Lauren Bee

Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.

Filtering by Category: Travel

Modern Elopement, Destination Wedding Photographer - Jan + Matt

I met Jan when she phoned me last Fall to schedule a session with her daughter. Jan lost her husband, Phil, to cancer just a year earlier, and she and her daughter needed a bonding experience to help ease the grief of losing this important man. Having lost my own dad a few years back, I completely understood. I I gave these two ladies my best and produced for them some beautiful portraiture that they both love.

A few months later, Jan told me about her best friend, Matt, a good man who had helped Phil during his illness, had stood by when Phil was laid to rest, and then supported Jan through the horrific grief that followed.  Jan hashed through and Matt was there for her every step of the way.  Before they knew it, they'd fallen in love.  Jan let me know that Matt had proposed to her, and she wanted to know if I would travel with her to Florida to photograph their elopement.

I said "YES!"

For months I kept their wedding a secret from everyone (including mutual friends) before traveling to Cape San Blas, Florida (with my family in tow, under the guise of "it's just summer vacation").  I have never in my life been so touched by a couple saying their vows to each other.  The emotions were so raw and wonderful and overwhelming, the exquisite pain of Jan's and Matt's shared past, sublimely mixed with the overwhelming joy of hope and promise and renewal and life.  They (with their sweet girl, Ruby) stood on that beach, hearts laid bare, creating a new covenant before God, their words mingling with sand and tears, and salty air... and it was perfection.

I am continually humbled to be asked to bear witness to such a miraculous thing as two lives being joined in marriage.  That I get to forever capture and protect these precious moments, turning them into tangible memories, never to be forgotten .... that in itself is a rare, rare gift, to be treasured.

Thank you so much, Jan and Matt, for allowing me to be your wedding photographer.  From my frail human heart to your beating warrior hearts, I speak blessings upon you both and pray for your many happy years together.

Destination Photographer - The 2017 World in Bloom

Traveling,  Seeing the world.  Sucking the very marrow out of life.

Do you feel it too, The Wanderlust?

It's everything to me.  Traveling is a close second to God + family;  the desire -- the all-encompassing, gut-wrenching urge to wander! -- has been a driving force behind everything I do in life.

Yes, everything.

The dream?  To travel and take photographs, of course!  It's been a dream of mine ever since venturing out with a camera in-hand.  And until recently that's all it was: a dream.

But not anymore.  As the late, great Whitney Houston said all those years ago (with nary a hint of cheesy irony):

"I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows.  If I fail, if I succeed, at least I'll live as I believe."

And this is what I believe:  my gypsy heart was meant to roam our world, tasting and savoring new flavors, meeting and laughing with new friends, experiencing and witnessing new sights.  So that is exactly what Lauren Bee will be doing in 2017!

I am ridiculously excited to announce next year's World In Bloom destination fine art photography locations!

  • April 2017: Orlando, FL
  • June/July 2017: Outer Banks, NC
  • September 2017: Dublin, Ireland
  • May & November 2017:  Nashville, TN

If you're in (or plan to be in) any of my hot spots, I would love nothing more than to meet you and photograph your own exotic brand of beauty!  How exciting would it be to work together, you and me, creating amazing art together?  Very exciting indeed!

But session bookings are limited, so do make plans to join me on the 2017 World in Bloom tour by contacting me below -- and tell me what, more than anything, you'd love to capture on our adventure together.   I can't wait to hear from you!

lauren@laurenbee.com

(256)605-6722

More Than Country Music -- Huntsville, AL Photographer in Nashville, TN

When most people think of Nashville, Tennessee, they think "country music capital".  And it is that.  But it's much more.  Besides being the town I call home (yes it's a "town" and yes, despite my living in Huntsville, Alabama, Nashville will always be "home" to me -- thank goodness it's only two hours away!), Nashville is the place you want to go for not just music (and oh my goodness, great music is literally on every street corner -- really), it's also where you've got to get to if you want good food, great family entertainment, a fabulous weekend nightlife, and friendly faces.  Heck, it was even dubbed 'Most American city" by AOL!  So if you've never been, you have got to go.  Get thyself there, pronto. Not convinced?  Maybe some visual aids will help.

First, let's talk shopping.  Nashville has all of the basics -- malls and shopping centers, and so on -- but it's also got a kickin' thrifting and vintage vibe going on.  Fantastic finds are ripe for the buying, everything from kitschy decor and vinyl records to funky clothes and furnishings -- even old cameras (which, of course, makes my heart swoon).  My most recent favorite place to prowl around is Pre to Post Modern at 2110 8th Avenue South.  I bought a cool green skirt there a few months ago and it's now a wardrobe staple.  When you go, plan on at least an hour to poke around.  It's a treasure trove of goodness!

