Blog
Branding Session with Candice Hozza | Lititz, PA
She walked in the door to INU Salon and Spa at the Rebelle Lancaster event to speak and I liked her immediately. Candice was warm and welcoming. She smiled constantly and when I introduced myself as the photographer for the event and that I’m a hugger with arms wide open (this was before COVID-19…and I hate that I have to say that) and she exclaimed, “ME TOO! Oh Good!” And wrapped her arms around me for the best hug I had had in a while.
Selecting the Perfect Location for YOU
You’ve been waiting for this session for months if not years. But, where to hold it?
The Barn at Stoneybrooke Pink and Blue Engagement Session | Caitlin + Steven
We must have considered about 8 different location ideas before landing on the most obvious option staring us right in the face…The Barn at Stoneybrooke, their wedding venue.
A Summer, Wissahickon Valley Park Engagement Session | Maura + Zachary
Normally, I am the one who puts people at ease and makes them feel comfortable at the start of a session but, I have to be honest, it was Zach and Maura who did that for ME this time around.
Hoffer Vacation 2020 | Adventures off the Grid
While the lure of a fancy, Instagram-worthy vacation was strong (especially for a wedding photographer trying to keep up with the Joneses) and we could actually afford a great vacation this year, my heart pulled me in the opposite direction. I felt a yearning to simplify, do LESS and mostly to disconnect from my 24/7 job, screen time and to reconnect with my family and nature.
In my world of having two sets of children, ten years apart, I have the luxury of standing back to see my two older boys interacting while watching the younger ones play right beside them. It gives me flashbacks to when Andrew and Isaac (the older ones, 16 & 14) were the same ages as Finn and Rita (2 & 4) and enables me to have incredible perspective of the “it goes by so fast” epidemic of our too rushed/time wasted culture. I wanted a vacation that forced us to put down our devices. A vacation that released us from the “must happen right now” normalcy of our everyday…to have real conversation and lean into each other and live in the moment. I wanted to be forced to talk about the “behaviors” and “tantrums” and decide on solutions instead of turning on the TV to distract from them for a few more minutes of time to get stuff done or race off to the next activity on an over-packed trip.
All of this was painful.
It was painful to realize how many times a day I mindlessly reach for my phone and tap in the Instagram app even though I try so hard to be mindful and set limits.
It was painful to watch my kids cry and whine to go home because they wanted their favorite
A Colorful Spring Micro-Wedding at Wind in the Willows | Jenna + Aaron
The time ticked closer. Would they have their wedding or postpone? Another day. And, another. Another week. “What’s the plan guys?”
I can’t imagine the stress Jenna and Aaron went through in the months, weeks and days leading up to their wedding day. Along with so many others, they had to make the choice: keep their date and only have a few guests or wait another year….so they decided to…do both! Why not?!
Jenna and Aaron tied the knot on their original date, June 6, 2020 surrounded by only a handful of family and friends (and their ADORABLE new puppy, Leo) at their planned wedding venue, Wind in the Willows in Grantville, PA.
Blue and Blush Spring Woodsy Engagement Session | Morgan + Brandon
For once in my long photography career, there was rain in the forecast and my couple didn’t even mention it. Morgan and Brandon are getting married in August at The Booking House in Manheim, PA. When we had to push their engagement session back with everyone else due to quarantine restrictions, we all kind of held our breath trying not to stress over pictures when there was so much going on in the world. When we were finally given the green light though there was a sigh of relieve on all sides and, game time…we went for it. To top it all off, not only did they survive quarantine, they survived COVID-19 themselves! A little rain was not going to put this fun day off ONE MORE MINUTE.
A Boy Blue Spring Maternity Session | Lacey + Nate
Now, it was her turn to be the one with the huge belly. Watching Lacey and Nate go from their engagement session, to their wedding day to their first pregnancy has been a true privilege. My initial assessment of Lacey’s kind expression and beautiful soul was…
Jamie + Chris’s Private, Corona-Style Wedding Ceremony| Philadelphia, PA
“Guess what.”
