Words cannot explain what a wonderful time I had with these two. I’m in Montana this week and yesterday I got to photograph Tassie & TJ.

Tassie & TJ were the winners of my Montana Summer Wedding Giveaway and I cannot wait for their wedding! I’ve known Tassie for a while and I absolutely love her and it was so great to get to know TJ a little better. I’m sure glad the contest rules did not exclude friends and family from entering . They are such a wonderful couple and I really enjoyed our day together. There’s nothing better than to have clients who trust me 100% and are happy to just have fun and focus on each other while I snap away. Thanks, guys!

We started our session downtown Polson. It was really cold and my fingers were frozen, but it was so fun!

Then Tassie gave me some gloves and we moved down to the the docks:

Tassie has always wanted a claddagh ring and TJ  got this one all the way from Ireland. It’s so special to her. He’s a special guy

They are getting married July 11.

We got back in the car to warm up for a little bit and drove to this field for some more fun photos:

TJ is a football player so I though it would be fun for them to play for a little bit. Love these photos!

On the way back we stopped along the way for a couple more photos:

Then Tassie and TJ changed and we went back out just for a little bit longer:

We pretty much laughed the entire time

This is one of my all-time favorite photos:

One last one walking back to the car:

And a sneak peek of their wedding post-card:Tassie & TJ, I hope you know how happy I am for you two and how much I appreciate your willingness to go along with my ideas and for being so much fun and easy going. I love you guys and I am so happy I get to photograph your wedding. Thanks for reading my blog and entering the contest .

Isn’t she just precious?! And look at this cute little smile.

Daniela didn’t want to be in any of the pictures but I sneaked this one and it’s just too sweet not to share:

Dani, I love you and I am so happy for you. I can’t wait to hold her again

Tassie and TJ:

Here are some excerpts from their entry:

Their story:

T.J. and I met while attending the University of Idaho.  T.J. was a football player and I was on the track team so we saw each other around the athletic facilities several times before we officially met. While at a mutual friend’s house, T.J. started up a conversation with me. We talked that night for over 2 hours.  We talked about religion, family, morals/values, sports, and life ambitions.  We even found out that we had the same initials (T.J.).  That part has been very confusing for us since we both get called T.J. by our families.  I gave him and a friend a ride home that night and after I dropped him off I felt great.  This was the kind of person I had been looking for.  I knew that I wanted to end up with someone just like him.

We were becoming better friends all the time. One night after a long conversation I told T.J. that I thought he might be my “soul mate.”  To my surprise he didn’t run away at that.  The problem was that I was moving back to Montana so we knew nothing was going to happen.  It “happened” that T.J. and I were going to both be in Spokane for New Year’s Eve.  Just before Christmas I received a dozen roses with a note saying that he couldn’t wait to see me in Spokane.  We spent New Year’s together that year.

The proposal:

For our 4 year anniversary this New Year’s Eve after dinner T.J. asked me to walk over to a gazebo with him which was across a bridge.  I agreed even though it was snowing and I was not dressed for the weather.  I had purchased a new pair of red suede high heels, they were cute but not made for the snow or walking.  But I made the trek with only a couple of near falls.  When we got over to the gazebo T.J. started to tell me how he couldn’t imagine life without me and how he was glad that we are so perfect for each other.  He said that I was his soul mate and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me.  Then before I knew what was happening he was down on one knee asking me to marry him.  I of course started to cry and asked if he was serious.  He said he was and I just started hugging and kissing him.  He reminded me that I hadn’t answered him yet and I told him of course I would marry him.  So he put a ring on my finger and made it official.  By the way the ring is amazing.  It is from Ireland and it is a claddagh ring.  Did I mention that it has 34 diamonds.  It is so perfect for me and it symbolized our whole relationship.  I am the happiest person in the whole world to get to be marring my “soul mate.”  We really are meant for each other and I knew it from the first time we talked.   I don’t think life gets much better than that!!!!

Their wedding:

We will be having 400-500 guests and a lot of this is because we both come from big Irish Catholic families.  Our reception is being held in an airplane hanger  because there isn’t anything else big enough to hold that many people.  It is going to be simple but a lot of fun.

Tassie and TJ, I am soo excited to be photographing your wedding for you. Congratulations and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Yesterday I met up with Breckin and Alex for their engagement session. I am so thrilled to have the honor to photograph their wedding. Last year, I photographed Breckin’s sister’s wedding (Rachelle & Jordan) and Alex’s sister’s wedding (Christina & Eric), isn’t that so fun?! I feel like I know they whole family already

I usually suggest to couples two outfits for their session, one casual and one a little dressier. I joked with Breckin that they had a super dressy outfit and an extra dressy outfit… Her response? “Don’t let the fancy dress fool ya, we are up for anything!”. Don’t you just love her?!

