Emily T Photography Blog

Becca & Matthew :Married:

2010-10-13T09:47:00.009-05:00

Congrats to Becca and Matthew! They had a beautiful wedding on September 4th at Montgomery Bell State Park. Thanks for letting me be your photographer! You made everything easy. :)

Tori & Jonathan :Married:

2010-08-06T21:08:00.005-05:00

Tori & Jonathan were hitched on July 17th and they had the sweetest wedding. The theme involved a fun celebration with friends and family and they had just that. It was a laid back event with so many beautiful details.

Congrats you guys!

Tori and Jonathan chose to have a First Look and it was so very sweet.

Becca & Matthew :Engaged:

2010-08-04T09:48:00.005-05:00

Hello out there! Yes, I am still alive and kicking, however my blog has been near death. I will just admit that I am a terrible blogger, no excuses. The summer has been lazy for me when it comes to keeping up with any kind of blogging. I have, however, been spending lots of time with my 3 year old enjoying all kinds of summer activities. We've watched movies at the theater, gone swimming, attended music and dance classes, educational centers, and enjoyed lots of happy meals.

I wanted to post an engagement session that is LONG overdue. I will be shooting Becca and Matthew's wedding in September and I can't wait. It's going to be at Montgomery Bell State Park and from what I can tell the place is gorgeous. The cute couple had their engagement photos taken downtown and at Centennial Park. You can totally tell these two are in love. :)

Enjoy!

-Emily

Tori & Jonathan :Engaged:

2010-04-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I spent some time hanging out with Tori and Jonathan and just getting to know them a little better. These two are so down to earth and just meant for each other. I can't wait to shoot their wedding in July. :)

Shooting With The Gals

2010-04-21T21:55:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago I got together with a few great photographer friends to do some shooting in a sweet location. Here are some of my faves from that very fun afternoon. :)

A very BIG THANK YOU to Emily of Kennedy Occasions for providing an amazing bouquet for our models.

Another HUGE thank you to Sarah King for some striking makeup for Tristin.

Shootout - Sneak Peek!

2010-04-10T22:11:00.003-05:00

Morgan & Edward :Married:

2010-04-04T18:46:00.003-05:00

Morgan and Edward were married March 27th at Mt. Zion Baptist Church and celebrated with their friends and family at the Music City Sheraton. These two are such a sweet and very stylish couple. Edward even had his suit customized just for him.

The reception was so much fun with some amazing music that my assistant and I contemplated staying to dance after our coverage ended :)

Congratulations Morgan and Edward, and thank you for letting me be your photographer on your special day.

*Click HERE for their slideshow*

Wes & Morgan :Married:

2010-03-30T17:41:00.001-05:00

Morgan and Wes were married on the 20th at Donelson Heights United Methodist Church. The church was beautiful as was the ceremony. They continued their celebration at Gaylord Springs Golf Links with their friends and family, and everyone seemed to have an excellent time!

Thanks to Angela of Elegant Weddings by Angela for keeping things moving smoothly through the day. It was great to finally get to work with her. She really is the sweetest. :)

Back to Morgan and Wes! Congrats guys!!! Hope you had an amazing honeymoon :) -Emily

*Click HERE for their slideshow*

Saving Furry Animals One Photo at a Time!

2010-03-23T09:48:00.004-05:00

Ok, so who doesn't love saving doggies!?! What if having your portrait taken could save some furry friends!?! It's CHARITY time and my great friend, Amber of Lotus Blossom Photography, has so generously donated her time to Music City Pug Rescue to not only help the pugs, but offer all of you wonderful people a super special on portraits. Book a mini-session with Amber and 100%(yep, you heard right!) of the money goes to MCPR! What a great way to score some professional pictures (any reason is a good reason for a great photo) and help out the furry critters.

What: Spring Charity Mini-Sessions ($50 will get you a 30 minute photo session and 5 digital images to reproduce as many times as you’d like.)
When: April 3rd
Who: Lotus Blossom Photography (Click HERE)

Please visit Amber's site and get signed up now for your mini-session. You'll feel great about not only contributing to a great organization, but walking away with amazing photographs.

Ellen & Ryan :Married:

2010-02-26T11:35:00.001-06:00

Ellen & Ryan were married at Madison Church of Christ and had a beautiful, intimate wedding. Ellen was a gorgeous bride and Ryan was quite dapper himself. Turns out Ellen has done a bit of modeling and I'm not one bit surprised :)

Click on the slideshow link below to view more images from their happy day!

*Click HERE for their slideshow*

Monica & Josh :Married:

2010-02-23T12:00:00.006-06:00

Monica and Josh were married at the Belmont Mansion on December 19th surrounded by many loving friends and family. Though we only stepped outside a few times, we were able to enjoy a few snow flurries as they ran off to the getaway car :)

Congrats Monica & Josh on your marriage and a beautiful wedding!

Kristen & Cody :Married:

2010-02-21T22:20:00.004-06:00

Ceremony: Otter Creek Church of Christ
Reception: Bound'ry

Morgan & Wes :Engaged:

2010-02-16T17:15:00.004-06:00

Morgan and Wes' wedding is just around the corner and I had to be sure to get their engagement session on the blog before then.

