Destination | Hannah Rose Gray

Destination Weddings

DAY ONE: A month of gratefulness here we go. It’

DAY ONE:
A month of gratefulness here we go. It’s not that social media is evil in and of itself rather it’s what we do with it. We can help people or harm people. We can bring joy to our lives or bring destruction. We can bring heaven or hell- it’s all a choice in how we choose to show up on this platform but also in our daily lives in every small moment. So the next 30+ days I’ll share gratefulness because let’s be honest our world (mostly country) is holding intense anxiety. I can feel it especially over social media.

I’m grateful for my job. I get to be creative, free, wild. I don’t have to fit in anyone else’s box for what my art “should” look like I get to just make beauty the way I see the world. I’m grateful I get to work with amazing people who also love their jobs and pursue after creativity as a way of living and being in the world.

This was from a styled shoot last week I did with @kimduncandesign . Along with all these vendors:
Linens: @bbjlinen & @latavolalinen
Rentals: @brighteventrentals
Design + Styling: @kimduncandesign
Floral: @sarahsgardenstyle
Menus + Places Cards: @day_letters
Candles: @yummicandles

The difference between a mini session and a full h

The difference between a mini session and a full hour session is: personality!! The more time I spend with your kids the more they feel comfortable with me and their personalities come out. I love love love my mini sessions but they are for mostly quick updated family photos. A full session allows me time to get to know your family and document more without the rush of time.
Love love loved photographing this sweet family visiting Sedona few weeks ago!!

ohhhh thank you facebook for reminding me a year a

ohhhh thank you facebook for reminding me a year ago we were in Bali. 😭⁣
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I went to this reallllly weird Christian school in Indiana, if you know you know. The SINGLE most important and unique thing I gained from that university was people. These humans are different. I’ve traveled the world for years but have never met anyone quite like people who attend IWU. What it all comes down to is intention. There is deep intention behind everything. ⁣
So traveling to Bali with a group of past IWU alumni, I knew it was to be good. And good was an understatement. ⁣
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From the 84 hour adventure of traveling on 6 planes, 2 boat rides to actually get to a tiny little island in Indonesia (never buy the cheapest ticket….), to my first 5 min breath underwater, to being chased by monkeys all the way back to the cars (dying still about that moment), to “I choose my own adventure” RICK, to moped accidents, meeting new friends along the way, and getting up at freaking 3:30am every damn morning to chase the sunrise, to the MOST stairs I’ve ever hiked, literally the best food I’ve ever had in my whole life, waterfall chasing, to having the most special moments with sweet ocean I’ve ever had, Bali and it’s people left a special place in my heart. ⁣
Someone recently asked me, “What is the thing you would take back if you could in life?”⁣
I said I would have stayed in Bali last November and never came home.⁣
And you guys thought my heart was all in Hawaii- HAHA nope. ⁣
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I miss you guys- @michaelmatti , @kristianirey , @rivera_rick , @karli.yates , @on_uh_lee

A Complete Photo Gift Guide- is up on the blog now

A Complete Photo Gift Guide- is up on the blog now!! There are sooooo many different things you can do with your photographs! Prints, canvases, albums, calendars, cards, mounts, and more. I give 10 of my favorite photo ideas from different sites that I trust and I gift to my family each year. Don’t let your photos just live on your phone or computer. Let them live on the walls of your home and with your families to see every day. I really hope you didn’t spend hundreds to thousands of dollars of professional photographs to not print them!! Finish the last step! I’m here to help. Ask away any questions you have :) #printyourphotos

A good black & white image gets me.

A good black & white image gets me.

We’re just learning to roll with the punches and

We’re just learning to roll with the punches and release control. Just allllllll year. Especially with Anna + Brian’s wedding! What I’ve really seen with my couple is: They just want to do the thing. Whether it be with 30 people there or just 1 witness, they want to commit their lives to each other in 2020 despite the craziness. Because that’s what love does. It isn’t conditioned around what others want for them or what the world is going through, it simply has directed eyes that are focused on each other. ⁣
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Weddings have looked WAY different this year obviously. Not much dancing at all or mingling or the 300 person guest list. But what is present is love. I’m happy we have gotten back to that in the wedding industry. In my opinion, the last few years it has gotten a little out of hand with things that just don’t matter. Sure they look pretty but I like that this year is back to the basics on a wedding day: love, the couple, food (always food), and family, even if that’s just two sets of parents present.

