Engaged: Marissa & Geoffrey

I’m excited to jump in and start this blog post since I know Marissa is patiently waiting to view her images. And rightly so, these two look so good together. I know she’s missing her guy and I hope this post cheers her up and reminds her what it feels like in his arms.

You know the old saying, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”? Well I know it to be especially true. Geoffrey is in the navy and has been stationed in Hawaii away from Marissa. He only had a few days in town when we scheduled their engagement and I knew I’d have no problem getting lovey-dovey shots from them. I watched Marissa’s facebook statuses change from “is now only one week away from Geoffrey’s kiss” to “is sitting at the airport waiting to pick Geoff up!” to finally “is kissing Geoffrey!“

This last image was inspired by Alfred Eisenstaedt’s “V-J Day in Times Square”. Geoffrey and Marissa wanted to recreate it and I happily obliged. So after Geoffrey changed into his uniform and Marissa into her amazing vintagey shoes we set out to capture the shot. We finally ran out into the cobblestone street, stopped traffic for 20 seconds and accomplished our goal.

These two are such a special couple. Such love for each other and pure excitement to be together. I am really looking forward to their fall wedding since I know it will be filled with picturesque moments.

The next day when I logged into Facebook, Marissa’s latest update made me smile, “is at the airport dropping Geoffrey off for the very last time. Next time he’s taking her with him as his new bride “

Engaged: Laura & Dan

Laura and Dan, I can’t say enough good things about them. They’re so down to earth and kind and they’re both from small towns which I instantly relate to.  I knew we clicked when we first met to discuss their October wedding. And then when Laura emailed about her idea for the engagement session, well let’s just say I couldn’t wait for spring to arrive!

Let me share what she sent when I asked the best way to document their story together . . .

“Dan proposed while we were fishing at Lake Zorinsky.   He had spent the spring and summer convincing and reassuring me that it would be fine to put the wiggly worm on the hook.:-) So, imagine my surprise when I went to bait the hook and found a diamond engagement ring instead!  I chose the ring rather than a worm and the rest is history!  Anyway, if we could ‘go fishing’ that might be a nice, scenic opportunity to tell our story.”

The day we met for our “fishing trip” was a tad windy but we made the best of it. The wind just enhanced Laura’s beautifully curled hair in my opinion. She got a chance to show off her girly-girl side by wearing a cute spring dress for the first portion of the session.

After a quick wardrobe change we set off to the area of the lake where Dan proposed to Laura. Dan carried the small styrofoam container of worms and Laura carried her fishing pole. It had just the slightest bit of pink coloring on the handle and reel, perfect for her!

As you can see, Laura was a trooper and retrieved a worm out of the box. With a smile on her face and me laughing in the background she then proceeded to twist it into a smaller piece and thread it on the hook all by herself. That girly-girl definitely has a tough side. I asked if she could take the fish off the hook once she caught it and she said she’s still working on that. I instantly remembered fishing with my Uncle and how he told us we weren’t really fishing if we couldn’t put the worm on the hook and then take the fish off by ourselves. He had these plastic fish grippers he always let me use. I think I’ll have to get a pair for one of Laura’s upcoming wedding showers!

I really enjoyed hearing how often these two go fishing together. Laura said Dan has been teaching her how to cast and that he’s very patient with her. You can see how much they enjoy being with each other.

One last photo before we headed back to our cars. Laura and Dan, thanks for having me along on your evening fishing date. It was a good time getting to know you both more and learning about worms, lines and lures.

I love that you have this tradition that you share and it’s already set in place before you’re married. When life gets crazy I know you’ll just grab your fishing poles and head to the lake to remember what’s most important in life . . . each other. You are two amazing people whose lives have intersected perfectly and you’re planning to spend the rest of it, side by side with a box of worms between you. I’m honored to be part of your day this coming October and I’m happy to call you friends.

Engaged: Lauren & Todd

Just want to start my post with a quick thank you. I want to express my gratitude to the kind-hearted, creative clients that I get to work with. And I want to thank God for bringing them in my life. Without these amazing couples I wouldn’t get to share images like you’re about to see.

