Dayton Weddings | Echo by Design | Wedding + Portrait Photography

..Brittany & Niyazi | She Said Yes..

We talked months before and scheduled a time that we could both be in town. The date was getting closer and as I read through her email I could practically hear the excitement in her voice! We planned their session at the horse stables that they had connections to, and I was already so pumped because I love horses! Earlier in the week I had this brilliant idea to have a sunrise session. I checked the average time of sunrise, seven thirty…umm ouch. Not being a morning person, I figured I would bite the bullet and see what they thought. She loved the idea, he did not. When we chatted on the phone, I promised that we would get through it together…ya know, the whole not wanting to be up and looking presentable at 7:30 a.m. thing!

Brad and I drove in the night before, and it poured, and poured, and poured some more. I was pretty nervous whether the weather was going to hold off for our session. Morning came, I walked out the door while it was sprinkling. I sent up a prayer for the rain to stop, and on my drive there the fog still hadn’t lifted. I thought to myself, man I really should have called before I left. By the time I found the stables, there still was a thick blanket of fog. I was super bummed. I had all of these awesome ideas laid out in my head and the stupid rain ruined them all!

We started the session in the hopes the sun would come out. We were both there, so I knew I just had to make the best of it. I fired off the first couple of images and I was in love. Who needed sun when you can have fog? I was loving the images that grazed the back of my camera and my happy dance may have come out more often than not!

So after all of that, I would like to introduce you to Brittany and Niyazi. I was lucky enough to photograph Brittany’s sisters wedding a few years back, and she had been following my work all of that time! (I love hearing that!) In 2008, her and Niyazi met through mutual friends the night before she left for college out of state. They began interacting through facebook and hung out for the first time when she was home for spring break. They were inseparable the whole week! In September of last year while horse back riding in New Jersey with family, he popped the question. Of course she said yes, so it was only fitting that they are planning their October wedding at the stables!

My favorite…

I reassured them and myself that sometimes the unexpected was truly meant to be. I told them if I couldn’t have that warm, buttery, beautiful sunshine to grace their images, then the fog was the perfect alternative! Brittany and Niyazi, thank you so much for being troopers to do an early session, I hope you thought it was worth it!

..FOG..

love, echo

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..Elijah at 6 Months | Oh Baby..

It’s on repeat over and over in my head, I can’t believe Eli is six months old. I can’t believe…insert all the new things he has accomplished this month of growing and learning. I hate admitting it, but in the blink of an eye he is going to be my nephew, who is graduating this year. It’s crazy to think I was in 3rd grade when I became an Aunt. It’s true, I was a youngen!

We started out Eli’s six month birthday with a big ol’ shabang, a nice long 19 hour drive to Texas! It had been years since we had been down to visit my family and I wanted nothing more than my family to meet Eli. The trip went well and while we were down there, his array of foods were expanding, he tried bananas, squash, and apples. He loved them all! While on the floor one night, he discovered that he could hold on to his feet and before we knew it, he figured out that he could put his foot in his mouth! Seems so minimal, but what big steps they are in the grand scheme of his learning process.

Upon our return, my little smarty pants started pushing himself up on all four’s. Part of me wanted to push him down because I wasn’t ready for him to be crawling. Halfway because I knew I had to admit that he was ‘growing up’ and halfway because I just wasnt ready gosh darn it! He had gotten to the point where his knees were under him and he was beginning to rock back and forth, after getting too frustrated he would resort to army crawling which was perfectly fine for me. After a particular attempt, he hit his head pretty hard on our wood floor. It resulted in tears, a kiss on the back of his head, and some banging on pots and pans to make him feel better. He loved that.

At his checkup appointment my chunk-a-munk of a boy weighed in at 18 lbs 3 ozs. and measured 27 inches long. The doctor smiled at me when she said, he’s not hurting on food. Yea, I know! Of course as if the much dreaded shots weren’t enough, she ordered up an allergy test to check some of our continued concerns on Eli’s milk allergy. By the time it was all over, I was more than ready to whisk my boy out of the office.

