In case no one has told you, marriage is HARD. It tests your patience, challenges your character, inspires your dreams, pushes your limits, and refines you into the best person you can possibly be. If you talk to anyone that’s been married for a significant amount of time, they will tell you that they have weathered many challenges, and the ones that find compromise and willingness to learn at the center of their values are the ones that persevere. Often times at weddings, you will hear the advice “don’t go to bed angry” - but it’s so much more than that. It’s showing unconditional grace to the person you’ve decided to make an ultimate commitment to, and putting aside your reaction to challenges in favor of a caring response.

In current culture, pride is one of the biggest things we battle, and a marriage is one of the hardest hit areas of our lives. Love that endures deserves to be celebrated, and that is exactly what we did in this vow renewal session. These two have been married for 10 years with two beautiful children, and have walked through many challenges together hand in hand.

For their 10th wedding anniversary, the bride approached me about snapping a few photos of her and her family, but we schemed up a pretty epic vow renewal ceremony, with my pastor husband officiating. The ceremony took place right off of the parking lot of the day-use beach area of Yellowcreek. Even though it was a public state park, we still had “wilderness forest” vibes, which went perfectly with the beautiful boho touches. Petal and Stem knocked it out of the park with that gorgeous bouquet featuring mocha roses, and the flower crowns for mama and the girls!

A simple macrame hanging between two trees provided a great and simple backdrop, and a few Shepards hooks with lanterns, a small area rug, and the cutest vintage loveseat were all we needed to transform the picnic area into something super photogenic and memorable. The ceremony was just a few moments long, but the handwritten vows between the couple had all the other adults (my husband and I) bawling. The vows acknowledged the challenges the couple had been through, while celebrating their perseverance and their gratitude to one another for truly forming a team that can overcome it all.

After the mini ceremony we snapped some sweet family photos in the woods and at the beach. At this time the water level of the lake was very low, so the beach offered up some very unique and beautiful spots to capture truly stunning wedding portraits. This was one of the best afternoons of shooting I have been blessed to be a part of! I hope that if you are considering a vow renewal or even a “local elopement”, you can be inspired to make it extra special with just a few simple touches. Enjoy the highlights of the afternoon below!

Are you afraid to get family photos, but the thought of coordinating outfits, coaxing smiles, keeping kids from having meltdowns, picking the right time of day, the right location, the right photographer, and the million other decisions that go into it are enough to send you running?

I sat down with my dear friend and long time family photo veteran to ask her some honest questions about getting family photos done from the mom’s perspective - because let’s face it, it’s usually the mom that makes the plans! Hopefully her answers (and her gorgeous family pics!) are enough to help you conquer your fear and have some beautiful milestones documented.

Why is it important to get family photos?

I love getting family photos to document the growth of our family. I display them in sequential order to see how much the kids change from year to year.

What's the biggest obstacle in preparing for your photos?

No major obstacles for me in preparing for the photos, except maybe just trying to choose a good time in The day that would suit the little ones.

What advice do you have for other families?

Advice for families? Try not to stress over “perfection”. I’m my opinion you’ll be more satisfied with your photos if you relax and allow the photographer to do their thing.

What do you look for in a family photographer?

The photographer has to be good with the kids! I can smile all day long but it’s the kids that sometimes need the coaxing.

Is there anything you pre-plan for your family session?

I actually pre-plan and put a lot of thought into the family’s clothing. I have found I’m much more satisfied with the photos if I’m cognizant of coordinated outfits and also finding a color scheme that would suit my decor where I plan to display the photos themselves.

What's something you've learned to not stress over in regards to family pictures?

Don’t stress over the posing and “perfect” photos. I love the candids so much because they really capture the essence of the family.

Do you prefer outdoor or indoor sessions and why?

We have done almost exclusively outdoor sessions and I love them! But I would be very interested in trying indoor as well, probably only in our home though rather than in front of a set.

Do you like printing your photos, or do you use them mostly digitally?

I always print the photos and also have canvasses made. Love to have them around the house!

Family Portraits have come a long way since the department store studios with the cheesy backgrounds - you can have gorgeous family photos at pretty much any location that is special to you! I’ve known Sam and Nick for years, and one of the best things about them is that they are totally trusting of my creative process and willing to go and do anything I suggest.

When Sam asked me about doing some family photos, our original plan was going to be creating something epic on a joint-family vacation to Boston, but like so many other times this year, COVID had other plans. Like most of my friends, we are all foodies at heart and the city has a special place in our lives - so naturally some of the happiest places that come to my mind are found in Pittsburgh. Still wanting something unique and urban, we decided Pittsburgh would hit the spot, and then treated ourselves to some incredible arepas for dinner at The Columbian Spot.

The beautiful thing about shooting at Phipps is that they don’t require a permit or special permission to shoot on their outdoor property. With creative angles, you can have a range of backgrounds from the incredible spires of the greenhouse that look like something in Morocco, to lavender fields and weathered benches, to gothic architecture with lush greenery, to vibrant flower fields! It doesn’t take a big spot to make a big impact in your photos.

Creatively, however, my favorite part of this session was the total vibe-change as we ended the session at the top of a parking garage in Market Square. We were incredibly lucky to have the entire roof-top floor to ourselves, free of cars. I threw all convention out of the window and shot exclusively with off-camera flash (to capture those amazingly textured skies!) and a brand-new super-wide lens to give us a funky creative vibe with distortion and the ability to capture ALLLL of that amazing Pittsburgh skyline. Fun fact, I also shot 90% of them sitting on the ground because I had to pee so bad! I was determined not to have an accident in front of my friends, especially because we all carpooled an hour from Indiana, hahahaha!

Hope you enjoy one of my favorite family sessions to date, and I hope it inspires you to think outside of the box (and your zip code!) when planning your next photo session location!

