Downtown Columbus, Ohio + Spagio in Granville

I loved John and Jillian’s engagement session! It incorporated a great mix of their love story, fun, romance, and gorgeous sunlight! Speaking of their love story…be sure to read below about how their lives circled back to each other after years had passed. John and Jillian met while studying at the University of Cincinnati, but their lives took different directions. John followed his dreams of playing in the NFL, while Jillian pursued her career in Cincinnati and here in Columbus. Good ol’ social media in the form of Facebook brought their paths back together and it was much more than clicking the “Add Friend” button. Yep…true love! John and Jillian are getting ready to tie the knot in 2020!! Congratulations, John and Jillian!  Their first date was at Spagio, so a few minutes of pictures at this cute restaurant in Granville was a MUST!

2019 has been the “Year of Babies!” I’m pretty sure by the end of the year I will have photographed more babies in 2019 than in my whole career combined!

When I photograph newborns I bring the session to the family’s home where everyone is comfortable in their own surroundings and the newborn doesn’t have to be taken out. When I arrive I look around to find the best window light and setting that will make for nice pictures. I bring along a few swaddles and props, but it’s always special when there’s a blanket that a grandma made to wrap the baby or something unique to the parents to incorporate into the session. I’ve learned over the years that you need a lot of patience with newborns! The sessions can take anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours (one time I was with a baby for almost 4 hours!! Eeek!) Their tummies need to be full and it’s best if they sleep!

It’s my pleasure to introduce to you all the cute little babies I’ve met this year! (I’ll try to keep it to four pictures of each…that’s hard to do!)

  Garrett Torin Hunter Caroline Graham Hadley Lydian Elliott Weston

Sun-Kissed Creek and Meadow Session

In this part of the country (Ohio specifically) winter can sometimes seem to lag on, and somehow this year spring and warmer temps felt like a long time in coming. It’s easy to get a bit down-in-the-dumps when it comes to the “dead” scenery around, HOWEVER, let me be the first to say that this session was not the case! The sun was shining and all of the muted colors left from winter blended beautifully with Jenna’s outfits! Not to sound cliché, but this momma-to-be was literally glowing…STUNNING! Let’s talk fashion… Jenna’s choice of maternity outfits for this session were on point! Everything was from Amazon, and Jenna shared they were all reasonably priced!    Jared and Jenna, thank you so much for allowing me to capture this stage for you! Many blessings as you anticipate the arrival of little Torin! I’ll be excited to hear of his arrival!

Styled Tablescapes

Have you ever been invited to a meal and felt absolutely treated because of how the host took the time to make things special? Sometimes the smallest details on a table setting can make the biggest difference in making our guests feel at home and truly welcomed. I had the privilege of joining several local businesses to create two simple and welcoming settings.

The first is a “Tea for Two” themed party setting. Can’t you just imagine little girls having fun at this tea party?! Cupcakes, tea, flowers, and pillows to relax on! A little girls dream!

This next tablescape design was quite easy to pull together, and yet so warm and welcoming! The slight touches of eucalyptus and blue/green hues mixed with the wood-on-wood table and bowls gave the setting a natural and yet elegant look.  The finishing touches of gold utensils and hand-scripted calligraphy name cards brought it all together beautifully. It was a pleasure to work with the following businesses:

Venue: The Barn on Chapel Road

Designer: MB Design Concepts

Stationary: Calligraphy By Katie

I was so excited to photograph this home session for Jonathan and Morgan. Two years ago they tied the knot and now have their own home! They’ve made it so cozy, welcoming, and personal. Their crisp and clean white accents mixed with modern touches of decor were put together perfectly. Everywhere I looked I saw their personal touches hanging on the walls with pictures from their wedding or engagement session (which I LOVED to see, because I took them!) As always, these two were so comfortable in front of the camera and had fun with the session as we moved around their house!

P.S. Don’t miss their beautiful dog, Mia! She was also quite the model!!

Peter Jon and Ashley’s wedding was AMAZING!!! The weather was perfect, the couple was stunning, the details were beautiful…everything from start to finish was top notch! But all the details aside, what blessed me the most was seeing the hearts of Peter Jon and Ashley. You could tell the desire for their lives and marriage is to put God first. I’m sure the ceremony was a sweet aroma to God as they worshiped. And then at the reception Peter Jon and Ashley ate last after greeting their guests…they liked the symbolism of having their guests go first. Their joy was so much fun to capture in photos. I believe you’ll see their genuine spirits as you look through the pictures of their day… The day took place at Ashley’s home. What a beautiful setting! One of the gifts PJ gave Ashley was a magazine cover complete with details from their day and lives. For example, one of the features on the cover was, “Ash late to her own wedding…, ‘So normal’ says Peej.”  Time for their first look!  Peter Jon and Ashley are two of the top men’s and women’s Spikeball players in the world, so playing a little roundnet on their wedding day was a must! Peter Jon asked Ashley to be his girlfriend at this old one-room schoolhouse the night they graduated from high school. Over the years they’ve gone on dates at the schoolhouse, and last year PJ asked Ashley to marry him here! PJ even carved his wedding band out of wood from the school!  During the ceremony Emma painted the scene. LOVE this!!! Breakfast, donuts, and pastries!!! YES!!!! The donut wall was on “display” when the guests entered the reception area and in no time the wall was emptied even before dinner!!! When it was filled again it was guarded by at least three people for approximately an hour until it was officially dessert time! Be sure to read the story below of the donkey salt and pepper shaker. 🙂 The sunset was absolutely gorgeous!!!  First dance on the beach of the pond. Ice cream cones instead of feeding each other cake!

