Fort De Soto Beach Engagement Session :: Alexandra + Adam

If you are dreaming of an engagement session that has beachy, wind-blown magic, with an airy and woodsy feel, but you also want a romantic garden vibe- you might be thinking your dreams aren't possible. But we are here to tell you that Fort De Soto has it all!

This location is perfect for an engagement session because there is an amazing amount of versatility. (They also have a dog beach, so if you want photos with your pup we can make it happen!) Sessions here ensure our couples receive images that look like we scoured the city all day long to get various different backgrounds.Alexandra and Adam made our job easy with their stylish engagement session outfits, pure chemistry, and adventurous attitudes.

Enjoy a few of our favorites from their session below!

 Searching for more engagement session inspiration? Check out our sneak peek from Krystel and Jordan here. The rustic and rugged vibes mixed with the way they looked at each other was pure magic!

Katie + Bill

Grooms: 3 Ways to Help your Bride Wedding Plan

Over the years I’ve met quite a few grooms! Whether clients, many of my friends, and even being a groom myself just a few short years ago- I feel like I’ve got the inside scoop to the grooms perspective on wedding planning. Many of these guys have expressed feeling at a loss for what to do to help when their bride-to-be seems so overwhelmed! It’s why I want to share three tips that can help any groom step up to the plate while navigating planning a wedding.

(Before we dive in, I’m going to give you the obvious tip of all tips which is: If she asks you to do something, do it! Bonus points if you have a smile.)

1) Be prepared

Nothing can stress a bride-to-be out quite like a groom who wants to wait until the last minute on everything. From choosing groomsmen, wrangling the family guest list on your side, having everything ready for your tux, or getting your vows done early, being as prepared as you can with your basic responsibilities will make a huge difference. (Tip- you’ll also want to purchase a gift for your groomsmen- don’t make your bride shoulder that task too! Try a custom Yeti like these or a pre-packaged classy gift from Fox Blossom like these. Or search Etsy for personalized gifts like this one)

2) Be patient

think almost every bride can admit: there are times when they are going to feel stressed, emotional, or down-right overwhelmed. Planning for a wedding comes with a lot of checklists, decision making, and thoughtful planning. That said, I think everyone in that scenario deserves a free pass or two! If she’s too tired to go on date night, or seems short one day- don’t make a big deal out of it. In fact- why not treat her to a day off from planning when she seems especially bogged down? Volunteer to be the one who swings by the post office to double check the invite postage, or returns Aunt Sue’s four phone calls about the attire, and drop her off at the spa for an afternoon of relaxation. (If you’re a Tampa native, Ashley likes this one, Spa Jardin.)

3) Have a good attitude

This is a simple tip, but one of the most important in my opinion. Guys- you are going to have to do things you don’t want to as you wedding plan. I REPEAT: you are going to HAVE to do some things you don’t want to do! Dance lessons, seating chart planning, getting fitted for a tux, food and cake tastings (alright.. this one is pretty good). Most importantly: Posing for photos without getting annoyed. I don’t know many guys who love being in front of the camera, picking out complimentary outfits, etc. But guess what? To most of my brides, pictures are one of the most important parts of their planning.From the engagement session to the wedding day- this is all you have left from this time in your lives. Try to put a smile on and have a little fun with it! Who knows- you might even leave saying it was fun after all. (Bonus points- why not surprise your bride to be on the wedding day by gifting her an album of your engagement photos? Click here to contact us and get one ordered today!)

There you have it- three tips for any groom-to-be! I hope you found this helpful and will use it as you navigate planning with your beautiful bride. Even with all the stress of planning I can confidently say from the other said- it is so worth it. Your wedding day truly will be one of the best of your life, and marriage is just plain awesome!  Justin P.S.- If you loved this blog, check out this one from Leah and Chris' wedding day. He was such a good example of a groom who kept a smile and a good attitude all day long!

5 Valentine's Day Gift Ideas

Valentine’s day is TOMORROW, and some of you may be scrambling to find the perfect gift! Never fear- we wanted to share some easy ideas that will help you plan something special in the nick of time.

We are huge fans of the 5 love languages test (find it here) because it helps you to understand and connect with your fiancé/spouse on an even deeper level! If you haven’t taken it, we highly suggest it. Then scroll below to find the perfect Valentine’s idea for your hunny based on how they best receive love.

