Summer Camp. Those two words conjure up memories for so many people. Going on adventures, learning new skills, and sitting around a fire while sharing stories and singing songs to name a few. It’s a place that you meet people and quickly become friends, possibly staying in touch for years to come. Keegan and Lynda became such friends, but can now look back at their first summer working as staff together as the place they first met.

It wasn’t hard to get to know each other, as everyone quickly does at a camp, but deciding to give their relationship a go was. She was Australian, he Canadian. Many others had started dating but found it too difficult to maintain after everyone packed up, went home, and tried to deal with the time difference. What it meant for Keegan and Lynda was a lot of commitment and perseverance, and they knew they would quickly see if what they had would withstand the challenges of distance and time.

It did.

Not only did they make the effort to stay up late and talk until the wee hours of the morning, they invested in seeing each other. When the next summer came Lynda felt called to go back to Canada and they worked at the same camp, and then Keegan was accepted to study abroad for a year is Australia, giving them even more time together. Gradually the distance didn’t seem like an obstacle, and a day came when Keegan asked Lynda to marry him. She ecstatically said yes and they began to map out their lives together, no matter what continent they were on.

When Lynda came to Canada this January they both made the trip down to Rochester for some engagements photos. It was a chilly winter day with just enough flurries to prove there really was snow, and satisfy any Australian. For having only emailed before our shoot I felt like fast friends and didn’t want the shoot to end. Keegan + Lynda I’m so happy I was able to document one part of your story and hope you enjoy the images! Enjoy

It’s snowing outside and it’s March. I can’t believe right after all the snow melted there is already a fresh blanket that won’t go away. However, I’m trying to make the best of the situation and remind myself how beautiful winter can be. I thought I would do the same for you, and share images from a collaborative inspiration shoot. I worked with Maura and her team at Sas Sa Fras Flowers who used the inspiration of jewels and ice to create an elegant winter wedding scene at Warner Castle in Rochester, New York. We were also helped out by Ryan, stylist and owner at Salon Raven, Moire’s Millinery who provided incredibly unique handcrafted headpieces, and Bella Carta Studio who created custom paper goods.

I hope you enjoy these bold and sparkly images and perhaps it will give some inspiration to those of you planning weddings for next winter. It really creates a beautiful backdrop for bold colors and texture and I look forward to photographing more scenes like these once I have a few months in the sun! Once again I had a great time collaborating on this project and thanks to everyone who assisted in making it a reality.

One of my favorite things was this “ice cake” that held the place cards for guests – blocks of ice were stacked to form the layers and base.

I thought it fitting on a snowy day like today to share another little snippet from the winter wedding shoot I photographed. Read more about what I did here… and don’t you just love the lush bouquet above from Sassafras Flowers? They sure know how to use color. Okay, time to warm up by the fire before going snowshoeing!

Those words can be said in so many different ways… and there is always a magic about them. Asking someone to marry you is no small feat, and of course the path that leads to that question often looks like the map of a cross-country journey. While I spend most of my time with people who have already popped the question and are planning their wedding, here’s to all of you out there waiting and working on relationships.

The image above is a preview from Andrea + Tim’s engagement session. As part of the shoot I collaborated with Colleen McCray (you might remember her gorgeous handmade wedding) and her paper goods business Mountain Pie Press and she graciously provide some handmade valentines decorations and letterpress signs that we used in the shoot. If you are looking for a few extra details or custom paper items to incorporate into your wedding send an email to mountainpiepress @ gmail . com and I’m sure she’d love to hear from you.

It’s a classic long distance love story. She’s Canadian, he’s American. After meeting at university and falling in love, they got engaged. Of course, when you live in different countries is not quite as easy to just plan a wedding. There are long distance phone calls, visas, paperwork… and worst of all waiting. Not just waiting to find out when you might get your visa so you can plan your wedding, but waiting for that visa so you can get into the country and visit your fiance!

It’s going to be worth the wait. Until then, there was even more reason to plan a fabulous engagement session that took place in Highland Park in Rochester, New York. The session was a collaboration that combined the talents of several people including Ryan of Salon Raven and Maura and her team at Sas Sa Fras Flowers. Now, I was thrilled to work with Devin and Shannon and I’m sure they would have rocked the photos no matter what, but I know the extra details and planning gave them the extra edge that made these images so much fun. The culmination of everyone’s efforts resulted in a bold engagement session that made winter inviting.