Florist: Roxanne of Perla Flor Designs

Wedding Coordinator/Designer: Tina Yoder

Hair & Makeup: Stacy at Rustic Roots

Wedding Dress: Wendy’s Bridal

Donuts :): Krispy Kreme

Special thanks to my photography second shooter, Emilee of Emilee Hope Photography.

Grove City, Ohio

Joe and Brittany’s wedding wrapped up my 2018 wedding season and what an ending…such a WONDERFUL day!!

We began the day with Brittany and her girls at the Courtyard in Grove City…

Brittany, you are stunning!! Then we were off to the Pinnacle Golf Club for the ceremony and reception. It was a bit of an unseasonably cold day for November, but Brittany and her girls braved the shivers and survived capturing a few pictures outside! I love this picture of Joe, his dad, and brothers. You could tell family is important to Joe and Brittany.  Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Ford!! Thank you, Joe and Brittany, for allowing me to capture the memories of your day! It was truly a privilege!

Wedding Dress: David’s Bridal

Tuxedos: The Black Tux

Flowers: Flower Man

Venue: The Pinnacle Golf Club

Wedding Coordinator: Lisa Bapst

Hair/Makeup: Nancy Shockley

Cake: Cake Creations

Videographer: Andrew E. Weber

Special thanks to Deborah of DG Photography for joining me to second shoot for the day.

Prairie Oaks Metro Park

Thanks for dropping by to read a little about Ryan and Rebecca and to see some of their engagement pics! I feel like I have so much to tell you!!

Let’s start with their love story…

Rebecca shared, “We met our Freshman year of college while at a Christian conference in Indianapolis. I was really involved with a Christian organization on campus, so I signed up for the winter conference with my best friend Lauren. She mentioned a guy from her Econ class coming, but I didn’t think anything of it. Come to find out…it was Ryan! Ryan was not involved in the organization, but was pushed by friends to attend the conference. Lauren introduced us right before the first worship session of the conference. We became really good friends and here we are now! 🙂 We love to look back at the time we first met and see how our relationship began in the presence of Christ at the conference and how He continues to be at the center of our relationship.” Ryan, tell me a little about Rebecca and what you love about her. “Rebecca is a Christ-centered woman. She is a servant and puts others before herself. Becca loves to run, solve puzzles and do anything that is outdoors. I love the passion that she has to make children’s lives better by being a wonderful teacher. I fell in love with Rebecca because of her strong faith in the lord, as well as, her fun and adventurous personality. She is always willing to try something new! She is my best friend!” Rebecca, how would you describe Ryan? “Ryan is one of the biggest blessings that the Lord has given me. Ryan is such a hard worker and is extremely dedicated to anything he puts his mind to. Ryan loves everything outdoors from being at the farm to hunting, fishing, building things or laid back camping trips. I love Ryan because he chases after the Lord and selflessly serves others in any way that he can. I admire his strength, dedication, selflessness, and strong desire to continually chase after Christ. Ryan is my best friend and I am excited to see what God’s plan is for us.” Ryan and Rebecca love to go on adventures and explore new places. They can’t sit still! They spend a lot of time outside hiking, fishing, hunting, running and cycling. Ryan and Rebecca’s session took place in October on one of those not-so-nice fall weather days. It kept threatening to storm and even sprinkled on us a bit, but never enough that we felt we needed to reschedule. At the very end it got CRAZY windy and we joked about “where we were in the tornado of 2018” (thank You, Jesus, that didn’t happen!) But for the final photo opt and because they like running, it only seemed fitting to run and watch Rebecca’s hair blow in the wind! Ryan and Rebecca, I’m already looking forward to your wedding next year!

P.S. Please say a prayer for Ryan and Rebecca and their family. Ryan’s dad passed away this week. While they have peace knowing he is with Jesus and has a new, cancer-free body, it’s still so hard to face the finality here on earth. All my love, hugs, and prayers to the Roll family.

Bryn Du Mansion, Granville, Ohio

I could use so many words to describe Brock and Katie’s day…beautiful, sweet and sentimental emotions, elegant, classy, gorgeous, and so many more! They say, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” so I’ll allow the pictures to tell you the story of their day with a few added tidbits here and there! Brock carved his wedding band out of deer antler! What a unique idea! Katie’s dad, Tom, got a special “first look” moment with Katie.  Before he entered the room to see Katie, he asked to see the first love of his life…Kathleen, his wife. They exchanged a kiss and then went into the room to see Katie. So sweet! As you look at these pictures I hope you can feel the loving and tear-filled emotions felt during these moments…truly special. Katie had written a letter to each of her parents and then they took a few moments to pray with Katie.  Brock and Katie’s first look took place in the formal garden of the mansion grounds. Brock wanted to watch Katie as she walked “down the aisle.” Brock’s mischievous side came out a bit when he wore his sunglasses for the beginning of their first look (he didn’t think Katie would want him to have sunglasses on! 🙂 ) He then slipped them off for the WOW moment as he watched Katie walk toward him!  This little guy kept fluttering up to us, so we had to oblige and snap a few pictures of him, too!  Katie surprised Brock by wearing a “blusher veil” over her face as she walked down the aisle. The tears flowed in this beautiful moment. Katie’s beautiful veil was made by Brock’s mom, Judy!  In the two pictures below you’ll see a little smirk and giggles…Brock had asked the pastor to change Katie’s vows a bit to say something about promising to give a massage everyday!! As you can see Katie was surprised! 🙂 Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs. Yutzy!!

Special thanks to Deborah of DG Photography for joining me for the day and second shooting.