Scene 3: “The Field”

ADDENDUM since posting: Some of you asked for full lyrics. Here they are. Song written by Dennis Jernigan.

I bless you with joy and peace and love that won’t let go. I bless you with grace and faith and fire in your soul. I bless you with dreams and visions most men don’t know of. i bless you with a deeper knowledge of our Fathers love.
I bless you with strength and power, grace through any trial. I bless you with wisdom and with comfort in your smile. I bless you with great adventures, journeys yet unknown. I bless you with hearts gone wild because you are His own.
I bless you with the heart of a warrior, grace to stand and fight, I bless you with brothers who will stand right by your side. I bless you with courage till the battles have been won, I bless you with the faith to hear your Father say “well done”.

CHORUS:
I bless you with joy and laughter, I bless you with a steadfast faith, I bless you with the hopes and the dreams that your heart goes after, I bless you with amazing grace.

This next one cracks me up….either we are really funny or we were confusing them with directions.

Beatrice was making her presence known.

These girls are amazing at pulling out vulnerable, beautiful looks.

A little out-take. Getting in this position for Lauren was a logistical feat. She had to balance against Kristin’s thigh which Kristin was a little too zealous to lend; tipping her over.

Much better.

Before we end with the adorable watermelon eating I just want to break to our two prop wenches that helped load and unload all over the property for us. These are not flattering shots but alas, we want to give honorable mention.

This is Kristin’s Adam working the pinwheel while frolicking with the horses.

and Lauren’s Adam taking a quick shot for Kristin’s sister.

These watermelon shots absolutely crack me up. The girls were starving by the end as it was a HOT, long five hours from start to finish. They devoured these watermelon slices in seconds.

Le sigh…..

Girls, I have said it a million times but THANK YOU! You exceeded each and every expectation I had for this shoot. We are so proud of the images and we are so pleased that these remind you of the blessing of pregnancy and friendship. We can’t wait to meet Violet and Beatrice in the upcoming months. Blessings!

So for a brief history of this shoot because it really came together in a few weeks….let me share. Ryan and I have known the extremely talented Adam Barnes for many years. Those of you long time fans may have seen the vintage editorial shoot we did of Adam and his wife Lauren about a year and a half ago. There is no denying Lauren’s incredible beauty, poise and style in photos. She was a DREAM to shoot. She took my ideas and RAN with them while purchasing her clothes and accessories….the shoot would not have been half as impactful without her eye for style and her incredible talent at hair and make up. It can also be noted that Lauren has the most beautiful heart too.

Fast forward to the present. Adam has a very talented and very beautiful associate photographer working for him named Kristin. I have gotten to know Kristin over the last year loosely through the internet and because she worked part time at the salon I get my hair done at…score. Talk about another beautiful woman both inside and out. Kristin and Lauren also happen to be great girlfriends AND they are just 5 weeks apart from having their first babies together!

So a similar itch started about a month ago to create a stylized shoot, rich in details, themed, but this time with women. We don’t boast that we are maternity photographers, in fact we tend to shy away from anything family, maternity or baby. But as a woman, mother and now an expectant mother again…..I am in total girl mode. I think I pondered the concept of this shoot for about a minute when Lauren and Kristin popped in to my head. Two great friends, similar stature, naturally photogenic, stylish, and TOTALLY into details……oh yes….this was it! I fired off an email to them both asking if they wanted to do this shoot with Ryan and I for funsies. I explained how I saw three different scenes in my head. One was going to totally be bright, kitchy, summertime…borderline gaudy bathing suit scene. The second scene was going to be more “glam”, an outdoor living room scene with stronger poses…more serious. The last was going to be at sunset…dreamy, soft, lots of back-lighting, sundresses, quilt-on-the-grass sort of deal.

Well they jumped right on board, a flurry of emails ensued, they went shopping, I went collecting props and well…..there you have it. A hot July evening on an abandoned farm, two gorgeous pregnant women, two husbands named Adam that did the heavy lifting, one husband named Ryan that was along for the ride to shoot and execute what was in my brain and one GIDDY Kelly watching it all come together.

Enjoy Scene One….”Summertime”

As far as props for this scene. The lawn chairs are ours. Those amazing pinwheels were a last minute find at Big Lots $7.99 each!! Mini pinwheels and popsicle bubbles are from Joanne Fabrics, straws are my children’s, and little stool is mine. I think I spent about $20 for this simple set up!

So the LIFE game was a little epiphany I had a few days before the shoot racking my brains about how to show they were having girls without all the stereotypical ways. We already owned the game so it was a free addition to the props pile. To my knowledge, I have not seen this before but I do know there is nothing new under the sun….so maybe you have. I don’t really hang out on maternity blogs!

Scene Two…”The Living Room”

Props were scored from two sources. One…Ryan’s full time job as a commercial photographer at Moore and Giles leather. The chairs, the full hide, even the distressed door and mantel are all props from his workplace..MAJOR SCORE! The vintage calendar pillow, some bottles, vases, candlesticks are all from my dear friend Sarah who refurbishes and sells at Solace Restoration. The ladder was found on the property.

Part Two coming soon…..

Both ladies are expecting “pink”! Little Beatrice will be joining Lauren and Adam in September. Little Violet will be joining Kristin and Adam (different Adam..I know it is confusing!) in August.

My friends and renovation specialists at Solace Restoration, loaned me this sign. This is a portion of a song of blessing we sing at our church. Ryan and I sing this song to our kids every night before bed. It is incredible.

To see Janie and The Brides Cafe posting on this shoot click here. To see Courtney and Little White Book posting on this shoot click here.

We had to give in and let them wear their coats. I mean we are humane :-)

Flowers by Janie Medley of JM Flora and The Brides Café

Styling by Courtney Spencer of Merriment Events and little white book

Dresses by Whirling Turban

Makeup by Erika Nixon of Makeup on Demand makupondemand@comcast.net

Cupcakes by Two Sweet

Pink feather fascinator by One Little Dove

It was a simple setting, simple concept….but Ellen’s classic beauty and the fact she bears an uncanny resemblance to her mother at the age her mom got married made the shoot so exciting.

This is her mom’s original veil. Doesn’t she look like you could pop her on top of a cake?

I wish I was there when she gave her mom all the pictures she printed. As her mom told me at the wedding, “Once I figured out it wasn’t me in the pictures and it was Ellen in my dress, I boo hooed myself all night.” That sounds like a gift well appreciated.