william + whitney – leroy, alabama portrait session

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Today, I want to introduce you to a very sweet couple from my hometown who I’ve known for quite some time.

In the days leading up to my first wedding as a professional photographer, I spent every free moment reading and watching educational content to prepare myself. I scoped the venue out on Google maps. I estimated the sun’s path across the space. I even familiarized myself with (read: CREEPED) any pictures I could find of the venue, so I would have an idea of what to expect when I got there. For my personality, that still wasn’t enough, so I took to Facebook.

The week before the wedding, I posted a model call on my Facebook page for couple with availability in the middle of the day on Friday. I knew this might be a tough time for most people considering work, but I was determined to seek out the worst lighting situation possible and force myself to work in it. After all, not all moments of a wedding day are going to take place during those wondrous couple hours before sunset known as Golden Hour, so it was high time I tackled high noon sun.

Whitney commented on my post and the rest is history. Thankfully, their jobs give them the flexibility to have Fridays off together, and they even had a readily available babysitter for their two precious children!

We met at Katie Hearn Oaks in Leroy, Alabama, where the wedding was to take place the next day. If you’ve never experienced Katie Hearn Oaks for yourself, I highly recommend trying to snag yourself an invite to a wedding taking place there, because it is a GORGEOUS venue. In fact, as we walked around the property during the session, Whitney and I both kept saying, “I think I could live this life.” Ha! Give me this beautiful white historic home underneath rows of pecan trees parallel to horse pastures and fields of tall green grass, divided only by sprawling white fence rows, and I’ll pour you a glass of sweet tea and extend an invite for a porch sittin’. After all, that is my dream life.

Whitney and William were so patient as I thought through how to handle the brightness of the day even providing some comedic relief with “crop” jokes as I had them stand in a potentially snake filled grass field. (No worries, everyone made it out pain free, and we captured some gorgeous photos in the process!)

I hope you enjoy scrolling through this session as much as I enjoyed shooting it!

Now, can we take a few moments to appreciate their eyes in these next couple of shots?! No wonder their babies are absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

Now, do you know of somewhere I can live that looks like this? Because I’m considering any and all options! 😉 At the very least, what about somewhere like this that I can photograph?! Let me know in the comments below!