Rachael & Jordan // September Vermont Wedding

I feel that not much needs be said after seeing these images.. they speak volumes of this incredible day, from start to finish, it was just utter joy, beauty, and love! Rachael and Jordan are this most adorable couple who I had the pleasure of meeting a couple of years ago through their friends Jamie and Steve, as I also photographer their wedding in the same sweet little town of Calais, Vermont. My dear, talented friend Jason came and second shot for me then as well and we both totally fell in love the the quaint little New England village set out in the middle of the woods about 15 minutes outside of Montpelier. Everything about this town, from it's rolling dirt roads, lakes, and mountain views to the Maple Corner Store and teeny tiny bar with live local music just makes you want to drop everything, buy a log cabin and some flannel, and simply start over. And then you meet these people and your hooked. They are all just the sweetest, most humble, down to earth people you'll ever meet. They made us feel so warm and welcome.

We arrived the day before the wedding, and I was able to catch the rehearsal at the Old West Church, which is seriously one of the most simple and yet beautiful churches I have ever been into. The weather was looking iffy for the weekend, and the night of the rehearsal was very chilly, but the morning of we woke up to blue skies and warm sun and the day couldn't have been more perfect. 

Every detail of this wedding was so carefully considered and tended to, there ws never a moment when we weren't finding something beautiful to photograph. The girls got ready in this amazingly gorgeous old farm house, which is also where we did the first look. We then caravanned over to the Old West Church for the ceremony. Oh, did I mention the florals??? Nectar and Root from Brattleboro, Vermont. To die for. The garland hanging in the church had me totally swooning!

After the ceremony, we headed back to Rachael's parents' home, her childhood home, where the reception took place. We were able to sneak away for a few minutes as the golden light began setting over the pine and maple tree line along the property, and oh. that. light.

Anyway, I could go on and on, but I won't because I have a billion pictures here to speak for me. And my kiddos will be home from school any moment now.. but I will end by saying THANK YOU Rachael and Jordan. Every time I photograph a wedding, I am just blown away with gratitude that my couples chose ME to capture this beautiful time in their lives for them. I am so so sooooo beyond grateful that you two chose me. I will always remember your beautiful day, and I hope with these images you will be able to look back for years and years to come, and your children, and grandchildren will too, and that they will always know how full of beauty and love you and your friends and family are. So much love to you two.. 

xoxo

J

Location(s) - Calais Vermont, Ceremony at Old West Church

Rachael's Dress - Leanne Marshall http://www.leannemarshall.com/

Shoes - Nine West http://www.ninewest.com/

Bridesmaids dresses - Jcrew https://www.jcrew.com/

Flowers - Nectar and Root https://www.nectarandroot.com/

Jordan's outfit/shoes - Suit: Michael Kehoe http://www.mkltd.com/

Shoes Johnston & Murphy https://www.johnstonmurphy.com/

Groomsmen outfits - assorted! 

Rings - Starling https://www.starlingjewelry.com/

Food/bar - Jimmy Kennedy Catering http://www.jimmydk.com/

Dessert - Birchgrove Baking http://www.birchgrovebaking.com/

Decor - Rachael Keyes (bride) 

Tables/chairs/tent GMR Tent Rentals http://www.gmrtentsvt.com/

Band - The Funk Collection https://www.thefunkcollection.com/

Hair - Jessica Murphy https://jessicamurphystudios.com/

Makeup - Elizabeth England - https://www.elizabethenglandstudios.com/

Kyle + Kirby Winding Trails Wedding // Twenty-One Frame Teaser

This summer has been an eventful one, and I have so much work I want to share, as well as much of my personal journey in these last few months!!! But life is busy these days as a family of 5, and we are enjoying the last of our summer in Connecticut before heading back to Quebec.. so the blog has been on the back burner recently. But I absolutely HAD to share quickly this morning a little (LOT) of love from this past weekend.. I cannot wait to show you all more from this perfect wedding day.

