We have one rule that we follow, when it comes to family photos: create an album and make extra copies for parents and grandparents, every year. Surprisingly, we’ve kept this tradition going since our oldest was born. Because of this, we’re forced (in the best way possible) to sort through all our personal photos from the entire year. Thousands and thousands of photos. 

And since we didn’t get to that until the day of the final pre-Christmas printing deadline ;) here are a few photos from the middle of our summer, to enjoy on a wintry December day. Cabin week. Debatably, our favorite week of the whole year.

To see cabin week photos from last summer, head here.

Erin and Jeremy make amazing food. They also give some of the best hugs. They also recently got married, to each other! :)

We’ve been wanting to blog this one for awhile now, but life has been crazy! Yes, it’s always a bit crazy, but between a broken foot, a ridiculous amount of sickness, and Kelly being pregnant with baby #3 (!) we’ve actually had some valid explanations that, yes, equate to crazy.

We’re only making this post a bit personal because Erin and Jeremy hold a special place in our hearts. We first met each other while we were working at a wedding together; us photographing, them catering. We both kind of fell in love with each other (is it ok to say that, guys?) and have shared many meals and attended many gatherings since. But this one, their very own wedding, surely trumped them all.

They had a quaint ceremony on Friday evening with just close family and a few friends at Unity Chapel followed by a multi-course dinner cooked by Chef Tory Miller from L’Etoile (Erin’s former boss and friend). No bridesmaids or groomsmen – a ceremony for the very closest of close. Saturday was then filled with activities — harvesting vegetables together, scavenger hunts among the farm animals, canoeing, and touring beautiful Spring Green. Then everyone reconvened for a cocktail hour and dinner — enjoying the best appetizers and taco bar around (hands down). Much of the food was grown at their farm at the bottom of the hill,  prepared by Erin + Jeremy, then executed and served by their friends.

It’s hard to keep photos to a minimum, but here’s just a glimpse of the beauty from the day:

and on to day two…

while we were getting all serious during a few portraits, this gutsy couple asked if I was pregnant. then they smothered me with hugs and kisses. :)

If you can’t tell, these photos weren’t taken yesterday. So we’re reminiscing about this warm, fall day from a few weeks ago. Ray met up with Sam + Mara and hiked around beautiful Devil’s Lake (backpacks and bikes included). Kelly was still on crutches from a broken foot at the time, so enjoy a post featuring 100% pure Ray talent paired with 100% pure Sam + Mara cuteness. :)

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This was one of those weddings that makes us ask ourselves, do we really get to do this for a living?

Josh + Claire live on a beautiful plot of land in the Green Mountains of Vermont. They quit their day jobs in Boston, around a year ago, bought a house, got engaged, and decided to have their wedding under the apple tree in their yard. Over the last year, they’ve worked like crazy on their home + land, to prepare for their wedding and to get settled into their new homesteading lifestyle. And, if we can say so ourselves, they’re really good at this new lifestyle.

Claire described their wonderfully simple wedding to us like this, “We want to relax and have fun with our family. Our schedule is very simple – ceremony, apps/drinks, then dinner. It’s all happening in our front yard.” They went the unconventional — but lovely — route of having only their family and a couple friends each. Josh’s grandma officiated the ceremony, and Claire’s adorable 84-year-old grandpa was the ring bearer. :) And there was basically no getting ready, no set start time, no seating assignments… it all flowed in a truly organic way.

Josh + Claire have the sweetest families, who cared for us as if WE were part of their family. What an honor it was to be part of this intimate day.

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Our three-year-old daughter is in this stage of asking us, “do I look pretty?” Most of the time, she’s referring to something she has dressed up in. We’ve been trying to teach her that her beauty isn’t shown through her clothing choices, but through the attitude of her heart, which can be reflected through her face — her smile, her eyes — but also through her kindness to others. As we were editing the images from Katy + Dan’s wedding we said to each other, multiple times, she is so pretty! She smiled the entire day — through the rain, the changes in schedule, the unknown of when dancing/music might begin… seriously, she was smiling and full of joy all day long!

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