That time one mobile engagement session turned into an orange beach trip


How did one engagement session turn into a Saturday at Orange beach and a Sunday with multple sessions? It started with Alyssa requesting an engagement session at Spring Hill college, which can be found here.


Originally, my only plan for the weekend was a high school graduation session with a young lady named Daylee for Saturday in Demopolis. So, I scheduled my session with Alyssa for Sunday. I also had had a request for a college graduation session with Ashlyn (Blog post here) in Mobile at South Alabama, but it had not been scheduled yet. This was a great opportunity to consolidate those two sessions into one afternoon. I reached out to Ashlyn and she said she could make Sunday work! YAY!


I also needed to confirm with Kris that all these plans worked with him. I told him about my plans to go to possibly go to Mobile, and he literally is so cool / down with any of my shenanigans. He said


'Okay! When are we going, what else do you want to do while we're down there?'.


WE? Awww. I hadn't even thought of it being a family trip. It was such a sweet idea. I just assumed I'd be making the 5hr round trip ticket on my own. He then said


'How about we make it a weekend in Mobile?'


I definitely had not thought about a weekend in Mobile, but I did have the session with Daylee on Saturday that I would have to reschedule. I reached out about rescheduling that session (I do everything in my power to NEVER reschedule a session, but Kris asks for so little from me, I really felt in my heart I needed to try to accommodate him). Daylee worked with me and was extremely chill about moving her session, she even agreed to come down to Mobile on Sunday as well, to which I later learned made her family a little uneasy (oops!!).


With the Saturday session moved, I proceeded to ask my Aunt Lisa (who is actually my 1st cousin, once removed) if we could stay at her house in Orange beach. She had availability and was more than happy to oblige. This just felt like a sign from the Lord that this was the quick trip our little family needed.


We headed down Friday after work. I also had a hair cut & color at lunch before we left which is relevant because I had not forewarned my clients who had not met me that I was no longer a blonde like my profile picture.

Close-up selfies showing long brown hair with blonde highlights in an indoor setting.
Playful self-portraits taken indoors showing various facial expressions.
Casual self-portraits showing long brown hair and a bright pink shirt.

I'm a brunette now...enjoy the unflattering bright lighting of the hair salon...


We left for Orange beach around 5pm and got in around 10pm (everything takes longer with a baby).


Saturday was very relaxed. We slept in. went to Doc's for lunch, we drove around town, we went to the beach briefly in the afternoon, then went to The Gulf for dinner.

Plates of grilled fish and sides served at a casual restaurant.
A couple enjoys a sunset beach date wearing colorful tropical shirts.
Person in colorful clothing bends down to touch ocean waves at sunset on a beach.

Do not ask me why I cart my massive load of camera gear around and then neglect to actually bring it out the beach. These are some shots from my iPhone. This was baby girl's first time at the beach, first time to stick her toes in the ocean, and first time on a golf cart! She had a really enjoyable weekend and was just a joy to be around. She also found more of her voice this weekend and started screaming. She's not mad when she's screaming, she's just screaming because she can. LOL


Sunday morning I woke up feeling a little off. I thought maybe the glass of wine the night before may have impacted me. I took some Advil, we cleaned the beach house and we packed up to head to my sessions in Mobile. About midway through my first session I started to feel crummy again. The Advil was wearing off I guess, but I am here with two more clients to go, I decide to push through as best as I can.


We then hopped over to The University of South Alabama for the gradate session with Ashlyn. I felt OKAY, the rest in the car between sessions helped.


Then we popped BACK over to Spring Hill College for the rescheduled high school graduate session with Daylee. I was really starting to feel bad at this point. I was mustering up every bit of strength to give my clients everything I had left. Also, I was a little late to Daylee's session since I had the transition time between South Alabama and Spring Hill.


Note, while I was completing these sessions, Kris had the truck, the baby, AND the dog. He kept everyone occupied & fed for the 3 & 1/2 hours of sessions. He did not complain to me once. He offered me food, water, a coke zero, and reassurance the whole time. When I finished up my sessions for the evening, he got me more Advil. He then told me a story about some extra care he took with the dog, who I know is a frustration to him, and I literally started crying, overwhelmed with his kindness. I am unworthy of him in so many ways.  Enjoy this photo I took in between sessions. Note my chauffeur, the baby, the dog, my cameras in my lap.

Series of car interior shots showing rear seats and backseat area.

As mentioned above, I finished my sessions, and was a little emotional. I had very little left in the tank. I had planned to edit on the car ride home but I just sat there shivering, waiting on the Advil to kick in. I ended up having to take Monday off and get a steroid shot.


I don't have a big moral or life lesson for this one. Other than - find you a spouse that supports you in your dreams. This blog post really isn't helping me showcase my sessions or any of my actual photography, I just wanted it written down for my own memory.


This post was originally published on 3/28/25 and was republished on 7/15/25 when I migrated my site.