This session was a fun one, and I don’t say that too lightly. Whenever I do an engagement session my number one priority is to get to know the couple—and not just the day of. Julia and Kurt wanted their engagement session to be a reflection of them, what they do in their life, and maybe even incorporate where they had their first date—Mecca.

When Julia sent me photos of her house my jaw almost dropped. This lady has the best vintage retro eye and styled their home so perfectly! You guys know that I love mustard yellow, and yall, their couch was this exact color! Oh, and they have a cat named Carlos who was equally as retro and just super sweet. Fun fact, if you have a cat present at your engagement session I will automatically fall in love and make the cat pose with you in any and all photos.

I don’t always do in-home sessions, but I feel like I should offer more. There is just something so nice about them—think about it, when your 20 years older and maybe living in a different house, and you can see how much you’ve grown, the happiness you felt, and see memories from the beginning years of your life together. This is something that I think goes unnoticed while youre in the moment, but will bring back some wonderful and dear memories later on in life when you may need them the most. I say the more in-home sessions the merrier—it’s a part of your story, and your story matters.

Hello! My name is Samantha, but I usually just go by Sam. I am the one and only to my two amazing parents. Though I may be an only child, they made sure to surround me with the most loving and supportive family and friends a girl could as for.

I am a bit of a crazy animal lady with a count of six fur-babies and growing! I am also a bit of a yoga nut. If you haven’t heard of goat yoga, I suggest you check it out! It combines a few of my favorite things, adorable little climbers and lots of laugher and joy.

Aside from my passion for four legged companions and all things yoga, I have an art degree as well as a degree in photography; I think it’s safe to say that I love the creative field! I love combining my first love, art, with my love of photography. I have been in the photography business for a little of four years now, but my love of the craft extends far before that. I grew up with a photo obsessed mother who documented every stage of my life and proudly displayed it in our home. It was only natural that I took interest in photography at some point, and I have taken that passion and turned it into a career.

Getting to know my couples and families is one of my favorite parts of the photography experience. By getting to know them I am able to capture who they really are and let their true self shine in their photos! I am just over the moon to be part of the Fancy This Photography family! I first met Nikki in photography school and have been so grateful and happy to get to know her and her amazing business over the years! 

It’s not every day that you get the prettiest of snow covering every inch of North Carolina. On this day, we did. Katie and I toyed with the idea of rescheduling she and Stewarts engagement session, and inevitably, I wanted to give her that right because, let’s be honest, a snow in NC means that all of the roads are blocked off. We ended up going for it, and I am oh so glad we did!

We met at Bicentennial Garden in Greensboro, NC. It was perfect. There were absolutely no other people there (well, except this one guy who was determined to get his fitness on [he wore shorts]), but he quickly became just a passerby once we started. This was my first time in the garden, and it was just beautiful. Seriously, I will have to make another plan to go back out to this garden once Spring hits.

Most of the time when I start to photograph an engagement session, people start to feel that awkward feeling. I can’t blame them, there is this camera pointing at you, and you are “forced” to be normal, right? Give it a few minutes and that feeling starts to melt away. The best part about Katie and Stewart was the fact that they felt completely comfortable, even in the beginning. It was sweet to see them in their own environment, surrounded by snow, and the best outfits to boot. I think what I loved most about their session is how Stewart looked at Katie—it was endearing, and just a site to see.

We later went to downtown Greensboro for the complete opposite of our beginning portion of the engagement session. Yep, these two swapped their nice clothes for comfier ones (I can’t blame them) and we trotted on in to the cutest bookstore in downtown—Scuppernong Books.

Wine and coffee were bought, but the best part is that they laid out some of their favorite board games and started to play them. They were completely in their element, and this was totally them. I love it when a couple just wants to showcase what THEY do as a couple. I am a firm believer in photographing couples in their own element, and these two did not disappoint. I am so looking forward to their wedding later this year…games may be played and I am anxiously waiting for their guests to have a blast!