a family beach session | vero beach

December 17, 2015 in Maternity, Families

i recently had the pleasure of shooting this adorable family - two year old, calais, steph and elena, as well as elena's mom. it was the most gorgeous evening with the sunset delivering some delicious colors. calais couldn't be cuter - she just turned two and her mom is expecting baby number 2 early next year. what a sweet family they are! enjoy :)

mickley family | holiday 2015

December 08, 2015 in Families

the last time i photographed the mickley family, they were a family of three. so, i was so excited to take their hoilday pictures with the sweetest addition, caroline! it was fun watching brother and sister interact and they even had fun with some of the christmas props (i.e. landon muscling the birch logs!). happy holidays to the lovely mickley's! xo

harty family | holiday 2015

December 07, 2015 in Families

i had fun shooting the harty family of three, recently! champ is the same age as my nephew so i can only imagine the fun those two will get into in the future. happy holidays to you - shawna, jack and champ! it was a pleasure doing this family session for you! x

corr family | holiday 2015

December 03, 2015 in Families

i got the chance to meet up with these guys over thanksgiving break - they were down from new jersey and enjoying some florida weather! i always love seeing them and spending time with the little ones (brielle was a flower girl in my wedding!). happy holidays to the corr family! xo

lueken family | holiday 2015

November 30, 2015 in Families

i had a lot of fun taking photos of the lueken family a couple of weeks ago! it may have been one of the windiest/roughest beach days of the season, but we managed to squeeze a few photos in and claire seemed to be having a good time, too. happy holidays to you! xo

alderman family | holiday photos

November 24, 2015 in Families

this family came to me with the perfect attitude - smile, give it a go and see what happens! with a three year old and a 10 month old, you just never know what you are going to get! luckily for me, this adorable family laughed and enjoyed their time in front of the camera and i'm so thankful to share these photos. happy holidays to the alderman family! xo

bellewood plantation | wedding venue, vero beach

November 16, 2015 in Editorial, Corporate, Weddings

the bellewood plantation is a new wedding venue located in vero beach. i recently had the pleasure of getting a sneak peek at the gorgeous spot - complete with a styled ceremony and reception setup all beautifully coordinated by fe from florals by fe.

the six bedroom, plantation style home is complete with a full kitchen, pool, deck area and three car garage. the house sits on an expansive nine acres with hundreds of years old oaks. some additional features include a 7,200 square foot hard court which may be tented for up to 350 guests, a gazebo, 3 arbor entries, 1,000 feet of vintage market lights, a fire pit area with benches, 4 sets of cornhole, etc! and what is possibly my favorite part, thirty farmhouse tables, 300 light brown x-back chairs and wooden ceremony benches - all very beautifully done.

below are some images from my visit to the venue - enjoy! and a note to brides...booking is open for 2016!

the forman family | fall 2015

November 12, 2015 in Families

happy fall wishes to this sweet family of three! not only are they an adorable crew, but they are FSU fans too - so you know, i like them even more, naturally. :)

a bit overdue on sharing these, but so is our fall weather in florida. mother nature...we are ready for your cooler temps here in vero...until then - enjoy these!

cake smash | harper turns 1 year old

November 09, 2015

i am pretty sure i didn't have a cake smash at 1 year of age...but what a wonderful sugar-filled-way to celebrate making it a year into life! harper, the cutie you see below, turned 1 in late october and she expressed some hesitation initially. it took her awhile to realize that pink cake in front of her was made of her dreams. you can see the reactions throughout - and once the sugar hit, she was all in and a happy little gal! happy birthday harper!

special shout out to her amazing mama who created all the decor - how impressive is she?!

caitlin + cameron | vero beach wedding

November 05, 2015 in Weddings

i had the pleasure of capturing caitlin and cameron's wedding day last month in vero beach. the ceremony and reception were held at quail valley river club and we were given a gorgeous sunset that evening. in a quick recap: caitlin made a beautiful bride, there were sweet moments throughout the day and the dancing was non-stop. i am so happy for these two! congratulations newlyweds!

pumpkin patch | fall 2015

November 02, 2015 in Families

a year ago, i took some photos of little stryker for fall. what a world of difference a year makes! this year, he was all about movement. running around, wanting to be free! with a 17 month old you have to be fast and sort of go with the flow...so i did my best and was able to capture the little guy in his element. what a cutie he is! (auntie bias aside..!). happy fall!

baby willa | october newborn session

October 26, 2015 in Newborn, Families

baby willa, what a beauty you are! i am so excited to share these newborn photos today. it was so wonderful to be able to capture little willa a week in to being born. she was as sweet as can be, sleepy and calm and super patient! special thanks to jenn and kelly for allowing me to photograph their family. it was a pleasure and many congratulations to you!

mommy & me photo session | paige and jasmyn

October 22, 2015 in Families

when paige contacted me to take photos of her and her daughter, i was so excited! it isn't often that i get to do "mommy & me" sessions, so it was fun to capture these two together. there is nothing quite like a mother/daughter bond and i hope these images are something the two of them will cherish for years to come. also, jasmyn is the cutest little thing, am i right?!

emilia | 2 months!

