The Sundays of Summer

sundays of summer a newlyweds personal blog post

Summer may be over and Fall is right around the corner, which I am excited about too, but I wanted to share our Sundays of Summer with you and how they came about. As a wedding photographer my weekends are packed full with weddings and portrait sessions. I do weekday portraits as well but the average person works Monday-Friday and … Read More

Excellent Marriage Advice from an Uber driver

botanical gardens wedding photography norfolk virginia rose garden wedding jessica ryan photography

Six weeks before my wedding day, I got unexpected love advice from an Uber driver. Here is what happened: Roosevelt, the Uber driver introduced himself and asked where we were coming from. I proudly told him, ‘my best friend’s wedding!’ This was the morning after Nicole and Tyler’s wedding and we had just finished up our brunch with them and … Read More

Personalizing Your Wedding Ceremony: Readings

hermitage museum and gardens wedding ceremony readings we choose for our wedding day

I have looked at our wedding photographs over and over again, each time I find new (more) favorites! But today, I want to talk about the moments of our wedding ceremony when my two cousins, Kristen and Nathan, were speaking the readings I had asked them to read. While they were reading Cory and I listened to their words, held … Read More

Humpback Rocks Hike: Her Hike Collective

humpback rocks hike women hiking group her hike collective blue ridge parkway

We knew that we had a chance of rain all day for this Humpback Rocks hike, but all eight of us women still wanted to go on this adventure! We hiked 4.2 miles, the Humpback Rocks Loop Trail, in dense fog and some rain that was only falling from the trees. When you see the white overcast on these photographs, … Read More

White Oak Canyon: Her Hike Collective

her hike collective hiking at white oak canyon in the Shenandoah national park

We had a smaller but mighty group of women on this hike with us! Four other women went with me to hike White Oak Canyon and splash around in the water at the base of waterfalls. Three of those women were on their first hike with Her Hike Collective and one of those women is MY MOM! She is an … Read More

Has Camera – Will Travel: Destination Wedding Locations to Photograph

destination wedding photographer dream wedding locations asheville north carolina the biltmore estate wedding

I have caught the travel bug and I blame it partly on our amazing honeymoon to Asheville, North Carolina. I learned awhile ago that a lot of couples looking for a wedding photographer don’t just assume that photographers will travel for weddings and that they actually have a hard time finding a photographer for their destination wedding! WHAT? I thought … Read More