When Victoria and Arley reached out to us about their engagement session, we initially planned on downtown Plant City, Florida as the central location for the portraits.  But the closer we got to the day of the photos, Victoria and Arley came up with a fun way to make this session memorable...by revisiting and capturing moments that mean a lot in their relationship!  With that said, as soon as I captured the image above, everything turned interesting for the rest of the session!  Here's how it went. 

FIRST: Arley, took off his pants, and revealed the speedos he was wearing underneath.  Why speedos?  Well, you see, when they first met at a wedding, he was also wearing speedos and that was part of their ice breaker conversation that got them interested in each other!  

THEN, we set on a short walk and sat at a bench in beautiful downtown Plant City.  There Victoria and Arley enjoyed reading a book as they both like to do, with Arley's briefcase as a reminder of the love for reading and travel they like to do!  Make sure to zoom into the book's title :) 

WE walked over to capture a photo in front of the Heart of Plant City mural.  Plant City is the city they love and live.  As a matter of fact, they both have deep roots here where they serve the community in many different ways.  One of them is via social media, where Victoria manages the awesome Instagram account of igersplantcity.  There she shares the love and beauty of Plant City.  Make sure to follow! 

VISITING local Plant City bars is something they love to do, so we set on a quick trip to Strawberry Patch Lounge & Package. There was one of the first dates they had, where Victoria used to sing karaoke to show her singing skills...or try to anyway lol Regardless, her charm or singing worked since they are still together after these years! We recreated some of these scenes on our engagement photo session adventure. 

HAMBURGERS. They love burgers, specifically the ones from Checkers in Plant City. They love it so much that they actually made burgers a part of the engagement when they both asked each other for marriage.  With that in mind, we did a quick stop to recreate that moment as they savored the delicious and juicy burger from Checkers! 

On our last stop, we went to one of Plant City's jewels...Metals & Nature.  Metals and Nature is owned by Arley's family and it's a beautiful garden and store adorned with statues, metal art, roaming peacocks, and much more.  It's truly a dream to visit!  There we took a few more photos, speedos and all, where we finished up with a coronation by an unique hat they got from visiting the country of Myanmar.  They love to travel and visit places, so what a better way to capture this than the crowning using the hat made out of buffalo teeth and bones!  How cool is that!  

For real, at this point, I had NO IDEA this session was going to finish up like this.  EPIC!!!!!!

BUT, just as we finished up, we saw the sunset and we just couldn't leave without a few more pics in the grassy field next to Metals & Nature - on the side of Highway 60!   Yeah, these images look like we were on some rolling hills in the country, but nope - cars and trucks were honking at us lol.  We then ended on the dirt road as we came to an end to an amazing, fun, exciting, interesting, and memorable engagement photo session!​

I'm more than humbled and thankful for the opportunity to capture these for Victoria & Arley, and I can't wait for their wedding day!  THANK YOU!

If you are looking for an engagement or wedding photographer in Plant City, Lakeland, or all of Tampa Bay area, contact us!  We want to be a part of your wedding! :) 

When Kaitlyn and Max reached out to us about their engagement session, they wanted to have a nature theme for their engagement photos.  With that in mind, we thought that Edward Medard Conservation Park in Plant City would be the perfect choice for them!

Here are our three top reasons we love Edward Medard Conservation Park in Plant City for engagement photo sessions:

1.  The roots - this park has an incredible number of trees with the roots coming out of at the bottom creating such a mystical location for some epic and unique photographs! 

2.  The ferns - adding to the mystical look, is a sea of ferns located by the trees that adds another option for beautiful backdrops in your pictures!

3.  The sun - the sunsets are to dream of!  Because of the large trees, there's beautiful light all through the park, making it super photographer friendly!

Kaitlyn & Max's engagement photo session at Edward Medard Conservation Park in Plant City was truly magical!  We had an amazing time exploring and going on an adventure through the woods and then enjoying the sunset as we finished up the photography session at the bridge.  Enjoy more pictures below of this enchanting engagement session in Plant City.

If you are looking for a wedding or engagement photographer in Plant City, Lakeland, or Tampa Bay area, contact us!  We would love to be a part of your wedding day! :) 

Timelines....without one, your wedding will be a mess and not enjoyable! For that reason, we work with our couples and our wedding coordinators to make sure that we communicate clearly on our wedding photography schedule for your wedding. 

