Published in Delaware Bride, Spring/Summer 2011

It's that time again, for the next fabulous issue of Delaware Bride, our local resource for all things wedding related. I am excited to say that another one of my beautiful couples made it into this issue, Alan & Nicole's wedding from Bella Vita and Cavalier Country Club.  Here's the image that made it in -

If you are recently engaged, this is a great resource. Delaware Bride is also putting on their 21st Annual Upstate Bridal Show on February 20th at the Executive Banquet & Conference Center in Newark, DE. Come check it out to get all the latest trends and ideas. It's the perfect place to meet the vendors who can help you pull off your perfect day!

Feelin' the Love

Just wanted to take a quick minute to say thanks to ALL of you today who have texted, emailed, facebooked, called or anything else to wish me a happy birthday! It has been so sweet hearing each voice, seeing each message and I have loved looking at them all. Felt bad when I missed my cousin calling from Ireland (she's studying abroad) but it was so sweet for her to call me all the way from there! It's nice to be thought of! So far my kids ran in this morning with my present (Daddy got them out of bed too!) which was a cool Brighton ring. I got to eat lunch with my kids, dad, brother, cousin and Grandma which was a treat. Now I am relaxing for a bit before we get to go out to eat tonight! I think a birthday is God's little reminder that you are special! Thanks everyone!

Eric & Meghan Engaged!

Now I must say Meghan is one of those people that literally brings the sunshine with her. I mean it, she is 100% a genuine, happy person and has been a friend of mine for a long time now. Your cheeks hurt when you are around her because you can't stop smiling. We even got to work together for a time while I was in college. She got me a gig as a radio station mascot where she worked :) Oh yes people, I rocked a bear suit! J Bear to be exact for WJBR here in Wilmington, DE. Anyhow, I digress but we have had LOTS of fun together over the years. 

Meghan was taking classes for her MBA at the fabulous University of Delaware and this guy Eric kept sitting next to her. He would even start talking to her and "bothering" her, as Meghan put it. He finally asked her to coffee but she thought he just wanted to "steal her answers." She took him up on it and these days is rocking a little bling on her finger because of it. We had a blast strolling a bit of campus this past weekend, it was freezing but sunny for our shoot. We thankfully warmed up at the end with a great cup of coffee from Brew Ha Ha, the location of their first date (& also happened to be one of my fav spots on campus during all my time there!). Looking forward to it being warm on their August wedding day!

 

If you know Meghan, this is such a "Meghan face"  - Love it!

UD's famous "kissing arches" definitely had to make it in!

Warming up at Brew Ha Ha, reliving their first date (with the addition of their favorite pregnant photographer friend :) haha) 

Monday Confessions

1. I am tired, it was a packed weekend and my pregnant body felt it.

2. I have had a hard time having patience today with M & D. They honestly are just being toddlers but things like Dean broke the closer on the screen door in the 60 seconds it took me to walk Macy to the car or they used crayons on furniture faster than I could catch them (I was RIGHT there coloring with them for heavens sake).

3. I miss my Grandfather, would've been his birthday today. I always loved sharing my birthday week with him & a cousin of mine, felt like more of a festival with all the birthdays than just a small celebration! He has been gone for just over 4 months now and the loss of his presence can still be a challenge. Through it all, I am still amazed at my Grandmother and her strength! She is one tough cookie and I love her for it!

4. I just read the Whittakers blog and couldn't stop crying - it made me rethink all of my impatience with M & D today. Huge dose of perspective on the brevity of life. Please join me in praying for this family!

5. Really can't believe I turn 29 this week, where has the last decade gone?! Other than the doctor last week, I am not regularly getting mistaken for a  19 year old anymore :) I almost have 3 kids, a minivan and a mortgage - the epitome of a "boring grown up."

6. Fergie definitely does not make a good Axel Rose.... if you don't know what I am talking about then you obviously weren't watching the super bowl.

7. I think I still hate the PS3, my husband was very excited this weekend and he murdered and destroyed in cyber land because it was a "double points weekend" where all that murdering and destroying earned him extra points! I told him I was going to have to make him a "Nerd Core" shirt soon if he keeps it up.

