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Family Portrait: Angel & Jeremiah – Downtown Prattville, Alabama

I knew Angel for a while before we did this shoot, and I had photographed her once before (when I did some headshots for Doug’s 2 Salon). When I was doing a bit of testing/experimenting with new camera gear and needed a guinea pig, I knew who I wanted as a test subject. On short notice, Angel showed up for me in downtown Prattville (God love her), and brought her son Jeremiah along for some family portraits. Of course they arrived looking like they walked out of a fall catalog, which was perfect for a walk along the creek and a little rolling around in the leaves. 🙂

little boy portrait in prattville alabama

woman and little boy hugging next to a creek

mom and son portrait in prattville alabama

black and white portrait of pretty brunette woman in a light hat and plaid skirt

little boy sticking his tongue out at mom in prattville alabama

mom and son goofing around in fall outfits

mom and son backlit by sunlight in prattville alabama

little boy with missing teeth lying on park bench

little boy climbing through a park bench

woman and son walking in prattville alabama

mom and son posing for portrait in prattville

portrait of brunette woman wearing pink sweater

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Wedding: Lauren & James – Northside United Methodist Church & Summerour Studio – Atlanta, Georgia

dramatic modern wedding pictures at summerour studio

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Baby Portrait: Etta – Blount Cultural Park – Montgomery, Alabama

I hadn’t seen Etta’s parents since I shot their wedding a few years prior – and they came all the way from Arizona to have me take some baby portraits for them (okay technically, they were visiting family too, but don’t burst my bubble, lol). I met the three of them (plus their dogs, Allie and Winston) at Blount Cultural Park on a nice cool day and just let Etta do her thing. She did a bit a of a faceplant early on, but she was a tough cookie and carried on!

baby girl holding a leaf at blount cultural park

baby playing with a leaf at blount cultural park

black and white picture of baby smiling at blount park

baby sticking tongue out in montgomery al

baby girl in pink bonnet at blount cultural park

baby in pink bonnet laughing at blount cultural park

baby in pink bonnet smiling at blount cultural park

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Destination Wedding: Sarah & Henry – Lonesome Valley – Sapphire/Cashiers, North Carolina

Sarah is from Birmingham, Alabama, but she’s a world traveler – which is how she met Henry, who is English. Since they made friends all over the world, and Henry’s family was based in the UK, most of the guests would have to travel for the wedding, no matter where it took place. Sarah’s family has had a cabin in Cashiers, North Carolina for years, so she already had an affinity for the area. With the help of the team at Invision Events, they decided that Lonesome Valley was the perfect place to celebrate!

botanical wedding invitation suite with calligraphy

closeup of calligraphy on lonesome valley wedding invitation

wedding gown hanging next to deer mount sculpture

wedding rings with flowers at lonesome valley wedding

bride's shoes and rings at lonesome valley wedding

bride getting dressed for lonesome valley wedding

mom hugging bride before lonesome valley wedding

bride and groom almost kissing next to lake at lonesome valley

bride and groom's first look before lonesome valley wedding

bride and groom kiss next to lake at lonesome valley

bride and groom snuggling next to north carolina lake

Sarah’s Martina Liana dress had the prettiest lace back with a long line of tiny covered buttons. As a nod to his roots and his new life in the States, Henry wore cufflinks that were half American flag, half UK flag.

bride next to lake before north carolina wedding

buttons and lace on the back of bride's dress in north carolina

groom adjusting glasses before north carolina wedding

bride with bridesmaids in light blue dresses in lonesome valley

Maid of Honor Tullia’s medical school graduation ceremony was scheduled for the day of the wedding, but she skipped it to be there for Sarah – talk about a ride or die kind of friend! The ribbon on Sarah’s bouquet was fabric taken from her mother’s wedding dress.

