kelsey's senior portraits

senior portraits aren't something i do very often, but how could i resist a face like this?? kelsey and i have been around the world together working with sweet sleep projects in europe and africa and her family has hired me for photography services a few times in the past. while i mostly stick to weddings and engagement shoots it is definitely nice to mix it up a bit here and there, especially for extraordinary people like kelsey. i was so thankful to have a gorgeous december day to take these photos. with winter nearly upon us those days are becoming scarce. check her out:

kelsey you're a saint (and so is your mother)! thanks for always being gracious with me and for being so fun to hang out with. and thanks for the mellow mushroom pizza -- it was yummy! more to come soon...

hannahelaine

beds for buddies!! sweet sleep makes it happen.

6 years ago my friend, Jen Gash, started an organization called Sweet Sleep (sweetsleep.org). if you've been following my blog for any good portion of this year you will have heard about them many times. Sweet Sleep provides beds and bedding for orphaned and abandoned children around the world they don’t just give the beds to orphans, they communicate God’s intentional creation of each child and His unconditional, unending love. They throw birthday parties, give out bibles and spread a general sense of worth, love and importance -- I've been on 3 trips with them myself. I've seen it first hand and let me tell you....I most heartily approve.

cutting to the chase...

many of you will know about the northern ugandan region of Gulu. it's kind of been made popular by great organizations like invisible children, etc. the quick run down...the LRA (lord's resistance army) has been terrorizing the crap out of this area for years. i'm talking atrocities that you don't even want to know about. things you can't begin to imagine. while this area is seeing a brief time of peace, there are still hundreds of thousands of people living in displacement camps. people that have been forced out of their homes. three-quarters of those people are children living in child-headed households (and by households, i really mean teeny tiny mud huts). These children have lost their parents and their grandparents---two generations of people to protect and care for them, to tell them stories about who they are and who they could be, to teach them stories about God and how to live according to His word.

i've been there. i've seen it. i've met those kids. it's the real deal, folks.

This Christmas, my friend Jen is going back to Gulu to give beds and bibles to 450 children living in huts like these:

here's where this all comes together.

218 more children still need beds ($88 each) and we can help. here’s what is still needed, take a look and see if you think you can help make this happen:

• 218 mosquito nets. Malaria kills more people in Uganda than HIV/AIDS. Treated nets are $8 each.
• Mattresses for 218 children so they will be able to sleep up off of the ground for the first time in their lives. Mattresses are $50.
• Can you imagine not having a blanket to warm you during these chilly nights or sheets to sleep in? 218 more children still need to be able to be warm and snuggly. They can for just $30.
• Bibles are $10 each. There are 450 households for a total of $4,500.

can we do it? yes we can!

You can make a gift right now by going to www.sweetsleep.org/donate or you can send your contributions to Sweet Sleep, PO Box 40486, Nashville, TN 37204 with “Gulu” in the special comments box online or in the memo line of your check. All gifts are 100% tax-deductible. If you still need a great idea for a Christmas gift, you can even make this a donation in honor or memory of someone and they’ll receive a card from Sweet Sleep telling about their special gift. You can read more about this at www.sweetsleep.org/givethegift

hannahelaine

i took these photos while visiting Gulu this summer with sweet sleep. check back to my july blogs to see more photos of some of the most beautiful children in the world and their brand spankin' new beds :)

jeremy and brynn's wedding weekend

jeremy and brynn got hitched this past weekend just outside dallas, tx. jeremy has been a repeat offender client of mine over the past year and i have so appreciated getting to know him. needless to say, i was thrilled to hear of his engagement and that he and brynn wanted me to shoot their engagement photos and wedding. not sure how i earned the honor and privilege of being flown down to photograph the intimate event at jeremy's parents house but i am so grateful. it isn't very often that i get to be involved in the entire weekend of a wedding event, as i usually only shoot for a few hours on the day of. so this was a really cool experience and their friends and family showed me such kindness and hospitality. despite the fact that delta lost my luggage and didn't get it to me until a few hours before the wedding started (reason number one why i never EVER check my camera gear).....i had a blast! here are some of the photos highlighting the rehearsal and wedding.

REHEARSAL:

we took a plush tour bus to dallas' version of opryland hotel for the rehearsal dinner (it was eerily similar. i had to keep reminding myself i was in texas, not tennessee). along the way we stopped and the bus driver asked if we minded giving this guy on the side of the road a ride. he had a guitar strapped to his back. he got on the bus and started playing -- we were all so confused! turns out it was part of the plan, a musical entertainment surprise. he sang some great sing-a-long songs. so fun.