October 19, 2015 in Families

i recently took photos of 2 month old, emilia annnnd how adorable is she?! it was a beautiful morning at the park, so i clicked my shutter many times capturing her little wiggles. luckily, her mom, dad, and big brother opted to jump in for a few photos, too. i always enjoy capturing this family and am so happy for their newest addition, the sweet emilia!

halloween with eight pepperberries

October 14, 2015

recently, a good friend began her journey into the blog world with her new website eight pepperberries. everything from tutorials, inspired projects, recipes, and how to's can be found on the site and i am excited to see what she has in store for the future!

so when she came to us (see below!) with an idea for a halloween inspired shoot, we told her we were in! the sun and moon costumes were sourced and made by kaitlin and our artistic friend pam, while the makeup and hair were from the talented maria and ali. here are some of my favorite shots from our little adventure to the woods.

For how to's on hair, makeup and costume info, visit: Eight Pepperberries (@eightpepperberries)

Makeup: Maria (@msommers_mua)

Hair: Ali (iamalifaye)

Headpieces / Artist: Pamela - incredibly talented painter and artist and my old college roommate! (@pamelasommersart)

yoga pagoda | vero beach, fl

October 08, 2015 in Corporate

if you're like me, your initial experience with yoga was in and out / a bit nonchalant and overall, unsatisfying. the classes i would randomly take left me feeling a little lost, a little bitter (why wasn't i breaking a sweat?) and a little confused...what was the big deal? why was everyone so in love with yoga?

then i moved to vero from nyc. a few friends told me i HAD to take shelley's class and i decided to give it a go. and then, it clicked! it finally clicked...i felt the connection / i understood that if i worked hard at it, i would continue to get better at the poses and i was not only breaking a sweat (a lot of sweat!) i was sore the next day in a great way. the stretching is something i look forward to every week. shelley has a way of keeping the class focused, but light-hearted. just like with most things in life, you get out of it what you put in.

the yoga pagoda | @shelleyadelle | @yogapagodavero

so, i was very excited when she asked that i take some portraits and photos of her studio. for the past five years, the yoga pagoda has been a staple in the community providing various yoga classes for residents...and it is continuing to grow! with a small, gifted area (thanks to local boutique luba!) inside of the studio, one can find many yogi tokens such as tank tops, yoga mats and jewelry amongst other gifts. if you are left feeling a bit thirsty after class, you can grab a cup of kombucha on tap. how cool is that?

i am looking forward to many more sweats and future classes at the yoga pagoda. cheers to shelley and what she is doing here in our community!

location: yoga pagoda & private residence | hair: ali womack (@iamalifaye) | makeup: maria sommers

baby ellis

September 28, 2015 in Newborn, Families

sara beth and her family welcomed little baby ellis earlier this month. he is a healthy, sweet, alert baby boy and i had the pleasure of taking some newborn photos of the wide-eyed little guy. i love seeing the creative nurseries when taking newborn photos and ellis' little home was filled with character. just take a look at the homemade mobile hanging above the crib - how cute! some favorites from the session are below. congratulations to this beautiful family and their newest addition!

cosmic hand dyed prints | a treehouse shoot

September 21, 2015 in Editorial, Travel

greetings!

we are at that time of year in florida where you try to embrace the return of college football season, the endless supply of pumpkin beers and the cinnamon spice / fall decor all around you...but then you walk outside and realize, oh yeah! it is still reading 'feels like 90 degrees' on my weather app and it will be this way until thanksgiving.

it's okay though because, today, i have a little shoot for you from a recent visit to california where the mornings were brisk and the air was dry and we wore sweaters at night and all was lovely!

my very talented friend, jen (who i have mentioned before - a trained parsons graduate and print designer currently at aerie (go check out their prints, they are seriously great) created some hand dyed scarves and dyed dresses surrounding a lunar / cosmic theme. naturally, we decided to dress up our babe of a friend and have her model the prints in the treehouse we were living in for the weekend. below are some photos from our fun shoot.

take a look and enjoy!

pacific coast highway

September 14, 2015 in Travel

trip of my dreams. up the california coast. here is the recap - along with some visiting tips!

this adventure was a lot of fun with the husband, best friend + her husband. the spots we hit up along the way were san diego, los angeles (more specifically venice), santa barbara, morro bay, big sur, a drive through carmel/pebble beach/monterey, santa cruz and on through to san francisco...more on that part of the trip later!

first stop: san diego

we had a list a mile long of places to eat so we did our best to hit up the recommended spots. we stayed in pacific beach - a very college-y part of san diego. hence the oversized pacificos and unintended nightclub we found ourselves in the first night out. oops!