8. I just sat outside for about 15 minutes reading a book on my deck, while listening to all the snow melt & drop below, I was pretending it was spring and good things were around the corner :)

9. What was I reading you ask? Shepherding a Child's Heart - need some wisdom in dealing with the kids, balancing their acceptable toddler behavior with discipline for disobedience. I really often wish that parenting came with an instruction manual and a magic wand :)

10. Thankful for so many friends and family that regularly support me! I really couldn't survive every day without such great people in my life :) really...

Wilmington Art Loop

Last night was the once monthly Wilmington Art Loop, where artists show in different "galleries" around town. Some galleries are official spaces, like the one a DCAD (Delaware College of Art & Design) or there are the tattoo shops and random third floor warehouse spaces where you aren't sure what is the art work & was were the art supplies. I kid you not on this one, I think I almost tripped over a peice of "work" that I thought was trash. That's the fun of viewing artwork though, some of it you can appreciate and respect, other objects might just make you think. Well enough of my art analysis, I got to show a handful of photographs along with two other lovely photographers in the LOMA coffee shop, one being Libby Foester.  My work was the "miracle of love," Libby's was the "miracle of life," and Barbara's was the "miracle of creation."

If you are ever on the lower end of Market St, you MUST check it out! They have yummy food and great drinks, ask me how I know :) I have to say after being full in the middle of mommyhood lately, it was nice to be back in the "art" environment of picking work to be shown, installing it, & then viewing it while hearing what others had to say. You will notice in the pictures below though that we had to use the windows as our backdrops because there wasn't enough wall space. I think our solution worked well although it was not your traditional prints and frames solution.

It's hard not to have fun walking the city at night to view artwork, eat free food, and be among friends. Did I mention that this great event is always FREE?! Gotta' love that! You never know what the night will bring, a friend of mine won the drawing in the Poppycock tattoo shop for a gift certificate. 

Here are a couple angles of my work the night we set it up, it was way too packed in there last night to get a clear shot. Thanks to those of you who came out to support & thanks again for my beautiful brides that allowed me to capture their day!

 

 

Snow Day Maternity Shoot!

My good friend and I have been talking about her maternity shoot for some time now. She loved the idea of a shoot in the snow & so did I. Unfortunately it seemed like it was never working out between the actual need for snow, her schedule as a nurse and my life with two toddlers. Thankfully though, yesterday God delivered the perfect day! My hubs was off work due to weather so Jay & I snuck out in the afternoon to do this shoot at our local park. It was so much fun just to be together in such a gorgeous setting documenting the last weeks before her baby boy arrives. I really cannot wait to meet him and learn what his name will be (it's a secret :) It's funny how I love to keep the name secret but am not a fan of being on the receiving end! So here's to a precious friend that I love and the ability to capture these life moments for her. Can't wait until baby boy's newborn shoot! And no, we won't put him in the snow :)

 

Monday Confessions

I confess that...

1. Having sick babies can take a toll on the whole house, unfortunately my father in law caught some type of bug but it allowed the hubby to have the day off today. I just about went skipping out of the house for an impromptu coffee date with a friend & about a million other errands. 

2. Third pair of Uggs is definitely a charm :) Yes, after two exchanges due to size & feel issues - learned that I am not a fan of how the "cardy" Uggs fit or feel. I went with the new black Bailey style and I dare say I am in love! 

3. I got to photograph a beautiful wedding on Friday night & I have been working on editing it today. Can't wait to share later this week! If you want a small winter wedding, Deerfield is a gorgeous place to pull it off!

4. Sick baby produces a lot of laundry...I lost count of how much laundry I did last week - feel like going on laundry protest. 

5. I don't like how cold it is, it's so cold out it hurts! I need a vacation to a tropical location :)

6. I still hate the PS3

7. Macy and Dean didn't even get out of their pajamas today! They wore them straight til bathtime before exchanging them for a new pair :)

8. I have been dangerous lately with online & in store shopping deals...those little teaser emails need to stop coming to my inbox! (if you need to know this, as of today in stores - old navy had an extra 50% off their clearance and Baby Gap had an extra 40% off anything that was already on sale!) 

