Last week we met up with Lindsay and Patrick at Traveler’s Rest for their engagement session.  I’ve discovered that being a new mom has made me incredibly efficient as we soared through the session in record time!  I had help though – these two are naturals!  With her adorable laugh and his endearing smile, these two could take over the world! :0)  We’re looking forward to shooting their wedding later this year!  Thanks you guys! :0)

Friends and family have been chastising us for not getting more photos of the little man online so here are a few from his first Easter.  Now, for those of you from the South, you’ll understand this without me having to explain.  For those who aren’t, let’s just say that Southerners love their traditions and we must carry them out, even when it’s silly.  It’s our way.  Silly traditional must #1 – Every child gets an Easter basket on Easter.  I realize he was only 5 weeks old and completely incapable of understanding that it was a day of any significance or appreciating a single thing in his Easter basket, but I simply had to make one.  I would have felt like a failure of a parent if my child didn’t have an Easter basket on Easter!  So here he is, with his Easter spoils, thoroughly enthralled with his fist…

Silly traditional must #2 – The Easter Outfit.  The night before Easter I tested poor Sean’s patience as we drove around to 3 stores to find the perfect Easter outfit.  I like little man clothes – not baby clothes – and it’s harder than you might think to find something for a newborn boy without a puppy on it.  I did manage to find what I was looking for though.  I spent a ridiculous amount on an outfit that he won’t fit into for any amount of time at all and as of Easter Sunday, the pants fell off of him every time you picked up him, and the socks had disappeared by the time we took this photo, but we had the “little man” Easter outfit!  I couldn’t find a cute newsboys hat to go with it and felt so completely obsessive about having one that I stayed up until midnight making one.  Oh yes – I am that silly about my silly traditions and getting them just right!

Silly traditional must #3 – The Easter Sunday Family Coordination Project.  If you know us at all, you know that we hate matching and so the whole color coordinated family event thing is just so not us. — But it’s tradition! :0)  It’s a must and hence we decked out in all our brown and blue combo glory!  I did at least mix up the hues so as not to look like something straight out of Stepford.  My blue even looks a little more green in these pictures thus saving face slightly for us in the eyes of those who think I’m crazy.  Between you and me though, I assure you we were very matchy-matchy.

We topped off the silly tradition list by going to have a big Easter lunch with my best friend’s family and watching the older kids run around the yard looking for eggs.  It was a perfect first family Easter.  Here we are, for our final Easter traditional must:  the Face-Forward-And-Smile Easter Family Photo – preferable somewhere near a flower bed or on your front porch. :0)  As you can see we are slightly tired and less slightly overweight, but we feel so fortunate to be able to be those things as a family and carry out our first family traditions.

We hope you all had an equally perfect Easter and thanks for letting me share ours with you. :0)  I leave you with my most recent favorite image of our little Seven.  Have a great week everyone! – Mel

There is something to be said for small, family-only weddings.  When Greta and Michael finished getting ready for the ceremony, that was the time for the ceremony to start.  No big agenda, no running late or waiting for things to start.  What a novel idea! :0)  They were married in the presence of their immediate families outside of the Cool Springs House on a beautiful spring day.  The ceremony was a sweet, intimate reflection of their love for each other and the reception to follow, with more family and lots of friends, was a beautiful reflection of how much they are loved!  Congratulations Michael and Greta!  Here’s to a lifetime of happiness for the two of you!

It’s probably a very good thing that Sean and I are already married because if we were getting married today, I would have SUCH a hard time deciding what kind of wedding I want!  When we shoot a vintage themed wedding I think that’s what I’d like, then we shoot a small country wedding and that seems perfect, but then we shoot a huge elaborate city affair and I think “this is for me!”  Yes, it’s a beautiful thing to be already married and have all of those decisions behind us! :0)  If they weren’t, I would have been taking lots of notes at David and Omaira’s wedding!  I can’t wait to share more details from their day later on!  The colors were so rich, the setting was so perfectly modern and quirky, and the details were just gorgeous!  Check out our super sexy Bride and Groom and wedding party and you’ll get a glimpse of what I’m talking about!

David and Omaira – the wedding was exquisite and so were you!  We expected nothing less! :0)  Congratulations to you both!

Every couple’s lifetime spent together starts with the dating relationship.  That’s why I love engagement sessions.  It’s the documentation of the first chapter of a life together.  One half of this particular couple is someone Sean and I have had the pleasure of knowing for quite some time.

Michael was a dear friend in our high school days.  A group of us spent the summer after our senior year going to movies and it was through Michael and his love of motion pictures, that I came to truly appreciate the artistic nature of films.  He opened my eyes to the symbolism, the visual poetry, and all of the little stylized choices made by the directors that I had previously overlooked and I have never watched movies the same.  Thanks Michael. :0)

When Sean and I got engaged, Michael was one of the first people I called because I knew that I wanted his artistic eye for our wedding videography and even though it’s not really his thing, he graciously agreed to film it for us.  That video is still today one of our most treasured possessions!  We were so happy to reconnect all these years later and find Michael so completely in love with Greta, the most beautiful and sweet young woman you could ever meet! :0)  Their wedding is sure to be absolutely precious and we count ourselves lucky to have been asked to be a part of it!

Here are a few of my favorites from their engagement session, marking the end of our maternity leave and the kick-start of our journey into being both business people and parents.  Wish us luck! ;0)