A Spring Family Portrait Session

The extreme summer heat has arrived! I love taking a break from weddings during the hottest part of the summer. It gives me a chance to recharge ahead of the fall season. Don’t think for a second though that the break from weddings means there’s no work going on around here. In fact, this is the time of year when I work on a lot of non-wedding related shoots (and things are definitely busy!). This is also the time of year when I’m working on timelines for fall weddings and catching up on blogging family shoots from the spring/summer.

Back in May, when the temperatures were much cooler than they are now, I met up with the Terrys for a family session with their adult children and adorable grandchildren (y’all the triplets were just too cute)! I had previously worked with this family on one of my  2021 weddings, so it was such a treat to have them back in front of my camera. This was also my third time to shoot at this beautiful property. I first got a glimpse of how magical it is at Caitlin and Ryan’s engagement session last fall! I can now report that it looks fabulous in every season!

While the majority of my annual calendar is full of weddings and engagement sessions, I intentionally save a few time blocks in certain months for family sessions, which are often snapped up by my past clients. Working with the same families over multiple sessions and seasons of life is so very special! Enjoy my favorites from this sweet spring session and I’ll be bringing a few more family sessions to the blog soon!

The triplets favorite was when I said we could do a silly pose!

 A St. Francis at the Point Wedding

St. Francis at the Point and The Venue in downtown Fairhope are such a great combo for a wedding day. These locations are fairly close together, meaning we don’t waste a ton of time traveling between the two. I also love that the path between the two locations takes us right by the Fairhope Pier, making it the perfect stop for Golden Hour bride and groom portraits!

We actually did several of Lane and Jake’s engagement portraits at the pier, so I loved that she wanted to return to the location on their wedding day. The major difference was that we did their engagement portraits in the fall. The summer is a busy time in Fairhope, with so many tourists in town. The Fairhope Pier is also usually crowded with fishermen, musicians and families enjoying the park. On top of that, you never know if you’re going to have to battle rain on a July wedding day. I told Lane beforehand that we’d have to play things by ear when it came to the portraits on the bay. There were just so many variables that could have prevented this from working into our plan.

As it turned out, we didn’t encounter one drop of rain on this wedding day…even though there were heavy clouds in the sky for most of the day. When the trolley pulled up to the pier, I noticed the smaller pier to the side of the main pier was free of people. Lane, Jake and I hopped off the trolley, dashing to the smaller pier for a few bride and groom portraits. Our goal was to get the photos showcasing the bay, while not taking up too much time. In just under six minutes (I checked the time-stamps on my camera!), I shot as many portraits as possible. The whole time I was thinking how magical it was that it was so quiet. I was in shock that we had the spot to ourselves! These portraits turned out to be some of my favorites of the day!

The Summer Season

This day was the warmest wedding day I’ve had so far this year, but thankfully the sun stayed behind the clouds so it was no where near as bad as it could have been for July. When photographing summer weddings, I always like to build in time for air-conditioning breaks. This works so well when you have a location like St. Francis at the Point. I was able to take photos in groupings, sending the bridal party indoors between sets of photos outside.

It’s hard to believe that this beautiful day wraps up my spring/summer wedding season! It has been such a fun few months and I’m thankful to all the couples who had me and my team be part of their wedding days. I’m looking forward to working on some exciting commercial projects over the next month before the fall/winter season kicks off in September (even though we all know that September still feels like summer in the Mobile Bay area…haha!).

Lane and Jake, thank you for an absolutely fabulous ending to a great season! Cheers to many years of happiness together!

Y’all, this car was so fabulous for a grand exit getaway!

One of my second photographers, Alexis (camera left in the photo below), is leaving us for a bit because she has some new adventures on the horizon. We were so sad that this was our last wedding with her for a while! She has helped me on wedding days and miscellaneous shoots over the past two years. It’s crazy how time flies! I am so thankful for her hard work and dedication, as well as for her friendship. Cheers to you Alexis! We wish you all the best!

Vendors

Photography by Elizabeth Gelineau

Second Photographer | Alexis Williams

Photographer’s Assistants | Regina Gomez-Guillen + Lauren Hodges

Planning | Jenna Laine Weddings

Videography | Stoneybrook Films

Ceremony | St. Francis at the Point

Reception + Catering + Lighting | The Venue

Florist | Belle Bouquet

Cake | Cakes by Tammy Reed

Groom’s Desserts | Something Sweet

Rentals | Port City Rentals

Band | 2nd Groove Show Band

Transportation | Gulf Coast Tours

Makeup + Hair | Becca Townley Snell

Exit Car | A Bride’s Ride

Bride’s Gown | Heidi Elnora

Bridesmaid Dresses | Bella Bridesmaids

Invitations | Jenna Laine Weddings + Weezie B Designs

Calligrapher | Southern Calligraphy

Save the Dates | Minted

Spring Hill College Senior Portraits

I love photographing high school seniors! They are seriously so much fun to work with! Samaha was in town visiting family and wanted to take senior portraits while she was visiting the Mobile area. We met up at Spring Hill College because the chapel on campus holds special meaning for Samaha and her family. She was baptized at St. Joseph’s Chapel when she was a baby. I love that she wanted to return to this place for her senior portraits!