1) Valentine’s ideas for “Acts of Service”

This is always a high scoring love language for me (Ashley) and Justin definitely loves me well in it! Some things he has done for me in the past that would make great gifts-

-  Taking the car to get detailed

- Breakfast in bed

- Cleaning the entire house (OR gifting a service to do it- two love languages for one!)

- In home spa day complete with a pedicure and massage (I think I speak for every girl when I say make sure to get the good polish, I like this brand)

2) Valentine’s ideas for “Physical touch”

Physical touch is a big one for a lot of people, including Justin! Some of the best gifts and dates you can give to someone with this as a love language are-

-A dance class (For those of you who live in Tampa, we did swing dancing at this studio)

-A snuggly stargazing date (Justin’s personal favorite! Complete with a late night snack basket and wine)

-A couple’s massage (Try the spa at the Epicurean, a personal favorite of ours)

3) Valentine’s ideas for “Words of affirmation”

Justin and I both score high on words of affirmation, so we have personally used the ideas below and love them-

-Letters to my husband (I used these and gifted them to Justin on our wedding day)

-Love Jar or Love Balloons- write out as many reasons why you love your fiancé/spouse as you can think of on slips of paper. Then put them in balloons for your love to pop or in a jar so they can reach in and read one anytime!

-A poem or song (I wrote one for Justin on our wedding day as well! It definitely wasn’t fancy or overly clever… but he loved it because I put in effort. The thought is what counts!)

4) Valentine’s ideas for “Quality time”

This is one of the easiest love languages to gift for because all you need (mostly) is YOURSELF! If your fiancé/spouse really resonates with quality time, simply plan a date, and you are set. Here are some of our favorite ideas-

-Date night box (we have purchased this one before and like it!)

-Painting class, or painting pottery

-Cooking class (Try Sur la Table , it’s phenomenal! Pro tip: bring your own bottle of wine!)

-Renting bikes and riding along the water or in a park

5) Valentine’s ideas for “Receiving gifts”

This is the most difficult to give advice on, because gifting thoughtfully requires a lot of effort on the gifters part- you have to listen as much as you can! Justin is so thoughtful, and whenever he hears me mention something I like or want, he makes a note on his phone! That way when an occasion comes along to get a gift, he has a whole list of ideas. We’ll try to provide some inspiration to get you started below-

- Does your fiancé/spouse like wine or whiskey? Pick up their favorite bottle or visit a winery/distillery and choose a bottle together!

-Any coffee fans out there? You can’t go wrong gifting local beans, or even a new accessory! I bought Justin the Nespresso (see them here) and it’s been a big hit!

-Justin gifted me a t-shirt quilt from Project Repat and I LOVED it because it helped me clear up space in my dresser without parting with some fun memories. (Find them here)

 We hope these ideas have helped inspire you this Valentine’s day! We’d love to hear if you used any of them- pay us a visit on instagram (@justindemutiis) and let us know what you thought! 

XO Ashley

Want even more gift ideas? Try our blog 7 ideas for gifting experiences for additional inspiration!

Southern Soul Wedding Inspiration

We dreamed up this day on the phrase- Southern Soul Inspiration! We loosely based the idea on Allie & Noah from The Notebook- What would their daughter's wedding have looked like?I have to say the day was spot on! From a gorgeous home, to breathtaking florals any spring wedding would be lucky to have, and a fried chicken and champagne wedding lunch menu, we would have been guests at this southern occasion any day of the week! Enjoy!

Want more from this Springtime Southern Wedding? See it featured here on Grey Likes Weddings! 

Photography: Justin DeMutiis Photography | Planning: Dairing Events  | Florals: Shea Hopely | Invitations: Heather O'Brien Design | Wedding Gown: Lazaro from The White Magnolia | Hair and Makeup: Studio Bride Artistry | Bridesmaids: Bella Bridesmaid | Video: Pine and Perfume | Rentals: Southern Charm Rentals & Luxe Party Rentals | Linens: Nuage Design

Los Angeles Engagement Session :: Katie + Eric

Katie and Eric make the top of the list for best engagement sessions!

We mixed it up a bit from the usual for this couple who loves photos and did an all day engagement session! Traveling around Los Angeles with a sweet couple, seeing some of the best places in the area, all with a camera in hand?! Don't have to ask us twice.

Take a peek below to see some of our favorite engagement session shots in Downtown LA, perusing some of the best dessert spots, the Griffith observatory, and Malibu beaches.

Special thanks again to Katie and Eric for being so laid back, easy to photograph, and fun! 

Searching for more engagement session goodness? Check out another favorite here! Chay's outfits, champagne, and that golden light gave us allll the heart eyes!