This session was VERY fun and I think suited Morgan and Wes perfectly. We started at Gaylord Springs Golf Course and scored two golf carts. Wes was right at home on the green. He left the clubs at home though and made Morgan and I very happy with his great attitude about having his picture taken :)

After the golf course we headed downtown and up the Shelby St. walking bridge. By this time the light was falling off quickly so we busted out a little artificial light and kept going. This is where Morgan's natural model chick came out. She worked it and I am so happy with the results. We created their cover image for their debut album (not really, the image was just that fierce). :P

Enjoy! -Emily

Shoot Out!

2010-01-17T13:08:00.002-06:00

Last week I attended a wonderful convention for the online wedding photography community of which I am a member. It was a great time and I came away with a few new friends and lots of great nuggets of information. During the convention there was a 'shootout'. Basically, the photographers get together with a few models and a few fantastic locations and shoot alongside their peers. It's a great learning experience.

Below I've posted some images from the shoot. The great Chuck Arlund was the coordinator and he did a fabulous job.

Noel & Brandon :Married:

2010-01-05T10:43:00.008-06:00

Monica & Josh: Married Sneak Peek:

2009-12-24T11:14:00.003-06:00

Ceremony & Reception ~ Belmont Mansion

Monica & Josh :Engaged: And Getting Married Tomorrow!

2009-12-18T12:23:00.003-06:00

So, it's official, I'm a very bad blogger. I can't believe...no, I can...that I haven't blogged in weeks. I won't offer up any excuses and I'll just get down to the images.

Here are just a few images from Monica and Josh's engagement session. I could NOT shoot their wedding knowing that I had not even blogged their engagement session!

They're getting married tomorrow at Belmont Mansion and I'm super excited about shooting there. Of course I'm happy for them too :P

Morgan & Wes :Engaged Sneak Peek:

2009-11-03T17:03:00.000-06:00

In a later post I'll tell you all about Morgan's mad golf cart driving skills. :P

Meghan & Stephen :Married:

2009-11-03T08:00:00.002-06:00

Meghan and Stephen were married on October 10th at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville. They chose to see each other before their ceremony so that we'd have plenty of time for pictures of them and their wedding party. Thankfully the rain held off, but it was still pretty chilly. Meghan and her bridesmaids were great through it all. The girls always benefit in the hot Tennessee summer with their super cute (usually strapless) dresses and the poor guys aren't so lucky with their black tuxes. BUT they get their turn come fall/winter :)

Meghan and Stephen are such a precious couple and were a joy to photograph on their wedding day.

-Enjoy

Guestbooks now available!!

2009-10-30T13:31:00.002-05:00

For those of you who would LOVE to receive mini-messages of love and happiness from all your family and friends on your wedding day then a custom photo guestbook is just for you! Now you have a modern option to the traditional guest book with lines for signatures.

These books are custom to you and your engagement pictures. The guestbook displays images from your engagement session with lots of blank space for guests to leave you messages instead of just their name.

If you think this type of guestbook totally belongs at your wedding, just send me an email to get some more information.

Kristen & Cody :Married Sneak Peek:

2009-10-28T13:27:00.001-05:00

Saturday the 24th had a few great things going for it: beautiful weather and Kristen and Cody's beautiful wedding. They were surrounded by loving friends and family who all seemed to share in their joy of tying the knot.

Congrats guys! More images to come later.

Noel & Brandon :Married Sneak Peek:

2009-10-18T21:37:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Noel and Brandon were hitched in Murfreesboro and had a very beautiful wedding. Though the temperature was very chilly, the rain held off and allowed us to get lots of portraits outside. Below is a quick sneak peek of Noel and Brandon. I post this image first because Noel informed me that she has NEVER seen a picture of Brandon with a straight face. Once you see more photos from their wedding, you'll understand why :P

Enjoy St. Lucia, guys!

Meghan & Stephen :Married SNEAK PEEK:

2009-10-12T13:05:00.005-05:00

Follow up post coming up soon!

Congrats you two! Hope you're having a blast in Hawaii!!

Becca

2009-10-08T11:26:00.003-05:00

Well, today my sister Becca will be having her first baby. She went into the hospital yesterday afternoon in Memphis and is just now getting to the big moment. I'll have another niece soon!

Monica & Josh :Engaged Sneak Peek:

2009-10-04T16:40:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I shot Monica and Josh's engagement session downtown Nashville and had a great time. Also, the wonderful thing about Saturday was how it was beautifully sandwiched between two rainy days.

Morgan & Edward :Engaged:

2009-09-30T12:51:00.007-05:00

So to continue my post from the other day, here are more images of Morgan and Edward's engagement session downtown Nashville. We had to hold off for the rain to stop and I believed for a second that it was not ever going to, but it did! We had a great session and got some great images!

