She's a classic pinup beauty. He's a tattooed stud with a hot rod. And together they remind me of Sandy and Danny straight off the set of Grease.

Melissa and I spent an afternoon photographing an engagement session for Aly + Matt, who will be marrying next year in Houston. Their unending excitement in one another's presence is contagious, and you can't help but smile when you see Aly's gorgeous smile when Matt makes her laugh. I can only imagine what they'll plan for their untraditional wedding, and I absolutely can not wait to see it all unfold!

　




I love love love their matching mustache tattoos!!


 









Aly + Matt - thank you so much for inviting Melissa and I to photograph your engagement session! xoxo!!

 

After being solid red for over 3 years now, I decided it was about time to find something bold to do with my hair. And since my hair grows at a snail's pace, chopping it was not an option. So I went with very bright magenta highlights. Woohoo! A lady came up to me at lunch last week and told me I had happy hair. I wonder what color sad hair would be...

 

On a less random note, I have a busy travel schedule over the summer! So if you happen to be in the area and want to do a session, or just to grab lunch, drop me a line! One of my favorite things about the wedding industry is the close network that forms while traveling. And of course, I am ALWAYS excited for a bold photo session!!

New York City, NY May 18-24

Houston, TX June 7-18

Las Vegas, NV July 16-19

Akron and Cleveland, OH August 20-24

Asheville, NC September 9-12 

Our fabulous partner photographer, Melissa, will be running the bridal boudoir photography studio in Houston while I open our new location in Raleigh. And of course, we'll still be meeting up for every wedding together in both Raleigh and Houston, because I can't imagine photographing a wedding without her by my side! Since Melissa started with the company last year, we've turned into a team that just syncs. She knows exactly what I need as soon as I lower my camera and take a breath to talk. It has even gotten to the point where I can't tell which photos are hers, and which are mine when I combine them after a photo session... which makes me jealous when I think one of my favorite photos is mine, and it turns out it's Melissa's! Whatev! Other than my pouting session in that moment, it's a perfect match, and I'm proud to have her representing our Houston photography studio!

After settling into our new studio last week, I flew to Ohio for a wedding and a few photo sessions and Kevin drove up from North Carolina to get me and my 105 lbs of luggage... oh yes, my bags had the "heavy" tag on the plane. We're spending the day driving to our new home, and I couldn't be happier to be opening our next location! And when I say "we are driving", I mean "Kevin is driving". Because, obviously, I had to write this blog... or whatever other excuse gets me out of driving. I have no preference. ;)

Cheers to a successful 2011 that has allowed us to dream big and chase our goals!


 

I received a picture message last night on my phone and opened it up to a snapshot of a book with the caption "Can you read this paragraph? It's from a book I'm reading. Made me think of you. :) Glad we are friends."

From Ohio to Texas to Charlotte, I have met some of the most amazing women who never seem to stop making me feel needed. I was flooded with messages Friday for my birthday, received cards in the mail, and had a surprise Sunday brunch thrown for me. For the love you show, I am so so grateful to my best friends. Thank you, ladies, from the bottom of my heart. xoxo.

Well, my parents had her over the holidays, and the groomer there did not trim her head for some strange reason, which made her look more like a cartoon character than a living being. Which got me to thinking - if her hair sticks striaght up like that naturally, it would make for one rockin' mohawk. Major kudos to Pooch Pad for giving The Bella a makeover... complete with spiked collar... with rhinestones of course. Cuz ya know, she's still a lady. ;)

Be bold... even pets need some style.

Since I barely knew the rules of football when I met Kevin, he knew he had some convincing to do. Now, most men would take their wives to the game, get great seats, socialize, etc. Me? I'd rather be doing that in the comfort of my own home instead of out in the cold Pittsburgh Steelers stadium in November. So Kevin figured out what I do like, and adapted it to football. Fashion! Genius. Not only did he get me a Steelers jersey, he got my dog one to match. Seriously, this is a man who knows his wife!

So, in the interest of trying to be a good wife, let's give it up for the steelers on their way to win their 7th superbowl! Plus it means that I get to wear my jersey again. Woot! Who knows, if I get a steelers vintage t-shirt next year, I may even agree to the metal stadium seats in our home. 



 

Imaging USA in San Antonio was just that, and i.had.a.blast!






not only did i meet some incredible photographers, i learned some fun new lighting techniques. light is my thing - i crave it. put me in a situation where i'm shoooting a portrait in the dark, and i'm completely in my element. the drama that light can play with the shadows amazes me when i look at what my camera captures, and knowing how to take advantage of light makes the difference between a good photo, and a great  photo. major props to new york photographer, jason groupp for making me see simple lighting in a new way. i've been studying light for years now, and he was still able to arm me with fresh ideas to add more variety to a photography session.

of course i had to play with light later that night, and got some strange looks with my DSLR camera at the cigar bar, but whatev. it's all in the name of photography!

