Izzy // A Nesting Mother

Izzy // A Nesting Mother

When Izzy told me that they decided to not know the sex of the baby until he or she is here, I knew that she would be the perfect subject for this vision I have had stuck in my head for quite a while now. Since I assumed she wouldn't be able to "nest" in the same way some other mothers typically do (fill up a room with pink and dolls, or blue and toy trucks), I decided to collaborate with Chris Taylor of 34 Degrees North and get him to custom build a human sized nest right in her backyard. If I have read Izzy properly, she is somewhat like me in the sense that we like to spend time alone to recharge and reflect on things. I hope that until baby comes, she can sit by the creek in this nest and mentally prepare for life with a new little one around. And when he or she is finally here, they can sit together and bond while I re-create these images.

-- H

Paige + Jake // An Asheville, NC Engagement Session

Paige + Jake // An Asheville, NC Engagement Session

Alec normally does the talking but I'm gonna take over for this one because it's special. I met Paige on my first day at the University of Georgia. It was an 8am 3D Design class. My first art class. My first opportunity to prove myself and get into the art program. That morning, I was so bummed. I had recently gotten a retainer that I had to wear at all times and it made me talk with a lisp. I had recently ran from a "ghost" while sneaking into an abandoned meat factory with my friends and injured my foot, so I was wearing a dorky boot. I had recently gotten a horrible haircut. And on top of that, I am not a morning person. I knew for sure I wouldn't make any friends. Luckily, I chose to sit beside Paige that morning. I've never told her this, but she made my first semester so much better than I expected. We talked daily (in basically our pjs because duh we had to be there at 8am) about how tired we were, how stupid some of the projects were, and how much we liked dogs since we found the right ones. Years later, we get an inquiry from her to shoot her engagement photos and Cape Cod wedding. We traveled to Asheville to see her for the first time in forever and to photograph them. We literally can't wait to visit Cape Cod and be a part of their intimate wedding ceremony. I haven't found many things, but this is one of the good things the came from me going to college. Cheers to Paige + Jake. Y'all sure are cute.

Morgan + Cody // Grayton Beach Elopement

Morgan + Cody // Grayton Beach Elopement

Morgan, Cody, Halie and myself come from the tiny small town of Perry, GA, which is where their story begins. Dating since high-school, this wedding was something that everyone in the small town knew would come eventually. When we got the inquiry to shoot Morgan’s wedding, we instantly knew that we would share the same aesthetic taste and that she would look simply ravishing on her wedding day, so it was a thrill to work with her and Cody. We would love to do more weddings like this -- small and intimate. They slimmed down the guest list so that they could have what was important to them; their family, good food, and some killer photographs. It left so much room for them to simply and fully take in their wedding day with no distractions.

Bryan + Chris // An Untraditional Backyard Wedding in Athens, Georgia

Bryan + Chris // An Untraditional Backyard Wedding in Athens, Georgia

Bryan and Chris are one of the most impressive couples we've come across to date. Their relationship, spanning eight years and several states, is a true testament to their unending love for one another. 

Their story starts years before our paths crossed, way back to the days spent dreaming of such a day as this. A day where they are surrounded by over 150 of the people they care about most. A day where all of the years of planning, daydreaming, and hard work cumulate into a ceremony of promises. Vows to each other to continue to be a support system, continually working to achieve the other's goals. Promises made to constantly push each other to be the best versions of themselves. 

If you've seen their engagement photos then you will know that Bryan and Chris are anything but conventional. They both love to grab life by the horns and find enjoyment in every detail of their lives and relationship with one another. The attention to detail and creating and reliving their countless memories with each other were very evident throughout their entire wedding day. From artistic recreations of some of the most important events of their relationship up until the wedding, to getting ready in Bryan's INSANELY impressive childhood historic Boulevard home, to the best exchange of vows I've ever heard, we truly felt as if we had known them for much longer than we actually had. 

I hope that you all find as much joy in these photographs as Halie and I did in being a part of this day. They truly are going to make huge changes in the world, and I would be on the lookout for these two if I were you. 

Here's to forever being silly while simultaneously being two of the most convicted and determined humans I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. 

Also, as you view these photos, make sure you're listening to the song that Chris wrote when he proposed to her. 

 

Special thanks to Kristin Karch for second shooting while Alec shot video!



 

Bryan chose one of my favorite songs from middle school for her bouquet toss. PLAY IT! 

Jaquie + Andy // An Atlanta wedding at Ambient Plus Studio

Jaquie + Andy // An Atlanta wedding at Ambient Plus Studio

Jaquie and Andy... I do not even know where to begin.

