I’ve been waiting to share our 2nd anniversary/family session for weeks! We rescheduled at least twice and at the last minute I was scrambling to get everything together. Sarah Jess, my go to hairstylist was unable to do my hair and so I called on my sister. Doris, to help me out. While I was super bummed to miss out on spending time with Sarah again, I had completely underestimated Doris. Not only did she do an amazing job with my hair but she also did my slightly glam, natural makeup look that I was going for.

I had planned out our outfits in my mind earlier but when it came to actually putting them together, it just didn’t look the way I wanted it to and so I went a different direction. I started with my outfit since I knew what I wanted to wear. When it comes to choosing outfits for a photoshoot, I always love to start with a stunning dress. This year I knew I wanted to wear the bridesmaid dress from Normony Design that I had worn for my friend, Grace’s wedding with it’s long sleeved lace top and a huge, circular lavender skirt.

Next, I started thinking about the color palette and what Aaron and Jaden had in their wardrobe. When planning your family session outfits, it’s best to keep your color palette to 2-3 colors and a neutral or two to keep your outfits looking cohesive without being super matchy. If I would have planned a little farther in advance, I would probably have bought a light blue shirt for Jaden since I was afraid that 3 colors would be too much. I loved how the pictures turned out though and although it was different than what I had originally planned, I think it worked because the colors were similar in shade and depth instead of being bright and “poppy.”

Jessica from Jessica Rose Photography will always be one of my favorites and I loved seeing her again after a little over a year since our 1 year anniversary maternity session. We were late, (you would think a photographer wouldn’t be late to their own session but let’s just say I underestimated how long it takes to get all glammed up.) My sister Karena, came along to help entertain Jaden and put on a great show complete with raisins, jumping in the air, and clapping. She was the “bomb.com” and it totally worked!

We started our session at the same spot we shot last year and I love how it ties our yearly sessions together. Then, we headed to a new spot and those last shots were my absolute favorite. The sunset was completely dreamy and the light shining through the tall grasses was so perfect!