A Sunrise Engagement Session at Pleasure House Point – Virginia Beach, VA

~ Erica & Fleet | Engaged ~

Pleasure House Point Nature Preserve | Virginia Beach, Virginia | March 16, 2025

Erica and Fleet are getting married in September! I couldnt be more excited for them! Prior to this session Fleet had texted me and asked if there was a way we could surprise Erica, with an upgraded engagement ring! So we planned a little re-proposal with her new ring shortly after beginning their session. I was so happy we had a beautiful morning to shoot after having to RESCHEDULE TWICE because of the rain.

They had such a cute love story and I am swooning…
It was Erica’s 25th birthday, she and her friends were out at a local bar and Fleet had a bar bet going on about meeting as many strangers as possible. Fleet introduced himself to Erica, her sister and her friends and made plenty of Fleetwood Mac references and had Erica laughing throughout the whole conversation. The bar was closing but they were still enjoying conversation, so she invited him to join them back at their beach house where they stayed up talking until 8 the next morning. They have traveled across the country twice and navigated long distance for a while and are excitedly getting married in September!

Erica wrote such a lovely little synopsis of their love story and wanted to share it with you! “It all started with a birthday sash and a bar bet. I was celebrating my 25th birthday with friends at Ballyhoo’s, and Fleet was on a mission to meet as many strangers as possible that night. His approach? Walking up to random groups and seeing who’d talk to him. When he spotted our crew—half-asleep, half-scattered—he zeroed in on the girl trying to keep the energy alive (me). “Hi, I’m Fleet, like Fleetwood,” he said. That one line launched a conversation full of laughs, curiosity, and Fleetwood Mac references. Whether he actually approached my sister first is still up for debate—but either way, once we started talking, the rest of the night faded into the background.

As the bar wound down, I didn’t want the night to end, so I invited him back to our beach house. He showed up—despite insisting he never stays up late—and we talked until nearly 8 a.m. That random night turned into something neither of us expected. Since then, we’ve crossed the country together (twice), navigated long-distance, faced challenges, and celebrated more milestones than we can count. And through it all, the conversation never stopped.”

Now…. I don’t usually talk about stuff like this within my couples engagement session blogs, BUT this really needs to be brought to as many peoples attention as possible…..What is crazy & sad is I was there just a few days later and the demolition of the Pleasure House Point Area to build condos and/or other buildings had begun and there were so many trees down and so much construction equipment had moved in. Many animals including Sea Turtles and Sea Fowl use this land for nesting. It was a beautiful hidden gem of peace and serenity in a BUSY beach CITY. Many people are doing what they can to save this place, including signing petitions, protesting, sending information to government officials, like our Govenor, to hopefully stop any further destruction. If you can take about 60 seconds of your time, please sign this petition HERE and to learn about all the destruction and deforestation impacts – please get your verified information HERE!

A Romantic Blue Hour Engagement in Downtown Norfolk, VA

~ Brittney & Andrew | Engaged ~

Downtown Norfolk | Norfolk, Virginia | March 15, 2025

I met up with Brittney & Andrew just in time for Golden Hour and had a romantic session during Blue Hour…. I had the pleasure to get to know them and hear all about their families and their wedding plans! They are getting married this September and I cannot wait!!! The light and the weather were absolutely perfect and I had so many favorites to share with you all!

Brittney and Andrew have a total ROM-COM type love story and I am HERE FOR IT!!!! Andrew is military and was overseas when Brittney began at the same company as him. Once he returned from deployment he was very boisterous in introducing himself and she was so taken aback by him. The following day they went on a job assignment together and Brittney got hurt on the job site! Andrew came in and saved the day and sliding in smooth later that evening with a “here’s my number in case you need anything” line. While working together they became really close. But Andrew had to go on a lengthy deployment over seas again and when he returned, Brittney was his boss. And they completely fell in love, they are inseparable.

Britteny send me this beautiful synopsis of their love story – It is much more detailed and she wrote it so lovely I wanted to share it with all of you.

While Andrew was on yet another overseas military assignment, his civilian employer brought on someone new to the company, Brittney. By the time Andrew returned home, Brittney had already become comfortable in her position and had grown accustomed to her everyday routine. Their first meeting was unplanned, yet unforgettable: Brittney was busy with paperwork when an unknown voice yelled out asking who the new person was before firmly grabbing Brittney’s hand and introducing himself as Andrew. Brittney was taken aback by Andrew’s boisterous personality, but immediately felt as if Andrew was happy to have her as part of the team. 

The following day, Andrew and Brittney worked their first off-site job as a team. Before their first job together was completed, Brittney received her first, of what would become many, injuries on the job site. Without hesitation, Andrew was right there by Brittney’s side, helping her and convincing her to call it a day, despite Brittney’s protests. Once Andrew drove Brittney back to the office, he cleaned and bandaged her wounds, before casually saying, “Let me give you my number in case you need anything else.” It was smooth, but genuine, and it worked. 

From that point on, Andrew and Brittney became an inseparable team. The two spent many long days and weekends working side by side, and Andrew always looked out for Brittney, often times finding himself gently holding Brittney’s hand as he removed one splinter after another. On the toughest 16+ hour shifts, Andrew would show up with a cooler packed full of food and drinks, always bringing plenty of extras, just in case Brittney needed some.

