If you didn’t see our huge announcement yesterday, make sure you check it out here!

We met at 5:30am the morning after her wedding.  All four of us (Rebecca the bride, her loyal-even-at-5:30am friend Sarah, Josh, and myself) were wearing flip flops for the mile long hike because we’re really smart like that.  We got about 3/10 of a mile down the trail and there was a clearing where we decided would be the perfect place to stop.  Sarah had already ditched her flipflops mid-trail and was hiking barefoot!

Hiking barefoot.  Hiking in a wedding dress.  That’s Appalachia for you… and man I love it!  It’s almost impossible to describe the spirit of Appalachia in words, but I see it in glimpses of life and it’s precious to me.  Josh and I are both from that area and it will always be home in our hearts.

We got to a clearing just as the sun was about to rise.  We had a blast taking photos, hiding from bees, and wondering what was making weird noises in the bushes.  Rebecca & Sarah had the best attitudes about everything and it made the whole session just awesome!

On the way back, the hike got much more interesting.  We hit some of the most glorious sunlight I’d ever seen (we were in a cloud), and the trail had turned into a small stream, making everything was soaking wet.  We passed some hikers heading up the trail and one said, “Did you guys lose some shoes?”  Why yes… yes we did!

Sarah’s shoes… That last picture… it’s so wildly different than our typical style.  But at the same time, different locations and sessions lend themselves to different styles.  So sometimes I just have to throw my style to the wind and do what the session demands.  I hope you love it as much as I do!