Sometimes wedding photo locations can be very surprising, even just the Main Street of your town can provide for some awesome photos! Here we highlight some of the great urban locations in Indiana, PA to hopefully inspire your next photo session or give you some ideas if your wedding day doesn’t have a park and trees nearby.

We started our session on a rooftop with great views of downtown, but many times accessing these locations requires special permission and permitting, so if you spot a building in your own downtown with roof access, be sure to do your homework first and contact the building owner. Another thing to note is that there is no shade on a rooftop, so if you’re shooting in the middle of the say, prepare for sunny and harsh lighting.

Other great options are business facades with fun artwork, interesting architecture, or just historical significance to you! I’ve taken beautiful wedding portraits in front of bowling alleys, in college bars, and in front of abandoned buildings. If you’re willing to be creative and open minded, you can undoubtedly have unique portraits that won’t look like any one else’s!

These particular models had been married in a small, private ceremony at a local park previously, and as they were planning for a big wedding, life had different plans and they chose to do what felt right to them and just enjoy their married life together without a big party. We ended this super fun session with a few photos at the park where they got married at for sentimental value!

These types of urban sessions would also be great for anniversary photos or senior photos! Don’t be afraid to tell your photographer about locations that are special to you - almost any place can be photographed well!

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If you’re looking for unique portraits in Indiana, PA, there’s nothing quite as fun as exploring new places - especially if you have to be daring and reckless to get there - with your sibling! How many of you got in trouble growing up snooping around places together that you shouldn’t have been?! These sisters were not only up for an adventurous photo session in 50mph winds (WHAT were we thinking?!), but they also didn’t bat and eye when I suggested we climb 2 stories onto the roof of the iconic Indiana Theater on the Main Street in town. (

I was luckily enough to develop a friendship with Christine back when we worked together, and her younger sister Alex is just as sweet and has become a friend over the years of their “sister shoots” we’ve all experienced together! Since Alex lives in North Carolina, this sister shoot was even more special because it celebrated the bond these two have that is stronger than all the miles between them!

I can’t give these girl enough credit for sticking through some tough shooting conditions - since we could all only be together that particular day, we made the best of it and got some really cool urban shots! If you’re into industrial (or are just into Christine and Alex!), you’ll definitely love these photos!

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Blue Spruce park is one of a few hidden gems in the Indiana County region that is perfect for family photos. Because of the beautiful (but not too big) lake, mossy areas under beautiful trees, footbridges and creeks, and amazing golden sunlight in the evenings, it’s definitely a favorite! It’s also easy to find and offers a great playground for the kiddos after a successful session!

Finding a good family photo spot can be a challenging task, and we as photographers don’t expect you to have the best location in mind. I generally start off by asking if clients prefer a nature or urban setting, what time of year they want to do the session in to showcase the seasonal foliage, and then of course plan for the best time of day for that location and season! If clients really want flowers in their photos, we will usually plan on a spring session when trees and blooming and have the most drama in your photos. Winter sessions that want snow are a little harder to plan for, so having a more spontaneous schedule helps in those situations!

Blue Spruce is especially beautiful in the fall and has some of the most vibrant trees in the Indiana county area. There’s also great evergreen trees at Blue Spruce that make it great for winter sessions as well! Because it does have so many trees there is always a shady spot to get the best lighting, and the many parking spots and road that goes the entire way around the lake make it very convenient for guests to park and find you to start the session.

I have had the pleasure of photographing Kristen and Shane for years now, starting with their amazing wedding in 2012! Now two more sweet faces are a part of the gang! Here’s some of my favorite shots from their family session at Blue Spruce last weekend!

Do you wish you could do more with your wedding dress other than stuff it in a closet for another day and another lifetime? You spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on your wedding gown, and hopefully that cash means you feel like a million bucks on your big day, so why should the fate of your gown be a dark and lonely one in a garment bag in the back of your closet? It's becoming more and more popular for couple to schedule anniversary sessions where the gown gets to come out of retirement, and a bride gets to feel just as special as she did on her favorite day.

A few of my friends have done this, and if I still had my gown I totally would (more on that HERE), so when Kelly approached me about doing an anniversary session (I was a bridesmaid for her wedding), I was SUPER excited. We had such fun planning a mini wedding day, Kelly calling on some of the best local vendors in the industry to get her ready for her re-debut as a bride! Her gorgeous, soft up-do was done by Hannah at Cameron's Salon, the stunning makeup was courtesy of BethyMae, and of course, a girl's gotta accessorize! Kelly got a custom necklace made by Rosie at Miss Pie Jewelry!

Kelly and I have been close friends for quite some time, and there's not much she loves more than catching up with friends over a cup of coffee from the Commonplace (except shopping, of course. And LuLaRoe). Luckily her hubby also likes coffee, so it was natural that she and Jamison started off the anniversary session with a waltz into this super cool coffeehouse to share a cup in their Mr. and Mrs. mugs!

We intended to cut into their cake from yester-year, but none of us realized that it was akin to a delicious frosted glacier and would take several days to thaw out. There's your pro-tip: a week before your anniversary, set a reminder on your phone to move your cake from the freezer to the fridge. After the frozen cake and the hot coffee (and a few shocked stares from college students cramming for finals), we headed to Pittsburgh to get some magical photos in front of the Christmas tree at PPG Place.

As you can imagine, we got some crazy looks as we ran around both Indiana and Pittsburgh in the 17 degree weather in full wedding regalia, but I think you'll agree the end results are worth it! My awesome friend Jackie from J.jae Photography let me try out her super cool Mag Mod flash modifier, and when you throw in the gentle snowfall with this dreamy backlight, well, you just gotta see for yourself!