Alan & Courtney, pt. 1 | Wedding Photographer

Exactly one year ago  I was shooting Alan & Courtney's wedding while Tommy walked around wearing a 3 week old Sunday in a wrap, bringing her to me to eat every 3 hours. Needless to say, it was a challenging day for my family (and my body! yikes!) but with the help of my incredible assistant, Jacqulyn, and the generosity of Aaron Spicer who gave up a prime wedding weekend to shoot with us, it was absolutely perfect. I love the opportunity to shoot a Christmas wedding! There is nothing like the magic of Christmas on top of the magic of a wedding day... pure bliss!! Plus I was NOT going to miss this wedding, as the bride was someone I have known almost my whole life! But, afterwards I was spending my time recovering and focusing on customer service while adjusting to having a newborn around instead of blogging. So of course Alan & Courtney's first wedding anniversary is as good a time as any to relive their wedding!

As I was planning to blog Courtney and Al's wedding pictures, I thought it would be fun to get a fresh perspective from a bride! I asked Courtney if she would share with me what her favorite picture was from her wedding day. Here is what she shared:

When I read Liz's email asking if I would like share something about my wedding photography experience my first impulse was OF COURSE. Had I truly realized how difficult the task of choosing my favorite wedding picture would be I don't know if my reply would have been so automatic. What a pleasant predicament to find yourself in... too many favorite wedding pictures to narrow it down to one. Heck, I think I'd have an equally difficult time narrowing my selection down to ten!

Our wedding photography experience could not have been any more perfect. As so many soon-to-be brides and recently married brides know, stress levels are a major concern when your big day finally arrives. There was not a single instance throughout my wedding day photography when I doubted the entire experience was being fully captured. Liz and her staff were incredible and completely in sync with my entire bridal party, family and guests... so much so we almost forgot they were there! Liz's talent coupled with her confidence completely afforded me the opportunity to enjoy my wedding day. Yes, I just used one of the most annoying lines people "offer" as advice while planning a wedding.

After careful consideration I decided on my favorite picture from my wedding. Oddly enough the main reason I chose this picture also explains how my family and Liz‘s family know each other. A strong theme of our wedding was the military. I come from a long line of military family members and grew up in the Navy. My husband is now a retired Green Beret Officer and proudly served for twenty five years.

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We encouraged all of our active duty, retired and veteran guests to wear their uniforms and as you can tell from this photograph many did. It was such a special memory for me to have my father walk me down the aisle in his uniform. I am so proud of our service members and to be surrounded by so many loved ones who are currently serving or have served our great nation was a fantastic feeling. A girl can’t help but feel lucky when posing in a picture surrounded by Green Berets and Navy SEALs. :)

Many years ago our family and Liz's family met on a small Navy base. It is very neat to think we have kept the tradition going strong (even if Liz and I married Army men!) This picture is also special to me because we were married on an Army Navy game day and this picture perfectly captures the Army Navy rivalry within our family now.

Thank you Liz for all of our beautiful wedding pictures and for allowing me to relive the happiest day of my life every time I look through our gorgeous pictures.

Thank you, Courtney, for trusting us with your wedding day photography and for sharing your experience with my blog readers! Without further ado, please check out the first part of Courtney and Al's big day. Part 2 will be up on Wednesday!

Alan and Courtney and their entire bridal party were led by bagpipe players through the strees of downtown Fredericksburg from the church to the reception. The crowds LOVED it... they were a beautiful sight (and sound!) to be hold!

Happy, happy anniversary, Al & Courtney!!

Part 2 will be blogged on Wednesday, so come back for that!

Ceremony: Fredericksburg Presbyterian Church Reception: Fredericksburg Square Florist: Jane Guerin Cake designer: The Icing DJ: LA Dee Jay Make-up artist: Victoria Miller (bridesmaid) Hair stylist: Bella Hair (Sandy) Dress: Priscilla of Boston

Equipment used for this wedding:  canon 5d mark ii // canon 7d // canon 50mm f/1.2 lens // canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens // canon 35mm f/1.4 lens // canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens // canon 85mm f/1.8

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Liz Cook is the owner and photographer of sincerely, liz: photography. She is a virginia wedding photographer and virginia portrait photographer who loves virginia weddings, family portrait sessions and couple photography.

To see more of Liz’s work, check out her latest work as well as some of her favorite weddings. To hire Liz, simply fill out this form.

Fall portrait session re-cap and other things that are happening around here.