The message popped up at me suddenly almost making me lose my balance. I was walking on the treadmill making my morning post as usual to save time. Today, there was a layer of sadness to it. I should have been packing my gear to drive to The Barn at Stoneybrooke for Jamie and Chris’s wedding day. Instead, I was exercising my frustration away while posting pictures from their engagement session as tribute to their original date before COVID-19 swept through the world turning our lives upside down.
Stephanie + Anthony | A Winter Elizabethtown, PA Engagement Session
Declan was born the exact same month as my little Finn so when Stephanie and Anthony asked it if was okay for him to come to the engagement session I, of course, said YES! Whether it’s your fur baby or your actual baby, it is ALWAYS your choice to bring them along to your session. The only thing I ask is that you bring someone along to watch them so that the MAIN focus can be you two and this incredible journey you are embarking on together called marriage.
A Moment, Please, to Interrupt Your Highlight Reel
For most of my life I have wanted to get to a place where I could say “I’ve made it.“ And, shine like a beacon of hope to all other people that have struggled in their lives. I have wanted to stand on some sort of pedestal to show people that “you can do it too.“ I have yearned to give advice from a place of authority and also to show people that didn’t believe in me from the beginning that I DID IT.
Clare + Anthony | A Wolf’s Hollow County Park Winter Engagement Session
It was cold. The warmth of the day was at it’s high, peaking at 32 degrees as I walked the grounds of Wolf’s Hollow County Park to search for new and interesting spots to shoot in for Clare and Anthony’s winter engagement session on Saturday. As luck would have it, I found some beautiful new locations right away so I was able to head back to the car to warm up for a minute before they arrived. I heard them before I saw them.
Chernoff Family | A Glowing San Diego Winter Family Session
I should probably be posting an ooey, gooey testament to how much I love my husband on Valentine’s Day, but I’m not. In all honesty, my relationship with my husband Marc wouldn’t be what it is without this family right here. Marc and Angel Chernoff are authors of a personal development blog called “Marc and Angel Hack Life” along with two New York Times bestselling books Getting Back to Happy and 1,000 Little Things.
Martha + David | A Lancaster City Engagement Session
Martha’s exact words in an email before her Lancaster City engagement session on Saturday: “I’m really bad in front of the camera…good luck girl!” I literally LOLed when I read it. She emailed that to me and then proceeded to KILL IT for the entire session on Saturday.
Michelle + Chris’s Winter Allenberry Resort Engagement Session
I’m not a prop kind of photographer. Michelle is not the prop kind of bride. We bonded over this when we met. THEN….they decided to bring Chris’s 1962 Chevy Impala…and we each put our foot in our mouth. If you’re going to bring a prop, a classic car is probably at the top of my “let’s do this” list….with flowers of course. Especially when it’s powder blue.
A Blue Pennsylvania Capitol Maternity Session | Janelle + Dave
Many times I am one of the first people my couples tell they are pregnant. Maybe it is my background as a therapist that draws them to tell me big news like this or maybe it is to get on my schedule early to get a maternity session during the month they want (I like to think it is the former 😜).
A January Tree Farm Engagement Session | Katie + Michael
We went to the wrong house. Yes, that’s right. We not only went to the wrong house but did the whole session there! Their session was full of life. Even with the rain…it was deliciously beautiful. The trees dripped with desire for more. The mountain loomed ever present like the future waiting to be recognized. The wispy grasses swayed and sang to us as the wind whispered its sweet song. And then there was Drake their ADORABLE golden retriever puppy… he was the CUTEST THING EVER!!!!
Everything went perfectly! Then, I got a message from Katie later that evening: “Omg….we were at the wrong house…”
A Wolf’s Hollow Fall Engagement | Jenna + Aaron 12.22.19
Jenna and Aaron dressed to the nines and lucked out with the perfect day for a December session. We truly had a blast as we hiked Wolf’s Hollow County Park in Chester County, PA. Jenna in heels and a billowing, red dress. Aaron in a dapper, black suit. I had never been there in the winter and was astounded by the breathtaking beauty it held even in the most disparaging of winter shooting months. The light this day was like velvet on our skin and candy for the soul as they danced in its embrace and I captured it all.