My dear friend and past bride, Sarah Tucker from Fairy Tales Are True recently launched a wedding style and coordination business! I could not be more thrilled for her or more excited to work together in this new and exciting capacity. Naturally the first order of business was to shoot! So we put our heads together and here’s what we came up with:

The theme was a New Years Day Wedding Brunch set on the mossy grounds of the waterfront Phillippi Estate built in 1916. It is a little secret gem on the West Coast of Florida and I am dying for brides to get a little look at this venue!  Sarah did a phenomenal job putting this together in just a couple weeks and all of it was done with a budget-friendly DIY bride in mind I hope you enjoy it!

The best part is the shoot is featured today on 100 Layer Cake! So click on over there and read all about the juicy details! Oh and all film, all Fuji 400H, I’m getting braver…

I snapped a few of Sarah prepping the shoot to finish off the existing film in my cameras and the results were just too adorable not to share.

Naturally, I love it when brides see the value in professional prints and albums and I don’t always have the chance to show them examples of what their album can look like in person. So here are a few images of Melissa & Bill’s album. Melissa chose the matted album in a platinum linen, bound with a dark turquoise ribbon to coordinate with her wedding colors and the decor in their home. I think it turned out great so I wanted to be sure and share!

We had such a great time together that we crossed our fingers for a next time and lucky for us, I am already headed up there next week for round two!

These adorable treasures made their way to my doorstep c/o three darling couples. Carla & Ted took a trip up to Nantucket and picked up these handy-dandy napkins for their lucky photographer. Emily & Nick made my month with this sweet little wooden whale friend and Suzanne & Jeff supplied my thank-you note hobby for at least a few months.

I know several photographers that say this but I actually do have the BEST clients!

There is nothing wrong with a hotel but I was excited to actually stay with a friend and get a teeny tiny taste of what life is like living there.

The ultra-lovely Emily Collins opened up her apartment to me and even showed me around her little corner of Brooklyn while I was there.

I somehow managed to convince her to allow me to photograph her for a little while during our adventure.

Here is a bit of what I saw.

I secretly wish I had red hair. Exactly like Emily’s. Swoon.

I shook it off countless times because I wanted to keep things simple. I tried to convince myself that flush-mount albums were the only way to go.

But then that pesky little voice wouldn’t go away and then I stumbled upon Cypress Albums.

The voice just smiled. I knew I’d found the one.

I threw all hesitation to the wind and designed a sample album and placed my order without ever even holding a matted album in my hand.

Then I waited. While I was waiting I actually had the serendipitous pleasure of meeting Dena, the founder of Cypress at a wedding industry event at The Breakers.

As we spoke, I learned more about her vision, company, products and I became even more excited about my matted eye candy hand-crafted in her California shop.

Well today the doorbell rang. I opened the door to find two giant boxes with Cypress labels on them. The fedex man was obviously not prepared for the gasp that followed.

I tore open the boxes and fell in love.

So without further ado, a new product offering in the JL line:

Fine art hand-crafted matted wedding albums.

Today’s feature is a Wedding Guest Sign-in Book!!!

I know I am not the only married gal with a signed photo mat and pearly padded guest book sitting in a box in my garage.

I wanted better for my brides. I wanted to offer them a way to not only give their guests something gorgeous to sign, but to also show off their engagement photos.

Thus the Wedding Guest Sign-in Book was born.

The one below belongs to Carla & Ted and I know it will live happily ever after their wedding day not in the garage, but proudly displayed in their home where it can be flipped through and enjoyed anytime. What Mr. & Mrs. wouldn’t want one of these adorning their coffee table?

The pages are designed to leave plenty of room for warm wishes.

These books are constructed specifically to lay flat and make signing simple.

The binding is done by hand so that it’s guaranteed to last through years of love (i.e. wear and tear)

The beginning…

Naturally before taking a single bite, the photographer grabbed her camera and snapped a few shots.

But then out of no where a sudden wind came and swept one of the cupcakes away…

It was dave.

But I do have the best clients. Thanks Jessica!