Breckin and Alex, thank you!! And happy Valentine’s Day <3

For a while, I felt like I had to keep working hard to get to one specific place. A place I could stop and say, I’ve arrived.  In some sense, I felt like I was starting out late and had to catch up. Something similar to a marathon with a finish line. And then it hit me that I don’t want to ever be finished, I don’t want to cross that line. Not only because that would mean it’s over, but also because I’ve finally realized that place doesn’t exist. Instead, I decided to thoroughly enjoy my run, to keep a steady pace, and maybe even slow down some times to really take it all in.  And a few sprints are fun too. I’m just looking forward to it all, and this does not mean I don’t have a direction in mind. I do. But instead of focusing on a final destination, I am now happy to know this will be a multi-destination journey. Kinda liberating, isn’t it?I had a lovely lunch with an amazing photographer and dear friend today. While catching up on what’s going on in our lives, naturally work came up. I shared with Melissa Jill the lessons I’ve been learning and how blessed I feel to realize that God has been guiding me all along to the place where I’m at now. I have also been given some big lessons that I just need to have trust in Him and faith in Him. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I have at times worried. Worried that things might not work out. Shame on me!Don’t get me wrong. Hard-work and determination are super important, but I can’t forget to have faith. Faith is quite possibly the best cure for stress and anxiety

Recently someone asked me on formspring “How did you muster up the courage to quit your job and follow your dream? What advice do you have to someone in overcoming that fear?” I answered the question, but I don’t think I was able to convey what I was really thinking. However, during our conversation today, Melissa pretty much summed it all up and I think this would have been a much better answer to that question: “Weather you are working for somebody else, a big corporation or for yourself, the one providing for you is always God”. She is much more eloquent than I am. Anyways, the truth is I never really stopped being afraid, I just took a leap of faith. And yes, I did receive a few nudges from those around me who love me.

Thinking about framing the next two and hanging them side by side:One of the main reasons why I cherish my clients so much? Because I know they are hand-picked for me. The first time I met with a client who didn’t book me, I was sad. I liked them. Why didn’t it work out? I analyzed everything I said, everything I did. I was determined to learn from this. I wanted every client I liked to like me back.  I now know, I certainly cannot be the right photographer for every client, so I just have to be myself, do my best, let it go and be happy that it’s really not up to me. It’s great knowing that what’s meant to be will be!Success. Do you have your own definition? How do you know you’ve succeeded? Can it be measured by the number of comments on your blog? By how much money you make? By how others perceive you? Do you have to be famous to be successful?

To me success is synonym with happiness. My number one marker of success is how happy my clients are. The happier they are, the happier I am. And that’s what I work for. What would make you happy? Define it, achieve it and be the happiest version of yourself Any journey is more fun when the people I love are with me. Enjoying my own journey is great, but I can’t forget to share in my friends’ journeys as well, sacrifices included . The more I give, the more gratifying it is.

The more I do what I love, the more in love with it I am. I give it my all each and every time and I hope it shows. I know not everyone may see it, but I’m grateful for those who do. Thank you for the encouragement and the much needed “nudges”.This post in itself is a leap of faith. A “nudge-less” leap. Maybe I’m learning.

Sheli started the day getting her hair ready at Taglio’s and I met up with her later on at her uncle’s house. The mood was very different than the usual hustle and bustle without all the girls running around, but still full of anticipation and excitement for the day.

Her Nicole Miller gown was to die for!

All ready to go!

Sheli and Joe chose to see each other before their ceremony and here’s a favorite from their first look:

After their first look we took some time to walk around the property and make a few portraits of the happy couple:Like I said, her dress was to die for and I equally loved her headpiece:

This one makes me feel like we could be somewhere on a Greek isle:

Sheli right before the ceremony. It was quite a task to try and get her not to smile

Love the look on her face as she walks up to Joe:

I thought it was a great moment during the ceremony when they both took a peek at their brand-new rings at the exact same time:

On the way to their reception dinner we stopped in Old Town Scottsdale for some quick portraits. This might be my favorite image of the day:

It’s always fun when strangers tell you congratulations. Specially when it’s the live band playing outdoors

A random shot on our way back to the car. Why not, right?

When we arrived at the restaurant there were some flowers and a card waiting for Sheli and Joe as a surprise from a friend back in Minessota. As you can see Sheli was very pleasantly surprised:

It was such a beautiful night so we sneaked in one more photo before I left:

Thank you two so much! I hope you are having a great time in Sedona before you head back up to the snow. Much love to you two!

An image from yesterday’s wedding that makes me happy

If you could provide 100 meals for children for $10, would you do it? I certainly hope that everyone reading this answered with an emphatic yes!

Today while at Whole Foods I bought their FEED 100 bag. It’s only $10 and every bag you purchase will provide 100 nutritious school meals for hungry children through the UN World Food Program.

Huge bonus? The bag is super cute and made with 100% organic cotton and sustainable burlap. I’ve been using reusable grocery bags for a while, but I’ve been looking for one I could leave in my purse so I can use it at the mall instead of using their shopping bags and this one is just absolutely perfect for that.  Besides being able to zip it up, which makes it really easy to keep it in my purse at all times, it’s also really soft, has internal pockets and it fits a lot of stuff in there.

I hope I’ve talked you into going to get (at least) one too!

Happy Friday

At the end of December I had the opportunity to shoot yet another wedding with Jennifer Bowen. I know I talk a lot about Jen on my blog, but she truly has a special place in my heart.
Sunny & John were married in their backyard in a beautiful ceremony. There were so many cute kids at this wedding so get ready to see a lot of cuteness.

Sunny on her way to see John for the first time:

Their first look. And by the way, this is totally candid.