The Orlo House Wedding :: Elise + Keith

There aren't enough words to describe how wonderful Elise and Keith's wedding day was!

We were given the honor of photographing their wedding at The Orlo House, and they (with the help of an impeccable team of vendors) transformed the space into a romantic scene as seen in movies. The french blue accents, lush greenery, soft candlelight, and fabulous band set the scene for the perfect evening. We're delighted to share a small peek into their story- the photos speak for themselves!

Photography: Justin DeMutiis Photography | Wedding Planner: Happenings by Kambria | Florals and Decor: MMD events | Videography: Voila Cinematic | Cake Artist: Cakes by Nomeda | Catering: Good Food Catering | Band: A-Town A-List (Sam Hill Entertainment) | Makeup: Ashley Ann on Location | Hair: Sandy Bryant | Gown: CC's Boutique | Dress Designer: Martina Liana | Suit: The Black Tux 

The Key to Communication in your marriage: How to stay on the same page as your spouse all year long!

I’m going to let you guys in on a little secret that has set us up to be successful in our communication with each other since day one: GOAL SETTING IN MARRIAGE.

Some of you are reading what I just said and thinking- "What in the world? I have enough on my plate just trying to set my personal goals, why would I want to add a totally different list specific to my marriage?”. Maybe having a better marriage or having more dates nights is already on your personal goals list, so you feel like you don’t need to make other goals together. I’m here to tell you WHY I wholeheartedly believe in sitting down with your spouse to make goals, HOW I believe it can change your communication, your marriage, and your life this year, and WHAT you need to do to get started!

Last year, we decided to purchase the goal setting guide for couples from our friends at Cultivate What Matters. Lara Casey says this best, so I am going to quote her directly here! :

“Why set goals as a couple? Three of the biggest complaints couples have about their relationships are poor communication, not being understood, and not feeling like they’re on the same page. That’s where good goal setting comes in! Setting goals together will help you work as  team, improve communication by expressing your dreams and challenges, provide accountability, and deliver a great sense of unity and connectedness when you make progress together. Good goals can change everything”.

BOOM- Lara Casey for the win! This statement embodies exactly how we feel about goal setting in our marriage- and we encourage you to give it a go! Below, I’m going to share some of the basic framework we use in our goal setting, and tell you real-life examples from our own marriage. 

1) Celebrate

This year for our marriage goal setting, we decided a little getaway was just what we needed to feel refreshed and inspired while planning our year. What better place to escape the Florida heat than snowy Vermont?! On a whim we decided to use up some of those credit card points we’d been hoarding to book the cutest little boutique hotel called the Taconic in the heart of Manchester, Vermont. We got a sweet little room with mountain views and a fireplace, grabbed some wine on night one, and celebrated! We believe the goal setting process should ALWAYS begin with celebrating where you’ve been and what you’ve accomplished. I repeat- step one should ALWAYS BE to celebrate!!! As human beings we are so quick to think of the bad things that have happened- so this exercise will really help you cultivate gratitude (you already know we’re big on this if you read our blog about tips we use to be grateful every day!), and celebrate all the past year has brought to you as opposed to thinking “Oh- it’s new years and I have a LOT of improving to do…”. Starting out any exercise feeling overwhelmed with changes you want or need isn’t going to lead you in the right direction.

2) Ask important questions

After our night of celebration, we woke up early the next day and decided to dig into the goals right away. For us, we have to start with coffee and some prayers :) So I encourage you to do whatever it is in the morning that helps you feel pumped and ready before you dive in!

We always begin marriage goal setting by sharing our personal goals first. This way we can use those as a guide to keep us focused on what matters to us both individually, and then we move onto the big questions for marriage. When I say big questions, I’m talking plans for buying a home, kids, travel plans, yearly budget… we get into it ALL on goal setting! Don’t be afraid to bring up those big, sometimes uncomfortable questions and dreams. The discomfort is really where the magic happens and you can dig deeper with your spouse. Some of the most important questions we asked ourselves-

1. What can we do to make our marriage a top priority in both of our lives?

2. Where do we see ourselves one year from now? How about 10? 20? Write out dreams and hopes.

3. How can we encourage one another in our personal goals for 2019?

4. How can we pray for one another this year?

These are just a few of the most important questions, and we encourage you to come up with questions that are specific to your own lives and marriages to add here. If you need more suggestions or would like to see our full list, feel free to email us directly and we are happy to share!

