Hurricane Earl is the best thing in our lives lately – instead of ruined plans we got the best wind we could ask for. off to Annapolis with a few favorites for a sailing date with a 24′ Rainbow boat…and this is our weather!

some days it really is that perfect.

it’s a wedding addition I’ve wanted for a while – a big white backdrop with a big bright flash that I set up during the reception and nicely ask people to go crazy. a guest emailed about adding it to a wedding as a surprise for the bride and groom (everyone needs a friend as awesome as her!) and I went for it!

AND OF ALL THE WEDDINGS TO START WITH.

Krissy and Norch are headed off to New Zealand and Fiji for a SIX MONTH honeymoon and their friends were just as crazy awesome. one girl fell and ripped the paper off, another couple crashed into the wall, and all the groomsmen tossed the groom into the ceiling. this (still unnamed!) photo booth is not for the faint of heart.

P.S. guests of the Calentano lovefest – the rest of the images (like all those non-blog-appropriate ones. you know who you are) will be online with the wedding gallery in 2 weeks!

it just feels like cheating some memories trying to fit them to a Georgia pt 12 font.

( there’s nothing craggy about a blog. )

I’ve finally had time to edit down my images, and I’ll post them soon, promise! but while going through, realized for all the cliffs and golden skies, my favorite and best picture is just of my brother Josh and I.

it was our last day in Doolin, we’d packed and cleaned and emptied the fridge (i.e., ATE EVERYTHING) and drove down to the village one last time. we went to the ocean and walked out and out and out, across the small cliffs and inlets kept busy fighting the turquoise sea.

it was a perfectly warm and clear day, but in typical Irish fashion a massive storm dropped down out of nowhere. we only noticed when it started to rain frigidness, and as we started laughing and running for the faraway car I snapped this.

I love how much we look alike, and remembering the feelings behind our skull-cracking smiles. the crazy joy of where we were, what we’d seen and heard and done, the fact that my parka was ALWAYS in car when it rained, and that we knew we’d come back home again.

cause what’s a story without company.

<3

!!!!!!!

I’m excited. or, “stoked out of my mind” is how I’ve been putting it lately.

a while ago I heard about one friend who was getting married in Paris, and one in Scotland. fun people at an international wedding (not to mention getting to SEE these places) seemed like the best of all possible worlds so I hoped and hoped someone would be lovely enough to hire me. the Paris wedding got moved to DC but my flight to Edinburgh was just booked so now it’s really really real.

and this wedding is not just located there – judging from the venues it’ll be as authentically gorgeous as imaginable.

the Loch Alvie Church

( Photo credit)

the reception site / hotel

( photo credit )

aaaaand the nearby Cairngorm mountain range

( photo credit )

I had to reread this a couple times before it sank in.

I was able to extend my trip to just under two weeks, so I can see as much of Scotland and England (and maybe Wales?) as possible.

and on top of that? I get to have my crazy friend Grace come with. we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary as friends this year so it’s only appropriate to do something this epic together.

she’s an adrenaline-junkie / gourmet chef / photographer who seems to travel abroad constantly. (haha in the first few minutes of adventure-planning she’d already listed off her favorite restaurants in Oxford we have to visit.)
and! triple score for both being freckled Irish girls so we won’t look like tourists.

I’m starting to compile a list of where I want to go, but castles and train rides are looking pretty boss.

( photo credit )

( photo credit )

it’ll be my first trip to Scotland / England, so let me know if you have any recommendations!

Ohh happy : )

I’m sometimes accused of playing favorites with clients, but life isn’t fair and not everyone’s a winner and Tori + Aaron are pretty much awesome.

She’s actually a darling friend of mine, and is the loveliness behind Marvelous Things Photography in Indiana. We first met online through our friend Micah, (hi!) who actually, we’d both met online as well. Can’t imagine a sketchier way to start a friendship but we met last year when we photographed Micah’s wedding together, and we’ve been kindreds to the nth ever since.

(Who else could put up with my driving?)

Last time she was visiting Aaron in Richmond I drove down for this shoot, and the three of us met for lunch to discuss the all-official details. (Like whether baby carrots or paper airplanes would be more suitable for guests to chuck as they left the reception.) It was a happy little surreal moment when we realized we were at the same place (and almost exactly a year to the date) that she and I had gone to after a wedding, where she’d first mentioned This Guyyyy who was a good friend and fun and cool and basically perfect, but she just didn’t know how he felt.

A couple days later he asked her out, and their years of friendship turned into something marvelous.

Hanging out with them is hilarious. Sarcasm is their love language and they couldn’t be more adorable together even if a rose ceremony depended on it. (…or at least it looks that way after I was able to photoshop the happiness in.)

It was so fun to do their engagement shoot and of course I’m thrillled for their wedding, but I mostly can’t wait till she moves to my state already : )

Enjoy!

<3 <3 <3

so i know i’m months behind on blogging, but i just had to share this from today’s engagement shoot.

you’d have to know these amazing folks to appreciate how perfectly THEM the day was, but at least know they spent weeks scouring antique shops for the perfect chair to bring along.

…and then they found the Throne.

between being busy and busier this afternoon, i tried to research ideas of where i’d like to go and what i’d wear and all that.

i tried, but wasn’t feeling it.

this weekend, my happy weekending spot is right where i am.

i’m filled with hope and and goodness and the addictive accomplished feeling of GETTING STUFF DONE. tomorrow i have Wike + Ashley’s most excellent wedding in Georgetown, a few interviews with prospective clients on Sunday, and tonight i’m home, working and hanging out with my much-loved family.

i hope your weekend is happy just where it is.
xo.

these folks are a special sort of awesome.

their wedding was Jane-Austen-classy with a relaxed, informal feel, equaling the best of all worlds.

they’re fun, their friends are fun, their lives seem pretty fun so frankly their wedding didn’t stand a chance of being otherwise.

her priceless “I look preeeetty!” moment.

but not like anyone could disagree! Liz you are GORGEOUS.

meet Spencer. he’s classy, loves God, and was stoked to get married.

Spencer, meet Liz. she was stoked to get married too.

I love the one on the right! excitement, yo.

favorite! the happiest models I’ve ever worked with.

appreciated the sailboat Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church had parked outside for us, so very thoughtful of them.

favorite image of the day.

Liz’s favorite book is Pride & Prejudice, so she walked down the aisle to the  dreamlike crescendo “Liz on top of the world” track. sooo much love.

Mr + Mrs!

and then they brought the sexy.

the Officer’s Club at Fort Belvoir housed their reception and aaall the good times of the night.

<3 <3 <3

Oh hello.

I’ve been home from Ireland for a little while but feels like I’ve just had days to recover. Kept busy trying to catch up and a few out-of-town shoots, but also had some good face-time with people I love. I am blessed!

Feels like I have a few dozen weddings to share so I’ll get on that, but of course I’m most excited to share the images from my beloved trip. We had a little house up on a hill with our backyard stretching into the thousand-green meadows and with cliffs and deeply endless  sea beyond. The best way I can describe it was profoundly beautiful, and having days to bike and walk and read or do nothing at all was a deep and needed rest.

So! Will try to return to my normal programming schedule here and look forward to sharing all the joy my camera’s seen lately.

Much love.

home from Ireland and missing the sea.