedding day. Christopher was stationed in Oklahoma. His military schedule, combined with her work schedule, added to a busy schedule of events leading up to their December wedding, meant that it was tricky scheduling sessions. Ultimately, it worked out that we did the bridal session before their engagement session and I have to say that reversing the typical order was pretty fun!

I love when I have the opportunity to photograph bridal sessions on private property. It’s especially helpful when that same location will be part of the wedding day. Annie’s childhood home was perfect place for this portrait session. It adds an extra layer of sentiment to the portraits, which I love. I also love that this home has a lot of natural light. The house is framed around a courtyard, and the floor to ceiling windows provided us with a lot of soft natural light for these portraits.

After spending part of the session inside, we headed to the front lawn for some outdoor portraits during Golden Hour. This is the time of day when the sun is getting close to setting, which means the light is softer and slightly diffused from the tree line. I LOVE shooting during this time of day! Capturing the “Golden Hour Glow” in portraits gets me so excited every single time! Enjoy this look at some of my favorites from Annie’s session!

One of my favorite portraits from the session!

Click here to see Annie and Christopher’s wedding post!

A Washington Square Maternity Session

I remember the day I met Rachel and Alex as if it were yesterday. We sat outside the now closed Cream & Sugar cafe in the Oakleigh District, a place we all loved. The conversation flowed easily. I loved their vision for their wedding day, an intimate ceremony followed by a reception with family and friends. Working with them was like working with friends. How is it that we didn’t know each other already? As much as I love creating beautiful portraits, it’s ultimately good people, their stories and their families that make me love my job so much.

A few months ago I watched a video Rachel shared on Facebook. In the video, she and Alex were announcing the happy news that they were expecting to Rachel’s mom. I LOVE baby announcement videos, but this one had a twist. Rachel and Alex are expecting not one, but two babies! TWINS are on the way! I sat with tears in my eyes and a huge smile on my face as I watched Rachel’s mom’s reaction. Their joy was contagious!

Needless to say, I was delighted when Rachel reached out to me for a maternity session! It is such a privilege to work with the same clients over multiple seasons of their lives. It was also really fun to just spend time visiting with these two, who share my love of local restaurants, historic homes and Golden Hour light! Enjoy this look at some of my favorites from their session!

I think we can all agree that Rachel selected the perfect dress for this session!

A Spring Hill College Engagement

Tony planned to propose to Bailey on the Avenue of the Oaks at Spring Hill College. This oak-tree-lined road is special to all Spring Hill College graduates. I remember marking both the beginning and ending of my college career under it’s shady canopy. Many couples have become engaged at this very spot, but when the ring wasn’t ready on time, Tony had to rethink his proposal plan.

Luckily Bailey’s mom planned a family photoshoot for December and Tony decided it would be the perfect time to surprise Bailey. I love that the whole family was in on the surprise! Midway through their family portrait session, the photographer asked Bailey to look out to the water. A few seconds later she instructed Bailey to look back at Tony. Bailey was so surprised to see him down on one knee holding a ring. She burst into tears of happiness! I’d say the backup proposal plan worked out perfectly!

Bailey has such a vibrant personality and I love that she is so enthusiastic about photography! She has a background in art and graphic design, which means she totally gets me geeking out over gorgeous light and beautiful scenery. Tony is laid back and easy going. Not many guys would drive all the way from Nashville to Mobile and look forward to a portrait session, but Tony did. I love that he and Bailey were equally excited for their session!

These two are recent graduates from Spring Hill, so we kept running into people they knew the whole session. “Hey, I know them!” I heard someone call out across the lawn in front of St. Joseph’s Chapel. Bailey and Tony smiled and waved to the group of students as they walked by. I told them I felt like I was photographing celebrities. Haha!

Blooms are Worth the Wait

Spring Hill College is a favorite portrait location for many people in Mobile. There are always a lot of photography sessions on campus when the weather is nice. This day was no exception! I spotted this Japanese Magnolia tree when I pulled into the parking lot and knew I wanted to use it for some of Bailey and Tony’s portraits. It looked soooo dreamy in the Golden Hour light!

Since campus was crowded with photographers, we had to wait our turn to shoot under the blooms. Seriously, no photographer could come across this spot and not want to use it! I’m happy to say the wait was totally worth it! I’m so thankful that Bailey and Tony trusted that this spot would be amazing enough to wait for!

