A couple weeks ago we did a blog post about a few mini sessions that we would be doing this winter. We did our first one last Friday and we both are really excited about what these sessions are going to teach us. We have four very distinct “challenges” that we want to accomplish with these sessions.

For our first session the challenge was to create great images in a location that isn’t nature, dramatic, or where we typically shoot. For our location we picked our house. We limited ourselves to the living room, gallery room and the garage (where we set up a white seamless backdrop). It was really fun shooting this way and pushing our creative juices. Our living room has a giant floor to ceiling window that provides beautiful, directional light through out the day. It so happened that the day we shot it was nasty cold and cloudy outside so there went the pretty light we had hoped to use. We are actually really glad that the “easy” light source was gone, it made us push ourselves harder.

On wedding days we are giving all sorts of conditions and we are expected to still create great art no matter what happens that day or what the location is. This shoot really showed us how to focus in on the couple and worry more about their connection to each other and not over power the image with dramatic lighting or scenery.

For this session we had the lovely Rachel and Bryan modeling for us. I’ve (Savannah) know these two for 6 or 7 years now. I formally worked with both of them at a running store back in the day. That running store actually played a role in how Rachel and Bryan got together. Rachel came to work there and very shortly after starting she and Bryan, who was the manager, started dating. In April they will celebrate their 4th wedding anniversary! You never know where you might meet your future mate, he/she might just be your boss

Cheers,
Savannah and Philip

A string quartet serenading the guest, white orchids in flowing arrangements, a candle lit ceremony, a cocktail hour with great food and your closest friends, and a reception filled with dancing and laughter that went on into the New Year, that is how you bring in the New Year with class and style. Catherine and Bill turned the already stunning Heartwood Hall into their dream wedding. The barn at Heartwood made for a great, intimate location for their wedding.

Holliday Flowers  did an amazing job with the floral arrangements! The all white arrangements were perfect for the feel of the evening.

Catherine and her girls changed into super fun reception dresses. I love the idea of having two dresses on your wedding day! Catherine’s flapper inspired dress was perfect for dancing that night away and showing off her glorious heels.

Catherine’s best friend and bridesmaid, Latarsha, served as entertainment during dinner. Her voice was amazing! I think we could have listened to her all night!

These are two of my favorite candid moments from the wedding. Catherine and Bill were having that time of their lives and didn’t give a care who was around them, it was just about that two of them for those moments.

Ending 2011 and going into 2012 in your lover’s arms, absolutely that very best way to spend New Year’s.

Catherine and Bill ,
Thank you so much for letting us be a part of your fabulous day! We couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend New Year’s Eve nor could we have thought of a better group of people to be with on that day. Your love for one another is so much fun to watch and your new family is beyond gorgeous. Thank you for giving us the honor of capturing your day and your love.

Cheers,
Savannah and Philip

We ended our wedding season of 2011 on the very last day of the year and we ended it with the party of the year. Catherine and Bill had a fabulous wedding at Heartwood Hall on New Year’s Eve. It was truly an honor to get to capture their love for one another and the join of their families. They had their ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all in the Barn and boy did it look amazing! Catherine and her planner Bryson, with the help from Holiday Flowers, did an amazing job at transforming the barn into a posh celebration room.

We are so excited to finally be able to share the images from the Milligan wedding with you all. We hope you enjoy! Here is a look at the first part of their day.

Stay tuned for part two with all the beautiful details!
Cheers,
Savannah and Philip

Smiles, laughter, warm fuzzy feelings, and a beautiful day. Yep that about perfectly describes Lexann and Chris’s engagement session. This couple was a joy to be with and we cannot wait till their wedding this coming November!

Enjoy a little look into their fall engagement session!

Cheer,
Savannah and Philip

If I am completely honest I would have to admit that I have a girl crush on Melissa. Let me explain
She is a mom to two beautiful children (Declan made an appearance in these images. Sadly Harlow was at school). A mom that is creative, energetic, and open about the hysterical things her children do.
She is a fabulous photographer who captures women at their most beautiful moments.
She already has one book published, she is working on a graphic novel and a screen play, has big dreams for her future.
She has a fabulous house that is full of custom pieces her husband built.
Once her friend ran into Hilary Swank and thought Hilary was Melissa.
And she has a fabulous kicking body after two kids. Hello workout inspiration.