My fall season was packed with such fun and lovable clients! In the next few weeks I'll be sharing full sessions here on the blog, but for now I wanted to share a quick recap of what I've been doing these past few months. First things, first....! Ahhh there are a LOT of things going on behind the scenes with Sincerely, Liz! It'll be a couple of months before the big announcements are made, but there are some major business structural changes happening (anyone notice the subtle name change of the Facebook Page?? ;)). We're super busy working on a new office space (!!), a new website (!!), and lots of other improvements here and there. Oh and there have been a few additions to the team...! I'll be sharing a ton more after the new year (it's SO hard to wait), so definitely stay tuned.

For now... here's a glimpse of some of the pretty faces I'll be blogging in the next few weeks!

The talented and always cute, Crystal George:

One of my 2013 interns (!!), Chelsea:

Sunday's sweet nanny and her family, the Earl's:

Ed & Kat, one of my 2013 couples:

My incredible doula and her family:

Some of my most cherished clients, the Hill family:

The family who lives one of my dream lives (yes I have lots of dreams!), the Kramer's:

And the beautiful Williams family, always making my job SO easy:

Get excited to see more of these awesome people!

Okay I've got another busy day ahead...! It involves lots of snuggles with Sunday, finally getting my camera back from it's weekend getaway, and a commercial shoot in a few hours. Have a good one, friends!

Chris & Katie, Part II | Warsaw Virginia Wedding Photographer

As my regular blog readers know, I don't typically narrate a wedding day. But the second half of Chris & Katie's wedding requires a few bits of explaination. So without further ado...

These are their awesome siblings that were keeping a HUGE secret from Katie at this point during the day...

Funny thing... when we were taking pictures in the field I suggested we make our next location "by the tractor equipment." Katie pointed to the machine I was talking about and said "Oh, that? That's not a tractor it's a _____!" (She's gonna kill me for forgetting what it even is called!) But the fun part is that Katie is soooo stinking passionate about the work that she does, she wants everyone to know about it! When I went to the farm for her bridal portrait session, she gave me a tour of the place and explained to me the step-by-step process they go through to farm corn and soybeans! Seriously love this girl's zest for life!

They asked for some pictures that included the name of the farm....

And pictures in "the soybean fields," too! Well break my arm why don't cha!! :) (These are seriously some of my FAVORITE pictures I've ever taken!)

So... right here. After the best man and maid of honor toasts, Katie's brothers each came up to say a few words. They wrapped up the toasts by handing her a card and saying "We know you have to be at work bright and early on Monday so we thought we'd give you something to do with your time..."

Inside was an all-expenses paid HONEYMOON!!! Put together by family members who LOVE them SO MUCH! These are the sweet, sweet reactions... (Oh and Chris totally knew it was coming!!)

After the toasts were done and the cake had been cut, Katie kicked off the dancing portion of the evening by starting The Wobble all on her own. That girl has got MOVES!

Each bridesmaid jumped in on a new set and eventually the dance floor was full! The rest of the night was a BLAST...!

SO much love.... SO much fun!! Weddings like this are so surreal to me... I can't believe it is my JOB to have fun and capture such happy emotions and activities! :) Love love love....!

If you missed it, be sure to check out the first part of this wedding! Chris & Katie, Part I | Warsaw Wedding Photographer

Ceremony: Laurel Springs Farm Reception: Laurel Springs Farm Florist: Bridget’s Bouquets DJ: Len Archer Photography: Sincerely, Liz: Photography Catering: A family friend Dress: Kleinfeld NYC 

Equipment used for this wedding:  canon 5d mark ii // canon 7d // canon 50mm f/1.2 lens // canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens // canon 35mm f/1.4 lens // canon 85mm f/1.8 lens // canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens

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Liz Cook is the owner and photographer of sincerely, liz: photography. She is a virginia wedding photographer and virginia portrait photographer who loves virginia weddings, family portrait sessions and couple photography.

To see more of Liz’s work, check out her latest work as well as some of her favorite weddings. To hire Liz, simply fill out this form.

Chris & Katie, Part I | Warsaw Wedding Photographer

Where to start with these two! Yet again I couldn't narrow my favorites down to one blog post - so this is part 1. Part 2 is coming at'cha on Wednesday so be sure to come back for more!

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Oh... Chris and Katie. On their wedding day, they were surrounded by more love and support than almost any other couple I have worked with. That's kind of a bold statement - but I was truly blown away by all of the people that were simply joyous about this wedding. Katie and Chris both have great relationships with all of their siblings (7 of them altogether!) and their parents. But the friends!! And extended family! Everyone that we spoke with on their wedding day was just so happy for these two. The day was all about celebrating their love and everyone in attendance was thrilled to be a part of it. The enthusiam was endless.