9. I am really getting curious as to if we are having a girl or a boy. I am thankful though that we don't know, would've been spending too much money on above mentioned sales :) Sorry friends, we will be keeping names to ourselves again this pregnancy. We have to make sure it "fits" - I know the suspense is awful but think how much more exciting it will all be when the baby is born?!

10. Rooting for Dana on the Next Great Baker!! I have gotten to eat from two of his yummy cakes in the last two weeks, what a treat!!

Bitten by the Craft Bug

A few girlfriends and I had an impromptu crafting party on Saturday morning (thank you LEAH! She even got a babysitter - she's the best :). It was so great to drink coffee, chat, and craft together! I made a rag wreath while I was there because I still had the Christmas wreath up. I knew I definitely had to do something about that Christmas wreath since it's half way through January. It was super easy, little scrap fabric strips tied around a wreath frame, thanks Leah for the inspiration. 

 

But it didn't stop there! A few of the other girls were creating beautiful valentine inspired crafts that I decided I must try for myself. The ideas and "how tos" on these are on the Idea Room Blog, if have never visited, definitely take a peek. She always has fun and generally easy ways to decorate and celebrate holidays!

I definitely made some rookie mistakes on some of these i am sure, like running out of the same red felt and a WICKED glue gun burn....I know, I know how silly at almost 29 years old to burn yourself with the glue from a glue gun but hey- crafting isn't necessarily for the faint at heart :)

Here is a few of my own interpretations around my house - 

In my powder room...

In my dining room...

 

And also the girls over at eighteen25 blog had up some great subway type posters for Valentines day that I took full advantage of! It's definitely brightening up my house on these cold snow days!  

Again the powder room...

And living room...

(Family photos in frame are by the gifted Rae Barnes)

Happy crafting friends, hope you got a little inspiration!

 

Lebanon Baloney

I have been having lots of adventures in parenting lately. Constantly saying things I never imagine I would and then all of a sudden I hear my mother come out of my mouth. It's kind of scary how that happens. I have even been using old sayings like, "hold your horses." There's just something funny about first, expecting an 18 month old to have patience, but even then using coloquilialisms like "hold your horses" to get your point across. I was reminiscing a bit about my poor mom and the crazy things I did as a kid and then a good "I told you so" story sprung to mind.

I was probably about 8 years old, if I had to guess, and we were off on a family day trip to Lancaster County, PA. I used to dread these trips of shopping and such but now I could only wish to get such a day of fun. Anyhow, we stopped off at one of the local places for lunch that had all the amish fare. After looking over the menu, I declared that I would have a Lebanon baloney sandwich for lunch. My mom tried to convince me that it wasn't regular baloney and I probably wouldn't like it. I wouldn't listen (imagine that, me being stubborn). Our family also had a strict "you order it, you eat it" policy so I should've thought this out a bit better but nevertheless, I ordered the Lebanon baloney. Of course when it came I thought it was gross, didn't want to eat it, and tried to get sympathy. There wasn't anything but "I told you so" coming from my parents' mouths and of course my brother was loving it too. Who knows what he ate for lunch but because he cleaned his plate, he was allowed to order dessert. I, of course, did not get to order dessert.

He got a beautiful ice cream sundae and proceeded to pretty much stare at me while eating it slowly licking off each bite from his spoon. It was like torture but apparently my brother was too full to finish the ice cream. As we were done our lunch and started making our way to the door, I told my mom that I forgot my coat at the table (which was true). So I ran back, got my coat and saw the unfinished portion of my brother's ice cream screaming my name. I got the spoon and started eating what was left of the delightful sundae! My mom wondered what was taking me so long and came to find me, as she approached me eating the ice cream the only thing she could do was laugh. To this day I don't remember if the coat "leave behind" was pre-meditated to get the ice cream but my family definitely doesn't let me live this story down. And really the lesson in all of it? You should definitely listen to your mother!

Snow Day!

We have been lucky this year to have a few nice snowfalls already, and yes I just said lucky. I love snow, always have! I lived in one of those houses that snow was always reason for celebration. Maybe it's because we had a slew of 4 x 4 vehicles and one even included a plow, so snow never stopped us from fun! My dad was usually big into taking us sledding or 4 wheeling or other snow adventures. Still makes me smile to think about it and definitely want to share that with my kids. Here's one of M & D's first ride on a sled (Mimi & Poppop got it for them for Christmas)!