Seriously you guys look so good together. Everyone’s jealous of Shannon’s red hair, right? That Anthropologie dress is perfect, love the ruffles – I know it took us a while to decide on what combination to wear but that was the right choice! Oh and that gorgeous necklace? It’s J. Crew.

Sas Sa Fras how are you guys so amazing? You create the most gorgeous bouquets and arrangements

We didn’t have to travel far at all to use a variety of locations… and the light was absolutely perfect illuminating the trees and leaves in the background. Thanks to the “golden hour,” as Meg would call it, right before sunset.

Adorable. It probably looks warmer than it actually was, and I have to hand it to Devin + Shannon for braving the temps. We incorporated a little tea party as part of the shoot and it helped them warm up a bit as well! The gorgeous tea set is actually from Matt’s (my husband) grandma and you would not have recognized it a day earlier because of all the polishing we did. Love that about silver – no matter how tarnished it can be gorgeous again.

quick! someone start talking in a British accent.

hooray for love! and for fun photos + people + talented artists + friends who lend you dresses/sweaters/necklaces + soft light before sunset + winter + being able to celebrate life and all things in it. Devin + Shannon, thank you for being some of the easiest people on earth to photograph. Is it you? Is it me? I think it’s us together. Either way you guys are so in love and it totally showed.

It’s only fitting that today – with the temperatures plummeting and snow surrounding us – I share a perfectly wintry engagement session. You may need to get that hot chocolate you’ve been dreaming about (if you’re like me) before you delve into this post since there is plenty of ice and snow. Tim and Kim decided on Letchworth State Park for the location of their photos and I always agree since you know how I love the park. In fact, it’s probably my most frequented location to shoot at – and my sister in Michigan would probably say it’s the place where dreams come true… anything can happen… and I agree.

It was early January and the falls had plenty of time to build up a good base of ice on everything surrounding them. The landscape was transformed and winter had set in. Tim and Kim were up for the adventure of the outdoors and came down from Rochester to meet me at the park. They had plenty of time to prepare for the session although there is only so much you can do to get ready for your debut in front of the camera. I assured them that jumping in to the pictures would be the best way to go, and in no time they were laughing, having fun, and being themselves. Letting your guard down is probably one of the hardest things to do when your picture is being taken. Stepping back from an automatic smile and letting your personality show can only happen with trust. I’m so grateful for clients that trust me like Tim + Kim and let me into their lives…

It’s not winter without a little sledding. Really you’re never too old for that.

I love the pop of color from Kim’s scarf, so bright and vivid. It was cold out, but when you have someone to keep you warm it’s a lot more fun.

Last up: Snowball fight!

Okay just one shot each. No hard feelings. I can imagine with the right couple this could get deadly. Thankfully it didn’t with Kim + Tim, I’d hate to be caught in the crossfire. :)

Kim and Tim you make winter look fun. It was great to meet up with you guys and I can’t wait to photograph your wedding – which will be fabulously sunny and warm and the perfect contrast to these photos. Enjoy!

Proposals seem to take one of two forms. They are either expertly planned and romantic endeavors that leave others imagining being in those shoes… or they are a chain of events gone wrong, an unexpected surprise that takes happens early out of nerves or later due to foiled plans. While Katie and Chris might have had the latter, they are certainly not alone (I fall in to the second category as well) and they have perhaps a more entertaining tale of proposal.

Letchworth is a favorite location of mine to photograph at, and when Katie and Chris contacted me to shoot a winter engagement session we quickly settled on the location. It was snowy but thankfully not freezing and we ventured out into the winter landscape and this is what I captured:

If Chris and Katie are anything, they are fun. It’s only right that their engagement pictures show that, don’t you think?

this backdrop was right outside their house – isn’t it gorgeous?

The whole family got together for a few before the girls had a ride in their sled…

too cute! now who else is up for some winter fun?

I’m back and in the fog that surrounds trying to go back to work after a long weekend. To start things off, I thought I’d show you a little glimpse of how the baby shower came together. It was quite nice with just a few simple decorations, cupcakes, biscotti, hot cocoa and of course homemade marshmallows. We had custom mad libs, played pictionary (very entertaining) and had some riddles that had to be solved in order to open each gift. More importantly, it was fun to get together with good friends!

tissue puffs were made from a martha stewart tutorial similar to this

fabric garland was not easy to cut (it got boring quick) but the good news is it’s very re-useable and I expect you’ll see it again

marshmallows! the good thing about homemade marshmallows is that they don’t immediately disintegrate when place in hot cocoa, they just melt

delicious cupcakes + marshmallow favors