One of the perks of being in the wedding industry is that you pretty much get to photograph pretty things all the time. And sometimes, you get a call from a vendor because she’s in love with her linen rentals and wants you to come take some photos so she can get her designs published. And when Kellie with Florals by the Sea is excited, you know you’re in for a barrage of beautifully designed tablescapes, romantic color combinations and an imaginative use of florals you’ve ever seen. In the words of the people over at Nuage, one of the linen rental companies that I totally fell in love with after photographing this, “the laid-back simplicity of the decor…with the natural-inspired textiles and delicate florals…allowed the gorgeous backdrop of the beach to take center stage.” I’m paraphrasing of course!

Head on over to the Nuage blog to see all their beautiful linens and their wedding inspirations. >>> http://nuagedesigns.com/florals-by-the-sea/

Photo Courtesy Olimb Photography | Coordination Destin To Wed | Florals + Design Kellie McGehee of Florals by the Sea | Venue Henderson Park Inn | Catering Beachwalk Cafe | Rental Company RSVP Events| Cupcakes The Cake Destination | Linens Nuage Designs and La Tavola | Entertainment Rock The Wedding

[T]here will come a time, you will see, with no more tears. And love will not break your heart but dismiss your fears. Get over your hill and see what you find there. With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair… After the Storm by Mumford and Sons.

Floral crown by Florals by the Sea and now I want to wear a floral crown all day every day!

You’re a falling star…you’re a mystery…you’re every minute of my every day… In this crazy life, and through these crazy times, it’s you. It’s you. You make me sing. You’re every line, you’re every word, you’re everything. You’re every song, and I sing along, ’cause you’re my everything. Everything, Michael Buble

Photographer: Olimb Photography >>> Event Planner: It’s A Shore Thing Weddings & Events >>> Floral Designer: Florals By The Sea >>> Makeup Artist: Blush Beauty Lounge >>> Catering: Townsend Catering >>> Cake Designer: Bake My Day

There comes a time in the life of a photographer, when they hit a wall. That wall usually turns into an identity crisis. What kind of photographer am I? What does my work convey? What sort of clients do I want to attract? Basically all the question you ask yourself at the start of your business seem to come barreling back with a vengeance. No? This is just me? Well fine then…I suppose I’m an identity crisis overachiever. I’ve hit this point in my business more than once, which if I’m honest, is in part due to the fact that I never solidly answered those initial questions nearly eight years ago. Eight years ago I started my business and eight years later, I still cycle through times of wondering wether or not I’m the photographer and artist I want to be.

You may recall a styled shoot Florals by the Sea and Ivey Weddings and Events and I collaborated on. It was a time where I was able to push myself and experiment. I got my “safe shots” and then I pushed myself to use natural light in a different way. Typically shooting indoors scares me to death because I’m so comfortable outside in the sun but I wanted to grow, I wanted to get better. I also decided to try film again.

FILM?! Yes, film. I shot some film!

I am not a film photographer. But, as an overachiever in identity crisis, I found myself down the rabbit trail of “everyone loves film, so many photographers are film now, film is so pretty, film is successful, film is desired, maybe I need to do film.” Word to the wise, when your rabbit trail begins with “everyone else…” your going on a long journey to no where. I am not everyone else and while yes, I love the nostalgia of film and how it feels and how it reminds me of my first camera, it’s not a business aspiration. And since this session, I have discovered that I have no desire to become a film wedding photographer at this moment in time in my business. I’ve learned a long time ago to never say never, but when it comes to weddings, I just cannot imagine handling the stress of being a film photographer on a wedding day. Film  for now, will remain a personal aspiration and I will continue to love my digital photographer self and producing images that make me happy. And hats off to all you film photographers out there that tackle weddings cause I don’t know how you stay sane!

Photographer: Olimb Photography >>> Event Planner: Ivey Weddings and Events >>> Floral Designer: Florals By The Sea >>> Dress Store: Ivory Beau >>> Cake Designer: A Cupcakery By The Sea >>> Invitation Designer: Leo Lamb >>>Tuxedo and Mens Attire: Mens Warhorse >>> Makeup Artist: POWDER & PAINT

I follow a lot of food bloggers. Sometimes I find myself daydreaming about what it would like to live the life of Julia Child, not worrying about butter or her waistline. Recently I made the decision that my love of baking and cooking was allowed to show itself in my business. Why did I think that it needed to stay separate? I have no idea but I would probably make the guess that some business model somewhere said something about keeping your passions separate because brides don’t want to see family photos or baking escapades in the kitchen. If I could find that business model I would promptly throw it out the window. Because that’s essentially what I’ve decided to do – throw keeping my passions separate out the window!

As the weather changes and spring eases it’s way into bloom, I found myself wanting one more rich spaghetti type dish. Clinging to the tiny remainders of the cool weather in the evening, a blogger I’ve come to love had posted a recipe for a bolognese and the image she posted to instagram was burned into my subconscious. After finding the recipe I spent a little too much money at the local Fresh Market and came home and put my cooking skills to good use. Following recipes is a little abnormal for me…I’m the type of girl in the kitchen that looks at the recipe for the general idea and then I make it my own. I find that I’m a little too creative for my own good because there have been some major flops in the Olimb household of baking experiments. But this time, I decided to stick to the recipe and let me tell you, recipes are apparently there for a reason because this was delicious…although I may have tweaked it just a little. 

• 3 tablespoons olive oil – I didn’t measure, cause seriously who measures olive oil?
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced
• 2 carrots, scrubbed and finely diced – I didn’t scrub…I call it earthy. 
• 1 celery rib, finely diced
• 1 small turnip, peeled, trimmed, and finely diced – Mmm yeah, didn’t peel my turnip because I skimmed the recipe and diced before I saw the peeled bit.
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• sea salt
• 1 cup red wine – Measure wine? Nope, pour till generously doused…I think I ended up with half the bottle in there! I used Undone Pinot Noir from the local ABC Liquors and let me tell you, it’s my new favorite Pinot Noir! 
• 6 tablespoons tomato paste (about 3 ounces)
• 1/2 pound tree oyster mushrooms, stems trimmed and sliced – The usual mushroom selection in our Fresh Market was sad so I went with baby bellas 
  
• 1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, stems discarded and sliced – …Shitaki, because the only cremini were dried and I have an aversion to dried fungus.
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced – Pretty sure I put four cloves because we’re anti vampires in this house.
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan, plus more for garnish – I didn’t use this because *gasp* I know, I forgot to add the cheese!!
• 1/4 cup heavy cream – I don’t typically keep much dairy in the house so instead, I used homemade coconut milk. I was a little nervous about it but you didn’t even notice it so all in all, I don’t think it ruined anything. 
• 1 tablespoon finely minced rosemary, plus more for garnish
• 1 tablespoon finely mined thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
• 1 pound wide ribbon noodles, such as pappardelle, tagliatelle, or fettuccine – I served this over spaghetti squash, which I wouldn’t recommend. Spaghetti squash has a sweetness to it that totally clashed with the savory awesomeness of this dish. I ended up eating it like a stew and ate the spaghetti squash separate because it just did not go together. Next time, pasta will definitely be on the agenda!