As Andrew and Brittney’s bond continued to grow, Andrew had to leave for (you guessed it) another military assignment, departing for nearly seven months. When Andrew returned, a lot had changed, not only had Brittney earned a well-deserved promotion in his absence (assuming the role of Andrew’s boss), but both Andrew and Brittney began looking at each other in a new manner. Andrew and Brittney often found themselves expressing their pride in the accomplishments of the other during their time apart. 

Over the following months, Andrew and Brittney’s bond grew stronger than ever. Despite continuing to work long days and weekends, Andrew and Brittney began finding time to build an equally strong personal relationship outside of work. What began as a partnership on the clock had quietly become something much greater. Before either of them knew it, Andrew and Brittney were more than just teammates, they were hopelessly in love.

A Playful Engagement Session at the Golf Course and Resort in Newport News, VA

~ Raylyn & Myles | Engaged ~

Kiln Creek Golf Course & Resort | Newport News, Virginia | March 9, 2025

Raylyn and Myles have some of the most infectious energy and chemistry! The laughing was constant and the smiles were non-stop. They are getting married at this venue in October. I can’t wait to see all the colorful leaves over the Golf Course. These two met in 2023 at the Urban Ice, ice cream shop in Norfolk, VA after finding each other on Hinge! They are the best example of opposites attract. Raylyn is a Cat Mom and is more laid back and grounded. Myles is a dog dad and is funny and energetic. Their chemistry is magnetic. They enjoy playing video games, watching anime & Disney movies, and going on all kinds of new and exciting adventures. They are absolutely inseparable. They are such a sweet couple, and even gave us a thoughtful gift for the loss of Baby Chase. I think we were laughing the whole session. We had wonderful weather and light for their session and the sun was giving us that beautiful glowing light!

Arielle | 4 Years Old

~ Grey Sweater & Blue Heels Series ~

Reflections Apartments | Virginia Beach, Virginia | February 7, 2025

Life got so busy, we never did our 3.5 years old installment – so now we have moved to just an annual shoot for these. Arielle was excited to take these this time. When I brought it up at 3.5 she was not interested. Originally I wanted to keep going to the same place – the Oceanfront, for these, but this time Arielle wanted to stay home. We recently FINALLY moved out of our 2 bedroom apartment and into a 3 bedroom home. So, looking back, this is a sweet way for all of us to remember that time in our lives.

We took these a few months into being 4, and in that time Arielle had became a big sister, had an epic birthday party at the Virginia Zoo, got stitches, celebrated Christmas and New Years out of town with family, got COVID & pink eye, lost her sibling Chase Ryder in January due to miscarriage, and now we moved into a new house! Arielle has been coping with the loss of Baby Chase the best out of all of us. And keeps saying she is still a big sister even if she can’t see Chase in Heaven right now. We also took that time to tell Arielle about Baby Z, the embryo we lost prior to her in 2020 for our Fresh Transfer. She understood and said that she was “happy to be our Rainbow” and that she knows Baby Chase is going to send her another sibling soon. We do plan to try another IVF cycle. We are in the baseline portion of treatment right now and have another transfer scheduled in a few months.

Arielle has been excelling in school. We enrolled her in private preschool in the fall and she has learned so much and had so many “glowing” ranks on her very first report card. She can recognize her sight words, can read, write, and spell her own name and is learning some Spanish words every month. She also is learning so much about Jesus and just has the sweetest heart for the LORD. They had the cutest Christmas program and she was a chicken and got to sing “cockadoodledoo!!!!!” She sings grace before dinner, and “Let It Go” from Frozen the rest of the day. We started breaking into our princess phase, with Frozen and Tangled. She even put on her Elsa dress for her 4 year heels & sweater pictures. And just like in Frozen, we had SNOW this year at the beach!!! It happened a few times this year but this was the biggest snow storm since 2016! I was in love with that experience, it was beautiful and so strange to feel snow and sand move under your feet. I absolutely love her funny personality, humor and sweet soul! She is SO smart and her love for animals grows each day. She said she is going to be a Big Cat Vet and have her own Vet Ambulance when she grows up.

We had a super cool birthday party for her at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk. Arielle had so many friends and family show up for her, it was such a fun filled day and party! HUGE shout out to the Virginia Zoo for being amazing hosts and the legless lizard and screaming armadillo for being their adorable ambassador selves! Also I would love to thank Ariel, from Twisted Sisters Cupcakes for making this EPIC Sonic the Hedgehog cake for Arielle, she LOVED it! The flavors were chocolate cake with mixed berry icing and confetti cake with chocolate frosting. Arielle is OBSESSED with Chocolate, she picked the cake flavors and they were YUMMY! After a wonderful afternoon touring the zoo once the party concluded, we ended up in the Children’s Hospital. We were loading up the cars and I opened Michaels van door and then saw there was no more room for anything and I would need to put it in my Jeep. I went to shut the door, not noticing Arielles hand in the way as she was climbing out of the front seat…she needed 7 stitches y’all! I was beside myself. I felt SO horrible. But by the grace of God no broken bones and the stitches healed wonderfully and her finger is completely healed and back to normal now.

Before you scroll any further – I wanted to place a Viewer Discretion or a Trigger Warning…

I miscarried our baby, Baby D (Chase Ryder) at 12 Weeks, 2 Days gestation. I passed my baby at home and once we both were discharged from the hospital, the next day I photographed our baby. This is one of the only photos we will ever have of this baby. But, we were ready to share Baby Chase with you all. Arielle picked the name.

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