Austin and Kelsey (the bonus child)

True confession time. I am older than I like to admit. I am the mom of a high school junior. It's time to think about colleges, graduation and the final year of high school. It's hysterical. We have been bombarded with post cards, mailers and offers from local studios wanting to take Austin's picture. Um. No thanks. I've got it covered.

I decided to invite one of his best friends along. Kelsey is a great girl. She is my bonus child. She is smart, bubbly, fun, and good to Austin. I just love her. So... the 3 of us hopped in the mama van and headed downtown. We went to some new spots that I absolutely LOVED!!! The light ran out long before the sun did but here are a few of my faves.

Yes. I brought my own chair. Go ahead. Make fun. ; )

Kelsey is nearly finished with her senior year and will be heading out of state to college. I'll miss you, Kels!

And Austin.... You have a whirlwind summer ahead of you. Nebraska, New York, the lake, work and hopefully a boring old family vacay with your mom. I'm very proud of you and love you more than I can say. Thanks for being such a great kid!

Erin and Pat - - -

This past weekend was the official beginning of "the season" and it started off big! I've known Pat for several years. He was my cousin's roommate. Erin came along a little while back and I always thought she was so cute and very sweet. Take all these things into account, add the fact that my cousin, Jay, was a groomsman and I was pretty excited for their day.

The weather was a little threatening but it didn't dampen the day at all. Ok. It did rain but only enough for some good luck and not enough to get in the way of the day's activities. Erin looked so beautiful. This photo of her is one of my faves!

Her veil had a mind of its own. It was cute!

Pat looked very handsome. How about that dimple? I knew a guy once that called dimples "Mom melters." I get that. ; )

A little ceremony action.

So... We really wanted to hit campus for a few photos. Our challenges: rain, traffic and the spring game. But... we battled them all. A little jaunt across High street for a photo in front of Long's book store.

The big debate on the party bus was should we go to the Horseshoe or not. We might be a few minutes late to the reception if we go but.... it's the shoe. We should go. Man, am I glad we did!!!! We got this lovely photo with the stained glass but.....The most amazing thing happened!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The gates were open and we were able to get on the field and get a few photos (before Mr. Security asked us to leave.) It was incredible! Exhilerating! Yay!!!!

So. Yay for Erin and Pat. Have a great time in Key West! Drink a mojito for me! See you when you get back. And... be very happily married!

Scooter and Mable/Cristy and Aaron



Hmmm. I just finished this Save the Date card and I have to say, I am pretty stoked about it. I think it's hilarious. Aaron sent me photos of the dogs to see what I could do. Cristy wanted something from their engagement session. So....we compromised. I'd love to hear what you think. I giggle like a little kid every time I look at it.



I have no idea if this will be the finished design but it tickled me so I thought I'd share.



Oh. And Katie (Koivisto from The Cake Studio), feel free to snag my cake design. ; ) You're so lucky I burn water or I'd give you a run for your money in the cake biz. NOT!!!

Brooke and Rodrigo

I would like to introduce you to Brooke and Rodrigo Justiniano (Whoo-stin-e-ah-no). Isn't that a great name? Anyway, Brooke came to me through the lovely ladies at Devoted to Details. Brooke and I talked on the phone several times before we actually met. We talked about the music on my website. (Brooke is a big jazz fan, I think). We talked about what kinds of pictures she liked. Brooke is a very enthusiastic person and I love that she's a talker---like me. ; )

At any rate, they were married at the lovely church across the street from the Hyatt on Cap Square and had their reception (where else?) at the Hyatt on Cap Square. I think everything went very smoothly.

A little dress detail. (Thank you to D2D for bringing a pretty hanger).

Seriously. I have to talk about this image. I LOVE it! It's got yummy window light. Her mantilla veil is stunning. She's got the Mona Lisa smile goin' on. It's one of those images that looks like it could be from 100 years ago but it isn't. I even added more grain to emphasize the "antique" feeling. Brooke, you're a beautiful bride.

OK. Y'all know I'm a softie and if you know me really well, you know I'm especially soft for Fathers of the Bride. Since I lost my dad I can't help it. Sadly, Brooke's dad was also gone too soon but he was definitely there in spirit. His ring was tied into her beautiful bouquet.

Janna Coe did all of Brooke's flowers. She worked some long hours that day. I know 'cause I saw her a lot. Don't you love this bouquet? I'll double check but I think there are magnolias in there. On top of being so beautiful, it was incredibly fragrant. It smelled like a spring day.

Hi Rodrigo!

A lovely candlelit ceremony. Janna brought the hurricanes. Loved 'em!

And. We'll finish off with a couple of photos of our happy couple! Which one do you like best? Make it a great day!

dk

So. We got to Vegas and I really thought I'd have "down" time. Nope. It was all business all the time. I had a great time. Andy was a little bored but it was excellent for me. See all the literature I brought home. Lots of reading and lots of new product possibilities. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail about each class I attended and what I saw at the tradeshow because ultimately, it's too much!!! But... Here are some highlights.

I have several things I'd like to add to the dk repertoire...