Halie and I have been looking forward to this wedding since the moment Jaquie inquired.

Well, let's tell a little bit of a back story first.

Halie found Jaquie under the "people you may know" section on Facebook and sent her a friend request because she thought she was, and I quote, "drop dead gorgeous." She then proceeded to message her to ask her if she and her, then boyfriend, Andy, would model for us because she was in love with the way they looked, dressed and presented themselves. 

Unfortunately, we underestimated how busy we were at that point and the shoot never came to be, but it wasn't long before Andy popped the question and Jaquie sent us her inquiry. 

Jaquie has some unique physical conditions that make certain activities more difficult and frustrating, which makes the fact that she was able to walk down the aisle and dance with Andy, her mother and grandfather, and stand for most of her wedding all that more special to her and to us. She worked so very hard in the gym and with physical therapy to be able to do these things at her wedding and we are so very proud of her for the accomplishments and progress she made with her mobility. 

Jaquie and Andy are literally a dream couple. Both extremely intelligent, talented, creative and loving people that make our job worth while, not to mention the fact that they have a very deep bond and loving relationship that makes it easy to capture the emotions that they have for one another.  The way that they selflessly serve and love one another challenges me to this day, and I'm such a fortunate human to be able to call them friends. 

I'm sure that Jaquie thinks that we are just saying some of the things that we say to her about how happy we are that she chose us just to be nice, but we are extremely grateful that her and Andy chose us and have been challenged in our own relationship to better serve one another because of the example they have set. 

We hope you enjoy the photos below; we surely do. 

-- A

Kelly + Nathaniel // Cloudland Canyon Engagement Session

Kelly + Nathaniel // Cloudland Canyon Engagement Session

When the time came to find a location for Kelly and Nathaniel, Cloudland Canyon was our obvious choice.
We originally wanted to have our wedding ceremony here, but when logistics came into play we had to slide this ace of a location into our back pocket and save it for something special.

We held on to it for a while, not wanting to waste the opportunity to shoot at this amazing location. We pitched the idea to them with crossed fingers because
we knew it would be a NINE HOUR drive for them if they wanted to shoot there. To our surprise, they were totally up for it!

We hiked for about 30 minutes straight into the belly of the beast and the photos below are what happened when we reached the bottom.
We are so very grateful that they wanted to make the drive all the way there; hopefully we've shown them it was worth it.

Our Kind Of Wedding // The Tree Room in Athens, GA

So excited to share these images from our recent styled shoot in our hometown of Athens, GA. It was such an amazing experience to be surrounded and supported by our local community of artists who just wanted to see creative things happen. It was very refreshing to have complete control over the environment, the mood, the clothing and the composition of the images. We set this up because we wanted to show local engaged couples that there is more than one style of wedding available to them in the area. We wanted to show them that if you have a more collaborative-based approach to your wedding and let each artist do what they do best, you can have something truly unique and timeless. 

This shoot would not have been possible without our amazing team. We had so much fun directing and collaborating with them and combining our ideas and the unique suggestions and talents that each member of the team brought to the table. 
 

Into the Woods

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Into the Woods

Lexi and Diego invited me over to hang out with them and their little one, Silas. We started off with a bath to calm da bby. We used mama's breast milk to make the water cloudy (it even gave a magical blue tint to it). Soon after, we headed out into the woods in their backyard. We (Silas) played with sticks, got a few ticks, and ended the session with Lexi breastfeeding Silas in the magical light we discovered. More sessions like this please. Capturing real life moments always wins.

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Bryan + Chris // Athens, GA Backyard Engagement session

I would have to say that we've gotten more inquiries for June 4th than any other date this year (ten and counting) and we are SO GLAD that Bryan and Chris are the ones that we are working with that day. It almost feels as if it was meant to be. Halie and I have both said numerous times that we would be so sad if we had taken another job on that date and then received their inquiry.  

Enough with the cheesy shit. Bryan wasn't originally into the idea of doing an engagement session because "they weren't really the serious type." Girl please. Halie and I are probably the most ridiculous people that you will ever meet and jump at the opportunity to do anything outside of the box. We really like to shape our couple's sessions to fit the unique attributes of each relationship. Bryan and Chris share a love that is deeply intertwined with their ability to make each other laugh and not take themselves too seriously. At the session, Bryan let it slip that there will be a bouncy house at their wedding. 

A FRIGGIN BOUNCY HOUSE!

We loved meeting up with them at Bryan's childhood home in the Boulevard neighborhood in Athens, GA. We drank beer, jumped on a trampoline, climbed trees, and even played dress up. The only thing left to do is work on our dance moves for what is surely going to be one of our favorite weddings to date. 
 

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