You may remember Charlotte from her family portrait session several months ago – six months ago, in fact. Because now, that six month old baby is a 1-year-old! I can’t believe it’s already been six months since I met this beautiful little girl. Charlotte’s mom, Jillian, planned a super cute birthday party in honor of her baby girl and she asked me to capture the day. I had so much fun! Here are some of my favorites.
Jillian worked very hard on the details for this party and it really showed! There were lanterns, balloons and paper pom poms all over the house. She even made the cupcakes and cake, including the flower and butterfly fondant details. So impressed.
One of my favorite elements of the party was a time capsule that Jillian planned for Charlotte. She had every guest write a note to Charlotte for her to read on her 18th birthday. Such a great idea and so personal. I wish someone had done that for me!
Charlotte’s dad, Dennis, cooked up some wonderful butternut squash soup, a delightful salad and even croque-monsieur (fancy name for grilled ham and cheese sandwiches) for everyone to eat. Sophisticated food for a one-year-old’s birthday party? Maybe, but Charlotte was the only baby in attendance and she LOVED the soup!
When it was time to blow out the candle on her cake, Charlotte got a little help from her mommy. I love the look on her face. She was having fun!
I think it’s kinda cute that the balloons behind Charlotte’s head look like balloon antennae. Very festive!
Charlotte dug into her cake like a true lady. Barely made a mess at all – and she even used a spoon!
After gifts were opened everyone just sat around and soaked in Charlotte’s cuteness. She obliged by hamming it up for all of us.
Happy birthday, Charlotte! You are the sweetest, most adorable one-year-old!
Hey, y’all – I’m in Memphis! I have the distinct honor of spending the weekend in Elvis’ hometown to photograph Dorie and John’s wedding. The wedding is tomorrow (or today, depending on which timezone you’re in), but today the festivities started with a really great rehearsal dinner. I don’t get to shoot rehearsal dinners a lot, so this was particularly fun for me. It’s really wonderful to get to meet close family and friends before the wedding so that on the big day, people who know I am and they’re already comfortable with me and my camera. Love it!
It’s definitely out of the norm for me to blog images the day they were taken, but I wanted to rest up before the wedding and there’s not much else to do in this hotel room, so of course I had to spend the evening processing photos.
I went to the wedding venue to check out the grounds while Dorie, John and their wedding party were there rehearsing. I can’t wait for the real event!
I loved the details Dorie and her mom put together for the dinner. All of the tablecloths are vintage and belonged to Dorie’s grandmother. They were beautiful and were such a great way to personalize the tables.
Here’s Dorie doing her best Elvis impersonation
But then this guy tried to show her up. I have to admit, he gets extra points for the outfit.
I discovered babies are skeptical of Elvis impersonators. Go figure.
John is a musician – as are several of his friends – so to close the evening out, guests were treated to some acoustic songs by candlelight. Even though it was pitch black out, I purposely didn’t use my flash in order to capture the mood and ambiance of this impromptu concert.
Dorie’s dad was totally feeling it.
I am so excited for Dorie and John’s wedding tomorrow – it’s gonna be amazing!
Neda asked me to document her fabulous 30th birthday party that was held a couple of weeks ago at her beautiful home. Please believe me when I say that I do not use the word “fabulous” lightly when talking about this party. Neda planned a lavish affair complete with a full catering and service staff (including a hunky topless hors d’oeuvres server, natch), an elaborate menu, full bar DJ, bongo player–and me, the photographer, of course! She literally pulled out all the stops and this party was the place to be on this particular night.
About 100 of Neda’s family and friends were in attendance and it was great to see them all dote on the birthday girl. Neda was the center of attention all night and you could tell she was having a fantastic birthday. Most of the fete was held outdoors late at night with very minimal ambient lighting so getting good shots was a challenge, but I kind of like the red-light district feel of the details using nothing but ambient light to create the images.
Before the party really got started, I got to hang out with Neda’s three lovely daughters: two six-year-old twins and one two year old beauty. The youngest one wasn’t a fan of the camera, but the twins were ALL ABOUT IT. I spent a full hour with them as they jumped from the furniture–literally–and instructed me in the types of shots I should take of them. These girls were not camera shy at all and they were oh-so adorable.
Once the party got started there was lots of mingling, munching and sipping to be had. Neda and her husband made their rounds but soon made their way onto the dance floor. There was something extremely romantic about the two of them dancing alone while everyone in attendance was oblivious to booty-shaking that was going on a mere hundred feet away.
Of course it wasn’t long before the dance floor filled up and the majority of those in attendance got their groove on. Oh, and how! Neda and just about everyone she knows proved to be amazing dancers. I was having so much fun bobbing and weaving through the dance floor capturing their moves! My friends and I typically look like fish out of water when we dance, but not this bunch. They had all the right moves.
They danced for hours and seemed to never tire. I was truly amazed. But, every good thing must come to an end and the end of this night was signaled by a cake that Neda’s husband surprised her with. Check out the abs on that cake. Hubba hubba!
Thanks, Neda, for asking me to document this milestone birthday party for you. I had a blast observing and capturing the fun–I hope you had a blast, too!
I had the pleasure of photographing Natali’s bridal shower. I was also asked to photographer her wedding. The bridal shower was held at the house of Cory’s (the groom) grandparents. Natali and Cory’s female friends and family were in attendance and it was a really special and emotional night for everyone. The ladies were all smiles and laughs, and even shed a few tears of happiness for Natali. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the party:
