Jaylyn, Brian, and a wedding in one month!

Claire April 26, 2012

You may remember Jaylyn and Brian from a few months ago when we "cooked" up a little celebration for their engagement

cheesecake style.

Just to jog your memory you can see the deliciousness here.

Jaylyn is one of my very bestest friends and has been such a vital and beautiful part of my college experience, my Baton Rouge experience, my friendship/ hardship/ sanctification experience...and oh so much more!

Jaylyn has taught me to be organized!!

She has been in massive support and on the front lines with Claire Elyse Photography and my dreams for it literally since day one.

Some of you may know her as my assistant at your wedding.

Others may know her as that girl with the stunning blue eyes.

I know her as work buddy, roommate, prayer warrior, amazing cook, dreamer, road trip-the-country companion, and so so much more.

Has anyone ever been able to put into words how special being in someone's wedding is?

If so, I'd like to read that article.

Sometimes words don't do excitement justice.

I get to stand in Jaylyn and Brian's wedding one month from today. (This is quite surreal because they've been engaged for

F.O.R.E.V.E.R.

I can say this because..well...I can. It's been forever.)

But what a worthwhile wait.

Brian and Jaylyn are one of those couples that just make sense together. And they have from the very beginning. One of my favorite things about their engagement was how meticulous Brian was about the ring. He and I would secretly meet up at the same restaurant every time there was a new development and discuss every detail of each ring he was thinking about getting because he wanted her to absolutely love it.

Just as special as being in someone's wedding is knowing that it's right..

I'm honored to stand next to them in one month and show my support and belief that this one is good and oh so blessed by our gracious and loving God.

Love you friends,

*Claire

Jaylyn...Brian...and Cheesecake!!

Claire September 12, 2011

Morning all,

What better way to start a Monday morning than dreaming about cheesecake!?

There is one particular cheesecake I am especially fond of...

One that I devoured after some of my bestest friends slaved in the kitchen with the most glorious of ingredients....it was a masterpiece indeed.

Jaylyn and Brian have known each other for several years after meeting at RUF at LSU. Just over a year and a half ago they had one of their first dates...and spent it making none other than...

a delicious cheesecake:)

Brian proposed to Jaylyn a year later (with a little help/scheming by yours truly) and they'll be starting married life together in May of next year.

I get the honor of standing with Jaylyn and Brian as they commit to spend the rest of their lives learning to love one another.....and you know what that means!

Engagements and bridals for these two to come!!

We figured there's no better way to create some Save the Dates for these two than to make that Turtle Cheesecake goodness..

so take a few moments out of your busy Monday to dream of cheesecake and perhaps plan to make a little for family and friends.

after all...I'm a true believer that baking is quite therapeutic!

~Turtle Cheesecake~

Ingredients*

For the Crust

18 chocolate sandwich creme filled cookies, with filling intact
3 tablespoons pecans, chopped
5 tablespoons butter or margerine, softened, but not melted

NOTE: Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature

Crush the cookies to make crumbs. Place crumbs in a mixing bowl and add pecans and butter, mix well.

Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom of greased 9-inch cheesecake pan. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

For the filling:

32 oz. cream cheese

1 cup dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 teaspoons butter flavoring

3 tablespoons cocoa

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup praline liqueur

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, 1 cup brown sugar, cornstarch, and corn syrup with an electric mixer until smooth.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract and butter flavoring. Remove 3/4 cup of mixture and put in a small bowl. To this small bowl, add cocoa and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Mix well. Set aside.

To the original mixture, add praline liqueur and blend well. Stir in pecans. Pour half of original mixture onto crust. Spoon on half of cocoa mixture. Pour remainder of original mixture on top of cocoa mixture.

Spoon on remaining cocoa mixture.

Without disturbing crust, swirl the handle of a knife through cake, creating a marble effect. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, reduce heat to 200 degrees and bake for 2 hours, or until center no longer looks wet or shiny. Remove cake from oven and run a knife around the inside edge of pan to prevent cracks. Turn oven OFF and return cake to it for an additional 2 hours. Chill overnight in fridge

Topping:

5 oz milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup sour cream

pecan halves

heath bar bits

(Sour Cream? Who knew?)

In a small heavy saucepan, combine chocolate and sour cream over low heat, stirring constantly until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Spread on top of cake.

Arrange heath bits and pecans on cake as you prefer! Keep chilled

And there ya have it!!...trust me...it's gooooooood

Recipe from "I Love Cheesecake" by Mary Crownover

Jaylyn and Brian have cooked 7 of Crownover's recipe's in the year and a half that they've dated and plan to make many more together in the years to come;)

Stay tuned in the next few months for their engagements and Jaylyn's stunning wedding dress.

Wishing everyone a happy week.

Thanks for stopping by,

*Claire

Katie and Phillip...Monroe, Louisiana

Claire August 4, 2011

Katie is pretty much my oldest friend....good ole church child care and VBS will do that to you.

There's something so comforting and natural about seeing an old friend and picking up where you left off.

I would hope that most people get to experience that kind of friendship..

