{indian summer}

filed under: Southwood Plantation, engagements
Apr.21
2010

The first Saturday this month, you could tell that Summer Spring is here. Let’s face it, in Florida, we skip Spring and Fall. It’s either Winter or Summer here year round! :) In any event, it was the perfect day to hang out with Brenna + Nick and their completely sweet puppy Presley (yes, as in Elvis. Isn’t that awesome? :D ) They are tying the knot this August and Michael + I are so excited to be a part of the wedding day!

We started out with a friendly game of croquet at the Southwood House in Tallahassee. ;) Which quickly turned competitive… :)

But they kissed and made up. :) Play nice kids. :)

Woops, spoke too soon.

This is Presley. :D He’s a little shy at first, but when he warms up to you, he is the sweetest puppy ever. True story. ;)


Snuuuuuuuuggle. :) It looks comfy doesn’t it? I think Nick really was asleep here. :)

After snuggle time, we headed off to find some trees to climb. Brenna + Nick have been climbing trees together since they were little, and Brenna’s mom wanted a picture of them in a tree together. Umm, I think we can make that happen! :D

Only problem is, Nick is afraid of heights. ;) Brenna comforting Nick. :D

He got over it quick. :D

Brenna + Nick, we love ya’ll and we can’t wait to see you again soon!

By Lauren | Posted in Southwood Plantation, engagements | Tagged , , , | 1 comments         Hide Comments | Add a Comment
  1. Lisa Doxsee posted the following on July 6, 2010 at 6:05 pm.

    You do such beautiful work! Hope you will be doing Brenna and Nicks wedding in Quincy, we will be bartending! Great job! Lisa

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{peace, love, and cupcakes}

filed under: Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach, Seaside, engagements
Apr.13
2010

Ginny + Jack have to be two of my most favorite people. :) Ginny called me up a few weeks ago looking for something different for her wedding photography. We instantly clicked and before our call was done, I knew that we were going to have a blast working with this couple. And just like that, so began a great friendship with Ms. Ginny. :)

Seaside, Florida, is one of my most favorite places in the world. It’s so quirky and filled with whimsy! Since Ginny + I both share a love for Seaside, and this is where they will be exchanging vows the end of this month (eeeEEEEEE!!! :D ) we decided this would be the perfect place for their shoot. The absolute best part of the day was when we were getting ready to wrap up, we all hugged and agreed that we were just like family! Thank you Ginny + Jack and we will see you next weekend!

Yes, that is a cupcake trailer. And yes, the cupcakes are DELICIOUS! :D

By Lauren | Posted in Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach, Seaside, engagements | Tagged , , , , | 1 comments         Hide Comments | Add a Comment
  1. Nicole-Lynn posted the following on May 2, 2010 at 8:47 pm.

    I loved this session! So colorful and full of fun! Great job Lauren :)

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{wild kingdom}

filed under: Cummer Museum, Jacksonville Zoo, engagements
Apr.05
2010

Earlier in March, Michael + I were so excited to get to head on over to Jacksonville and visit with our friends Amelia + Jeremy who are getting married next May! They are getting married at the Cummer Museum and Gardens… oh my goodness. This place is A-MAZING. When we walked in to view the venue and shoot their engagement photos, our jaws dropped. It is stunningly gorgeous, it looks like something right out of a fairytale. Seriously, amazing venue and I never knew it was right here in Florida! :) I am SO excited to get to go back there with Jeremy + Amelia in just a few months to shoot their {almost} newlywed session- YES FOLKS- they are getting dressed up in their wedding best just to do a whole session before the wedding. Did I mention how much I love them? ;)

We also got to go to some really amazing other locations to shoot in, Amelia + Jeremy had so many great ideas and places that were special to them, we love it when couples make a session truly about them!

We started out at the Jacksonville Library, which is super special to A + J because they are both working on graduate degrees (alright, go ahead with your smarty pants ;) ) and spend a lot of time there together.

We made a “pit stop” at the Cummer Museum. Love love love.

AND THEN, we were off to the Jacksonville Zoo! I haven’t been to the zoo since I was about…7? :)

You HAVE to ride the Merry-Go-Round at the zoo. It’s not an option. :) Plus the guy working there will let you ride for 274373762764 times non stop :)


A +J, thank you so much for hanging out with us all afternoon, we really had a great time and we look forward to seeing you again soon!

