It’s that time of year! 2018 is here and as I jump into another amazing year I wanted to go back and show you the best moments from 2017. This blog will included the best weddings, elopements, travel and couple sessions from 2017. Unfortunately I don’t have room to show you all the amazing engagement sessions, family, newborn and portrait sessions from this year. I’m so thankful for such an amazing year, all the wonderful couples I met, the love I witnessed and the new places I got to explore this year. I hope you enjoy scrolling through! I’ll tell you a little bit about each wedding, elopement and adventure session as we go as well as links to vendors I worked with and loved. Some of these sessions and weddings haven’t even been released yet so enjoy the sneak peak. 🙂

 

This winter elopement in the heart of the Adirondacks definitely had to be on my list of the best of the best! The Adirondacks has a special place in my heart because my grandparents owned a house on the lake when I was a little girl and we spent a lot of summers and Christmas holidays there. It’s one of my favorite places in the world. Together with a dream team of vendors we made beautiful magic despite the frigid cold. If you’re planning a wedding near the Adirondacks do yourself a favor and check out these amazing vendors.

http://bloomsforrooms.biz/

https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/kate-taylor-events-and-weddings-queensbury/4144c1f4e449728c.html

https://www.weddingwire.com/biz/kate-taylor-events-and-weddings-queensbury/4144c1f4e449728c.html

http://www.sweetcarolinestyles.com/

http://deliciouslydifferentspecialtyitems.com/

http://www.jimbosclub.com/

https://thefoxandstone.com/

 

I adore in home sessions for how intimate and fun they are. Salina and Kyle’s was SO fun, we made nachos, jumped on the bed, Kyle serenaded Salina, and there was a pillow fight! It was for sure an memorable part of 2017. One of my favorite parts of my job is getting to see who my couples are, their genuine selves. It gives me such a thrill to witness their vulnerable and awesome selves. I strongly believe more married couples should book in home sessions, so if this seems like fun to you reach out and let’s plan something!

My time with Katy and Luke at Philadelphia Magic Gardens had to be on this list! If you’ve never been to the Magic Gardens plan a trip! It’s really other worldly and insanely gorgeous! If you’re a fan of art you will definitely enjoy every second. They also host weddings so if you want to have your wedding here you can and trust me you want to! If I were to get a Magic Gardens wedding inquiry in my inbox I wouldn’t mind. 😉

Yeah I know this bohemian wanderlust styled elopement is insanely gorgeous, it still gives me goosebumps! It definitely speaks to my gypsy soul and I know it will to all the other gypsy souls out there. This day was made possible by so many amazing vendors. If you are in the midst of wedding planning right now you need to check these awesome people out! Vendors —
Event Designer: Patchwork Planning
Venue: Wise Woodin Estates
Floral Designer: Ambiance Event Planning & Floral Designs
Cake Designer: Lola Dessert Shoppe
Dress Designer: Sweet Caroline
Stationery Designer: Flourish Grace Calligraphy
Hair & Makeup: Modern Edge Salon
Rentals: Forget Me Not Vintage Rentals Inc.
Jewelry: The Fox And Stone

 

This moody ballerina bridal in Washington D.C. was so dreamy. I was in town for an engagement session and had the chance to meet up with some incredible vendors to create this magic! D.C. brides be sure to check out these amazing vendors!

http://www.riley-weddings.com/   

https://www.spacezdc.com/ajax/

https://www.greenworksflowers.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiAj53SBRBcEiwAT-3A2Edkkta2ChaOM6rAbMOGqKR-453Qx8PoDxXORjQ0RAndx_OBXKPcCBoCJiYQAvD_BwE

http://www.estylojewelry.com/

http://www.trumpetandhorn.com/

http://amiedeckerbeauty.com/

http://www.couturebyposhbridal.com/

https://www.fluffness.com/

 

 

 

Coffee Shop Elopement! How could this not be included! This is every coffee loving, hipster, romantics dream. It came together so perfectly and I can’t wait to photograph another coffee shop elopement! Seriously, more people elope in coffee shops please! Here are the awesome vendors involved, be sure to check them out if you’re planning your wedding right now.

