Finally, we have the stunning Erica. She is beautiful, smart, model-y (yes… I just made that up! LOL!) – and super sweet!
Erica – you and your hubby rocked it out!!! You’re awesome!
Continuing on to the next beautiful bride… Here is Kristen. She had these amazing fierce eyes!! Not only is she so pretty she was incredibly nice … AND she was the amazing hair stylist for our models!!!
Check out her website: http://hairbykristen.blogspot.com/
Thanks Kristen… You rock!!
So a few weeks ago, my good friend Elizabeth Luna organized an amazing shoot out event in Lake Arrowhead. The scenario – 5 gorgeous brides/models set against the beautiful backdrop of the snow/trees/mountains of Lake Arrowhead being photographed by 30 amazing photographers!!! Talk about an amazing Trash The Dress snow bridal session and a wonderufl learning experience for all of us!!!
Let’s introduce our amazing models/brides:
Thank you to our wonderful Brides/Models:
Amy Clarke – who was also our amazing Make up Artist
Natalya Roa
Emily Bos
Kristen Camacho Enriquez also our super talented hairdresser
Erica Arispuro
All of you girls were amazing!!! Seriously!!! You all absolutely rocked out the shoot! Even though it was a super LOOOOONG photo shoot… and I’m sure all of you girls were freezing your butts off… you were all so great… so graceful… and simply amazing! Thank you!!!
I also wanted to give a big thank you to the amazing team that helped us achieve the model’s overall rockin’ looks!!
http://www.rachellarraine.com/ <– Awesome Designer Hairpieces
http://www.amyclarkesfaces.blogspot.com/ <– Make up Artist
http://www.lavendersflowersandgifts.com/ <– Florist
http://hairbykristen.blogspot.com/ <—- Hair dresser
I had way too many favorite pics to choose from… so I think the best way to showcase these beautiful brides would be to give each of them their own post
Now first… let me introduce Amy and her sweet hubby! Amy, like I mentioned, was the awesome makeup artist!!!
In previous years, I haven’t focused too much on my senior portrait sessions… but this year I decided to showcase my amazing model seniors a lot more – afterall… they truly are as bright as their futures (I know… it sounds super cheesy, but they’re such sweet kids… they deserve some cheesy love
). I actually never call these sessions “senior portrait sessions” – I like to think as them as Senior Model Sessions – and let me tell you… I think they love feeling like models for a few hours! I love how much fun they have… they are so excited and definitely like to show their personalities. I remember when I liked having my picture taken… back when I was in high school… now- not so much! LOL!
Anyways… that was enough babbling… Brianda is such a sweet girl. She is shy and sweet, yet she is so spunky that she even likes to climb on trees!! (and she did so TWICE during our fun session! LOL!). You’re so awesome, Brianda!!!
I loved the next set of pictures!! We found this really cool concrete divider blocking off a road… it had graffiti all over it – so awesome!
Tom and May had an absolutely amazing wedding… the ceremony was beautiful (of course
… but their reception was absolutely STUNNING! They chose to have their reception at The Vineyards in Simi Valley - which has amazing views!!! Tom and May did a fantastic job with the receptin decor… absolutely stunning – from the lighting to the linens… everything was stunning!!
Ceremony: Saint Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church
Reception: The Vineyards in Simi Valley, CA
A big THANK YOU to Elizabeth… who was my awesome second shooter for this wedding… thank you Elizabeth! You did great!!
We took SOOO many pictures of the beautiful couple at The Vineyards! I have never had so many bride and groom portraits to go through! It took me hours to narrow it down to my favorite 100!!! – which reminds me… the more time you have for your bride and groom pictures… the better! We had close to an hour alone with Tom and May. I realize that this can be difficult (if not nearly impossible) to accomodate in some cases… but if you can have more than 20 minutes of you guys by your selves… you will have amazing images to treasure for a lifetime!!!
Check out this amazing wedding Reception decor!!!! – did Tom and May rock it out or what?!?!?!
So New Year… New Look. I finally updated my website, as well as the look of my blog (which I know it was definitely needed! lol!). Not a major re-design, but just a new color palette, and a bunch of new galleries to look at. I love showcasing my favorite weddings from the previous year on my site… I wish I could showcase all of them. Let me tell you – it took like over week to get this minor re-design done! LOL! As some of you might know – I do all of my own design work (from marketing materials, to albums, to my own website) – I can tell you I don’t update my site too often (maybe twice a year) – and I always get stuck somewhere. This time I got stuck in the galleries… why did it take me 3 days just to update them?!?!? I seriously can’t tell you why… they were so simple, yet I kept making silly little mistakes and having to start all over again! LOL! Next time I’ll give myself a month to do minor web updates! ha! ha!
So along with the new look for the site and blog… I’m so excited to be able to start announcing some of the plans for the new year… so… here are my new year’s resolutions.
1 – as always – loose 10 pounds (yeah… as most of us do – I have this in my list every year… but somehow I always end up gaining 5 lbs at the end of the year instead! LOL!)
2 - eat better and stop being such a carb fanatic (yeah… I realize this is a direct link to #1…haha!) – I seriously LOVE LOVE LOVE cookies and breads and cakes. I remember, when I was pregnant (as this is always my excuse! LOL!), I used to buy boxes of those oatmeal marshmallow cookies- and I used to eat an entire box in one sitting!!! NO JOKE!!! I haven’t done that since I had my son, but if you put me in front of a good movie with a box of cookies, I might just go through half a box without blinking! ha! ha!
3 – Let the little things go but treasure what’s truly important - I have learned through my life’s ups and severe downs that some things are very important: family, friends, and love. Everything else is seriously so little in comparison.
4 – Love my two boys more and more each day – this is like a piece of cake for me (see… there I go… day dreaming about having a delicious piece of cake! lol!) – but I do want to love with more joy and less tears. Josue knows I love him with all my soul… and I have to remind myself that my little angel wouldn’t want me to cry as much as I do sometimes.
5 – Love my hubby for the soul mate and rock that he is to me. Enough said
6 – Enjoy each and every one of the weddings that I get the honor to be a part of!
Those were all personal resolutions…
Now for my business/work resolutions…
1 – Remember that positive energy will bring positive clients … I’ve always believed that my easy-going and energetic personality is what brings to me such amazing brides and grooms.
2 – Learn and grow more as a photographer… learn, be creative, and enjoy it!
3 – Finally launch my new invitation services – this has been something I’ve been working on for a while now, but I tend to hesitate so much and to over-think everything that I really need to sit down and finalize the website and start offering this. By the way -thank you to all of my amazing clients that have encouraged me to branch out this part of my creativity! Hopefully 2010 will be an great year for my custom-designed hand made invitations!
4- network more- this is definitely something I need to do more of … as easy going as I am, I just can’t seem to know how to talk to ’strangers’ - LOL! Boy did I sound cheesy there or what! haha!
and finally…
5 - Be grateful for all of the amazing clients that I am blessed to work with … be thankful that I have the honor of being a part of so many wonderful moments in their lives!!!
So just because it’s a photo blog – here’s a pretty picture to look at ;-)