Ashley Maxwell Photography » Engagements

Courtney & Adams Engagement Session..

Ashley — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 02:31:59 +0000

I commonly refer to things as being my “sixth love language”..{for those of those who have read the book “The 5 Love Languages”..you know what I am talking about}..I often joke that my sixth love language is getting Starbucks from someone..which c’mon, it should be on the list…but in all seriousness..I think “Being Known” should be the sixth..for reals. Not being known in a public way, but having someone know the little details about you that make you literally stop in your tracks and say “OMG-I cant believe you remembered that! Like a friend remembering one of your childrens b-days without you telling them, or just knowing a significant detail about you that you thought was an afterthought to the outside world. Courtney and Adams session, started with FEELING KNOWN. It was our first time meeting in person and we were on our cell phones from across the street, trying to explain what we were each wearing and waving our arms in the air in hopes to somehow spot eachother in busy downtown San Luis Obispo. I finally spotted her and Adam crossing the street holding a little bundled up purple-something as we got closer to meet. As we exchanged hugs, she handed me what seemed to be a purple tourist shirt from an ABC store in Hawaii..until I unfolded it, and realized they had bought me…..an AVETT BROTHERS T-shirt. My heart melted instantly. I suddenly became a 5 year old on Christmas morning, holding a brand new Cabbage Patch doll or something. Seriously..the Avett Brothers are my favorite band in the world. I edit photos to their CD’s..I hum them in the car..they literally speak to my soul. I knew Courtney had mentioned they liked them too, but the fact that they went out of their way at the last concert they attended, to think of me, just blew me away. I already knew they were darling and sweet, but this solidified that they were just thoughtful people. It was going to be a good day. We had come straight from another session in Paso Robles, and were feeling a bit tired, but were instantly energized when we saw their playfulness and just began hanging out with them..they were so easy to photograph because they were always just swooning with eachother..

I knew they were like minded as us, when we pulled over on the side of the road by a tractor, and they opened up their trunk…I saw old windows, a pitch fork, and other junk treasure finds..they literally, saw an abandoned property on their way to SLO, and decided to gather a few fun items for their wedding later this year…I think that night they even went back when it was dark and snuck out a dresser:) (sorry-was that top secret? haha) Anyways, after our session they asked if they could take us out to dinner… we felt so honored, and excited that they still wanted to hang out with us:) We ate at this little creek side brewery, where we listened to the sounds of bullfrogs, about their lives in the entertainment industry and gushed over Courtneys darling Cookie Company. Getting to hear their story and sharing a bit of ours, left us wondering….”Soo…when can we hang out again???”.. ROADTRIP!!!:) Thank you for your sweetness and speaking my language through my new cherished tee. XOXO..

Britney & Jonny’s Engagement Session..

Ashley — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 18:44:29 +0000

Britney & Jonny are our little sassy couple from San Clemente..They met at a Bar & Grill named Beachfire..It was destined.It was love.Boy meets girl. Boy obviously likes girl, so keeps showing up to check out girl. Finally, girl is tired of waiting for boy to ask her out so she gets brave and says, “when are you going to ask for my number”…and the rest is history. This was our first time meeting Brit and Jonny..I am so thankful for the Green Wedding Shoes blog for bringing us together:) We ventured to a small little farm nestled on top of windy road near Paso Robles..that was just gorgeous! We barely had enough gas to make it there..but had we needed to get out and walk the rest of the way..it would have been SO worth it! We are so excited to travel down that way next month for their wedding…Just LOVE these…

Whats to come….

Ashley — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 07:21:48 +0000

A Huge THANK YOU for all of our clients who have been so patient with anticipating their pictures over this last month..we have been SO blessed for busy weekends and traveling to photograph wonderful couples…we absolutely edit as fast as we can for each of you…all the while trying to treat each session as it is our only..to insure all the love and attention to detail as possible:) Here are a few snapshots from this last month, so you can see what is to come!! {Full posts soon…}

Priscilla & James Engagement Session…

Ashley — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 06:06:11 +0000

Ohhhhh, Priscilla & James…where to begin:) Priscilla is a stunning little makeup artist that has been making my brides feel beautiful for years..I am so grateful for her creative personality and attention to detail. Not only is she exceptional at makeup..but has impeccable character..and that last far longer than any concealer I know:) James is quite the stud I must say:) He is a cop for San Jose..and is undoubtedly one of the nicest guys I have ever met. This day was the quite the adventure for us..its not every day that I have a couple tell me that the night before the shoot they were googling “junk yards” in San Jose. They know that any place can be romantic given the right person to stand beside. Luckily, we found a bicycle museum part way through our session that fulfilled both of our junk yard dreams:) Seriously guys..this was a blast..thank you for being imaginative with me…xoxo..