bride with bridesmaids before highlands north carolina wedding

bride admiring bouquet before lonesome valley wedding

groom and groomsmen striking funny pose at highlands wedding

wedding party in north carolina mountains

bride walking with mom and dad into lonesome valley wedding ceremony

bride walking down the aisle with dad during north carolina wedding

groom smirking as highlands ceremony starts

bride looking at groom during north carolina wedding ceremony

wedding ceremony at lonesome valley in north carolina

bride saying vows during north carolina mountain wedding

bride and groom kiss as they exit highlands north carolina wedding ceremony

bride and groom walking through lonesome valley after wedding

bride and groom kiss at lonesome valley north carolina wedding

bride adjusting veil in highlands north carolina

bride and groom with veil blowing in lonesome valley

place settings at lonesome valley wedding

The reception was held in and around Canyon Kitchen, the restaurant within the Lonesome Valley community. They also catered dinner for the event, served family style. The featured cocktail was Pimm’s Cup, a classic British favorite. Henry gave an epic toast that brought the house down – he announced he had purchased one square foot of land in Scotland. Why? Because as landowners, that officially made Sarah and Henry a “Lord” and “Lady”!

dinner menu for lonesome valley wedding reception

floral centerpiece at lonesome valley wedding reception

closeup of flowers at north carolina wedding

wedding reception dinner at lonesome valley's canyon kitchen

wedding guests mingling outside canyon kitchen at lonesome valley

salad course at canyon kitchen wedding reception

lamb chops served at canyon kitchen wedding reception

groom gives toast at canyon kitchen wedding reception

band performing at lonesome valley wedding reception

first dance at canyon kitchen wedding reception

guests dancing at canyon kitchen wedding reception

groom playing drums during canyon kitchen wedding reception

I had no idea Henry was a musician until this happened. Turns out Henry has some mad drumming skills, so the band let him jump in for a song, and he KILLED it!

groom playing drums with the band at lonesome valley wedding reception

groom celebrating with guests at canyon kitchen wedding reception

bride and groom's sparkler exit from canyon kitchen wedding reception

bride and groom with sparklers after lonesome valley wedding reception

grand exit with sparklers outside canyon kitchen wedding reception

You can view a little multimedia video of their day below. Thanks Sarah & Henry for letting me frolic in the mountains with you!

Venue: Lonesome Valley

Catering: Canyon Kitchen at Lonesome Valley

Wedding planning & design: Invision Events

Wedding gown: Martina Liana

Cake & cupcakes: Cream & Flutter

Band: Az IzZ

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Commercial Food Event: International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Conference – James Beard House, Institute of Culinary Education & New York Hilton Midtown – New York City, New York

After shooting the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) Conference the in Louisville, Kentucky, I was excited to be asked to return the following year for their conference in New York City! NYC is a great city in general, but everyone knows that it’s a mecca for amazing food and restaurants, so it’s the perfect setting for a culinary event. Most of the conference took place at the New York Hilton Midtown, but we started off at the James Beard House with an invite-only party for industry influencers.

charcuteri plate at iacp influencer event

cocktail with cucumber and mint at culinary conference

Next we we headed downtown to the Institute of Culinary Education (aka ICE) for workshops. What could be more appropriate for New York City than a bagel class with Melissa Weller? There were also walking tours of famous NYC bars, and of course a welcome party featuring local restaurants and locally made products, such as ice cream from Ample Hills Creamery.

melissa funk weller teaching at institute of culinary education

iacp attendees using kitchenaid mixers at culinary conference

iacp attendees taking class at institute of culinary education

iacp attendee recording video during class

everything bagels made at iacp conference

freshly baked bagels at iacp conference field trip

james briscione teaching during iacp conference

plate created during iacp conference field trip

food tour during iacp culinary conference

cocktail with orange peel at iacp conference

attendees eating paletas at iacp conference

ample hills creamery samples at iacp conference

Once the conference officially kicked off, attendees could choose to listen to speaker panels featuring notable names such as Dorie Greenspan and Michael W. Twitty, learn about food and wine pairings with Kendall Jackson, or get a cookbook signed by authors like Peter Reinhart. They could also choose to get their headshot done with yours truly!

kendall jackson wine tasting class at iacp conference

The conference ended with the IACP Awards ceremony, hosted by Joe Yonan of The Washington Post and Gail Simmons, who you might recognize from Top Chef. The awards honor the best in cookbooks, food writing, food photography, and beyond, and was the perfect last course to wrap up the conference.

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