I'm a published wedding and portrait photographer located in a small town outside of Charlottesville. In addition to capturing beautiful images, I love spending time with my family, am freakishly good at word games (Hey Wheelmobile!), love an ice cold can of Coke or Dr. Pepper, know every line to Hocus Pocus and can never pass up a Chick-fil-A waffle fry or a trip to HomeGoods.

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Richmond Area Weddings, Virginia Weddings, Weddings

January 3, 2019

Winter Wedding Inspiration | Part One | Cousiac Manor

I’m not a cold weather girl, but I love a winter wedding. I know that’s a contradiction, but there’s something about a bride in sleeves and (faux!) fur that I love as well as the rich jewel tones that are often found in winter weddings. Winter weddings tend to be all about burgundy, deep blues and emerald greens. The colors are gorgeous.

One of the things I love to do in the off season is focus on education which includes participating in styled shoots. Styled shoots, or inspiration shoots, allow me to be creative, practice skills and try new things whether it be posing, the arrangement of details or more technical things like settings and lenses that aren’t my usual go-tos. I also get to experience new venues that I haven’t photographed at before and work with vendors that I haven’t worked with before.

This shoot, which was hosted by Crystal Belcher Photography and Shelley Bordner Photography, is one of my favorite. It featured the beautiful Cousiac Manor which is right on the water and has a great mix of rustic and historic. The manor house was built in 1746, but the Rose Mallow Barn is a newer installation with large sliding doors along the side and in the front. It’s a great space.

Ruth, of Raise the Ruth Events, styled the shoot with rentals from Nathaniel’s Unique Events and florals from Black Creek Flowers. Love notes from Laura Perry Studio complimented the place settings and Cindy’s Cakery designed a gold-dripped cake. The invitation suite was created by Paper Dolls Design. Cameron B. Carson and Jena Williams provided makeup and hair respectively.

Because there were two separate models and looks, I’ve split the shoot into two parts. Up first is Kaitlin. Kaitlin’s floral crown and bouquet perfectly matched the burgundy cardigan she wore with her dress. She also had the most perfect glitter Christian Louboutins. They were stunning.