At Home with Abby+Matt // Rochester, NY Family Session

This was a wonderful reunion for us with Abby and Matt, whom we first photographed in 2009 when they were just dating! Abby was my beloved coworker when we were both elementary school teachers. Her classroom was connected to mine and she was my go-to if I needed anything. She was a fabulous teacher and all the kids loved her, and I loved her too! Then I did a major career change and quit teaching, and she became my lovely model along with her incredibly nice boyfriend Matt. And ::SUPER LIFE FAST-FORWARD MONTAGE:: they are now married with two kids and have relocated up to Rochester, New York! And WE were gonna be in Rochester and they found out and we had a lovely chance to see each other again and to work with their adorable kiddos! Olivia is the oldest clocking in at 3 years, and Amara is the youngest at 3 months. Olivia enjoys her sparkly light-up Crocs, covering her mom in a barrage of pillows and then jumping on her, and reading books with her dad. Amara enjoys sleeping, eating, sleeping, eating, eating, and eating. They are CUTE KIDS!! who have FABULOUS PARENTS who enjoy hanging out with each other and making things fun for their children (not surprising as Abby was such a great teacher, and Matt is one of the kindest and friendliest people on the earth).

Together we hung out in Olivia’s room (where she, like many CSP child-clients before her, discovered to her delight that she was somehow, for an unknown, mysterious reason, suddenly allowed to jump on the bed without being reprimanded and took full advantage), and their light-filled living room before heading over a near-and-dear park in their neighborhood. Olivia went down the same slide repeatedly and showed off her mad soccer skillz with a giant rubber ball (that at one point was stolen by a 2-year-old playground thief and I had to show some strong muscle to get it back), and Amara and her mom hung out on a blanket. We had a lovely sunny afternoon with none of that NC humidity that we were all accustomed to living down here, and it was so nice to see our friends again. <3

Jamie+Matt // Backyard Wedding in Ontario, New York

It was good, great, amazing luck that we were able to come to upstate New York and photograph this wedding. Geoff’s cousin was getting married in Rochester the weekend of Labor Day, and it had been on our calendar for a very long time. But we very coincidentally (and luckily!) got an inquiry from Matt and Jamie to photograph their wedding in Jamie’s parents’ backyard in Ontario, New York the weekend before Geoff’s cousin was to be married, and only about 30 minutes away from Geoff’s aunt and uncle’s house! And it’s GORGEOUS in upstate New York this time of year, and the humidity is lowww, and so we graciously accepted and were very excited.

I actually went to high school with our wonderful groom Matt! He was a grade or two below me and I knew him without a beard. When his identical twin showed up at the wedding sans beard, I was like “THAT’S MATT!” but then no, that’s the Germany-based, identical twin, beardless version of today’s Matt. And I believe by our counts that brings our identical twin client total up to 5! Anyway, Matt is kind and caring and fun and has great tattoos and I was so excited to be reunited with him, and to meet his lovely fiancee Jamie in person. We Skyped with them when we first booked them, and Jamie was really gorgeous. And I’ve seen her pictures on Instagram and she was still really gorgeous. But then in real life, it’s like she takes all of the gorgeous video and photos of her and mashes them together and it gets amplified into this REALLY RIDICULOUSLY GORGEOUS PERSON THAT THERE ARE NO BAD PHOTOGRAPHS OF EVER. Really. I culled through all the photos we took, and there are zero bad pictures of her. I didn’t see her make one expression the entire day that wasn’t 100% lovely and charming in every way. I’m not entirely sure how she does it. My best guess is some sort of Little Mermaid-esque magic where some sort of trade was made with a nefarious Disney character at some point, but I don’t have the proof.

Their wedding was beautiful, warm, and sunny. People threw rainbow sprinkles at them as they walked down the aisle, and Jamie ate them as she walked (again, she’s a girl after my own heart), and then Matt and the bridesmaids had to pick them out of her hair before they melted. There were lots of cats. There was also apple cider, donuts, and cotton candy. We took pictures next to willow trees! And next to Lake Ontario! And then in a freaking apple orchard covered in actual full blown apples and it was like WHAT KIND OF DREAM AM I IN. Apparently we need to photograph weddings in upstate New York more often.


– Date: August 26, 2017
– Ceremony + Reception Venue: Private Home // Ontario, New York
– First Dance Song: “You Are The Best Thing” – Ray LaMontagne
– Jamie’s Occupation: Freelance Graphic Designer
– Matt’s Occupation: Art Director, Advertising
– How You Met: Art School in Pittsburgh.
– Interesting Fact: We love coffee, we’re depressed that Hogwarts may or may not actually exist, cats should run the world (or do?), Matt’s an identical twin.
– Honeymoon: Backpacking in Europe
– Vendor Credits: Officiant – Jen Mastro (family friend). DJ – Adam Dibble from Encore Events. Florist – Kittleberger. Cake – Katie Beck. Caterer – Root Catering. Hair/Makeup – Rocky Grecco. Videographer – Mike Liu. Coordinator – Jenna with Bella Co.

Amanda+David // Raleigh Portrait Photographer

Amanda and David will have been together for 10 years in December and decided to hang out with us in some parking lots and alleyways and get bit by a whole bunch of mosquitos to celebrate! During this celebration we mostly tortured Amanda with spinning and twirling and tickling but I’m sure she’s stronger for it now. These two met while they were both in high school forever ago and then they went to NC State where they graduated and both got jobs doing teacher-esque things helping kiddos and helping people help kiddos. They have two cats named Genevieve and Gillian because they believe that animals should have human names. David likes working on cars and educated me about how to feel safe while driving a Miata around tractor trailers. Amanda likes barre classes and pop music. Together, they enjoy grilling and a fine gin (is the term “fine gin” a thing?). They also like traveling and are planning a trip to Puerto Rico that we’re jealous of (Carolyn is easily portable inside a suitcase and no one ever has to know). We are so glad that they spent their anniversary with us so we could photograph these fineeee, fine people and their love.