Author: CocoAlley

Everyday I’m Hustling…

It’s ALWAYS a good time to update your headshots! I was so excited to help Ashley with this! Despite the chilly wind, we actually had a lot of fun walking around downtown Alpharetta! What better place to take headshots for this awesome real estate agent than the center of the city she caters to?!?! To make it even better I had two little sidekicks, Alexa and Lucas! With Ashley’s littles in tow, I got to get to know them a little which is awesome since they also have a family session planned here soon! If you think Ashley is gorgeous just wait until you see her beautiful little ones in the very near future! Check her out, you won’t be disappointed! Feel free to contact Ashley (770-685-4197) if you are looking to buy or sell! She’s awesome!

Angels & Rainbows {Maternity Photography Roswell, GA}

I was really looking forward to meeting up with my new clients, Blake and Mark, for their pregnancy announcement/gender reveal photos! Before I share some of their images and details from their shoot, I would like to thank them for their permission to do so! You see, Blake had mentioned the pictures would be extra special for them because they had suffered a devastating miscarriage previously. They are so thrilled to be expecting their little rainbow baby (a child conceived following the loss of a baby) and I’m thrilled they picked Coco Alley to document this time in their life! On the evening of their session, they rolled up with huge warm smiles and 5 giant pink balloons in tow! It was a fun development for sure and added a great element to the shoot.

This sweet couple is so awesome together and an absolute delight to be around! Their excitement was infectious and the 3 of us shared some laughs, soaked up the sunset and got to know each other while we flew through our time with ease. As we were nearing the end of the session, Mark asked what the heck they should do with the balloons since we were done with them. “Should we just let them go?” Taking the comment as a sign, a short pow wow ensued. With strong smiles stretched across their faces, a spontaneous decision to release the balloons in memory was made. The pink bubbles sailed off into the sunset and upwards toward the heavens as a tribute to their sweet angel baby and the precious rainbow she led them to.

Alpharetta Photographer

Daddy’s birthday girls! { Family Portraits, Atlanta }

I’m not going to lie guys, I do a little happy dance every time I get a new session request and learn it’s a referral! Birds of a feather flock together, so I always know it’s going to be an amazing time! Referrals are also one of the biggest compliments we can receive! They not only help us grow our business so we can continue doing what we love, but they reinforce that you enjoyed your experience and images so much that you are willing to inflict us on your friends : )! So thank you for that! We love getting to know you even more through the extension of your tribe just as much as we enjoy learning about and meeting new people!

This leads me to the fabulous Holland family who were referred to me by two awesome families. From our emails setting everything up, I could already tell it was going to be a great session so I was pretty pumped. We decided to shoot at Piedmont Park to document their little family and little Charlotte’s recent 1st birthday! And just like their friend’s families, these 3 are absolutely adorable together! Since Beth and Paul were heading out on a date afterwards to celebrate Beth’s bday, I decided to wrap up the session with those lovebirds alone. My little sidekick Charlotte was such a good girl while patiently eating her snack next to me! She must have known mommy and daddy were possibly stealing the show lol! When you see her sweet cherub face you will know why that was a hard thing to do!

Alpharetta Photographer

Welcome Home Senior Airman Sigurani

Whenever I even think about a Military homecoming I kinda want to cry…tears of happiness of course! The excitement is just so overwhelming! When Zaira reached out to me and explained that her husband would be returning from Africa in a few months, Lindsey and I jumped on it! This homecoming was going to be a huge surprise! As in, her hubby didn’t even expect her to be in Atlanta with their children in order to greet him at the airport! You see, during the 9 months that her hubby Ricardo was away, Zaira was given a medical diagnosis that prohibited her from making the trip from Tallahassee to Hartsfield with the kids by herself. Enter an amazing person from Ricardo’s unit that was still here in Atlanta. He offered to not only fly down to Tallahassee and to drive her and the kiddos up for the big homecoming but he also arranged transportation for them to return home as a family! Everyone left Ricardo to believe that he wouldn’t see his family until he returned home. Take a look below to see how the surprise went!!! His face was priceless! OH! And try not to cry! 🙂

Alpharetta Photographer

Babies, on babies, on babies… {Alpharetta maternity photographer}

Babies, on babies on babies! In the last few weeks we have photographed some of the most precious newborns as well as a few adorable couples whom are patiently awaiting their new bundles of bliss to arrive. The 2017 baby train has left the station as it appears this theme will be continuing over the next few months. Choo, Choo!! We are eagerly awaiting several calls and texts telling us that our newest little Coco Alley clients have arrived! Can …not…wait!!!

Here are some images from a recent maternity session that I just loved!!! I had so much fun getting to know both Kristen and Chase. Lots of laughs, I lost and found a lens cap (not a rare thing for this girl) and the lighting was phenomenal! These college sweethearts are nearing the due date of their first child! He will be here in weeks and I can’t wait to see who he looks like!

