Hello! Lucky / StyleMePretty.com contest!

I really need to go to sleep. I've been working around the clock trying to catch up after the power-outage that robbed me of several days' work. It's because of life's little kicks to the head that I obsessively back-up, and thankfully, nothing that couldn't be redone was lost...just a lot of my time....

But I just can't go to sleep without cluing you in to a fabulous contest hosted by stylemepretty.com! Go to the site and answer a few questions and you'll be entered to win 100 free single-colour letterpress save-the-date cards from Hello! Lucky. Mmhmmm...."free" and "letterpress" in the same sentence... Just so you know, these little beauties would run you about $400. So check it out, put in your .02, and make sure you send me one if you win!

the coolest thing ever...

Stylemepretty.com is always featuring great schtuff and this is no exception. We've all seen the multitude of brides & grooms breaking out into a choreographed routine in the middle of the first dance and youtube.com is chock full of videos of the wedding party doing "Thriller."

...but this is the most awesome thing I've ever seen. It just gets better and better, so keep watching! Click the photo to watch the video on AMC Video's blog.

flourish workshop bridals ~ part two

Yesterday, I was sitting at my desk, happily editing and singing along to some really awesome (meaning "really heinous") 80s covers when all of a sudden, I found myself sitting in pitch black. You see, my studio is basically an above-ground bunker with no windows...and we were in the midst of a neighborhood power outage. Oh joy. So I was forced to take the rest of the day off...our cat was quite pleased...I was not.

But horrah!!! Laptop = battery power! So I spent some time preparing the next installment of my Flourish Workshop bridals. And here they are!

Sarah has a very striking elegant look. This Amsale dress from Bluegrass Bride in Lexington was perfect for her.

Again, much thanks to the makeup mastery of Ana Crane-Simpson.

favorite things

This is my new favorite thing ever. Of course, you'd have to wear striped hose under your dress and a dagger in your garter.
Rainsend pirate cake topper, at Etsy...where else?....

something blue ~ for karen

This installment of "something blue" goes out to Karen Mikols, who has asked for shoe votes on her own blog. After seeing her dress, my vote's going to these.

Jen & Josh ~ engagement session

Just wanted to share some shots Kate got during Jen & Josh's engagement session. I met these two at the Darby House during the tasting and really had a great time chatting with them; they really got our style and what we do. And as Kate said shortly after the shoot, "they are SO cute together!" Here are a few of my favorites ~




To see more, take a look at their slideshow.

photos from Flourish Workshop ~ installment 1

It just occurred to me that I never did post any of my shots from our Flourish workshop in January! There are quite a few, so I'll put 'em up little by little. I'll start with the fashion bridal portraits.

First of all, hearing the word "bridals" has always made me gag a little...makes me think of those stiff, standing sideways, grinning with your teeth slammed together, with the death-grip on the bouquet, while standing in front of the blotchy muslin background. Yikes. Just not my thing. And then my good friend Angela opened my eyes to the fact that bridal portraits don't have to suck. Imagine that. I could go back to my fashion roots and apply that aesthetic to bridal portraits! Yeay!

This first one is my favorite shot from the whole workshop. I couldn't help but put my focus on Leah's phenomenal eyes. Much thanks goes to the skills and artistry of Ana Crane-Simpson, makeup maestro extraordinaire! When you're wearing a dress this dramatic, to wear "barely there" makeup would be a blatant sin...

Again, no law that the dress has to be totally white! How amazing is this Paloma Blanca gown?!?


Do I even need to mention the drooling that went on over these Naughty Monkey shoes?

Rodney Farmer at Salon Figaro (Lexington, KY) did some great 'dos for our brides during Flourish. He added to Leah's Old Hollywood look by incorporating a feathered hair adornment from Bluegrass Bride into her short finger~waved style.



Next Flourish installment ~ Sarah!

something blue pt deux

It seems those Betsey Johnson shoes were a hit from the comments I've received about them. Finding "something blue" beyond the traditional garter or "last resort" pinned-in $60 handkerchief can be a chore to say the least. So I hope you can get some inspiration from the fruits of my internet window-shopping spree in search of the often frustrating "something blue." I've tried to find things that can be worn/used beyond the wedding as well.

