Kelsey Tice Photography

At the beginning of most of my sessions with couples, I start by giving them a little instruction to make them feel comfortable and let them know that it’s totally normal if it takes them some time to get warmed up to the camera. Just acting natural, cuddly, and not too posed is what will ultimately result in the best images. As soon as I said the word ‘cuddly’, Andrew & Elizabeth both laughed and reassured me that it shouldn’t be a problem for them. SO TRUE! These two were a dream to shoot… So adorable & loving towards each other. I just had to buzz around them, clicking away.

I am SO excited to shoot their wedding at the end of June. It’s my first Arkansas wedding. Yay! Here are some of my ‘cuddly’ favorites from our session. Yes, I just used the word ‘cuddly’ for the 3rd time. It’s totally a word. 

They are totally country, and I just love it!

Elizabeth, you are maybe the most adorable person ever.

These guys were so brave to traipse through some insanely tall grass… I was pretty convinced we were going to have to battle a rattlesnake.

Gorgeous eyes!!!!

Towards the end of our session, the heavens opened up and gave me the gift of perfect lighting. :)

I’ll end with my favorite. :)

Happy Thursday!!! :)

When I decided that Aaron & I’s wedding was going to be totally Do-It-Yourself, I knew that I wouldn’t REALLY be able to do it all myself. This will probably be a shock, but I’m not actually Superwoman. With planning a wedding, preparing to move half way across the world, and working, it just wasn’t realistic… AND I work from home! Which is just a dream, by the way. That being said, I would say 80% of our wedding details were DIY… That’s a lot. Thanks mom & bridesmaids. :)

In order to retain my sanity, or as much as possible, I really had to sit down and figure out what would be easy for me to do, without having to learn a whole new skill, which would obviously take a ton of time. For example, all of our tables had burlap runners that we cut ourselves. It doesn’t really take a genius to figure out how to cut in a straight line, so that was easy. On the other hand, I wanted a flower to wear in my hair. I’d never made a hair flower before, and while I knew I could probably get the hang of it, I also knew that I would #1 – spend a lot of time watching tutorials on YouTube #2 – have to make a lot of practice flowers #3 – spend a lot of money on said practice flowers and #4 – run the risk of seriously injuring myself with a hot glue gun. Seriously… Those things are my nemesis. And at the end of that whole process, would I really be 100% satisfied with my creation? Like enough to actually wear it on my wedding day? Probably not. Enter Etsy…

Etsy is a website where people all over the world can sell their homemade crafts, artwork, vintage treasures, etc. It’s kinda like Amazon & your Pinterest dreams collided… The result a website that makes me dream of rainbows & butterflies. Oh, and it happens to be as addictive as crack. This is what they tell me… I don’t actually know from experience. If I’m not careful, I can spend HOURS browsing Etsy’s incredibly creative & unique items, and this was only escalated when I was wedding planning… Once I got my addiction under control, I was able to utilize the site to find what I could not make myself… Like my hair flower! Not only was it just what I was looking for (and only $8.55… Holy steal!), but I didn’t have to spend a week learning how to make it myself! This is also where I bought my veil for $19.99. Yes, the EXACT same veil the bridal shop tried to sell me for $85!

So despite the fact that Etsy might rope you into browsing for hours, it seriously ROCKS. Right now, I’m on the quest for the perfect posters & printables to decorate my fancy new office with, and I am just in love with what I’ve been finding! :) If you’re a bride, and you’ve been getting frustrated with DIY projects gone wrong or can’t find what you need at Michael’s very limited aisle of wedding supplies, give Etsy a try! :)

photos by Julie Cate Photography

Happy Wednesday, Internet! :)