How does it work?  About 30 days prior to the wedding we send you an online questionnaire where you give us all the details of you wedding, including any timeline from your wedding coordinator.  We will then create a wedding photography timeline with that information and share it with our couples for approval.   

But how does a wedding day photography timeline help you?  Here are our top reasons from our experience as wedding photographers in Tampa Bay:  

1.  A wedding day photography timeline helps you know exactly when we will get there and were we will be during the day.  
2.  It will give you peace of mind we will not miss any important details that you have requested for your wedding.  First look? We got it  Sunset photo?  We got it! Photo with your favorite uncle?  Got it!
3.  It helps you schedule other vendors.  Especially the hair and makeup vendors if you want us to capture the get ready moments! 
4.  Lastly, we can help you stay on track and on schedule....and more importantly, at peace! 

Having a wedding day photography timeline is essential and we provide this to all of our couples.  Below is a sample of a basic wedding photography timeline.  EVERY WEDDING IS DIFFERENT!  There is no timeline alike.  Some include travel time between venues, first look, time away during reception for photos, special requests, additional cocktail hour harp music, etc.  

We hope this information about wedding day photography timeline has helped you!  If you are looking for a wedding photographer or harpist for your wedding in the Tampa Bay area, contact us!  We would love to be a part of your wedding. :)

Erin and Kris loved a gallery from a prior session I photographed at Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida and they fell in love with the architecture and the scenic backdrops that Bok Tower Gardens could offer for their engagement photo session.  With that in mind, we set up a date and planned our epic engagement session!

Bok Tower Gardens offers such a diverse number of locations for photographs, but I narrowed it down to my favorites here.  Normally we would meet at the Visitor Center and then walk over to the Pinewood Estate. 

First location is on the way to the Pinewood Estate, where there are tons of opportunities to stop and take some pictures in the beautiful gardens area.  

Second is at the actual Pinewood Estate, where the possibilities are endless!  We normally start on the left side and walk around the grounds taking pictures at different areas until we get to their iconic octagon water fountain garden. Then, we would make our way back to the tower. ​

The third location is at the actual Bok Tower.  Once again, there's so many hidden places on the way so make sure to keep your eyes open!  The tower also makes an amazing backdrop for engagement photos.  We had to skip the tower for Erin and Kris' session due to the fast approaching rain, so we decided to go to our last favorite location at the gardens. ​

I had a BLAST photographing Erin and Kris and can't wait for their upcoming wedding later this year, we have some plans for some epic pictures and it's going to be amazing!   Take a peek at some more pictures of their Bok Tower Gardens engagement session below for additional ideas!  

If you need a wedding photographer or harpist in the Tampa Bay area, we would love to be considered!  Contact us and tell us about your wedding...big or small, we want to be a part of it! :) ​

Taneha and James love the beach and after looking at some beach location options, they wanted to have their engagement session in Anna Maria Island.  Having done some engagement photos in Anna Maria Island before, I knew of a secret spot that I love and it's my go to location for sunset beach engagement photos in Anna Maria.  That location is...Bean Point! 

When Nichole and Mario reached out to us, it felt like a match made in heaven!  They shared their vision of their beach wedding (that included the harp for the music!) and we knew right away that it was meant for us to be a part of it!  Their wedding will be at the amazing Lido Beach Resort in Lido Key / Sarasota area.  Lido Key Beach offers sooooo many beautiful photo options that we decided to take the engagement photos at the hotel area, and let me tell you....it didn't disappoint!   In a typical Florida weather fashion, it was raining during the day of the session and we almost thought about rescheduling, but we looked at the weather maps and all signaled for a clearing during sunset.  So we decided to go for it...and I'm super glad we did!

We started in the parking lot area where there was a big puddle of water due to the rain and took some water reflection photos that I love so much.  We then moved to the beach area where there are some small white wood buildings and some greenery.  Then, we (by "we" I mean Nichole and Mario lol) got adventurous and climbed on the rocks for some epic photos!  Lastly, we did a final walk in the water to finish up the session.  

This session was so much fun!!!  Nichole and Mario are such a cute couple with so much love and passion.  With that said, we can't wait to be a part of their wedding!  Take a peek at some of the photos from the session below as they may help you with some ideas for your Lido Key beach engagement session. 

If you are looking for a wedding photographer or harpist in the Sarasota, Lido Key, Anna Maria Island, or Brandenton area, reach out to us!  We would love to be a part of your wedding! :)