Archive for October, 2010

Palm Valley Gardens | Jacksonville, Florida

Palm Valley Gardens is a secluded little gem of a place. If you blink you might drive right past it. But once you discover it, you’re left in awe. An Italian style house sits in the middle of a lush property bordered by huge oak trees. In the back is a large lake so still that it acts like a mirror to the huge aging oak in the back or to the estate in the front.

Missy and Brian chose this romantic spot as the location for their wedding and we were so excited to be there to document it all. Since I have honeymoon on the brain,  that’s about all I can think to write but I’ll have much for for their full wedding post later on. Missy and Brian, I’m sure, have honeymoon on the brain as well because while we’re exploring western Europe they are exploring eastern Europe! Have fun in Germany you two! Have a “das boot” for us. ;)

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Well, we’re off! Wish us luck. For the first time in about 3 years we will be completely disconnecting ourselves for 3 weeks. No emails. No voicemails. No work. Just love and adventures (and sinful quantities of gelato). I’m still not completely convinced that it’s going to happen. As I write this it is 4am in the morning and I’m putting the finishing touches on images to get sent out to our clients before we leave. My brain is still completely in work mode. I’m thinking it’s going to take a few nutella crepes and a glass (or three) of French wine to get my brain to officially register that it’s free to leave work behind and revel in the love and excitement of our trip.

Here is our official announcement that we will be unable to return calls and will be extremely slow replying to emails until we return to our office in early November. Thanks in advance for your understanding and patience as we take some quiet time away to celebrate our marriage and commitment. If you want to keep up with us, keep checking in here on the blog as we plan on trying to post some photos while we go. I’ve also got  what might possibly be the most beautiful blog posts ever to grace this blog all lined up and ready to go live over the next three weeks.

Coming up while we’re away…

Melissa & Brian’s Oh-So-Lovely Old Florida Sneak Peek

Catherine & Cory’s Venetian Themed Bella Collina Sneak Peek

Mary & Paul’s Disney Wedding of the Century

Kylee & Chris’ Gorgeous and Woodsy Michigan Wedding (the biggest wedding post I’ve ever done!)

An Interview with the Ever-Inspiring Danielle LaPorte of White Hot Truth and Style Statement

The Autumnal Lake Superior Encore Session

+ Photos of our Trip as we go.

One of my favorite things about living in Orlando, especially in downtown Orlando, is that we are so close to so many amazing resources for food. There are vegan and vegetarian restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries and there are 4 farmer’s markets within 15 minutes of us! That’s right… 4. The Winter Park market, the Audubon market, the College Park market, and the Lake Eola market. Each one has it’s specialty it seems. Audubon on Monday nights has homemade cheeses and dips, meats, and lots of baked goodies including those by our friends Bees Knees Sweet Treats. Lake Eola boasts more local artisans and knick knacks and lots of ready to eat food like Jamaican food and crepes. And while they don’t really have a great produce or meat selection, they do offer mimosas that you can sip while you people watch which is fun on Sunday mornings. The Winter Park market definitely wins for produce as you can pick between at least 4 regular merchants, and you can buy flowers and herbs there as well which also makes it one of the loveliest places to spend your Saturday morning. It’s also about 5 minutes from our studio. Handy. When our friend, Matilda, came into town we decided to get breakfast at one of our favorite brunch spots on Park Avenue and then take a spin around the market. Nate shot all of these on his Hasselblad 500C on Kodak Pro Ektar 100.