Michelle Stoker Photography

Tampa Family Photographer

Rose Quartz and Serenity Wedding Inspiration – Tampa Photography

Tampa, Wedding

Did you know that Pantone’s Color of 2016 is soft pink and blue? Well, in fancier names, it’s Rose Quartz and Serenity. They compliment each other so beautifully. When my talented friend Emily of Emily Katharine Photography invited me to shoot alongside her at her styled shoot featuring these colors, I said heck yes! A few talented vendors gathered to capture our couple, Jessica and Chris, and so many beautiful details. I loved the florals by Inna, perfect calligraphy by Amanda and the gorgeous styling by Cassandra! Thanks for including me, Emily!

Invitation Suite: Wedding Paper Divas  Calligraphy: Bugaboo Bear Design Styling and Rentals: Ever After Vintage Weddings  Florist: Inna Olimpiyuk Events  Hair and Makeup: Lillian Rose Beauty  Cakes: Sweet Tooth Cakery
Dress: Catherine Deane  Earrings: Nicole Miller  Suit: Banana Republic

calligraphy wedding invitationsVIEW POST

Emily’s Bridal Shower – Orlando

Family, Other, Wedding

bridesmaids bride banner

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of helping host a Bridal Shower for our younger sister, Emily. That pretty lady in white will be a gorgeous Bride in December at an awesome venue – the Doe Lake Campground in Ocala. She’ll walk down the foresty aisle to her groom, Charles. Our family friend, Carol, hosted the shower in her beautiful home and we snacked on delicious homemade treats and had lots of girl talk. We had a big mason jar of Hershey’s Kisses and guessed how many kisses were in the jar. I’ll post the answer at the bottom! We played a “Who said it?” game where the guests had to guess if either Charles or Emily gave the response by using a blue or pink balloon. Then, Emily played the game by guessing Charles’s response to a few questions, like who is the better driver and who is the better cook? It was so fun! Then, Emily got to open up her gifts that will bless their first home as a married couple. We ended the shower with some bridal party and family pictures outside. Emily, I love getting to be part of this exciting time in your life. We are so so happy for you and Charles!! Can’t wait for December!!

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Melissa and Ben – Indian Rocks Beach Engagement Photography

Engagement, Tampa

Toes in the sand beach kiss
Melissa and Ben had a few mutual friends but it wasn’t until they both attended a wedding where they met and the sparks starting flying. Melissa was attracted to tall, funny Ben and was so ready to hang out with him outside of the wedding. Melissa was living in Atlanta at the time and Ben was in Orlando but after making some plans, one weekend together in Georgia confirmed that these two were meant for each other. Ben and Melissa recently moved to Tampa to start their lives on the West coast of Florida and will be getting married in February. Melissa is a super talented singer and toured with the wonderful band Bellarive before recently joining the worship team at Van Dyke Church. Their engagement session was held at Indian Rocks Beach because the beach is such a special place for them. They love to spend their free time in the sand and Ben proposed at Clearwater over the summer! This session was filled with so much joy and laughter. I drove away from the session with a huge smile on my face!! So happy to share these images with you!

Thank you Orange Blossom Bride for featuring this beachy engagement session!

Tampa Beach PhotographyVIEW POST

Jenna and Ben – The 1927 Lake Lure Inn and Spa, North Carolina

Travel, Wedding

You know those people in your life where you sincerely, deeply wish the absolute best for them? The ones that just get your heart? What a privilege it was for me to photograph the wedding of one of those very special people in my life. Jenna was my very first friend in high school. She was a year older than me and even though I was a little freshman, she swooped me up and we never looked back! I look at Jenna and see years of growth, trials, experiences, accomplishments, and friendship. When I heard stories about the night Je and Ben met at their friend’s wedding, I could tell this was the real deal. When I saw Jenna and Ben together for the first time, I just couldn’t stop watching them. I watched Ben tenderly care for my friend, I watched Jenna look deeply into her new love’s eyes and most importantly, I watched them flow seamlessly and joyfully into a new life together.  Young love, it’s the sweetest!! Jenna and Ben became Mr. and Mrs. Rogerson on a rainy, calm Friday in Lake Lure, North Carolina (thanks Hurricane Matthew – you couldn’t stop our party!). Their closest friends and family gathered at the 1927 Lake Lure Inn and Spa for a ceremony performed by their (hilarious) friend Grant and we all danced late into the night at the reception. I could literally go on and on about this sweet couple but I’ll let the pictures tell the story of their day. Enjoy!!

Venue and Caterer: The 1927 Lake Lure Inn and Spa
Ceremony Coordinator: Kristi Kriebel, Tickled Pink Brides
Reception Coordinator: Patrick Bryant, Lake Lure Inn
Dress: Modern Bridal Orlando
Cake: Hey Hey Cupcake
Flowers: An English Flower Cottage 
Videographer: JP Eason
Hair and Makeup: Rumbling Bald Spa
Officiant: “Rev” Grant Morrell
Honeymoon: Pre-moon in Lake Lure