Planner ~ Patchwork Planning ~ http://www.patchworkplanning.com

Vintage Rentals ~ Forget Me Not Vintage Rentals ~ https://www.forgetmenotvintageinc.com/

Stationery/Signage ~ Flourish Grace Calligraphy ~ http://www.flourishgracecalligraphy.com/

Florist ~ Ambiance Floral Design ~ http://www.ambiance-ep.com/

Hair and Make Up Artist ~ Studio Rd & Co ~ Studio Rd & Co

Venue ~ Duffy’s Coffee House ~ www.Duffyscoffeehouse.com

Band ~ Apex ~ www.bmha.org

Jewelry ~ Nespoli’s ~ www.nespolijewelers.com

Makeup ~ Kelly Jordan

This intimate garden wedding at the Morning Glory Inn in Pittsburgh still pulls at my heartstrings. Stephanie and Max were wed with just around 50 of their closest friends and family. It was so heartwarming, they married each other, had their siblings and friends read poetry and play music. And after they said I do their family went around giving tearjerking toasts. There was not a dry eye among us. What an incredibly sweet couple they are, my life is better for knowing them.

This adventurous elopement was for sure one of the highlights of the year. Jeremy and Erin’s love for each other is so apparent and sweet. Jeremy just dotes on her and Erin’s unique humor and love for him was so awesome to witness. We laughed, cried, hiked and then went back to their house to enjoy some snuggles with their cats. Now that’s my idea of a perfect elopement. 🙂

Laura and Tyler’s Woodloch Pines wedding was gorgeous! They were wed lakeside with many tears, laughter and so much stunning light! Laura and Tyler were my first wedding of many in May. They were also one of the most grateful and sweet couples I’ve ever worked with. Laura was an unbelievably gorgeous bride, I just adored her stunning dress. To all my PA brides if you’re considering getting married in the Poconos be sure to put Woodloch Pines on your list to check out.

Chris and Hannah’s woodland wedding was an absolute dream! My heart is happiest in the mountains and woods so I was quite at home on this magical day. Hannah was such a stunning bride! I get so many comments and compliments on her bridal portraits and all I can say is she really is just that gorgeous.

May was a huge month for me this year. Weddings, elopements and then this sweet in home anniversary session of my sister and brother in law. Now I know they are related to me and therefore I’m biased but come on, how sticking adorable are these two! There are few feelings that can compete with knowing your sister is married to a good man.

Megan and Evan flew me out to New Orleans for their engagement session and we just had a BLAST! New Orleans is not only stunning but the culture there is just amazing. You can just be walking down the street and hear so many live bands playing. There is seriously always music playing somewhere which made this music lover so thrilled. It was really hot and sticky but so worth it for the gorgeousness I witnessed. I saw a lot more alligators than I cared to but the swamps are so stunning that it’s worth it. Can’t wait to go explore New Orleans again!

I know this looks like an elopement but it’s actually an engagement session. Ashley was so stunning in her dress and hair do that she did look like a bride. We hiked quite a bit and watched crazy boys and men jumping off really tall rocks into the water. Then we ended the session with Daniel getting into a lumberjack outfit and you guys, I laughed so hard. Such an fun couple, their real wedding is on this list too. 🙂

July had a lot of travel this year for me. In the beginning of July I flew to California for this adventurous and intimate wedding just outside of Yosemite National Park. Nicolas and Amanda celebrated their love with just about 50 of their closest friends and family. I also love intimate weddings with adventurous couples. It’s seriously one of my favorite kinds of weddings to photograph.

After I got home from California I had two days before I flew out to Ireland for a honeymoon session and to meet up with some friends for an adventurous workshop. Ireland is everything you dream it is, gorgeous, amazing people, awesome music, pure magic. I loved this trip so much and was definitely one of my absolute favorite parts of 2017.

Once I landed in Ireland I met up with these two lovebirds in Dublin for their honeymoon session. I braved through driving around Dublin and still consider that one of my greatest accomplishments of the year, hahaha! Dublin is an awesome city and although I didn’t enjoy driving in it I loved exploring it!