in comes jeff jochum. i atteneded one of his workshops back in october and kevin and i decided afterwards to bring him in as a business coach to help us refine our brand. i always knew that i loved bold, edgy, untraditional brides. but i had trouble designing a website that reflected that without loosing the romance of a wedding. it's been a long process, but i'm excited to release the new site today and can't wait for the next big project with jeff. let me know what you think - good or bad - because believe me, jeff isn't soft with his critiques. obviously, i'm tough now. ;)

new year, new brand, new website. cheers 2011!

p.s. if you're in the creative business and need some help on growing your company, jeff can be reached at startup.strategy.com@gmail.com. let him know i sent you! :)

here are a few photos of a recent album we had printed with them.

lindsey hosts stella & dot parties, so of course i was all over it when she suggested it as a girls night mixer. any excuse for mimosas and girlfriends is a win in my book. to all of my lovely brides and boudoir chicas who weren't able to make it - let me know if you want me to get in touch for the next girls night and i will keep you up to date!

great food, great friends, great fashion. we had a blast!

confession: i hate cake.
but lindsey's sister in law made these amazing cake balls that were absolutely to die for. if every bride had these at her wedding, i would be one chubby little wedding photographer.

let's take a walk down memory lane and recall the story of last thanksgiving's turkey fiasco. ahh.... memories. i still get teased for this. i'm pretty sure it's something i will never live down. BUT i decided to tackle the beast again this year. with much better results.... for the most part....

you see, i purchased the turkey 4 days in advance, stuck that bad boy in the refrigerator to thaw, and expected to just pull it out and stuff it on turkey day. well... the inside was.still.fozen. seriously?!?! 4 days and i STILL have ice inside the dumb thing?? whatev. i figured i'd run some cold water inside (like my mom suggested) and that would be that - turkey ready. oh no no no. instead, we decide we'll put it in a pot to hold it while the water is running. that way, we won't have to stand there while it thaws. pot #1 is too small. pot #2 is just right, but doesnt fit in the sink. ok, we're back to holding the turkey.

but the water? well it isn't feeling cold. so now we're holding a turkey, running water in it, and stuffing ice cubes around it in the sink to keep the outside cool.

we finally got the bird thawed inside, but not without turkey-salmonila juice on the floor, the countertop, the kitchen island, the ice cube trays, and the freezer. oooh the holidays... at least it only took ONE turkey this year. :)

while i'm culling a client's wedding images, i put all these photos of us shooting into a separate folder for this very blog post. since melissa joined the team late in the year, i didn't have an opportunity to get any photos of her yet, but no worries melissa - i'm sure i'll have pleanty next year. ;)

i want to be a bridesmaid too....



so does kevin...







peek-a-boo..... you can't see me....

 
if you think i didn't include that dumpster next to me in some way, you would be terribly wrong. bright teal dumpster and a tattooed bride? i just couldn't pass that up.

coming from a scottish family of 6 that never forgets the christmas dinner prayer, has assigned seating, and meticulously passes everything to the right before being allowed to take a bite of food, i had much to learn.

lesson #1: get to the zucinni before everyone else.

lesson #2: don't ask where the pasta was purchased.

what was i thinking?!?! i am sitting at a dinner table with my father in law, whose parents came right off the boat from italy, and i'm asking where he PURCHASED the pasta?!?!

after 4 years of feeding my husband boxed pasta noodles, i decided it was time to learn the family recipe. i asked his aunt to send it to me and her response was "you just have to know how to dough feels." very well! when we were home in ohio for thanksgiving, i spent a day making pasta dough and italian wine cookies with kevin's aunt. there truly was no better way to ring in the holidays than a day in a cozy italian home, cooking.

no italian meal would be complete without some red vino.... and of course, kevin's aunt and uncle make their own. and it is to.die.for.

i was going back through all of the things i put off blogging about, and i instantly had a smile on my face when i looked back through the images from our recent trip to disney. we all have that one place where we feel completely at ease. the place where no matter what happens, we're still in a good mood. disney is that place for me. under normal circumstances, i have a pretty bold style - my red hair, my funky car, and my brightly decorated loft just don't say "traditional". but put me in disney, and i'm wearing my figment t-shirt while carrying a mickey mouse bag. i'm that cool.

gotta have the classic photo of the castle. and the disney balloons? well, they haven't changed since I was 6 and i love that.

mom and i at my favorite resort in walt disney world - the animal kingdom lodge. to say that their restaurant, Jiko, is amazing would be an understatement. in my and kevin's super-cool journal of food next to our bed, it is listed as my all time favorite restaurant. again, i'm so cool that i have a journal to record such things. what is wrong with me?!




the view from the animal kingdom lodge



my favorite part of the trip was walking back from dinner, and laying in this hammock with kevin. i looked up at the palm trees above and knew that there was no where else i'd rather be. life is made of moments, captured in my memory, and forever preserved behind my lens.



we try to go every year, and i hate leaving every time. the only thing that keeps me happy is knowing that i'll likely be back the following fall for the food and wine festival...

so now i want to know.... what's your place of perfection???