Why Eloping might be the best decision you'll ever do!

What if you wanna marry the love of your life before your big wedding day, which will happen in a year from now?! That's exactly what Nishanie and Monty did by having a weekend getaway from Pittsburgh to Erie Pennsylvania, near the famous Presque Island State Park!

Nishanie and Monty booked their photographer (ME!) and they planned a very small and intimate celebration of their love with their loved ones on a Monday morning in the city's City Hall where less than 10 people were present along with the judge to witness the commitment and happiness Nishanie and Monty were making with each other. 

I'm constantly thinking of unique experiences for my couples. I want them to remember their engagement photos as an experience. I want them to have something unique, fun, and characteristic of their connection and love story. 

That's exactly what we did for Madi and Darian's engagement session in the Summer months of Pittsburgh with one of those incredible sunsets that give the best golden hour and that tan look we dream of the entire year. Chasing Sunsets while Having Ice Cream - The Recipe to the Perfect Engagement!

Grant first contacted me to see if I had availability to photograph his surprised engagement to his girlfriend, Emily. He had a vision of having a picnic in Schenley Park overlooking the city with their two adorable poodles. 

As soon as I read his e-mail I was thrilled, as many of you know, I love surprised engagements, and I have so much experience with them at this point that I’m always happy to help with planning or anything else that’s need it.

I loved spending the afternoon with Claudia and Tom. We planned for their maternity photos for months, and to finally see it come to fruition was wonderful! We laughed, danced, and felt the love for baby Isabella coming in a couple of weeks. 

We did the maternity session in a beautiful field in North Park.  The afternoon was sunny, and we had that beautiful golden hour glow that makes everything look so magical and out of this world.

I had so much fun taking Kacie's senior photos on a warm mid-morning at one of Pittsburgh's best locations, the botanical gardens! We had a day full of lights, shadows, and highlights that made for a very fun and creative photo shoot. 

Kacie wanted to do her senior pictures at Phipps Conservatory in Scheneley Park while the Monet exhibition was still going on. It was very sunny and humid, but we definitely made it work. 

Jay first contacted me to see if I had availability to photograph his surprised engagement to his girlfriend, Brooke. I love surprised engagements, and I have so much experience with them at this point that I love doing them and helping out in any way I can with the surprise element of it. 

We were planning a golden afternoon picnic with flowers, their dog, biggie, and some Taco Bell burritos! Brooke had mentioned that Taco Bell was one thing they always get and it's special to them as a couple. Naturally, we had to have it in the shoot. 

When I first met Saige and Adam, I understood what people mean when they talk about their ideal client. They were the manifestation of everything I had been dreaming of when I thought about who I would love to work with. 

A couple who is sensitive and receptive to art, beautiful souls who understand the art of life and love, and are open and vulnerable enough to have a collaboration with me so I can better capture and tell their story. 

If you’re into real, intimate and candid moments as much as I am, chances are that an in-home couples session is exactly what you’re wanting!

Gone are the days of stiff, cookie-cutter couple portraints in front of a tacky red backdrop. There are so many benefits to welcoming a photographer into your home and really documenting your life together and those moment you cherish the most where you send the most time together, at home. 

Pittsburgh's Strip District is full of incredible spots to see, bars and shops that offer not just a broad selection of food, but drinks and entertainment. If I had to describe the strip district in a sentence, I would say that it's the perfect blend between the old and the new. It's one of the most versatile spots in the city to take pictures, have fun and let go. 

The North Shore of Pittsburgh is a stunning spot for family photos. It's such a gorgeous and versatile spot surrounded by nature, bridges, reflecting water and the cityscape, the trail along PNC Park is also a great location for family photos. Their session was full of ALL the little moments that are raw and priceless and make the session truly special. This sweet little guy was so curious, hungry and just happy to be with his parents it was beautiful to watch. 

We did Brittany and Steve's maternity session at one of the most beautiful Pittsburgh parks right on 5th Ave., in Oakland: Mellon Park. Mellon Park is always a great location for for elegant and creative photos, and you can get so much out of this location because you can walk to different areas of the park and get different sceneries, which is always a good idea when planning a photo shoot, especially when your pregnant and hiking and doing more adventurous activities is not really an option. 

The most important part for me as a person and as a wedding photographer is for my couple to have fun--I want then to have the best experience, laugh, dance, and tear up with emotion by being in the present moment and realizing their getting to marry the love of their life, and the best part is, I get to document all of it! :) That was how Katie's and Sajen's engagement was. One for the books! 

Let me paint the picture for this incredible session for you. Mexico: A lover's destination with the ocean, beautiful skies, and the perfect weather. That sums up my afternoon, while I got the privilege to see these two love birds love and devotion for one another.