I’m always delighted to have couples open up and share their ideas for shoots. This helps me tailor the shoot to their unique relationship and that is always my #1 goal. I was thrilled when Lauren told me one of their ideas. Here’s a quick snippet from Lauren’s email response when I asked about their engagement shoot location.

“We’d like to take the photos downtown. It seems to be the place with the most meaning. The first summer I met Todd we were downtown with friends all the time. We mostly just walked around. One of the spontaneous random things we would do is play in the fountains in front of First National.

So before we finished our session we jumped in the car together and drove towards the fountains. Armed with Todd’s ninja like parking skills and our excitement for the location, we hopped out and started shooting.

We of course saved the fountains for last since they were completely drenched at the end. When Todd and Lauren dropped me back at my car a passerby saw Lauren get out and asked, “What happened to her? How’d she get soaked?”

So here are some images that were taken in much drier conditions.

Many thanks for such an adventurous evening! I really enjoyed getting to know you two better and documenting a small piece of your history together. You will have to share the fountain images with your kids and grandkids someday. Those images are definitely unique and they’ll enjoy hearing the story that goes with them.

Looking forward to spending the day with you at your wedding towards the end of this month. It’ll be here before we know it!

Portrait of a new family

Having just returned from a week long trip to WPPI in Vegas I’m fresh from the desert, full of inspiration. I was initially scheduled to photograph this little guy’s birth but he decided to arrive just as I was boarding the plane. Heartbroken, I realized it just wasn’t in God’s plan and I told Mama I’d be over just as soon as I got home.

While at WPPI I took a class by Amber Holritz that really opened my eyes to the way I photograph families. I always strive to capture real life while it occurs showcasing the bond between parents and children but I want to take it a step further. I want to spend even more time with the families I photograph getting to know how they spend their time together. I want to document how they *love* each other. My goal in this is what Amber explained to us. She said the portraits she had of herself growing up told her what she “looked like”. Instead, she wanted to see what her “life looked like” and “how she was loved”. I instantly related to her thoughts thinking of how I don’t have many images of my mom and I together since most often she was the one taking the photograph.

I photographed baby R’s newborn images and then I hung around to showcase the new dynamic this family has having added one more child to love.

These images are my favorite. Everyone in Mom and Dad’s room getting “cozy” as big sister K would call it. She’s dressed in her PJ’s with accompanying ballerina skirt and accessorizing the third child with a feather boa. This is *their* family. This is how they spend their Saturday afternoon together. It isn’t scripted . . . it’s real and I hope these pictures will stir up memories for these kids someday when they’re grown. I hope they can feel the laughter and love and silliness going on here. I hope they see the looks on Mom and Dads faces and know how much they’re cherished.

Thank you for inviting me in to document and be a part of it.

Newly engaged? Have you seen the Valentine special?

Sure hope everyone had a nice Valentine’s Day yesterday. I received a phone call from a very excited friend last night sharing the news that she was engaged. Such an exciting time for them! I told her to be and sure to savor each moment for the rest of the evening and to of course take some photos!

I imagine she isn’t the only newly engaged girl out there and that’s the reason for this post. I wanted to be sure and share some great resources for wedding planning and also extend a special Valentine special.

First up, let me share some wonderful sources of wedding day inspiration. These are the sites that I wish were around when I was planning my wedding 6 years ago. They make me want to get married all over again with all their unique ideas.

There are so many ways to truly make your wedding day a true representation of you and your fiance. These sites showcase many ideas that help you accomplish that goal.

• The Wedding Chicks – “Real Weddings”, beautiful photography, and my favorite, the DIY  section. You can get lost on this site.
• 100 Layer Cake – More unique wedding ideas and you have scroll down and check out their logo. Very fun!
• Style Me Pretty - If their title “The Ultimate Wedding Blog” doesn’t grab you and make you want to visit, I don’t know what will.

And one last thing before I end this post . . . cb Yates Photography is running a Valentine special for all recently engaged couples planning their wedding in 2010. It’s definitely a “sweet” deal so don’t miss out! Click on the “email me” link above and let’s get in touch before this offer is no more on February 27, 2010.

Offer applies to new clients only please.