Seeing so many photographers in one spot reminds me of stories I’ve read about Cherry Blossom season in Washington, D.C., where there will be photography sessions going on at every single tree that lines the Potomac. Can you imagine?!

Inspiration for Brides-to-Be

Last summer, I had the opportunity to work with Katherine Taylor of Jubilee Flowers on an editorial shoot for Mobile Bay Magazine. I knew I loved Katherine’s style when it comes to floral design, having worked with her on real wedding days. When we wrapped the editorial shoot, she and I both lamented that we didn’t have more time to continue shooting the floral elements of the shoot. I have long had an obsession with flowers and gardening. Katherine picked up on this pretty quickly as I squealed with delight upon seeing the beautiful blooms she’d gathered for the magazine shoot.

If only we could spend a whole shoot dedicated to photographing floral designs, I thought to myself. A few months later, that’s exactly what we did! I have wanted to do a floral focused shoot like this one for so long. I’m so thankful to Katherine for helping me make it happen!

Katherine designed two bouquets and three urn arrangements for this shoot. We worked non-stop for the entire day and I still wanted to keep shooting when our studio rental time was up! I’m thinking that means that I’m just going to have to make creative shoots like this one a recurring priority throughout the year!

Key Floral Elements: Sweet peas, narcissus, tulips, ranunculus, hellebores

Key Floral Elements: Garden roses, luxor primavera hydrangea, anemones, tulips, Japanese ranunculus, hellebores, mint, blackberries, camellias

Key Floral Elements: Garden roses, anemones, tulips, Japanese ranunculus, hellebores, mint, blackberries, lilac vine

Key Floral Elements: Garden roses, anemones, Japanese ranunculus, mint, ginestra, delphiniums

 

Meet Katherine

After the shoot, I sat down with Katherine to chat a bit more about her background in floral design, her love of colorful flowers, and her commitment to environmentally friendly design practices. Enjoy the highlights of our conversation, as well as some of my favorite photographs from our shoot!

How long have you been in the wedding industry and when did you get started in floral design?

 

I have been doing wedding flowers full time for 14 years. I got my start working with my mother, who started Jubilee Flowers in 1996. Before I moved to Fairhope, I would fly down from Asheville, NC to be part of her team when she had really big events. Ten years later, when my husband and I moved to Fairhope, I jumped in to work on all her weddings and events. She has taught me so much about the ins and outs of floral design.

What is your favorite bloom to incorporate into your designs?

 

That’s easy…roses! I adore roses and all their lovely ruffly petals. Roses are such an old-fashioned flower, and so romantic. I love the way they get even more beautiful as they open and age. I also love ranunculus for the very same reason, but my all-time favorite flower is the poppy!

Key Floral Elements: Garden roses, ferns, blackberries, tulips

You clearly love colorful designs, what do you love about working with color?

 

Although neutrals definitely have their place in my work, I absolutely love colors and prefer them over neutrals. I am an artist and have a Bachelor of Arts degree. Painting was my favorite medium and I was a painter for 25 years before I became a floral designer. I have always been drawn to colorful flowers due to their ability to express so many different emotions. When it comes to neutrals, I have discovered that combining deeper shades and working with textures helps to add depth to a neutral palette.

Why did you decide to stop using floral foam in your designs?

 

I decided to start working without floral foam (also known as Oasis) when I learned that it is all plastic and toxic to the environment. It never breaks down and just dissolves into millions of tiny pieces. Eventually, it ends up in either our oceans or our landfills. All of this is only adding to the horrific plastic crisis our planet is facing. It hurst my heart knowing that all of the beauty I can create for my clients could hurt the environment. As a wedding florist there is much I can do to lessen my environmental impact. I practice this philosophy in my personal life and it only makes sense to do the same with my business.

What are you seeing 2020 brides choosing for their bouquets?

 

Most of my 2020 brides have actually been asking for brighter colors, which is a change from what has been popular for so many years! Of course, I am all for it!!!

Visit Katherine online here!

Thank you to my friend Alexis Williams for taking some behind the scenes photos of me and Katherine working together and to Katherine’s assistant, Emily, who was a huge help for the whole day.

Special thanks to my friend Wendy, owner of Wendy Wilson Photography, for letting us use her beautiful studio!

VENDOR DETAILS

Ribbons | Silk & Willow

Styling Cloths | Silk & Willow and Honey Silks Co.

Styling Board | Heirloom Bindery

Candles | Yummie Candles

Votives | Accent Decor

Background Board | Erickson Surfaces

Vintage Props | We Raided our prop closets!