hello??? 2011-04-15

So, it’s been a while…….

Honestly, I don’t know where the time goes. I have this problem that if I can’t do something all the way and if it can’t be perfect, well, then, maybe I just don’t feel like doing it. So, that leads me to a whole bunch of perfect wedding blog post that I am behind on. And, these are beautiful weddings!!! I can’t believe I haven’t blogged them.

Here is the skinny on what has been taking up all of my time:

1. Moving “officially” moving my home office to my real office. I still can’t believe that I did this. I have had my studio space for years and I did work here a good bit, but all my computer work, editing, filing, invoicing, etc. I did from home. It was really making me insane having items in both places and I felt it was hindering my productivity. So, after finally getting all my kids into their respectful school/daycare programs, I moved. I actually love it and it has worked out far better than I had even imagined.

2. Getting work done!!! This year my goal was not to go into the new wedding season with outstanding un-designed albums. We only have a few left from the fall that area awaiting design. This past year I started using a design service as well as a local graphic designer and together they have made things so much easier and a lot less stressful!!! This is one of the list toppers that I am most happy about!

3. Working on a new website. I really hate that I have not updated my main site for a while and a new one is coming. I really wanted to have it up and live months ago but I really put it to the back seat of getting all the albums in order.

4. I have done several weddings over the winter months – post to come soon (I SWEAR!!!) and they were all incredibly beautiful.

5. Portrait sessions – I am dying to share some of those as well.
And, of course my personal life:

Having a new baby always makes life a little more interesting……She is getting so big though, almost ONE!!!

My little big girl, all covered in baby drool:

And, I have never shared the photos I did for my personal holiday card. I’m going to share some of the out-takes as well as some of the final ones we used. I always hear about how lucky I am to be a photographer and take photos of my kids. Well, I’ll tell you – it is not easy! They don’t listen to me at all. They fight and cry and throw fits. This is how I build my patience to photograph other people’s children:

This is me trying to persuade my 4 year old to sit still for 2 seconds. I spent the entire morning getting their clothes ready, finding hair accessories, and making sure they were fed so we could avoid a complete meltdown.

Again, Sophia, always making things a little more interesting:

At this point we were laughing. Someone is always crying or something:

My husband told me that this photo shoot was stressing him out…. really babe? How do you think I feel……. None the less, we got an adorable photo of them which I have in a pretty frame on the kitchen counter.

This is one of my most favorite photos of all time. This is a perfect example of Sophia’s personality:

Here’s to a happy Friday!!!!

welcome wedding season: 2011. 2011-05-27

Every year, I am so excited for the start of a new wedding season. This year I am especially excited because I actually feel really caught up going into it. I have had a lot of helpers in getting to this point, so I’m thankful for them. ALL of them.

And, because my husband and I like to do crazy things it seems at the start of each wedding season, we bought a house across town and are currently knee deep in moving. Moving in my opinion (and everyone else I know) has always been a real pain in the neck, but moving with kids puts a whole new meaning to it. For the last week or so we have been running back and forth, taking things over slowly while working on small projects that needed done. Finally we had enough of that and decided that we really needed to sleep here now. (And because our cable/internet/phone was transferred from our old house to the new one and we really can not be without!) So, I called my dad and he brought over a big trailer and we loaded up our bed and now we are sleeping here. Thankfully one of our friends had an air mattress that we could borrow for the kids. (thanks christa!) Now my kids think that they are camping out and couldn’t be happier. I don’t like camping so this is as close as they will probably get to camping with me, but, that is an entire other story……………..

Our furniture is going to be moved in next week. Thankfully…….

And, since a blog post without a photo is boring, here is a before photo of our living room.  Part of my creative nature makes me want to paint things, all things, and I really couldn’t wait to paint the house. I personally am not the best painter, but I like to do it. Since it is wedding season though, and we have a bunch of kids, and we needed to get packing and un-packing, we thought it would be best to leave the painting to a professional. The color blue that is on the wall is not actually the color we ended up going with but it is a little bit similar. I will post an after photo once the room is put back together, but for now here it is:

In my opinion, I thought that the walls had a good bit of yellow tones and with the flooring, I really wanted to do something different, so I picked a color that I call “cornflower blue”, but it has a real name. I’ll have to check the paint can and update that with the after photo. Beyond the paint, I would L O V E  to take down the fan. I am dreaming of a very modern white pendant lamp of some sort or a very modern chandelier, however, my husband likes fans. a lot. we’ll see…….

Wendy + John 2011-05-27

Since it is wedding season and I have been shooting weddings, I will be once again blogging weddings.

( side note: I still need to blog a few from last winter though, so if you see one from winter, don’t be alarmed…….)

Wedding Venue: Black Knight Country Club, Beckley WV

Getting Ready location: Glade Springs Resort

Wedding Planner: Tanja from Tanja and Company

Florist: (I need to find this out!)

I didn’t meet Wendy and John until the day of their wedding, so I really wasn’t sure what they were like or what to expect. Wendy told me that they would see each other before the wedding, which is fairly common, but they were so relaxed about it, it was incredibly easy to be with them throughout the day. John said that they really didn’t like to get their photo taken (or maybe he didn’t…..I can’t remember for sure) but I told them I could certainly appreciate that since I really hate to be on the other side of the camera myself. It is not that I mind the actual photo taking, it is generally when I see what comes out that bothers me……  When I was going through the photos I loved that we got some really sweet shots that reflect their personalities together.