Rainy Engagement Session

2009-09-19T22:20:00.003-05:00

Just a sneak peek of today's engagement session with Morgan and Edward. They were total troopers! More on that later :)

The Houston/Austin Weekend

2009-09-08T11:25:00.005-05:00

The fam traveled to Houston this past weekend to visit with Randy's parents. Esmé has not traveled by plane in a while and we were anxious to know how stressful it would be. The most frustrating part about the plane ride was that Esmé was forced to sit in her own seat with her seatbelt buckled during takeoff and landing. A 2-year old does not appreciate being tied down. We arrived in Houston only to be smacked in the face with even more humidity and heat than TN. The food frenzy began almost immediately.

Houston has an awesome china town and when we visit it's all we can do to not eat there every day. While in Houston we ate at a Malaysian/Indonesian restaurant, dim sum, and an awesome chinese place. Yum Yum! During the trip, Randy and I planned a one night trip to Austin to see some friends and to do a trial run of us leaving Esmé with her grandparents while Randy and I visit Seattle in December (hopefully). We set out for Austin Friday morning in my father-in-law's Prius, which I drove. Here's a quick review:

Roomy, quiet car that you just feel good driving. 'Booting up' the car is interesting as is the gear shift. We drove over 450 miles before ever needing to fill up again. The horsepower on takeoff can be a little slow, but there is a power boost button (think Mario Kart, ok not really) that's helpful for places like the interstate (or in Houston the Beltway).

Once in Austin we relaxed in our hotel room until dinner time at Jovitas with some friends. An Austin blues band was playing some good tunes, but unfortunately too loud to have proper conversation with friends. As the night went on it was very difficult to not text my in-laws every 5 minutes to check in on Esmé. Though she was fine the whole time it was hard to not worry about her anyway.

After some breakfast Migas and Amy's Icecream on Saturday, we headed back to Austin in the Prius. One more date night and a dim sum later we were headed back to Nashville. Esmé had a great time with her grandparents since they pretty much let her do whatever she wanted. They did take her to the children's museum in Houston, but she was a little too shy to jump in and play with all of the other kids. Hopefully she'll get past all that as she gets older.

I don't really have any photos from this trip to show, but I will post a cute one of Esmé in her tutu yesterday. We were headed to the grocery store and she insisted on wearing this to Wal-mart.

Where in the world is Esmé?

2009-08-14T13:46:00.005-05:00

Well, she's here alright, but has a lazy no good mother apparently :P I haven't posted any pictures of Esmé in quite some time. I think it's about time. She's two now and has the whole talking thing going on. In fact, I'm typing this as she sits in her crib refusing to go to sleep and talking to her toys. I will share some of the cute things she's saying these days.

* An episode of Mickey Mouse shows Goofy as a baby...she refers to him as Baby Goopy.
* a snack is a knack and mostly means she wants Goldfish crackers
* a 'grady' is a popsicle??
* yo-yo is a Gogurt yogurt stick
* Ri-ri's (as in rye) are french fries..yes we feed our child french fries! :P

Anyway! On to some photos.

scrambled eggs for breakfast are always better in a diaper box, don't you agree?

The look I get when shoving a camera in her face these days.

Danielle & J.R. :Married:

2009-08-03T16:37:00.002-05:00

J.R. and Danielle were married this past Saturday at First United Methodist Church in Gallatin and had their reception at The Pick Inn. The church was beautiful and Pick Inn had such a great view. The rain stayed away as long as it could, I guess, but finally showed up during the ceremony. Danielle and J.R. didn't let it phase them and carried on the day with smiles and laughs. These two are such a sweet (and smart! they're both pharmacists) couple and I wish them many blessings on their new married life. Congrats to the both of you!

Enjoy some of my favorites from your wedding day.

Danielle

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth...

2009-07-28T12:57:00.002-05:00

I need to blog.

Chris & Mary Beth's slideshow

2009-07-14T12:31:00.002-05:00

Mary Beth & Chris :Married:

2009-07-09T22:30:00.007-05:00

Mary Beth and Chris were married at Tap Root Farm in Franklin, TN. The farm had beautiful views just perfect for a wedding. Congrats you two and I hope you had a wonderful honeymoon! Oh, I also decided to make this an almost completely black and white post.

Mary Beth was passed a card from her soon to be husband and apparently it was a very sweet one :)

Mary Beth & Chris :Sneak Peek:

2009-06-23T13:54:00.001-05:00

Mary Beth :Bridal Portraits:

2009-06-22T09:37:00.007-05:00

Mary Beth and Chris were married this past Saturday at Tap Root Farm, and now that Mary Beth is hitched I can finally post her bridal portraits. We almost had to reschedule her session because the forecast was calling for thunderstorms, but as you can see they never showed. Mary Beth was a beautiful bride!

Andrea & Clay :Just Because:

2009-06-17T20:54:00.004-05:00

A while back, Andrea contacted me about taking some pictures of her and her boyfriend Clay to give to their mothers for Mother's Day. I thought this was a fabulous idea. I just loved Andrea's smile.

Kate & Aaron :Married:

2009-06-17T17:17:00.009-05:00

Recently, I had the pleasure of second shooting with Krystal from Mint and Sage Photographic Artists for Kate and Aaron's wedding. The wedding was held at Cedar Wood and the couple, especially the groom, were a hoot to be around. Friends and family came from all around to celebrate with them and they really threw a party. The table seating for the reception used landmarks of Nashville's coolest areas. Neat idea!

