Bay Area Watercolor Artist | Kelly Maughan Personal Brand Session

"Your smile is intoxicating". I remember saying those exact words to Kelly during our session and still feel those hold true today. A light radiates from Kelly that is indescribable. Yes, she is absolutely stunning inside and out, but the warmth that you feel when you are around her is very rare to find in such a young person. I truly feel honored that she entered my life three years ago and that I call her one of my best friends.

Paris on Film | Paris Destination Photography

Back in May, Rob and I had the incredible opportunity to go frolic around Europe for a few days, revisiting spots that made our hearts flutter 3 years ago and seeing, experiencing and creating new memories as well.

Upscale Late Summer Supper | Featured on Green Wedding Shoes

One of my professional goals since I moved to San Francisco has been to collaborate with some amazing vendors this city has to offer and bring something fresh to the industry! With this upscale summer supper, we did just that. Working with this team was a dream (quite literally a dream team) and I am thrilled that Green Wedding Shoes loved our shoot as much as we did! Be sure to check out their full post HERE.

The idea for the dinner party stemmed from an image of a stone-fruit filled dessert in a cast-iron pan. As a creative, it’s unbelievable how a mere photograph of one dessert, with the help of other creative professionals, can ripen into a beautiful celebration of summer, good food, and good friends.

I wanted to bring to life a rustic, yet sophisticated dinner party. The bistro lights, succulent walls, and cobblestone floors of Stable Cafe in San Francisco’s Mission District made it the prime location for our vision. The menu and decor then flourished from the natural elegance of Stable Cafe.

Rachael of Ruby and Rose took elements I had envisioned and created a cohesive palette to follow suite. Her meticulous attention to detail and uncanny eye for patterns, colors, and textures allowed for the sophistication I had visualized amongst a rustic venue. I brought on Amanda of Amanda Vidmar Design to assure the floral design was natural and elegant. Foraging greenery, flowers, and even a few stems of tomatillos from her community garden in the city assured seasonality, which was akin to the seasonal menu that was created by LRE Catering. Stone-fruit filled salad garnished with edible flowers, perfectly grilled Bavarian steak, and succulent potatoes were among the exquisitely thought-out menu items. The original stone-fruit filled dessert in a cast-iron pan that started it all was developed into a sweet, seasonal berry crisp with oats infused with lavender. The menus were beautifully hand-written by Brianne of Brown Fox Calligraphy, in addition to name-tags attached to plums to bring out the cool tones of the palette. 

One True Love Vintage Rentals brought along refreshingly new inventory that would create our cozy lounge, as well as the dining table which would complement the gray glassware, slate china, and ivory Heath Ceramics votives provided by Chairs and Cups. We wanted to achieve a relaxed, modern feel, and the rentals brought our vision to life.

The collaboration was a beautiful synthesis of talented wedding and event professionals to spark creativity and generate a positive community. Mid-Summer is a busy time for us all, but we were all incredibly thankful to take a moment from our busy lives to come together and enjoy a meal. After all, “one cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well”.

Venue @stablecafe | Planning & Event Design @ruby.and.rose | Event & Floral Design @amandavidmar | Photographer @kaylafphoto | Calligraphy @brownfoxcalligraphy | Rentals @otlvintage | Tableware @chairsandcups | Catering @lrecatering | Tablerunner @silkandwillow | Additional Accessories @cb2

Featured: The Inspired Editorial | Blush and Honey Paper Branding Session

I have been a major slacker when it comes to the blog and keeping it up to date with all the loveliness that is going on in business, eep! Be sure to follow along on Instagram for weekly updates and behind the scene stories thanks to Instagram Stories...its just one more way for us to stalk each other! :D

One of the amazing items that I didn't share that I am BEYOND proud of is a feature in a new and fresh online magazine called The Inspired Editorial! It's a fantastic resource for small business creatives that has tons of beautiful eye candy and incredible tidbits and interviews with movers and shakers in our industry! Brit Chandler, the owner and creative mind behind the Inspired Editorial has put her heart, soul and talent into bringing the not-so-fun business stuff to creatives in a beautifully packaged, and easily accessible online platform! I'm thrilled that she interviewed one of my incredibly talented and best friends, Lauren Hitchcock, with Blush and Honey Paper for her FIRST Etsy Envy series! You can check out the snippet of the interview HERE, but be sure to download the magazine so that you can read the full interview!

Lauren began her watercolor portrait business about 2 years ago when she began watercoloring elements for her own wedding and found the passion and IMMENSE talent she has! It makes sense that Lauren has all this creativeness pouring out of her as she is an Elementary School Art Teacher and is surrounded by little ones that have open minds and no inhibitions. If you look at her Etsy page, you'll notice she has a way with painting the most whimsical and cheerful custom portraits! She focuses on pets, but has added many other custom works like family illustrations, home illustrations, and super cute greeting cards! She even surprised me with a custom illustration of my headshot, my wedding dress, bouquet and Rob's boutonnieres. I about died and absolutely love having them hang up on my wall above my desk! They are the perfect inspiration! Y'all...she's a force to be reckoned with! She just published her own kiddos book, D is for Dog: Pups from A-Z and in case I haven't gushed enough about her, she has teamed up with her local animal shelter and every purchase of a custom painted pet portrait feeds a pet in need! She is just fantastic!

I'm so excited to share these amazing branding session images that I got to take with Lauren back in Knoxville. We rented The Hive Knoxville for her session and by the end of it she was illustrating on their chalkboard and they asked to keep it up for the rest of the day! ;) Enjoy!!

San Francisco Baker Beach Engagement | Wallis and Josh Engaged

Wallis and Josh started dating in the 8th grade. Through seven years of being together, they have gone through life's battles, triumphs, valleys, and mountains. I'm lucky to say that I've known Wallis for a few years, but just recently was able to witness her and Josh's ebbs and flows as a couple. That totally sounds silly, but I truly believe that couples know how to move together, fit together and really can become in sync; they flow. And no, not only while walking down the street together or cuddling on a couch watching their favorite show, but during a photo session as well. And when it happens, its magical! There is a photo I captured of Wallis and Josh...and when I came across it editing, I stopped. THIS is what I want to capture. I asked them to dance in the streets of San Francisco; they laughed, they stumbled, they turned multiple shades of red; and then, Wallis reached out and grabbed a hold of Josh and they came together, totally in sync. My heart pitter-pattered, because let's face it, I'm a hopeless romantic!

Not only did we spend some incredible time in the streets of the city dancing, but we also went over to Baker Beach for some golden hour glory! Man oh man! The light showed up for these two! These are easily some of my favorite images to date...it was completely magical! We laughed so much about #shouldersandchin that it might actually become their wedding day hashtag...maybe! ;)

I am beyond humbled that Wallis & Josh asked me to take their destination engagement photos while they vacationed here in San Francisco! We frolicked all over the city and had so much fun going to new spots and exploring together! I cannot wait to see how stunning their wedding will be this year back in Tennessee!