Yeah she is pretty cool. Nothing inspires me more than a female who is strong, confident, and making her dreams happen. Photographing Melissa was a great honor and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for her. Pretty sure she will be famous soon and I will be able to sell her pictures to People magazine for big bucks

Cheers,
Savannah

*** Thanks to all who emailed us! We have already filled all the spots at this time. Thanks!! ***

Savannah and I try our hardest to stay on our toes creatively. One example is the photo above where we made a panorama shot at very dawn. That’s is not our normal atmosphere but we did it to try something we do not get to do very often. We constantly research photography, new products, our workflow, and many more things to make our clients happy. With this said, we feel like we can still do more and at the same time help some people out. We have been really wanting to stretch our creativity in shooting – have the freedom to practice what we want and to shoot how we want. So we have thought about it and decided to offer free bi-weekly sessions. The idea is you scratch our back by giving us freedom to do what we want, and we scratch your back by giving you some unique images! Here’s how it will go down:

1. These are the dates open for a shoot*: Feb. 3, Feb. 16th, Mar. 2nd, and Mar 17th. Shooting time can be set according to your schedule.

2. If you can do any one of these, email us (info@avagracephotography.com) and let us know. We want to know who you are, why you want pictures taken (just for fun is a valid reason!), and a picture of you and whoever else will be photographed. We have certain looks and ideas we are going for so we need people that fit them.

*For these sessions we will be needing couples this time around. At a later date we might be needing children.*

3. If you fit exactly what we are looking for on a specific shoot, we’ll contact you with details. Please keep in mind we have complete freedom to do what we want with the sessions, but we may ask for any ideas you may have.

4. The session is free and those who participate will receive one complimentary 8×12 print. Any additional art pieces or products that you want will be offered with a 10% discount.

We only have four available spots so hurry to get your name in!

Philip and Savannah

*These session are for those who are not current clients of AGP. Sessions that have been scheduled with AGP already are not eligible for the discounted rate. All who participate will be asked to sign a model release. AGP reserves the right to cancel or reschedule any session.

When we think back on Kevin and Kaitlyn’s wedding day we can’t help but be moved by the emotion that these two had for one another. As they saw each other for the first time that day they were moved to tears of happiness; their wedding day was finally here. It was a great day filled with love and laughter but more importantly a day to remember that when you are destined to be with someone the Lord will make sure that you get to spend you life with that person.

Happy anniversary to the two of you! We can’t wait to see what the future has for you both! We know it will be great!

Cheers,
Savannah and Philip

When Catherine and Bill asked us to be a part of their New Year’s Eve wedding we had no clue how much we would fall in love with them. From Catherine’s sweet smile to Bill’s contagious laugh everything about this couple is perfect. They truly were meant to be together. Through unconventional ways these two found each other and on New Year’s Eve started their lives together as husband and wife. But this was not only a joining of two people in love, this was a joining of two families into one.

Starting our New Year with this couple was the best way we could have spent our day! We had the time of our lives watching these two share their love with one another. This wedding was about joy, laughter, love, and fun and that is all we ask for in our couples.

Bill and Catherine, Thank you so much for including us in your day! This New Year has started out better than we could have ever dreamed and we are so glad we got to spend it with you both and your family!

One of my favorite parts of their wedding day was their bridal party, their gorgeous children!

A dip during your first dance is a must!

What we love most about Bill and Catherine is that they don’t care who is around, they are 100 % into each other. As everyone rang in the New Years the couple forgot about their guest and were engrossed in one another. As beautiful as all the details were and as wonderful as the food was, nothing is more important than the couple on the wedding day. It makes us so happy to see that a couple can forget all that is around them and focus on one another.

This is just the tiniest glimpse at Bill and Catherine’s wedding day and we can’t wait to share more with you guys!

Cheers,
Savannah and Philip

The last leg of our journey. We were really sad to see our journey coming to an end but we were not sad to leave the rain. We decided last minute to go to the Giant’s Causeway on our last day in Ireland and we are really glad we did! While we were on the train the sun was shining and we thought we would have a chance to hike without rain. Nope. When we finally arrived at the Causeway the rain came down and we spent another day getting wet. But thankfully the view was worth it.

We left Northern Ireland and headed to Amsterdam for 22 hours. We thought it would be enough time to see a little bit of the city but we were so exhausted from all our traveling and we didn’t read Dutch and we had no clue that it would be so hard to get Euros (ummm pretty sure there are no ATMs in Amsterdam). So Amsterdam ended up being a mad dash quickly around and a short canal tour of the city. Our experience in Amsterdam wasn’t that hot but we wouldn’t mind going back again and having more than time as well as a better knowledge of the city

The Causeway is known for its hexagonal rocks formations. This is the only place in the world they are found and are very interesting to see and climb on.

It was super sad to leave Ricky and Laura behind but they are planning to move back to the states soon so we will get to see plenty of them!

