I’ve been thinking a lot lately about ways to keep my blog fresh, even when I don’t have shoots to share with you. I wanted to think of something that would be beneficial to my brides (and any that happened upon my blog) but I wasn’t sure what I could offer on a constant basis that would keep me and others interested.
But this weekend I was chatting with a friend and client about her upcoming wedding in June. Her venue is very beautiful and quaint and feels almost like a garden, and we were tossing around ideas of ways to make the wedding personal. This particular bride has a pet bird whom she adores and jokingly said something about incorporating bird cages somehow. I thought this was a brilliant idea and I knew she could easily find tons of beautiful and inspired ways to incorporate bird cages into her wedding. She almost laughed off the idea because she hasn’t been immersed in the world of weddings for years like I have. She didn’t think it would be possible. But I knew better. And then a light bulb literally went on over my head.
I realized that people like me are a wealth of information when it comes to wedding ideas because we have seen so much more than the average bride has. So, I’ve decided to start an ongoing section called “Wedding Inspiration Wednesdays” where I will pick a theme and then find several lovely things that a bride might pick to incorporate said theme into her wedding.
Now, between you and me, I am no wedding designer, nor do I claim to be. But that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun! Truth be told, I honestly believe it’s not the details that make a wedding, but I love to look at pretty things as much as the next gal, and chances are you do, too.
So, in honor of my friend, the first Wedding Inspiration Wednesday is all about bird cages. Most of these were found several days ago and I couldn’t find my source for a few of them, but I’ve listed links below for the ones I still had. If you recognize an un-sourced item from somewhere, please let me know.
I can’t believe 2009 has come to an end. This has been quite a year for me, personally and business-wise, and when I sit and think about all I’ve had the privilege to see and do, I’m quite pleased. 2009 was the year I decided to focus solely on weddings. This time last year I wasn’t sure where this year would take me, but I was ready to hang on and enjoy the ride. And, oh, what a ride it’s been.
2010 already promises to be an even more exciting year and I honestly can’t wait. There’s something so refreshing about the start of a new year. I know technically nothing really changes, but there’s just something about seeing Jan. 1st on a calendar that sparks something inside me. I love feeling like I can change anything I put my mind to. Make things happen. Kick A$$ and take names. You know the drill.
I’ve already set wheels in motion for things that are sure to make my business better than ever, which means an even better experience for my clients. I am so looking forward to the weddings I have the honor of photographing next year and I can’t wait to share them all here.
In the spirit of reflection, I’ve chosen some of my favorite images, from both engagement sessions and weddings, from 2009. It’s been a VERY long time since I’ve posted a slideshow, but I figured why not let 2009 go out with a bang? Hope you enjoy.
A big, HUGE thank you to all of my clients – past and future – who chose me to capture their wedding day memories. I would also like to thank my photographer friends who have invited me along to shoot weddings with them and have also joined me at my clients’ weddings. The friendships I’ve made this year have proven invaluable.
Happy New Year, everyone! Here’s to a FANTASTIC 2010!
>>If you’re reading this post via an RSS feed or on Facebook, you’ll have to click through to my actual site to view the fun slideshow!<<
Instead of calling this list The 20 Best Christmas Songs Ever, maybe I should call it 10 Great Christmas Songs, Plus 10 More That Are Kind Of About Christmas, but that doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. You see, I happen to really love Christmas music. Even the most played out Christmas songs make me giddy with excitement when they come on the radio. There’s a station here in LA that plays ALL CHRISTMAS MUSIC ALL THE TIME for the entire month of December. And I think it’s the greatest thing ever.
Chris, on the other hand, is not a fan. We suspect it’s because he grew up singing in childrens’ chorales and A Capella groups. Thus, he was forced to sing Christmas song after Christmas song over and over again every. single. December. I guess I can see why he’d grow a distaste for the genre, but I can’t see myself ever tiring of the holly, jolly tunes that I love so. Luckily, Chris is a good and patient husband and indulges me for at least 20 minutes when we’re in the car together. He’ll watch me hop and bop around in my seat while I sing along to all of the classics. And he’ll only roll his eyes once or twice.
This year Chris decided we should make a mixtape together. Chris loves making mixtapes. It’s the indie-rock college kid in him that will never die, I guess. We have done what we call “bounce mixes” from time to time where one of us will choose the first song and the other will choose the second song. We go like that until we have a full mix. It’s pretty fun! I chose 10 of my favorite Christmas songs and Chris alternated his “not-really-Christmas-music” Christmas songs. The result? The 20 Best Christmas Songs Ever!
