En route to Dublin from Bergen, we opted for a longer layover in London. We had never been there and a little time is better than no time. I feel like just being able to get a tiny feel of the place and a teeny window into the lay of the land is totally worth the effort it takes to head out of the airport and run around a little while. With only a few hours to make the most of, we left the airport and took the train into the city and went straight to Buckingham Palace… obviously. All those memories of watching weddings and funerals on TV came back swift and I was so happy to finally see it! #royalweddingforever #thosekisses
Next we walked down the Boulevard and made our way to the changing of the guards with their beautiful horses because that’s another must do. It was such a hot day and I was feeling for them in their heavy uniforms. It looked like a bum job that time of year. Not far is parliment and Big Ben so we trekked over to see those. Next time we want to bring Hattie since she’s one of the few dog breeds allowed in British Parliament. #royal
As an homage to my favorite London Based YouTubers (Estée and Fleur), we went shopping at Selfridges and even stopped in for chicken at Nando’s, which they always seem to be eating. I even found Fleur’s eyelash line in Boots. Yay for Beauty Bloggers!
It was back to the train and airport for our flight to Dublin. Ill never forget this day for so many reasons but most importantly, it was the day I finally made it to Ireland, a lifetime dream of mine.
Over thanksgiving, Dan and I went out to Juneau Alaska to visit our friends The Becks. Dan went to college with Josie and they were actually one of the few guests at our wedding in 2008. Ever since they moved to Juneau from St Louis, I have always wanted to visit them and see this mythical place! The stars aligned finally and we hopped a plane (which is actually one of my least favorite things to do) and flew to the great state of Alaska once again.
The first thing we did after a good nights sleeps was go sledding with the whole “fam damnly!” (My mom used to say that… fam damnly. Get it?)
Honestly, how cute was that you guys? I also appreciated that I found a “beach” reference on a mountain. It’s in my blood people.
Juneau is the capital of Alaska and they have a really cool downtown. We went to the Alaska State Museum which I highly recommend.
The coffee consumption was also out. of. control. Two spots we frequented: Heritage Coffee and the Rookery Cafe.
There was also the important task of Christmas shopping going on so we did a lot of that. While we were there the Juneau Public Market was going on, which is basically the ultimate shopping experience for local crafts and cuteness. A lot of the shops from town had booths.
Here are a few of my favorites… and you can also order online so get stoked:
Tanna Design: Knitted goodies! Josie bought a couple things here for herself and her kiddos. I already had a knitted hat that a friend knitted for me so I passed but now I’m kinda regretting it looking back at their website. So fun!
Trickster Company: I bought lots of prints here from gifts AND for myself plus a christmas ornament and stickers. I was in.to.it.
Kindred Post: This place was almost too much to handle in greatness. Jewelry to die for (definitely bought some), adorable prints (bought 2), accessories, perfume, paper goods etc etc. I also bought Dan’s christmas gift here and Josie and I had to do some secret stuff to get it to NC.
Tree Top Tees: SO FREAKING SOFT! I would have replaced my whole wardrobe here if money was no option. I still have my eye on the Alaska State Flag hoodie. Dan and I bought one tee to share because thats just the kind of relationship we have. I also indulged myself and bought a pair of Xtratufs, which are the only shoe Alaskan’s wear apparently. I’ve coveted them from afar (via Josie wearing them in every photo she posts on social media) and she took me to the local Western Auto to get myself a pair of these bad boys. I made a rather controversial move and went with the low-tops. They fit both Dan and me so thats awesome. I’ll admit to also STILL wanting these because of the fold down cute thing, which is a total look in Juneau.
On Thanksgiving Day, Dan and I took a little trip out to The Shrine of St Therese. It was one of the most peaceful places I have ever been. The sound of the water lapping up to the shore paired with the silence of snow. I was feeeeeeeling it you guys. Anyone want to get married out there… call us.
One evening we went to the local glacier with Josie and took a few photos while there. Josie is literally one of the most encouraging people I know. The whole time you are with her she just sends positive vibes, encouraging words and honest questions your way. You just feel better about yourself when you are around her and I hope that some of that rubbed off on me while we were there. Not as important but she’s also G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S and I’ve always been slightly in love with her look and easy-going effortless beauty. Josie girl… Im so glad we are friends and that Dan brought us together.
#familylife Suh Cute….
When we travel you can always follow along on instagram with the hashtag #bdtravlin
This March, we embarked on QUITE the trip in order to photograph 3 engagement sessions, 1 rehearsal dinner, and 2 weddings. Luckily all those sessions lined up pretty well time-wise, to have us traveling concisely, however they were in no way nearby one another. This post doesn’t even cover the wedding we did a week prior to this trip, that we flew to Boston for. Boston feels so much like home though its pretty much not a travel post kind of a thing you know? Since we did SO much, the structure of this post will be a little different than usual so I can caption the photos as the come up so you don’t get lost in this crazy trip we did! Let’s go shall we?
This was the first trip we took with our new Fuji X-T10. We have been wanting a personal small lightweight incognito camera for a really long time and finally bit the bullet before this trip.
Hattie knows what this big blue bag means and she wasnt into the fact that we were packing it… without her.
FIRST STOP: Denver Colorado to Steamboat Spring Colorado
This portion of the trip was so we could go and photograph Meg and Nate’s engagement session. They hosted us in serious fashion, showing us lots of landmarks and a really really good time. Neither of us had been to Colorado before so this was a big deal for both of us.
