I’ve been meaning to blog about this for awhile now…since November.  I know how important the imagery I capture is to every single bride & groom I work for…it’s soooo important.  But every once and awhile, something happens that…oh, it’s like a slap upside the head….that emphasizes the importance of what I do.

Meet Brittany & her dad.  Brittany was married back in October and about a month after her wedding her father passed away.   The importance of the above pictures & the candid images  jumped 100% & I remember getting off the phone with her & thinking that I was the last person to photograph her & her dad & her entire family together…..wow…. I’m sorry, but that was very humbling &  sad.  So tomorrow will be Brittany’s first father’s day since he passed, and I pray that she will be able to find peace, remember these happy times, & feel her father’s love enveloping her.

Give your dad’s a big hug on Father’s Day & don’t forget to say how much you love them….I’ll make sure my kids do:)

I applied to this organization without the expectation of being accepted. You see unlike many other professional photographer organizations, WPJA has very strict guidelines to be accepted into their organization. As a matter of fact, less than 5% of photographers who apply are actually accepted!! When I received an email back stating I was accepted….to be honest I was suprised but my husband wasn’t (gotta love him).

You can actually find me listed in the Georgia listing & (drum roll please) the Wisconsin listing. Yes, I will travel to Wisconsin when one of my packages are booked without an additional charge. Why you say? Well, first…my family is up there and as you may have noticed in a previous blog my grandmother passed away so traveling to Wisconsin to photograph a wedding is another avenue for me to go up & visit my family. Second…is it totally out that my family may relocate…hmmm….it’s something that is being considered. So what would that mean to my Georgia clients?  Business as usual…if we enter into a contract, irregardless of where I am living, your contract will be kept in force with no additional charges.  Besides my oldest will be attending college at West Georgia University so I will continue to offer services to Georgia (can’t get rid of me that easily).

Just to wrap this up…I’m honored to now be a part of WPJA & look for more postings soon about weddings, senior portraits, & my daughter’s graduation!

My grandma passed away the end of April at the age of 93.  She lived a long life…I know.  She moved in with my family in Wisconsin from Pennsylvania when I was 4 years old.  I vaguely remember her home in Johnstown but I do remember having fun there.  She sacrificed her life to keep our family together & she was a very strong woman & independent.  Our heads butted more than a few times when I was a teen & I know I get my own strong will from her.  My grandma though would do anything for us because I know she wanted a better life for us than she had.  She lost 2 husbands, a son, & grandson & worked as a custodian at a bank before she moved in with us.  Towards the end, she needed help to do basic things & I know how much that irritated her!  She passed in what had become her home & I will miss her.

Ed & Dawn had a beautiful ceremony in October @ First United Methodist Church in Smyrna.  What  a beautiful chapel to hold this very special ceremony.  Dawn looked beautiful of course & the guys were handsome. 

There was a small pumpkin patch right next to the church that we used for some fun formals that you’ll see below.  I loved just telling the group to go and have some fun & that’s what they did!!!

Now it’s time for the reception which was held at the Smyrna Community Center.  Great fun was had by all!!!

Wow what a year, right?!!! 

Our government FINALLY admitted we were in a recession…I just hope they don’t wait that long to admit that deflation is happening.  Hopefully it won’t but we can’t afford to have a government with their heads in the sand pretending it’s not going on!!!

Our country will have its first African American president….WOW!  I know some (and initially I felt the same way but then I thought about it….) like to think this is not a big deal but it so is!!!  It wasn’t that long ago that segregation was going on & in some parts of the country racism is not gone…..so yes, this is a big deal and should rightly go down in the history books!  Whether you like President-Elect Obama or not we should all pray for wisdom & God’s guidance for him.  He will be facing huge challenges….I do not envy him & would not want to be in his shoes!

I was hoping to have all my weddings & family portrait sessions blogged about by the end of the year but then I realized a couple days ago I still have 5 weddings & 3 family portrait sessions to blog about…..yup wasn’t going to happen by the end of the year:)!! 

This was my second year in operation….now to clarify for those who aren’t familiar with me…. This doesn’t mean I’ve only been doing photography for 2 years…far from it:).  I did my first paying  job oh about 20 years ago or so…I was still in high school but had bought my first professional camera when I was 13 years old.  I did many weddings during my time in the Air Force & I also sold scenic work for years!  When I had my first child, my professional photography was honestly…put on the back burner.  I worked for several years in various administrative positions until someone finally woke me up.  You see, at Christmas time I would allow certain co-workers to select a scenic image as a present.  One of those co-workers looked at me asking “Why aren’t you doing this for a living?”… a question I have heard lots of times.  But then….she scolded me….”God has given you this wonderful gift & you’re not using it.  Shame on you”….. hmmmm….that really got me.  I ended up leaving that company several months later & yes, that’s when I finally started doing what I love….put the fear aside & put it in God’s hands. 