Alpharetta Photographer

All Heart { Marietta Newborn-ish Photography}

I’m so excited to share these images from my new little friend Declan’s session! I met his parents and big bro during their fun family maternity session! You may remember seeing them on the blog. We totally risked the weather and won! BOOM! But back to this amazing little man though…Declan! First of all, is that not the coolest name? Ok so, for me, this was a harder blog to write than I expected, which is why it’s being posted so late. I had all these ideas and words floating around my head all day about what I wanted to say. He has such an amazing and inspiring story so I wanted to relay it correctly. I just keep coming back to his name! It’s such a strong, distinctive name! Perfect for this little soldier, I’ll tell you what! I just remember watching the updates on his mom’s social media after his birth with the hashtag -#Declanstrong #Heartwarrior. There were others but these 2… especially after finally meeting him, they now stand out to me the most. You see, in the first week of Declan’s life this little fighter had multiple surgeries, including an open heart surgery, and fought like a champ! He overcame every benchmark the doctors set for him. I would actually describe this whole family as having nothing but heart! Heart for life, family….heart for each other and of course this newest member to the Paul family. Baby DP though…he is something else! I still watch for new pictures to be posted lol! I love seeing his chubby expressive face and that thick wild hair! Wait until you see his hair!!! It’s everything!!!! He is pure bliss you guys! I absolutely can not wait to watch him grow! The world better make way for this guy! #Declanstrong #Heartwarrior

 

Alpharetta Photographer

One Big Happy Family {Canton, GA Photographer}

With so many fellow Milton Alumni followers, I just had to share some of the images from a recent session (you might recognize a few familiar faces). I absolutely love a multi generational shoot, so imagine my excitement when Mrs. Bearden asked my hubby if I would be interested in capturing some family moments for her and her whole fam! I joked with John because I felt like I was the only one who never had Mrs. Bearden during my 4 year stint at Milton. She is now a grandma to 2 and also had all her siblings visiting for the holidays! With everyone in one place, I got to help this  fun loving bunch  update their family album! Take a look!! 🙂

 

 

 

Precious Moments {Labor and Delivery Photography, Johns Creek}

It’s New Year’s Eve and I’m about to get real deep on you here for a minute or two. Over the past few years I have had the pleasure of documenting Allison and Dane as they built their life together. Earlier this year I was ecstatic to be able to help surprise Dane with the news that they were expecting a second little addition to their family! More recently, some of you may remember the post featuring their amazing vintage aviation themed maternity session. But even before this exciting year, we had their first maternity session under our wing as well as Ava’s newborn & first year cake smash photo shoots. I certainly can not forget to mention how honored Stephanie and I were to capture and witness their love as they exchanged wedding vows! I mean come on… we had the privilege of seeing Allison rock her wedding dress on her big day right along side of her mom & sisters before anyone else! We got to hug and congratulate them as newlyweds before their guests stood to leave their seats! My point is, this sweet and beautiful couple has trusted me with many of life’s precious moments starting from our very first meeting. I was reminded of this trust and overwhelmed by their faith in me just a few days ago. On 12/28/16, at 7:25pm, after witnessing an intense couple of hours of labor, I had the extreme honor of watching their son Oliver take his first breath and shed his very first tear as he entered our world! As a mom myself, I know that there are no words that come close to describing the beauty, joy and overwhelming feeling of love and gratitude in that moment! At the time, all I could do was hope and pray that I captured the right photographs that would freeze these emotions so that this family could treasure those memories always. The love, devotion and sheer teamwork these two have always displayed both as spouses and parents has always been extremely evident to those around them. Oliver James is an extremely lucky little boy!

Congratulations to the entire McIntosh & Dickie Family! To Allison and Dane; Thank you once again for this amazing opportunity as well as volunteering to share these images with our followers ! I’m looking forward to little Oliver’s newborn session!

Alpharetta Photographer

Love these guys…{ Alpharetta Family Photographer}

I absolutely cannot believe that I haven’t posted images from the session below yet!!! I have been meaning to ever since the night I shot them. Meet the Caropresso family! Comprised of my bestie and his amazing (and ridiculously gorgeous) family! I have officially now known Juan for exactly half of my life! We met in college and have been through thick and thin ever since. We are absolutely terrible at calling each other, still bicker like brother and sister, giggle like children and keep it totally real when the other needs a dose of brutal honesty. Clearly he hears the later way more than I do 🙂 As much as I love him, I simply adore his wife Jesse! Actually ….if I’m being honest, I probably like her a lot more lol! I’m serious! Not only is she fun, smart, loyal, confident and annoyingly beautiful… But she is absolutely the best wife and mother that I could ever have imagined for my sweet and silly friend! Did I mention she is extremely patient also? … J/k. Seriously though … Had you told me way back then that I would watch Juan marry the women of his dreams on the beach and have the honor of watching his children Braedon and Luca grow up, I would have said “your darn right I will!” Now had you told me he would still be telling the same stupid story of how I stomped on his frozen pizza in 3 inch heals 20 years later…. I would have said “I would freaking hope not!” Sadly …. He has never recovered. #RIPPIZZA

These pictures make my heart so happy! Enjoy!

Alpharetta Photographer

Happy Birthday Papa!

A few weeks ago I met this cute family at an awesome little spot on Lake Lanier for what I thought was their maternity session. It was definitely a maternity session because Stephanie was 8 months preggers but I learned that Rueben requested this session for his birthday present! I just loved that! I could really tell he valued making memories with his little fam. Cannon seemed pretty excited about his little sister in Mommy’s belly!! Fast forward…this morning I got to meet little Miss Lydia because she decided to make her grand entrance 6 weeks early!! Before I start working on their newborn session I wanted to share a few of my favorites from their maternity session. Enoy!