Edwina Grocery

I've been meaning to write this post for a while, and now that I finally have a break between weddings, I think now's the time!

With the few days of time I had over Christmas, I went to my parent's home in east Tennessee. East Tennessee, if you've never been, can be described as... well... rural. Although my parents live in a very nice house in a very nice town, a lot of the outlying areas don't quite have the same suburban appeal (read: good ol' boys and moonshine stills).  And so I was excited to get a taste of the true local flavor when one of my mom's friends invited me out to her parent's old country store in the small town of Edwina. Her parents are planning to retire in the spring, and while they'll still own the store, they won't be running it anymore. So my job was to document the normal store operations, the building and customers, and the whole family at the end. Here are a few of my favorites.

2011 Books I've Read

Does anybody really care what I'm reading? Probably not, but I think this list is more for my personal benefit anyway. It's neat for me to look back on the year and see what the best (and worst!) books were.

Does this have anything to do with photography? No. But that's okay! Sometimes I have to remind myself that a blog should be for personal pursuits as well as professional ones.

And so begins my 2011 list...

23. The Girl's Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Bank 8.5/10

22. Wicked - Gregory Maguire 8/10

21. Letter to a Christian Nation - Sam Harris 4/10

20. Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell 9/10

19. Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky 7.5/10

18. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson 8/10

17. Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis 9/10

16. A Billion Wicked Thoughts - Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam 8/10

15. How Starbucks Saved My Life - Michael Gill 4/10

14. How to be Good - Nick Hornby 7/10

13. Juliet, Naked - Nick Hornby 9/10

12. The Boy Next Door - Irene Sabatini 8/10

11. A Thousand Acres - Jane Smiley 6.5/10

10. The Reader - Bernhard Schlink 7.5/10

9. Wild Fire - Nelson DeMille 8/10

8. The Soloist - Steve Lopez 9/10

7. Roaring Lambs - Bob Briner 8/10

6. The Mosquito Coast - Paul Thoreaux 6.5/10

5. Brooklyn - Colm Toíbín 8/10

4. Traveling Mercies - Anne Lamott 7/10

3. Lit - Mary Karr 8.5/10

2. Dancer - Colum McCann 7.5/10

1. The Masque of the Black Tulip - Lauren Willig 7/10

Meg & Will - Mount Vernon Inn Wedding Photography

Happy Valentine's Day! What better way to celebrate than to look at photos of people in love? :)

Meg and Will's wedding was, in a word, awesome! What I witnessed at their wedding was a huge outpouring of love and warm wishes - I don't think this couple could make enemies if they tried! I left the day secretly wanting to be best friends with Meg and Will.

Meg's mom called me the Monday after the wedding and left the nicest voice mail I've probably ever received. It was so encouraging I still have it saved in my phone to replay whenever I'm feeling down. Ha ha!

We started the day at Meg's parents house in Clifton, VA.

Then we all headed over to St. Leo the Great for the ceremony. I love this shot below that my awesome second photographer for the day Stephen captured:

We had extra time between the ceremony and reception (when does that ever happen?) so Meg and Will proposed we go to downtown Fairfax for some shots (an idea I loved.) But MAN it was cold. Major props to Meg for braving all that without even a coat.

 

These next two are another couple of gems from Stephen:

When we arrived at the Mount Vernon Inn, I was blown the away! I'd been there before, but never viewed it through reception-venue goggles. All the charm and character made it a perfect choice for Meg and Will, who (as you now know) are quite charming themselves.

 

Possibly my favorite photo of the day:

And these are Stephen's:

Though they seemed a little shy at first, Meg and Will definitely cut loose at the reception. Who knew these guys were such awesome dancers? There were times when I felt like I was watching a movie, they were so graceful and accomplished. Another great shot by Stephen (and then all the rest are mine):

 

 

Joe & Ienne - The Other Barn Wedding Photography

Joe and Ienne are two of the sweetest people I've ever met, clients or not! I was really looking forward to shooting their wedding after the great engagement session we had in Annapolis. And plus they're both just so dang cute! :)

The wedding day started at Metro Points Hotel in New Carrollton where the girls got ready and I did the normal pre-ceremony stuff.

Then I drove over and met my awesome second photographer Stephanie Miller and the groomsmen at St. Mary's Church in Landover Hills. The church was really pretty with all the stained glass! Joe and Ienne are both Filipino, so their ceremony incorporated a lot of unique traditions I enjoyed seeing.

We were unfortunately asked to leave the church pretty quickly after the ceremony due to confession, but we headed to a local park near the reception site to finish up with the wedding party and grab a few with Joe and Ienne alone. This park was great and really perfect for photos, but I can't remember what it was called and I'm not even sure I'd be able to find it again! I was so turned around by the time we got there you could have told me I was in New Hampshire and I probably would have believed you. Oh, and it was FREEZING cold, did I mention that? I think the high that day was maybe 27 degrees, but Joe and Ienne smiled right through it!

I'm really digging this shot (below) of Stephanie's! She got some of that awesome sun flare I love.

Probably my favorite moment of the day:

After introductions at The Other Barn, Joe and Ienne and all of their bridesmaids and groomsmen did a whole choreographed dance. I was blown away - totally did not see that coming! It was awesome.

Make sure you check out the father of the bride's shirt. Hilarious!

I always hear the DJ say to the garter-toss winner, "...and if you use your teeth, every inch above the knee is ten years of good luck for the bride and groom" but I don't think I've ever seen anyone actually do it! Ha ha.

Congrats Joe and Ienne!!