By Lauren | Posted in Cummer Museum, Jacksonville Zoo, engagements | Tagged , , , , , , , | no comments         No Comments | Add a Comment

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{bubblegum bop}

filed under: engagements
Mar.31
2010

I just have to share a little excerpt of one of Krista’s emails to me describing her love for Chris:

“It’s been a little more than a year since our first date. We spent every day that we could together, until we couldn’t stand being apart and decided to move in together. Aside from work, we’re rarely away from one another. We both had marriages that failed, that fell apart for one reason or another and have felt devastated by it. We both are wiser for our mistakes, a little damaged and a little scared. We’re determined not to repeat our failures. Determined to talk and share with each other, no matter what.  Determined to show our love on a daily basis and never let the other forget, for even a moment.
He is my entire life. He’s given me the family I’ve desperately yearned for. I miss him the moment after he kisses me as he’s heading out the door in the morning and I can’t hardly wait to come home to him at the end of the day. In all my life, I’ve never felt more safe, desired, valued and truly adored than I do today. My heart found the man my soul was searching for.”

This is the kind of love that these two share, both between each other and for their little family- so genuine and honest. Reading Krista’s words just filled me love and gratitude for what I do. I am so thrilled to be a part of your lives and we are looking forward to spending your happy day with you :D

Bubbles!!!! (don’t you just want to scream that line our from “Finding Nemo”?!

Tangled up in kid. :D

One of my most favorite family images… EVER!

Hello my name is Krista. I like to laugh. :D

Playing slaps. ;)

I love this next set, partially for the story behind it. We were shooting in this sleepy little town, population probably 342 (ok I made that part up, but it’s pretty rural) We headed out to play in the street on this back road. Right as I was firing off these shots, a police officer shouted “you’ll get run over!!!” and made us leave. Really? There were no cars for miles except the parked ones. At ease, Andy Griffith. :D

Thanks K+C for hanging out with me! We are so excited to see ya’ll again soon!

By Lauren | Posted in engagements | Tagged , | 2 comments         Hide Comments | Add a Comment
  1. Catherine posted the following on April 5, 2010 at 8:06 pm.

    Great job! These photos look great and the future bride looks like she was a lot of fun. I especially like the last one.

  2. Nicole posted the following on April 2, 2010 at 9:46 am.

    Aw what a sweet family/couple! Great pictures :)

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{we’ve been blogged!}

filed under: Amelia Island Plantation, Weddings Unveiled, bragging rights, featured, inspiration, weddings
Mar.25
2010

Thank you so much to one of our FAVORITE wedding blogs, Completely Unveiled, for showcasing Megan + Wade’s fantastic wedding! We love getting Kirstin’s sweet little email letting us know that our feature is up, she is wonderful and and her posts on the blog just make me smile :D

Hey Kirstin- if the whole Weddings Unveiled gig thing doesn’t work out (haha yeah RIGHT! It’s only one of the coolest jobs imaginable! ;) ) you can come design blog collages for me! :D

By Lauren | Posted in Amelia Island Plantation, Weddings Unveiled, bragging rights, featured, inspiration, weddings | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 comments         Hide Comments | Add a Comment
  1. ashleigh posted the following on March 26, 2010 at 1:40 pm.

    congrats lauren on the feature!!!!!

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{loveshoot out at the o.k. corral}

filed under: engagements
Mar.23
2010

This month has been an absolutely CRAAAAZY whirlwind of shoots and traveling. The end of March is upon us (wasn’t it Christmas, like, yesterday?!?) !  Nevertheless, we are 1 week away from beginning of glorious April, and we have so many awesome shoots and weddings coming up… we get giddy at the thought! :D

I still can’t believe I do this for a living. ;)  Here’s what’s coming over the next couple weeks (I knew our couples are about to chew their fingers down to nubs waiting on these ;) )

Krista + Chris (and their adorable kiddos ;) ) - getting married this November (woot woot!)

Amelia + Jeremy – getting married next May! (*at the rate time is flying, it will feel like tomorrow!)

and Ginny + Jack – getting married this *GASP* April!! :D

You’ll want to come back for all of these. Promise ;)

By Lauren | Posted in engagements | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 comments         Hide Comments | Add a Comment
  1. Nicole posted the following on April 2, 2010 at 9:47 am.

    I wanna see those engagement pictures :)

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{Jessica + Mathew} A Southern Soiree, Tallahassee Florida

filed under: weddings
Mar.19
2010

Oh. my. gosh. Jessica + Mat’s wedding day was an absolutely perfect day in every sense of the word. Their wedding day was a celebration of the complete adoration they have for one another. Pair the unreal setting at the Stewart House in Tallahassee with a couple who both have incredible families, incredible friends … an incredible passion for life. I am so, so grateful that I was able to capture this incredible day … walked away from this wedding more thankful than ever for the gift of getting to celebrate with couples as they begin their life together! Jessica + Mat, congratulations to you both… XOXO!