I met up with some awesome photographer friends and I suggested heading to this gorgeous Abbey for a couple session as my friend who was in Ireland a couple months earlier told me I had to check out Corcomroa Abbey. I’m so glad she did because it was definitely one of Ireland’s many treasures and after this session we all stopped for chocolate at Hazel Mountain Chocolate for the most delicious desserts ever. This day seriously couldn’t of had more irish charm than it did, it was chock full of it.

Now this session has a really special place in my heart. The Cliffs of Moher are my happy place and there is no better match for their beauty than Savannah and Wayland’s love. I mean, seriously, how beautiful are these two and their love for each other?! If I could think of one moment I would like to relive over and over from this year it would be this one.

A bridal session in the heart of Galway with Anne Of Green Gables influences?! Heck yes that’s on my list of best of the best! I haven’t even blogged this one yet and I can’t wait to show you more of it! I loved every second of my stay in Galway, the musical pubs, yummy food and the overall feel of the city was just an incredible experience.

This bridal sessions at Ross Castle in their gorgeous gardens was one of my favorite parts of this House Of Flynn Workshop. I am still swooning over all the gorgeousness! Ross Castle was such an amazing place to stay and I’m forever grateful to HOF for making the arrangements for us all to stay there. I felt like I walked into a Jane Austen novel.

Okay but my second favorite part of Ireland was this Lord Of The Rings inspired Elven Wedding shoot. If you know me at all you know I’m the biggest LOTRs fan out there. So I just about died over this one. I mean how could you not?! These gorgeous dark woods and that absolutely perfect wedding invitation set! Seriously dying with excitement!

Once I got home from Ireland I had time for a nights sleep and then was off to another wedding. I was 100% exhausted but it was 100% worth it for this beautiful day. It was full of such genuine love all around, from Caroline and Conor’s love for each other to their family and friends love for them. There were tears and laughter but most of all a lot of dancing and fun. Most certainly a memorable part of 2017.

Julie and Matt’s engagement sessions at Grey Towers was an absolute fairytale. For real, at their wedding their friends and family kept coming up to me and telling me that their engagement photos were so magical. It’s all because of their sweet love and I’ll touch more on that later as their wedding day is definitely on this list too.

Another amazing intimate wedding, can you tell I have a heart for intimate weddings? Katy and Luke’s woodland wedding was a dream. It was simple, stylish and radiant. Katy’s dress was the absolute perfect choice for this woodsy wedding and her wildfire bouquet hit the nail on the head as well. There were tons of children running around and playing, good food and awesome conversation. What better way is there to celebrate your marriage?

Alright, I’m about to lose my cool again because, Harry Potter! I’m also a huge Harry Potter fan if you couldn’t tell. Tiffany and Brett are too and since they never had wedding photos taken my friend Vicki and I planned something special for our dear friends. It was everything a Harry Potter fan could dream of! We went to Hawk Mountain for their couple portraits are sunrise and it was absolutely magical and for the rest of the day we had the help of this dream team of vendors.

Flourish Grace Calligraphy : http://www.flourishgracecalligraphy.com/

Ciao! Bakery : https://www.briccopa.com/ciao-bakery/

Lavender and Locks Floral Design and Flower Farm: https://www.facebook.com/lavenderandlocks/

And here is another sweet and intimate wedding. Nestle in the woods of Dushore PA was this perfect little bonfire wedding. It’s beautiful to me when you get to see a wedding create a new family. Sharon’s boys embracing Bob as part of their family was my absolute favorite part of their day. They ended their day with smore’s and a bonfire sing along. How perfect!

As promised, Ashley and Daniel’s woodland bohemian wedding. It was a dream! I knew from the moment I sat down with these two at their consult that their wedding was something I wanted to be a part of. They are such a fun couple and you can’t help but smile when you’re around them. The night ended with an epic dance battle, and that’s how you know you did you wedding right. Haha! I had such a great time with these two!

