I was excited to meet up with Afia and Paul for their post-wedding portrait session together last week. They're both a lot of fun and easy to photograph, but I was also excited about the location of their portrait session. I had heard great things about Castleton Farms in Loudon, but it exceeded my expectations. This is my own public service announcement to anyone looking for the perfect wedding venue... set up an appointment to visit ASAP because their dates are going to book up fast!

Castleton Farms is located in rural Loudon, but the venue is contemporary and elegant. You get the beautiful scenery and privacy from being in the country with the amenities and sophistication of a modern, southern manor. They offer several ceremony and reception sites on the property (including a rustic barn if you really do want that farm feel), but my personal favorite is the vineyard. Especially with the fall colors beginning to show, it is just perfect for an outdoor wedding. Trust me. I've been to a lot of wedding venues, and this one is beautiful. I'm not even going to share photos of the grounds because I want everyone to go to their website and check it out.

Of course, after you book Castleton Farms then you should contact me because I'm excited to go back. I'll even offer a free bridal/couple session AND an engagement session to the first couple who books me to photograph their wedding at Castleton Farms and asks for the two free sessions!

Here are some favorite shots of Afia and Paul. We started out with photos in traditional outfits that Afia's parents brought from Africa.



Then we moved on to the traditional American clothes and Afia's gorgeous, long veil.





The bridal session is a great opportunity to wear a different hairstyle or personalize things with accessories from converse to cowboy boots. Afia actually wore these sexy, red shoes for the wedding too, but her wedding day bouquet was completely different. I'm happy that she went with a fun, red bouquet for these photos.

There's no need to spend a lot of money on a bouquet for a bridal or couple session. Some brides omit flowers from their portrait session altogether, but it is simple and inexpensive to put together a hand-tied DIY bouquet.



As much as I love a long veil, Afia's feather fascinator may have it beat. I wish that more brides would take a risk and wear a little birdcage veil or feather hairpiece. They're very retro and fashion-forward at the same time.

Congratulations to all of the couples who were married on 10/10/10! The gorgeous weather that we had on Sunday was perfect for weddings and for outdoor photography sessions like the combined engagement and family portraits that I did with Olivia Williams and Chris Shubert. I know that they are super anxious to see some of the photos so here's a sneak peek!

We started out with family photos of Olivia and Chris with their little man Liam. He's just 9-months-old and was a little unsure about being on the grass, but he really enjoyed just being outside with his parents.





At this age, babies are just as likely to flip over and suck on the grass as they are to smile up at a stranger with a camera. Happily, Chris's dad and Elmo were on hand to coax a few smiles out of Liam, but he wasn't in the mood for kisses.





Once Liam left with his grandpa, Olivia and Chris could focus all of their attention on each other, and things got a little more romantic.







For engagement and senior photos, it's nice to do an outfit change so that you get some pictures in casual clothes as well as some that are more formal. Bright, solid colors are also a good choice, and I love Olivia's dress. Chris is a car enthusiast so of course we also wanted to include his ride in a few shots.

I hadn't seen Natalie and Josh since I photographed their wedding in the fall of 2005, but I was delighted to meet up with them again recently for a photo session with their baby girl. Natalie writes an entertaining blog called Mommy Boots so I already knew how amazingly cute Nellie is, but I had no idea how sweet she would be. She was really so easy to work with. The most difficult thing about the whole session was trying to find a parking spot.

Newborn photos are really important because babies change so drastically and so quickly in those first months. However, I think that if you only do one baby session then the period of time between learning to sit up and actually crawling is probably the best. This is usually right around eight months which is why I recommend documenting the first year with milestone sessions at approximately birth, 4, 8, and 12 months instead of the more common 3, 6, and 9 month interval. This way you can get photos of your child when they begin holding their head up and smiling, when they are sitting on their own, and when they are taking their first steps.

When I found out that Nellie has started dragging herself on her stomach, I knew that we needed to do the photos soon because she'll be fully mobile in no time. Once that happens, she'll be off exploring her world non-stop, but for now she'll just sit and smile and laugh for the camera. Babies like this are a photographer's dream, and we ended up with some beautiful, expressive photographs.

I'm always looking for fun and creative ways to use photographs, and I think that these new ornaments from Mpix fit the bill. If you haven't heard of Mpix, it's my favorite online lab for consumers. They have better quality than what you get locally, and their shipping is fast so I recommend them to clients who purchase their high-resolution files.

I think that these would make great gift tags for Christmas. Knowing how much people love photographs, the ornaments will probably be around longer than the actual gift you attach it to!

Of course if you're wanting to order some of these and don't have a great, recent photograph then it's not too late to schedule a fall portrait session. Just email me or fill out the form on my website.

I don't make it up to Cades Cove nearly as much as I used to, but Robbie and Brooke came down from West Virginia for their session and wanted to do their engagement photos in the Smoky Mountains. We started early in the morning hoping to avoid the heat and traffic but ended up with both about halfway through the loop. We had fun though and were happy to finish before the afternoon rain showers moved in.

I've known Brooke her whole life (our mamaws were sisters), and I am so happy for her to have found such a great guy to share her life with. I'm looking forward to their wedding next summer (if they'll ever decide on a location!) and am honored to be their wedding photographer.

Engagement session tips:
Bring several outfit changes. Even if you don't wear them all, it is always nice to have options. After it got warm, Brooke was happy to trade her sweater for a short-sleeved shirt. Also, be sure not to leave anything behind because the loop is one way (and it is too far to drive back around for a shirt or a pair of socks). Finally, always look ahead of you when running through the woods. I learned that one after coming within inches of stepping on a big snake!

Here are a few of my favorite photographs from the day.