WEDDING DAY:

brynn and her brother (who looks EXACTLY like taylor lautner. sorry zane. due to my twilight obsession i just had to mention it) right before the ceremony.

i was in the wrong spot to properly photograph the unity candle and didn't have time to move. this is the only shot i got but i kind of like how it turned out.

so so so fun. i love small, intimate weddings. it's so cool to see how the closest people in a couple's life gets to truly enjoy spending time with them on their wedding day. thanks jeremy and brynn for having me down and for welcoming me into such special time in your lives. enjoy the holidays and enjoy each other!

hannahelaine

murder at the juice joint

i couldn't resist the urge to share a few photos from the boyfriend's murder mystery party saturday night at our very own speakeasy, "the juice joint." how fabulous are these costumes???




















check out www.nightofmystery.com for all your murdery mystery party needs. we had such an unbelievably fun time that we're already making plans to have a 2nd party. now we just have to decide on a theme -- vegas? saloon? highschool prom?? so many choices....

hannahelaine

fauxtaux booth site

cari + jason's fauxtaux booth

man, i really love this thing.

p.s. the fauxtaux booth has it's own website!! check it out at fauxtauxbooth.com

(disclaimer: still under construction -- this is an unofficial announcement. off the records, and what not.)

old friends and their kids!

these photos are of the kids of 2 couples i have known for many, many years -- in the case of adam and sayuri, i knew them before kids. and to take it even further, i knew adam before sayuri! then, when i first met gracee and lindy nearly 10 years ago, they were just little girls. now they're all grows up :) seeing friend's kids growing so fast puts things into some serious perspective. where does time go??

these kids were a bucket of energy and seriously tested my quick focusing skills. all of them are so full of personality and fun, we just had a blast shooting and playing together. it was so great to see old friends, to see how much these kids have grown, and to get to spend the afternoon in springfield -- a town i used to spend a lot of time in when i lived out in adams, tn.

hope y'all like the preview!

hannahelaine

melissa + houston's engagements

if i could keep the fall season all year round....i think i might. i have had the opportunity to take advantage of the beautiful trees, sun and weather on so many different occasions this year -- i can't imagine ever going back (or going forward into yucky winter...boo)! i think my time with melissa and houston out at percy warner park last week was one of my favorite fall settings i've had all year. maybe it was just the perfect sunlight coming through those trees...i'm a sucker for good sunlight.

but then again...it could have been how great melissa and houston were to work with. i'm also a sucker for laid back folks, and they are both that to the T. they were up for anything and i got some cool "inbetween shots" with them this set -- where i tell them to do something really awkward, then they do it, and inbetween shots they laugh about it (and i click away)

. those are the money makers :)

can't wait for their wedding in lebanon, tn next summer!! thanks melissa and houston, i had a really great time shooting (and chatting) with y'all. we need to make a tennis (or astronomy-related) double date happen :)

h

cari + jason wedding!!!

this was the etsy/do-it-yourself wedding of the century! between cari's fabulous eye for the fabulous, jason's mean, manly i-can-build-anything skills (oh, say...forging his own wedding ring, for instance...), and a breathtaking setting like southeast tennesse's sewanee area...well, you can imagine. actually, don't just imagine. check out the photos below....

handmade crepe flowers. hundreds -- nay, thousands of them! these were handed out to the guests at the ceremony and i loved seeing how everyone kept theirs throughout the whole day -- in their hair, in their lapel, etc.

this gorgeous teal/blue/aqua bolero by bonzie -- cari was the 2nd bride i've had to sport one of bonzie's custom-made creations. something about these boleros just feel royal to me. you can find their stuff on etsy!





the ladies getting ready at the beautiful rebel's rest house on the sewanee campus.




bonzie's bolero went perfectly with this flowy, empire-waist dress from david's bridal -- that cari found super on sale (of course)!





peacock featherrrrrssss! i love i love i love.





i have never seen such a beautiful outdoor ceremony site. overlooking this unbelievable valley, all the trees in perfect fall colors, green fields below, and the sun strategically setting in just the right spot.



jason's shirt and tie were handmade for him by a tailor on etsy. more info on that to come!













i love the blue adidas shoes the guys went with to match their custom made blue ties.

















:::angels singing heavenly-like in the background!!!::::

instead of throwing a bouquet of flowers to the single ladies, cari handed individual flowers out to all the guests, each one with a little nugget of wisdom tied to it.



sodas in a glass bottle. why does it taste so much better that way?

continuing the paper crepe flowers on the cake. please take note of the flowers behind both of their ears. :)

fire-breathing a giant sparkler?! haha, i love this shot.

the reception continued after we left with bonfires, smores, bluegrass music, full moon, meteor showers and apparently a spontaneous choreographed dance to footloose!!!! whaaat?!?! i just loved every aspect of this wedding. cari and jason are just the coolest folks and i loved their approach to their wedding -- all the people they love present and personal touches weaved in and out of the entire day. i could have made this a 100-photo blog post easily. definitely make sure to check out the rest of the photos on hannahelaineclients.com in a few weeks when i get them all edited down. there is some serious inspiration to be found.

cari and jason -- congratulations on your marriage! i know this has been a long time coming and you guys really did it up right. can't wait for you to see the rest :)

hannahelaine

p.s. fauxtaux booth photos from this wedding to come soon!!