Candida & Lloyd :Married:

2009-06-13T10:00:00.008-05:00

I met Candida and Lloyd years ago when I started a new job and knew no one. Candida was so kind hearted and became an instant friend to me. I felt very honored when Candida asked me to photograph her wedding. Congratulations Candida and Lloyd!!

Click HERE to view their slideshow.

The Valez Family

2009-06-01T21:26:00.004-05:00

When Deborah contacted me about pictures for her family I was thrilled and nervous all at the same time. As happy as I was to photograph her children I knew it was going to be a challenge. First challenge, two boys. Second challenge, age 3 and 1. Talk about energy! I had a great time and was able to capture some great images for Deborah. Thanks guys for letting me spend some time with your family!

Jessica & Allan :Married:

2009-06-01T20:40:00.006-05:00

On Saturday, May 2nd, I had the pleasure of second shooting with/assisting Chuck Arlund of Arlund Imagery for Jessica and Allan's wedding. They had a beautiful wedding and an awesome cupcake cake.

Chuck in action.

Aubry and Emmett :Married:

2009-05-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

Aubry and Emmett were married on April 25th at Faith Lutheran Church in Tullahoma. With their family and friends present, they devoted their lives to each other at the alter of a beautiful church. Aubry's gown was custom made by Dena Bathgate of A Special Touch. She did a fabulous job in creating a gown that fit Aubry's wedding theme. Congratulations to the two of you!

Flash Photography Workshop with Neil van Niekerk

2009-05-26T19:32:00.000-05:00

On May 12th I attended an awesome full day workshop with Neil van Niekerk who specializes in on-camera flash photography. Check out his website and you'll see just how awesome this guy is and how much he knows. I had a great time meeting some fellow photographers and learning some new lighting techniques. We also worked with using our flashes with softboxes to create some great images with little equipment fuss.

Beware: Photographer speak up ahead - Because of this workshop I also have started using gels on my flash guns which give a more accurate color balance on the image. A flash emits a temperature of about 5400 degrees kelvin which is a cooler temperature compared to tungsten lighting which is what you will usually see at a reception (ballroom, etc). So when you use your flash to help fill in shadows on your subject the subject takes on a blue cast while the rest of your background has a tungsten cast. But, if you gel the flash then your subject and background will more closely match. Below is a perfect example from a wedding on Saturday that I assisted on with Krystal from Mint and Sage Photographic Artists. (Pay no attention to the quality of the images....I was getting my exposure set for the big send off). The first image is without the gel and the second image is with the gel.

And some images from the workshop.

Neil in action.

Chuck Arlund being uber cool. Don't shoot me Chuck for posting this.

Loved the shadow on this shot.

Danielle & JR :Engaged:

2009-05-25T20:56:00.007-05:00

Well, I've been a very terrible blogger lately. I knew it had been a while since I've blogged, but I couldn't believe that it had been almost a month! Where has the time gone? With lots of images to edit lately, blogging was sorta put on the back burner. But, I have a lot to blog and will get started with Danielle and JR's engagement session at Percy Warner Park. I will certainly be shooting there again.

Aubry & Emmett - Married! :Sneak Peek:

2009-04-28T08:49:00.000-05:00

Official blog post to come later. Congratulations Emmett and Aubry!

Danielle & JR - Engaged! :Sneak Peek:

2009-04-27T11:55:00.004-05:00

Danielle and JR wanted an 'outdoorsy' atmosphere for their engagement session and I think we got just that. We meandered through Percy Warner park stopping along the way when we found cool spots for pictures. It was good fun :)

Chips Are Not a Staple

2009-04-20T15:42:00.010-05:00

Nor is Coca-Cola Classic. This has been my mantra the past few weeks as I'm trying to shed some pounds for my best friend's wedding in June. The link below shows you the dress that we're wearing.

Click here to see the dress

The dress is beautiful, is cotton-sateen, and HAS POCKETS! Hello!!!! I'm sold. A few problems. There's no fabric from the knees down and from the chest up. Yep. So! I'll be showing off my battle wounds from my knee surgery. (The doc said that the scars should turn flesh colored about 6 months out...I'm not surprised my skin is stubborn like the rest of me). Back to my mantra.

I have spent many months enjoying soda and potato chips and pretty much any thing else I wanted to eat/drink. Even while 'dieting' I would just purchase Coke Zero and fat free chips. I figured if I was going to stick to the diet I would need to eat a few things that made me happy. Well, I've come to realize that I have a problem. When I have coke in the house it's all I drink! I can go the whole day and only realize at night that I've had no water. If chips are in the house then I manage to eat them with EVERY meal! I'm not the kind that needs true breakfast foods for breakfast.

So, I have decided to put an end to my coke/chip love affair. As I suspected I'm the only one in the relationship that's hurting :( For several weeks now I have grocery shopped many times and have kept myself from buying the first bottle of coke or bag o' chips. No congratulations yet please. I must confess that despite my attempts at removing coke from my diet...McDonalds decided to offer any size soft drink for $1! I was quickly sucked into this $1 deal and have made many trips through the drive thru for a quick fix ("large coke with no ice please").