My first year in operation saw 7 weddings.  I did the Google advertising…and other marketing venues:).  This year…no marketing (well…towards the end of the year I have gone on Wedding Wire & Wedding Lenox & Kudzu).  I’ve done what I have always advised my web design clients not to do….rely on my website to bring in business:)!  But even still….I doubled my weddings….this year I did 14 weddings and something I felt really excited about was I did my first referral wedding…thanks Melissa:)!  It’s funny….but I’m still just as nervous before every wedding as I was when I did my first wedding!  But then once I get behind the camera all of that goes away & I’m in my zone!

Now I do web design as well…not that much though… to be honest I did more of that my first year!  Between weddings & such I don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to web design.  But I have done a few….Cull-Buddy.Com, JuniorSpartans.Com, & CourseTechWriters.Com.  Like I said…just a few:)!  Cull-Buddy is set to get national exposure though which I’m just so thrilled for the owners (who did I mention are just AWESOME people). 

This year will prove to be an interesting year!  My oldest graduates from high school & I am NOT ready for that….she’s still my little girl!!  I’ve redone my logo and I’m in the process of revamping my photography website.  I’m hoping to document CATR’s mission work in Africa…yes, mission work in Africa.  I’ll have to see if that’s going to happen!  Even still, I’m sure I’ll get to document another Don’t Go To Church, Be The Church….which was just awesome.  Our church did it twice this year and you can see some of that by clicking here. Not to mention Family Camp & FamJam.  Did I say how much I love my church family?  Bunch of awesome people!  I also just want to mention some of my new photographer friends that I met this year….awesome guys…Matt Yung, Steve Ayers, & John Shafer.  I have a great deal of respect for their work & another photographer I admire that I met in 2007 is Shannon Belleti who is being nominated again for Atlanta’s best photographer….You Go Girl!!!!!

OK….I must go for now…I hear the pitter patter of little feet meaning my kids have finally gotten up from their late night last night:)!  I wish everyone the best in this new year & may God bless you & your families!!

Brandon and Joette were married in the end of September at R-Ranch in Dahlonega.  It was a beautiful place to hold this very festive union!  Everyone had such a great time and a few pranks were played.  My favorite was Joette’s dad stepping in when Brandon was suppose to remove the garder…it was hilarious and Brandon’s expression was priceless!  It was hard to select out just a few pictures to share since I documented their rehearsal as well as all day on their wedding day but I had a blast & so did my husband who worked with me as my second shooter.  I wish Brandon & Joette all the love and joy they can handle and thank you for allowing me and my family to be a part of this very special day!

Now it is time to catch up on my various weddings that I have done the last few months! First and foremost is Rick & JoLynn’s wedding held back in the beginning of September. JoLynn has actually worked with me on a couple weddings as a second shooter so it was a great honer when she asked me to document her wedding! Rick & JoLynn were highschool sweethearts & I know God will bless them with happiness for the rest of their lives. Here are a few of my favorites from their wedding & thank you Rick and JoLynn for allowing me to be a part of this very special day!

Just a quick note to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! Our family is truly blessed and I’m so thankful to God for everything He has done for us! I’m going to be posting soon about my business this year and summing things up…what I’ve learned….mistakes….etc. It’ll be interesting to get other professional’s viewpoints on that post:)! I would like to share a few pics from Christmas and my family…enjoy!

Christmas Eve service at my church

OK...Wendal is the family pastor and he was the PC (personal collector) and Ashely who is the Mac (help me out here...I can't remember:)). PC is showing his shopping list before Ashley explains what the real meaning of Christmas is with the help of all the kids:)

We did a totally different set up....very awesome!

Decorating cookies

This is just one scary snowman!

My little ones getting very anxious on Christmas morning!

Santa had issues wrapping so he ended up using a whole role of duck tape!

A happy Thanksgiving to everyone a little late. Of course I was busy yestarday with family but not as busy as some. Since all of our extended family members live far away it was just my family. But it was so nice to dedicate the day totally to my family…I haven’t been able to do that in a long time & realized how much I miss doing that. Everyone hung out upstairs (including my oldest:) playing games & just having fun. I am so thankful to God for my family… of course…right? They truly are a great blessing & my life is so much fuller with them. Of course there are the little trials, but I wouldn’t change anything for all the money in the world. I love each and every one so much & they have each taught me something. I just pray that God continues to bless them with wisdom, grace, humility, & compassion.

This Thanksgiving was not as full of joy as it normally is though…my sister in-law is very sick & we continue to pray for a miracle & for God to comfort her husband. Of course I so badly wish we could be there but we can’t. I remember one service where we talked about intercessory prayer…it’s through prayer I can reach out to them on the otherside of the Atlantic…I cling to that.

Finally, I’m thankful for this wonderful gift God has given me….the art of capturing emotions & events for people to cherish forever. I’m thankful to those who have choosen me to document the union of two people to be one as well as those who have choosen me to photograph their family to freeze the family in one moment in time. In both cases, years down the line, when families look back on their pictures it is so important to me to not only capture the image but that this image retells the story & the emotions from that time. That the family portrait shows the individual personalities of each member….that the wedding shows the joy, excitement, & love of a new family.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving & look for some new posts….I have several weddings & family portraits that need to be posted:). Also, in the month of December I’m doing a special family portrait session for $30….contact me for more info!