Freakin' gorgeous. I love the stuff you can find on Etsy. These hand-carved bone and blue crystal hairsticks made by lfaigen are perfect for adorning (and securing) your 'do. And the nice thing is lfaigen has been kind enough to post illustrations showing several different ways you can incorporate these sticks into a number of hairstyles.

Another Etsy find from ifbdesigns. Really sweet adornments for a little sparkle.



There's no law that says your dress has to be white. Seriously...ivory, champagne, candlelight, etc are really just very light shades of a colour...so why not go with an ice blue? I can see this dress with a delicate bouquet of ivory and creams, peonies and roses...



No one actually needs to see your blue! These Victoria's Secret panties are aptly called "Cheeky."



I'll refrain from any Elvis jokes here...but these are pretty cool blue suede shoes. Also a bit more manageable than the Betseys. Even better, these are on sale! I'm imagining these peeking out from the bottom of a '30s style ivory slipdress with some light ruffles.


Of course, if you'd like to actually wear your shoes all day, check out these anti-ankle-breakers by Vigotti.


Don't forget blue blooms! Blue is the rarest pigment found in flowers and most "blue" flowers are actually lavender or violet. Some true blues are hydrangeas, delphiniums, light blue iris, and sweet tiny forget-me-nots.

agwpja contest

So this is old news, but few months ago, I had two images place in the Artistic Guild of the Photojournalist Association's contest. I was too busy at the time to post, but I still want to share them.


This first one was from Laura & Brandon's reception. It was a really lovely moment ~ everyone was dancing around them and for a few moments they were in their own little world.


This second one is from Pansy and Tej's September 15th wedding. Tej's dad was so overwhelmed with emotion while delivering his speech, took over the mic to deliver the rest of their sentiments.

something blue

Ok, so these Betsey Johnsons are simply astounding. I'll give a special prize to anyone who wears these as their "something blue."

Jaime & Scott

My next wedding of the season is that of Jaime and Scott's. I also did their friends, Shanti and Jason's wedding as my last wedding of 2007...a great way to end the year ~ really fun and happy people. It was so great to know I'd see them all again in a few months at J&S's Art Museum wedding.

A few weeks ago Jaime, Scott, and I went to their favorite movie theatre for their engagement shoot. Much fun was had with the popcorn...which was rendered inedible by the time we were done. They plan on stopping by the ice cream parlor on the way from the ceremony to the reception...I can't wait to see what goes down there! :D

Click on any photo to see Jaime & Scott's full slideshow.


I'm pretty sure we got one shot for each movie genre...

Jena & Kyle's slideshow

Awhile ago, I'd posted a few teasers from Jena & Kyle's engagement session. I've just finished the rest of their photos and put together their slideshow. Just click the photo to see the full size show or you can watch it below on the wee screen.

Blagica & Michael

I don't mind saying how proud I am of my associate, Kate, and our team. For months, they were looking forward to Blagica & Michael's wedding and come hell or high water, Kate, Sarah, and Christa were making it to Detroit... I would have to say that the images they captured were worth driving through 10 hours of blizzard!

Blagica (blah-gee-tsa) lives in Chicago where she runs Gals' Guide ~ a blog for "building your knowledge base for life out of college." Great stuff on money, family, men, shopping, investing, etc. She's posted some great tips from her own experience as a recent bride. Definitely worth a read, ladies.

So on to some photos!

Christa is the newest addition to my team and she's also one of my brides this summer! I love this chance shot she got while Blagica prepared to get into her dress.


This one is my personal favourite bridal portrait. Blagica looks so serene, composed...and ready for the next step.



So how fun is this? Blagica followed the Macedonian tradition of getting ready in her childhood bedroom. Later, the groomsmen try to break down her door to get a glimpse of the bride. They then bribe the bridesmaids to let them in to see her. Not a bad deal. ;)


From Blagica's blog: "When the doors opened, all I saw was my husband's gorgeous face. Everyone else was a blur. Yes, I teared up. I teared up because all I wanted to do was walk down that aisle, hold his hand and start our life together."











Kate and the girls reported this to be an all-day non-stop fun party and a good time was had by all. It's always so hard to choose just a handful to put on the blog, so please enjoy more by viewing Blagica & Michael's slideshow.