Brittany and Bryan’s wedding day was a stunner. From their emotional first look, gorgeous apple orchard ceremony to their couple photos at sunset, the amount of gorgeous blew me away. I haven’t even had a chance to blog this one so you can look forward to seeing more of their John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove soon. And to all my Philly brides, be sure to check out John James Audubon Center, it’s one of my favorite venues.

Brittany and Bryan took me with them on their honeymoon to Hawaii and I got to experience Hawaii’s gorgeous scenery. I took one day to hike around and explore. Hawaii seriously took my breath away. I’ll be blogging more about this trip soon but for now enjoy Hawaii’s majestic landscape.

While I was exploring the place where Jurassic Park was filmed (Kualoa Ranch) I ran into this couple who were trying to take some selfies and I offered to take some pictures for them because they were so in love and in this gorgeous setting. It was a total accident but became one of my favorite sessions of the year.

Brittany and Bryan’s honeymoon session of course had to be on the list. Look at that gorgeous strikingly blue water and how sweet are these two! It’s so evident how in to each other these guys are and that always makes me giddy to witness. This session hasn’t been blogged either so you can expect to see more soon.

I got to meet up with Samantha and Josh at sunset at Lanai Lookout and holy wow! I mean I still can’t get over the beauty and realness of this session. The sunset was so dramatic and stunning, Hawaii was definitely showing off. It was the perfect way to end my time in Hawaii.

When I got home from Hawaii I got to photograph this beautiful day. I always lose it when grooms cry during their first look but Alan was especially sweet, he even bought her an extra gift, seriously such a gentlemen. I had so many favorite moments from this day and since i haven’t blogged this year I’ll be sure to share them then.

Alison, Kyle and their puppy hiked with me to get to this waterfall at Ricketts Glenn and it was magical. Alison and Kyle are the kind of people who just love to help people and animals, in fact right before their wedding day they adopted another puppy. I have a special place in my heart for these two and you’ll see their wedding listed on here too.

Adam and Danielle impressed me with this session as we did some actual rock climbing which we weren’t exactly expecting but not once did they complain. They were total champs and their love for each was so evident and beautiful. My heart is happiest and most at home in the mountains so this session is definitely one of my favorites and I just can’t wait for their wedding next year!

It’s not every day you get to photograph your baby brother’s proposal so when it does happen it’s a memorable moment. I have blogged this one so you should go check it out to read all about how sweetly my brother planned this proposal for my sweet new sister in law. It’s a tear jerker. I was so blessed to photograph so many family members and their special moments this year. Such a perk of being a photographer, getting to witness all the big moments first.

Alison and Kyle’s Union League Of Philadelphia wedding was one for the books. I can’t wait to blog this one, they had Go Go Gadjet play during their reception and it felt like an actual rock concert. Alison and Kyle’s love for each other and others is so inspiring. Like I said before I have a special place in my heart for these guys and it was an honor to be their wedding photographer.

And to end this list and amazing year is Julie and Matt’s Barn at Glistening Pond wedding. I just blogged their rustic chic wedding right before Christmas because of the influences of Christmas in their decor. From Matt’s sweet tears at seeing his bride walking down the aisle to the heartwarming moment they asked their guests to join them for what is usually the traditional father-daughter and mother-son dances as Julie’s Father and both Matt’s parents had passed and they wanted to share that moment with their friends and family. Their fireplace ceremony at sunset was gorgeous and The Barn At Glistening Pond was the perfect venue! Julie and Matt’s love story was a special one to me as they bonded over the loss of their parents. It’s so beautiful to see grief lead to love and beauty.

And with that I say goodbye to 2017. I can’t say thank you enough to all my amazing couples and all the vendor friends I met this year. I’m blessed to know all of you! I can’t wait for more adventures and love in 2018! So far my wedding calendar is almost full and I’l be traveling to New Zealand, Seattle, Oregon, Iceland, London, Scotland, Ireland and Paris. I can’t wait to meet the rest of my 2018 brides, meet more adventurous couples during my travels and tell more rad love stories through my lens. Be sure to reach out, I would love to talk to you.

Happy New Year Everyone!