It was hard to pick my favorites, there are a ton! Since they really didn’t have a bridal party we were able to spend most of our time just taking photos of the two of them. I think that they could make a really nice wedding photo collage wall……

Here are some of my picks!

A sample of the table decor, feathers! How could you not love feathers????

Wendy, her craftiness, made this beauty for the names/table numbers:

And then the bouquet, incredible:

I love rings with engraving. If this were mine I would make this big and hang it in my house somewhere:

And, here is something I have never seen before, but it was perfect and very sweet. Wendy decided to have John help her zip her dress…………. ah……….

Then we headed off for a few pre-ceremony photos:

This photo is more of John than Wendy, but I like the whole look of it:

Wendy had this amazing amazing dress by Vera Wang. It had the perfect mix of modern + vintage. I am pretty sure that she is going to sell it since she is only getting married this once and won’t be needing this beauty again…..(in case anyone is interested this is a shameless plug to help Wendy sell the dress…..say yes to the dress!!! HA!)

After those photos we headed off to the church for the getting married part of the day. I have to say that I am pretty certain that I have never seen a bride this happy to get to the end of the aisle. John, you are a lucky man.

The next two photos are two of my very favorite from the day. I think that this is so pretty:

And, then this is a perfect example of how playful these two are with each other………

And, back to being pretty:

And, really pretty:

John is from my understanding a very good golfer. I think he was happiest for photos in a place of familiar surroundings. With Wendy. With the golf course.

Then, for fun, some photos of the weddings workers:

Me, taken by Emily. Too bad she is off to Physical Therapy School, I’m thinking that she is getting good at taking photos……………

Then, here is Emily. I’m sure she always wonders what I do with all of these test shots of her…….Someday I may make a collage in her honor………..

And, finally, Tanja! Tanja the wedding planner extraordinaire!!!

To see the highlights from the day, CLICK HERE.

Thank you for sharing such a beautiful day, best of luck to you John and Wendy!!!

Amy + Andy 2011-05-27

She is clever, he is witty. Together, they made me laugh so hard my face hurt by the end of the evening. It seems that for some reason each time Amy and I planned a photo taking date, it rained. We actually took their engagement photos while it was raining. Outside. Generally, I wouldn’t even consider to attempt this, however, Amy and I live about 4 hours away and we opted to go ahead. They actually turned out very nicely and I knew that if we could get awesome photos in the rain, the wedding would be a piece of cake.

It seemed to be one of the rainiest springs that we have had for years because we went for about three weeks with constant downpours. Although the forecast was rain and big dark clouds hung around, the rain held off for the entire day! To be on the safe side the wedding was moved indoors, but it was still beautiful and I was thrilled to be a part of it.

I love these hangers, so perfect for hanging your dress on!

A note from the groom on his gift, isn’t that the sweetest?

The bride and the groom during their pre-wedding photos, not taken together. A beautiful bride and a handsome groom:

Amy’s walk down the aisle with her dad:

Andy was liking what he was seeing:

One final look from dad to make sure he could give her away at this moment:

Seems like he felt pretty good about it, so they proceeded on:

Amy, you are a lucky girl, check out the way that boy is looking at you!

I have never saw a room with paper lanterns hanging that I didn’t like:

And, I couldn’t let this post go without this photo. Often during weddings I have a mom or two, maybe an uncle taking photos, but both dads, this was a first. They were diligent the entire day. Amy and Andy, should you have children someday in the future, I can assure you that they will be the most well documented lives I have ever heard of.

And, last but not least, a few of the many beautiful casual portraits from the afternoon:

And just for fun! How could you look at these ducks at the end of the pond and not pose with them???

To see the highlights from the day, CLICK HERE! Amy and Andy, THANK YOU!!!! You are both wonderful people and together you make a beautiful pair. Congratulations!!!

Natasha + Shawn… 2011-05-27

The day of the wedding was the end of the weeks of steady rain we had for what seemed like months. It was the perfect day for a wedding in a beautiful country setting. They day they had planned for and waited for had finally arrived. The wedding setting was Jackson’s Mill, the ceremony in the little chapel and the reception on the property. The am hair appointments ran a little behind, but I was so glad because I walked around the grounds and found this little piece of heaven. Who knew? I have been to Jackson’s Mill a good many times but I had never been back here.

This wedding was extra special to me since I have known the groom for several years. We actually spent a lot of time running together a few years ago when we were both training for marathons. When you run for hours, you have a good chance to get to know someone quite well. I know that Shawn will be an awesome husband and friend to you Natasha, and I’m sure he will be a great role model for your boys. Marathon runners are dedicated, driven, and know how to keep working at something when needed. They go the distance! (ha ha!)

For the shorter time that I have known Natasha, I think that together you will make a beautiful couple, with like minded interest and your kind souls.

Natasha, you are beautiful, indeed:

Natasha has this great big laugh, I LOVE IT!!!

Happy Couple:

Shawn, you are looking pretty handsome as well. When I was editing these photos I determined that up to this point, I have only ever saw you in running clothes! You clean up good!

I loved their intimate ceremony, and I loved their wedding singer! Natasha’s niece who sang the song that I linked to the slideshow. One of my new favorites. She has this great coffee shop voice.

And, a totally random photo that I really like, the boys at the end of the day! They were done with those dress clothes!!! (I sometimes feel the same way)

And, a collection of casual portraits, I really loved them all!

Congratulations to you both, I am beyond happy for you. I hope you stay as happy as you are right now, forever!!!

To view the highlights/slideshow from the day, click HERE.

Thank you for having me, I was so thrilled to be there!!!