And definitely don't judge me that Dean isn't wearing gloves, he HAS gloves, we had glove issues with him :) We were only about for 10 minutes so all his fingers are still in tact!

Confessions...

I haven't confessed a lot lately so it's time!

1. I watched the bachelor on Monday night, unclear if I will keep watching or not. Why is it so hard to resist? Maybe it's a lack of other new shows on in January but it's addicting like a bag of m & m's!

2. I got a new Dunkin' Donuts coupon book in the mail today and I was about as excited about that as I was about Christmas cards!

3. My Christmas decorations were starting to drive me insane so they went down in a whirlwind on New Years Day night.

4. I am not a fan of the play station 3 and the effect it has on my husband along with the game " call of duty - black ops" - ladies, you know what I am talking about? I think I could be on fire in the same room and he wouldn't notice if he was playing!

5. My babies are 18 months old already! We have been having so much fun together, I like them a lot better when they are not sick and grumpy day after day!

6. I am ridiculously excited to watch a new Grey's Anatomy tonight.

7. I ate out more than once today, Pizza hut for dinner totally hit the spot but I am sure it cancels out the salad I ate for lunch :)

8. I bought Reese puff cereal this week and considered hiding it from my husband (who also loves it). I tried to tell him he couldn't eat it for breakfast, it was strictly a purchase for late night snacks! That didn't really work considering I caught him eating it this morning - he said the "balanced" part of that breakfast was his bagel on the side!

9. I have been having a field day with holiday gift cards, todays steals and deals included cute stuff for the kids at Old Navy & Babies R Us - both having wicked sales. Dean got new chuck taylors in a super fun green for $5.16 and Macy got her own "boots with the fur" for $6.99 at Old Navy. Also scored some cute gear for them in sizes for next year! These pics are just on an ipod so don't judge quality...And yes they are modeling their new footwear with their pjs!

 

10. There's a clean basket of laundry I have now ignored & not folded for going on 48 hours now.

11. My phone died today and I had to make a visit to the verizon store, not my favorite place - I swear they make up things and speak another language!

12. My dog went to the groomer today and because was so handsome and clean smelling when he was done, he got to ride home in the front seat (like old times when he was the only "kid").

 

2010 Favorites of Families and Little Ones

I promised so I must deliver :) It can be really hard to look through a year's worth of work and pull out a batch of images. So again, I just chose some of the images that I have loved from this year - some happen to be client favorites and others have just become personal favs of mine. Makes me smile to think of how much some of these little ones have already grown since they have been in front of my camera! And if you are looking through this thinking "hey why didn't my beautiful family/child make this list" really it's only because I would run out of space. 

I am also looking for feedback on viewing images in the blog, I am trying just a simple watermark on this batch of images verses my custom banner - appreciate feedback. Is the watermark less distracting to the image than the banner? Just always working to make the best viewing experience for you the reader.

I am now booking 2011 sessions if you are interested, contact me, would love to work with you! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR friends!

Wedding Favorites, Part 2

Lets face it, most of us are all wrapped up (pun intended :) getting everything together for Christmas! It's Christmas Eve Eve - not much time left! So take a deep breath and check out some more of my wedding favorites from 2010. Again, these aren't necessarily perfect or even the clients favorites but they are my favorites, they mean something to me as the artist. I myself can even get wrapped up looking at these wedding photos and loving to the new, fresh, untarnished love of newlyweds! We all need to be reminded of that now and then! 

I think that this will be my final post this week so MERRY CHRISTMAS! Keep an eye out next week for the family and kids addition of the favorites!

 

Ashli & Bobby, October 2010

 

Holly and Tom, Brandywine Country Club, May 2010

(I usually don't include photos of guests but I just love this one.)


 

 

Devon & TC, June 2010


Lauren & Adam, July 2010



M & D see Santa!