SECOND STOP: The Grand Canyon
After we hugged those two goodbye (for now- See you this summah!), we headed down to Salida since Dan has always wanted to see it. The town boasts a whitewater river and lots of kayakers… just what Dan likes to see. We went out to breakfast the next morning and Dan hatched a plan to throw out the current plan and instead head 8 hours away to see the Grand Canyon. It was impromptu, romantic, and a total Andy and April moment. #myheart
And now for a little treat… we filmed most of our Grand Canyon trip and now that Dan is getting into video, we have a vlog for you! It delves into the travel drama that ensued after the canyon. You’ll see why we always book our flights 1 day before the day before we have to be anywhere. Being conservative with air travel is the ONLY option when you are a wedding photographer. Remember that day in March when the Denver airport closed for the first time in 10 years?? Yeah…
THIRD STOP: Providence Rhode Island
After QUITE the terrifying travel debacle, we made it to Providence Rhode Island to photograph Dana and Rodrigo’s gorgeous library wedding. After a tiny trip up to Portland Maine to house shop (we didn’t find anything), we chilled out in Rhode Island for two nights, and did nothing at all but sleep, backup files, and photograph the wedding. #dowork
FOURTH STOP: Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio Texas
Last we headed to Texas, to photograph Kathryn and AJ’s wedding weekend:
Since neither of us had really spent any quality time in the great state of Texas, we stayed a whole week to check the place out! Most of the time we were eating our way through Austin, but we also did a day trip to San Antonio,  and ended the trip with an afternoon in Dallas, seeing Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum.
I have to say, that while this trip was ridiculously tiring and stressful, we really did add some bucket list destinations to our travel list. Im so thankful for each and every moment that we get to spend together on the road. I honestly feel the most alive when we are traveling! Of everywhere we went on the trip, I’d go to every place again.
This is the last installment of our #coxesoutwest2015 Series. If you missed anything here are the previous posts: Seattle, Mt St Helens, Oregon, and Idaho
The whole reason this trip was so long was that we had two jobs on the west coast about 14 days apart. One was a wedding in seattle, and the second was a commercial shoot with Starwood Hotels, photographing a concert with John Legend in LA. Yeah. Can’t complain. You can see those photos here: SPG Moments Captured with John Legend
Our final leg of the trip was in California. We had a couple of days there and since we’ve been to LA a couple of times before (2014 and 2011) we took it easy this time. We visited with a couple of our friends and also Dan’s wonderful Aunt Happy. We also went to a taping of Mike and Molly at WB Studios. My favorite part of our CA time though, was going to Palm Springs for a day trip. I’ve wanted to go for a long time and Dan just added it to the trip on a whim one morning when we woke up. Yes please! Palm Springs was unreal to me, everything all colorful and mid-century modern! I could NOT stop taking photos, similar to what happens to me when we are in San Juan. My shutter just wont stop! We went to a couple of hotels to take a look at the decor, and had lunch poolside at the Ace. Can we shoot a wedding here please? Thanks.
LA and Palm Springs Takeaways:
A live filming of Mike and Molly is no fun. Sorry to say but we really hated it. The show itself was funny and we liked seeing the behind the scenes. That being said, the Emcee was condescending, verbally abusive, and just plain awful! We were served cold pizza and made fun of for about 4 hours. I was dying to get out of there. Maybe another show would be better??
Palm Springs is a must-see and I will be back. Mark-my words. Anyone you know getting married here? We would LOVE to photograph it. We already have photo ideas.
We are always humbled and honored when we get to photograph such cool events with SPG. I hope that this merger with Marriott doesnt mean these shows will end. Fingers and Toes are crossed.
Its really fun to go back to cities we have been a couple times. I love not having a long laundry list of things to do and letting the trip be casual and easy going. It makes me feel more relaxed and more vacation-y. Dont write off places youve already been as re-vacation spots.
All in all, this was a wonderful trip! I loved the variety of each and every day! I am forever thankful for the job that we have that lets us see our country so often. Our cup runneth other.
One of Dan’s closest friends lives in Idaho, and we had never been! Having relocated from Orange County California to Boise, we wanted to check in on him and see how life was in such a different place than where he was originally from. We made our way to Boise and settled in for a few days of fun with James. As you can see in the coming photos, both of them were super happy to see each other. #adorbs
We went on a really long drive one of the days we were there to see a glimpse of the Sawtooths. It takes a really long time to drive to them so it was a nature sightseeing adventure. Idaho is like heaven on earth for preppers, hunters, kayakers, hikers and people who want a slower pace of life. I completely understand the appeal. Every corner we drove around was more majestic views and miles and miles of wilderness. Dan is already planning a return trip for a manly hunting trip. (I’ll plan a girls trip to Palm Springs…)
One of the days we were in Idado was my Birthday! Dan and I spent the day together at one of the top tourist destinations on trip advisor for the area: The Old Idaho Penitentiary! I’d definitely recommend it, as weird as that sounds. Dan had the local grocery store make me a cake and I thought it was so sweet that he went out of his way to make my birthday special even though we were not at home. <3 My new Kendra Scott earrings didnt hurt either.
Idaho takeaways:
Idaho is BIG! We barely saw the place and we spent a lot of time checking it out.
Old friends are the greatest.
There are still places in Idaho that look like an old western movie. People live there and are still kinda wild west themselves! We got to one town, got out of our car, felt REALLY unwelcome, and left. Crazy right?
En route to Dublin from Bergen, we opted for a longer layover in London. We had never been there and a little time is better than no time. I feel like just being able to get a tiny feel of the place and a teeny window into the lay of the land is totally worth the effort it takes to head out of the airport and run around a little while. With only a few hours to make the most of, we left the airport and took the train into the city and went straight to Buckingham Palace… obviously. All those memories of watching weddings and funerals on TV came back swift and I was so happy to finally see it! #royalweddingforever #thosekisses
I also indulged myself and bought a pair of 
#familylife Suh Cute….
