A summer garden of green + fairy wings + sunset + mom and daughter + cupcakes = magic - Metro Detroit Lifestlye Photography

What I wanted most for my daughter was that she be able to soar confidently in her own sky, whatever that may be.
-- Helen Claes


This portrait session was one I was thinking up for quite some time. It required a lot more artistic planning and preparation than my normal family portrait session, but in a good way. All the little details add up to something more artistic, beautiful, and magical. What I had in mind was a comfy, vintage garden picnic between mom and daughter surrounded by antique, cozy details.

*    *    *    *

I have known Chelsea since high school where we sang in choir together and kept in touch through facebook over the years. When her daugher Grace was a handful of months old she brought her by my first home in Dearborn on Halloween for trick-or-treating. Grace was a beautiful baby girl then, and is now five years old, still beautiful and oh-so lovely.

Chelsea was the winner of my Pinterest contest for my photography business, and after choosing her submission as the most creative and most in line with my dreams for a styled shoot we began exchanging ideas for when and where we would do portraits, and what fun details, outfits, looks we could come up with.

What resulted is probably the most intricate portraits set-up I have ever done, but boy was it ever worth it. We ventured to Matthaei botanical gardens in Ann Arbor, and strolled and enjoyed the flower gardens first, and then found comfy spot under some oak trees to set up our vintage cupcake picnic spot. The pictures speak volumes for the love between this mom and daughter. It was my pleasure capturing that special love.

Thank you Chelsea and Grace for spending such a fun and relaxing evening with me and my camera. And I'm so glad I got those cupcakes :)


Love, fairy dust, and cupcakes,
Sarah :)

Watch their portrait slideshow below and leave some love for them in the comments!