Little bit of Amsterdam:

Hope you enjoyed seeing Northern Ireland through our eyes.

Cheers,
Savannah and Philip

Portrush might have been one of our favorite cities but the best memories came from our weekend in Bangor, Newcastle, and the Mourne Mountains. This weekend really wouldn’t have been possibly without the whole Graham family and we are forever grateful for their kind open hearts. They took us in and treated us just like family and we will always treasure our memories with them.

On Friday afternoon we all took the train to the little city of Bangor where Ricky’s parents (Davy and Bernie) live. This town is known more as a retirement town and the laid back nature of it was perfect! We went to the marina for part of the afternoon then headed back to the Graham’s home for a fabulous dinner and a night full of music. Sitting in the Graham’s home that even made us feel like we were in our own home and Northern Ireland ceased to feel like a place we had never been before, it was a place we could say we really got to know. The stories told that night will be some that we always take with us and treasure.

Later that evening we went to the pub that Davy plays in every Friday evening. A bunch of his friends get together every weekend and play traditional Irish music till the wee hours of the night. The music we heard that night was like none we have ever heard before! We all sat back and soaked it all in, not wanting to miss a single note.

The next day we headed up to Newcastle via bus. This bus ride was by far the bumpiest and at times we all felt like we might lose our stomachs but the journey was well worth it! In Newcastle we went to the Tollymore Forest and hiked for a couple hours. This hike lead to some of our favorite images from the trip and it also lead to us getting completely drenched the entire hike. I’m pretty sure none of really minded the rain, the scenery was beyond breathtaking! Tollymore is in the County Down and it has been said that C.S. Lewis use County Down as his inspiration for Narnia. One step into the forest and you expect to see a lamp post, the White Witch, or Aslan. The fact that it rained the whole day actually added to the adventure and we all said that we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Following the hiking in the forest we headed to the Graham’s cottage in the Mournes. The cottage was originally built in the 1700s and Davy personally rebuilt the entire cottage by hand. When they first bought the cottage and the land that it is on all that was left was the basic stone framework for the cottage. Davy rebuilt the main room and added on a bathroom and a kitchen/sitting room. Only the add on had electricity (powered by generator) and the rest of the cottage was lit and heated by coal burning fireplaces. Staying at the cottage was by far the best memory we have from the trip. Davy cooked us a fabulous dinner from vegetables that he grew in the garden out back and we played board games till the late night while all our clothes dries out by the fires. Something was magical about the cottage. As we went up to the loft to sleep we had to carry candle lit lanterns to see. The simplicity of living in a cottage that is completely isolated from most of society is something that all need to experience. It makes you stop and really enjoy the little things in life.

The next day lead us on the most incredible trek through the Mournes. Again it was pouring rain and within minutes we were all soaked. Hours later when we got back to the cottage Davy laughed at us and congratulated us for being so hard core. Apparently the rain we were experiencing was falling a lot harder than normal and we kept asking him to take us further and further. What can we say, we love a good adventure and nothing is going to stop us

So now onto the images:

The seaside homes are the best! They are full of color and make the shore so appealing.

Traditional music in the pub. For the life of me I can’t remember the pub’s name!

From the bus ride to Newcastle

The coast of Newcastle.

Some of the best fish and chips was had at this pub! Irish food is seriously amazing. We couldn’t get enough of it, especially the breads and cheeses!

The Mournes. Sadly both days that we were there the tops were in a white out and visibility was pretty minimum.

In Tollymore.

This is how we found this tree. We really aren’t sure how it stood out so much since it was raining and absolutely no sun light was coming through!

Good ole Ben showcasing how wet we were getting.

Trekking in the Mournes. We followed a sheep path most of the way up to the top. The hardest part was keeping your feet from getting stuck in the mud! But being on a sheep path was pretty cool since we found a couple stray sheep and Ben and I chased them down the mountain.

Our sheep we chased! Sadly they got away and we weren’t able to take one home… This was close to the top of where we hiked and it shows how thick the white out was. At some points we were only able to see about 50 feet in front of us.

Probably the least flattering image of us but it holds so many good memories.

Preparing for the trip we knew to take rain covers for our cameras and we are so glad we did! It was raining so hard though that our camera could barely focus and it constantly was fogging up. That was probably the only downside of the trip.

This is the view of the Mournes from the cottage. We hiked to the top of this one but we were white out the whole time so we did get much of a view from the top.

And the cottage! Seriously our favorite memory of the whole trip! Isn’t it so cute!!!

Cheers,

Savannah and Philip