We enjoyed making this mix so much that I wanted to share it with all of you! Have a listen and let me know what you think! It totally succeeded in getting me in the Christmas spirit and I hope it does the same for you! If you want to open a fancy flash version of the playlist in a new window, CLICK HERE. Or, you can just keep this window open and press play below (it’s a large file so it takes a while to start playing).
Here’s the playlist:
Christmas (Please Come Home) – Darlene Love
The Tip of the Iceberg – Owl City
Wonderful Christmastime – Paul McCartney
Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree – The Magnetic Fields
Christmas Wrapping – The Waitresses
Donde Estas Santa Claus – Augie Rios
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – The Jackson 5
Winter Wooksie – Belle & Sebastian
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
Holiday Road – Matt Pond PA
All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
Put The Lights On The Tree – Sufjan Stevens
Last Christmas – Wham!
What the Snowman Learned About Love – Stars
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town – Bruce Springsteen
Santa’s Beard – They Might Be Giants
Santa Baby – Eartha Kitt
White Winter Hymnal – Fleet Foxes
Baby, It’s Cold Outside – Zooey Deschanel & Leon RedBone
Taking Down the Tree – Low
I am thankful for so many things: my family, my friends, my health, my job – just to name a few. Each day doesn’t always turn out how we want them to – they’re not all sunshine and flowers. But I’m thankful to have a partner by my side who gets me through the ugly days and basks in the warm glow of the sunshine days with me, as well.
Today is one of the many good days and I hope it’s good for all of you as well!
Here’s a picture of that husband of mine – he makes me most thankful. Especially when he makes this face. It’s his, “Aren’t I adorable?” face and it gets me every time. Because he is.
When Emily and Free first contacted me about photography for their wedding, they already had the location for their engagement photos picked out – The Griffith Observatory. Usually couples who contact me need a little help picking out the location for their engagement session, but Free proposed to Emily at the observatory, so it was a no-brainer! I was very excited because even though I’d been there before, this was my first time shooting a couple at the famous Los Angeles landmark, and I’ve wanted to for a very long time.
These two have only been engaged for maybe about a month or so and they are getting married in January. For those trying to do the math, that’s a very short engagement! I’ve decided this is the way to go – they only have to deal the stress of planning a wedding for a few months and then they’re done! They get to live in wedded bliss and never have to plan another wedding again. I think many of us can definitely see the appeal in that.
It was a beautiful day for an engagement session when we met last week. I was just coming down with what I would find out later was the flu, but I was having so much fun with these two that I really forgot how crappy I was feeling. That’s how you know you’ve had a successful shoot. Free is a graphic designer and is using several of the photos from this session for their wedding invitation – he even sent me the mock up already and it looks fantastic! I love, love, LOVE when couples use their engagement photos in creative ways and I can’t wait to see the printed version of the invite suite.
Here are a few of my favorites from our time spent at the observatory.
In this next one, they are standing in the same exact spot where Free proposed. Cute!
After a while Emily and Free changed into something a little more casual, after which I promptly made them roll around in the grass.
Thank you Emily and Free for a fun couple of hours! I am so looking forward to your wedding day!
Lara and Erik’s wedding at the La Cañada Country Club was truly perfect for those many reasons. In my book, a perfect wedding is one where the bride, groom and all those in attendance have a truly enjoyable day that is filled with laughter as well as tears of joy, and ends with a super fun dance party, which is exactly what happened with this one. I was invited to shoot this wedding alongside Jenny Smith of Alders Photography and I think it was halfway through the day that I realized how much fun Jenny and I were having capturing this day. Lara and Erik appeared to be free of stress or worry, their families clearly enjoyed each other’s company and everyone was having a really great time. Just how a wedding should be!
I met up with Erik and his guys at a nearby hotel while they were getting ready. I think Erik was nervous, but his buddies distracted him with jokes and fake mustaches to relax him a bit.
When we got to the venue, I joined Jenny in the bridal dressing room while Lara got ready. Lara was a gorgeous looking bride and paid attention to every last detail – the dress, jewelry, birdcage veil – it was all amazing!
Lara made sure her ladies were dressed to the nines, as well. I adored the necklaces she gave them as a gift. Gorgeous!
Love this shot of Lara and her dad trying to sneak a peek at Erik waiting at the altar.
One of my favorite parts of a wedding ceremony is the way the bride and groom look at each other. Almost like they’re seeing one another for the first time again.
And then there’s that “Married!” moment – that’s always a good one…
I think this first dance shot is one of my favorites ever. Such a sweet moment.