our first full day out we decided to hike torrey pines. i would highly recommend this activity - the terrain is beautiful and unexpected with its sandy cliffs, beautiful pacific views and cacti galore. it is $15 for parking, and you can either park straight away and walk up or drive up to another point where you can do some additional hiking at the top and make your way down to the water. this is what we opted for!

post hiking, we worked up an appetite, so we made our way to board and brew in del mar - the original location of the famous sandwich shop. this was one of the most recommended stops, so we made sure to grab some delish sammies and head to la jolla to enjoy them while overlooking the water. (order the turkado with extra sweet & sour on the side!)

post lunch, we decided to head to downtown san diego - more specifically the gaslamp district. this seemed to be a bit more touristy but plenty of restaurants, bars and shopping can be found here - good for walking and exploring! we ended up at a rooftop cocktail bar for a sunset drink and headed to get our mexi fix at the blind burro afterwards. get the cheesy corn if you go here - a must!

for a nightcap, we made our way to the speakeasy craft cocktail bar, noble experiment. note - this little spot is tiny! tucked away inside of a bar, you enter through a door made of beer kegs. no joke...be sure to call ahead to make a reservation.

sunday in san diego called for brunch...you may be getting the hint that we like to eat on vacation! snooze is great - located in hillcrest, you can fuel up at this brunch spot. afterwards, we took to ocean beach to walk around, take in the surfers and salty air. there is plenty of beachside up and down san diego...below we are on the pier in pacific beach. later that evening we enjoyed some tacos...seriously tasty tacos! if you make your way to oscars, go with the fish taco.

the next leg of our trip took us to los angeles. we hit up hipsterville, silver lake, for some delish vietnamese food and walked around the area taking in the coffee shops, boutiques and overall vibe of the area. pretty sure we spotted kate bosworth too...one must have a celebrity sighting in the city of angels, no? we stopped at the lacma to get a glance at the huge boulder placed atop a walkway. "levitated mass" by michael heizer is open to the public.

next up: venice beach. we loved walking the boardwalk and seeing the skaters and street performers. venice beach is so alive and just a world of its own. i had fun snapping pics at the skate park.

we made our way to abbott kinney for some shopping. the street is full of great stores and boutiques as well as restaurants. it was bustling even for a monday. we stopped for a quick drink at the otherroom - a sister to the nyc establishment.

for dinner we made the very wise decision to check out scopa. i will say this was the best dinner of the whole trip. the italian food was amazing and the drinks were well made cocktails that satisfied. loved this spot and would go again! here we are eating donuts for dessert. we were already stuffed but couldn't resist...

next up! santa barbara. beautiful - full of colorful blooms, mediterranean architecture and gorgeous weather. i can't give too much info on this spot since we just went for the afternoon, but i will say i would love to go back for more exploring. i have heard only good things about the vineyards there and can say it lives up to the coined nickname of 'america's riviera'.

we continued the drive north in order to get closer to big sur for our big hike the following day. we decided to spend the night in morro bay - an unexpected cute fishing town on the coast. we saw a beautiful sunset and had an easy evening. the small town reminded me of a place you would come across on the coast of the northeast.

next up was big sur. the beautiful national park situated right on the coast of the pacific. we hiked through the redwoods alongside some creeks and really got our work out in. the reward was at the end when we made our way to mcway falls where the high waterfall meets the sandy beach and edge of the cliff overlooking the pacific. what a view.

we then made our way through carmel by the sea, monterey and pebble beach. we took the 17 mile drive continuing our trip up the coast. what beautiful scenery this was. also, if you are a golf fan, it is basically heaven on earth for you...drew was loving this area! we spent our last night in santa cruz before making our way to san francisco.

california, all i have to say is, you are beautiful.

creative flow | a styled shoot with some talented ladies, vero beach

September 10, 2015 in Editorial, Weddings

over the summer, i got my creative juices flowing, along with some other ladies. we took our ideas, pulled them together, joined forces, and had some fun. no, seriously - we had fun!

beautiful friend and doll face, stacie, gave in to my begging and agreed to be our muse for the shoot. with stacie's wild, curly mane, hair stylist - jamie lynn - got to work to create this beautiful look while keeping it natural. the genius that is makeup artist, maria sommers, came up with the soft, bridal glow of peaches and golden tones for the look you see below. florist and event planner extraordinaire, lara of laras theme, created the whimsical flower crown composed of white and soft pink roses, all interspersed with minty succulents and raw twigs. additionally, lara created centerpieces of roses and vines which sat atop glass vases accented by turquoise lanterns. the model wore a karen willis holmes gown from local downtown bridal store, isabella's bridal. all jewelry came from the new seahorse lane boutique and that pretty little cake is from the oh-so delicious classy cupcakes.

a special thank you to all of these creative ladies who helped to make this happen!