The Perfect Gift

Disclosure:  This is a sponsored post.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Well, Mother’s Day was approaching again, and I was having difficulty deciding what to get for my mother.  She literally has everything, and at this point in her life, if she doesn’t and she needs or wants it, she buys it.  So I brainstorm, what can I do for her that she will love for years to come, that will never get old, or go out of style?  A memory…. A memory lasts a lifetime… So that’s just what we did.

When I first checked out Kate’s website Kennedy Grace Photography, aside from her beautiful photographs two other things really stood out to me.

1. She does mostly lifestyle, real life photography.

• I love this, you can really see relationships, feel the atmosphere around the subjects, get a glimpse into what their lives are really like. Perfect for a Nana and her grandbabies.

2. She shoots at fun and interesting locations.

• She takes her Christmas photos at a tree farm, has sessions at berry picking patches. They are original and adorable, and help to produce the realism that her photos emit.

I knew when I called Kate exactly where we would have to take these photos for my mother.  The New Jersey Botanical Gardens.  They are beautiful, they are near my mother’s house, and she happens to be a member (we go there with the kids often).  Once that was set I tried to think of what else would really make this special for her and decided that in addition I would take her to have her make up done with the amazing Denise Ruis  (she has an exclusive special add on rate just for RNYM).

 Denise works her magic on my mother.

After much deliberation the clothing choices were taken care of and the day was here.  Denise applied my mother’s makeup meticulously as always and it was so fantastic that my mother even purchased the lipstick.

I had spoken to Kate so many times that I felt like I already knew her, but even if I hadn’t her warmth made me feel like we were old friends.  She had already been around the grounds checking out spots to take photos and so off we went.  The kids, my mom and her husband were the subjects and it was nice to take a step back and let them enjoy.  They ran around from spot to spot, stopping to take photos along the way.

The photos are breathtaking.  Kate was able to capture my beautiful mother.  She captured the special relationship between her and my children.

She captured moments I am so glad she did.  For instance (E) has been afraid of my step-father for ages (he’s 6’8”), today she decided she was going to grab his hand and walk around with him.  This was a first, a really, really sweet first, and I have it on film (or .jpg anyway).

She also captured some amazing shots of my mother and step-father. This is especially sweet and something that made my mother so glad that we did this.

Best of all is that my mother loves them.  She is so happy.  I’ve ordered prints, and a mug and she has something to hold on to.  So do my kids and I.  It was difficult to pick and choose from all of the awesome memories.

While we were looking through there were some special things that we realized took a trained eye and made the photos as beautiful as they are.  We knew that the gardens were beautiful, but for my untrained eye, I would have taken close ups of many of the photos that Kate did not, she took them from further out and got the whole scene.  Thank goodness she did, otherwise we would have missed out on the majestic surroundings.  I really think that the photos speak for themselves.

Kate edited and had the photos back to me within a week.  She was so sweet she even snuck in one photo of me off to the side with (E).  I love that photo too, we had no idea.  Kate is a doll, the pictures are amazing.  My mother is happy.  Perfect day.

To contact Kate for a session you can check out her website: http://www.kennedygracephotography.com/  or her facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KennedyGracePhotography Kate still has her May Special going on right now, and stay tuned for her upcoming on location shoots which will include, a lake, berry picking, and more!!!