Welcome back! On our anniversary trip to the Outer Banks, I booked a photo shoot with Katie Ludolph Photography to commemorate our first anniversary, and I'm so glad that we did! Our shoot felt pretty fast-paced and it was also windy so I was afraid I would look like a crazy person in them, but I absolutely love how they turned out, so golden and glowy. Katie told me it was one of her favorite shoots she's ever done, I was honored!
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| Dress (also here) | Shoes (also here) |
The first half of our shoot took place at Bodie Island lighthouse, which was such a beautiful setting for photos. In my mind, the Outer Banks and lighthouses go hand-in-hand, so I thought it would be the perfect place for photos. It's also very close to a Coquina beach, so we could take some photos there, too.
So you see that boardwalk we're on? It began in the grass near the lighthouse and went over the marsh up to a little gazebo that you can stand in and look down into the marsh below. At the start of the walkway, there's a sign that says not to step off into the grass because there are venomous snakes around. I was certain we wouldn't see one, but I told Kenny it would be kind of cool to get to see one.
We had gotten to the lighthouse early so that we could walk around some before meeting up with Katie, so we had walked up to the gazebo for a bit, and were walking back down when we encountered two women who were STOPPED IN THEIR TRACKS and called out to us, "There's a snake!" Sure enough, making its way underneath the walkway toward the grass was a four-foot rattlesnake (that I later identified as a timber rattler).
I wasn't afraid of the snake (frankly, I was a little excited to see it), but I can't say the same for those poor women. 😂 They kept asking if it was okay to cross the walkway over top of the snake (which was still making a slithery beeline toward the grass), and I tried my best to ensure them that the snake wanted as little to do with them as they did with it.
It was like talking them off the ledge trying to convince them that the snake wasn't concerned with us, but I don't think they were convinced. One of them said "Oh yeah, THEY'RE snake experts!!" 😂 They kept asking if the snake could get up onto the walkway, and if the view from the gazebo was REALLY worth it. I kept promising they'd be fine to cross (we were about two feet above the snake anyway); the snake wasn't even looking at us, let alone rattling!
Eventually, they decided to split up - one went up to the gazebo and one stayed RIGHT where she was, even though the snake was long gone into the grass by that point, ha. Don't get me wrong, a rattlesnake is nothing to play with, but it wasn't exhibiting any signs of feeling threatened whatsoever. There are people around there every day, so the wildlife is used to seeing humans. No one got bitten by a snake, that's what matters!
Aaaand, here we are in the grass. YES, the same exact grass we had just seen a venomous rattlesnake in! 😂 My mom was quick to point that out when I showed her the photos after having told her that story, haha. Katie wasn't scared, so neither were we. I had a SHARP eye on the ground, though!
This is part one of our anniversary shoot, we did another series of shots at Coquina Beach nearby, and they got a little crazy... you'll see what I mean next week. 😂
xoxx, Laura
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