Ok I feel a lot like Elf, I get giddy when I hear things like "Santa is coming!" Can't help it, my parents did a good job of getting us excited about Christmas when we were younger. Matt & I hope to do the same for our kids. We headed to the mall last night in the frigid air in hopes of getting to see the big man without a screaming fit... SUCCESS! Santa was busy feeding his reigndeer when we got there because it was indeed in the middle of dinnertime. Thankfully M & D made the wait like good little toddlers even with growling tummies :) We didn't get a smiling photo but there was no screaming and they genuinely liked Old St. Nick! They couldn't stop waving to him when we left! Enjoy friends :)

Some Wedding favorites of 2010 - Part 1

If you follow this blog at all, you know I adore wedding photography. I fell into it after college and fell in love. This year was a GREAT wedding for me! I got to photograph all over DE and PA with all fabulous brides with unique weddings. I had some dream moments as a photographer and I believe even some personal break throughs in my work. This is going to be an epic photo post so just enjoy. Some of these you have seen before and might be familiar while others will be new to your eyes. I pulled a lot of what are my favorites, not necessarily because they are perfect but because they are captured moments. They are moments I was able to watch unfold through my lens and capture, best part of my job! I had a hard time narrowing down, this is always a problem for me to edit myself so I did my best and will be doing this in two parts!

On a side note two things friends:

1. I have learned this year that my sort of "off center" aesthetic can sometimes get old - no one has ever said this to me but i learned it myself looking through my work this year. I never want to be stale or do the same thing over and over so the tilt to the left - although it will never vanish from how I see things I will be more careful not to have so many photos in a batch taken at the same angle. Thanks for noticing and being nice about it :) 

2. I am accepting weddings for 2011 - many of you have been wondering due to the baby. I will be able to book weddings through early April and should be back in business in late July/early August. Please feel free to contact me about your date even if you aren't sure! 

Look out later this week for the kid/family edition of my favorites from 2010!

 

Alan & Nicole, Cavaliers Country Club

 

Kristin & Nick, Bridal Shoot in Gibraltar Gardens

 

Matt & Meghan, Lewes Canal Park


2010 Personal Reflections

What a year 2010 has been, thought I should take a few moments to reflect. When New Year rang in, I had two cute chubby babies who still stayed wherever I left them. That is a huge contrast to the very active toddlers I have today!  My days are filled with hugs, cries, smiles, tears, poo diapers, messes, boo boos, laundry and all other kinds of things that come with toddler territory. Take today for instance; Dean woke up with poo exploding out the top of his diaper so his initiation to the day was a jump in the shower with daddy to get the poo off! Dean also has a case of of pink eye with goo leaking out his eye, and because of this, as any mother knows, that stuff spreads like wildfire so we are home bound. And that was only the first couple hours of my day :)

In 2010, we have been to the doctor what feels like a jillion times this year, complete with a few late night emergency room visits with things like croup, pneumonia, etc. I know that I technically became a mom in 2009 and those six months taught me tons but this year has been FULL of even more mommy lessons. Macy & Dean learned to walk this year, got big kid teeth, and all sorts of new developments. As the kids grow and change, I am forced to grow and change with them! I am excited and nervous as to what a third little Troutman will bring to our lives in summer 2011. I don’t know what I thought motherhood would be but I have to say it’s the biggest blessing and the biggest challenge I have ever been faced with.

 Another major part of my world is my photography, which has been great for me this year. It has been a huge growth year for me with continuing to develop my style, my skills and my business overall. I am thankful each bride and groom that trusted me with their wedding day and feel like I came away with some of my best work yet. I know I still have much to learn about running a business, it’s yet another part of my life that requires constant growth and change. I have also loved all the other photography projects I have been a part of this year with little ones, couples and families. Each time I get behind the camera to capture a nugget of someone’s life I get excited and remember why I love it so much! I was also able to do some professional workshops and events this year, which was a huge blessing and also allowed me to make some new photo friends. Meeting Jasmine Star was a definite highlight and getting a family photo session with Rae Barnes was also great for our family. I am definitely looking forward to what 2011 will bring for Emily Troutman Photography.

And last but not least, there’s the love of my life, my Matt. He puts up with my crazy and works his butt off to take care of us. We have been through many challenges together and learn through most of them. I think what I re-learn through each challenge is that I am glad he’s the one who I am facing them with.