*UPDATE* I no longer go through the Mickey D's drive thru for sooooda :P

I am also working out at the fitness center at a local church and it's great! Since I've had knee surgery I have to stick to bikes and elliptical machines, which I love both! Well, I don't really 'love' them, they're just two machines that are a WAY better alternative to a lousy treadmill. I digress. I'm making a plan of working out at least 3 times a week even if it means I don't get to have dinner with Randy or have to leave the house as soon as he returns home from work. The only way I'll lose some weight is if I start making some sacrifices.....starting with chips and coke, you know, the staples.

And what post is complete without a picture? This photo was taken by Amber & John of Lotus Blossom Photography, an awesome husband/wife photography team who are super swell people. John is running a marathon here in Nashville this weekend. Go John!!

Amber & John - Downtown Nashville

2009-04-16T12:15:00.008-05:00

I wanted to post more pictures from Amber and John's session several weekends ago. I just love Amber's smile and laugh. When this girl laughs....she LAUGHS! It's great! And very infectious :) You might have no idea what she's laughing about, but you just want to laugh with her!

This pictures sole purpose was to show off the awesome orange dinosaur that someone painted on this random wall!

John is going to hate me for posting this, but I just couldn't resist.

Amber & John: just because - sneak peek

2009-04-02T11:20:00.005-05:00

Ok, not really just because. Amber wanted some updated photos of her and John for their website, www.lotusblossomphotography.com. Amber and John are a cool husband and wife wedding photography team here in Nashville. When they asked me to take their pictures I was honored. Shooting another photographer made me a little nervous, but all went well despite John's resistance to being on the other side of the camera :) He must really love Amber because he whined and complained the WHOLE time! :P Ok, not the whole time, just the first hour and last 30 minutes of our hour and a half session....HA!

Gotta love Photoshop

2009-04-01T08:42:00.003-05:00

Yes, Photoshop has its wonderful qualities, but it has also brought along the phrase, "Can you photoshop that?" I'm sure every photographer (pro or hobbyist) has heard this phrase before. Todays What the Duck comic strip is HEE-Larious!

Finnegan just keeps growing!

2009-03-28T22:13:00.003-05:00

Finn turned one at the end of January and boy has he grown. I've been blessed to have photographed him around 2 months old and again at 6 months old. He can really move and shake these days. So much so that I could hardly get a sharp picture of the little guy :) We went downtown to Mulligan's Pub on 2nd avenue since that is where his parents (ok, his dad really) love to hang out. Finn's dad is an irishman living in an italian's body. Yes, he has heritage from both sides, but you'd never know it from just looking at him! Finn has taken on a more irish look, I'd say :) Can you believe Finn has a baby kilt? Who knew they made those things anyway. Of course he was adorable in his outfit and seemed to quite enjoy the draft :P

-Enjoy!

Baby + Kilt + Mulligan's Pub = AWESOME!

2009-03-25T22:55:00.002-05:00

'nuff said...

Boudoir Photography - Everybody's doin' it!

2009-03-15T10:45:00.010-05:00

So lately I've been shooting a flurry of boudoir photo sessions and they're so much fun! For those who might be wondering what 'boudoir' (boo-dwahr) means, the definition is a woman's bedroom or private sitting room. These sessions are for women who want to feel sexy and beautiful and maybe also give their honey a unique gift of images of them in their cutest lingerie. Whatever the reason, having boudoir portraits taken are sure to give you a confidence boost and make you feel fabulous and gorgeous!

I wanted to have my promotion up by now, but I've just been so busy lately that I haven't had the time to iron out the details. The gist of the promotion is that I'll be having a marathon boudoir session day. This means that if you book a session that day you'll have your very own hair and makeup artist to get you looking fabulous for your shoot. Your portrait shoot will also take place in a hip-modern hotel in Nashville. There are other awesome things that you'll get with your session, but I'll save those for when I announce the marathon day. I should mention that these sessions are also very fun to do with other girlfriends!

If you're interested in one of these sessions for yourself then just send me an email and I'll provide my online portfolio of boudoir sessions.

-Happy Sunday-

New albums!

2009-03-12T11:49:00.007-05:00

Of course I've had my new sample albums now for several weeks, but I'm just now getting around to blogging about them. First off, they're GORGEOUS! The first album is a 10x10 magazine style photo cover album and the second is a 10x14 leather flush mount album. If you'd love to see them in person just let me know and we can schedule a meeting!

These albums are not your grandma's albums so be prepared for some awesomeness :P Nothing against your grandma, it's just that her albums are a little old fashioned and the things you can do with these albums will knock your grandma's knickers off.

Love is in the Air Bridal Fair TODAY!

2009-02-28T08:57:00.000-06:00

94FM The Fish will be having its 6th annual Love is in the Air Bridal Fair at Opry Mills today from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm, with free admission.

