Meghan + Sean | Philadelphia Zoo Engagement Session | Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

I messed up. Big time. This fall was so busy with weddings, portraits, and PhD work that I completely missed blogging a few incredible sessions!! (I could have sworn that I blogged this one - but it turns out that I didn’t.) I have a few weeks of down time while I wait for feedback on my dissertation draft, so I’m going to make it right - starting now.

When Meghan and Sean reached out to me about photographing their New Year’s Eve wedding in Delaware this coming winter, I was thrilled! We clicked right away and I knew we would make a great team. But then they asked me if we could photograph their engagement session at the Philadelphia Zoo, and I got even more excited!

This is a couple that loves animals, colors, and most of all - having fun! Their engagement session was part photoshoot, part just hanging out at the zoo reminiscing about my childhood. I had such a blast that day, and I love being able to look through their images all over again. There happened to be about 2,356,418 kids visiting the zoo on field trips that day, but we still managed to get a bunch of great shots. We even had some school kids controlling pedestrian traffic for us!

Congratulations again, Meghan and Sean. I am so, so, so excited for your wedding this New Year’s Eve!!

Mika + Zach | Wilson High School Prom | Wyomissing, West Reading Pennsylvania Portrait Photographer

It’s prom season around here, and Wilson High School had its prom last night. It is rare that Mika agrees to step in front of my camera, so I had to capitalize on this opportunity to photograph her and Zach - even though I had only a small window of time to capture these images before I had to leave to photograph a Bar Mitzvah outside Philadelphia. I was determined to make it all work somehow!

Mika and Zach are creative and fun, like doing their own thing, and prefer to avoid crowds. We are very similar in those ways! Last year, they decided to have their prom portraits captured at Stoudtburg Village - and we lucked out and were the only ones there. (You can see those photos by clicking here.) This year, they wanted to use West Reading as their backdrop, specifically the murals. I was game! So, while everyone else attending Berks County proms was fighting crowds at the Reading Museum, Wyomissing Park, and Grings Mill, we had downtown West Reading all to ourselves! Those other places are lovely, and I photograph there often - but I’m impatient and don’t like waiting for my favorite portrait spots on prom day. I also don’t like having hundreds of other people in the backgrounds of my photos. And, as a couple, I think it’s nice just to be able to spread out a little bit and be yourselves during your portrait time.

When we met up in West Reading, we lucked out with both the weather and the crowds - we had great light, no rain, and no competing prom couples. Mika and Zach looked absolutely amazing! Thank you to Iron Roots Hair Salon for fitting in Mika’s makeup and hair that afternoon. (She went there directly after taking the SATs! It was quite a busy day!) Mika has only worn makeup twice in her life - and the first time was for prom last year. They do a fantastic job of bringing out Mika’s natural inner beauty. You may notice that Mika was wearing her Crocs (aka “snowboard tuning shoes) in some of her photos. She’s all about comfort - and I can’t say I blame her - but the “fancy” prom shoes did find their way onto her feet before prom started.

I hope you enjoy this selection of some of my favorite images. Mika is currently a junior at Wilson, and Zach is a freshman at West Chester. One more prom for Mika, then I think we have a few years off until it’s our youngest daughter’s turn…

Iron Thorn Tattoo Company | Trexlertown, PA | Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Photographer

My friend, Connor, is an amazing artist. She’s also a pretty rad mother. Now, she can add business owner to her long list of talents! I have had several tattoos done by Connor, and throughout that process, have gotten to know her on a more personal level. She is one of the kindest, realest, humblest people I know - and all of those qualities are going to help her business soar!

Connor invited me over to her new tattoo studio in Trexlertown yesterday. The second I walked in, the place took my breath away! This space is HUGE, and it is GORGEOUS!! Connor and her man Justin did such a great job personalizing this space and making it not only workable, but also beautiful! I couldn’t help but wish I had that space for my photography business, but I am confident that my dream studio space is still out there waiting for me to find it. And, after visiting with Connor and one of her tattoo artists Stefani yesterday, I am more inspired and motivated than ever to keep chasing after my own big dreams.

Iron Thorn Tattoo Company is having an open house on Sunday, May 19th. You should check it out if you’re in the area! And when you do, be sure to say hi to Connor for me. Also, be sure to buy a few of Stefani’s candles - they smell AMAZING!

Connor, I feel like I should wish you the best of luck with your new business, but something tells me that you won’t need much luck. You got this.

Here are a few photos of the shop. Isn’t it breathtaking??

For more info —

Iron Thorn Tattoo Company’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ironthorntattoo/

Iron Thorn Tattoo Company’s Website: https://www.ironthorntattoo.com/

Connor’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connor.tattoos/

Stefani’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stefanistipple.tattoos/

Kaitlyn | Class of 2019 | Breckenridge, Colorado Portrait Photographer

I’m typically not a morning person, but I was extra excited to wake up crazy early to capture Kaitlyn’s senior portraits at this stunning Breckenridge backdrop (Sapphire Point). Kaitlyn is a member of the Ski Roundtop Race Club (SRRC), so we obviously had to incorporate snow, the mountains, and snowboarding into her portraits! This is a popular spot with the local photographers, but we lucked out and had it all to ourselves. That’s one of the benefits of scheduling a session at sunrise, I suppose. Another benefit was that we were gifted the most dreamy natural lighting! (And, yet another benefit was being finished with the photoshoot in time to head to Copper Mountain and take a snow cat to the top of the back bowl and make some amazing powder turns the entire way back down.)

