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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virginia weddings
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northern VA and DC Weddings
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For brides
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Despite COVID still being a thing (seriously, go away already!), 2021 was a year filled with big moments, beautiful weddings, fantastic portrait sessions, a few styled shoots and so much fun.
First, this is the year I welcomed my second daughter, Hensley Bernice. This girl came right on her due date, which happened to also be Thanksgiving, and has completed our family. Hartley absolutely adores her and she’s also a wedding pro, having attended every single wedding I captured this year. Being pregnant throughout my entire wedding season was definitely an experience, but we rocked it. If she starts doing the Cupid Shuffle before walking I won’t be surprised.
Hartley had an epic fourth birthday party. This girl always requests two things for her birthday–an ice cream truck and donuts. She had both. Plus, we were at the beach for her actual birthday so she spent the day playing in the sand and chasing waves. We also visited the beach two other times this year–once for a long weekend in the off-season and then for a week with my family in Emerald Isle. We took Buddy on the EI trip and he experienced the beach for the first time.
From April to October, I captured the weddings of amazing couples with my second shooter extraordinaire Ron. I could honestly fill an entire blog post with behind the scenes shots of him, especially with his veil tossing skills. He’s got it down.
Ruth and Zach
There were also tons of fun portrait sessions–maternity sessions, family sessions including large families vacationing at Shenandoah Crossings, an adoption, birthday sessions and more.
I also visited two venues I hadn’t been to before for styled shoots–Renback Barn in Madison and Rillhurst Farm in Culpeper. If you’re looking for a wedding venue, these are both great options.
With the year ending in just a few days, I’m thankful for all of my couples, families, sessions and more. I’m also thankful for my family (not sure it has set in yet that I’m a mother of two) and all we’ve experienced this year. I’m sad to be starting the new year without Buddy who passed away days after Christmas, but I’m hopeful that 2022 will bring an end to the COVID craziness and contain many more wonderful moments.
