From Brooke Williams of The Tony Townie

Shh.  Do you feel that?  It’s back.  The magic of the holidays.

We’re finally in that golden time of year when the spirit of the season hugs your heart as warmly as your oven baking Santa’s sugar cookies.  I live for this, the happy holiday magic.  The sweaters.  The sparkle.  The snow!

I wanted to capture that special feeling in our first holiday family photos, so when I saw Anastasiia Photography’s ‘Let It Snow’ photo session I was instantly on board.  First of all, Anastasiia is a first-class photographer.   Her work is flawless.  On top of that, I loved the originality of the snow concept.  Knowing I’d put a lot of pressure on myself to get great photos, for our first Christmas, that I’d love and cherish forever, I felt like Anastasiia and her Winter Wonderland was the perfect fit for us.

I expected amazing.  We got miraculous.  I’m still in shock over just how incredible these photos are!

I love dressing up for the holidays. We always live in jeans and casual clothes. I think there’s something to be said for feeling fancy while you get festive. Honor the occasion with a little something sparkly!

I remember looking forward to picking out a Christmas dress every year with my mom. Sometimes we’d go together, others I’d come home and a beautiful velvet or jacquard number would be hanging on my closet door. I can’t wait to continue that tradition with Harlow. I saw this pleated dress from Gap Kids and the Christmas bow headband and could not buy them fast enough LOL! I got the ribbed tights and metallic Mary Janes from Old Navy. I’ll link to each one at the end of the post.

With Harlow’s dress picked out, I got to work on Mike and I’s attire. I wanted a Kate Spade-like vibe.  Feminine and fancy, with a coy, coquettish wink of the eye. I found the perfect ruffle-hem dress from Scout Boutique and added the collar necklace and shiny shoes for pops of bling. To finish it off, I wrapped the removable fur collar of a cape around my head to mimic the look of a babushka hat. Given our snowy surroundings, I felt the look needed a little fur, right?!

Of course, one outfit wasn’t nearly enough!  Like I said, I admire Anastasiia’s work so much that when I have the chance I want to maximize every minute!  We did a quick wardrobe change and put on traditional wintry layers in a fun pink/burgundy/gray/cream color palette.  Once again, I picked out Harlow’s pieces first, then put together outfits for Mike and me.  I’ll link to these items below as well.  

I have to say, I felt like we were in a Gap ad!  Their ads always feel cheerful, warm, and whimsical.  These photos make me feel the exact same way!  Anastasiia’s eye is insane.

There’s really no other way to describe this experience and these photos other than to say it was all so wonderfully magical!  Harlow loved watching the snow fall and playing in it. It’s such a brilliant concept for families because the kids are always so entertained by all the snow.   You can really let them loose and have fun — they enjoy the heck out of it, and it makes for really great photos!  A win-win for moms and dads hoping and praying to walk away with at least a handful of good photos.  These are just some of my favorites, but I have even more amazing photos than what I’m sharing here.  The point is, you get plenty of beautiful pictures to cherish forever and always!

She rarely does family photos anymore so I feel extra blessed to have gotten the chance to have her shoot our holiday pictures.  I definitely recommend booking your session while you still can!  Even if you don’t have children, do a session with a fiance, spouse, group of girlfriends, or with your parents and siblings.  There are so many ways to have fun in the snow with those you love.

The only hard part: deciding which one(s) to put on the Christmas card!