KNOXVILLE WINTER NEWLYWEDS | JENNA AND RYAN

Ryan and Jenna said their "I Do's" in a small ceremony up on a mountain top overlooking Norris lake in November and it was a sight to see! Their wedding day post will be coming soon, but before we delve into their dreamy ceremony, I wanted to share their sweet and fun winter newlywed session in downtown Knoxville. Enjoy!

Smiles,
Kayla F

Candoro Marble Building Maternity Session

Elegant, fun, fresh and classic.  These are words that come to mind when I think about the incredible and historic Candoro Marble Building in Knoxville, TN. I stumbled across this gem from another photographer I highly admire and decided to contact the organization to see if I could take some photos there. Working with Wendy was great and we easily were able to set up two photoshoots using the building and grounds. Not only did we get to have an unique and elegant backdrop but my clients were able to donate a small fee to the building to help with the restoration that is taking place in 2015. Its the little things that make the difference! :D

My sweet, dear and incredibly talented friend Beth, owner of Runaway Alice Photography, completely honored me by asking if I would take her maternity photos! I was absolutely thrilled and we began to work on a vision for her shoot. Long dresses, lace, white walls and a flower crown were all ideas that we threw out and that came to fruition. Little did I know that Beth brought along a beautiful mink that she donned for a few photos; definitely went with the historic period of Candoro Marble Building!

So excited for Beth and her little munchkin and her hubs, Zach! I can't wait to see the amazing parents that I know they will be! 

planning the big day | the paper goods

Wow! I can’t believe that May 4^th is right around the corner!!! Planning a wedding, having a full time job and growing my photography business has just eaten up my time, but I wanted to continue with the planning the big day series! I’ve had many people ask me when my next post will be, so I’ll be making a solid effort to blog once a week on our big day!

In my last planning the big day post, we showcased our amazing venue! Rob and I just absolutely fell in love with Maple Grove Inn and knew that we had to have our wedding here. It had everything we wanted and SO much more!!!

Since we got engaged {almost} two years ago, we wanted to send out Save-the-Dates to our friends and family that we 100% knew we wanted to invite to the wedding so they could mark their calendars. Having a wedding in early May means little kiddos are still in school and families are starting to begin {or already have begun} planning their vacations. So we knew we wanted to get a jump on them!

In looking at Save-the-Dates, there is an abundant amount of inspiration and incredibly talented designers out and about!!! {See a list at the bottom of this post for some vendors}. Would we go with a photo for the save-the-date? A magnet? A viewfinder {trust me, they make them}? Or stay simple and showcase the amazing venue that we are getting married at?? Well, you guessed it! I actually had my mind set on a photo save-the-date. I mean, I am a photographer and all. But after meeting with one of my brides Katie, and seeing her save-the-date, I instantly knew that I wanted to have a drawn representation of our venue! 

The Save-the-Date that started it all. {the link to this vendor is at the bottom of this post}

Now, you all have probably seen me gush about Kate with Kate Moore Creative! She designed my photography logo and I've had a love fest with her work for a few years now {she's genius, let me just say}! So off I went to send an email to Kate. Here is a verbatum excerpt of what I sent her, "We absolutely LOVE our venue (Maple Grove Inn) and would love to have a sketch done of it for the save-the-dates."  When she replied back with "Ummmm YESSSS! yay! i would adore doing something for you guys. Your style is so awesome and I am in love with the idea of a sketch of the maple grove inn. so different and adorable." I knew we were a match made in Heaven {as if I didn't already know this...psh}.  So a few emails back and forth and I sent her this image! :D

Let me just say, when I got the proof back for our save-the-date, I literally sat there and stared at it for probably a good 5-7 minutes. I was in aww! It was EXACTLY what I wanted! She nailed it. Literally. I couldn't have even thought that it would be this awesome! She even did a handdrawn  picture of Maple Grove Inn! I loved every single little big of it! Now the only conundrum I had was what color did we want it in???

We chose lavender {did you expect me to choose something else} and then decided that we wanted to STAMP them! Oh yea! We bought this amazing super thick cotton paper from Holyoke Papers,  our envelopes from Paper Source, and our stamps from Clancy Stamping Co. {local}. And off we starting stamping!!! 

{so I'm a loser and only documented our envelope process, sad day}

You'll see the FINAL product in our wedding day pictures!! I hope you loved seeing the process that we went through and how you can make a save-the-date unique and tie in with your wedding theme!!! :D

Smiles,

Kayla F

 View Finder Save-the-Dates

Adorable Picture Save-the-Dates

Katie Save-the-Date

Calligraphy Postcard Save-the-Date

Custom Handkerchief Save-the-Date

the kiddo | elijah vance

So as you are reading this, I am on my way to Nashville for an awesome photography workshop help by two AMAZING industry professionals!!! I hope to come back with a fire under my tush to accomplish my 2013 goals (which I will share in a later post) and take this whole photography "thing" to another level. Its my passion and why shouldn't I be happy and do this as much and as BIG as I can?!? So, more with that later! Now onto the awesome stuff...

This may be one of my favorite sessions and clients (I know I know...I say this every time, but my clients ROCK my socks off)!! When I received Sarah's email I might have done a little happy dance at my computer!!! I had been FB and Pinterest stalking Sarah since her wedding that I shot with Jennie Andrews all the way back in 2010!!! I was just absolutely BLOWN away that she would ask me to do her newborn session!! So baby watch began...and ended rather soon! Before I knew it, I was sending an email just checking in and Elijah had been born the day before (so maybe my stalking skills are not up to par). Since it was December and chilly (or freezing) we decided to do the session at home! I love love LOVE home sessions! Especially newborn home sessions. Everyone is comfy, everything that baby needs is right there, and if you are to ever have pictures taken in your home, it should be with a new addition to the family! Eeek! Be prepared to Oohhhh and Aaaahhhh! I know I did countless times while taking these pictures, editing them and then again when choosing which ones to blog! :D

I came in to a sleepy baby (which is my favorite) and he was just soooo stinking cute! I soon found that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and Elijah definitely takes after his Dad, Jason in height! He's SOOO long!!!! 

Look at those cheeks! 

 I think babies with one sock is mandatory. Two socks is not cute, one sock...PERFECT! 

 Omgsh...just melts my heart how Jason looks at Elijah!!! 

 Sarah is little miss crafty! She not only made these adorable letters, but she also showed me all kinds of other adorable things....like a growth chart that goes all the way up to 7ft! Lol!!! Hey, you never with this kiddos' genes! 

 LOVE all the orange details!!! The awesome mobile is from Africa when Sarah went and did mission work last year and the type writer is a present from a friend. LOVE details in a nursery!!!!

 Ok, maybe this one is my favorite...I seriously just can't get over it!

Seriously, seriously?!?! No, this one is my fav of the day! :D 

Sarah, Jason and of course Elijah, thank you SO much for inviting me into your "temporary" home and taking these images of Elijah! I hope you cherish them and I can't wait to see you soon! 6 months will be here before you know it! :D

Smiles,

Kayla F