Kassie and her family are so special to me! They have trusted me to take their family photos twice now, and I can’t say how grateful I am for that. The first time we took their family photos was back in the fall, and I remember talking about how we both wanted another baby soon…well, lo and behold, we both were blessed with another child just a few short months after that conversation!

Kassie is a fellow photographer and Marine Corps spouse. She has a creative streak in her that I will always admire! Back in the early spring, we had our monthly FaceTime accountability meeting. I told her, “Well, looking towards the fall, I might need some help with my September and October weddings…” She replied, “Well, I might need some help with my August ones…” We both sort of cut our eyes at each other, then we realized, “We’re both pregnant!!”

She’s due almost exactly a month before me, so we have walked through this second maternity experience together and it has been such a blessing. Being pregnant during an unprecedented pandemic while trying to run a small business in the wedding industry that’s getting hit extremely hard is noooo joke!

While discussing outfit choices and locations for her family’s session, we went through a series of changes, but the end product was 100% worth it and exactly what Kassie had envisioned. I had never shot at Historic Oatlands before, but knew it was gorgeous. When she mentioned their gardens, I had heard about them, but never personally visited. Once we got there…oh my gosh! They are breathtaking and so expansive! Each level I discovered something new—a new type of bloom, a beautiful pond or wading pool, manicured bushes, statues, small vignettes that seemed to take you into a mini-garden inside of the large garden. We had fun exploring everything Oatlands has to offer!

As they prepare for their second baby girl, the O’Driscolls are still deciding on a name. But one particularly sweet part of their session was that the garden had tiger lilies. I noticed a slight change in Kassie’s face when we stumbled upon them. When I asked, she told me the sweetest story about her grandmother, whose maiden name is Ashby, which happens to be her daughter Coco’s middle name. She told me that tiger lilies always remind her of her grandmother because any house her grandma moved into, tiger lilies grew…even though she never planted any! So it was a clear sign that her grandmother was there with us, watching over us, and it was only natural to have a couple pictures of her and Caroline with the tiger lilies. This is why I do what I do! To create and preserve small memories and moments like the tiger lily moment. 🙂

We can’t wait to meet new baby girl O’Driscoll, so so soon!

It has been a while since I posted a good outtake reel…but Coco and her dad provided us with such good material! I couldn’t resist!!