Bennetts Creek Park Anniversary Portraits | Suffolk Couples Photographer | Matt + Chandra

Bennetts Creek Park Anniversary Portraits | Suffolk Couples Photographer | Matt + Chandra

Matt and Chandra are not newlyweds - they have been married for over 5 years and lived through deployments, international travel, and moving around through their stints with the Coast Guard during this time. Even though they dated for two years they were only engaged for a few months when they realized they needed to either say I do or be separated for a long time! Chandra went dress shopping with her mom and started planning a wedding until it became clear that they wouldn't have enough time - so a courthouse wedding happened instead!

Five years later, Chandra finally wore her wedding dress for the very first time. Matt dressed in a navy blue suit and even though they had already said yes to each other, they finally got to live out in a small way the wedding they never had. Yet behind the smiles and the beautiful clothes is a couple who knows what marriage means and would choose forever with each other over and over again...

My First Speeding Ticket | Monday Musings

My First Speeding Ticket | Monday Musings

Sigh. The title of this blog just makes me cringe, and it has taken me a month to share. But in June I got my first speeding ticket. I was traveling home from surprising my dad for Father's Day weekend, driving on a road parallel to the interstate. I truly thought the speed limit was about 55mph...turns out it was 35 instead. As soon as I saw the lowered limit I slowed way down but just as I did, a police car pulled out behind me and my stomach dropped.

He clocked me driving 59mph in a 35mph zone. I was so shaken up that I remember thinking, "whew, at least I was only going 14 over...otherwise it would be reckless driving!" When I did the math again, though, I realized how fast I was traveling. While I truly did not mean to drive that fast - and honestly I never do! - I knew it was my fault for not noticing the speed limit sign.

The officer walked up and asked for my license and registration. I just sat there praying he would have mercy on me for some strange reason. ..

Pleasure House Point Family Photographer | Scott Family Session

Pleasure House Point Family Photographer | Scott Family Session

The first time I met Shelby and her family was when I held mini sessions to help fund our adoption almost two years ago. I remember that she came out of her car with a huge smile and a declaration that "we don't do cheesy!" With the perfect outfits and children that behaved beautifully, theirs was one of my favorite mini sessions that I photographed that day.

Two years later I couldn't have asked for a better family or a better full session. This time around we spent over an hour at Pleasure House Point in Virginia Beach. It was hot and humid, my car had just stopped turning on, and traffic getting there had been crazy - yet each family member pulled out big smiles and had so much love for each other. Bobby and Shelby have created a beautiful legacy over the last 16 years, a fact which became so evident as the four of them spent time together...