For his six month session, I went to a little spot I had been eyeing out for months and I was so happy that the weather was actually warm enough to take him outside. Not to mention, I was super excited to have him sport the cute hat I got him! I was even more stoked that he actually liked wearing it! His cute little grin makes me so happy, proud, and amazed at the little boy he has become!

And just in case you were wondering by the end of 6 months he still hadn’t figured out the crawling. That and much more to come in month seven! Oh, if we could only catch time in a capsule.

..I CAN’T BELIEVE..

love, echo

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..Wyoming | Just Because..

This post is loooong overdue. And by long, I truly mean LONG! In June 2011 (over 9 months ago) I had the amazing opportunity to fly out to Wyoming to capture Tim and Kathy’s wedding day at Grand Teton National Park. I was currently 7 months pregnant, and Brad and I had decided to extend our stay so that we could ‘Babymoon’ in Yellowstone. While that wasn’t the Babymoon that I had in mind, we definitely had a blast!

The flight out was pretty rocky, and to make matters worse my little babes was kicking me when I already was feeling the motion sickness. Needless to say that didn’t end well! I was happy to finally have the plane on the ground and to get out of the stuffy cabin. I was instantly greeted by the fresh mountain air. I’ve always smelled the Yankee Candles in store, wondering just how one could capture ‘Mountain Air.’ But there it was, a bit dewey, fresh, with a dash of pine. Not really concentrating on the view while landing, I then saw the glimpse of the beautiful mountains. What a magnificent sight they were. So strong, majestic, and breathtaking.

On the way to our hotel, the abundant wildlife was already evident. I couldn’t believe how many Elk we had seen within just a few short miles. That night on our way back from the pizzeria we noticed about 20-30 cars pulled over on the side of the road. Peeking around all of the fuss we saw a park ranger along with a whole line of viewers with cameras in hand. Something was out! We were hoping for a bear. Sure enough, after heading over to the pack, there was a enormous female grizzly in the brush! A nature photographer to my left, sporting a 400mm lens, showed me the back of his camera. Boy was she a beauty. She was digging through the ground and we were lucky enough to have her come out into the open for us. She was headed towards the crowd about 100 yards in front of us, when the ranger asked that everyone return to their cars. Ummm, no problem. I sure didn’t want to try and outrun a bear being 7 months pregnant!

That wouldn’t be the only bear we saw during our trip. By the time we made our way through the Tetons and Yellowstone our final count was up to 18 bear. After talking to the rangers, it was very unusual to see that many bear in June. However,with the cool weather and snow still on the ground, they were all coming out of hibernation. Brad and I teased his parents before we left that we would see 10 bear, thinking we probably would only see one. His parents had gone out in the fall, and it took them 5 days to see a momma and two cubs. We definitely were among the lucky, especially driving from Teton NP to Yellowstone NP. Brad and I were jamming to our Wyoming trip CD, since there are zero radio stations in the parks, (…and I mean zero) we were rounding a bend when we came upon a momma and her two cubs that happened to be on the side of the road! I may or may not have let out a squeal or two! It pretty much made my day.

I had been to Yellowstone before, but it was a quick day stop when I was younger, and I barely remembered it. It was so nice to drive back through, stay in the park, and witness all the wildlife and beauty that surrounded us. Some of my favorite stops were Artisan Point at the Lower Falls, Old Faithful (the weather was super yucky that day), and Mammoth Hot Springs. Because there was so much to see I was sure to get some exercise in, especially getting in and out of the car! One stop we had this brilliant idea to hike to the bottom of some falls, by the time we got to the bottom I realized that I had to go back up…so step by step this big ol’ pregnant lady made the serious hike back up the hill. I should say mountain, and it seriously was no joke either. The altitude definitely didn’t help, but it sure was good conditioning for labor!

It is something else seeing bears, bison, elk, coyote, and a badger not at a zoo…

I almost forgot what I looked like pregnant. Crazy looking back on it all. What a great time we had, even though it wasn’t quite what I initially had in mind! Brad and I can’t wait to take our babes out there someday.

..BABYMOON..

love, echo

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..Metze Kids | Family Love..