Our {heartfelt} thanks go out to:

Ceremony/Reception: Private home in Tallahassee FL

Officiant: Pastor Randall Ray, North Florida Baptist Church

Florals: Kelly Trotman of Bella Flora Events

Cake: Publix

Rentals: In Tents Events

Band: The Love Handles

Caterer: Sibley Richerson, Buck Lake Catering

Photography: Lauren + Michael Kinsey, Lauren Kinsey Photography

Getaway mobile: Tallahassee Yellowcabs

By Lauren | Posted in weddings | 4 comments         Hide Comments | Add a Comment
  1. Nicole posted the following on April 2, 2010 at 9:47 am.

    What a fun wedding! Love the details. :)

  2. Hannah posted the following on March 23, 2010 at 3:01 am.

    Wow, these photographs are so stunning! The whole wedding looks so gorgeous and fun and you did a beautiful job capturing it. Love!

  3. Carly posted the following on March 20, 2010 at 8:17 am.

    Love the pictures!! What a great wedding it was!! :)

  4. Carly posted the following on March 19, 2010 at 6:28 pm.

    LOVE the pictures!! What a pretty and fun wedding it was :)

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{lesley + josh} st. augustine florida

filed under: White Room, weddings
Mar.04
2010

Really, i’m not a writer. It’s why i’m a photographer ;) So when I started to write this post, I was just sitting here for an hour trying to figure out what to say about this AMAZING joining of souls. For this post, I am starting something different. Instead of trying to verbalize what I feel, I decided to let the images speak for themselves. I hope you feel the same way I do after looking at them. ;)

But seriously, there aren’t many words to describe how awesome Lesley + Josh’s wedding was. Lots of laughter, joyful tears, gorgeous sunshine and drinks for the house. :)

Lesley + Josh, you have been a blast to work with from the word “go”. We enjoyed every second that we got to spend with you and we cannot wait to be a part of the many chapters of your life together.

Thank you for giving us this opportunity to document your life and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your selfless service to our country. :)

{Our heartfelt thanks go out to:}

Ceremony: The Oldest House Garden, St. Augustine Florida

Reception: Shannon and the amazing team at The White Room, St. Augustine Florida

Makeup: Paulina Perez

Cake: Sweet Weddings

Florals: 57 Treasury

DJ: Bobby Spencer of ABC DJ’s

Photographers: Lauren + Michael Kinsey, Lauren Kinsey Photography

Accomodations: The Casa Monica Hotel, St. Augustine Florida

By Lauren | Posted in White Room, weddings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 comments         Hide Comments | Add a Comment
  1. Nicole posted the following on March 8, 2010 at 2:51 pm.

    Cute couple! We love St. Augustine!

  2. courtney rosen posted the following on March 4, 2010 at 6:49 pm.

    love the dresses! all of them!!! and the colors were great!!! my favorite image is the bridal party cut in half!!!!! LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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{From New Jersey with Love}

filed under: engagements
Feb.09
2010

A couple weeks ago we trotted on down to Ybor City to hang out with Niki + Ryan for their awesome loveshoot! Niki + Ryan are one of our destination wedding couples for this year- originally from Jersey, they are coming to get married in June in St. Pete, and Michael + I are so excited for their wedding!

Niki + I had talked so much over the phone prior to our meeting, and we hit it off from the start. It was so cool to hear all the details about their wedding as we walked around historic Ybor!

We had planned to meet in downtown Ybor City, but when Michael + I arrived prior to meeting them, we were in a…how shall we say… NOT so savory part of town. Ok- we were in the GHETTO!

So we quickly called Niki to let her know it might not be a great idea to shoot there. As we were driving around, we realized that Gasparilla was going on and there was NO way we were going to get anywhere in town. We headed back to Ybor, and when we got there, we realized we weren’t in the historic district before. I am SO glad we decided to shoot here, Ybor City has many quirks and great little nooks to shoot in. :D

Ya’ll, (and I promise I will have you saying “ya’ll” before this is all over ;) ) we are so excited for the wedding and seeing you again soon!

