myles and amy | san diego, ca

If I were to try to describe Amy and Myles in one word it would be. . . thoughtful.  It was obvious that their wedding day had been planned with the utmost care and with so many thoughts of each other scattered through out the day.  Not only was the day full of reminders that they know and love eachother deeply, it was obvious that they love their family and friends well.  

For such a planner, I was blown away and so honored when Amy told me multiple times "I trust you completely, just do your thing."  What a gift to feel free to create and enjoy the day with them without the added stress of trying to fit myself in a box.  The result is just incredible. Looking through the pictures I feel like I'm there, inhaling and exhaling that warm California air and watching it all unfold again. 

If I were to label this wedding I would say it was equal parts old hollywood and geek chic.  Star wars and vintage froggy video games found their way into their day as well as STUNNING flowers that were edgy and classic.  We started at the old Lafayette Hotel and ended the day at Karl Strauss Brewery.

When all was said and done, fun was had (the dancing pictures are my FAVORITE) and love was declared; tender and heartfelt and full of confidence.  

I can't imagine anything better to be a part of.

hotel | the lafayette

ceremony & reception | karl strauss

florals | whimsey florals

make up | medicine of beauty

hair | amber duke

laura and her boys | san clemente, california

Dear Laura,

Thank you for working till the wee morning hours to finish your paper the night before.  Thank you for packing up your boys for a 2 hour early morning drive.  Thank you for bringing them in their well loved shoes and their pants meant for playing in the dirt.  Thank you for taking the time to kneel down and look at their rolly pollys and their lady bugs.  Thank you for loving your oldest so tenderly and so vibrantly.  Thank you for seeing the beauty in weeds clutched in chubby hands and in dirty knees.  Thank you for the gift of your trust and your belief in my art.  Thank you for not giving up when things got tough and not only that, thank you for letting us all see you with your three strung behind you like beads, climbing the mountain, one step at a time.  Thank you for enveloping them in your arms so fiercely and so protectively.  You love them so well.  Thank you for inspiring my mama heart all the more.  

You are breathless to behold.

carrie's story | a beautiful birthday in the OR

A little over two years ago I was being wheeling into the OR with my third baby.  I was completely in shock that this 2 time vaginal birth mama and doula was not going to have the birth I had dreamed, planned and worked for.  Tears were flowing and I remember telling my doula, “At least I will be a better doula because of this”.  I knew that through the years I would have the honor of holding the hand of many women as they birthed their baby through their belly in an OR.  And it can be BEAUTIFUL, and it can take your breathe away.  And thankfully our local hospitals have heard our outcries that C section mama’s deserve a beautiful birth too, and so many have made steps towards a family centered c section.  This means mama’s can have skin to skin and breastfeed in OR.  This birth took place at Greenville Memorial Hospital in Greenville, SC.

I met Carrie and Chris late into their pregnancy.  They had just moved back to the area from CA and were trying to figure out birthing options.  They are both outdoorsy and laid back and they are both extremely athletic.  Carrie is a triathlete and she was active till the day she gave birth.  We met twice and I just knew that she was going to rock her labor and give birth naturally.  

I was so shocked when she called me after her 39 week appointment with news that her baby girl had turned and was breech.  I met them the next morning for an external version at the hospital and held her hand as she took it like a champ.  Baby was nice and comfy butt down so the decision was made to wait a week before proceeding with a c section.  Carrie did everything she could to turn that baby while still maintaining a very positive attitude about the possibility of baby not turning.  She was graceful in a way I surely feel I couldn’t be.  And all of a sudden, the day before the scheduled c section, the feeling in the air turned from that of hoping and trying to just plain joyful anticipation.  A baby was being born!  

I was so proud of Carrie and Chris for coming to their birth with joy instead of feeling like they had failed in some way.  We laughed and told stories and listened to Gregory Alan Isakov.  They texted back and forth clues for their secret baby name to their families.  Just as she was rolling off to the OR Carrie laughed because her sister guess the baby name at the very last second.  

I got to join Carrie in the OR as they prepped her.  It was a tiny space full of really laid back people who all had such beautiful attitudes.  Music drifted around and hands were squeezed.  And then before we knew it baby Dakota “Cody” was born with a long, loud cry!  The doctor even let me take pictures over the curtain! I loved seeing those little breech legs!  

Carrie was able to snuggle and nurse and comfort her daughter as soon as she checked out with the pediatric team.  The minutes that followed her birth seemed to be suspended in time.  It was incredible to watch Cody cry and then open her eyes to stare right at her mama and daddy.  I loved watching Chris stroke her little feet and support Carrie with a sweet pat on the head.  

We finished up the day with stories and laughter in their hospital room overlooking the beautiful mountains. It was a beautiful birthday and a birth story I will always treasure in my heart.