I will be one of the exhibitors and would love for everyone to come by and talk with me. I will be setup on the same side as Tony Roma's. I will have sample albums and photographs on display, and I'll be available for any questions you all might have.

I hope to see you there!

-Emily

Esmé lately

2009-02-18T22:47:00.009-06:00

I haven't blogged lately about Esmé. She's growing so fast and it's bitter sweet. I love to watch everything about her growing up and at the same time I want time to stand still for a while. I'm such a sap and can't help myself from tears welling up every time I think about her becoming a teenager and going off to college. The thought just tugs so hard at my heart like I'm losing her somehow. I know that's not really what is happening, but I just want to hold on to her forever.

Anyway, enough of my sappy post. Here are some images lately that I've captured of the beautiful little girl. Esmé is a very strong-willed girl and is certainly developing a unique personality. In the photos below she decided that she HAD to have her jacket and hat on. Who am I to argue? It was cute!!!

Watching cookies bake

Lettin' loose

Watching Blue's Clues

Chillaxin' with some measuring spoons

Spending time with her Auntie Shelly

Glynda & Aaron Married at St. Edwards

2009-02-12T08:53:00.012-06:00

Saturday came and I couldn't wait to get started. Glynda and Aaron were getting married that day and the weather was beautiful, mostly (the rain tried to rear its ugly head a few times). Glynda and her sister, Jaime, started their day by getting their hair done at the Paul Mitchell School in Antioch. I had no idea this place even existed! I will be going there the next time my hair sees a pair of scissors (don't hold your breath).

The ceremony was beautiful and you could really see the love that Aaron and Glynda have for one another. I felt honored to be their wedding photographer and to share in their very special day.

Photography and kids

2009-02-08T09:19:00.002-06:00

So, I am a loyal reader of the comic strip What The Duck by Aaron Johnson. If you're a photographer then you absolutely MUST be reading this strip. Today's comic was too relevant for me not to post it so here it is. This couldn't be more true for me most nights. Since I am a stay at home mom with Esmé I have to do all of my work while she's in Mother's Day Out twice a week and when she finally goes to bed at night. The problem is that I'm not a night time person so once Esmé goes to bed I only have a few short hours of worthwhile brain activity. After that I'm so pooped and exhausted from the day that my brain has checked out. This is when I retire to the bedroom to start the sleep process with a few episodes of Family Guy. [Yes, I have all 6 seasons due to a husband that feeds my addiction:), thanks sweetie!]

Ok, so on to the strip!

Trina & Dean - married at Cedar Wood

2009-01-26T12:38:00.013-06:00

In November I had the pleasure of working with Krista from Krista Lee Photography to help photograph Trina and Dean's wedding. They were married at Cedar Wood and had a gorgeous fall wedding with tons of beautiful details. Touches of Dean's Greek heritage were displayed at the dessert table (look at all those yummy desserts!) and during the reception when they played some very festive Greek music.

Melanie & Craig: Married! 12-13-08

2009-01-16T19:59:00.015-06:00

You may remember seeing a previous post of a sneak peek image from Melanie and Craig's wedding. Well, today I'm posting the rest of the images I wanted to share. Melanie had her hair done at Street Gypsy by Rhea who did a beautiful job on Melanie's cute curls. She also had her makeup done by the talented Sarah King.

The ceremony was held at Glencliff Presbyterian which has a very adorable church. After the ceremony the festivities were continued at the VFW where much fun was had by all :P Melanie and Craig were blessed to have such great family and friends to help them celebrate their marriage.

Glynda's Bridal Portraits

2009-01-04T22:54:00.007-06:00

Glynda and Aaron were married January 3rd at St. Edward's Catholic Church in Nashville and they had a beautiful ceremony. Now that Glynda is married I can finally show off her bridal portraits!! We wandered around the Bicentennial Mall finding cool spots for her portraits. I absolutely adored her veil :)

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S ! ! !

2008-12-25T09:25:00.007-06:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I'm spending Christmas back home in west TN this year and it's been great. So far I've eaten homemade chex mix, homemade ritz crackers and chocolate, homemade yeast rolls with delicous ham, homemade bon bons, homemade turkey and dressing (seeing a pattern here?) In addition to eating I've also picked pecans up off the ground for my mom. They have a few pecan trees that have started dropping their pecans and it's actually fun to pick up pecans. Of course my mom does the hard work of shelling them, but I've done that too in the past :)

Other than all of that I've just sat around and been lazy, which has been nice. Of course I'm still running around chasing Esme everywhere, but that's normal. Even though we weren't in our home last night, Santa still knew where to find Esme :P He visited last night and brought her a new cash register, a Hello Kitty giant coloring book, some new crayons, a Mrs. Potato Head, and a few other miscellaneous things (fig newtons, the kid loves fig newtons). I've added some pictures below of our stay so far.

Merry Christmas to all!

-Emily

I Twitter

2008-12-22T08:00:00.002-06:00

Like Facebook, I finally caved in and created a Twitter account. Now if I only had some followers who cared about what I was doing all day. It doesn't work quite like I thought it did so I'm still trying to figure out how people will follow me? I don't know.

