Katie and Chris's beautiful wedding, outshone the rain. Their day was beautiful, unexpected and perfect.
A huge thank you to Lindsey Orton for being my fabulous 2nd shooter.
Bride's Dress: Jenny Packham Venue: Alta Lodge Groom's Suit: J. Crew Florist: Kandyce Carrol
For the latest installation of our Love Elements series, Allison, of Late Fete, and I wanted something simple, happy, and bright! It's this time of winter when Spring might technically be closer, but it feels very, very far away. We thought it would be fun to play with color and pattern, and the results are so shiny and colorful. It makes my heart sing, to see such happy colors.
From Allison, "This is that time of year where we long for the warmth of sun on our faces, flowers as far as the eyes can see, juicy strawberries and color - lots of it! We truly believe, as Audrey Hepburn said, "happy girls are the prettiest girls" and this was the case with our beautiful and sweet model Alex Pynes. She embodies happiness. For this collaboration, we wanted to do a "trompe l'oie"and layer fabric and bright floral together because really sometimes we are surprised by a love that has been there all along, right in front or our eyes."
I think I love these pictures even more, knowing that it was snowing and freezing, hahaha! And we made a last minute background change, literally 5 minutes before the shoot. The best laid plans...
florals: La Fete, Model: Alex Pynes
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest and the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy:
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.
-Kahlil Gibran The Prophet
I love this sweet family, and so happy their long awaited boy is now here! Congratulations Mallory and Josh!
Love Elements Evergreen ~ Snow ~ Winter Crowns
I'm going to be 100% honest here, this shoot was intense! Sometimes, somethings, throw you for a loop, and this happened to be one of them. It was cold, it was snowy, it was dangerous driving, there were equipment malfunctions and dead car batteries. And despite all the crazy, there were four beautiful girls, and four beautiful hair wreaths, three cold mama's, who were worried about the cold babies, and a whole bunch of Christmas Tree Lot Dude's, who thought we were absolutely nutsos.
Sometimes that's just how life goes, and I'd like to say I always weather that storm with clear eyes, and a peaceful heart, but truth be told, my mind goes a million miles per minute, my heart starts beating even harder, and I might get a little flustered from time to time. But despite it all, I think this is one of the most satisfying shoots. There's something to say for being proud, when your vision needs to change suddenly. Like that cute, vintage sled I had? Yeah, we scrapped that. Hot chocolate, soon became cold chocolate. Life happens, sometimes in the middle of a shoot. BUT, Allison, who as always, completely wins with beauty and awesomeness, made the most beautiful wreaths, was my rock, when I needed calm, and ran back and forth providing blankets and warmth and love. And her beautiful words (which you should read over here,) convey the truth of our intentions and the magic, I'm proud to say, I think we still accomplished.
A huge thanks to Sophie, Chloe, Zoee and Nora!
Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope that if this season has been a bit hectic, crazy, and not exactly as planned, that we can all enjoy with our families these precious days, and enjoy the magic that is the season!
Florals: La Fete, Allison Baddley
Sometimes you get lucky enough to meet a kindred soul, a la Anne of Green Gables style. I'm so lucky to have met Allison Baddley, owner of La Fete Floral and Events. Allison is an amazing talent, and we have been collaborating together on a little project called, Love Elements. The premise is simple. We want to create simple, beautiful inspiration, based off of three elements. For our first shoot, we wanted to focus on wheat, persimmon, and gold. Allison says it beautifully below. A huge thank you to Laura Miller, of You Doll Design for the calligraphy, and Beckie Winston, of Maison Confisserie and Boutique for the beautiful jewelry. Read below to read Allison's eloquent description.
For our first Love elements collaboration, we were inspired by the word “Gather” and wanted to showcase autumn’s natural bounty. We liked the idea of gathering a big bouquet of golden wheat straight from nature, so obvious to us our first element was going to be - WHEAT.
From there, we decided that we would like a natural looking model with wheat colored hair in a simple wheat colored dress. We liked the idea of using her natural beauty with a pop of orange red on her lips and darling orange booties. Our thoughts again went to the rich colorful fruits of the season and our 2nd element came to mind - PERSIMMON.
