We were blessed with a niece who is amazingly godly, sweet, kind and good hearted. Not only is her character impeccable, she is absolutely gorgeous! She is completely oblivious to her good looks which makes her all the more endearing.

Ryan and I decided last year that we would start giving her a photoshoot for her birthday present each year. What else could a teenager girl want? Although her birthday is in April, we didn’t get a chance to squeeze it in until last weekend. Whoops! That’s what having another baby and being in wedding season will get you.

I can not believe she is only 14. When she smiles I see a teenager, but when she looks dead in the camera I see a young woman. She is stunning and let me tell you…she can turn it on for the camera, she just gets it! I can not imagine looking this beautiful at 14, you don’t even want to see a picture of me. Let’s just say Aqua Net and I were BFF. I grew up in upstate NY and my hair easily added four more inches to my height. Hey, it was 1990, you were only as cool as the width of your hair.

This is our beautiful Natalia.

Many of you know that Ryan only has the opportunity to moonlight as a photographer right now. Hopefully, in the next 3-5 years we can phase out his day job, a web designer for the city school district in town. Right now the base pay and insurance are invaluable considering we like to pop kids out every year, having good insurance is worth it’s weight in gold.

As of late, they are having Ryan take photos for special events that happen in the school district. A couple weeks ago we got a day’s notice that Barack Obama was coming to speak at one of the high schools in our district. Although many of our belief’s do not align with Obama’s, it was still an awesome opportunity to photograph a piece of history…a presidential candidate and possible president. Not bad for the portfolio!

Security was incredibly tight with Secret Service men all over

Senator Jim Webb also spoke

It is not everyday you show up to a location that greets you with such “natural” decor.

Being from Montana, Rhae wanted to say her “I do’s” where she felt most comfortable. Enter The House Mountain Inn. It’s such a beautiful lodge up in the mountains of Lexington, Va. We’ll show you more of the grounds when we post images from her wedding in a few days.

But until then, check out her bridal shots. It’s so exciting being able to show these off. We have been sitting on these for months, waiting for her wedding day to pass. Enjoy!

an homage to her brother that tragically passed away.

I love these shots by the window. Natural soft light rocks!

I have never seen so many butterflies in one spot in my life. They were everywhere.

Rhae and her now husband Scott like to fish, so Rhae brought along her pole to get some images of her fishing in her dress. These are the kinds of things that bring personality to your session. We always love when people bring their own unique style to the shoot.

Rhae, you were tons of fun to work with. We can’t wait for you to see your sneak peek in a few days!

Well I got back in the saddle after an eight month maternity leave. Ryan and I packed it up and headed to the east coast to the beautiful Fort Monroe base in Virginia Beach. The day was perfect! Low eighties, sunny and windy. I have to say, I was quite nervous after having such a long break from wedding shooting. Of course I do my share of small sessions (wedding/engagement/babies) but weddings are a whole other ball game. It is a test of physical and mental endurance being on your feet and being creative for eight plus hours!

Not only was the weather and water beautiful inspirations…this bridal party was a BLAST! They had wonderful senses of humor and instantly welcomed us into their “family”. There was no shortage of laughter throughout the whole day.

Morgan was a stunner in her 20’s inspired chiffon dress and AMAZING feather, flower and crystal headpiece. I am positive if Ryan and I were to get married again, this is the route I would go. ATTENTION FUTURE BRIDES….take note of some of the great details. Think outside the box! Tom wowed us with his white dinner jacket and saddle shoes, rounding out the theme of the night.

Morgan actually found us when she was an attendant in a wedding Ryan shot last summer, Juan and Joanna. So we were excited to see some familiar faces.

Without further ado. I give to you…Morgan and Tom.

I usually start in chronological order to tell the story of the day…but I have to come out of the gates with my absolute favorite shot of the night! Oh the beauty….

alright…back to the order of the day.

Father Burns lead Morgan and Tom in the exchanging of their vows at the beautiful St. Mary Star of the Sea Church.

The ladies with some ‘tude

Now it is time to cut loose. I never get tired of jumping shots.

A-the creative jumping styles
B-the facial expressions
C-it gives Ryan and I something to laugh at while editing a bazillion photos.

let’s take a closer look

On to my favorite session of the day…the beach!

A man, a beach and his thoughts. This is the grooms younger brother, Chris, who graciously waited while we snapped a bunch of pictures. Not a bad place to be stuck waiting!

This is such a cute detail. Their little suitcase favor was filled with salt water taffy and opened up to reveal your table seating number. Very cute!

Ryan actually has the rest of the reception photos with him and will add more photos soon! We are in separate cities for a few days..so this will have to do for now!

Baltimore Harbor played host to Sarah and Brett’s big day last weekend. I have known Sarah since she was in 7th grade and was so sad to miss her wedding as I am just finishing up my maternity leave. I was able to shoot their engagement session a few months back, so that is my consolation prize.

It was a beautiful…HOT…summer day on the water. Sarah looked amazing! I love wedding dresses, but I don’t think I have ever been in love with the back of a wedding dress! The way the dress gathered asymmetrically and how the train fell was just stunning.

Ryan and my brother-in-law, Joe, were with Brett and Sarah every step of the way. Ryan’s other brother, Dan, was in charge of spinning the tunes during the reception on board the yacht. So you could say it was a Portnoy media trio! It pays to marry into a talented family!

Sarah and Brett, I am so sorry I missed such an awesome wedding. I have had so much fun editing your images and pretending I was aboard with all the fun. I hope Belize was relaxing for you both before your big move to Colorado. We pray God’s blessing on your marriage together and look forward to seeing you when you are back visiting!

Enjoy my favorite picks of the day!

Is she not the prettiest girl? Her hair, those eyes and pouty lips!

Upsy daisy!

I can imagine this red couch plays host to all sorts of pictures. It is no exception here. Is there a happier color? I just couldn’t decide what I like best so here are a few.

You can’t have a reception in Baltimore harbor and not have seafood!

I love the pansy’s in the salad..nice touch.

I really like this next series that Joe took. Bravo Joe!

Somebody got some cake smashed in her face…

This picture absolutely cracks me up. Somebody forgot the ceilings were a little low in the boat. The reactions around the scene are just hilarious. Sorry Brett, I just had to add this moment to the mix!