Worth Noting

As we ease into the 2009 wedding season, I have been completing many, many wedding books mostly from the 2007 and 2008 season. This makes me especially nostalgic as I revisit the weddings of my past couples. While going through some items, I ran across this note I received not long ago from Carrie and Aaron, an amazing couple from the 2008 season. It reads:

"I can't put into works how lucky we feel to have found the two of you. The wedding pictures are more beautiful than we could've imagined. You captured so many wonderful moments and we are extreemely grateful. Please keep in touch, as it was so great to meet you both. Thanks again for capturing all of our wonderful wedding memories."

How lucky and grateful I am to meet such beautiful and fabulous people through my work. Here are a couple of images from their wedding- I'm off to have a good cry!

Amy: The Seating Chart Guru

Last night, while meeting with Amy and Jonah for their planning meeting (their May 23rd wedding is just right around the corner!), Amy revealed the best little seating chart secret. She made a diagram of some sort of the reception room and then added post-it-notes of each guest to the room diagram where they would be seated. As each guest returned their RSVPs, she was easily able to adjust her seating chart by moving post-its where necessary. For example, if guests were not attending, she simply removed the post-its of those guests not attending and easily revised the rest of the chart by moving the other post-its around. It's a sort of musical post-its! I think it's a fabulous solution to what can be a frustrating task. Here are pics of our little Seating Chart Guru at her engagement session. Way to go, Amy!

Amore d'Italia Mia

I have been busy this week attending planning meetings for my May couples. Being of 100% Italian descent, imagine my excitment when hearing that one such couple, Toni and Tim were planning an Italian theme wedding. During their engagement session, they held up signs, which we later added Italian cities, as you can see from these images. They have printed these images and will be using them on their reception tabletops and each guest will be seated at a designated city. These guests have no idea that they will be taking an impromtu trip to Italy. Salute!!

My Best Little Man

Hey Girls- Meet Leo. Leo is the true head of my household. Actually, he has many jobs; Greeter, Doorman, Night Watchman, Menu Planner, Social Director, Personal Trainer and Assistant, Model, Refrigerator Monitor, and House Entertainer. He would make a great Best Man or Wing Man- he already owns his own tux. Leo is also very popular and can be seen on the web sites of many of our houseguests and business associates. Let me know if you want to see more of Leo- I'll check his social calender to see if he's available!

At Last!!

Here are some pics from Amy Shipman's wedding this weekend- what an amazing event! Old and new friends of the wedding business gathered to witness and participate in the nuptuals of Amy Shipman, President of At Last Events, and Neill Hissa. For her special event, Amy included the "who's who" of Cleveland area vendors and the end result was nothing less than spectacular. Take a quick peek!

When Planners Plan Their Own

Tomorrow, Amy Shipman-President of At Last Events, finalizes plans for her ultimate event, her own wedding. Over the past couple of years, Amy and I have worked on several events together and I will have the honor of shooting this Main Event.

At Last Events is one of the premier wedding event coordinator companies in Northeast Ohio and captured the "2008 Pick of The Knot Best Of" award. (Visit them at http://www.atlasteventplanning.com/) Amy's sense of creativity and color is so captivating that walking into one of her events is like entering a whole other world.

I recently asked Amy if planning her own wedding was like planning a wedding for other brides and she just laughed and remarked, "It's different".

Here are a couple of pics from our previous work together.

Happy Wedding Eve, Amy Shipman!!

Dream A Little Dream

This week, I have had the misfortune of contracting strep throat. Of course, I have had a little trouble sleeping, so I have resorted to some of my personal sleep aid tactics. Most people, I guess count sheep, drink tea, etc,- I design things. Specifically, I design three things in my head; rooms, outfits, and wedding book pages. (OK, so I'm a little obsessive.)

Many of you have submitted your images lately for me to begin designing your books so this has given me a vast amout of material to think and dream about and I thank you- it has helped me to relax and to think about more pleasant things other than my sore throat, runny nose, etc.

This inspiration has even resulted in some actual tangable book designs- here are a few of my favorite pages from Erin and Rob's book that I worked on this week.

A True Whirlwind

Yesterday, I shot the wedding of Mariana and Alexis. Mariana and Alexis are childhood sweethearts originally from Argentina and they fullfiled their dream yesterday of an American wedding. The amazing thing about this wedding is that they planned the entire event in ONE WEEK! Mariana was able to purchase a dress off the rack and have it altered, they booked their venue (Oakwood Country Club), planned their menu, invited their guests, booked a pianist, a florist and me, and ordered their cake all within the week. They served a beautiful lunch of grilled fish, grilled vegetables, and a beautiful tropical fruit plate. A super nice touch was that during the reception, Alexis presented all of the women with a single red rose to honor International Women's Day. This wedding was an unbelievable accomplishment!

An October Surprise

I am often asked about the option of taking wedding photos prior to the ceremony. This is actually a great opportunity to assist with either a tight time table or an event where both the ceremony and reception are held in the same venue. We often make the meeting an event in itself and photograph the first time that the groom sees the bride in a special setting.

Since I worked on the wedding book of Katya and Ignacio this week, I thought it fitting to tell the story of Katya and Ignacio's plan to meet prior to the ceremony for photos and it was fabulous!

Katya and Ignacio got married on a cold October Saturday in 2007. Our plan included meeting at the Shaker Lakes Park on the stone bridge. Ignacio hid in the wooded area surrounding the bridge as he waiting for Katya to arrive. Katya approach the stone bridge in her beautiful gown and Ignacio emerged to greet his bride for the first time that day. All four parents were present to wittness the event and there wasn't a dry eye in a mile radius. A super romantic plan, huh? so worth it-

If this type of meeting interests you prior to your wedding, just ask me and we'll plan something just as amazing.

ps: Happy Wedding Eve Mariana and Alexes! I am looking forward to shooting your wedding tomorrow!

Have Studio, Will Travel

This weekend, we had the pleasure of shooting the Engagement Session of Toni and Tim. What made this session so special was that during the first part of the shoot, we transformed Toni's living room into a photography studio; Toni was then able to change into her bridal gown, and we shot a few bridal portraits. Tim was sequestered upstairs to avoid seeing Toni before their wedding day, which isn't until May. It was a family event as many of their family members were present for the occasion and even their English Bull Dog, Otis, was an active participant. A jubilent Otis wore his tuxedo and proudly posed with his "Mommy".

Here is an image from the bridal portrait portion of the shoot sans Otis.