I do have this link, however, that you can click on to follow me:

Click here to follow me on Twitter

Also, since I mentioned Facebook you can visit my new Emily T Photography facebook page and become a fan:

Emily T Photography on Facebook

Thank you to everyone for all of your support!!

-Emily

Melanie & Craig sneak peek!

2008-12-21T11:19:00.002-06:00

Melanie & Craig had a great wedding with all their very fun friends and family. There will be a proper post soon, but for now I wanted to post one image from their day. We were unable to get very many couple portraits because of the timing of their ceremony, etc. I'm hoping they choose to do a Day After session so that we can get some amazing day time shots in their 'wedding day attire'. :)

www.EmilyTPhotography.com

2008-12-12T07:39:00.004-06:00

It's finally live! The new site that I've been working on has finally launched. After much time spent deciding colors, images, text, well just everything, I now have an awesome site that I can't wait for everyone to see. Please visit the link below to go to the new Emily T Photography.

www.EmilyTPhotography.com

I'll complete the blog post with a few pictures I've taken lately playing around with some off camera flash. I'll be shooting Melanie and Craig's wedding tomorrow here in Nashville and can't wait. I'll be blogging their images soon!

My dad and his motorcycle. He was planning on selling it, but then he saw the photo and said, "Man, I oughta keep it, I look good on that thing!"

This is santa and his reindeer with du-rags riding in a convertible with hydrolics. You push a button on the car and it starts playing low-rider. Esme loves this thing.

Esme just being cute in her overalls and boots. She was wearing her first ever pony-tail, but you can't see it here.

Colleen & Stephen - Married!

2008-12-02T20:28:00.002-06:00

On October 25th, Colleen & Stephen were married at Our Lady of the Lake, Catholic Church in Hendersonville. I had the pleasure of shooting with Chuck Arlund (Arlund Imagery) to capture some great images. Colleen and her bridesmaids all got ready at her mom's beautiful home. The room was complete with fruit trays, hair and makeup stylists, and Tiffany jewelry. After the ceremony all of the guests headed over to Cheekwood, Museum of Art for an absolutely amazing reception. The reception was held in the museum and started off with guests floating around the museum while enjoying wine and horsedourves. There was no detail not thought of. An ice sculpture, real mushrooms and green moss, an array of gorgeous flowers and an awesome lounge made this reception the party of the year for these guests. Oh, and of course Colleen & Stephen were very much in love and it beamed from them the whole day. Enjoy the photos!

While taking photos before the ceremony, Colleen received a text message from her soon to be hubby.

Matt & Allison - Scarritt Bennett

2008-11-30T10:05:00.006-06:00

I'm finally getting around to posting images from a wedding in October! I had the pleasure of second shooting for Krystal over at Mint & Sage and the wedding was beautiful. Matt & Allison were married at Scarritt Bennett and had their reception at their new home in west Nashville. They built their home in the woods and it has such a warm cabin feel to it. They invited all of their guests to join them in their new home for a celebration after their ceremony.

New Look!

2008-11-28T08:34:00.008-06:00

As you can see I changed up the look of my blog again. For a while now I have been in the midst of a complete site change and like everything else in life that I deal with, I've had the hardest time making concrete decisions. We're talking something as simple as a color. Because there are a million shades of green!! I must find the perfect shade to compliment my new 'look'.

Anyway! I wanted to quickly post about my new logo and my new site to come. Today's blog change is just the start of a whole new look for Emily T Photography. I'm very excited for the new site I'm working on and can't wait for it to go live. I think it sums up Emily T Photography pretty good :) Simple, modern, and clean are just a few words that describe my photographic style and I can't wait for everyone to see that in my new website.

I don't have an official launch date yet, but I was actually hoping to have everything finished by the end of the week. I will certainly post an official announcement here once that happens. (I know the suspense is keeping everyone on the edge of their seat, right? :P).

So, what else....oh yeah! Happy belated Thanksgiving day..Gobble Gobble. I sat around the house all day and ate a wonderful, delicious, Indonesian meal complete with Nasi Kuning (yellow rice), Randy's grandmother's famous ayam (chicken), cucumber salad, sweet and spicy potato slices, and what is a thanksgiving feast without ham! :) I was so full, but still managed to make room for a slice of pumpkin cheesecake that my mother-in-law bought from the Cheesecake Factory when she decided it was too much trouble making Paula Dean's version. :)

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for a very loving family. They keep me motivated and in high spirits when times get down. I never hear words like, 'maybe you shouldn't do this' or 'it's probably not going to work out'. These are words that I usually say to myself, but my family is always there to pick up my chin, slap me in the face, and get me moving in the right direction again. I love you guys and gals!

I shall end this post with a photo and an awesome discount for local brides (since I'm in the holiday spirit and all)!

EXTRA! EXTRA!
The holidays are a time of eating, eating some more, gift giving, and then really BIG gift giving. I'm talking engagement rings! So in honor of the holiday spirit I'd like to offer new brides a chance to receive 15% off of their entire wedding package if they book before the end of 2008.

Send me an email to learn more about my photography and the wedding packages that I offer.

I survived knee surgery!