On this summer evening we actually had a bit of a breeze, which made our usually oppressive humidity tolerable. Samaha is an athlete at Knoxville Catholic High School and wanted to incorporate her love of cheerleading into her session with a few jumps! I am not much of a sports photographer, so we had to attempt this a few times, but Samaha is so good natured that she didn’t mind one bit.

Before the shoot, Samaha told me she was a smiley person and I found that to be absolutely true! Her joyful spirit just shines in front of the camera. I’m sure you can tell by looking at these photos just how much fun we had during the shoot! Samaha is still undecided on which college she wants to attend, but has her eyes on Notre Dame or North Carolina. With her senior year of high school ahead of her, she still has time to decide.

Samaha, thank you for such a fun session! I hope you have a fantastic senior year!

She saved this trick for last!

A Grand Hotel Engagement

Lily knew there was no way Chad was going to propose to her at Christmas. It seemed too obvious and Chad was not one to be predictable. As it turned out, that was the perfect way to surprise Lily with a romantic proposal! When she least expected it, Chad set his plan in motion.

It was Christmas morning and Chad told Lily that he needed to wrap a few gifts. Thinking he was running last minute as usual, Lily didn’t even rush out of the room when Chad told her the coast was clear. The whole time she was taking her sweet time, he was waiting to propose!!!

When Lily opened the door, she found a path of fake snow, lined with Christmas lights, which led straight to Chad. The moment she saw the path of snow and Chad standing by the Christmas tree, she knew what he was going to ask her, but she was in disbelief the entire time. I LOVE a good surprise proposal story, don’t you?!

Summer on Mobile Bay

I was so excited to meet up with Lily and Chad for their engagement session at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama. Lily was the Maid of Honor in Jill and Cooper’s wedding last fall. It’s always such a treat to work with the same circle of friends on multiple weddings. I told Lily that she reminded me a lot of Jill and she said that is something they hear a lot. Each are the sister the other never had!

Summer evenings on Mobile Bay can be unpredictable as far as the weather goes. It was storming when I left Mobile, but by the time I got to the other side of the bay, the sky was clear. The clouds seemed to hover over the bay, which gave us a nice breeze for the majority of this session – a real treat for a summer evening down here where it’s often blazing hot and humid.

Chad said he came to the Grand Hotel with his family many times during his childhood years, but when Lily said she wanted photos with the rocks, he wasn’t quite sure what she meant. This spot is a prime portrait spot at the hotel and often quite crowded, but on this day it was quiet and we practically had the area to ourselves for 10 solid minutes. It was amazing!

Chad and Lily brought along a bottle of champagne and ended the shoot with a sunset toast! Mobile Bay truly gets some spectacular sunsets. Just when I was thinking the clouds had swallowed the sun for the day, it reappeared, bathing the scene in the most amazing Golden Hour glow. It was a DREAM!

 

A St. Francis at the Point Wedding

Hannah and Austin began dating in high school. When it was time for them to go to college, she chose Auburn and he went to Alabama. They survived long distance dating while attending rivalry colleges, despite the fact that she enthusiastically supports the Auburn Tigers and he is equally passionate about the Alabama Crimson Tide! I told them that if they could survive that, I had no doubt they have a strong relationship. Haha!

While they will forever be a house divided when it comes to football, Hannah always knew that Austin was the man of her dreams. One of their favorite dates during their high school years was going out for a Fairhope Float. Then they’d head to the Fairhope Pier. When it came time to propose to Hannah, Austin knew that was the perfect place.

The two were in town for the weekend and Hannah thought the plan was to meet up with friends for dinner. When Austin suggested taking a walk down the pier beforehand, she wasn’t even suspicious! She was totally surprised when he proposed! After she said yes, their families and friends came running down the pier to congratulate them before they all headed to dinner. How sweet is that?!

Hannah and Austin chose one of my favorite churches, St. Francis at the Point, for their wedding. This church is so beautiful and full of natural light. It’s an ideal location for summer weddings since it provides some indoor options for portraits…a much welcome relief from the summer heat and humidity!

After everyone danced the night away at the reception, it was time for the battle of the pompoms. Guests chose shakers according to their favorite team, while both fight songs were played as the grand finale. It was such a fun ending to a wonderful day! Cheers to the newly Mr. & Mrs. Ryals!

One of my favorite moments of the day was Hannah’s grandmother waving to us as we headed for the church!

I’m completely obsessed with this STUNNING bridal bouquet by Jubilee Flowers!

VENDORS

Photography by Elizabeth Gelineau

Second Photographer | Alexis Williams

Photographer’s Assistant / Third Photographer | Regina Gomez-Guillen

Photographer’s Assistant | Lauren Hodges

Ceremony | St. Francis at the Point

Reception | The Venue Fairhope

Coordinator | Cathy Markert

Catering | Tamara Wintzell – The Venue

Florist | Jubilee Flowers

Cake | Kay Laubenthal – Andre’s

Hair Stylist | Makeup and Hair by Chaney

Makeup Artist | Kendall Connell

DJ | Torrie Smith – Southern Sounds

Bride’s Gown | Carriage House Weddings

Bridesmaid Dresses | Bella Bridesmaids

Groom + Groomsmen Attire | Men’s Wearhouse

Paper Goods | Weezie B. Designs