Rachael & Jordan // Calais Vermont, Engagement

I spent the evening of my birthday in the most quaint Vermont village called Calais with these two gorgeous people and their adorable french bulldogs, Stella and Evie. Their wedding is coming up in September, and we had originally planned doing their engagement shoot later on in May for a bit more foliage and fleurs, but with me expecting my third baby at the end of the month (9 days from now to be exact!), we decided to make it happen a little earlier.

There is just something about those first spring days in Vermont, especially on an overcast day.. The green of the grass just pops and you stumble across these beautiful little plants pushing up through last years dried leaves with this renewed sense of life. You can smell the earth all around you, the winter is just washing away. There is a slight chill in the air but that spring warmth is breaking through it and it's almost as if you can feel everything beginning again. 

This session was a perfect introduction to Rachael and Jordan and their sweet and gentle complicity. Rachael's family is the sweetest; before leaving her mom gave me a jar of their family made honey and Rachael and Jordan gave me the most delicious birthday cake from a local Montpelier bakery. After the shoot, Rachael dropped me back in Montpelier, where they live and where Mathieu and the girls were waiting for me, and I, although tired, just felt so happy and alive. Being able to immortalize these precious little moments in time for people like this is truly a gift, and I will be forever grateful for every opportunity I have to do so.

Thank you, Rachael and Jordan. I am so looking forward to coming back to this simple, gorgeous place and capturing your big day in September!

xoxo

J

Jamesia // Summer Skin

You just know the moment you meet someone with a sweet and gifted soul. When I met Jamesia for this session, I immediately apologized for the cold weather, and she just laughed and told me she was so happy to be able to spend this time at the beach with me that the cold didn't matter. She was even game to let the waves crash over her while lying in the sand. Can you say dream client?? I feel so honored to have not only met this gorgeous person, but to have been able to share this special experience with her, just the two of us, at sunset, on an empty beach by the sea.

She left me the sweetest thank you card and gift; a beautifully framed picture of a gorgeous mermaid, and when I realized that the gift was in fact for me and not a package she forgot on the beach, I felt my heart grow. To be able to do something to make women, people, feel good about themselves; to feel beautiful and empowered through art truly is the greatest gift.

My heart is full looking back over these images tonight, and I await with patience and excitement the sessions to come this August. 

Thank you again Jamesia for trusting me to capture your gorgeous soul.

xo

J

Summer Skin

Squeaky swings and tall grass
The longest shadows ever cast
The waters warm and children swim
We frolicked about in our summer skin

I don't recall a single care
Just greenery and humid air
Then Labor Day came and went
And we shed what was left of our summer skin

On the night you left I came over
And we peeled the freckles from our shoulders
Our brand new coats so flushed and pink
And I knew your heart I couldn't win
Cause the seasons change was a conduit
And we'd left our love in our summer skin

-Death Cab for Cutie

Summer is a time of the year for me that represents the peak of all things light, alive and free. As a child those gorgeous July nights were so long and overflowing with promise. We stayed out past sunset with friends, catching fireflies in jars. We would escape to the beach on weekends, or (because my parents were also feeling that summer freeness) we would take off for a few days during the week and head down to the shore.

At the end of August we always vacationed at least two weeks in Rhode Island, and did nothing but live, sleep, breathe, eat the beach. Salty skin and hair, sunburns and freckled noses, clamming and muscle foraging on the rocks. We would spend hours in the salt pond collecting shells and catching crabs. We never ever left the beach before sunset. It was, and still is my mother's favorite time on the beach. (And therefore mine as well). Everyone packs up and heads home, the waves calm a bit, the seagulls pick up the scraps families left behind and the water almost feels warmer than the air.

This time of the day at this time of the year for me symbolizes change; the embracing what lingers of that sweet summer light that dapples in our hair and on our bronzed skin, the freedom of all that screams summer. And it is, for me, a time to be documented.

If you are called to it; if you too yearn for those long summer days and feel that same heart ache when late-August creeps on in on you because you know that September is just around the corner and it' s a sort of bittersweet ending to the most beautiful time of the year, then you will want to keep in touch with me, I promise.