I had the pleasure of meeting Will and Clare at a pumpkin patch for a wonderful autumn session. Every year as the temperature begins to fall and the leaves change, my love and appreciation for this season overcomes me. Although it means the calendar year is coming to a close, fall somehow feels more like a beginning than an end and always seems so full of potential. Fall brings a new school year and gently eases us into the craziness of the holiday season. It is a good time to tackle a new project or to cuddle up and reflect. It is also a good time for pumpkin patches.

These two have such a sweet and caring relationship. Will looks out for his little sister and Clare looks up to her big brother.

Their mom prefaced the session by saying that she rarely takes out her camera and that she and her husband were long overdue for some pictures of their kids. She also said it might be a challenge to get them both together, smiling. Something about the pumpkin patch did the trick.

Our visit ended with snacks, smiles, and of course a wagon full of pumpkins! Thank you for a delightful session. I hope you have a very happy Halloween!

I was lucky enough to get to know Kerry & Bob during our "family" engagement shoot before their wedding ... their wedding day was as sunny & gorgeous as the last time I'd photographed them. And they seemed to stay relaxed, while taking it all in at the same - quite a feat :) They managed to orchestrate a beautiful wedding with all kinds of silliness scattered throughout. Things kicked off at the villas at The Governor's Club... there are a few of them there, but I knew exactly which one it was ;)

(okay, okay, I set that shot up ;) but, either way, the party started nice & early...

The gorgeous makeup courtesy of the talented Susan ("Dior") Ballard.

And here's the groom...

...or is it this one?...

...either way, she loves him so :)

Daddy was quite emotional about seeing his little girl, kleenex all around :)

The Little Bride had a few things on her mind :)

Gorgeous reception - and another wonderful opportunity to work with Cara, of A Southern Soiree, and Greg, of The Art of Cake...

...his cakes are always an impressive addition to the reception :)

Each member of the bridal party got their own little adorable write-up about how they knew Kerry and Bob - towards the end of the evening, they started wearing their signs :) :) :)

...and The Grand Departure - congratulations, Kerry & Bob!!!

When my Sophie requested a unique twist on her birthday celebration, my first thought was, yeah....a chocolate slip n' slide? Fun idea ... so, what else would you like to do...? But she really stuck with her request, and we finally started brainstorming ideas on how to really make it happen. Also got some great tips from friends on how to pull it off ... and, thus, the celebration moved from conception state to actual full-on actualization and mygoodness, seriously, hilariously great fun! When Sophie exclaimed, at one point while swooshing around in chocolate, "Am I in a dream??", we knew it had all been a rousing success :) The plan was lots of oil (for maximum slipness), chocolate (tons) and whipped cream to slide into at the end, with more sprayed on them when they stopped - and, of course, rainbow sprinkles thrown in for extra measure as they were trying to escape... and lots of individual and group slides ....

That smudge on the top of the lens looks like it might be a hint of lens flare - but it is, in fact, a new take on textures: whipped cream on the lens. Go ahead, try it!

I think all the sugary fumes started having an effect after a while :) :) :)

It looked so darn fun, just had to give it a run myself - as you can see in the top image, they had already decided to full-on attack...

Not everyone wanted to just jump in - so, sometimes you have to just bring people to the party...

A different take on the party-containers-on-the-lawn.... :)

This was just before my hair was "deep-conditioned with oil and chocolate" - hmmm - also, I discovered that chocolate can be have a nice bronzer effect *and* I got to have a lovely moment with my syrupy-sweet girl :)

Happy birthday, Sophie - welcome to Year Eight!! You are loved so very, very, very much :)

What an amazing wedding celebration this evening... I look forward to sharing many more images from Sariyah and Ehssan's wedding, but first, a quick shot of the bride. :) Here is the gorgeous Sariyah...