holly and jeremy: september 24, 2010

Holly and Jeremy were married on a beautiful, yet chilly, day at The Woodlands this past fall, and it was again one of those weddings filled with amazing friends and family who helped make the day so special . . . Holly's dress was handmade by her aunt, who is my new idol because she's Martha Stewart but with a funky, fun and witty side to her that I adored. Everyone was so wonderful to work with. Kind, beautiful bridesmaids, and funny, handsome groomsmen always make a long day of shooting so much more fun. Here is a slideshow of their day, and a few photos below to share . . .

It wasn't just that Holly's aunt made the dress, it was the detailing that made it truly phenomenal. I would have her make a dress for me any day!















A beautiful choice of linen colors and a very simple centerpiece that I adored! The room came together perfectly in this setting for a fall wedding. Brides, keep in in mind if you are planning a fall wedding and don't want to spend oodles of money on centerpieces!





Let's party!



Cheers, Holly and Jeremy :) Much love and happiness to you both!

ny photo shoots: karin and karlie

The time change here in Hawaii makes it perfect to get a blog post up in the morning! 7:00 rolls around and I am wide awake :)

Here is another lovely little duo I photographed in New York this past summer. I have known Karin since Karlie was a little peanut. Karin was my aerobics instructor for quite a few years, and when I wasn't trying to get a rock hard body like hers, I used to take care of Karlie! And now she's all grown up and beautiful . . .













And I found out yesterday that hello and goodbye are the same, so Aloha! : )

aloha!

Joe and I are in Maui for the week for the 2011 Island Eyes conference that his alma mater puts on every year . . . I insisted he needed to get his continuing education credits in a place where I could simultaneously be laying out in the sun sipping cocktails. So here we are! And it is beautiful. I had to take the morning off from the sun today because I was in full sun yesterday for almost 7 hours and need to give my skin a little break because there are certain places you could fry an egg on my body right now . . . so I thought I'd share a few facts about our travel experience so far. :)

1. This is the first vacation Joe has taken in ten years, and our first vacation together. Awwww, aren't we sweet?!

2. We had a two-hour layover in San Francisco and Joe had to scope out every. single. restaurant. before deciding on the one we were going to settle in for lunch and a beer.

3. We both make fun of the same items in the Sky Mall magazine.

4. This place is crazy insane expensive, but worth every penny . . . . we would like to thank the fine folks at Visa, and we promise we will pay it off as soon as we can!

5. I think the Sheraton Maui holds a world record in Most Expensive Breakfast Buffet. It's $26 per person, and Joe and I normally don't even eat breakfast. We smartened up last night and got some oatmeal, cereal bars and almonds at Safeway that we happily munched on this morning on our balcony.

6. There is a Coach store and a Louis Vuitton store right down the beach that we visited last night. I will not go back there, I will not!

7. I am having an amazing time . . . missing the shorties very much, but we promised them a trip to the Oregon coast this summer so they were happy to kiss us goodbye and spend the week with Angela.

I am taking lots and lots of photos and having fun processing them! I promise to post lots more this week, and still have lots of other good blog posts in the works. I am enjoying these next few months before the craziness begins again and hope to get back into my good blogging habits between now and then. :)

I don't know how to say "goodbye" in Hawaiian, so bye! ;)

ny photo shoots: the browne family

The Browne Family is very near and dear to my heart . . . Roger is my wonderful dad's best friend, and he is genuinely one of the funniest people I've ever met (next to Joe) . . . he is such a joy to be around. Nancy is his funny, spunky wife who takes extra special care of my dad and extra, extra special care of her family. Together they have Maya and Izaiah, who are amazingly wonderful children. They were a big part of my NY life, and I was honored that they asked me to document their family. Here are a few of my favorites :)



Maya is hands-down a beautiful girl . . . straight up gorgeousness right here!



Izaiah is a little Tiger Woods look-a-like with way better morals : )









Roger hates having his picture taken + Nancy being goofy = a wonderful candid moment between the two :)



Much love to all of you!! xoxo

emily and tyler: september 5, 2010

Emily and Tyler were married on a verrrrrrrrry rainy day this past fall in Lewistown, after a little bit of a hectic morning, some worries about the weather, and an ultimate change in ceremony location. Sometimes, girls, these things just happen . . . ;)

Emily and Tyler chose not to see each other before the ceremony, so while I was able to do individual bridesmaids and groomsmen portraits at the bride's parents' beautiful home in the country, after the ceremony (which was moved from the home to a church) a downpour occurred that made it 100% impossible to be outside for any type of photo at all, other than me having waterproof gear and the couple be willing to get completely soaked. We were a little bummed, but thanks to the lovely courtyard at The Calvert Hotel, we were able to work with some fun natural, indoor light and textures in getting the rest of the portraits handled. There were lots of cute, intimate moments between Emily and Tyler . . . with handfuls of people from the reception coming in for fondue, and oohing and ahhing, of course!

Emily and Tyler are clearly adored, by their amazingly wonderful, kind families, and lifelong friends (all of the groomsmen have been best friends since they were in diapers!) . . . thank you so much for having me be a part of your big day! Enjoy the slideshow!

happy new year!

Happy New Year, everyone!

If you're anything like me, you are tickled pink when a new year rolls around. It's a new beginning, a fresh start, a clean slate . . . you get to be whoever you want to be this year. A few months ago, I purchased and began reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, which is a darling story of her year of resolutions and how she carries them over each month. I have always been a huge resolutions girl, but I forget about them quickly. Until this year . . .

My plan was to begin my own Happiness Project, but that just adds another item to my to-do list that is already spilling over onto multiple pages. With the intent of beginning one, I started a small little list of what I struggled with every single day . . . those faults of mine that I do day in and day out, and feel guilty about day in and day out. I came up with my top five faults. The things that interfere with my own happiness. And I realized I better simply stay put and tackle these incredibly challenging tasks. For your reading pleasure:

1. Be a mother and "wife" first. Well, I'm no one's wife, but you all know of a certain charming, amazing man whom I play that role with. This one means, if I can comfortably put something off to spend time with the shorties or Joe, I do.

2. Act the way you want to feel. I stole this one from The Happiness Project, but it jumped out at me so much because it's something that has worked soooo well for me. If I'm grumpy or feeling antsy for no particular reason, I put on my happy face and it always catches. When you're happy, I think it makes others around you happy as well, so you bounce it off each other.

3. Finish the task you started. I am the girl that re-washes the laundry because I forget to put it in the dryer, re-starts the dryer three times to delay folding it, and leaves a nasty dish to soak for a good four days before I believe it's capable of being scrubbed and cleaned. But doing these things and knowing there's unfinished laundry and that there's a big soaking pot in the way in the kitchen always overwhelms me and gets in the way of me being productive.

4. Be patient. Okay, hands down, the biggest change I've experienced so far. It is my mantra in the morning when I wake up. Stay patient and stay calm today . . . everything will get done, no one will be late, don't let the girls slow-moving bodies in the morning frustrate you. Learning to stay calm and patient is the most incredible feeling in the world . . .

5. Say what you mean and mean what you say. This is kind of a collaboration of everything . . . being patient, finishing what I start, being loving and attentive to my family, and aiming for more laughter and happiness even if I'm not really in the mood.

So there you have it . . . an all new Mo for 2011 is waiting for you! ;) And just for kicks, here are my little lollipop kids, who got a timed 5 minutes to lick away at these big boys before pajamas and a good teeth brushing :)



(taken with our handy dandy Panasonic Lumix)

I hope everyone's new year is off to an amazing start!