Happy Birthday America!

Celebrating our country’s birthday is something I have always loved doing from the time I was a little girl. Things got a whole lot sweeter in the Allen household when my little girl was placed in my arms for the very first time, on the 4th of July, here we are…5 years later, about to celebrate America’s birthday with the rest of the country and we will sing Lyla Grace her very own special song and watch fireworks. I love how it excites her that she shares a birthday with America. It seriously melts my heart. I mean, I am kinda jealous…fireworks on your birthday?! I hope you all have a fun and safe 4th of July! Enjoy this little session I did with Lyla and Hagen to document her birthday! 🙂

I must say before I close, out of respect for our Country, the flag wrapped around Lyla is a scarf. Flag etiquette states that you can’t allow a flag to touch the ground. I would never use a real flag for a session like this and disrespect it.

She said….YES!

My very first friend was my brother. If you ask our parents they would probably say we fought like cats and dogs but as we grew up we created an unconditional bond and we have been lucky to share some of life’s most memorable moments. My brother blessed me with two nieces that I love to the moon and back. So not only was I sister bear protective of Chris, I couldn’t just let anyone come into his life! I will never forget when he took Marisa on their first date. I wasn’t there but I knew just how giddy, excited and big time nervous he was. His romantic side really shined the next few months. I knew there was something special about Marisa because he was happy again. After meeting her myself and watching their relationship grow, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest the moment Chris told me he was ready to propose. I have hoped for this moment/day for a very, very long time. Not only did this mean Marisa will become my sister, but I will be gaining another niece, Angelina. Marisa’s daughter is out of this world amazing. She loves spending time with Chloe and Claire. Angelina has a warm, inviting, loving charisma about her. She fits right in and we welcome her with open arms. You two make a great team and I love seeing you both together. All three kids will grow along with you in a loving home and the journey will be worth every moment. Thank you for not only allowing me to capture this special day, but allowing me to be part of it every step of the way!!

A boy and his boat…. {Cumming newborn and family photographer}

Add another sweet birthday boy to the list because little Liam is officially ONE!! Now… When I say that I’ve been planning his stylized session for a year, that is honestly no exaggeration! Let’s just say the raft attempt at his newborn shoot was not up to this perfectionist’s standards so I scrapped it lol! Do over baby!! This time it was go big or go home! I had vision, a location and built a better boat (shout out to my talented hubby for helping me and making the sail). What I couldn’t have planned for was all the fantastic FOG!!!! There was a little fog the night I scouted out our spot but this was on a whole new level guys! A massive amount of thick magical fog kept rolling in and out during our sunset shoot and it was glorious!!!! Ahhhh yes…. redemption smells so sweet my friends!

Ok, so who wants to buy a boat? Kidding….

one year old portraits Buford Dam Lower Pool

Surprise! {Maternity and Newborn Photographer Cumming GA}

The secret is out and I’m finally able to share some images from a very special session I shot a few months back! I’ve been photographing moments for this sweet couple for a few years now, so I was super excited to be part of a monster surprise Allison wanted to plan for her hubby, Dane. Upon discovering she was pregnant (EEEKKKK!!), Allison reached out to me and we planned, plotted and immediately kicked into action! We thought it would be fun to shoot this session in two parts so we could incorporate their little girl Ava Rose. She helped her momma wrap up the reveal gift for daddy and then sat next to him while he opened it! His face was priceless! Congratulations lovebirds! I’m over the moon happy for you and your growing family! I have to admit, it was cool to be the first to know, guys! Not gonna lie lol : )

I’m looking forward to meeting this little Christmas baby! For now enjoy these adorable pictures!

Maternity Pregnancy Announcement Photos GA

Pregnancy Announcement and maternity photos by Cumming Maternity and newborn photographer

Logan is ONE! {Baby’s First year portraits,GA}

I can’t believe my little friend Logan is already turning one! I’ve had so much fun documenting him and his sweet parents through out this year! Looking over all his portrait sessions just makes my heart smile! It’s amazing to see just how much he has grown! Being a mommy to rapidly growing bebes myself, I can’t express how special it feels to have been able to capture his adorable spunk for his family, as well provide images they can cherish while looking back over his many first year milestones! Happy Birthday little man! MUAH xoxoxo

1 year child portraits downtown Norcross GA

1 year child portraits downtown Norcross GA

Well hello there summer… {Alpharetta Family Photographer}

Ever since the kids have wrapped up the school year we’re not gonna lie… We’ve held our pool bags far more than our camera bags and enjoyed every second of it! What we haven’t done in 2 weeks apparently is blog! Oopsie!!! We promise to post more now that we have each found our summer balance between work and play! I don’t think we have ever even gone a week with out a new post since the inception of this blog back in October 2015! Wowza!! Well now I don’t feel as bad!

As I was reviewing my upcoming shoot schedule and list of locations to scout,
it dawned on me that I’d never posted images from my nieces 6 month session! Kuddos to my SIL for recommending a little open grassy area near the tennis courts in their subdivision! The light was seriously glorious!!!!!! I’m so glad we had previously decided we would update their family photos at the same time because they are amongst some of my all time favorites photos EVER!!!! I know I say that all the time and I mean it all the time lol!! Between Cara Boo Boo bear looking right at me and the added bonus of my nephew Calen running towards me to have his photo taken vs my chasing that little man around while I pray I capture his handsome smile…. I was giddy with excitement over this shoot you guys!