Finally getting some pieces hung in my room! Of co

Finally getting some pieces hung in my room! Of course it’s all things mid-century modern and beachy...there really isn’t another option for me. I ordered some prints from Bali & Hawaii so I can see the ocean everyday when I wake up and it’s snowing outside. But guys I LOVE my new prints from @smallwoodhome 👏🏼👏🏼 very affordable and lightweight. They are great gift ideas tooooo......
let me know if you need help choosing photos- it’s my favorite thing.

There are not many people who I can say have impac

There are not many people who I can say have impacted me intensely AND I get to do life with them daily. Usually those people come and go or I meet them for a quick instance and remember their words that shifted me. But this woman, first of all, it’s her birthday today, so today is a day I get to brag about her! Second of all, I’m not sure I know many people I can truly say the word love comes up FIRST when I think about them. But for Em it does. She ooooozes love and generosity in a creative all consuming kind of way. She gives to this world and the town of Flagstaff but ALSO remembers to never run dry in her own well.
She has taught me how to listen to my heart, not ignore it. She has taught me how to listen to this body and not destroy it with little things like sugar or holding old pain. She has taught me how to live more open hearted and because that’s what this world needs more of. She doesn’t use words but rather I just watch her live. I’m grateful for friendships that come in many different forms but today Happy Birthday Em. You are a force of healing and love. You are a magical wild one that I honestly feel spoiled I get to know intimately. 💕

There are some days ,living in Arizona, where I ge

There are some days ,living in Arizona, where I get to drive only an hour to one of the natural wonders of the world and document a love story. Their love story started in the Canyon while on a trip out years ago. Hiking the Canyon they fell into deeper friendship but a new found love occurred between Hannah and David.

There is something about nature that is romantic that we humans are drawn into without force but obvious ease. I believe we all were made for beauty. Beauty can be defined in myriad of ways to many different people. But there is no denying our eyes and soul can rest when we are in the presence of true beauty.

The Grand Canyon is undeniably one of those places that takes your breath away and fills you with awe and wonder. It reminds me in a small way, what we are here for. Life is freaking hard. It’s not fair for a lot of us and I don’t fully understand the ways of the human heart but I do grasp a bit of the peace nature does to us. It wraps us up and doesn’t tell us it’s going to be ok, it just is. It just rests. It’s this constant, rhythmic, knowing.
Find yourself in nature at least once a week, once a day if possible, and take note.

Happppppy 4th birthday to my favorite and only nie

Happppppy 4th birthday to my favorite and only niece. I’m completely obsessed with you and miss you dearly everyday. You are a wild one full of wonder and beauty. I cannot wait to see what you do with your life little one 💕

This is my legacy. I come from Great Grandparents

This is my legacy. I come from Great Grandparents (George + Hannah - who I am named after) who were photographers and traveled the world together. He started a printing business in the small town of Fostoria,Ohio in the late 1800’s called ‘The Gray Printing Company’ which would become the 3rd largest printing company in the country till the union went on strike in the 90’s and it went under. It still breaks my fathers heart and he cannot talk about it without crying. ⁣
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Then my Grandfather sitting outside his Lake Erie cottage, the very one I grew up in and established some of my first memories on this earth in. The wood floors would creak every time I walked and it smelled like an old cottage but my Great Grandfather build it soon after he built the Gray Printing Company. ⁣
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And that boat. The old Lyman boat- all wood and magnificent. I grew up on that boat, falling asleep on the back bench as the loud engine would lull me and the Lake Erie water would spray me reminding me of her love. I spent my entire summers growing up on that boat with my dad, driving us all around the Lake Erie islands listening to Van Morrison on the little radio. This is where I fell in love with the water and my dad taught me how to chase sunsets, every night, no matter what. Also, that boat had a wooden sign on her that is now in my house. It says “though she may creak, she holds”. ⁣
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These photographs are my legacy. They tell stories of where I have come from and who I am. Photographs not only hold memories but they hold family traditions, joys, and sorrows. Our time on this earth is quick, we all know this, but something about photographs let memories last forever. I was not in these photos but they remind me I come from a long line of creatives, of ones who love the water, and a deep desire to see the world. Let us not forget where we come from the people the places the experiences all shape who we are and who we are going to be.