When Katie and I met at her bridal portrait session, I knew she was going to make my job so easy and comfortable. She was such a laid back, FUN bride (and stunning to boot!). Everything was about enjoyment.: just sit back, relax, and have a good time. Which you will easily see in the pictures! And her groom, Chris, was so attentive to the needs of everyone around him - he also made our job so easy. He put the boutonnieres on all of his groomsmen himself (I've never seen that before! We are usually the ones that do this!) and continued thanking the wedding vendors (including us) for their hard work throughout the night. But his biggest concern? Observing the joy on his bride's face! Chris lit up the moment he saw Katie coming down the aisle and he did not stop smiling or kissing her all night long. It was the sweetest. thing. ever.

Their wedding was beautiful, fun, and so THEM. As always, we were honored to be a part of their day and it was absolutely the best way to wrap up our 2012 wedding season!

Part II coming on Wednesday!

Ceremony: Laurel Springs Farm Reception: Laurel Springs Farm Florist: Bridget's Bouquets Officiant: Rev. Catherine Swann Dress: Kleinfeld NYC

Equipment used for this wedding:  canon 5d mark ii // canon 7d // canon 50mm f/1.2 lens // canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens // canon 35mm f/1.4 lens // canon 85mm f/1.8 lens // canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens

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Liz Cook is the owner and photographer of sincerely, liz: photography. She is a virginia wedding photographer and virginia portrait photographer who loves virginia weddings, family portrait sessions and couple photography.

To see more of Liz’s work, check out her latest work as well as some of her favorite weddings. To hire Liz, simply fill out this form.

zac & carrie | couple portraits on the beach

I intened on posting this yesterday... but I couldn't figure out how to put into words how much I love this girl. I am still struggling... so here is something like my 5th attempt at writing this blog post. So let me start with how we met. Our husbands deployed together in 2010 and Carrie and I met and instantly clicked during the 4-day weekend the guys got in New Orleans... our last hoorah before they were really gone for a year. The whole time our guys were gone Carrie and I made it a priority to get together almost weekly... which is saying a lot since we live about an hour from each other. She was my person who "got it." Having a deployed husband... but not being surrounded by a lot of other military families at the same time. (Our guys are National Guardsmen so we aren't stationed on a military base where it is easier to find and connect with people experiencing the same thing you are going through.) Carrie and I would get together and talk about the struggles of a long-distance marriage, how we tried to pretend the guys weren't really in danger, and how we learned to enjoy life without our husbands being around all the time.

But Carrie was more than just a deployment friend. She is probably the most servent-minded person I have ever met. Her heart is so sweet, she is thoughtful and considerate... and truly a treasure to me and the other people in her life. Our conversations are transparent, we have called each other in the middle of the night in tears and been honored to comfort and encourage one another during the tough times. Her presence is never, ever a burden. She is a constant blessing to me and my family.

When I found out I was pregnant I called Carrie first. She was absolutely thrilled for me and her joy was contagious. My pregnancy was a surprise - but Carrie made me remember that it was a gift from God... that this was totally in God's plans for us... and it was a wonderful, beautiful thing.

Like I said, she is a treasure.

I am skipping so many wonderful memories... stories... moments. Camping trips, babysitting, crossfit and paleo journeys, crewing races, exploring Tombstone, ikea trips, coffee dates, sooo many dinner dates, sleepovers, girl's nights out... I can't even figure out how to prioritize what to say! So I will get to the point of this post...

Carrie and Zac are some of our very best friends. Zac actually deployed - again - for another year this past year. He just returned a few weeks ago and we got to be a part of the surprise reunion! Carrie had no idea Zac was coming home so early - she thought he wouldn't be home for another two weeks! But, alas... he came home and quickly whisked her away to Aruba for a fun getaway. When they returned we took them to the beach with us... not the same as Aruba... but I think equally as fun. Maybe... maybe not. ;)

While we were at the beach I asked them if I could do a session for them... at sunset, of course. So, I introduce to you... Carrie and Zac...

Equipment used for this session:  canon 5d mark ii // canon 50mm f/1.2 lens // canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens

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Liz Cook is the owner and photographer of sincerely, liz: photography. She is a virginia wedding photographer and virginia portrait photographer who loves virginia weddings, family portrait sessions and couple photography.

To see more of Liz’s work, check out her latest work as well as some of her favorite weddings. To hire Liz, simply fill out this form.