Do you remember when I told you about Sarah Overall Events and how she planned the most STUNNING party??? Well, here is the proof of her incredible work.
On a very hot and toasty summer day in Minden Louisiana, a beautiful garden party at Simply Southern Cottage was hosted by Sarah Overall and her team. It was the most glorious evening. With florals from KV Floral Design and cakes from Social Bites it was a party that dreams are made of. I had the greatest honor to be able to photograph it and these images go down as some of my favorites. How gorgeous does everything look?
Some of our very good friends are having a baby after many prayers have been prayed for them. Our girls prayed every single night that they would have a baby and they are so excited when they got the news. Our babies will only be a few months apart and we can’t wait for them to get to grow up as little besties.
Because it is the middle of simmer here in North Louisiana we opted to stay indoors for this announcement session. These sessions are sooo much fun! There is nothing better as a newborn photographer to get to photograph your friends announcing they are expecting a sweet baby.
Of course we had to include the fur babies in a fun photo, too!
Sarah Overall is an incredibly talented event coordinator in the North Louisiana area. I had the privilege of doing branding photos for her and her team.
We met at Estate Les Chenes in Minden, LA and we were able to capture some beautiful images. From headshots to charcuterie boards, we covered it all! It was so much fun working together and I wish her nothing but success.
If you’re local and need an event planner I can’t recommend her enough. I was able to watch her at work, first hand, and she is nothing short of amazing at what she does! Soon to come will be images from an incredibly stunning event that Sarah put on. You do NOT want to miss it!!
Sweet little Jesse had his first birthday. He is one farm loving boy! We were able to get a few family photos and then we put him near the family tractor and he was the happiest little guy you ever did see. Seriously, it was the cutest thing. Jesse and his family live on a farm in North Louisiana and this is where we did his photos. They have cows, pigs, horses, a couple of dogs and a cat. The true farm loving boy’s dream!
I love getting to photograph babies for their first birthday. It’s so fun! You never know how they are going to feel about photos but it always feels like the greatest success when they warm up to you and you get some genuine smiles!!
Early June David and I took a trip to Pennsylvania to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. Technically, he had to be there for work and I tagged along but we went a few days early and stayed a few days later so that we could make a little vacation out of it. Our first stop was Lancaster, PA.
This part of our trip started off a bit rough with the airbnb booked being in a really rough part of town. What I did not realize is that Lancaster and Lancaster County are actually two totally different places. Lancaster is a big city and Lancaster county is smaller towns inside the county that make up Lancaster count and it is all Amish farmland. Or at least, mostly Amish farmland. There are shops and Sight and Sound Theaters and whatnot.
We quickly cancelled our airbnb. Tried to get a refund due to feeling very unsafe staying there, but the owner would not allow any amount of a refund. After going back and forth we decided to reach out to airbnb and they are giving us a partial refund. Hey, better than nothing!
Ok. So now we cancelled that airbnb, now what??
We planned this portion of the trip with some friends who were driving up from VA. They quickly booked an alternative airbnb IN LANCASTER COUNTY (haha!!) and we stayed there. It was soooo nice and peaceful.
For this portion of our trip we did Sight and Sound Theaters, Agape coffee shop and restaurant, we ate at a few Amish restaurants, went to Kitchen Kettle Village, a really good ice cream shop that I don’t even know the name of, and went to Main Street Skirt Exchange. We saw more horse and buggies than we have ever seen (which was previously zero because we DO NOT live near amish country) and more beautiful farm land than I could capture. Word of warning, don’t drive through farm land with your windows rolled down. Haha!!
Thursday afternoon we all split ways. David and I drove to northern PA and our friends went back home to VA. More to come soon!
Flying above the clouds always makes me happy The much better Airbnb*Singsong voice* agapeeeeeMy drink choices for the trip- iced dirty chia (amazing!!) and plain lattes (delish)About to watch Daniel at sight and sound- it was goooood
me
Such a beautiful drive across PA
Specifically for my horse loving Emma
Kitchen kettle village
This just takes me back to the 1800s.. not that I know anything about what that was like
This is a special family that I have been able to photograph many life events for. I flew to Florida to photograph their wedding, I photographed maternity and newborn photos for their first baby, six month photos, one year photos, and now they are having another baby and I’m photographing their gender announcement plus family photos. It is so special for me to be able to capture so many special memories for my friends and clients. It might sound cliche, but I love what I do!!
