Kyle and Chelsea

Spent an afternoon with the lovely Kyle and Chelsea out at Disney for their engagement session. Their wedding will be in early December of this year and they're busy planning for the big day.





They're an unbelievably cute couple, and since this was the first time I was actually able to meet them, I wasn't sure how their personalities would be...were they quiet and reserved? Silly? Calm and mellow? It turns out that they're not only a super relaxed and hilarious couple and a great match for each other, but they're a good fit for me, and we spent their session laughing and chatting and bouncing around in conversation from topic to topic. It was a great time and we spent a lot of the session laughing at silly portrait pose "traditions" as well as talking a little bit about their plans for the upcoming wedding, with more than a handful of divergent discussions in-between that had zero to do with wedding stuff. We had a great time!





Kyle and Chelsea, I can't wait for the wedding...you guys are so great together and I just know your day will be full of laughter and silly poses and funny faces and love. I'm so happy I get to be there with you to capture your day and promise I won't make you go TOO far into Cheesy Pose Territory...we'll keep things fun and original, and if your engagement session is any indicator, it'll be totally cool with me if you feel like stopping for an ice cream break. Congrats to you both...counting the days until the wedding!

Sarah

Holy nellie, is this girl ever beautiful. Sarah's session this week in Sanford was a blast; it was great catching up with her a bit since we hadn't seen each other (or done a session) in a couple of years. She is always a delight.







Sarah is back in the Central Florida area after a stint in Washington state, and she's gearing up for some projects and auditions. She exudes elegance and classic beauty; her look and style remind me of the styles of the 60s and 70s.





I'm having a great time going through and editing her session (and understandably having a hard time narrowing down--we got too many great shots!). I'll be featuring more of Sarah's photos on www.facebook.com/rachelsullivanphotography in the coming days. For now, enjoy a few of my favorites here--she's just stunning!





We even met a Storm Trooper and had an impromptu 'couple' photo. Because, of course we did.

Coiling Up for Spring

Oh yes. You see what I did there? Coiling up? Ha! I slay me. But in all seriousness, the year is flying by, and as such, spring 2015 is on my doorstep.

Yeah, I'm aware it's only February, but in Florida, February means we're jusssst about out of the season where we might have to think about legitimately cold weather, and we're jusssst about into spring. I'm glad. And intimidated. Because spring is going to be so super busy that I think I can't quite fathom it yet. In 1.5 months of time, I'll have 6 weddings, 10 portrait sessions, 3 events, 2 sets of visitors coming in from out of town, and a handful of social things on my calendar, and that's just what I have scheduled as of right now. February has been (deliberately!) pretty calm, aside from a few portraits and some pre-session and pre-wedding planning stuff, along with a week up in Chicago to visit some clients and some of the most beloved people in my world, but otherwise, month #2 of this year has been serene. I've reacquainted myself with my house. My dogs remember what I look like when not in a flurry of motion to get out the door. I've had time for baking and trying some new recipes. I've even had time for some gardening. (I know. Whaaaaaat?) I would be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying the calm before the storm, so I've been trying to take advantage of this brief period of semi-tranquility before I get hit in the face with my second busiest time of the year. (Second busiest, of course, because let's be honest, nothing will ever come close the mania that is my fall season. Whoa.)

Am I complaining? Not for a second. I remain, as always, grateful that I get to do this for a living and I know how very lucky I am. But I would be dumb to not be a little bit intimidated by my calendar for the next few months. I think that the best way to describe what I'm feeling is this: you know when you're about to go under the water and swim for a bit without surfacing, and you're taking a few big cleansing breaths to get yourself ready, and then you take that one big final gulp of air in anticipation of the plunge? That's where I am right now. I'm enjoying my (relatively) quiet last days of February, taking a few big deep breaths, and prepping myself for the proverbial plunge.

Here we go...deep breath in, and I'm ready. Almost. There are a few more days before the season gets underway and my garden isn't going to tend itself.

Quick Summer Update!

Holy jeez, how did we get to the end of July already? Since it's super hot out and we're all about to melt, I'll make this quick so you can get back into the pool or back by the fan or however you're keeping yourselves from combusting this summer. Here are a couple of quick updates from the world of RSP!

First, we're setting up for the early fall portrait season. As always, October is tough because of that little Halloween thing I do that takes up most of my time, so if you're in need of portrait or event photography this fall, please get your requests in ASAP! I am limited on the number of appointments I have left and it's first come first served, so the longer you wait, the less options there will be available for you.

While we're on the topic of fall portraits, I'm strongly leaning toward doing a 3rd annual Halloween Mini-session event day. This would be taking place in late September; stay tuned here and to our Facebook page for more info, date possibilities, and booking specifics. This will be an extremely limited engagement; usually I only take six appointments for this event, so if you think you want one, drop me a line and I'll keep you in the loop.

To those of you who took advantage of our July Print Special, your packages are shipping this week! You'll receive the tracking info in your e-mail confirmation once your prints are on their way to you! For those of you who missed out on this promotion, well...I said I wouldn't do another sale during 2014, but maybe if I'm feeling generous I'll toss one out there during the holidays. We shall see.

Speaking of the holiday season, I have several early-birdies who have already snapped up their appointments for holiday portraits. It's never too early to secure your date, so even though it's roughly 8 billion degrees outside and it's hard to imagine that it will ever get cooler outside, we can get into the Christmas spirit by planning your session well in advance. There are still appointments left in December and a few left in November, so talk to me soon if you want to check what's left and get yours reserved!

As always, you can keep up with us here on the blog, through our facebook page (www.facebook.com/rachelsullivanphotography), and of course on the website at www.rachelsullivanphotography.com. We'll keep you up to date on the latest news, events, promotions, and exciting things as we roll on through the back half of 2014. And as always, we're so appreciative of our ever-growing family of clients and for the continued word of mouth and positive recommendations. You are all so wonderful!

Stay cool out there, and don't hesitate to drop us a line for questions and booking!

Feeling Mile High

I was recently out in Denver to photograph the wedding of Max and Sheena at the Denver Botanic Gardens (and their photos are BEAUTIFUL...I'll share some on here soon!), and while there we were able to fit in a mini-session portrait day, which was a blast.

We did, however, have to be a little bit flexible because of the giant awful wildfires that were springing up everywhere; it's tragic to see how many people lost their homes because of these fires, but good to see the community come together to help each other out in a time of crisis. The fires forced us to change the location of our mini-session day, but as always, we are good at rolling with the punches and we were able to find and secure another location with enough time for our day to go off without a hitch.

Here are a couple of sneak peeks from one of the mini-sessions; 8 month old Kaelyn, who started off her portraits with a little bit of a grumpy face, ended up being fun and playful after she got a chance to warm up to me a bit. More images from the mini-sessions as well as the wedding coming soon!

Dan and Brittnee

Dan and Brittnee's engagement portraits in beautiful St. Augustine were quite windy but also quite a lot of fun. We had a great time capturing the happy couple as they prepare for their upcoming wedding. Here are a few of my favorites from their album so far!