As if that was not enough to seal the deal that she is a Kellan bride through and through….we get her Save the Date in the mail a few weeks ago. A DECODER SAVE THE DATE!!!!!!

How fun is that?

I’m also second shooting a wedding in May with the fabulous Heather España from Portland, Oregon. The wedding is in NYC for one of my new friends in the industry, headpiece guru, One Little Dove. We “met” Melanie while in NYC in November doing a headpiece/make up shoot for Ruffled blog. I am so excited about not only officially meeting Melanie and shooting with Heather…but when she emails me an inspiration board like this…

…I know I am going to fall head over heels in love with her wedding.

So that is just a little glimpse into what we have to look forward to in 2010. It’s going to be a good year!

The one where if you don’t shoot something completely creative you are going to burst. The winter shooting lull was taking it’s toll on me. I have been dying to set up an editorial-themed shoot where we could really spread our wings and do our thing.

I knew the perfect couple to call. I also knew they were about to celebrate two years of marriage in May…could this be the supreme pairing of desire and execution???

Adam Barnes is the amazing talent behind Adam Barnes Photography. He ALSO happens to be a dear friend of ours. He ALSO happens to have a phenomenally GORGEOUS wife who ALSO happens to be a make-up artist. They ALSO happen to be some of the nicest people God ever created.

I pitched the idea to Adam a few weeks ago about doing a vintage style shoot in one of the historic districts and using a private airstrip here in Lynchburg. I wanted them to go ALL OUT on style. I sent links, wrote descriptions for clothing, hair, makeup….well they took the baton and they ran with it! When they showed up I was giddy….the vision was coming alive!

Here is the most heart warming part. It’s obvious that we got blessed with some tremendous images for our portfolio but you need to know how important this was to them. I mean I could have called other people but I do believe the Lord wanted us to bless the Barnes with the gift of photography. A photographer needing photography…sounds ironic, I know.

When Adam and Lauren got engaged in late 2006, they had a wedding date set for fall of 2007. Circumstances took a devastating turn in April 2007 when Lauren’s mom was only given a few weeks to live. Lauren desperately wanted her mom to see her walk down the aisle so within a matter of a few weeks, May 4th became their new wedding date. Lauren’s prayers were answered. Her mom hung on through the wedding and went home to be with the Lord a few weeks later.

Adam and Lauren never had a chance to have engagement pictures. Lauren is a theater diva….she loves dramatic photos that tell a story and it was one of her desires that Adam and she have a photo shoot that was dripping with drama!

So although these are an anniversary gift to Adam and Lauren, they also double as the engagement photos they never had a chance to receive.

Adam and Lauren, we enjoyed every second with you yesterday. You exceeded our expectations in every way possible. We are so proud of these images and we hope that you look back at these photos and your hearts light up at the beauty, romance, and blessing you are when you are together.

Happy 2nd Anniversary (a little early)!

Over to the hangar at Virginia Aviation.

****disclaimer**** any shots involving a cigarette were used as a prop. Those of you that know them you don’t have to have a heart attack.

Perfection!

I promise we had fun, it wasn’t all moody and serious.

Trying a million attempts at a dip that didn’t look strained.

Sorry Adam, just had to post this one.

This is Part One….later this week I will post some outdoor airstrip shots and some lounging in a field “hot and steamy” ones!

Check out his latest book:

Better yet, go straight to his site! It’s a slippery slope of clicking as you behold some stunning ideas.

I have to show off their unique wedding invitations. Joe and Joanna already have their clever signature of The Jo(e)s working in their favor. They really cashed in by having some very talented friends come up with a super fun branding using Jo and Joes’ silhouettes and screen printed them onto their invitations. Love it! To cute not to save.

outside of the wedding invite

We are sooooo excited to be celebrating The Jo(e)s wedding in a few weeks for two reasons.

A- We LOVVVVVEEEEEE Joanna and are so happy to be welcoming her into the family.

B- This is the first wedding in 3.5 years that Ryan and I get to really enjoy as a couple. Ryan is a groomsmen but other than that, we get to be a real guest! We are leaving the kids at home so that we can enjoy all our family coming into town and boogie down till the break of dawn. I do believe I will get to see Ryan’s “bend and snap” move that won me over 5 years ago. SCORE!

If you missed our engagement session with The Jo(e)s, then click right here.

Onto the mish mash part of this post.

We enjoyed our second snow of the season randomly on Monday. Only in Virginia can it be 8 degrees and 10 inches on a Monday and then that Saturday be 74 degrees.

We decided to bundle the kids up to “play” in the snow. It ended up being more of a nightmare than actual fun. Poor Bennett, his snowsuit was a size too small for him so he had to sit motionless like a gingerbread man arms straight out, unbendable. He did enjoy going down in the ducky sled.

Chloe, on the other hand, loved being out in the snow but had no interest in traditional snow fodder. She is a girl the walks to the beat of her own drum. She much preferred to take a stick and poke snow, eat it, and generally just wander around talking to herself. She is hysterical and quirky all rolled into one firey brunette.

I also wanted to share with you my default career. If Kellan doesn’t pan out I think I am going to going to look into becoming a whiteboard artist! My specialty is Disney characters.

Exhibit A:

I mean a blind man could see that this is clearly Bambi, Flower and Friend Owl. Masterpiece no?

Exhibit B:

Dumbo and Timothy….dead ringer, I know!

Well at least I have my two year old fooled. There is this sense of sadness when she starts scribbling all over my art pieces….she just doesn’t appreciate my talent.

Last but not least…speaking of art. This has nothing to do with photography but I am all about supporting the arts and especially my talented girlfriends. They are knitting and crocheting fools. I tried my hardest to fall in love with knitting, but like tea….it just doesn’t do it for me.

My friend Candance just opened up her Etsy store today. Check out some of her adorable HATS for infants and toddlers.

Chloe received one of these great hats for her b-day a few months ago so you can see how great they look.

Adorable! Go check out her shop and pick one up.

Today’s tasty nugget is brought to you by one of our future May brides. We got a Save The Date (STD for those of you that like acronyms) in the mail yesterday from Cindy and I just had to share with you what a great idea it was.

Seeing as her future name will be “Wood”, she decided to incorporate real wood into the theme of their beach wedding. Her save the date card was a thin slice of wood stamped with their wedding information.

How great is that? Love it Cindy and thank you for including us on the mailing, it was fun to get amongst all the bills.

Wood is a great natural resource that can bring so much to your decor to keep things earthy and add texture.

Hand made signs, like our bride Amy used for her wedding, are a great way to personalize your directions.

If you can get your hands on some curly willow, early spring blossoms or some cool birch branches, you can make some amazing centerpieces for a fraction of the cost of flowers and yet a super creative and funky detail. Add birds, flowers, paper flowers, crystals or ribbon for extra flare.

Images courtesy of Flickr search of “branch centerpieces”

Hope that got your creative juices flowing. Got any ideas you care to share about using wood as a decoration?