We met Mark and Michelle at their home to have a quick meal together and then we started off for Logoly State Park in Magnolia, AR. Unfortunately, dark clouds rolled in and it was the gloomiest, darkest day I had seen in a while. It was too late to reschedule, we were literally there at the location. So we made do. I found the best light I could find and we went to work.
It was so hot and crazy humid. We were all drenched in sweat. Or at least I was. I sweat easy. Haha!
Mark, Michelle and Seth were all troopers and handled the day so well. We got some adorable photos and even pulled off the gender reveal! You’ll have to scroll through to see what baby number two is for them!
A few months ago Minden, Louisiana had a Summer Soiree at the Fuller White House renovated by Sara Mcdaniel in conjunction with Magnolia Network’s In With The Old. Sara has worked so hard to put Minden on the map and I would say she is doing an amazing job!
This fun event was put together as a fundraising opportunity for the Mayor of Minden and the Chief of Police. So many came out to show their love and support. One thing I have noticed about Minden is they love big and they love well.
Incredible teams came together to make this event the success that it was. From event planners to caterers, everything was spectacular!
Thank you Minden for being the friendliest city in the south!
With the threat of being rained out and rescheduled, we had no idea if today was going to go the way we had hoped. After lots of praying and just committing it to God, we got a call at 6 am this morning saying they were delivering! What a sigh of relief!!
We all got out of bed bright and early to watch the home be delivered. We don’t get out much?? Haha!!
There were a few spots on our driveway that were very tight and it took quite a bit of maneuvering to get through but they did it with minimal damage. Thank the Lord!!
We are watching them all work hard to get the home set, tied down, and put back together. It’s an exciting time! It should be about 6-8 weeks before we move in. There’s still lots to do!
Phew, we were holding our breath Doggie driver. Haha!! She’s a beauty Our little fam
About two weeks ago, mid April, the pad for our home was completed and we went and closed on the construction loan of the home. The girls got to tour the model home that ours is going to look like for the first time. They loved it!! They have seen pictures and a virtual walk through but we made the choice on the home without them being there so they hadn’t seen it in person yet.
We were asked to take photos of the pad and send them in so that the company delivering the home could see we were ready.
We did our part but the next day we got a heavy downpour and parts of the pad were damaged. We immediately started contacting different ones to make them aware of the damage and to figure out what needed to be done next.
Because of even more rain, the pad repairs were delayed two weeks. We finally had a break in the rain and everything was able to dry out. The pad was repaired and drainage ditches were cut to redirect water from the top of the hill.
We picked up some hay from tractor supply here in Minden, LA to put down around the perimeter of the pad to prevent any further washouts from rain. Funny enough, we haven’t had any rain since. We had a storm that was supposed to come through but it missed us completely. I won’t complain.
As of now, our home is going to be delivered on May 29th. We are praying there will be no issues to cause delays on this part.
After the home is delivered we will have lots of things going on. The septic will be put in, the plumbing work will be done, electrical work, a/c work, inside finish work from flooring to sheetrock and whatever else needs to be done. We might try and sneak in some landscaping during this time as well. This process is estimated to take 8 weeks.
Once this part is completed we will have a final walk through with our contractor to ensure everything is the way we wanted it and if so, we will have the final close and get the keys to our home! This is estimated to be late July/early August.
We can’t wait for the move in and are trusting for no hiccups or issues along the way.
Pad work being done The first go around before damagesClosing on the home construction loan. This will be our kitchen view in a few short months! Sweet gifts from the company we are purchasing the home fromSome of the damagesAnother location of damages Ah, that’s more like it
The next updates will be that our home is here and construction work has begun. I’m excited for that post!! Stay tuned, it won’t be long now!
Babies coming back for their first birthday photos after having their newborn session with me means the world!!
Baker boy was a sweet newborn I photographed last year and I just loved his session. I have since been watching him grow through his mom’s social media posts and I have loved seeing how much he has changed. Then getting to see him again in person. Oh, he is so cute!!
I loved our time together out at Lake Bistineau State Park in North Louisiana and how easy it was to get sweet smiles out of this sweet little man.
North Louisiana Lifestyle Family and Newborn Photographer 