Sunny’s two requests for photos: One by the cactus…

… and one with the sunset:

Going back inside to get ready for the ceremony:

I’ve warned you… lots of cute kids

I always like to check out the competition

Isn’t he just the most adorable thing ever?!

They created quite a reception ballroom in their backyard:

The kids’ tables:

Their first dance:

It truly was a gorgeous Arizona winter night:

Congrats again to Sunny & John

And make sure to check Jen’s blog for more photos and all the vendor details. Thanks again, Jen!

I am absolutely in love with my new album company. Don’t worry, I still carry my old albums and love them too, but this new company offers many more options as far as cover choices and imprinting without losing any of the quality. These albums take just a little longer to make than the other ones due to the all the details and different options offered, but I think it’s totally worth it. I am constantly searching for new options for my clients and I’m so happy to say I’ve finally found exactly what I’ve been looking for.

As you can see, for this album I chose a two-tone leather cover with a metal cameo in the center. It’s 11 x 14 in size and I wish you could touch it… It’s so soft! They also offer animal friendly covers and many other sizes and colors. Isn’t it gorgeous?!

And  here are a few shots from our awesome day together. Courtesy of my husband. Thanks, Curt!

Shooting in full sun is not ideal, but sometimes it’s your only option. Therefore we practiced some of that as well:

I love everyone’s commitment here. So glad Curt captured this as I was busy answering questions and never even saw it happen:

We got pretty lucky with this blue garage door to add a little color to some of our images:

Dustin and Teresa seem pretty happy with their new-found skills:

During panning practice:

I don’t think I can ever fully express how much I loved everyone who came to the workshop. You were all so great and I hope from the bottom of my heart that you enjoyed our day together and walked away with not only knowledge, but excitement for what the future holds for you and your photography.

You can see some of the Fancy Camera Workshop images here.

This last Saturday I had my first official Fancy Camera Workshop and I feel like I am still recovering from it. The whole day felt like things were moving 10x times faster than normal life speed. I’ve taught many community college classes before, provided countless nutrition presentations for a variety of groups, from children to elderly, from 5 people in the audience to 500. I thought I was more than ready for the workshop, but this was completely different than anything I’ve ever done before.

I packed a whole lot of information in one day and trying to create images while answering questions and trying to make sure every important piece of information is covered can certainly make your head spin. But I have to say I am soo happy with how things turned out. Some of the attendees had literally just bought their cameras the week of the workshop and walked away shooting perfectly exposed and very well composed images on manual setting! In just one day!

Four our photo shoot location, I thought it would be great to show everyone that you can create some really great images in really terrible places. So after the lecture part of the day we just literally walked out to the hotel’s parking lot where the workshop took place and used that as our photo shoot location. I was really impressed with what everyone was able to create.

I also need to give my best friends, Tom and Trisha, a lot of credit for being so adorable and patient with us. I love you guys! Here are some images of my favorite couple:

I think this series is just so cute:

It’s always fun to practice a little panning, and with sunflare it’s even better!

After the shoot we went back inside and talked a little bit about post-processing and had a great critique of everyone’s images. Here are a couple of images processed a little differently just for fun:

Thank you so much to everyone who came. It was wonderful meeting all of you. Please stay in touch as I can’t wait to see what else you will create! For some behind the scenes images, click here.

A professional photographer will take the best photographs in each given situation, even when the situation is not ideal. Now, can you imagine what happens in an ideal situation? Here’s a breakdown of a wedding day and what makes it picture perfect.

Getting ready portion of the day:

The more natural light coming into the room the better. This is such an exciting part of the day, full of incredible candid moments! However if the photographer is snapping away and constantly using their flash, it may become a distraction for the bride and her family and friends. This will make them more aware of the photographer’s presence diminishing the “realness” of the moment. And as a big bonus. your make-up artist will also appreciate the natural light.

Also remember where you are getting ready is the background of your photos, keeping the room as neat as possible will make for a prettier background.

Ceremony portion of the day:

When choosing your ceremony site, check it out at the same time of day and same time of year when you would be having your ceremony if at all possible. Ask for two people to stand where you would be standing and check them out . Watch out for the following: If one person is in shade and the other one in full bright light, if one person (or both) are squinting, and if there are trees nearby and spots of shade/light on their faces. There is not much a photographer can do in these situations, so what you see is what you get. Look for a ceremony site with even shade (or light) at the time your ceremony would start and remember this will vary depending on the time of the year.

For indoor ceremonies, specially churches, make sure you know their policy before-hand so you are not disappointed with your photos. Many churches do not allow flash photos, others do not allow for the photographer to move around at all or past a certain pew and others prohibit photos during most of the ceremony.

Reception portion of the day:

Just like everything else, lighting and background are the two key factors. What’s behind the cake table? What about behind the bride and groom’s head table? The emergency exit sign? The big tent pole? Try rearranging and place your table in front of a more flattering background

Of course, this is the time for your details to shine! Place settings, centerpieces, escort cards, drink station, dessert bar, chair decorations, favors, paper goods… Let your creativity fly!

But I believe the most important piece of advice for your reception is to have fun! Even at small weddings, if the bride and groom are out on the dance floor having a great time, so will their guests! And the photos will reflect their wonderful celebratory mood.