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Knack – Tutoring Simplified

Orlando, Tampa

I’m going to try my best to not make this blog post a complete husband brag. There have been countless evenings of David hard at work on his laptop pouring his tech skills into this side project. I’m so proud of him!!!Back in early 2015, David reconnected with his friend Samyr from the University of Florida and collaborated with 3 other guys to create an app that should be on every college student’s phone. Introducing Knack – Tutoring Simplified.
Knack (think: “You have such a knack for chemistry, can you tutor me?”) is an on-demand tutoring service app for college students. After creating a free account and a few taps on your phone, you can easily connect with a peer student that provides tutoring services. Or if you’re looking for a side job during your college years, you can create an account, submit your transcript and quickly get approved as a Knack tutor. Scheduling, messages, payments, and reviews are all done through the app. It has been so cool to see the growth of Knack, from an idea almost two years ago to it being a fully functional app that is frequently used across college campuses. I love seeing pictures of real life tutoring sessions on Knack’s instagram and to think that David’s programing skills created that moment and helped connect students. Knack is growing like crazy at UF, UCF, FSU, USF, and it’s moving up the East Coast. If Knack isn’t on your campus yet, you can request access through the app. I can’t wait to see the future of Knack! So proud of these guys!

Click here to download Knack from the app store! Use promo code “rocketship” for $20 off your first tutoring session!

Shawn – Dennis – Samyr – Austin – DavidVIEW POST

Rising Tide Society Tampa – One Year Anniversary

Tampa

One year ago, I walked into the first ever Rising Tide Society meeting in Tampa. We all had high hopes for new friendships but we were unsure of what to expect. We crowded into the tables of Datz Dough in South Tampa and shared our experiences as creative small business owners. It was such a wonderful evening!! Fast forward one year later, and here we are, celebrating our first anniversary! Many memories, connections, collaborations, adventures have been shared in this past year. It’s truly such a blessing to be part of this group. I’m so thankful for our leaders Kelly (Tampa) and Jenny (St. Pete). They serve us so well, not only at our Tuesday meetings but consistently whenever we need them. I was honored when Kelly asked me to photograph the details of our anniversary get together last week at the gorgeous Rialto Theater. It was filled with special champagne sent from the Rising Tide founders, delicious treats from Tastes of Tampa Bay, and a motivating/hilarious magic show by Jeff Kaylor and his friends. He showed us the value in loving people better. It was such a sweet reminder. Enjoy these photos from our one year Tuesdays Together celebration!

Leaders: Kelly Hancock Event Planning and Jenny Ricker (This Good Life Photography)
Caterer: Tastes of Tampa Bay
Venue: The Rialto Theatre / 8 Count Productions
Signage: Amber Veatch Designs
Speaker: Jeff Kaylor

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Tara, Austin and little Bradley – Water Works Park, Tampa

Family, Tampa

Last August, I started teaching at a new school and was warmly welcomed by my new team. One sweet teacher, with gorgeous blonde hair and the fullest eyelashes (seriously, if you know her, you’d agree), always greeted me with a huge smile! Tara was more than halfway through her pregnancy of her first child and still maintained her constant joy. 🙂 I’m so glad I got to meet up with Tara, her husband Austin, and their little boy Bradley for his 9 month photos at Tampa Water Works Park! Such a sweet family!!

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Chad and Alissa – Houston Engagement Photography

Engagement, Travel

Over the weekend, David and I got to take a mini getaway to Texas to visit some family and friends! We got to see my sweet Aunt Kathy and my cousin Chad and his fiancee Alissa in Houston. I love when we are all able to get together!! Our family has had a really hard year. Actually, really hard is an understatement. But we’ve been able to grow closer through it and I’m so glad to see Chad so happy with his soon to be Bride. I loved being able to take these engagement photos for my cousin! We had to work around the rainy weather and the quick sunset but I think we got some great shots in our 10 minute mini session. 🙂 Especially this first photo… that’s what hugs are all about!!

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27 Weddings on my 27th Birthday

Personal, Wedding

I love the number 27. I was born on August 27th, I turned 27 on Saturday (!!) and I just learned of another reason why it’s so special. David and I recently moved into our new house and while organizing our office, I flipped through the contracts from our past weddings. While flipping through, I looked at the names, the dates, the venues and thought about the special details and memories of each day. I counted the contracts, starting with Trezure and Seth and ended with Kristin and Zach, and smiled when I got to 27. Such a special number to me. To some people, 27 might seem like a low amount of weddings and I did think about that, but just for a second. Flipping through those contracts and thinking about our experiences, I am so proud of that number. David and I both work other full time jobs and we lived away from Florida for a year. We got to capture 27 first kisses, 27 gorgeous bridal gowns, 27 first dances, 27 unique cakes and it’s all been wonderful. Thank you to our 27 couples (+ many other clients!!!!) for inviting us along your journey. It’s been the best ride.

1. Trezure and Seth  – November 3, 2012VIEW POST

Paige, Aaron, and Golden Retriever Dash – Downtown Tampa

Other, Tampa

Do you remember Mike and Katy’s session with their new adorable puppy, Cooper? We got to explore the University of Tampa with their energetic, happy-as-can-be golden retriever puppy. Well, lucky me… I got to do it again!! This time, I met newlyweds Paige and Aaron and their puppy Dash! These two have been married a little over two months and they are adjusting to their new married life as puppy parents! Dash is not only adored by Paige and Aaron but by all of their friends and family, too. This was such a fun session. I’m hoping I can do more of these puppy sessions in the future!

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THEME BY ECLAIR DESIGNS