It was a beautiful day for a beautiful wedding with a gorgeous bride and beaming groom. Thanks to Jenny for having me along and a heartfelt congratulations to Lara and Erik!
Jennifer and James were married this past weekend. Their wedding at Serenity Oaks Ranch in Valley Center, CA was a rustic garden affair that was both elegant and charming. When I first met Jennifer and James earlier this year, Jennifer was full of ideas for DIY wedding projects and seemed just giddy at the thought of seeing those ideas come to life on her wedding day. I couldn’t wait to see what Jennifer had up her sleeve and I certainly wasn’t disappointed!
Jennifer loves to garden and all of her wedding details were a nod to her favorite pastime. Potted flowers adorned tables which were named after flowers, place cards were potted pillars of flower seeds and even included personalized pouches of seeds for the guests to plant at home. What a great way to give a gift that keeps on giving. I was so excited for Jennifer and James- they were married on a gorgeous day in front of friends and family who were all filled to the brim with happiness. A big thank you to Mary Frances for her invaluable help!
Here are a few of my favorites!
Jennifer and James’ ceremony was lovely. They put their own twist on a unity candle by imprinting their handprints into wet cement and having their wedding party each place a smooth pebble into the same cement. When the cement dries they will have a token of this day that will last forever and will be perfect for their very own garden!
Married!
The ranch was a great place for bridal portraits because it’s huge and had lots of great shade trees. I took the newlyweds around the grounds right after they were hitched and we spent some time making some beautiful portraits of just the two of them.
Here are some of those yummy details I mentioned before.
As the sun went down, the party began. There was lots of laughter and happiness all around.
I think my favorite part of the entire day was when Jennifer surprised James (and just about everyone else) with a song. It was sooo great! I love when brides and grooms surprise each other with something like that at the reception.
Congratulations, Jennifer and James! I am so honored to have spent such a wonderfully meaningful day with you. I hope you are having an amazing time in Cancun!
Dorie and John’s Memphis wedding is a favorite of so many people these days! I was so pleased to wake up this morning and see my work featured on Brenda’s Wedding Blog – a great blog that Dorie herself read often for inspiration. So cool!
Here’s a screen shot of the post, go read it in its entirety and peruse the rest of the great stuff that Brenda has blogged about – it’s a fantastic resource for brides. Thanks, Brenda!
I was so pleased to receive an email today from Abby at Style Me Pretty, letting me know she was featuring Dorie and John’s Memphis wedding on her amazing blog today! SMP is one of my favorite wedding blogs on the planet and I check it daily for inspiration. If you’re planning a wedding, or just like to look at pretty things, make sure you check it out!
I was even more pleased to find that not only did Abby feature the wedding, but she featured their Memphis rehearsal dinner, as well!
Here’s a screen shot from the rehearsal dinner post. Click the image to see the full post!
I am so honored to see my work on Style Me Pretty, along with all of the other beautiful images that have been featured there. Such a treat! Dorie and John planned an amazing wedding, and I’m so glad the photos are able to serve as inspiration for future brides who are looking to plan unique weddings for themselves!
Dorie and John’s wedding weekend came to a close with a Day After session. A Day After session is just what it sounds like – a photo session that takes place the day after a couples’ wedding. The benefit of one of these sessions is two-fold: the couple gets to wear their wedding attire one more time in a setting other than their wedding venue, and their portrait session isn’t under any sort of time crunch. These sessions are a stress-free way to get a variety of bridal portraits, often times with a different look and feel than the ones taken on their wedding day. Dorie and John’s Day After session took place in front of the world-famous Sun Studio and on Beale Street in Memphis. In case you missed, them, check out their Memphis rehearsal dinner and their beautiful wedding at The Inn at Hunt-Phelan.
I loved the idea of capturing the juxtaposition of a bride and groom in their wedding attire among the grittiness of urban Memphis streets. This is my first shoot of this nature and I can’t wait to do more. Many thanks to Dorie and John for getting themselves dolled up again after a long weekend and letting me play with this idea. I love the images we made together.
We started at Sun Studio. To those not in the know, Sun Studio is the place where Elvis Presley (among many other rock ‘n roll legends) recorded many early demos and singles. This place is a pretty big deal.
Finally we moved on to Beale Street which is like the Bourbon Street of Memphis. We had a lot of fun here.
I had such an amazing time in Memphis and I was so honored to be chosen as the photographer for Dorie and John’s wedding. I felt like an important part of their entire weekend, which was so great. Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Nolt! I love you both!