And here are some additional tips to help you get the best wedding images possible:

Hire a make-up artist and hair stylist. I recommend scheduling your make-up trial for the same day as your engagement session. This way you know exactly how your make-up will show up in pictures and there will be no surprises on your wedding day.

Communicate with your DJ what time your photographer is leaving to ensure you will have all of the reception events you want photographed before that time.

Plan for portraits while there is still natural light available and allow for at least 30 minutes for bride and groom portraits.

Communicate with your florist what time you are starting portraits to ensure you will have your bouquets and boutonnières in time for photos.

Don’t forget to communicate with those you want in your formal portraits the time and place they should arrive at.

When thinking about which formal portraits to include, consider which photos you would like on your wedding album, on frames up on your walls and throughout your home or if you are going to print that image as a gift for a loved one. If the answer is none of the above, then you should probably skip it. Remember that this is your wedding day and you will most likely want to spend it by enjoying each and every moment with your loved ones instead of smiling for photos for most of the day.

Being on time keeps everyone happy and stress-free, here are some things to keep in mind:

The bride should start hair and make-up approximately 2 ½ hours before portrait time begins.

Remember to include transportation time. For example, if you are getting hair and make-up done at a salon, then going to a church for the ceremony, then going to a reception site or other places in between for portraits don’t forget to estimate how long it will take to go from place to place.

If you would also like to have photos of the groom getting ready, by having the groom nearby the bride, it will maximize your photographer’s time.

If you decide to wait until after the ceremony to do your portraits you have to consider what kind of “exit” will you have and how much time it will take. For example, if you have a receiving line that could take 30 minutes, 1 hour, or more depending on how many guests you have. Don’t forget to add that time to your time line.

I hope this helps!. If you have any other questions, please let me know. Happy wedding planning!

1. To live near my sister again.

My sister and I are very close but when I turned 15 she moved to Colorado (and I stayed in Brazil). It wasn’t until I was almost 20 years old that we got to live together again in Arizona. We were roommates all of my years attending ASU and now we only live about 20 miles from each other. I love it and we make sure to see each other at least once a week. This picture was taken 2 weeks after I moved in with her. New Year’s Eve 1999 – 2000.

2. To swim with dolphins

I started dreaming about it when I was 7 years old and we visited Sea World in Florida. It made my list every year until I was 27! That’s when Curt and I were in Puerto Vallarta for his cousin’s wedding with our best friends, Tom & Trisha. Trisha, Curt’s cousin and his aunt all came with me and it was seriously one of the coolest experiences of my life!

3. To be able to understand, read and speak English.

I am not sure when exactly this one made it on the list but I was really young. My dad bought me a book about penguins that was in English and it drove me crazy that I couldn’t read it. I’m guessing I was 6 or 7. I think I finally accomplished this one about 4 or 5 years ago and I am thankful for it every single day. This dictionary was my best friend for a loooong time.

4. To visit the Sistine Chapel.

I was in 7th grade and learning about art history. I can still see the pictures on my text book. I fell in love. I ran home and added it to my list of dreams. This one came true just this past summer. I even got a little teary-eyed when we were there and I remembered my art history teacher and the pictures on my text book. It was incredible.

5. To visit Venice.

I remember being pretty young and I was in an art gallery with my mom and there were a lot of paintings of Venice. My mom explained to me that the roads were rivers and instead of cars people owned boats. It seemed so surreal to me. It made the list and of course we visited it this last summer while in Italy. It was just like I imagined it to be as a child. And because God is so good, Curt was there to experience it with me. It was better than my dreams.

6. To ride a camel.

In my dream I would be in Egypt and then get to ride a camel in the desert. I got to ride a camel at the zoo, but I still crossed it off my list. Hey, sometimes you just have to make do with what you have. Visiting Egypt is a separate dream now

7. To live in a house.

I grew up living in hotel suites due to my dad’s job. I know, pretty sweet, if you are not a child. I had to learn to make friends pretty quickly as most of my friends would leave after only 1 or 2 weeks of staying at the hotel. If someone pretty famous was staying there, no one could come in that wasn’t a guest. Therefore my friends from school couldn’t come over. Room service is great, but it gets old fast. Trust me. Plus when you are late for school and all you really want is a glass of milk and a piece of bread… not possible. We finally moved out of the hotel, but since I grew up in the 3rd biggest city in the world, houses are not very common and usually not very convenient as far as location for my parent’s jobs so we moved into a high-rise apartment building. It was like winning the lottery for me but I had a few friends that lived in houses and I dreamed about it. How great would it be to come home and not have to wait for the elevator? I now have my very own house and I LOVE every square inch of it.

8. To graduate college with a 4.0 GPA

It’s silly to think about it now, however it was important to me at the time and I was really really happy on graduation day. And although it’s embarrassing to admit it, it’s a pretty great feeling to know people are proud of  you and I could actually see how proud my parents were.

9. To work in the hospital as a dietitian in the intensive care unit

Maybe because I put so much time, effort and money into this one, and then decided to quit my job, I often get asked if I regret it. And my answer is absolutely not. I never gave up on my dream. I worked hard for it and then enjoyed it for a full 3 years. I loved it and will always keep up my credentials, but for now I am just choosing to live out a different dream.

10. To become a wedding photographer.

Seemingly the most impossible dream of all. The one that scared me the most. Probably because I wanted it the most. I still wake up every morning and feel like I am still dreaming.