Michael’s shot… *sigh* he’s so good. ;)

Ok so for all the photogs reading the blog, I know these next two aren’t in focus or technically correct, but honestly- it’s what I love about them. It was a complete split second that this happened and they are two of my favorites from this session ;)

Umm… yes. Please. :D

By Lauren | Posted in engagements | Tagged , , | 4 comments         Hide Comments | Add a Comment
  1. Pingback from From New Jersey with Love | Ybor City Buzz

    [...] time it is Niki & Ryan through the eyes of Lauren Kinsey: we trotted on down to Ybor City to hang out with Niki + Ryan for their awesome loveshoot! Niki + [...]

  2. Nicole posted the following on February 16, 2010 at 2:48 pm.

    Such an adorable couple! Great session :)

  3. tommyduncn posted the following on February 15, 2010 at 1:41 pm.

    Glad you eventually found Ybor to be a good backdrop for your photos!

  4. Cassie posted the following on February 9, 2010 at 11:56 pm.

    Ummmmm I LOVE image number 49 little missy! I’m so jealous – you find the most amazing locations!

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{gonna soak up the sun}

filed under: Amelia Island Plantation, weddings
Jan.29
2010

That was definitely the mantra for Megan + Wade’s sweet Sunday wedding at Amelia Island Plantation. :D

Saturday, Michael + I were PRAYING for weather as gorgeous of this day… it had been storming all day and the weather man called for more rain on Sunday… 80% chance, in fact. I tweeted about it, Facebooked hourly updates, and when we left our house on Sunday morning, it wasn’t looking too promising. We were prepared to bring out our galoshes, but when we arrived at Amelia Island, the sun was shining bright and we had some beautiful blue skies. Thank you God!

I have to admit- I was a little nervous when we arrived. Usually, we get to meet with a bride at least once before her wedding, but we had never had a chance to meet Megan before today because we were never able to coordinate our schedules! From the time I first talked to Megan, I knew we would begreat friends, but it’s always a little nerve wracking meeting someone for the first time.

When we walked in, Megan immediately gave us both a hug and her family was so warm and welcoming, we really did feel like we were a part of the family. :D

Megan + Wade, we had so much fun capturing the pure joy and love surrounding your wedding day, and thank you so much for inviting us into your lives! We had fun and we will see each other again soon! ;)

See what I mean by GORGEOUS day?

Megan was one of the calmest brides I have ever met.

Megan was so excited and joyful all day!

Alright, little side story here. Michael was out in the garage with the bridesmaids (that sounds funny, huh? ;) ) and we noticed that these pool were sitting here together… they weren’t turned exactly all the right way, but the wedding date was 1-17-10. Coincidence? ;)

LOVED Megan’s choice of colors… so beautiful! All the girls looked great!

Holy hotness Batman. Megan, have I mentioned that you are STUNNING?!?!

YAY for this!! I knew when I took it that it was going to be one of my favorites of the day! :D There was just a slight breeze… ok it was winnnnnnnnndddddddyyyyyyyy!

Drumroll please! I give you, Wade!

Wade’s one and only request was to get “spatted” up. Sounds dirty, right? :) Since Megan + Wade are HUGE Auburn fans, all the guys had to get spatted up before the big day. I even got spatted. It was pretty fantastic. I rock the spat pretty well. :D

Hey, you gotta have priorities.

Sam AKA Stevie Wonder. :)

And most importantly, make sure we zip the fly.

I think i’ve said this before, but I truly loved every detail of this wedding, the sweet simplicity of it really  was so lovely.

The church was awesome, I loved the little white chapel feel.

SHOWTIME!

Ok, I love everything about this image. Megan’s dad was very emotional and I just happened to catch this one right after he gave his daughter’s hand to Wade. I love the way he is looking at his daughter, it makes me very emotional and reminiscent of our wedding.

Megan + Wade held communion for all their guests, it was so powerful to see everyone worshiping and praising God at their union!

MARRIED!

It got dark QUICK. And I mean in-a-hurry. We did not anticipate it getting dark so quickly, but of course we had to squuueeeezzzzeee in some lovey dovey time. Hopefully we’ll be doing some more portraits of these two soon, but for now, this will just have to wet your appetite. :D

Love love love.

Walker’s Landing at Amelia Island is so beautiful and rustic and Megan decided to have very natural details, which I loved.

Congratulations Megan + Wade!! We love ya’ll!

By Lauren | Posted in Amelia Island Plantation, weddings | Tagged , , , , | 1 comments         Hide Comments | Add a Comment
  1. Nicole-Lynn posted the following on February 4, 2010 at 4:39 pm.

    Oh goodness, another great wedding! Very cute couple! Love the all the color! :) Great job!

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