Jace: Two years old and seven months home.

This past November, John & Tara arrived home with their son. Unlike most parents, the first time they saw him was in a photograph - and when they saw him they knew this one was their little guy.

Through their long and uphill adoption process, the Lord has released so much hope and humility to the family of God here in Athens. For the past two years I've been blessed to work with Tara at the UGA Wesley Foundation - she has been both a mentor and teacher to me and so many others and has laid a deep foundation of prayer in our ministry and city.

One of the most beautiful parts about their adoption process, among many things, was the way they let community in to their struggles and victories. We had all partnered with them in prayer so much... that when he came home there was a very personal part of all of us that celebrated with them. Because we are all believing for something. And sometimes it takes someone else's victory to remind us that the Lord wants the same victory for us, and our hope is not in vain.

So, to our favorite Ethiopian: Cheers and happy (late) second birthday, Jace! You are a promise fulfilled.

(playing the guitar on his shirt)

"But he's happy when he's wet." -John

Follow John, Tara, and Jace's story and be encouraged. What are you hoping for?

Melissa & Bobby - Wedding Preview.

Prepare yourselves for a seriously lovely, gorgeous, and sweet wedding!

Emily - Atlanta, Ga. Graduation

The first time I met Emily was when she was a lovely bridesmaid in Natalie & Tyler's wedding. This year, she graduated with her pharmacy degree - mad respect! I enjoyed taking photos for her celebratory day - she will make you feel like a good friend in an instant, and she is so laid-back and I mean, just generally adorable. So here's to you Emily, for all your hard work. :) Congratulations and cheers to you!

 

 

 

Melissa & Bobby - Forsyth, Georgia Engagement Session

Photographing Melissa & Bobby was a sweet gift and a dream come true for me. I am so glad to share it with you!

To give you an idea of our time together, our session lasted four hours! It was seriously amazing. They had all these memorable places picked out in their town, and each place was just gorgeous. On top of that, we were out during golden hour, so the light was beautiful. A lot of these have a very dreamy feel, and naturally, I like that.

I love this couple's dynamic. They live in a small town near Forsyth, Ga. - population 4300. They grew up in the same town, but because of their age difference never really knew each other. Now Melissa works at the local feed store and Bobby works at the railroad. It's a sweet small-town story. So we spent our time climbing down a steep embankment to photograph them by the river, scaling a hill of rocks to the train tracks, and wandering through forests of pine trees and fields of tall grass (Melissa did all of this in her cute shoes too). I think they were slightly worried that this was a little crazy... but it was so awesome!
This session was my secret dream-come-true. I'm glad they didn't hold back just because I was there.

What shines through in many of these photos is this couple's sweetness. Melissa calls Bobby "sweet cheeks" (easily understandable immediately when you see him). I love how comfortable they are together - it made me comfortable just being with them. I can't wait for their special day, which is very soon, and will be on Melissa's family farm, where they will be wed between two oak trees (I know). M & B, you are beautiful people! Thank you for the adventures and I will see you soon!

 

 

I love the dreaminess of these two portraits of Melissa.