2008-11-25T17:57:00.004-06:00

Well, it's done. I had a partial lateral meniscectomy on Friday. Sounds painful huh? Well, it's not feeling great I should say. I've been on pain pills which is definitely helping matters, but they make me want to lay down all day in bed. I started my physical therapy yesterday and I believe it has helped my knee heal faster, but I still have a ways to go. I'm supposed to do knee exercises everyday and if it weren't for my mother-in-law making me do them today I probably would have just laid on the couch some more. I'm trying to be more mobile since that's supposed to help the knee heal faster as well. I have two weddings in the next coming months that I need to be ready for so I'm going to make sure I follow all of the docs specific instructions.

And a blog post really isn't complete without a photo so here are two examples of what I did to myself. I'm still trying to come up with a more exciting story on how this happened in the first place. Anyone want to offer any creative suggestions?

Melanie & Craig - Engaged!

2008-11-20T09:35:00.007-06:00

Melanie & Craig have been engaged for a little while now actually. I'm shooting their wedding on December 13 and very excited! When I arrived for the session I found them sitting on a bench, bundled in their coats and sipping Panera Bread coffee to keep warm. (I think they really like Panera Bread :) I asked them if they had ever had professional photos taken before and they informed me that they hadn't. They only seemed a tad nervous about the whole thing. I assured them that we would have some fun! I guess as much fun as you can have walking the streets of downtown in the freezing cold. Needless to say the coffee didn't stay warm long. The pictures turned out beautiful, you'd never know they haven't had professional pictures before. And I must say that Melanie's eyes were FIERCE!

I must also add quickly that at the end of their shoot I managed to injure my left knee. Turns out I have a large bucket handle tear in my lateral meniscus (aka ripped my knee cartilage). The doc says that a bucket handle tear on the lateral (outer side of knee) meniscus is very rare. Leave it to me to do something like that. I can only be upset with myself. I would have preferred someone had kicked me in the knee so I could at least blame it on them. Oh well. I'm having surgery this Friday to correct the issue. The doc left me with two choices on how best to correct the problem. That's better left for another post. Hopefully I'm making the right choice.

Anyway! Enjoy their photos,

-Emily

Zach, Ashley, Gretchen, & Ruby

2008-11-12T12:46:00.008-06:00

Hello again! It has been a while since I've last posted and I've got many things to post about. First, I want to announce that I'm working on a new website that will be live soon!! This is very exciting for me and I can't wait for everyone to see what I've been doing with some of my time lately :)

Also, I want to let everyone know that I am beginning to book weddings for 2009. So if you or anyone you know is looking for a wedding photographer then please send them to my website to have a look at what I do and what I love. www.EmilyTPhotography.com

On to the pictures! A few Saturdays ago I had the pleasure of photographing a beautiful family that won a portrait package that I was offering at our neighborhood picnic in September. Ashley and Zach have two little girls and another on the way! I guess Zach will just have to be out-numbered. Thank you guys for letting me come hang out with you for a few hours and get some great images.

-Emily

Erica & Johnny - Part Two

2008-11-01T08:00:00.005-05:00

I know I know, I already did an engagement session with Erica and Johnny, but I ran out of daylight that day and just had to get more photos of these two. I seem to have a problem with running out of daylight since I don't seem to know when to just stop taking photos. Two hours is never enough time when you really love what you're doing.

This time we went to downtown Franklin and had a LOT of really cool backdrops for photos. We wandered around down alleys and next to bright yellow dumpsters. It really is possible to make a great image out of a not-so-expected background. If you're a photographer you should certainly try it!

The Pumpkin Farm 2008

2008-10-29T21:36:00.005-05:00

A couple of weekends ago Randy, Esmé, and I went to the local pumpkin farm since that seems what most people around here do during October. Unlike most people at the farm, though, we did not purchase a pumpkin. Randy and I are not the handy type of people and carving a pumpkin would be just a little too 'handy'. Also, at the 'Pumpkin Farm' it appeared that the pumpkins were actually IMPORTED in to the farm. Something about that just doesn't seem right.

Well anyway, despite our lack of being able to carve an imported pumpkin we still had a great time. Esmé was adorable in her overalls and enjoyed some McDonald's french fries at the end of the trip. She also loved getting to hang out with her cousin Ali for a while.

Busy Bee

2008-10-27T22:13:00.003-05:00

I have been quite busy lately either assisting with weddings or doing engagement and family portrait sessions. I need to do some serious blogging, but just haven't had the time lately. The weather has turned colder and sends me to my warm bed much earlier. I wanted to post 'something' so here I go again with another entry of 'Things To Come'.

The Pumpkin Patch!

10-18-08 Wedding

Erica & Johnny

10-25-08 HUGE Wedding

The Simpson Family

Ashley & Rodney - Wedding

2008-10-16T11:57:00.006-05:00

On Saturday September 27th I assisted Krystal from Mint & Sage Photography for another beautiful wedding. I mostly captured detail shots (which I love!) throughout the day. The wedding was held at Cedarwood, which is a gorgeous place for weddings. Ashley and Rodney are such a cute pair and had smiles on their faces the whole day long.