I have been really excited to write a “year in review” blog post as it has definitely been a life-changing year for me.  There’s so much to say but I most definitely need to express how extremely blessed I feel to have photographed each and every one of these couples. They have all impacted me in different ways and I am better because of them. This was my first year as a full-time wedding photographer and all of these couples will always have an extra special place in my heart. I also could not be anymore thankful to all of the photographers who photographed these weddings with me and the ones who asked me to come photograph weddings with them. It’s incredible to me that I was able to reach my goal of photographing 20 weddings in my very first year. This goes to show how incredible my clients truly are. Thank you for your referrals, your kindness and your loyalty. I appreciate it more than I could ever put it into words. It is really exciting to know that some of my brides from this year will be bridesmaids in weddings I have booked for next year.

In 2009 I was given the gift to be able to have my dream job and I enjoyed every second of it. Even through all the challenges of starting up a business, I smiled and thanked God for this amazing blessing. As I am given the chance to continue on this journey I hope to be able to help others by sharing what I’ve learned. And on that note, I need to once again thank Jennifer Bowen for her willingness to share her knowledge, her referrals and for her friendship. I hope to be able to do this forever and continue to learn and grow each day. I look forward to all the couples I will meet and the love stories I will be given the honor to witness in 2010.

Happy New Year!

While I was visiting my awesome friend, Amelia during one of my favorite trips ever, I got to help her out and photograph Emily and Matt’s wedding. And just like I fell in love with everything else in Birmingham, I fell in love with these two as well. Not to mention, their friends, the beautiful church, their wedding details, the food, the colors, everything really!

Emily started the day at this salon, and just look at what a gorgeous day it was!

After the salon we left for the church where she finished getting ready:

Her shoes were so adorable!

Amelia made fun of me for loving all the fall leaves so much, but when you live around cactus you kind crave these things.

Matt’s gifts to Emily:

Their first look was soo touching. Can’t you just see how much he adores her?!!

Hmmm, seriously, just how cute can a couple be?

And super sweet too!

We then headed outside for some portraits:

A few candids of Emily while she watched Amelia photograph Matt:

I loved these leaves under her bouquet! I have no idea what they are called, but if any of you flower experts know what this is, can you leave a comment below please?

Emily was just so happy all day she was literally skipping through the streets during portrait time:

I love this wall Amelia found and I love it how Matt is just cracking up over something Amelia said.

Emily was such a great bride! Look at her sitting on the ground in her wedding dress and as happy as can be

Orange being my favorite color, I LOVED her color scheme!

I had a great time photographing Matt’s portraits:

Some guy details…

And some girl details. Can you believe Emily made those gorgeous necklaces for her girls?! Loved them!

And just one more shot of the pretty pink/orange leaves I am obsessed with:

I asked her to wear her basket like a purse for me and look at all the cuteness she came up with!

Such cute girls!

While Amelia got ready for the ceremony I got to do a big bridal party shot. I LOVE big group shots! And do you see Dakota Fanning on the right?

I wasn’t allowed to take photos during the ceremony but I snapped this one through the window:

Mr and Mrs!

Pretty awesome party!

Elizabeth reminds me of Reese Witherspoon! She was so much fun!

Emily dancing with her dad:

One of the funniest bouquet tosses ever!

Morgan’s boyfriend caught the garter. I guess she’s getting married…

Congrats you two. It was such an honor to participate in your day. Amelia, thank you so so much!

We had the most wonderful day with our family and I hope you did too!

Today I met up with the Neideffer Family to attempt some family portraits. However, Miss Aliyah wasn’t having any of it. She was as happy as can be on her own, but not really into sharing the spotlight with her parents. Leeana and Don were such troopers though! Thank you guys so much! I had so much fun and I thought you deserved to see at least one image of your little Miss Independent tonight. She is just the cutest!

One of my “favoritest” things is to pull out my ornament box and decorate our tree. Growing up we usually had a matching tree. You know, with a theme and matching colors and ornaments. And I loved it! But now I truly enjoy my mismatched tree with ornaments that are really meaningful to me and I still think it looks gorgeous!

When I was decorating my tree last Saturday I snapped a few photos of some random ornaments to share with you all. So here we go…

While on our Honeymoon in Hawaii in 2003 we got to swim with sea turtles, so I got that little Santa sitting on a turtle in Maui almost 7 years ago!

My trip to Ireland is so special to me in so many ways. It marks my official quest to become a wedding photographer and that’s also when I made some really great friendships. And I wouldn’t have this ornament if it wasn’t for Melissa Jill. She literally drove me all over Ireland until I could find an ornament. Thanks, Melissa! I really appreciate your patience and friendship!

We go to Disney all the time, but this is from 2008. We drove from AZ to Cali with Curt’s brother and his wife. It was the best road trip and that’s also when Melissa found out she was pregnant with our first niece

Ahh, my little Leica camera. Just admit it, I know you are jealous! It’s just the cutest ornament ever! Amelia gave it to me when she was here last year for my “Girls Only Ornament Party/Brazilian Dinner”.

I got the first two little S’mores guys at Christmas parties at work and LOVE them! I know you will be shocked to hear this, but I never went camping or had s’mores until I was 23 years old! And it became a big joke because I think I ate an entire box of graham crackers s’mores style all by myself while camping with one of the other dietitians I used to work with. I also got a s’mores kit as a Christmas gift at work. They were making fun of me, but I actually use it all the time!