3) Create baby steps

After we work through all the biggest questions, the final steps are creating a vision for our marriage (an actual vision sentence.. like a big corporation ha!) and then writing out baby steps we can take to accomplish each goal.An example of baby steps from one of our own personal goals looks like this:

Goal:

Keep our marriage a top priority in both of our lives all year long.

Steps:

1. Going on a date every single Monday! From going on a long walk to a full day at the beach or a garden, we commit to doing something each and every week to focus on us as a couple.

2. Putting phones on airplane mode between 10PM and 9AM. This time should be for us as a couple each and every day to talk, pray together, laugh… We don’t want anyone or anything competing for that time and attention!

3. Work through the “You and Me” app . (An app suggested by a friend that has you read a book and answer questions together that strengthen your relationship)

We created these steps for each and every goal, and it makes a big difference breaking things down into something manageable!

After discussing all the big questions for hours- we decided our marriage vision is: “To be pleasing to God, to be happy and joyful with one another, to be inspiring and encouraging to other couples.” These few little words sum up all the most important things to us this year- And we have some exciting steps and plans to bring our vision to life, particularly for the couples who give us the honor of photographing their weddings!

After all was said and done we celebrated our progress by going on a snowmobiling journey and having a Thai dinner! Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate.

We are so happy we decided to take a trip to Vermont this year and worked through the steps of celebrating our 2018, sharing personal goals, asking each other the big questions for 2019, breaking goals into baby steps, creating a vision, and celebrating AGAIN!

We hope this blog has given you some inspiration for goal setting in your own marriage to improve your communication all year round. We promise you won’t regret setting aside this time to fully commit to one another through 2019 and beyond- The best is yet to come, you can do it!

Xo,

Justin and Ashley

P.S- if you need some tips for starting your personal goal setting, check out these three tips for setting goals. It’s never too late to begin!

3 tips for setting goals

Up until just a few years ago, I NEVER set goals for myself. I’m a fairly driven person, so I never saw the need to “waste time” crafting a bunch of words or thinking through what I wanted out of life, because I was fairly content. Thankfully, my hubs is an AMAZING goal setter, and showed me the light!

Now, I can’t IMAGINE not setting goals for myself. I’m no longer content just cruising through and letting life happen to me, because I’ve seen the difference keeping my goals front and center in my life can make! I’m more driven, better at saying no to things that don’t align well with my values, and all around happier… all from writing down those words I once thought silly.

Below are just a few tips we like to use to set goals- we hope they’ll help you in making this the best, most intentional year yet!

1) Write them down

 I’ll say it again: WRITE. THEM. DOWN-  The simplest and yet most overlooked piece of goal setting. I’ve heard it said a goal not written down is just a wish: and I wholeheartedly agree. There’s something final about putting pen to paper and actually writing what you want into existence.I should note here that I’m not just taking about writing them down in your spiral notebook, turning the page, and never looking at them again. Write them anywhere and everywhere you can! Write them in your journal, on a card that you keep in your wallet, on a post it stuck to your steering wheel, on your bathroom mirror. We are big fans of creating a vision board as well! We have something similar in our home to this . Write down your goals, and then keep them in sight as much as possible! This re-affirms what you want and keeps it in your mind all day long!

2) Make them specific

Don’t just make the goal “I want to spend time with family this year” or “I want to help more people this year!”. Vague goals are just asking to be forgotten! Instead say “I will plan two trips with my family this year- one in March and one in September” or “I will to sign up for Big Brothers Big Sisters by February”. These goals are actually something you can look at and work towards!

3) Break them into manageable steps

Do you have a big dream for your year that seems impossible? Something huge like “Lose 60 pounds this year” or “save enough to buy a house”? I always say it’s great to dream big, but sometimes looking at a sentence like that is enough to overwhelm you. For these goals I always suggest breaking them down into smaller steps and keeping it all written somewhere you can see it. For example, for losing 60 pounds this year you could say: I want to lose 3 pounds per month in January through May, 10 in June July and August when I have extra time, and 4 pounds September through December by cutting more sugar from my diet”. This way, you can look at January and know- all you have to focus on at that moment is losing 3 pounds- not 60! Take baby steps one month at a time until you accomplish your goal. Justin and I LOVE using Powersheets to break down our goals. We’ve utilized these magical workbooks for years and swear by them! Shop them here. 

I hope these tips have helped you, friends! Go out and write down those goals, make them specific, and break them down into baby steps. I know this is going to be your best year yet!

 XO, 

Ashley