The first weeks of your baby's life quickly pass by, and you won't even notice when he or she is already a month old! They grow and change daily, where do I come in in that? I love to document those first few weeks of your baby's life in the comfort of your home. 

In a lifestyle session where we take real, and natural photos, we document those moments of the baby as well as you as parents with your little one. It's one of the most intimate and most beautiful photo shoots you can have, and I promise, you won't regret it.  

When we first got there we were welcomed by the kind staff of the wedding venue who were finishing the final touches for the reception and making sure everything was ready. 
The bridal room where Rose was getting ready was spacious and full of light. We captured those very special getting ready moments that are so sentimental for the bride along with her mom and bridesmaids. They drank champagne and had fun while putting having their make up done, and got even more beautiful for the day. For the guys these moments are very fun! They take in the moment by goofing around ripping their pants, drinking and laughing a LOT. 

Lisa had asked me for ideas on photo shoot locations. She wanted something special and different, and something that would go with Ryan's vibe, too. So we found this really cool location in the Strip District where there are huge tires, a railroad, and what looks like closed factories. If you go and look around, you would never think that this would be an ideal photo shoot location, but as you'll see below, it was! I wish more of my clients could see the beauty of these type of locations for their photos.

Cancun Riviera Maya Photos | Before seeing the photos, let me paint the picture for you. A gorgeous golden afternoon giving the turquoise waters that glow, the waves hitting the shore and two people in love letting themselves get carried away by the warmth, the sensation of the water in their skin, and remembering vividly why they made the commitment to spending the rest of their life together!

We started off the engagement of Hunter and Kristen at The Pennsylvanian Apartments in Downtown Pittsburgh, and finished it off in Mellon Park. 

Always such a joy to photograph Hunted and Kristen, and to see their engagement rings, and do this for them was really special to me. We had taken photos a year prior in McConnells State Park where Hunter had given Kristen a couple's session as a surprised. This time though, we celebrated their engagement by popping a champagne bottle at the end of the session. 

Bri and Derek celebrated their wedding at The Hotel Conneaut at Conneaut Lake, PA. Being in this historic hotel was a beautiful experience, because the locations for photographs were endless. Plus being by the water just adds to the charm of this venue. The ceremony was right by the water and even though it was a gloomy September day and It ended up raining a bit, we got the most beautiful sky after the storm. Not to mention the night we got with a pitch black sky with beautiful stars surrounding us where we were able to capture night portraits that Bri and Derek were happy to take. 

Carlee + Joe's Wedding took place at The Home Farm Barn in Indiana PA where we celebrated their union in a beautiful fall day with the popular autumn's foliage we wait year-round for. 

Their wedding decor was all fall themed with pumpkins that look very aesthetically pleasing. The combination of the bridesmaids' color dresses with their bouquets made for an elegant feel to the entire wedding. 

Also, if you haven't been to The Home Farm Barn in Indiana PA it's totally worth a visit. The hand-hewn barn located in Indiana PA is a venue which offers different spaces for the ceremony, reception, and even the getting ready portion of the day, which is very helpful because everything happens all in once place and you don't have to drive from location to location, which is very convenient and ends up saving you time and stress, which is a life saver when talking about one of the most important days of your life. 

Mommy & Me sessions are incredibly special and rewarding, because we capture the maternity session (pre baby) and then once the baby is born, we do the newborn session at the baby's home. 

We document these moments that are so joyous, full of emotions and incredibly intimate for everybody in the family and also for me, because what a privilege it is to document such a beautiful and special moment of your lives it is for me.

We arrived at The Scottish Rite Cathedral to do her first look with her father, which was really sweet because we got to capture his true reaction seeing his daughter dressed in her white dress for the first time. The ceremony took place in this gorgeous historical place, and I could not be happier. Brittney had told me what an incredible location it was and she wasn't exaggerating. The high ceilings and architecture of the cathedral were beyond beautiful! 

I knew this surprised engagement was going to be special the moment Steve contacted me, but what I didn't know at the time was that this was going to be one of my all-time favorite photo shoots. There's an elegance and delicacy to the way Alaina reacted that was hypnotizing, and the way Steve's eyes sparked when he saw how happy Alaina reacted. I would say that this was the definition of what romanticism means. 

We did Meshaim's maternity session at Pittsburgh most gorgeous parks, Mellon Park. I feel like that's a wonderful location option for elegant and creative shots, and you can get so much out of this location because you can walk to different areas of the park and get another vibe, which is always a good idea when planning a photo shoot, especially when your pregnant and hiking and doing more adventurous activities is not really an option.