Jul
27
2015Sarah’s second little one is on the way. She came to the studio for a set of fresh timeless studio maternity pictures in Greenville SC. She came wearing this lovely dress from her own maternity wardrobe.
All of the remaining gowns and dresses are from my carefully curated mama wardrobe provided here at the studio. These pieces are perfect for both maternity images and for mama’s at newborn sessions as well as at any session with their little one. This lovely piece is by Sew Trendy Accessories. 
What I loved most about photographing Sarah alone was hearing her story. She told the story of her second miracle baby and of all the universal emotions of bring a second child into your family.
All the joy. The excitement. The wondering over how the two siblings will interact together.
But also all the fear. The grief over loosing all of your alone time with your firstborn. The loss of the routines and joys you have created. The uncertainty of parenting two instead of one. 
But she circled back around to hope. To knowing that each day comes with the grace to work through the struggles in that day. That a new normal will develop and that will have it’s own joy.
Sarah, I can’t express how amazing it has been to be a part of your family’s journey for the last two years. I can’t wait to meet this sweet girl and see you and Justin and Everett grow together.
Interested in booking your own studio maternity session? Contact me today!
Jul
18
2014Today I’d like to you to meet Sara Riddle. She’s the lady behind the Spartanburg modern maternity clothing boutique: Haute Mama.
If you walk into Haute Mama, you’ll meet this adorable spunky woman who likely has eaten veggie straws, chocolate, and champagne for a recent meal. Sara’s thoughtful and listens carefully to each person she serves. And Sara has big dreams for her little store.
Haute Mama exists for two reasons.
- To bring fashionable clothing options to mamas in the upstate which are wearable before, during, and after pregnancy.
- To provide a space for expecting and new mothers to receive education, support, and hope for those weary long days.
Fashionable Clothing for All Seasons of a Mother’s Life
When Sara was expecting her little guy Cash, she couldn’t find any maternity clothing she liked. She had to settle for an endlessly boring routine of a black maxi that she wore until it became sheer, leggings and any top she could find that would cover her belly, and she used the rubber band trick for way too long on her jeans. She refused to have a frumpy bump and knew there had to be a better solution to a wearable and long lasting maternity wardrobe.
So when she heard about Spartanburg’s Main Street Challenge, she jumped at the opportunity to fix these problems and create a store specializing in fashionable clothing for all seasons of motherhood.
Everything Haute Mama carries can be worn during any season of your life.
Stop envisioning tent like dresses and shirts and start imagining casual clothing that looks like it stepped off a rack at Anthropologie. Or imagine that perfect stretchy little black dress that accommodates a baby belly. Or that pair of jeans you can wear pregnant, 10lbs overweight, and 5lbs underweight (yes, they do exist!). She also carries cute lingerie, jewelry for mom, stylish diaper bags, amber necklaces, baby shower gifts, and really cute maternity swim options!
All of the real women in this post are modeling clothing from her boutique!
A Space for Education and Support
Sara launched Haute Mama just a few months after Cash was born. She was struggling with sleep, with nursing her boy, with loosing the baby weigh, and, worse still, from the comparison/competition of those first years of motherhood.
“Is cloth diapering the way to go? Is it okay to use a pacifier and nurse? What options do I have for birth besides the hospital? What do I really need to put on the baby registry for the first year? Which stroller or baby wearing device do I need? How do I sleep train? Where can I take an Infant CPR Class? How do I introduce solids to my little one? Where can I get breastfeeding support without having to take my newborn into a germy hospital?” These were all questions she was faced with.
So as Sara created her downtown space, she designed a space for education and support. In a little over a year, she’s hosted classes on numerous topics ranging from breastfeeding, to cloth diapering, to essential oil bug spray options, to birth classes. She’s working with a few other business owners to bring in infant CPR, options in sleep training, and possibly occasional mini sessions from Quiet Graces. 😉
My favorite thing that Sara offers is a Mama support group. So many support groups seem polarized around a common thread: cloth diapering or baby wearing or a specific method of child rearing. I found this really hard because I didn’t fit into any one box as a mother. Sara’s group is diverse and I think it’s healthy for new moms to have a number of different perspectives until they find what works for them and their child.