Even though the model is a natural beauty, we still wanted to add some sparkle to our shoot and we looked to Beckie Winston, the owner of Maison Confisserie & Boutique for something delicate and pretty that represented the gold found in autumn. She donated the simple, yet amazing earrings and bracelets for the shoot and we decided that they represented our last element perfectly – GOLD.
The love element story – Everything about our story was inspired by our 3 Love elements. We decided that the Utah Mountains were the perfect setting because the backdrop is breathtakingly stunning this time of year. Also, we instantly thought of the sweet and beautiful Elizabeth Pynes to use as our model. She has never modeled before and has such a sweet quality about her because, believe it or not, she has no idea how beautiful she is. The story follows the simple path of a young girl in love. She is out for an autumn stroll with the intent of gathering nature’s harvest. Along the way, she gathers a bountiful bushel of golden wheat and also makes an autumnal bouquet and adorns her hair with flowers.
Credits: Florist: Allison Baddley/La Fete, Calligrapher: Laura Miller/You Doll Design, Jewelry: Maison Confiserie et Boutique
I first met Elyse when she was 14, and I was newly married. I was so honored to share in Elyse and David's beautiful, beautiful, day. These two together are magic.
Beautiful flowers by Tinge Floral.
Dear Lucy,
Yesterday you turned four. I know you were worried if it would meet all your hopes and dreams. You talked about it every day for an entire year, planning what you wanted, who would come, what we would eat. You talked about what you would get me for my birthday, and Dad, and what kind of cake I wanted, and I could have anything in the whole world! I know you were worried because we were doing it small this year, and no big party, and you didn't know what it meant. And Mom and Dad were worried, because your present got lost in the mail, and we did a last minute scramble the night before. But you were your sweet, silly, happy self. Everything was so exciting! The pink cake, with strawberries and sprinkles, "So pretty mom!" The Princess Barbies? Your favorite! How did we know? I was given a million kisses, a million hugs, and told, "Thank you for the best birthday ever! I love you so much." And that is why it's such a priviledge to surprise you, love you, shower you with happiness. Lucy, you are a ray of sunshine, that beams a million pink sparkles on this family. You worry about us, and if we are all happy. You draw me pictures, every single day, because you want to be a painter artist, and you love to give presents. You pick me flowers every day, and gather leaves, and rocks. You wear pink, on pink, on pink! You make friends wherever you go, and babies and dogs, are your special loves. When we go the park, you ask, so politely, of every dog owner, if you can pet their puppy. And then you kneel, and gently pat them. You want to see every baby, and make them smile. Lucy, you approach every day with the adventure it holds, constantly saying, "I just can't believe how lucky I am!"
We love you so much Baby Girl, even though you wont let me call you my baby. Thank you for coming into this world, and being mine. For teaching me daily that life is beautiful and grand. That it is meant to be explored and most importantly, loved, with absolute abandonment.
Coming soon to a blog near you! Katie and Chris's rainy, romantic groomal session up in Alta. These two are amazing!
Katie's Dress: The Brides Shop
Laura and Bryce had the loveliest of summer weddings! Garden Park Ward holds a special place in my heart, and I loved Laura's dark cream, fitted lace, dress. She looked amazing, and together Laura and Bryce were so wonderfully happy. Carolyn May, of May Flowers, did such a beautiful job on the flowers. The bouquets are so happy and festive. Some of my favorite details were the snow cones, homemade cake, by Laura herself, and the decorations, which Laura's sweet family designed and put together. But even better than pretty decorations and an amazing cake, are two people in love. Just warms my heart, I tell you!
Congratulations Laura and Bryce!
Wedding Gown: NordstromsGroom's Suit: Men's Warehouse Floral: May Flowers Catering: Utah Celebrations Shaved Ice: Frost Bite Ceremony: Salt Lake Temple Reception: Garden Park Ward
My heart explodes a little when I see these images. I love them so much. Life should be filled with adventure and love. I was reading, somewhere, that happiness comes from trying new things. Putting yourself in uncomfortable situations, where the outcome isn't a guarantee. The adventure is the spice, the challenge that broadens your horizon. That's how I feel about these. So many adventures here, with beautiful, wild souls. That wraps up our Mountain Elopement! See the other installments here and here. Thank you Kate Lovell, Valen Hunter, Kali Chris and Rachel and Blake. Muah! Muah! Muah! I think I owe Rachel and Blake a lifetime of hot chocolate. For reals.