Pre to Post Modern

Pre to Post Modern

Pre to Post Modern

Shopping is going to take it out of you, so you'll need a place for some yummy nosh.  Here are three of my personal favorites:

  • Fido, in Hillsboro Village, has great coffee, great food, and unbelievable desserts -- all made fresh daily with local, organic ingredients.
  • The Pharmacy, at 731 McFerrin Avenue, is well known for their creative and extra-drippy burgers (slathered with assorted cheeses and bacon and ham and sometimes fried eggs -- yes, fried eggs).
  • And The Grilled Cheeserie food truck, found wherever it happens to be (check their website or mobile tracker to locate 'em on a daily basis), serves slap-yore-granny grilled cheese sandwiches;  seriously, you won't believe how incredible grilled cheese can be -- but be prepared for a long line because all of Nashville knows the best place to get a sandwich and no one minds the wait.  They're that good.

Fido Nashville, veggie burger

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The Pharmacy waiting

The Grilled Cheeserie

A good runner up on places to eat would have to be the Elliston Place Soda Shop, right there on Elliston Place.  Their food is good -- staples like burgers and fries, meat 'n threes, and Ruben sandwiches -- but they absolutely rock the the concept of a soda shop: egg creams, milkshakes, floats, malts, and traditional dreamsicles, they've got it all.  And the atmosphere can't be beat.

Elliston Place Soda Shop

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Lastly, entertainment.  Nashville has it all, from geek con-fests and music, to hockey and football, to free plays and museums.  They've got a dozen different things to choose from on any given weekend throughout the year.  Some of our favorites include the Nashville Shakespeare Festival every August and September, right there in Centennial Park;  Nashville Dancing, at Riverfront Park, with live music galore;  and the Tomato Arts Festival every August, in the Five Points district (or what I like to call "little Portland").  All of these events are fun for the whole family, so don't miss 'em!

Nashville Shakespeare Festival

Tomato Arts Festival, Nashville TN

going going gone

West Coast Weekend -- Huntsville, Alabama Photographer

I went out to the West coast a couple weeks ago, to Washington and Oregon to spend some time with friends and get a little photography done.  It was fun, to say the least.  I think I found a part of myself that had been lying dormant for years, just waiting for an excuse to come out and groove to her sweet-soul groove.  I listened to loud music with friends on a drive down the coastline of Oregon, drank a pint of Guinness in a pub, ate (mass quantities of) delicious food, found commonality and grace with fellow Believers, and generally allowed that slow, West coast vibe to bathe me over in its warm, honey-gold tones and salt air.  It was a much needed reprieve from my regular daily grind, allowing me to breathe and return home refreshed and restored to a more solid self, a grounded self, an assured self. SouthWest Selfie

Mt. Hood, proud sentinel over the Columbia River, Portland Oregon, and Vancouver Washington

Mt. Hood Washington Oregon

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Portland is indeed weird.  Wonderfully and deliciously weird -- and I love it!

 

Possibly my most favorite place in Portland (maybe in the world), is Powell's World of Books.   It is one serious bookstore -- and I adore books.  I spent nearly two hours (not long enough) trolling the shelves, reading spines, watching people, smelling the age of the place, room after room, a whole square block of goodness times three floors and a basement!  There was even a moment, on the upper floor, where I found myself fully immersed in the place, feeling the magnitude of the space, the building full of people, full of words and photographs, in thousands of books representing thousands of minds and lives, the decades of thoughts and ideas and passions. It was reverent, almost . . . holy.

Powell's Bookstore, Portland OR

One of my favorite spots in Powell's is the shelves and shelves if  Jane Austen goodness.

How to Create the Perfect Wife

Harry Potter

Powell's Bookstore, Portland OR

 

Much of my time was spent with my girlfriends, Lisa and Christina.  We drank mass quantities of Starbucks, ate crazy good food (if you're ever in the area, do eat at Moe's on Cannon Beach), and generally had more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

A cuppa clam chowder from Moe's, Cannon Beach, OR.  I won't lie:  I had two cups.  Worth every calorie.

Christina's "good coffee!" face.

Haystack Rock on Cannon Beach, OR -- also known as "Goonies Rock"

smiling beauty

That's me there, flanked by two of the most spectacular redheads in the world.

Cannon Beach, OR

Cannon Beach beauty

After visiting awhile with Goonies Rock on Cannon Beach, we headed over to Astoria, home of The Goondocks.  I admit it, I'm a total Goonie geek.  Goonies never say die!

The Goondocks

The Goondocks

The Goondocks

stunning view of the river from the Goondocks

 

One last stop before a last night's sleep and boarding a plane for home: Voodoo Donuts!  You simply cannot visit Portland without a donut pit stop.  Tip:  the Portland airport will indeed allow you to carry on a big pink box of Voodoo;  just be prepared for the envious stares and covetous comments by everyone you encounter between the airport and home.

sign at the historic (and delicious!) Voodoo Donuts, downtown Portland, OR

That's right folks: an entire box of nasty goodness.  Check out the maple bacon bars, the only thing my husband asked (begged) me to bring home from my trip.

I can't wait to return to the West coast.  I miss it terribly already.  *sigh*