Then in 2008 my BFF, Trisha got me the cute pink S’mores girl. Love her!

And just this year, while in St. Louis to photograph Aimee and Loreto’s wedding, we found this little gem! It was like winning the lottery for me! I was sooo excited. He’s totally perfect and to make it even better, Lisette (who flew in to help me out with the wedding), got a matching one. Now I want one from every state, but I can never find them.

The cute snowman couple was a gift from my mother-in-law. It was the first Christmas Curt and I spent together.

The second one is from Aruba. It was one of the best trips we’ve ever been on. So many good memories from that one!

The egg is from our trip to Puerto Vallarta with Tom and Trisha for Brooke and Conor’s wedding. We got to see the artist making the ornaments, placing each bead by hand without a pattern to follow or anything. It was really impressive and cool to watch. Well, let’s be honest, I think Tom, Trisha and Curt were pretty bored but I was totally impressed!

And the last one is just from this past summer from our trip to Italy. I know it’s not meant to be an ornament but it was the closest thing they had to an ornament and Venice was my favorite place!

And THIS cracks me up! At first, Nathan was helping me and putting the ornaments back on tree after I photographed them, but when I handed him the camera ornament to put back on the tree, he did this instead:

I hope you are enjoying the Holiday season as well!

Amanda and Eric were married on November 14th in Scottsdale. Amanda got ready in the hacienda at the  Scottsdale Cottonwoods and I really loved this room:

I was so happy to see my favorite make-up artist, Celestial.

The radiant bride:

I thought her bouquet was so elegant and perfect for a fall wedding:

Her awesome girls:

Cute matching shoes:

These guys were so much trouble! And with 10 of them I definitely had to work hard to keep them in line

The ceremony was so beautiful and meaningful:

Amanda and Eric snuck in a little kiss half-way through the ceremony.

Who knew a backyard wedding could be so gorgeous?!

It was a super fun party!

Jennifer’s catering provided the super yummy food.

Such a beautiful night!

And you can see some of their first look photos here.

What is it?

A workshop to help you take full advantage of your fancy camera. You know, the camera you’ve been using on auto and not getting the results you want (or should be getting) by using your M (manual) setting.

Here’s an overview of our day together:

• Introductions
• The Technical Stuff (exposure)
• The Fun Stuff (compositional elements)
• Equipment: What’s What
• LUNCH (included)
• Assignment/Hands-on Practice Outside
• Post Processing
• Sharing of Images/Critique
• Q&A

Who is it for?

Anyone who has a fancy camera and wants to take better pictures.

When is it?

January 9th, 2010 (PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE)

9 am to 7 pm

Where is it?

Chandler, AZ.

How much?

$110

How many people?

I want everyone attending to get all their questions answered, so there is a maximum of 10 attendees at the workshop.

Want to sign up or want more details?

Email me at cristi@cristiowen.com

Want to read about the first Fancy Camera Workshop?

Click here.

What a gorgeous family! I had so much fun with these four! And I love their names too! Avery, Tanner, Bella and Benson.

Avery is Lauren’s sister-in-law whose family I photographed just last week and it is pretty apparent that they are all one big gorgeous family.

Thanks guys! beijos, Cristi

I still remember the knot in my stomach as I walked in her office to announce that I was leaving. It was awful! I didn’t want to let her down, she had been such a great mentor and I loved my job there but I just had to leave and try new things. As I should have expected, Pam was so gracious and while I know she was disappointed I was leaving she was once again incredibly supportive.

I was so happy to see her last week for some quick family portraits. Seeing how much her kids have grown makes me feel so old!

She has three gorgeous kids:

And Kendall deserves his own awesome portrait for putting up with all the girls during the shoot:

Love this family!

Pam, I am soo happy you are my friend! I miss seeing you on a daily basis but I don’t miss the early morning clinical meetings I hope you love your images!

I just got home from the most incredible trip. I left on Thursday from Phoenix, AZ to Birmingham, AL. The plan was to go visit my wonderful friend and fabulous photographer, Amelia Strauss, help her photograph a wedding on Saturday and return home on Sunday. A nice, fun trip is all I had in mind. And it was just that, but also much much more!

I am absolutely in love with Birmingham, Alabama! The food, the people, the weather, the scenery, the Piggly Wiggly, Vulcan, the “yes ma’am”, and the “y’all”. I now know the true meaning of Southern Hospitality and I am soo thankful.

A whole year in review blog post is coming soon, but right now I can’t help it but express how deeply blessed I feel to have such wonderful, genuine, and encouraging women as my friends. How did I get so lucky?! Just while on this short trip I got to see my good friends (and AKC sisters) Amelia, Shea, and Joanna. They all went out of their way so we could spend a little time together and I am soo thankful.

Here are some cell phone moments from this trip:

Thursday night we went out to eat at a fabulous local restaurant called Chez Lulu and Shea made the drive all the way from Clarksville, TN and met up with us there. It was sooo fun to see her! I love this girl!

Saturday night: Amelia and I with our post-wedding meals:

On the way back I had a 3-hour layover in Houston so Joanna and her fiancee Pepe picked me up at the airport for dinner:

Thanks girls for making me feel so loved and for being such incredible friends. I love “y’all”.