Aimee & Dougs Engagement Session..

Ashley — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:44:05 +0000

Aimee and Doug are truly a classy-sassy pairing. I have known Aimee since highschool, and I have always thought there was something so classic and elegant about her..even then…pom poms in hand, on her blue box, in cheer uniform:) She is timeless, poised and perhaps one of the most intellectual people you will meet. It took less than a minute in meeting Doug to see why she had chosen him..I am a total people watcher..and you can imagine why I love my job, because I get to observe people and am constantly looking for the little moments that are usually unseen. The moments when Aimee would be adjusting the new hat, or her pearl earrings she was wearing, and Doug would just look at her….with THAT LOOK. That he is the luckiest guy in the world. To have HER.

I love LOVE. And people in Love. It never gets old. Ever. XOXO..

Frankie & Melissa {the.beauty.of.playfulness.}

Ashley — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 08:45:13 +0000

There are many things in this life that I find to be beautiful..a few are..

1.)Raindrops on the windows.

2.)Seeing the joy that a scoop of ice cream brings to a small childs face.

3.)My hubby in his oldest pair of Diesel jeans and a plain v-neck tee.

4.) Watching someone help another person.. when they think no one is looking.

5.)PLAYFULLNESS. Whether its young love, old love, new love, or in this case just “pure love”….being playful personifies love…and makes everything around you..just downright beautiful.

Watching Frankie and Melissa get so much Joy from simply being in each others air.. made me speechless at several points of their session. Because every story is better with a back story..let me fill you in on my first time they walked through my door:) In most cases..clients contact me through my blog or website and we email back and forth with availability..sometimes we talk on the phone in person and sometimes we dont..in this case, I only emailed with Melissa…. and after a few back and forths..we set up a time for her and her fiance to come to my house to look over pictures and pricing..etc… Now, I get nervous for every consultation I do..its the stage fright factor, and public speaking that gets me going..even if its only 2 people that are listening to me ramble….so..when our studio was at our house, I would always peak through the blinds as the couples walk up my driveway, so I can mentally prepare a bit…on this day..as I peaked out the blinds I saw this adorable-exotic looking couple hand in hand….as I saw the guy, I flung open the door as soon as I could and screamed…. FRANKIE MAAAAAATTTTAAAAA!!!!! WHAAAAT!!! I went to high school with Frankie..we graduated the same year…he was a soccer star, sweet heart..and truly a friend to EVERYONE. For probably the first five minutes we squealed and wondered how 1.) Crazy it was that they didnt realize Frankie already knew me (didnt recognize my married last name)..and 2.) That we havent run into each other because they live right down the street from us…SMALL WORLD. Anyways..as they sat in our studio and shared their story, hearts..and giddiness with me..I was literally like ” OK- what do I gotta do to make this happen!” I was so smitten with them…and knew they were one of those couples that would make history together..& who you want to surround yourself with.

Their engagement session was truly…for lack of better words….SOO FUN. I kinda felt like we were all just laughing the whole time, like little kids do. No worries or burdens…all love, all play.

Just to re-iterate how exceptional these two are……because they knew I accidentally scheduled their session on my son Haydens 2nd b-day (yes-I forgot while planning..) They brought him a huge birthday gift to our session………I know right….? They are truly giving …and better yet…truly grateful for everything…and everyone…and for that I have to THANK YOU guys! You both have a gift for making people feel loved in your presence…and that is truly a beautiful thing.

I know you have both already seen these…but thank you for being patient while I have been M.I.A in blogging world.XOXO…

Ok….so for this next section..while we were shooting this I was having flash backs to Mariah Careys old music video to “Always be my Baby”..where the 2 kids sneak out of their cabins at night while at camp.. and go through the woods to the lake…-minus the rope swing and kissing under water..this was just as magical..and C’mon ..it doesnt get any better than Mariah Carey love songs.. circa 7th grade…you know you had her poster behind your door..or was that just me…anyways..

Patience is a Virtue…

Ashley — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 19:08:27 +0000

Us Maxwells have been busy bees over the last few weeks…between setting up our new studio, editing editing editing, being out of town, and managing two on again-off again sick kids..it is hard to steal time away to blog..I hate letting weeks go by without anything new.. ( I am an avid blog reader myself..I totally get it!! )I myself get impatient with wanting to get recent goodies posted…But until then, here are a few previews of some lovely sessions to come….

An ultra girly BFF shoot with Elise+Liz…

An uber romantic engagement sesh with Frankie+Melissa..

