Alysha Yoder Photography
Capturing Moments. Making Memories.
Molly & Paul -5.27.16
Posted on June 24, 2016
So truth be told, there are two weddings that I always look forward to photographing. Offbeat Weddings (because frankly they’re awesome and unique every time) and small intimate weddings. Now… I’m not saying I don’t enjoy every wedding I photograph, but there is something wonderful about having less then 25 people at a wedding… and that’s including the bridal party! There just tend to be more little moments throughout the day, less timeline rushing drama and a loving bond is always evident in everyone that’s attending.
Molly and Paul’s wedding was just that! I mean, we fit all the guests in one photo and you can see everyone! That’s definitely not something you get at every wedding. Check out all these lovelies in attendance, seriously, aren’t they fantastic!
I’ll tell you though… this was probably the hottest wedding I’ve shot to date. I mean it was a good 98 degrees.. plus, like a gazillion percent humidity. This photog had to go home and wring out her clothes afterwards not to mention, chug like 10 gallons of water. It was nutty! Everyone was a trooper though, I mean, look at all those smiles!
Molly and Paul were perfect too! They champed through the heat and absorbed some sunshine for their photos. These two both have a love of the outdoors, hence the beautiful estates of Allenberry Resort Inn and outdoor ceremony, small ring box made to look like a tree stump (with their initials carved into it), and a beautiful flower covered arbor. Paul also has a love of fishing (note Yellow Breeches Creek in the background). He makes a lot of his own flies too. They even incorporated a fly into his boutonniere. How cool is that?!
Their ceremony was beautiful from beginning to end, starting with the groom’s son leading both mom’s down the aisle followed by his daughter with a huge bouquet of flowers! The bride’s father gave her away under that stunning arbor, much to the smile of her groom! The vows went swimmingly and everyone had a chuckle when the ring bearer struck a pose handing off the rings. The first kiss was had and the couple, all smiles, walked down the aisle for the first time as husband and wife. A tiny intimate reception followed with unique candy apple favors, a lovely three-tiered cake (the kids helped pick out the flavors!), ‘butterfly kisses’ and lots of laughs! What a wonderful day it was for these two! I was so honored to be a part of it, so without further ado, I give you Molly and Paul’s wedding:
Photography and writing by:
(b) www.alyshayoderphotoblog.com 
www.alyshayoderphoto.com
(e) alyshayoderphoto@yahoo.com (p) 610.762.7810
Vendors:
Venue: Allenberry Resort Inn and Playhouse
Cake: Snickerdoodles Bakery
Flowers: Royers
Beach, Wedding, and Mai Tais
Posted on April 20, 2016
What a wonderful weekend I had! Not only was it my first wedding of the season, but I got to photograph a truly wonderful couple who’s love and laughter was contagious! I couldn’t have asked for better weather either. After last weekends freak snow which was then followed by a week of gloom, I was little worried.
The hubs, dog, and I all packed in the car Friday evening and headed down to Southern Maryland to a little town called Lusby. Since I already had to make the 3 hour trek to photograph this wedding we figured, what the heck? Let’s make a weekend out of it and go ‘off the beaten path’ to a little eclectic cabin right next to the beach.
After shooting a wedding, I’ve found the perfect cure for a tired body and achy feet. Beach sunsets. Could it get any more perfect then this?
The answer is yes! Yes, it can! What is the miracle after wedding cure you might ask? Well sit down, relax, and mix yourself up a fun fruity drink of course! Now for those who knew my grams, she wasn’t much of a drinker, but she sure was a partier. She had a roomful of just party decorations, linens, table settings, and serving dishes. No lie. Like… you literally could probably plan 100 different themed parties with all the items in my gram’s backroom. There’s a whole space her cookbook dedicated to drinks and I figured, what the heck? It’s been a long day, let’s sip on something cold and enjoy the weather. Right?
Flipping through gram’s notes, this recipe for Mai Tai’s stood out to me. Not because it’s a Mai Tai… but because it’s unlike any Mai Tai recipe I have ever seen. This thing could seriously take the paint off a car. So.. using the hubs as my taste tester, we started out with the base recipe (pictured below) and made our own modifications to make it ‘more fun sipping’ drink and less ‘my whole body is on fire’ drink.
Full disclosure, I was also very ill-prepared for drink making. We didn’t have a jigger (a bartending tool used to measure liquor). So, I used a rough estimation figuring a shot is 1.5 fluid ounces and this little bowl was a shot’s worth and went from there. So don’t judge. I know.. not 100% scientific by any standards… but seriously, this is a good freaking drink once it’s toned down some. That is of course.. if you like rum. If you don’t, move on lol, this is NOT for you.