How cute is he?!!

Love his serious face:

The cute parents:

I love the bright colors they wore!

My most favorite father and son photo ever:

And mother and son (I couldn’t choose a favorite)…

Such a fun family!

Thanks guys SO SO much! You were incredible!

As a bride and as a photographer I am completely biased towards seeing each other in a private moment a couple of hours before the ceremony. In my personal experience as a bride, I was never given the choice and just went along with what I thought I had to do and didn’t see Curtis until the ceremony time. In all honesty, the moment was not at all what I had envisioned. I dreamed of a movie moment. Our eyes locked together, both of our eyes tearing up with excitement, and my heart beating a little louder as if to confirm how perfect that moment was. Hmm, well, that’s not at all what happened. As I walked down the aisle, all my friends and family, some of whom I had not seen in a while were all staring, smiling and waving at me. I smiled and waved back. Somewhat of a movie moment, just not the right movie. I didn’t really look at Curtis until I was right in front of him. I hugged my parents and the priest started the ceremony. We couldn’t hug each other, we couldn’t talk. We never had a moment alone our entire wedding day. I wish I had been given the choice and I would have for sure chosen to have seen my love and spent some time telling him how much I loved him on that day. Just the two of us.

Now, that’s just my personal experience. Everyone is different and so to help you decide I’ve compiled a list of “pros” and “cons” of each option and tried to be as unbiased as possible based on all of the couples I’ve photographed this year. Weather you choose to see each other before the ceremony or not will not only impact your “first look” experience, but it will also greatly affect your wedding photography and the flow of your day.

Option “see” pros:

• You are guaranteed a few moments alone with your spouse-to-be. This is often one of the most special moments of the whole wedding day. It allows you to take it all in and let each other know how you feel in that moment.
• Guests appreciate it that they don’t have to wait 1 ½  hours to be able to see the bride and groom.
• You are guaranteed to be focused on your groom when walking up to him and not be distracted by all the smiling guests ☺
• The bride and groom, family and bridal party get to participate in and enjoy cocktail hour. The bride and groom can mingle with guests during this time instead of having to formally go from table to table during the reception to greet their guests.
• It is much easier to get family together for portraits before the ceremony and before other guests arrive than during cocktail hour.
• Everyone will be looking their best before being outside in the heat and/or wind, lipstick kisses from loved ones and happy tears.
• The ceremony can take place close to sunset.
• Allows for photographer to take pictures of reception site during cocktail hour before guests have placed their personal items on tables and chairs and the setup is intact.

Option “see” cons:

• Traditionally brides and grooms would not see each other before the ceremony. This is still important to some families and required by some religions.
• If you are having a morning wedding, you’d have to wake-up really early!

Option “not see” pros:

• To be able to follow religious and/or family traditions.

Option “not see” cons:

• The ceremony needs to ideally end 2 hours before sunset to allow for natural light to still be available during portrait time.
• It is often difficult to “hide away” from guests during portrait time.
• It is also often difficult to get family to gather for portraits when they would rather be enjoying a refreshing drink or an appetizer and be mingling with guests who are eager to congratulate them and celebrate.
• Everyone may no longer be looking their best due to being outside in the heat and/or wind, crying during the ceremony, as well as lipstick marks from loved ones right after the ceremony.
• If your cocktail hour must be exactly one hour, family portraits, bridal party portraits and bride and groom portraits will have to be shortened to just 20 minutes each.
• If things run late, we may run out of light before being finished with portraits.

I hope this helps! And here are a few images from Amanda and Eric’s First Look this past Saturday.

If any of you can think of any other pros and cons please feel free to add a comment. And for all of you newlyweds out there, let us know what you chose and what your experience was like. I’d love to hear from you.

You just know that any wedding that starts with Jimmy Choo’s s is going to be absolutely fabulous:

Their wedding was at one of my favorite hotels in Scottsdale, the Valley Ho:

Getting ready:

Aleasha, their wedding coordinator, delivered Justin’s gift right before their first look:

Their first look was my very favorite moment of their wedding day:

The Valley Ho is full of fun spots for pictures:

Erica’s mother’s necklace was sewn into the her bouquet:

While Kim was photographing the girls I saw this really cool light coming through and asked the guys for a quick photo opp:

Adorable flower girl and her cell phone

Erica and Justin had a traditional Jewish ceremony. Since, not all of their guests were Jewish they included explanations of the different rituals in their wedding programs. I loved learning more about the Jewish traditions and I will be sharing what I learned with you. The following explanations are from their programs, which by they way, were so pretty!

As Erica entered the Chuppah she walked seven full circles around Justin to show her devotion to him. This is a very old ritual which varies in practice, but it is generally thought of as the bride creating a wall of protection around the groom:

The Chuppah symbolizes their new home and life together as husband and wife. It is open on all sides to offer unconditional hospitality to all guests:

Note Erica’s ring here doesn’t look anything like the ring you saw a few images earlier… Justin proposed to Erica while on a trip to Alaska and since he was afraid of bringing the “real” ring with him and losing it, he proposed with an empty box… Then, they fashioned a ring out of rope, which is the ring they used for the actual ceremony. Yes, I got all teary-eyed over it. And as if this wasn’t enough sentimental detail for one wedding, the sash on Justin’s fedora is from the same fabric as Erica’s wedding dress.

