So you’re coming to town (to vacation or get married)…

So… you’re planning a trip to our beautiful area… let this be a little bit of inspiration for you to plan your trip, and your portrait session (or your wedding location).

Now, I don’t normally use my blog as a place to write open letters to potential clients, brides, families, etc… and I’m certainly not about to get in the habit.  But we’re just about to hit warmer days, and warmer days means… Visitors!   Sometimes this place is like a second home to them, and no introduction to our wonderful landscape is needed, some folks on the other hand, may be visiting for their first time… or are just anxious to see a new side of our area!

Being a Florida girl through and through, there aren’t a whole lot of things I love more than warm weather, and spending most of my days doing what I love best in one of the most beautiful locations our country has to offer:  the beautiful beaches of the Emerald Coast, along Destin, Watercolor, Seaside, 30A, Grayton Beach… the list goes on and on.

So really, there is no shortage of gorgeous backdrops, whether its for family beach portraits, or breathtaking wedding pictures.

Consider a few of these places, just a short list of MANY options in our area:

• Rosemary Beach – filled with delightful little beach access points, downtown shops with really cool architecture.   It’s really a great place for weddings, lifestyle type portraits, engagement pictures, and of course family beach portraits.
• Grayton Beach – the best of both worlds, with tons of beautiful white sandy beaches, yet some swampy local wetlands, and native woodsy backdrops and wildlife.
• Seaside – a longtime favorite of so many people… the bright colors, artsy flair, regular festivals, and magical air make it a great place!
• Alys Beach – one of my recent favorites… a clean, Mediterranean style, eco-friendly community nestled between 30A and the emerald waters of the gulf, it’s got just enough color to really make pictures stand out.  Plus, it’s a great place for kids with their trademark winding hill!
• Carillon Beach - a simple, elegant, and beautiful location perfect for just about anything!
• Eden State Gardens – Another one of my personal favorites, so much that I chose this as the place for my own engagement session.    A little bit of history, a lot of native landscaping and green grass, all set along the beautiful backdrop of water (though not the gulf, but an inlet instead).  It really screams “local beauty” to me, in a way that only Eden Gardens can.  The beautiful mansion, the gorgeous oak tree, and the rose garden make this a definite must – even if you just go for a visit!

The list goes on… I’ll be posting more places to check out for your trip, as well as things to do.  Check back through older posts, I’ve done shoots of all kinds at most of these places at some point in time and definitely have pictures of Rosemary Beach, Seaside, Eden Gardens, and Alys Beach in fairly recent posts (within the last 6 months or so).

I hope you enjoyed it and next time I mention suggestions, I’ll make sure I’m sitting in front of the computer long enough to post some preview shots of each of the locations!

Enjoy!