So excited!

No, the baby is not here yet. Sigh. But, I do have other things to be super excited about.

First, I just saw the prelimenary design on my new blog and it is SO gorgeous! BIG pictures and a rad flash header. I can't wait for you to see! It's being designed by the brother of the very talented wedding photographer Jessica Strickland. Ben, with Redwing Studios is awesome!

Second, I have a whole new logo and branding! I'm waiting to unveil everything until the new blog is ready, but it's pretty awesome. It was designed by Chris Ford. I just love it. It's perfect.

Third, I have a top secret new website that me and three of my awesome photographer friends have been working on for the past year. It's very, very close to being done!

Lots of new things to look forward to! I can't wait for you all to see! For now, I will leave you with a picture of this amazing rainbow that I saw on Monday. This picture doesn't do it justice (it also doesn't help that it's with my point and shoot while driving). You could see both where it started and ended. It was perfect.

Mr. & Mrs. Boretz

First, it was so worth getting into a car accident on my way home from buying my 85 1.8 lens. That lens is awesome!

Second, I'm so happy the baby didn't come on Friday night so I could make it to Ashley and Tyson's wedding! It was everything I imagined it to be and more! Plus, I knew I would be in good hands if I did go into labor because Ashley just graduated from nursing school :)

Ashley and Tyson were married at the Ebell Club in Long Beach. What a gorgeous venue! The building itself was beautiful inside and I loved how the surrounding neighborhood was very urban. We had great color houses, old cars, and alleys to work with. The best of both worlds!

I have to thank my amazing friend and back-up shooter, Trista Lerit, for shooting for/with me. It was pretty touch and go Friday night whether I would even make the wedding because of the accident, but I knew Ashley and Tyson would be in great hands even if I couldn't be there. Trista knew I wouldn't listen to her if she told me not to go so she really stepped up and made sure that I wasn't doing too much. I'm so lucky to have such a great friend! She put her heart into shooting this wedding as if it were her own. I also have to thank my awesome second shooter Sandie and my husband Chuck for helping me out as well.

Ashley and Tyson, you know you two are more than just clients to me. It's been so great getting to know you over the past couple of years and I was so honored to be there for your wedding day! Thanks for your support and trust! Have an amazing time in Kauai! Here's the slideshow!








Even the bathrooms at the Ebell Club are gorgeous! And Ashley's not too bad either :)







The First Look

All I Wanted Was a New Lens...

and I almost ended up with a baby!

Chuck and I went to Samy's Camera last night to pick up the 85 1.8 lens I ordered last week. On our way back to the freeway we got side swiped by a car pulling out of a driveway. Luckily we weren't going that fast and the car that hit us wasn't going very fast, but their car was totaled and our car has a pretty fat dent in the back passenger car door. Chuck saw the guy coming and was able to speed up and swerve so the car avoided hitting me. We fishtailed for a least 100 yards and almost hit a tree and then a curb before we came to a stop. Needless to say, it was pretty scary. I kept thinking that the airbags were going to go off. When we came to a stop I was really panicked and couldn't breathe so a fire truck and ambulance came for the pregnant girl. My vitals were totally fine, but I hadn't felt the baby move since the accident so we called my doctor who sent us to labor and delivery to get checked out. Everything initially looked fine and they were just going to run some tests and observe me for a couple of hours. About half an hour before they were going to discharge me I started having minute long contractions about 1 to 2 minutes apart. I was dilated to 1 centimeter and 50 - 60% effaced. After walking for 45 minutes the contractions subsided and I hadn't dilated anymore. At 12:30 we were finally discharged and went to In N Out for dinner. Finally. Exciting night!

At least I got my lens and I got to sample the ice chips at the hospital, which were really good! I'm off to shoot Ashley and Tyson's wedding! Yes, I'm crazy. I realize this. But, what else am I going to do? Lay in bed all day? I have the help of my amazing friend Trista who is there backing me up. I doubt I'll make it for that long, but at least I can go and make sure everything is okay. And who knows. Maybe this will help speed things along further and we'll have a baby tomorrow! Keep your fingers crossed!

Edit:
Here's a picture I snapped of our car before sending it off to the autobody shop. Not super bad damage, but I'm just happy Chuck speed up so they didn't hit the front passenger door.

Mr. & Mrs. Sandridge

When I found out I was pregnant at the end of May I was super excited, but one of my very first thoughts was the two weddings I had scheduled for January. I knew it was going to be cutting it very close to my due date, but I really, really wanted to shoot the weddings! I contacted my brides and let them know the situation giving them the option to back out of their contracts and find a new photographer, but both of them still wanted to me to shoot. So, I assembled the best team I could to back me up and crossed my fingers that I would have a complication free pregnancy and would make it until January. I'm SO glad everything worked out!

Lauren and Robert were married at Seven Degrees in Laguna Beach on Saturday. It was a gorgeous Southern California January day! I've been wanting to shoot at Seven Degrees for a long time and my expectations were exceeded. It's an amazing venue with lots of great light and places to shoot. Besides having a gorgeous ceremony location, the reception area is to die for. Any photographer will tell you that professional lighting at your reception makes such an amazing difference. The great thing about Seven Degrees is that it's all there and set up for you. They have flat screens and little ornament balls with a slide show of the bride and groom playing (Lauren and Robert choose to have their engagement pictures in the slide show, which I, of course, thought was a great idea!).

Shooting while 9 months pregnant isn't the easiest thing to do. But, I had an amazing team that helped. The fabulously talented Jasmine* second shot with me and took over shooting when my feet swelled up so big I couldn't get my shoes back on. It was a great relief to know that if for some reason I wasn't able to make it to the wedding Robert and Lauren would still be taken care of by such a great photographer. And my awesome assistant, Jennifer Elaine, brought me water and carried my bags all day. I don't know what I would have done without her. The videographer, Mike McCaleb, also was a huge help moving furniture and helping out. He's awesome!

Thank you so much to Lauren and Robert and all their friends and family for taking care of me and making me feel so welcome! I really had been looking forward to this wedding for a long time and I'm so happy that I could be a part of it. Lauren and Robert, I hope you have an amazing honeymoon in Tahoe! Enjoy the snow! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day. Here's the slideshow!

Robert's son, Alec, was the ring bearer. I love the eye contact between the two of them in this shot.





Lauren's gorgeous dress

I love it when dads see their little girls in their wedding dress for the first time.



Jasmine got this shot of me and I think my big belly looks pretty funny. Don't tell my husband I was standing on a chair!

This is the shot I was getting



Lauren was such a stunning bride!






These guys really knew how to work the camera




The first look



Lauren and Robert's engagement session was one of my favorite to shoot last year. They were so comfortable with each other and have no problem being silly in front of the camera, which makes my job very easy!



The bridal party





Details



They had some tear jerking, yet very funny toasts!



First Dance