The sharing of the wine represents a commitment of sharing and forms a connection between the bride and groom. They each drank from two Kiddush cups. The first cup belonged to Justin’s father, and the second cup was a gift from Justin’s mother for Erica and Justin to continue to use in their Jewish home life.

The first photo on the top right is their Ketubah. This is a Jewish wedding contract outlining the vows and commitments of the bride and groom, which they sign prior to the ceremony.

As you can see from one of the photos above, Erica and Justin had their cocktail hour on the rooftop of the Valley Ho. It was quite romantic if I may say so myself

The reception had an Old Hollywood glamour feel to it all:

During the Mother-Son dance:

More reception fun:

Make sure to check out Kim’s blog for some amazing photos and all the vendor details.

Giving things away is kind of addicting and contrary to popular belief, it is actually quite selfish. It just feels so good to make someone else so happy!

So here are the details for the contest:

You must be having a great summer wedding in the state of Montana in 2010.

To enter the contest, simply email me your love story and all the details about your upcoming wedding. And don’t forget to tell me how you found out about the contest, your complete names, contact information and why you would like for me to photograph your wedding.  I would also love a photo of you two so I can post the winners on my blog!

I will announce the winners on Valentine’s Day (February 14th, 2010) right here on the blog.

What will you win?

9 hours of wedding day photography, a 3-month password protected online gallery with all your images and a DVD with high-resolution images. And as long as you are available when I am available I would also like to give you an engagement session and custom guest sign-in book with your photos from your engagement session!

Send your entry to: cristi@cristiowen.com

And because I believe it’s never too late to get what you want, the deadline to enter the contest is February 13th @ midnight (Montana time )

I can’t wait to read all your stories and meet the lucky winners

I am looking forward to a great summer in one of my favorite places in the world:

I kinda fell in love with these two at first sight. We met at a coffee shop just two months ago and as we talked their connection and love for each other was so apparent, I secretly hoped and prayed they liked me as much as I liked them. I was beyond excited when they announced they were set on having me as their wedding photographer. We celebrated with chocolate chip cookies and iced tea and I’ve been looking forward to their engagement session ever since.

LOVE this. I wish I could bottle up Nicole’s laugh, it’s really that great!

This is what happened when I asked for a serious face…

But then we got it. Well, kinda…

Nicole is absolutely beautiful!

This location was Chris’s idea and he asked to get some credit on the blog. Great job, Chris!

It doesn’t get any more adorable than this:

Can’t you feel the love here?! It’s my favorite image of the day:

After the hugs and hellos, one of the first things I said was how much I liked Nicole’s shoes. Her reply:  “Aww, thanks, I knew from reading your blog I needed some killer shoes for the photos”. Love you, Nicole!

Nicole and Chris wanted to incorporate some desert shots into their session, so into the desert we went:

Sooo pretty:

I could not love this shot anymore:

Nicole and Chris, thank you, thank you, and thank you! You have no idea how much fun I had with you yesterday. I hope you love your images

This past Saturday I had the honor of photographing Krista & Kelby’s wedding. This is a really looong post as I just couldn’t narrow it down to a manageable amount and I don’t believe in sneak peeks or splitting up posts. So here you go!

We started the day at the Sheraton downtown where Krista & Kelby got ready:

Then we headed to The Bentley Projects where their ceremony and reception took place. We stopped along the way for some fun portraits.

Yes, these nice guys carried the couch outside for me

The Bentley Projects was such a fun space to shoot in. I loved it!

These centerpieces were so unique and a I felt they were the  perfect balance of romantic and industrial which complimented the space perfectly. Barb Hanson was their florist – sorry no website.

This has got to be my all time favorite cake shot. The art behind it is just perfect. And their cake topper is from Krista’s grandparent’s wedding. And it tasted absolutely incredible! And they even served it with chocolate dipped strawberries. Let’s just make it my favorite cake ever. Period.

I just read on Fleur de Lis‘ website that they have complimentary cake tasting Wednesdays and Thursdays. I might become a regular.

Krista had me tearing up the entire ceremony…

… all the way to the very end.

Some more reception details… How great is that door with their seating chart!

Not very many couples have awesome art behind them as they dance for the first time as husband and wife:

In case you were wondering, Kelby was nice, Krista was not. Cristi is being nice and not posting Kelby’s cake face picture.

Krista had an impromptu father-daughter dance and I am so glad she did. It was very touching.

Krista was the epitome of the perfect bride; she was overtaken with joy and cried good tears, during portraits she never once worried about her dress getting dirty, she just focused on Kelby and their love for each other the entire time, and then she celebrated their perfect day with their amazing family and friends.

It was an awesome party! And I do have to mention that I have worked with some great DJ’s in the past but I have to be fair and say that Jeremy from Ray the DJ was absolutely incredible and so great to work with. Thanks for being so great and making my job so much easier and enjoyable. I really appreciate it, Jeremy!

Some photobooth fun courtesy of The Candid Guest.

And to end, something a little different that I kinda fell in love with :

Krista and Kelby, words cannot express how special you two are. Thank you for trusting me to document your special day. I am really excited to see what wonderful things the future holds for you both.