And the darling Jenni+Donnie….

Hope you are enjoying moments of sunshine wherever you are…:)

Heather & Kevins Engagement Session..

Ashley — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:49:56 +0000

Heather & Kevin…in a nutshell…. are sincerely smitten. You would only need about 2 seconds amongst them to witness it, and about .5 seconds to see why they are undoubtedly perfect for another..They are the kind of people who would have been voted “Most Lovable” in high school..or “Most likely to bring home to mom”. Its this lovable contagiousness that deserves a new word of its own. Heather is almost angelic to me….she has such a beautiful spirit about her, that at times I almost feel like she has this light around her. For reals!! Heather comes from an incredible family and truly endearing best friends, who I have known for some years now….who would ALL vouch that she is without a doubt… sweet as pie. While this was only the second time I had really met Kevin I was instantly sold. He is gentle and kind hearted..and not to mention an incredible track star..I am soo grateful they came down from Texas so we could squeeze this session in after her bridal shower, and before her wisdom teeth get yanked today….Heather, I only got to edit a few pics before I headed out of town, but I wanted some pretty images floating around in your head to distract you from the dentist today:) Cant wait to see you guys again!

Oh…and YES..there was a wild bunny during our shoot that wanted to be in every shot as we started out…(see below)..Who needs Easter Bunny pics at Sears..right??

Lisa and Mikes Engagement Session {Monterey}..

Ashley — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:16:12 +0000

Lisa and Mike are architects. It takes a certain type of person to do a job like that. It also takes a certain type of person to see my vision when I make them hike into abandoned and condemned buildings with yellow caution tape. This my friends was a good match:) They completely trusted me…even during our first frame as they got soaked by the crashing waves. (Might I add this was the day that the waves were HUGE for the Mavericks surf contest.. where photographers,fans, & judges were getting swept away..Yeah, it was THAT day)..and I was pretty sure a fish came out of Lisa’s ballet flats as she gracefully dumped the salt water out between pictures. Lisa and Mike’s main requirement for their session was that they wanted interesting textures and structures around them… I think we accomplished that.. AND got them out of their comfort zone a bit and just.. had ..FUN. Because that is what it is all about right? Lisa and Mike-you are sweetly quiet & endearing.. I love your simplicity with life and each other..thanks for spending an afternoon with me!

Jenna & Matts Engagement Session…

Ashley — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:53:14 +0000

Meet Jenna: classic beauty.outgoing.athletic.sweet tooth.my graceful-loving-fashionista.

Meet Matt: Mr. adventurous.surfer boy.studious.current law clerk. has “Mad Men” hair that is officially awesome.

I have known Jenna from afar for some years now..My mentor Hillary taught at Jenna’s High School back in the day.. Jenna is part of a darling group of girls that I have seen tidbits of over the years…incredible purehearted girls who are now all amazing women..I feel so honored to be the one to photograph a few of them as they now start getting married:) There is a high bar that is to be met for a girl like Jenna… and Matt completely exceeds that bar..he’s practically pole vaulting over it. Being the people watcher I am, I love to observe the tiny moments during our shoots…try to sweep up all the little “looks” and considerations they have for one another, so I can try to catch it the next time it happens without having to ask for it. Matt has such a presence with Jenna..he is almost anticipating what he can do for her before she even knows she needs something. As we got to our first place to shoot, we were walking through the grass, which Jenna and I could both tell was muddy by the sounds our little flats were making with every step..before we could even redirect our path, Matt had already swept up Jenna in his arms, without question…carrying her the rest of the way.. I felt like I was in a movie. They have that type of Love. What I call the “LOVE ACTUALLY” kind of love…because LOVE ACTUALLY is ALL around with them. Jason and I had THE BEST day with these two..I have decided that I need a new word for couples like this who bring my dream wardrobe. Lets call it “J.Anthro”…or “Anthropolocrew”. The perfect marriage between two clothing stores that brings love and harmony to my shoots. When I asked them where they shop and the words J.Crew and Anthropologie were pretty much it..I knew I didn’t need to give them any advice on what to pack. They were already in good hands:) Jenna and Matt…your sense of adventure and playful spirits made us just fall in love with you as a couple…it was truly a blessing to be part of your world for the day…

Jenna is a total family girl like me:) In one of our conversations a few weeks ago, she mentioned wanting to wear her moms wedding dress for a few pictures..we thought it would be fun to do it today, rather than the wedding day, since their wedding will already be encompassing so much family history..and vintage goodies….SO.Much.Fun. Kinda like trash the dress in reverse:)..the hole was already there mom..we didn’t do it!