Part two of our collaborative, mountain elopement. It doesn't get any sweeter or simpler than a girl, a boy...a dog.
Stylist: Kate Lovell Florist: Valen Hunter, Flower Afternoon MUA: Kali Chris Models: Rachel Howell and Blake Balkman
Part one, of a lovely mountain elopement; starring Rachel and Blake, and Doug, the dog.
A huge thank you to Valen Hunter from Flower Afternoon for the florals, Kate Lovell as the amazing stylist, and Kali Chris for hair and make-up. And of course, Rachel and Blake, and Doug! I love this sweet and simple story.
I haven't done a Lucy post in so very long. Life has been full, and busy, and crazy. And some days, we just barely survive until the next. But look at my girl. My.heart.is.melting. This year has been a learning experience as parents. We have learned that we don't need to push her quite as much as we have. When she is ready to go down the big slide, she will. And when she wants to put her head under water at the swimming pool, she will do that too. And once she decides, that's that. She's a fish, she's a big/kid/slide aficionado.
The same with ballet. Her very first day she cried and cried. She didn't want to wear the tights. She wouldn't put on her shoes. And I wondered, what is doing right by her. Should I push her. Should I wait a little bit longer? What's the balance between wanting the very best, and knowing, she will soon love a thing, and giving her space and time to figure her world out on her own.
One of my favorite Lucy moments ever was the Christmas ballet performance. She was a bear. She stood the entire time, while the class performed around her. And then, at the very, very end, running back to behind the curtain, Lucy Bear did a little skip. I almost died of laughing. That little skip, will forever be in my heart.
And here she is now. A big sister. Growing out her hair. Trying new adventures. My sleeping beauty lover, pink fanatic, who calls seeds siths and makes her brother laugh like there is no tomorrow. The girl who tells me I'm doing a really good job, when I struggle to figure out how to do a bun, and tells me she loves my red hair so much. She is my free spirit, twirling to her own song. The one who waives at mom and dad during her performance, follows each step, with a big grin on her face, and walks into the curtain on the way off the stage, from pure excitement.
Lucy, Lucy, Lucy, you are my joy song. My wild heart.
Winter was long, long, long this year. Although it is already becoming a bit of a memory, I know I can't be the only one who feels that way. And while the sun was hiding behind a bitter, (BITTER!) inversion cloud, I decided I would get out and explore, once warmth made it's annual, blessed, reappearance. This was the result of a collaboration, on one beautiful March day. Specifically, I was interested in light and shade, and the emotion created by the imperfect use of both, but I may have gotten a little distracted by Mallory's hair. Just.A.Little.
So here are the results of one sunny day with two good friends! Thank you Mikki and Mallory for being such lovely people. Check out Mikki's version of our shoot here. I love seeing another creative's point of view. And for the record, I just love these girls.
I'm not going to lie, I was a bit nervous when, "boy," was unceremoniously proclaimed at 20 weeks. I didn't know boy. I knew girl. The last 18 months, with our three-year-old Lucy, have been an excess of pink, princess, pink, and more pink. I'm used to a bit of drama, and lots of opinions on what we are wearing, and I have a love-love-love relationship with my Lucy girl, that centers my whole world. She brushes my hair, and hugs me close, and we tell stories all day long. How would I ever be a good mom to a little boy? Although I'm the oldest of six kids, the girls all came first, and that's what I'm most familiar with. I'm not sure the territory that boys rule. Would I love my boy as much as I love my girl? Could my heart be big enough for another child? Would I be enough for him? Would he be enough for me?
And then he came. And he was perfect. He was so much more than perfect. He was exactly what I needed, to mend a heart still sore from a year filled with worry and hurt. I had prayed for a family, for so very long. I had yearned for a sibling for Lucy, and another baby to hold, and love. I had longed for him forever, and here he was. With a beautifully dimpled chin, and a full head of hair, blue-eyes (where did those come from) that look for me, wherever he is. He is my sweet, sweet baby, my love. And for the first six weeks, I never put him down. I wanted to constantly nestle, smoosh, munch on, and make him all completely mine. Of course, he isn't just mine, he's ours, but I learned something the moment I first held him. Our hearts can love more than we can prepare for. They are just waiting to expand and fill it's secret parts with love.
