We are in the final stretch! My due date is in just under a month and we are ready to meet our baby girl, Ireland Jade!
After our gender reveal, I launched into prepping her nursery and getting things ready for her. Along with that, I had a summer packed with adventures and lots of shooting! We traveled to Punta Cana for Alex and Kelsey’s destination wedding and to New York for Brittany and Pat’s wedding. I’ve been blessed with a smooth and easy pregnancy so I haven’t really been slowed down yet. Here is the bump in action at some of my last weddings…
At this point, I am officially on my maternity leave. I am not shooting anymore before Ireland arrives. I will still be keeping myself plenty busy with working on behind the scenes stuff that needs catching up on. After Ireland is born, I pick back up with my first wedding at the end of October. Following that, I have a busy Fall/Winter wedding season. In the meantime, here is a little peek at what we’ve been up to in relation to my pregnancy!
The Shower
The story of my baby shower is quite a unique one. It was hosted by my mom, best friends, and mothers-in-law. During the planning, we kept going back and forth between having it in someone’s backyard or renting a space to have it indoors. Due to the high temperatures that July brings, we figured that indoors would be best. However, we kept running into too high of prices and too many restrictions. Ultimately, we decided to do it in my backyard. It was the most central location, most affordable option, and everyone would get a chance to see the nursery! We figured that having the shower early in the day and renting some tents would help solve any issues with it being too hot. Surely everything would go fine…
What we didn’t expect was a HISTORICAL heat wave. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I had the hottest baby shower of the century. The day of my shower was 114 degrees Fahrenheit. And I dressed for the occasion, in a long sleeved dress! Haha. Obviously our outdoor setup quickly turned to everyone packing inside. However, it was so hot that my air conditioning couldn’t even keep up and at one point of the day it was 90 degrees inside!
But you know what is the most amazing part about it all? EVERY SINGLE person who RSVP’ed a “yes”, ended up coming. That’s right, I’ve got some amazingly loyal women in my life! All 40+ of them braved the insane conditions to come celebrate baby Ireland. I’ve never felt more loved!
Another woman who deserves to be mentioned is Collette of Brier Rose Design. She endured the heat to setup all of the gorgeous florals and decor. She went above and beyond just like she always does! I was blown away by her attention to detail and special customizations; it was way beyond what I had expected!
Finally, thank you to Mindy Tanimoto for documenting the day with these wonderful photos!
Maternity Shoot
Obviously, as a photographer, photos are a pretty high priority for me! From the moment we found out we were expecting, I began to dream of our maternity shoot. I have always wanted to be photographed by my dear friend Liz Franco (you may remember her from The Gilded Workshop). I reached out to her, expressing this desire. Much to my surprise, she was planning a trip to California right at the perfect time!
The day after my shower, we escaped the heat and adventured up to a secret spot in the mountains. She created magic. We just love these photos!
Thanks to Mag Rachel and Dee Loya for the beautiful job on my hair and makeup! Also to Be Something New for the crown that went so well with my dress!
Our fur kid, Rocko, has been so loving and attentive throughout this whole pregnancy. I know he is going to be crazy about Ireland! One afternoon, I decided to honor him with his own little shoot with me. Thanks to my doula/birth photographer, Desiree, for helping me take these!
It’s been such an amazing journey and I really have enjoyed being pregnant. I can’t believe how fast it has flown by. Ireland, we are ready for you!
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