Family Legacy Photos at McConnell's Mill

Quite possibly the sweetest way to celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary? Photos with your grandchildren. What a wonderful idea!

It was a blessing to get to celebrate alongside this sweet family this evening! Congrats to these Nana & Grampy on 50 years or marriage - what a legacy to leave for your grandchildren!

Karissa & Dave: Saint Alexis Church & The Chadwick Wedding Photos

It was the most perfect summer day for Karissa & Dave's June wedding day!

Karissa got ready at her childhood home that is situated just a short walk from the church. Photos between the ceremony & reception were taken at the North Park Golf Course, where Karissa's family is very well known! And the reception took place at the Chadwick in Wexford - the very last few photos in this blog post feature Karissa’s grandma & grandpa, who have been married for 60+ years! They won the anniversary dance for longest married couple at Karissa & Dave’s reception!

These two met during the lockdown era back in 2020 - it's beautiful to see how God takes difficult times and brings beauty out of them, like with Karissa & Dave's relationship!

Congratulations on your wedding day, you two!

Vendors: The Chadwick, North Park Golf Course, Saint Alexis Church, Hearts and Flowers Floral Design Studio, Pittsburgh DJ Company, Samantha Colton (hair & makeup), Nota Bene Fine Paper Boutique (invitation), Bridal Beginning Pittsburgh

Hartwood Acres Mansion Family Photos

I had the pleasure of photographing this sweet couple a few years ago when their first child was on the way at this very same location - and I had the pleasure of photographing them again as their second child is on the way! ❤️

Marie & Stanley are the type of people you meet and instantly love to be around. Besides being parents, they are also phenomenal wedding photographers, which is actually how we met! It is always such a joy to catch up with them and to see their sweet family grow.

Marie & Stanley - thank you both for the immense joy of being a part of this season! We are so thankful to know you guys!

Annelise H: Woodlands High School Senior Photos

Annelise is a graduating senior with the class of 2023! She graduated the week of her senior session from Woodlands High School. I kind of love that she opted to wait for her senior photos until the spring of her senior year! There are definitely benefits to having them done prior to your senior year or during your senior year, but it was such a fun way to celebrate the true end of her high school career with these photos!

Annelise is an accomplished actress at her school - she played Mayzie the Bird in her high school’s rendition of “Suessical” and even had the opportunity to perform in the Gene Kelly Awards (the area’s high school musical award competition).

For her outfits for her session, Annelise chose a pink patterned dress (as her first outfit) and white linen pants with a patterned top (as her second outfit). Both of her outfits complimented the Hartwood flowers and mansion perfectly! We opted to use a more natural/flowery setting for the dress outfit, and chose the mansion backdrop to compliment the visual structure of the second outfit. And with two amazing outfits - we were able to get tons of variety within her photos!

Congratulations on your senior year, Annelise! It was such a pleasure to take these photos for you!

Leah & Nick The Gathering Place at Darlington Lake Wedding Photos

Leah & Nick had the most gorgeous Spring day for their wedding at the Gathering Place at Darlington Lake!

One of the best things about being a Pittsburgh wedding photographer (besides working with the sweetest couples!) is getting to see so many beautiful locations in the area. The Gathering Place at Darlington Lake is a beautiful, tucked away spot in New Galilee, PA. It sits on a lake, surrounded by woods and farmland. And it made the perfect setting for this gorgeous wedding day!

Leah & Nick’s day began with getting ready photos, each separately! The ladies got ready in the new bridal cabin on the Gathering Place’s property. It was my first time in the cabin (though I’ve photographed a few weddings here before!) and I absolutely loved this new space for the ladies! It is always so nice when the bride and groom get ready on the property where they’ll be getting married. Having no commute from the getting ready space to the ceremony space decreases stress for everyone involved!

After some pre-ceremony photos, Leah & Nick met at the altar. Nick’s siblings sang a beautiful song during the ceremony, and then Leah & Nick were married! After the ceremony, we took some family formals, bridal party portraits, and photos of Leah & Nick around the property. Those photos were beautiful.. but I was especially excited to get the two of them back out for photos after dinner! The sun had set a bit more and there was a lovely reflection on the lake that made for the most picturesque backdrop.

We also took these two out on the dock for a few night photos! And they ended their evening with a ribbon send off. It was truly the most beautiful day!

Congratulations on your wedding day, Leah & Nick! It was such a pleasure to be a part of your beautiful day!