Kelly + Brian’s day of celebration + love!⁣ Th

Kelly + Brian’s day of celebration + love!⁣
This never happens but we had 100% cloud coverage in Phoenix all day!!! Which only gave us the most beautiful light and low heat as possible! ⁣
This day was magical. From the happiest of humans, best speeches, and gluten free desserts that I actually got to partake in, I love love loved this day. ⁣
Best kind of crew to work with:⁣
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Venue: @elchorroweddings
Planner: @revelweddingcompany ⁣
Florist: @luxflorist ⁣
Desserts: @ruzecakehouse ⁣
Dress: @schaffersbridalaz
Bridesmaids dress: @billlevkoff ⁣
Shoes: @badgleymischka ⁣
Jewelry: @josephschubachjewelers
Invitations: @mintedweddings
Videography: @ronnieharrisfilms

Saturdays. We only have 52 of them in a calendar y

Saturdays. We only have 52 of them in a calendar year. Usually I’m photographing weddings during 30+ of them. Which only leaves a few Saturdays left. My favorite way to spend a Saturday is: ⁣
🍳 Big breakfast ⁣
🧘🏼‍♀️ Yoga flow⁣
🏜 Explore Arizona ⁣
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We have endless back roads, mountains, and canyons to explore. What are you going to do this Saturday? With only a few left of 2020 how are you going to spend your Saturday? ⁣

To the day we hold in our hearts since we could co

To the day we hold in our hearts since we could conceptualize what it means to love another wholly. This kind of day, wedding days, are different. They stand out from the every other day of our lives. For one day we get to celebrate, be present, and recognize the beauty of what love does to our hearts. I will say, I think that could be an everyday thing if we let it, and still let wedding days be the most special kinds. Today Kelly & Brian do not start their new life together because it’s already been happening but rather they get to launch into a new season of depth, understanding, and love. These kind of days are my favorite.

The drive to Telluride from Flagstaff is one of my

The drive to Telluride from Flagstaff is one of my favorites 🍁🤗 #westcoastisbestcoast

love love love when my Ohio friends come out for t

love love love when my Ohio friends come out for their engagement session in Arizona!!

Anna and Selam met and fell in love over a summer in college at Miami University. It was in that summer in the humid Ohio air, when the university was down to only summer school students, that they hung out every single day. Sometimes it’s in the daily repetitive constant type of friendships that love is born. I’m happy the Arizona sun did not disappoint on this night at Merry Go Round rock!

Italy in black + white. ⁣ Sometimes I day dream

Italy in black + white. ⁣
Sometimes I day dream about the days I lived in Italy. I’m not dreaming about the beauty, although it’s magnificent, not the architecture or even the food but rather the rhythms we lived in. The slow pace of everything. No one was in a rush and everyone had time to chat on the street before dinner even if you were going to be late. I’d see the same group of old men every single day drinking their espressos together outside a certain shop coffee shop. You could always count on seeing the same women strolling the streets of Orvieto in groups talking loudly with their hands from 5:00-6:00pm in the most beautiful shoes. And our meals lasted without fail, for 2 hours every single night for months and months with the same 20 people. Or waved at the same runners I’d pass on my morning walk on the via del popolo. It’s in the rhythms I found myself, heard myself, listened to myself not despite others but because others. ⁣
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There will be no escaping the fact that we all live together on this planet and no matter how individualized our communities get, how divided in thought we are, how quarantined far from one another, all we have is each other. Let us not forget that we are all one body, one humanity and we know ourselves in relation to each other. It took me the rhythms of living in a tiny Italian town seeing the same people daily, eating around the same table with the same 20 people for 5 months straight that showed me how intertwined and irreplaceable this life with each other is. ⁣
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I pray we can find the rhythms together that not only highlights our differences but we can learn to embrace them and enjoy them.

Some of the most fun I’ve ever had was photograp

Some of the most fun I’ve ever had was photographing Rick + Gina and attending their wedding! This time last year they celebrated a life they had been building for 20 years together. A life full of trials but massive joys. Their depth and friendship was unparalleled. And the dance floor was pretty dang fun! Happy 1 year of your wedding anniversary but you guys are celebrating so many more years.

Tropical vibes literally ALWAYS on my mind. Doesn’t matter what time of day or time of year I will always be day dreaming of the ocean, humidity, and palm trees. Where is everyone’s favorite tropical location? Wanting some new locations to dream of for future travels! 🌴🌊

Sunshine & Aspens ☀️ I’ve photographed over

Sunshine & Aspens ☀️ I’ve photographed over 35 families just in the month of October. So fun but soooo much editing along with many weddings. So if you are one of those families still waiting for their photos back just trust... good things take time 😊