Personal: Hi!

Hello dearest blog world,

I've missed you!

 I know I haven't been around much the past two months, but this summer has been a season of fullness.

My weeks have been filled to the brim with lots of family time, wedding planning, emailing, photoshoots and adventuring. And my weekend have been packed to the brim with the people I love most, and lots of church activities and church family time. It's felt as if I was back in school again enjoying summer like the rest of the kids out there.

 No weddings you ask? Nope, no July or early August weddings for this wedding photographer. 

For some reason I always have a later wedding season than the rest of the world, because the bulk of my weddings are late summer or early autumn. But I can't complain because that's my favorite time of the year to shoot, when the warm air makes way for colder winds.

 With this weekend coming up, my summer officially ends and my marathon of wedding begins. 

My heart is torn because I'm both excited for the season ahead but I'm sad to see summer go.

It's been one of the most important summers of my life, it's the last summer I'll have as a single woman. I've made sure to fill it with being busy for the Lord, spending time with my family who I'll be moving away from once I get married, and soaking in everything I can before this chapter of my life is through. Here are some of my favorites from this summer.

 Let me start with this family of mine, my church family.

My summer has been filled with weekly fellowship and serving God along side these amazing folks. We took this picture at our annual church retreat in July, where I broke down and told them I'll be moving churches once I get married. It's a sensitive subject and it's difficult for me to talk about because I grew up in this church with these people, leaving them {and my actual family} will be the hardest.

My family, my heart. I haven't the heart to write anything just now about moving away from them.

Another chunk of my summer has been filled with "treasure hunting" for our wedding.

 Weekly visits to thrift stores, antique shops, even yard sales has kept us fully entertained and excited all summer long.

Soooo much love goes out to my incredible friend and bridesmaid extraordinaire Hope for gifting us the  sweetest, antique wedding presents.

Not only were her wedding presents gorgeous, her presents are the key pieces to our wedding decorations ... I can't wait to share them with everyone! 

With the help of incredible friends like Hope and our wonderful families, wedding planning has been a breeze!

Another summer adventure I went on was visiting the Redskins training camp with my family!

We are loyal to our home team through and through.

Hot, sticky, and tired ... I loved every mintue of that day.

Oh you know just hanging with my boys ... Carrier,

Alexander,

Leribeus & Gettis

Kehl,

Boyce ...

Not to mention Cofield, Lewis, and Ryan Kerrigan ... whom I made blush.

{Don't talk to me about this past weekend's game, it's only preseason. }

Summer also meant the return of my dear friend LJae.

He served an 8 month tour around the world on board USS Abe Lincoln.

We were all excited for his return home, we've all missed him alot!

Waiting at the pier with a few thousand family members and friends of these sailors was like celebrating the fourth of July ... but better!

 It's so nice to have this Officer back in town!

We even got to board the air craft carrier and get silly on the flight deck.

I can't tell you how honored I felt, or how small I felt.

 We made for a pretty awesome welcoming committee.

 The latest event to happen this summer was the wedding of my darling friend Kristen and her groom, Caleb. 

Her wedding was the fairytale I knew it would be, all things lovely and all things happy. It was incredible.

 Though I brought my camera for good measure, I took just about 12 pictures that day with it.

I was a guest, I wasn't working, I was present in the moment and I had a handsome date, who was I kidding ... my camera was a mere accessory that night. Shannon Lee Miller and Jordan Voth did the most perrrrfect job shooting their wedding. If you hadn't seen some of the teasers, you.need.to.

 It was a blessing, and an honor for Tim and I to be at Caleb and Kristen's wedding.

Not only has Kristen been such a sweet friend, and huge instrument and inspiration for my photography business, Kristen will be shooting our wedding in just 8 more months. Sharing in the joys of this season  of our lives has been such a blessing!

There were many more highlights to my summer than these few, like my sister and her husband buying their first home, my future sister-in-law announcing that she's preggers again, moving, many more friends of ours getting engaged and falling in love, getting my wedding shoes and having my first bridal fitting, and watching my little nephew grow, learn and change every single day. It's all been overwhelmingly wonderful. 

I will never forget this summer, the summer before getting married. It's never going to be the same, next time I feel summer's warmth I'll be a wife. I'll be living with my husband, my best friend in our own "home". I'll be living more than an hour and a half away from my family and the life I've lived the last 25 years. Everything's changing, we're all growing up. There's a lump growing in my throat the more I think about it, but a surge of joy over comes me at the same time. 

I've loved you summer, thank you for all of the adventures.

I hope your summer has been as wonderful as mine!