*I wrote the above part of this post in the early afternoon. My day continued to take a turn for the interesting. I (thankfully) had started putting together a shepherd’s pie for dinner while the kids were still napping. When they woke up, Dean’s eye was about swollen shut with goop and it did not look good. Called the doc and got the last appointment of the day – you know how that goes. I had to be at the doc at 4:20 with Dean, meanwhile Matt had to eat dinner and be out the door by 5:30 for job # 2 and I knew I wouldn’t be back. Thankful for good friends who happen to be neighbors that came to the rescue on that one!  By the time we got Dean to the doc, he had a fever too. Thankfully (after waiting over an hour – hey it was the end of the day, what did I expect) we found out that it is just pink eye and he did have some wheezing in the lungs which means breathing treatments. I tell you all this to drive home the point that motherhood is a crazy adventure that rarely allows you to get bored or sit still! Also, if you seem me around any time soon and I look exhausted, you know why – this was just a random Wednesday in my life and you see all that it had!

And here's a cute video Matt took while he & macy had dinner :)

 

Christmas card confessions...

I confess, Christmas cards are hard for me now! Like I have shared before, taking pictures of my own kids is a near impossibility sometimes. They refuse to even look in my direction or if they do, it's certainly not at the same time. As a photographer, I feel like there's a lot of pressure for my Christmas card to be quality. I mean who would want me to take pics of their family or kids for Christmas if mine doesn't even look good?? That would be like being a hair stylist with hideous hair!

My husband I set out with our kids on one of those unseasonably warm days a couple weeks ago to attempt the Christmas card shoot. Kids were dressed cutely in their new gap outfits (thank you 30% off friends and family sale!), but don't you know they were not having it. Mostly it was the fact that we were in a beautiful park and all they wanted to do was run, play with the leaves and pick up sticks..not sit cutely in front of my camera. I literally wanted to pull my hair out....all that presssure and I was going to have an ugly Christmas card. Ok well I am a little dramatic, we eventually got a cute individual shot of each kid and one of them together where Dean was trying to escape the frame.I was so discouraged after the shoot that we even tried again later while decorating an outdoor tree at my in-laws. The kids did love the lights but they were still impossible to get good pictures of!

I will be mailing our cards this week so I won't reveal it yet but here are some outtakes for your enjoyment :) Happy Christmas Card making to the rest of you!!

 

This one made me laugh so hard, I actually thought about making this my card but the hubby refused. It's  pretty true to life these days :)

Probably not recommended to chew xmas lights but it was still cute :) And again, true to life! 

 

Here's some lights Daddy.. he was helping :)

This really sums Dean up well... a blur running with a smile and a weapon :)

Daddy was playing peek a boo on the other side of this wall.

Again, this is perfectly Dean :) Playing with a stick!

Hope you got a smile out of these, at the end of the day I do certainly laugh a lot!

More Mini Session fun!

While I await the appliance man's arrival, I am trying to be productive. We are getting new kitchen appliances today, they were supposed to come yesterday but you know how these things work. I am excited though, the 20 year old appliances that came with the house are tired & sad. I really can't wait to bake in a new oven and let me tell you, can't wait for a fridge that doesn't have wire racks. I mean, wire racks? Whoever invented that didn't think, everything tips and spills! Anyhow...sorry for the tangent :)

SO here are some more fun shots that came out of this fall's mini sessions! I got to shoot some of my regular clients and even meet some new ones in these sessions. The kids all seemed to have a blast roaming the pumpkins and apples for their sessions. And the last shot was of two friends who decided to do a BFF photo shoot, it was a super fun idea. When do friends get great pictures together?! 

 

Wedding Day, Ashli & Bobby

This was my last wedding of the season this year! I have known Ashli for a long time now and this girl can always make me laugh. Her wedding day was no exception, we had an absolute blast! We thankfully had a beautiful day, a little on the cloudy side but we made do! We were running out of daylight but here are some of my favorite shots from the day. 

The Fahrion Family

I met this great family through our previous church and we had a great time in a small group together. Of course I was excited when Tory asked me to do their family portraits! They are one of our great US Military families, I am definitely just so thankful for families that daily make the sacrifice to serve. I also am thankful for families like this that are an absolute blast to photograph! We had tons of fun doing this shoot! (I saved the super funny pics for the families eyes only, they might kill me if I shared them :)