Vendors: The Mayflower Florist, Windy Hill Bakehouse, Legacy Films Pittsburgh, DJ Bruce Matteo, Isabella Coimbra (Makeup), The Exquisite Bride, Medure's Catering, Minted Weddings

Elizabeth P: Hartwood Acres Mansion Senior Photos

I had the pleasure of taking Elizabeth’s senior photos on a gorgeous day in May!

Elizabeth is a North Allegheny senior who plans to study marketing post high school. For her senior photos, she wanted a plethora of flowers - so Hartwood seemed to be a great fit! There were some gorgeous bright pink peonies in bloom around the mansion, and Elizabeth even brought a few bouquets of flowers for an added floral punch! (Click here to view my blog post about ways to incorporate more florals into your photos!)

Elizabeth, it was a pleasure to take your photos! Congratulations on your senior year!

When Should I Have Maternity Photos Taken?

If you’ve stumbled upon this blog post looking for the optimum time to have maternity photos taken - you’re most likely expecting! So first, I’d love to say a HUGE congratulations to you! ❤️

Maternity photos are a type of photo session I’ve taken on throughout the years on occasion. As a wedding photographer, some of my couples have inquired a years (or months) after their wedding date to ask me to photograph the next season of their lives… which I am always SO honored by!

Maternity photos are special for a variety of reasons. As I’m writing this blog post, I’m currently 4.5 months postpartum, and I still love to look back at our maternity photos (I had a specific vision in mind for ours, so I handed my non-photographer sister-in-law our camera and she snapped some amazing photos for us - check them out here!) Our photos remind me of that sweet (and let’s be honest, sometimes quite overwhelming) season before having a newborn, when we were preparing for our little one. The photos remind me of the anticipation, the time we had with my sister-in-law, our baby shower (which took place a few days later)… all of the above! It was such a special, once in a lifetime time. And after going through that season myself, I have a renewed love for documenting it for others!

So, we should probably get to the point of this blog post… when is the best time to have maternity photos taken?

The answer might vary from couple to couple, and definitely will vary based on any complications a mom might have in her pregnancy. For a healthy pregnancy without any known complications, I’ve found 32 weeks to be a “sweet spot” (usually the 7-8 month mark is a good way to go!).

I had my own maternity photos taken around 32.5 weeks, and boy am I glad we didn’t wait even a week longer than that. By the 33 week mark, I was waddling around and really started to feel miserable! And at 32.5 weeks, I feel like I had enough of a belly (without feeling “too big”) to be in that “cute” pregnancy stage… which is exactly what I was hoping for!

If you have known pregnancy complications that could result in an early birth, it might be a good idea to schedule your photos sooner… just in case!

Allegheny Rivertrails Park Family Photos

We had the most beautiful evening for this family’s photo session around Allegheny Rivertrails Park in Aspinwall! Not only is this park so beautifully Pittsburgh (with bridges that run above it and it’s location right on the river!), but it is also a very special place for this family, who comes here often!

I actually photographed this family for the first time 8 years ago back in 2015! (Click here to see!) It’s wild to me that I’ve actually been in business that long… 2014 was the year I “officially” became a business, though I had been taking photos of and for people since 2011.

A huge thank you to this family for letting me be a part of capturing this season in their lives! ❤️

McConnell's Mill Spring Family Photos

I had the pleasure of photographing this sweet family during my Spring Mini Session Event in early May of 2023! I’ve known Emily (the mom!) for a few years, as we are both photographers in the northern Pittsburgh area - she is an amazing newborn photographer who I LOVE recommending to anyone who asks me for newborn photos! (Click here to see her work!)

Something I adored about photographing this family was how kind and loving they were to one another! You could tell that they all genuinely love being together, and being close. It made my job so very easy!

Emily, thank you for having me take these photos for your sweet family. You all are a joy!

Mars Prom Photos

This past weekend, I had a type of photo session I’ve never had before: pre-prom photos! And they were so much fun!

While lots of high schools in the area had prom, these photos are of some seniors from Mars High School.

If you’ve ever been to prom or been a parent/sibling of someone going to prom, you know that pre-prom photos can be a little chaotic - one parent (or multiple parents) have to take charge - people are looking at different cameras and giving different instructions, etc! But after the photos were over, several of the parents thanked me for taking the lead and giving clear instruction, because it gave them the opportunity to just enjoy the moment without having to worry about getting the perfect photo. And now the whole group has some photos of everyone posed well, in good light, and looking in the right direction!

If you’re interested in having pre-prom photos taken, please feel free to reach out to me by clicking here!