After months of trying to find a church that felt like home here in Dayton, we were finally blessed to find CLC Fairfield in Beavercreek. It was extremely helpful to get plugged in, and we were starting to get to know all the young parents that we could relate our new life to. Sadly, just as we feel like we had finally gotten some great relationships started, we realized everyone else was moving away. I guess that is what happens in the military life, no one is anywhere for too long.

That is the story of the Metze family. Their journey is taking them across the pond to England, and while they are still coping with the distance they are leaning on the fact that it will only be a 4 year commitment. Saying goodbye to family isn’t going to be easy, so Leslie contacted me to see if I could do a photo session of just the kids. What a great way for her to hold on to these memories!

Sidney is 10 years old and is Leslie’s neice and was born when she was 15. She lived with me until she was 3 years old. I love her just as I love my own children. Sidney has always had something special about her and it would surprise me if she didn’t end up on a screen or on a stage. Leslie knows that it’s going to be hard imagining life without her. (I know how hard it is to be away from Eli’s cousins, and I’m only 2 hours south!)

This sweet little girl is Charlie, she is 4 years old. She was a little poser for sure and I love the adorable little laughs I was able to get out of her! Her mom says, Charlie has always been wise for her age. Even as a baby when you looked at her you got the sense she understood everything that was going on. I am constantly amazed at how intelligent she is and I am sure she will be smarter than all of us soon.

This little guy was photographed on the loose. Meet Wes, he is 2 years old and is one of those boys who wasn’t quite ready to sit in front of a camera. Who can blame him, right? According to Leslie, Wes is always roaring! Even though he is always pretending to be a Lion, Dinosaur, or a Tiger he is my loving, tender hearted boy. He is quick to wipe away our tears or try to make us laugh when we are upset. Wes freely gives away hugs and kisses. (I have a feeling this is going to be my little guy through and through!)

The doll baby below is the newest addition to the family. Edith is 6 weeks old and was born just a few weeks early, weighing onl y 5 pounds! Leslie says, even though she was early she came home right away with no complications. She is a beautiful bright eyed girl and is a very peaceful, pleasant baby. She is just starting to smile and has already stolen our hearts. Umm, who wouldn’t fall in love with something as precious as her?!?

Had to get one of all them together…

I just love spring, the flowers on the trees makes my heart gush!

Leslie and Joel! We wish you all the best on your journey to England when it comes. My hope for you is that I was able to capture a peice of home to take with you. Enjoy the time you have left with your friends and family!

..JOURNEY..

love, echo

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..Riley | Oh Baby..

I have been waiting for MONTHS to photograph this special little girl! You may remember Patrick and Jessica’s ..Maternity Session.. last summer where Jessica and I both were full on prego! We were due practically at the same time, and it was bittersweet that we were able to share our experiences together while going through the journey of our first pregnancy.

By the time that it all shook out, Jessica and Patrick had little Miss Riley just one day before Elijah on August 16! (Yes, today is her 7 month birthday!) So while I absolutely adored them and couldn’t wait to meet her, we too had our hands full with our new man. Finally the two of them had a chance to meet around three months of age, but life was a tad too hectic for me to do a session while wrapping up wedding season. So this last weekend, I had the amazing chance to capture this sweet girl and her amazing parents. It was a long time in coming for sure!

In talking with Patrick and Jessica, they shared, Riley has been such a blessing in our lives. She is one of the happiest babies with constant smiles and laughs but also has that look like ‘Mom & Dad, you’re crazy’ when we both are singing and dancing around the house. She can certainly make a bad day at work disappear the minute you see her face and I truly understand what parents mean now when they say enjoy them while their young. Time has absolutely flown, but I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. We get to see her grow into her own independent person each day, which is amazing. Sitting up, getting the urge to crawl, drinking out of a sippy cup, she LOVES her solids, and of course sucking on her toes. She is a complete angel.

Please check out this sweet little gem. She was indeed a little angel!

Just in case anyone was wondering, these two are going to be best friends for life. While they were playing in our living room and sharing a toy between them, Patrick already made sure his eye was on Eli 🙂 Wouldn’t that be fun?!?

Patrick, Jessica, and Riley, we love you three so much and thank you for giving me the opportunity to capture your sweet, sweet family!

..7 MONTH BIRTHDAY..

love, echo

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