Such A cute Family. Christina & I have been trying to put together a shoot for her family for about 6 months. Our schedules just could not seem to meet….but finally…we went to the zoo! What a perfect location for this family of three (with one expected on the way!)
It took a minute for little Anna Belle to warm up to the camera…and the giraffe. But this adorable little girl had me reminiscing on the photo shoot I did with my family 20 years ago as a child. As she began to trust me more, she would give these intense stares at the camera, that pierced through my lens with her Big Blue Eyes. She became a bundle of Joy! Hugging moms leg, kissing Dad on the nose, jumping around with a huge smile on her face.
She really lit up on the last few minutes, when we put on her fairy outfit. I told her that I have “wear whatever you want days” and I wish I could dress like a fairy one day. She says, “You can! Here is a flower!” We gathered flowers in the daisy field with her little gold shoes on and I couldn’t help but smile and laugh with her. Almost forgetting our hour long shoot turned into and hour and a half. Either way, I had a blast with this great family, glad we finally got to work out a time to meet! Check out all the goodies below!
It was a beautiful Fall Day in Downtown Jacksonville beneath the Treaty Oak Tree. And we even got to top it off with a Holiday fountain show & Sparklers!
I have know Brittany for about 5 years now. We worked together years ago when I was still in college at Stonewood in Jacksonville. I always remembered her as the fun, cute blonde she is, but never got to know her on a real personal level. So, when she called me a few months about her upcoming wedding, I was thrilled she wanted me to be apart of such an important day!
Our first meeting was at my favorite restaurant in St.Augustine called Caps on the Water. It was a beautiful Sunday to hang out right on the intercoastal and have a few drinks & catch up. Needless to say we had some fun at our first get together in sometime and I got to know Brittany & her Big Lug of a fiance Billy much better.
They are both two funny together, playing off each others jokes, poking fun of the things they think are cute about each other, laughing (and making me laugh). All in all it was great to meet a “so in love” couple. As well as meet the great family that comes along with this wedding.
Billy’s three kids came out to the engagement shoot and we had a double shoot in one day at the always gorgeous Cummer Museum & Gardens in Downtown Jacksonville.
Thanks for a fun day of meeting the great kids, getting kicked out of the cummer for staying to late & Brittany biting Billy a few times 🙂
Sarah & Curtiss, what a cute couple. I met them months before I left for the Islands and they happened to be my first wedding in Jacksonville Beach when I arrived. Such a great first wedding to come back to. Tons of Family & Friends, balloon animals at the reception, a cool new venue, and lots of love of course! Check out there beautiful Jax Beach Wedding. Thanks for the welcome home! -KiKi
Interesting story about how these two met, well at least there first date. It was at Nascar. Nothing Fancy, just the complete enjoyment of each others company at a nice family gathering of Fast Cars & Cheering Fans. I think this first date tells a lot about this couple. And here is why…
I met Court & Braden about a year or so ago through a friend. They were road tripping throughout the US and stopped in Jacksonville Beach for a few days to visit.
Now off the bat, you can tell there a good looking couple. But once you hang out with them you realize there more than that. They are always laughing, always enjoying the moment, always looking at each other as if its the first time. Always following what they want to do. Together.
All in all a very mellow and happy couple. Probably the most stress free bride I have met. Courtney was the exact opposite of a bridezilla and actually made my job so easy. She hired me within minutes of meeting me and without seeing my work. A girl that knows what she wants.
I didn’t know at the time how much in love they were. But I soon found out as I walked into the Sunset Room the day before the wedding. I met all of there wonderful family & friends, enjoyed the beautiful ocean in Maryland, and instantly felt that this wedding was going to be magical. All because of the details.
Every detail was true to what they were & who they are. From the chandelier made out of chains from an old bike (Braden is into motocross), skateboards made into signs for the reception, the church that Courtney’s parents were married in, the ring box made out of legos from her nephew, the flower arrangements grown & arranged by her mother, the mini cupcakes made by Braden’s mom and the grand finale of riding in on Braden’s bike (Something the Coordinator did not know about) 🙂 Oh and there was a firework finish from one of Braden’s groomsmen right before we all left.
I could honestly go on and on, but you can look at the pictures and see. See that this wedding’s most important details was the two of them. Who are so much in love. And were an absolute blast to work with.
I remember this day as a quiet one. I walked up to Pu`uhonua o Honaunau with a lot of knowledge on the area, so I thought.
Luckily within my almost 4 months of traveling throughout the islands of Hawai’i, about half of it I had a travel buddy. My friend Ulrike was with me on this trip, she loved to read, and shared the common love of the history of Hawai’i with me, so every place we ventured to had a vocally guided tour with a girl who sometimes would speak in an english accent.
I drove here from our hotel in Kona, practically quiet the whole 60 minute ride, despite the historical facts Ulrike would throw my way every so often. As always I was eager and focused, wanting to get some great photos of every place I see and touch. Such a daunting task, so impossible to actually have a “vacation” without my camera. But most times, my vacation is my camera.
I felt as if I knew this place, we had read so much about it as we planned our trip to the Big Island a month prior. I had gotten a Franko Map and as I scanned the coastline I saw Place of Refuge. It popped out at me. I immediately looked it up for more info. This was the first line I saw:
“Your only chance of survival is to elude your pursuers and reach the Pu’uhonua, a place of refuge. The Pu’uhonua protected the kapu breaker, civilians during the time of war and the defeated warriors. No harm could come to those who reached the boundaries of the place of refuge.” – from National Parks Service Website
No Harm Could Come To Those Who Reached The Boundaries Of The Place Of Refuge.
My Favorite Line. Maybe its because I decided to take this long journey for 3 months 5,000 miles away from home for the first time by myself (even though I had a visitor at the moment), or maybe because no one happened to be at the place of refuge as we arrived and it seemed almost deserted, or maybe its the fact that I felt so in tune with the island. But something about this place made me feel as if there was no harm to come, a safe I have never felt before. Yes, I know I was in a historical park, that had been colonized, and it may have not been the “same” as it was forever ago. But it felt like it was.
You walk around and follow the map given to you as you walk in and find out where exactly your standing. What happened there. I ventured out on the pathway and looked upon the rocks right past these wooden faces (above) carved of Ohia Tree. A small swell was coming in and washing over these jagged rocks that lead to the safety of the aina (land). I look down at my map and it points out that this is the area you swam to if you had broken the Kapu (sacred law).
Im a good swimmer and all, but thinking about the journey the Kapu Breaker had was pretty intense. They had to not only run across who knows how much of the island, jump into the Kealakekua Bay, swim over a mile across, in whatever surf may be rolling through at the time, then climb over the jagged rocks onto the land, all while being chased by 5-20 men probably twice your size that are trying to kill you. What goes through your mind as your doing something so important as trying to save your life?
I was definitely taken aback as I explored these Sacred Royal Grounds. Hard to put myself in the shoes of someone hundreds of years ago, let alone take in all the amazing historical things that happen on this nearly 2 mile Hike.
As I keep saying, there is so much to be respected about these islands. More to Come.
Lifestyle