Interested in seeing what Haute Mama has to offer?
Hop on Haute Mama’s Website to see current class offering on the Calendar.
Keep up with Haute Mama on Facebook to see all of her new clothing items.
Or best yet: drive on over to the store at 154 East Main Street, Spartanburg, SC and visit today. You’re sure to find something you love!
Aug
22
2013When I spoke to Sarah in our pre-session consult about the story she wanted me to tell as her Greenville SC Maternity Photographer, I knew I had found my ideal couple. The story they have to tell about their little boy is nothing short of a miracle (I’ll share more after their newborn session!), but what drew me to Sarah was her laugh. And we laughed hard and long for this session.
Sarah and Justin allowed me the privilege of doing a Beloved Style Maternity Session. Beloved Photography is a genre that seeks to capture honest raw emotion through the use of verbal prompts to create an experience that is simultaneously photographed. Basically, I take my clients to a location, find the light, pose them loosely, and then give them something to do or talk about. As a girl with a degree in experiential education, this type of experiential documentary-style photography is my heart strings. I don’t know why I didn’t try it sooner.
I asked Sarah and Justin to write little love notes to share at the beginning of the session. I had them telling knock-knock jokes. I asked them to dream about who they wanted their son to be. And I had Justin tell Sarah just how much he would love her still even though pregnancy will change her body.
That last one may have brought bubbly always laughing Sarah as close to tears as I think she’ll admit.
The beauty of a Beloved Session is that it helps a couple grow closer and have an experience they won’t forget while creating images that will help them relive the whole experience every time they look at their art. The photographer is far enough away, that he/she can’t really hear the things they are sharing, but close enough to create beautiful images and give a new experience prompt when needed.
I’m pretty sure that I’ll be doing maternity sessions in the Beloved Style from now on. I can’t believe the raw emotion and the authentic expressions we captured in just over an hour.
Sarah and Justin, thank you so much for trusting me with this much anticipated season of your life. I can’t wait to meet and snuggle your little boy in October.
Dec
21
2012
A Different Type of Story
When I photograph families or children, I try to tell you the beautiful stories. The funny ones. The silly moments. The laughter. The pure joy.
But pure joy it has two sides: the crazy-beautiful (those I can’t believe this joy actually happened to me moments) and the ugly-beautiful. There is a word in English for the crazy-beautiful joy- miracle. But in English there is no words to encapsulate the ugly-beautiful.
And yet the ugly-beautiful is the climax of all the best stories every told. The moment you realize that Old Dan and Little Anne aren’t going to make it after they battle a mountain lion to protect Billy in Where the Red Fern Grows. The moment where Despereaux goes back down to the dungeon to save the one he loves even though the odds are stacked against him. The moment you realize Charlotte has spun her last web and Wilbur won’t have her anymore. That split second where Frodo pus on the Ring of Power right there inside of Mount Doom and all of Middle Earth is hanging in the balance. The moment they roll the stone in front of Jesus’ tomb on a dark Friday afternoon.
My friend Karen (above!) and her husband Shamus’s story is full of this ugly-beautiful. And I feel like it needs to be told even in my 3rd person voice so that it may speak directly to the heart of one of my readers. Bear with me in the telling because no matter how ugly-beautiful things become know that joy is coming.
Karen and Shamus’s Ugly-Beautiful Story
On August 5th, 2010 I was driving to some play date grossly pregnant with Sedryn and just hoping to wear my 2 two year olds out so I could take a nap. My phone rang. I still remember Karen’s voice. “Melissa, I lost Baby #3… they can’t do the D & C until tomorrow. I don’t need to be alone… can I come over?” Karen and I were just mere acquaintances at this time, and to this day, I still regret not driving home and having her over. Oh, but Karen, she took refuge in a God who gave far more comfort than I ever could.