Sexy sessions - Brides give your new hubby a wedding or anniversary present he won't ever forget. Think sexy not icky. Soft light highlighting your finer points while keeping your "naughty" parts covered. Silhouettes. I'll be kind with the artwork. You get the idea. ; )

Day After - As you may have all figured out. Our engagement sessions are sooo much fun because we take our time. We walk around. We hit several locations. On the wedding day, we are usually crunched for time and don't get to do as much as we'd like. Wouldn't it be great to have an "engagement" session in your wedding clothes? Well. With a day after session, you get up the next day put the dress back on, the tux back on and we spend some time playing! I really hope some of you take me up on this one because I think it would be A-MAZE-ING!!!!!

Destinations - Engagements, Weddings or Family Sessions. Let's talk about where we can go to offer you completely unique scenery. Up to Lake Erie, New York City (I'd love to do an engagement in Central Park!!!) FUN!!!

I would have to say the big buzz word at the convention was "Branding". Everyone was talking about branding themselves. Sounds painful.

So many people were talking about it that the definition ended up a little muddied for me but my take on branding is this. Continuity. I want my website, my blog, my office to all blend seamlessly together. I want a modern but not too trendy feel to things.

Yes. That means the yellow carpet's days are numbered. ; ) The studio's colors are blue and brown. Do we stick with that or make a change? Is the logo good or does it need some help. Your opinions matter most so feel free to give me your input via email or in the comments. Make it a great day!

Donna
dk

L.A.

Yesterday, I told you all about my visit, photo shoot with Cristy and Aaron on Saturday. I finished up with an obligatory sunset photo on the beach.

On Sunday morning, we woke up and decided to do the 5 cent tour of LA. One of the first things we saw was the statue of Saint Monica.

I had to laugh when I looked her up. She's the patron saint of: abuse victims, alcoholics, difficult marriages, disappointing children, housewives, mothers, victims of adultery, widows, and more... In other words, she's the patron saint of EVERY soap opera character who ever lived! This woman is a hard worker!

Anyway, we headed to LA. We saw the Hollywood sign. I was a little disappointed in that. The only angle we could find to photograph it had a TON of electrical wires in it so I'm still trying to remove those. Ugh!!! We saw what they meant by Hollywood Hills. It was crazy. I think some of those roads were really mountain goat paths .

When we came back down to what felt like normal Earth, we saw Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Governator's hand and footprints. We hit the Walk of Fame. And strolled by the Kodak Theater where the Oscars are every year. I don't want to ruin it for anyone but I'll just say that it wasn't as glamorous as I expected.

After our quickie tour of LA, we headed over to Vegas to prep for the convention. I am very excited to tell you about all I learned, saw and want to do with my awesome clients! Make it a great day!

Cristy and Aaron

Quick note: I've known Cristy for a while, a few years-ish. She was the roommate of a friend of mine but that was pretty much all I knew. In the last 6 months or so, I've gotten to know her better and I'm really glad I've gotten that opportunity. Photographing her wedding is going to be a lot of fun and I'm really flattered and grateful she chose me to document her big day with Aaron.

Anyway, let's talk L.A. First and foremost, these two totally are champs!!! They were very patient and they endured a lot to get some engagement photos. You'll see what I mean.

They got into L.A. on Friday night. The plan was for us to take off from Columbus at 9:30 am. Land in Burbank around noon, have lunch, find the hotel and start playing on the Santa Monica Pier with Aaron and Cristy around 4:00. Their half of things went alright but ours? Nothing doin'!

Our flight out of C-bus was delayed for 2.5 hours due to fog. I called Cristy to warn her of our delay. She warned me that the weather in Cali. was not exactly ideal. UH_OH!!! I've been so looking forward to this. It's Southern California, for Pete's sake, it's always warm! Cristy even indicated it might be necessary to reschedule or (UGH!!!) skip the session. NOOOOOOOO!!!!!

So... we get to the hotel close to 6:00 pm. Aaron and Cristy were waiting in the lobby for us (with beverages). She wasn't kidding. It was so COLD!!! I'm thinking about 50 degrees but the wind was ridiculous. The news said gusts up to 30mph. Are you kidding me? It made it feel so much colder. I didn't even bring a jacket. I expected much warmer weather.

But seriously, I came all the way from Ohio for this. I was determined to get some photos. God Bless 'Em! They were willing to brave the cold! I think they did a superior job of not looking like their teeth were chattering.

Aren't Cristy's eyes pretty?Note their clothes and her hair. The wind was ferocious!LUVVIN it!If you look in the photo, you can see the sand moving around. I'm telling you, it was crazy windy but I am so glad we did it!

We found this little spot away from the wind. And finally. What's wrong with this photo? Cristy and I are keeping each other warm and talking while the guys do their own thing. ; )

After this, we headed over to Ocean Avenue Seafood and had a great evening with these guys. I had so much fun and to be honest, I'm a little bummed they live in Phoenix. I'd like to hang out with them some more. You'll see more of them after their 9/13/08 wedding. Can't wait!