Simple Life + Simple Love: Part II

Happy Monday!

Last week, I shared a little bit more behind the heart of Simple Life + Simple Love.

And the truth is, I got a bit long-winded. It happens often when I’m writing. I’m not a huge talker, I’m much more of a “sit back and take it all in until I really have something to say”….and that plays a bit into my blog. I sit back, share work, and then when I want to say something, I’m not sure how to paraphrase it all!

So, today I’m sharing the second part of Simple Life + Simple Love: how it plays into this business and my vision as a photographer.

This vision of a Simple Life + Simple Love flows into how I live, how I love, how I think, how I act, how I photograph, and how I dream.

Throughout the course of my business, I’ve worked with couples with the desire for a classy evening wedding with intricate details, and I’ve worked with couples who simply want to soak in a southern family dinner on a beautiful summer evening outdoors. Some couples design an elegant outdoor garden wedding, and some opt for a more traditional church ceremony followed by an outdoor reception. Though the styles and approaches vary, my couples have the same values at heart: to simply enjoy themselves and soak up every second they have to celebrate with their friends and family on their wedding day. 

Their wedding day is a sacred day for them. It’s not only the day they begin their marriage, but it’s also (most likely) the only day in their lives where they will have everyone they love in the same room. My couples are family-centric and they don’t want to take that day for granted.

My couples want their story told timelessly and simply. From the joyful moments to the quiet moments of anticipation to the gentle tears and uncontrolled laughter. My vision for their story is  authenticity. Not just #authentic.  As my couples sit down with their prints and albums, I want them to be overwhelmed with emotion 6 months from now and 40 years from now. I don’t arrive with a formula or a shot list because that limits me to tell their story in the most genuine way. We take portraits, I get details, we get the family formals….but each couple’s wedding day is told uniquely. Consistent, but unique.  I crave to document the in-between moments.

Though I’m not a mother myself, the bond between a child and their parents has moved me in ways I didn’t expect over the past year. It’s a part of life I’m so incredibly thankful and joyful to document. Because after all, a wedding day is the first day to a long legacy ahead. So, I’m not just a wedding photographer. I document all the milestones and in-betweens of life. 

The same vision that drives me in documenting a wedding day drives me in documenting the life of a family. From welcoming your first child home to welcoming your second or third. From the first steps to the first words, there’s so much life to document. Before entering sessions, I envision the photographs I’ll create to best tell their story in the most simple, yet graceful way because these photographs will be a part of that legacy of love. And those photographs should be genuine.

There truly is so much beauty and awe to be found in these quiet yet chaotic moments of life.

So what does a simple life + simple love look like for us personally?

It looks like striving to be minimalist in as many aspects of life that we can (clothing, living, budget, fitness, food, the list goes on)

It looks like me craving a warm cup of coffee comfort on our front stoop with my husband before we start our day.

It looks like family dinners full of life.

It looks like spending as much time outdoors as we can possibly pack in.

It looks like morning walks with my husband, and one day, our children.

It looks like stepping back from the clutter and having to say some hard “no’s”

It looks like simply spending time with the ones I hold dear, because the brevity of life has never been more apparent.

It looks like cookouts with friends in the summer full of good food, s’mores, a firepit, and music flowing into the evening.

It looks like some choices that are really hard to walk through but are much more life-giving in the end.

It looks like choosing people and community as priority.It looks like dreams of children laughing in our living room one day.

It looks like dreams of children laughing in our living room one day.

It looks like filling our bookshelves with photographs from our travels…20 minutes aways and oceans away.

But that’s just scratching the surface. This page will never be long enough to talk about the joy  that can be found in a Simple Life + Simple Love.