This song gave Karen so much comfort, and you can read more of her faithful reaction to this miscarriage here.
Karen’s and my lives intersected more deeply later when I was sleepless and exhausted with a very sinful attitude toward my own baby #3 and she drew me into her small group. She loved me when I was pretty hard to love and struggling with sin that she may have wished she’d still have the opportunity to struggle with. She challenges me weekly on following Christ in very practical ways. She actually called me in the middle of writing this post to reflect to me a behavior that I need some growth in (ouch and Amen!).
Karen and Shamus’s arms were empty on March 1, 2012, the last possible day that Baby #3 could have been born. And on that same day Karen, penned these tear drenched words.
On Thursday, December 4, 2008, God gave us Jay. On Friday, May 7, 2010, God gave us Ben. Two miracles. On Thursday, March 1, 2012, God gave me rest, fellowship, wisdom, laughter, entertainment, His Word, order, romance, and peace. What would you call those things?
When I cry about losing our precious daughter, I remember who God is. I remember that He is holding her along with the rest of His children. When I cry, I cry on God’s shoulder. That is called Comfort. You might have had comfort before. But you can’t have Comfort unless you have Christ. And I have Him. So I have everything.
Comfort from your Creator: that’s also a miracle.
Content in All Things?
On Sunday, May 6 our whole shepherding group was seated together at our annual outdoor service. The kids were elbow deep in play dough or sidewalk chalk when Karen pulled me aside to whisper that Baby #4 was on the way. Our hearts all left that worship service full in so many ways.
Two days later Baby #4 was in the arms of Jesus. This time I was privileged to hold my friend while she wept. But even more so, I was able to watch in awe as this second miscarriage transformed Karen and Shamus even more. Watching Karen and Shamus vulnerably process their grief in light of the Cross of Jesus is truly one of the biggest miracles I have ever experienced. It’s mostly impossible for me to summarize their transformation… so I’ll just once again quote Karen.
MONDAY, MAY 7, 2012
I wrote this journal entry:
I truly want to love Baby #4. But I’m too afraid to commit. Last time I committed with my whole heart and when Baby #3 died my heart crumbled. Can I handle that again? YES! Of course I can, because I know what it is to be pregnant and I know what it is to miscarry and I know what it is to have life with my child and I know what it is to have life without my child- I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation; whether listening to my child sing scripture or digging a grave for my lost baby…
I can’t finish that statement the way Paul does. I want to so badly. And that makes my body shake with weeping.
SUNDAY, MAY 13, 2012Mother’s Day
Peter preached on Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
These verses are just before Paul says this:
Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
(Philippians 4:11-13 ESV)
That’s the secret I wanted to say I knew last week. And I couldn’t.MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012
If we miscarry again, we can rejoice. Which is not the same as being happy. We can rejoice in the midst of deep sadness.
Can I say that I am content in any and every situation? I can say that Christ died for my sins and I am redeemed and reborn and growing to be like Him and saved from eternal punishment, no matter what my situation. And that brings joy every time I say it.
Every good and perfect gift is from above. A child is a good and perfect gift. If God puts another child in my womb, it will be like Christmas morning when you’re 7 years old! A gift! The one we wanted most!
We know that we will struggle with anxiety and fear apart from a particular miracle. But we will refuse to struggle with love.
Karen has a hat for each of her four children.
Soon she’ll need another one.
And Shamus and Karen are anticipating the birth of Zan with so much joyful hope, but only by the grace of God. For through their suffering, they have learned the secret of being content. Not the secret of happiness, but the one of joy. Joy in a God who gives the greatest gift, His Son.
Karen’s Lifestyle Maternity Photography Session
Now I’ll just let you feast your eyes on the fun we had at the Cronin’s lifestyle maternity photography session. I love these two!