6 month old and Family portraits photo session Alpharetta Ga

Double the fun….

Last weekend was an absolute blast! I shot four fun (and totally different) sessions and have been a busy bee editing ever since! Because two of the shoots were both taken at new locations, I thought I would go ahead and combine their sneak peeks into one post. Well technically I’ve shot at Mason Mill Park before but I was never able to find the mysteriously hidden graffiti city. As it turned out, one just has to venture off the path of the beautifully paved greenway. Let’s just say it’s very well camouflaged by a lot of trees and overgrowth but it’s totally worth it! I encountered many regulars who had no idea it was even there! Note to self… ballet flats and hiking is not a match made in outdoors heaven! I also want to give a shout to the good samaritan who helped me dig through the wilderness and finally find this gem of a location! Thank you so much for your help and for not being an axe murder!

Below is my little red headed friend Maddox! He is no stranger to my lens being I’ve been shooting him since he was still baking in his beautiful momma’s belly! I can’t believe he is already 2 and 1/2! Love this little character!

Earlier in the day, I had the pleasure of meeting Nikki, Ron and their extremely adorable 6 year old Ty! This adorable couple recently celebrated 10 years of wedded bliss and thought it would be nice to return to the scene of the crime and update their family photos. I couldn’t agree more! Hightower Falls is simply stunning! The ruins, falls and overall scenery made for such a gorgeous back drop!

I’m sure I’ll be back with more from last weekend! Thanks for checking out our blog!

Happily Ever After…

I want to wish my clients, turned good friends, Allison & Dane a very happy one year anniversary! So much can be said about these two and their amazing love story, but at the end of the day, the best way I can describe them is intensely connected and utterly in tune with one another! I mean truly made for each other! It was my very first impression of them and after several years of documenting their lives together, it is still something I greatly admire. So when they came to me to see if I would consider capturing their wedding day, I was humbled and overwhelmed by their trust in me. Stephanie and I were in the early stages of joining forces so it was a no brainer that we would shoot the event together! Now as many of you know, Coco Alley doesn’t typically shoot weddings due to our heavy portrait schedule. However, when we do, we apparently kill it lol! It was so much fun and certainly didn’t hurt that Allison & Dane have gorgeous families & friends! I mean we are talking seriously good genetics here people! They got married at the Payne Corley house which is an amazing venue that I happened to get married at as well and it was perfection! As always, they were totally in the moment from start to finish. This enthralled pair never left each other’s side, and their authentic love for each other and that of their beautiful baby girl was evident in every image!

From the bottom of our hearts we want to thank them for allowing us to witness and be a small part of the biggest and the most intimate day of their lives! Happy Anniversary love birds! We can’t wait to see what this next year has in store for you!

Love ,

Lindsey & Stephanie

Here are some of our favorite moments from their wedding day!

Congratulations Class of 2005!

Another fun ride on the high school reunion train for me! Two weeks ago I had the chance to shoot some old school friends but I also walked the halls with this adorable couple! Class of 2005, baby! Ashley and Ryan were (and still are) that sweet couple that started dating while we were high school and never looked back. They have lived the fairytale of marrying their high school sweetheart and starting a family. Their children, Caitlyn and Lucas are absolutely beautiful! Caitlyn is my newest little friend and absolutely LOVED being with me behind the camera to take pictures of her mommy and daddy! That said, blueberries and “pirate booty” were the ultimate ~~bribery~~ snack for this girl! Little Lucas is a handsome 3 month old who just wants to see the world. Sitting up with the ability to look at everything around him is his ultimate favorite spot to be in! These siblings are simply precious! I loved getting to know them and seeing where life has taken my lovebird classmates! Don’t take my word for it, scroll down to see how adorbs this crew is together!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Though we are often pretty silly and like to keep it light we are about to get deep on ya for a few minutes! We want to wish all our mommy clients a Happy Mother’s Day and we mean business! We hope you are all spoiled rotten today with the same level of love and affection we have witnessed you showering on your families! We have not only been inspired by all of you, but we’re forever grateful for the trust you have placed in us to capture the essence of both your children and family which we know is your heart and soul! Many have allowed us to be present during the first hours of their baby’s life or those leading up to it, to later confidently handing over those adorable little bundles as early as just 3 days old for their newborn portraits. Others have allowed us to plan fun concepts for everything from awesome cake smashes, perfect senior sessions for their kiddos as well as annual family photos. You have invited us into your homes for various celebrations, surprises, first year milestones or simply to document everyday life and childhood past times and we always walk away feeling like a friend of the family. Like all of you, we are momma bears ourselves so we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! We have been so honored to be part of so many special memories that we have gotten to play a small part of in this past year! We also can’t forget the gratitude we feel for the sense of community we have felt while getting to know all of you, the advice and tips you have shared with us as well as the hospitality you have all shown us! So thank you, mommy to mommy, for helping us follow our dreams by allowing us to be part of your lives!

Enjoy your special day making memories with your beautiful families!

With love,

Stephanie & Lindsey