In the past few weeks I've been spending a lot of time on the road traveling to several beach sessions across the east coast we have scheduled throughout the summer. It's been such a fun way to capture the feeling of 'summer' during family vacations when everyone is together and relaxed. There are still a few spots left at the Delaware beaches next week due to cancellations or rescheduling, and several available in the Hamptons, NY (Quogue area) the following week. Please give the studio a call if you are interested in scheduling a session for you and your family!

Below are some beach photos of a beautiful family who have been part of our lives here at Laura Novak Photography since we opened. It's so amazing to see our clients' families include more children as they grow each year.

Ever since last year when I photographed our then-client, now-friend Jen Groover's twins, I have been fascinted by what it must be like to be a twin. I remember watching her two year old girls Madison and Morgan play together learning to talk together but at the same time forming separate little personalities. So cute! As they grow I'm sure they will have a unique relationship unlike any other.

As an only child, I always wondered what it is like to have a sibling - but what is even more interesting to me is what it must be like to be related to a person who has so much in common with you that you forever see yourself in another human being. Everytime I photograph twins, like these two beautiful girls who came to me last week, I think about how they will see the photos once they are adults. Hopefully they will look back on them and laugh about how much they loved to race around and play!

I know I keep going on and on about how wonderful Two Paper Dolls is at Two Paper Dolls, but the woman is ridiculously talented. Here are the five invite options she just emailed me and I really do love them all!

They are going to be long horizontal letterpress cards, versions one and four show the backs to them.

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5.

I can't believe John and I are getting to the point where we are only six months away from our wedding. It seems like just yesterday we were engaged and started pulling together plans for February 2nd of next year. So far, wedding planning has been actually pretty easy for us - I am very lucky to have been to so many weddings I know what is required to pull together a fabulous event. I think that some things that are really helping us are that:

- John and I are paying for the wedding which is challenging for us but this keeps there from being 'too many cooks in the kitchen.' Both of our families are happily involved but not so involved every decision ends up being a long drawn out process. Decisions usually consist of me calling someone who I know does a really good job, and then asking John to choose what he likes best and going with that. done!

- We are hiring people we really, truly trust and asking them to do what they think is best. I can't tell you how much this takes off of the stress level for me. Even though I have seen a ton of weddings, I really don't know flowers in and out - or what is the best dish to serve at a winter wedding. John and I provide some input of our style and tastes when needed but I actually asked our our event designer to surprise us with the centerpieces. I know that whatever she comes up with is going to be better than anything I could have imagined!

- I am not doing bridesmaids dresses, all the girls can wear black dresses of their choice. Actually. . . one of my bridesmaids who will remain unnamed is giving me a hard time about this ;) But really, I'm sure all the girls have black dresses in their closet and pulling together eight different measurement sizes and having to keep track of them? no, thanks!

So some things we are focusing on are:

- Trying to ensure all the guests are comfortable and have some fun things to be entertained by throughout the night. We're going to have a few fun surprises that will hopefully make a very memorable evening for our friends and family!

- Spending a lot of time planning our honeymoon to Costa Rica. Gives us something to look forward to!

- Cake. tasting. need I say more?

So here are things so far - we probably need to register for more items and I need to start going shoe shopping so my dress can get tailored but otherwise I think we're doing really well! For those of you who missed it on the other blog, my fabulous web designer Adam Cambridge made this wedsite for me.

So far our vendors are:

Ceremony: Saint Anne's Church
Reception: Archemere Academy
Band: Jellyroll
Event Design: Evantine
Photographer(s): Anna Kuperberg & Amy Deputy (and many others)
Hotel Room Block & Brunch: Hotel du Pont
Stationary: Two Paper Dolls
Cake: Liz Marden
Catering: Sugarfoot

I'll be sure to update this blog as our plans continue!

Muy and Anthony knew each other in high school, and were reunited years (and thousands of miles!) later by mutual friends. They live in San Francisco and only had a few days here for the session - the first day we were rained out but the second day we really got lucky with beautiful weather and great light.

A lot of times people ask me what types of clothing to wear for engagement sessions. Muy and Anthony did a great job choosing outfits; Muy's comfortable knit dress fits her really well, is very flattering to her body, and has a great urban chic feel to it. Anthony's dark grey shirt and jeans look great against the red dress and he also looks comfortable and casual while still being stylish. Hopefully this post will come in helpful to anyone looking to choose clothing styles for their engagement session!

Catherine made a last minute decision to come in this week for her maternity session before she becomes induced on Monday. We are so glad she did, she looks so beautiful and I was thrilled to be able to document it for her.

We are sisters, daughters, mothers and friends. We love our families, great design and most of all, we love seeing the look on our customer's faces when they receive stunning images of the people they love.

For several months before the wedding, people were telling me how beautiful Kimmy's family's property is but words couldn't describe the amazing views of the Chesapeake once I arrived to her and Jeff's wedding in Chestertown, Maryland. Kimmy looked absolutely glowing throughout the day and her husband, Jeff could not keep his eyes off of her. When they were younger they had a childhood crush on one another, and over time that crush has grown into a great friendship and love.

I fell in love with Kimmy's wonderful lavender antique themed details from the linens, place settings and decor - perfect for an outdoor wedding with a touch of southern charm. Catering by Sugarfoot, floral and decor by European Gallery and wedding coordination by Cathy Klocko.