I can't get enough of my Jack. His grunt-laugh, his bright smile, the way he launches himself into my arms, and lets his sister man-handle him night and day. The way he will only fall asleep with me, snuggled in and cozy. I pray that I will be good enough for him. I want to teach him to be a good and kind boy, and a good and kind man. That compassion is a gift, not to be ashamed of and that strength is a blessing. I want him and Lucy to be best friends. I want them to know how lucky they are to have each other. She will protect him and he will protect her. As Lucy says, we are family. He might be my last baby, although I'm not ready to think of that yet. But either way, I give thanks every day, for the joy that is Jack. For the sweetness, and pureness. For his love. For his ability to make us all a little happier, and definitely a little tireder :) I take the bit of hard, with the whole world of good, and love him with all my heart.
It's hard for me to justify personal work these days. I have a newborn, a busy three-year-old, a husband, my clients, a crazy home that's always messy, and a million other things that are more pressing, needing my immediate attention.
But it's been a long, cold winter, and I needed to break out and experiment a little. A little push on the borders is good and necessary. And so I did, and these are just a peak.
Thank you Mallory and Mikki for being my co-conspirators!
Lucy and I were recently invited to the sweetest Valentine's Day Party. Megan, from Sweet Little Peanut, is just one super-talented, super-organized, super-creative momma. She put together such a darling party, and Lucy can't stop talking about it (especially, the entire bag of candy she snuck into her skirt.) The kids gave Valentine's, drank pink milk, frosted cookies, and stole kisses. Thank you so much Megan for such a great day! And check out Sharstin's cute littles. These kids were too much!
If you haven't checked out Sweet Little Peanut, you need to, stat! I have bookmarked every single Valentine's Day craft.
Sharstin and Megan, hard at work!
A couple of weeks ago I was invited to photography the sweetest little Valentine's Day Party! Here's a little peak, but there is plenty more to see over at Sweet Little Peanut's Blog! If you are familiar with Utah Bride Blog and Pink Piggy Design, then you will recognize the fabulous Megan Bailey, who is the creator of Sweet Little Peanut.
Lucy and I had the best time! Also, check out Sharstin Miller's cute little kiddies! So fun!
Today was a hard day, but we will always be grateful for the five years we had with Oliver. He was and is, my first dog. And my first experience with truly unselfish love. He lived to be a part of our family, and his sweet gift to us will never be forgotten.
Today, we tried to make him as comfortable as possible, love him, and convey just how much it has meant to have him be in our family. Lucy told Oliver stories about doggies that felt happy and not sick any more. She told me not to cry, she promises it will be okay.
It already feels lonely, without his loud tail thump, and happy face to greet us. If you have ever had a pet, I think you know what today was for us. Scott always told me I'd have a really hard day in twelve years, but today we had a really hard one in five. Life isn't always fair, but we are forever grateful that we chose this dog, the one that constantly got stopped for his handsome doggy looks, and happy, sweet personality. Five years ago, on Valentine's day, I gave Scott our sweet Ollie, and our life hasn't been the same since.
The inspiration for this shoot was born in the middle of last winter, when it was cold and grey, and I was yearning for sun and color. It was executed on a hot day last June, surrounded by forest fires, with ash falling on our heads. From start to finish, this was a project of love and I can honestly say this body of work, is some of my proudest. I wanted to challenge myself, and in the process had the amazing blessing of working with some of the most beautiful and talented women around. I can't say enough thank you's to Sarah Winward, Jayne Swallow, Melissa Blackburn and April Benincosa for their talent, friendship, and incredible collaboration! A huge thank you to Mari and Blake for being our beautiful models and to my husband, Scott, for making 6 dozen bundt cakes, being the heavy lifter, U-haul driver, and all-around, wonderful supporter that he is. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
And I'm so excited to share that this shoot is featured in the current edition of Utah Bride and Groom! Thank you Val for the beautiful feature! There are so many wonderful articles and beautiful weddings in this issue! I'm honored to be a part of such an amazing magazine and collection of work.
Surprise! They have a baby! How cute are they? 
Sarah Winward: Honey of a Thousand Flowers Jayne Swallow: October Ink Melissa Blackburn, fine dressmaking and design April Benincosa: Vintage Rouge Location: Phelps Berry Farm