Phillip met Katie a few years ago at The Portico Church..

they watched each other experience other relationships, endured several moves and transitions, and found themselves together after it all

Phillip proposed to Katie over a month ago and planning is underway for a perfectly fitting October wedding at Portico's new church building....

The Palace, a historic downtown Monroe building...many years and prayers in the making.

This is another one of those weddings I won't be shooting because I have the honor of standing in it.

It's so cool to watch someone go from braces, to high school graduation, to decorating a college dorm room, to marriage!!

Katie and Phillip....

I wish you the most joyful, uplifting, and very best of years together my friends...

Anna and Bo

Claire June 3, 2011

There was a time when I knew no one in Baton Rouge, Louisiana

My freshman year of college my family brought all of my junk and we moved me in to the tiny dorm that I would call home for at least a year.

Now I didn't fully understand God's character 5 years ago and that he literally works all things together for our good. I should have known what that meant that first day I was away from my family and all things familiar.

I met 3 lovely ladies that day who would become some of the dearest friends I've had.

Anna is one of those girls

She became my roommate, my late night dance buddy, my comfort in the toughest hurts, my prayer warrior, my friday coffee break, and one of the greatest encouragements God has given me.

Many who will read this know Anna and her humble way of loving those around her...and that is exactly what attracts Bo to his bride to be.

Anna and Bo met at a summer camp (Kanakuk) a few years ago...

It was a few summers later they started dating, endured through long weeks of long distance, adjusted to similar lives in Kansas City, and are now getting married in just a few weeks!

I had the most wonderful pleasure and gift of getting to travel to Kansas City with none other than Anna's sweet mother

(shout out to Holly Hallum...you make ominous circumstances so much more joyful!)

and see where the new chapter of Anna's life will begin.

Thank you to Holly for everything that week and being such a great travel buddy, to Bo's family and friends for taking Anna in and for making me feel so welcome, and to Bo for being such a great sport;)

To Anna...

God has taught me so much through you my friend...life is that much sweeter when you're around. I'm so proud of who you're continually becoming, I'm honored to be your friend, and I can't wait to see what He brings your way in the years to come.

You two are stunning...

I pray God continually blesses you and your marriage...here's to many years!

*Claire

Allison + Grant

Claire March 23, 2011

So I've been fretting a lot about this post because, if you haven't noticed already...

I'm not really a writer

I try to hide it but it shows.

This is one of those times when I want so badly to be eloquent and for the words I type to form sentences that will in turn somehow make you feel what I'm feeling as I write.

But...though I don't have that ability...I owe it to this couple to try

So...I'm taking a sip of my wonderfully dependable Cranberry/Earl Grey from Highland Coffees

turning on my New Soul Pandora station

and starting my day off right

...I met Allison only 3 years ago??

seems so much longer

And 3 years seems so insignificant.

But anyone who has lived a little bit of life away from home, felt alone, pretended to be an adult, or had a broken heart really understands a friendship like mine and Allison's. I could easily say "oh..we've been through it all together" but again...doesn't do it justice

Allison and I are never hesitant to say "yeah...we really shouldn't be friends right now"

This isn't because we don't like each other. This is because God above has chosen to teach me so many somethings through just 3 years of living life with this girl.

The gospel is real...and it seeps through every crack of our lives

most particularly in our relationships

I can truly say that the only possible explanation for

a. the way my heart leaps when I see this dear friend

b. the couple you're about to see love each other so well

and..c. the uncanny miracle of being able to stand up after falling on our faces, disappointing the ones we love, crying the tears of someone else's broken heart, and feeling a joy that not even the sunniest day on the water can pretend to be responsible for

is that there is a God

and He graciously gives more than we can fathom or understand

and so much more than we deserve

Ask me or Allison why we shouldn't be friends...we'd love to sit and talk to you about it.

So...needless to say. These are not just photographs...

This is the story of a past and a future.

We shot half of these engagements in Allison's college apartment..we like to call it Ivanhoe (which has so much history in and of itself I could write multiple short stories about it...but we'll leave it at the fact that there are generations of RUF girls who have slept, cooked, cried, prayed, read, and danced in the comfort of those walls)

and the other half were shot in Allison and Grant's first home together...

I couldn't have asked for better places to shoot these two...Allison wanted to be in places that are special to them...and she hit the nail on the head with these cozy, sunny representations of their past and future together.

These two are dreamers and fellow business starters. You'll be hearing a lot about them in the future...so any time I mention Fullness Organic...South Garden Project...the cookbook we're working on or organic farming anything....it's these two who are behind the scenes. They're about to do some big things and I'm so thankful to get to watch it unfold.

BUT..I won't be shooting this wedding

I have the overwhelming joy of being able to stand with Allison and Grant as they promise to stick together while spending their lives figuring out what loving each other means.

This couple brings smiles when they walk in the room. They are two of my biggest supporters and constantly bring words of encouragement. They are gracious, handy, generous, thoughtful servants. This is just the beginning of what God is and will do through them together and individually.

Grant and Allison, my friends, I'm honored.

Here's to many many years....