Collected 2014 | Northeast Ohio Collaborative Wedding Shoot

July 28, 2014

Northeast Ohio is full of talented, creative, inspiring people. I'm so lucky to have the chance to regularly work with some of the best of them. And last month I had the chance to work with a whole slew of creative wedding professionals at a collaborative event called Collected.

My dear friends Mallory + Justin created Collected to give local vendors in this industry a chance to create for themselves. And also come together and get to know and inspire each other. It was so fun to be a part of Collected, and I'm so grateful to Mallory + Justin for inviting me!

The event was held at Mallory's parent's house (thanks, Bairs!) in Waynesburg, which was really the perfect setting. Talk about gorgeous property! Heather of Fair Rarity, Janelle of With Love and Whimsy and Colleen of Borrow Rentals made the backyard look even more beautiful with this first setup ...

Many thanks to Jessica and Frankie for modeling for us. :)

For me, one of the best things about Collected was that I got to shoot a ton of film. I really do get giddy when I pull out my Mamiya, so that was inspiring in and of itself.

Maggie of MKleinman Artistry did a fantastic job on the ladies' makeup throughout the day.

Just look at this bouquet in the next set. Heather! You are phenomenal!

Amanda of Baci Designer always, always impresses me with her pretty stationery.

Rebecca is gorgeous. Does she not look straight out of an Anthropologie magazine??

A little Aztec inspiration ...

Brian, you killed it!

Fuji 400H | Richard Photo Lab

Collected 2014 hosted by Mallory + Justin Photographers

Vendors Florals: Fair Rarity Furniture + Accesories + Styling: Borrow Rentals Creative Styling: With Love & Whimsy Events Makeup Artist: MKleinman Artistry Stationery: Baci Designer Baked Goods: Salvino Dolci Headbands: Little White Feather Shop Photographers: Mallory + Justin, Carolyn | Carolyn Ann Photo, Heather | Inlux Photo, Lisa | Brightside Photo, and yours truly! :)

Mackinac Island | Travel

July 24, 2014

Since early last year, I had been saving the weekend of the Fourth of July for personal travel. It wasn't always easy to keep it free (I'm always so tempted to take every wedding that comes my way!), but it was totally worth it after the fact. Nathan and I spent the weekend in Mackinac Island with his family and had the best time!

Mackinac Island sits right in between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan in Lake Huron. And I just want to take a moment right now and say that Michigan is completely underrated. It is GORGEOUS, and those Pure Michigan commercials aren't lying. :) We had absolutely perfect weather (albeit a little chilly) while we were there … blue skies and blue water. It doesn't get better than that!

Except it does because the coolest thing about this island? No cars are allowed! Everyone travels by horse, bicycle or foot, and all the trash is collected and goods are delivered by horse and buggy. Cool, right? I kinda felt like we had stepped back in time. We bicycled around the entire island, which is 8 miles, twice. Renting bikes is definitely a must-do if you ever visit Mackinac. I'd also highly recommend a carriage tour of the island. There's so much history packed into that little place!

When we planned this trip, I decided that I was only going to shoot film while we were there. The fact that I barely have to edit my film images meant that I'd actually have my vacation photos ready to go as soon as they were developed. Usually my vacation photos sit on my hard drive for a few months until I have some time to go through them. No thank you! I wanted these images ASAP. I'm happy to report that this was the best decision, and I'll be doing this for all future trips!

Enjoy a peek of Mackinac Island through my film lens …

We stayed at the Island House--the oldest continuously operating hotel on the island. We decided that we had the best location on the island (not in the middle of all the hustle and bustle, but not too far), and aside from the one dirty sheet we found upon arrival (ha!), we'd definitely recommend this spot.

While the Grand Hotel was not in our budget, we did venture up the hill to snap a couple photos. This place is MASSIVE and has a huge porch (I think the longest in the country if I'm not mistaken!).

Ahhh, Pure Michigan.

These were our horses for our carriage ride. The one in the middle is Travis, and I remember that because the carriage driver kept telling him to "step it up!" Evidently he's the slacker of the bunch.

Where we stayed: Island House Where we ate: Carriage House, Pancake House, Island Slice Pizzeria, Chuckwagon, The Gate House, JoAnn's Fudge (about three times … this was definitely the best fudge on the island; we did thorough testing!) What we did: Rented bicycles, took a carriage tour, toured Fort Mackinac, visited Little Stone Church

North Canton Ohio Lifestyle Family Session

July 16, 2014

I met Lisa, Chad and Henry on the most beautiful summer evening in North Canton. To say that this family is adorable would be a huge understatement. There aren't words to describe how beautiful, sweet, loving and fashionable the A family is! ;) My favorite part of this whole session was watching Lisa smile through the entire thing. And I mean the entire thing. She ADORES her little boy, and it just melts my heart to witness that love. And as much as Lisa wears her heart on her sleeve, Chad is the strong, quiet presence who is incredibly proud of this little life he helped bring into the world. There's something so special about observing a father-son relationship, and especially one as devoted as Chad and Henry. This little guy is incredibly lucky to be loved so much by such awesome parents!

Enjoy my (many) favorites!

Ohhhh my goodness. I can almost hear him belly laughing!

Henry is an adorable 6-month-old. Everything about him screams cute!

This one's a favorite. :)

The light was beautiful that evening and especially perfect on film.

I can hardly handle the chambray shirt cuteness!

Is this family not beautiful?! Thanks so much, you guys! I had so much fun. :)

Carolyn & Alex | Cleveland Cultural Gardens Film Portraits

July 14, 2014

Over the last year, Carolyn has become such a great friend to me. This girl is one of those people who everyone instantly likes. She's warm and personable and also witty and interesting. She has so many cool life stories, AND she's a fellow photographer … all the way in Iowa City! I think it speaks to Carolyn's character that she has friends all over the globe (and I mean ALL over! These two are seasoned travelers).

Carolyn and Alex are from Cleveland and asked me to do a film photo session with them while they were home for a week. Carolyn and I have sort of explored film together (although truthfully, she's helped me way more than I've helped her!), and I was seriously so honored--and really, really excited--to do an entire session with my Mamiya. I love way too many of these to narrow them down, so get ready for a long blog post. These two are really good looking, so it shouldn't be too difficult to look through all these photos. :)

Ohhhh, Carolyn! You are gorgeous!