It’s no secret we love this location. Each time we go back we find spots and crevices we didn’t see the visit prior. And the beauty grows with each passing season from the blooming buds in Spring to the golden grass in Autumn to the fallen snow come Winter.
But it’s not necessarily the locale that makes the session, but the connection between the two people. A good note for those with upcoming shoots is to stay true to yourselves. If you are in love, it will show. The way she looks at you. The way he pulls you in. The way you laugh at one another.
Olivia and Nate’s session took place a week prior to their wedding. It was a reminder of how sweet love is.
These two love birds tied the knot! Check out their wedding HERE!
Morgan first heard about us through her sister, Megan, who’s senior session we shot last summer. We were over joyed to spend the evening with Morgan, Megan, and their mother last month while shooting Morgan’s session (say that 5 times fast)! She’s a natural beauty, and she made her session look effortless.
This is a wedding we were dreaming of and didn’t even know. As soon as Courtney mentioned her dress was from BHLDN, I knew her day would be one to remember. Partially kidding. This day, these people, the venue, everything was so sweet, and the elegance in the details was executed impeccably.
With a heat index of 105°, this was our hottest wedding to date. But it was also a highlight to this year’s wedding season. This day exuded who they are as people. From their heart-felt and unique first look, to engaging their guests in prayer over them, to Morgan’s grandmother as the “flower girl,” to even the caterers they chose. Everything was crafted and fabricated to exemplify not only their love for one another but their love for Christ.
Being photographers themselves, Morgan and Kevin put an emphasis on setting aside ample time for photos. We love when couples opt to have a first look and shoot as the sun sets over their wedding day. And as this lengthy blog post will show, time was on their side.
As always, click play to set the mood :)
This first look– gah. Morgan + Kevin returned to the location where Kevin proposed. Each side of this door had a hand written note. After reading their notes and praying together, they peaked around to see each other for the first time on their wedding day.
This is the first look between Morgan and her dad. It was evident they share a special bond, and it was sweet to witness a father so elated for his daughter.
This year has been a whirlwind of new adventures for us. In order to tell the story fully, I’ll need to rewind to our wedding day. Last May we wedded in Puerto Rico. It was our happiest day to date, and we often reminisce. In our quest to find the perfect photographer to shoot our own wedding we stumbled upon Amanda K and fell in love. And so, she traveled all the way from Oregon to Puerto Rico to shoot our wedding! Amanda’s beautiful images from our day were then published on Style Me Pretty’s website about 6 months later. Early this year I received an email from a bride, Kate, who had found said photos and was interested in having Amanda shoot her own wedding in Puerto Rico, but first wanted a referral. I shared my excitement with her as well as our pleasure of getting to work with Amanda just last year. I assumed that would be the end of our correspondence, right? Well, a few short days later I received an email from Amanda herself asking if I had anything booked June 13th because Kate wanted a second photographer. WHAT?! As fate would have it, that was our only available weekend for the month of June, and that was the fastest email response of my life! Ha
Now fast forward a few months. On June 7th Daniel and I flew back to Puerto Rico just a few weeks after our one year wedding anniversary for an extended work-cation. Talk about surreal! I not only helped shoot Kate’s wedding, but we also scheduled two photo shoots (HERE and HERE) and stylized our own elopement shoot (coming soon).
A photo posted by Ashley Rockey Frey ♡ (@ashley.tireswing.rockey) on
Our first day was spent with my cousin, Jarianne, who to took us to Piñones for some local food. The best camera is the one you have on you so we documented our afternoon on our phones and topped the evening off with Ben & Jerry’s.
Old San Juan. Where we had our own Day Before photos taken and possibly the most well-known part of Puerto Rico.
The next day my grandpa took us to El Yunque in Rio Grande. His car broke down, so unfortunately we didn’t make it too far into the rain forest :/
Kate and Rob’s big day! The whole reason I was here!! Their day was crazy wonderful and more than what I could have hoped for. It was a pleasure getting to see Amanda again, but this time as a colleague rather than a client, which was an unexpected turn of events. Look familiar? Because it is. On one of our last nights in Puerto Rico we opted to stay at the very bed and breakfast where we got married! It was great getting to come back and truly enjoy the scenery. We can’t say enough good things about the Hacienda Siesta Alegre! We loved getting to feel like we were REALLY in Puerto Rico rather than on a resort with tourists. Pictures just don’t do this place justice. We look forward to making a tradition of coming back here every few years. I know it sounds like this is paid advertising, but when you find something you love, you want to share it with everyone (or at least the select few that take the time to read this :))! After our night’s stay at the Hacienda, we finalized details for our stylized shoot. And in true Puerto Rican fashion, what was set to start at 4pm didn’t actually start until closer to 6pm. My cousin, Paulette Braffett, and friend, Joshua Rojas, graciously donated their time and talent as we scaled the mountains. We made the best of what time we had, and we CAN’T WAIT to show the rest! Seriously, gah, they made our job so easy! Also, sidenote– it was during this shoot that I was attacked by fire ants. So much so, that my ENTIRE (I can’t put enough emphasis on this word) body started to swell! A cold shower and 3 Benadryls later, I’m glad to report I made a full recovery. Haha. Our last day was one of our most enjoyable days. What had started as a relaxing beach day turned into a mini road trip thanks to the downpour. One of the places I wanted to visit while in Puerto Rico was Cayey. My great-grandfather, who just celebrated his 93rd birthday, refers to himself as “el nene de Cayey.” This is the place where he grew up, and I wanted to get a taste of what it was like. Also, phone photos.