Gram’s Mai Tai Recipe:
- 1 oz light rum
- 1/2 oz orange curacao
- 2 oz sweet & sour bar mix (gram’s originally called for a splash but it definitely needs a little more ‘non-alcohol’)
- 3 oz pineapple juice (again, gram’s originally called for a splash, but you need something to cut all the alcohol, otherwise we’re getting into shot territory)
- 1/2 lime’s juice
- 1 oz dark rum (floated, meaning carefully poured on the top to keep the liquors separated)
- Ice for 12-16 oz glass
Pour first four ingredients over ice. Squeeze half a lime into drink. Stir until combined. Float dark rum on top of drink (if you’re not a strong drink lover, you could also skip this step and just enjoy drink as is). Garnish with lime. Sip, absorb the sunshine and enjjjooy. Num num.
To ‘float’ liquor, a lot of people spoon it in carefully. We aimed for the ice on the top and slowly poured it in.
Photography and writing by:
(b) www.alyshayoderphotoblog.com www.alyshayoderphoto.com
(e) alyshayoderphoto@yahoo.com (p) 610.762.7810
Sweet Orange and Coconut
Posted on April 11, 2016
Last Monday would have been Grandma’s 82nd birthday. This was the first year I didn’t get to call her, hear her laugh, and share in another year of her life. Since Gram’s birthday was typically around Easter, we always double downed and did 2x the celebrating. If you’re part of the Yoder clan, every birthday my mother (or grandma) will cook you a dinner and dessert of your choice. Seriously, one of the biggest perks ever. Anything and everything. Nothing is off limits. My gram’s always requested orange cake with whipped coconut icing. It was her favorite. One of my favorite photos of her is two years ago blowing out the cake my mom had baked for her.
Today, in my little ode to grams, I decided to make her favorite. Orange cake with coconut icing. Now, in normal grandma form, I decided to spruce up something store bought. Yes, I bought a box cake. Sue me. I went with Betty Crocker Butter Recipe Yellow Cake. This calls for 3 eggs, 1 cup of water and 1/3 cup of butter. By changing the water into orange juice, a dash of orange extract and some orange zest… VOILA, awesome cake that NO ONE would be able to tell was store bought. Save’s you some time and money, which in my book is always a plus!
Now, I did make the icing from scratch. Cream cheese icings are always my favorite and gram’s LOVED whipped sugar icing so I combined the two into one awesome combo. I know that orange and coconut is not normally a combo most people are used to, but trust me, you’ll enjoy this! A little tangy with a little sweet. It’s the perfect combo for the wonderful lady that was grams. So without further ado, Orange Coconut Cake.
Quick Orange Cake:
- 1 box cake mix (I used Betty Crocker’s Butter Recipe Yellow Cake)
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 stick softened butter
- 3 Oranges (to make 1 cup of juice + zest)
- 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1/2 T orange extract
Preheat oven to 350 °. Open and pour cake mix in a large bowl. Add butter, eggs, and orange extract. Zest one orange into mixture. Juice three oranges to make 1 cup of orange juice (you could just use orange juice as well if you want). Mix all ingredients together well. Pour in pre-greased 8″ cake pan (make sure this is a tall 2.5-3″ pan). Put in oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until inserted knife comes out clean. Place cake on cooling rack and allow to cool completely before icing.
Make sure someone enjoys the batter with this one haha. Don’t worry, the hubs licked the bowl first. Now, onto the icing!
Coconut Whipped Icing:
- 1 – 8 oz package of cream cheese
- 1 stick softened butter
- 3 cups powdered sugar (or icing sugar)
- 1/2 T orange extract
- 1/2 T of vanilla extract
- 1-3 T of milk (optional, add to icing if you would like it more runny)
- 1-2 cups of shredded coconut (put more/less depending on taste)
Place softened butter in bowl. Beat until creamy. Add room temperature cream cheese, whip with butter until smooth. Add both vanilla and orange extract. Beat until smooth. Slowly incorporate powder sugar. If the icing is too thick, add milk a tablespoon at a time to thin out. Before icing cake, add wax paper around bottom of the cake. This will make sure that you don’t get icing all over your plate and create a picture perfect cake! Pour icing on cake and spread evenly. ***Make sure cake is completely cool before doing this. Once icing is even, sprinkle coconut on top and sides. Allow icing to set, remove wax paper, and serve. Enjoy!
Photography and writing by:
(b) www.alyshayoderphotoblog.com www.alyshayoderphoto.com
(e) alyshayoderphoto@yahoo.com (p) 610.762.7810
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