Here are a few of my favorite photos from my time with Kaitlyn. I love how they truly reflect her personality!

Ethan and Gareth | Hershey High School Class of 2019 | Colorado Portrait Photographer

While I was in Colorado for the United States of America Snowboard and Freeski Association (USASA) Nationals competitions, I had a ridiculously fun photoshoot with Ethan and Gareth (aka Grizz). They are best friends who are both graduating from Hershey High School this year, and teammates on the Ski Roundtop Race Club (SRRC). We thought a few snowboard photos would be the perfect addition to their collection of senior portraits.

Here are a few of my favorites from our time together at Copper Mountain. Congratulations, guys!

Megan + Nathan | Bally Spring Inn | Barto, Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of photographing Megan and Nathan’s incredibly fun and beautiful wedding celebration. (If you follow my blog, you may remember their engagement session at the Trexler Nature Preserve.)

Megan and Nate’s final preparations and wedding celebration took place at the Bally Spring Inn, located in Barto, Pennsylvania. This was my first time photographing a wedding at this venue, and I hope I get to return many times! There was plenty of room for the wedding party to get ready, and the ceremony and reception areas had so much charm. Megan and Nate’s wedding day was on the windier and colder side, but we still had plenty of options for backdrops for their photos.

Megan and Nate described their style as romantic, simple, rustic, fun, and elegant - and their decorations and atmosphere reflected just that! They opted against having a first look, choosing the more traditional route of waiting to see each other until Megan walked down the aisle. When that moment happened and they first laid their eyes upon each other, I melted. You could feel the love between them, and their anticipation to become husband and wife. The rest of their day was just as sweet, which I hope you will be able to see in the collection of photos I am sharing.

Congratulations again, Megan and Nate! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to document your Day #1 as a married couple. I had so much fun celebrating with you and your loved ones.

Big thanks to everyone who worked together to make Megan and Nate’s dream wedding become a reality!

Photographer: Carrie Kizuka Photography, LLC

Venue, Catering: Bally Spring Inn

Coordinator: Rebekah Turbett, Bally Spring Inn

Florist: Jonathan Morrissey, Rich Mar Florist

Cake Artist: Peri Anderson, Brooklyn Girl Bakery

DJ: Wes Barrett, Wesley Works

Hair Artist: Skye Henry

Makeup Artist: Ashley

Wedding Dress and Bridesmaids’ Dresses Boutique: Silk Bridal Easton

Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka

Groom’s and Groomsmen’s Tuxedo Boutique: C.E. Roth Formal Wear

Priest: Monsignor Wargo

Evelisse + Dustin | Stokesay Castle Engagement Photoshoot | Berks County Pennsylvania Wedding Photographer

A few weeks ago, I had the absolute joy of photographing Evelisse (Evy) and Dustin at the Stokesay Castle. Evy and Dustin were gifted an engagement photoshoot, courtesy of Evy’s mom, and the management at Stokesay was kind enough to allow us early morning access to the castle grounds. The temps were cold and the winds were high that morning, but Evy and Dustin were troopers and rolled with it. They were so much fun, had the best attitudes, and were such a pleasure to photograph. All three of us were smiling the entire morning - while we were shivering. ;)

Huge thanks to the Stokesay staff for allowing us to photograph there, and congrats again to Evy and Dustin! Here are a few of my favorite photos from our chilly morning together.

Owen's 6-Month Photoshoot | Milk Bath Session (with Cookies!) | Berks County Pennsylvania Children's Photographer

A few weeks ago, I had the absolute pleasure of capturing Owen’s 6-month milestone portraits. His big brother, Gavin, came along and posed for a few photos as well. I can tell that these two are going to be the most amazing friends as they grow up together. The grand finale was a milk bath, complete with Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookie cereal!

This was one of my favorite (and messiest) sessions to date, and I can’t wait to get these guys in front of my camera again. I have had the honor of not only teaching their momma in my high school math class back in the day, but also photographing their mommy and daddy’s wedding and Owen’s newborn session!

I hope you enjoy this selection of photos from our time together in my studio!

James | One Year Cake Smash Session | Berks County Pennsylvania Children's Photographer

I recently cut back on non-wedding sessions for a few months so that I could pour more time into finishing my PhD. As a result, there are a few sessions that I photographed but never blogged. Now that I’m nearing the end of my dissertation work (Woohoo!!), I wanted to share a few of the sessions that I photographed but never had a chance to blog.

Here are a few of my favorites from James’ one year cake smash session. James was a little hesitant to try the cake, but his curiosity eventually got the best of him - and of course we managed to snap a few adorable photos of his experience! Big thanks to James’ talented momma for making his adorable birthday cake for us!

Olivia's One Year Cake Smash | Berks County Pennsylvania Family Photographer

I cut back on non-wedding sessions for a few months while I worked on finishing my PhD. As a result, there are a few sessions that I photographed but never blogged. Now that I’m nearing the end of my dissertation work (Yippee!!), I wanted to share a few of the sessions that I photographed but never had a chance to blog.

Here are a few of my favorites from Olivia’s one year cake smash session. Olivia wasn’t really a fan of cake that day, but we still managed to create a few adorable images together. Big thanks to Kakes by Kim for creating another stunning (and delicious) cake masterpiece for us!

One thing is for sure - Olivia’s big sister LOVED the cake!! ;)