Ashley was a bridesmaid in Julie & Nick’s wedding a few years ago, and I was thrilled when she called me to tell me she was engaged. I photographed Ashley and her fiance, Tony, in Fort Worth. It was about 100 degrees that day and we went to multiple locations during the shoot and felt even hotter. I am surprised that neither of them melted. I suppose it didn’t hurt that one of the locations was one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants in Fort Worth’s Stockyards district–so the margaritas helped cool things down a bit.

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I photographed Anne and Doug on my last trip to Fort Worth. We started the session on the big front porch of Doug’s house and even got their dog in a few of the pictures. The light was really beautiful that afternoon and it made me miss summer evenings in Texas and porch swings a little. I am looking forward to photographing their wedding later this summer.

Last summer Haley and I did a fun shoot with San Diego Style Weddings at The Fenton Ranch.   We were excited to hear that one of our images made the April/May cover of the magazine–and our images are all through the magazine.   Kyle Karges with San Diego High Definition Weddings shot this fun behind-the-scenes video of the shoot.   It was really HOT that day and I was about 6 months pregnant–so kindly excuse my shorts and t-shirt look!  I don’t show up like that to weddings!  And a big thank you to our models who braved the heat that day in huge dresses and balanced on tricky rope swings for us!   

San Diego Style weddings is on newsstands now and is a fabulous resource for planning a wedding here in town.   We love the Who’s Who Bio section and the venue guide!

We are proud to announce a partnership with Ellie Culver and E Claire Design.   Ellie is the design guru behind many of our cutie baby announcements and fun holiday cards.   After getting so many inquiries about the cards we sent out last holiday season, it is time to share her creative magic with everyone else!   Ellie is now offering custom designs not only to our clients, but to any one out there looking for custom wedding invitations, birth announcements, and even custom monograms.    She even offers Emergency Design! for those who have a tendency to wait until the last minute…

Today is Red Nose Day!  Red Nose Day is a British comic relief fund to help raise money for African aid.  Visit www.rednoseday.com to find out more, or if you are a facebook user you can join the group and download the silly nose for your avatar.  I realized what a huge nose I have while pinning this digital guy on mine!  I picked the goofy one with the glasses…but there are a lot on the Media Center of the Red Nose Day website!

This morning I attended a seminar compliments of Dena Malasek the great gals at San Diego Style Weddings Magazine.  The always fabulous Liz Goodgold of Red Fire Branding had tons of inspirational tips and pointers about energizing your business and your brand.  Liz’s energy (combined with the uber caffeinated coffee from Joes On the Nose) definitely re-ignited me and got the creative wheels turning in a new direction.    We had already planned on rolling out some great new stuff for 2009, but now it will be coming at you on the fast track.

Brides Against Breast Cancer has their annual wedding gown sale this Saturday at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego.    All of the dresses have been graciously donated by their owners and proceeds benefit breast cancer research.  In years past I have been pleasantly surprised at the quality and selection–yes, there is even the rare Vera Wang and Monique Lhuillier.    Full disclosure: there also a few “what were they thinking?” dresses there if you are looking for a bit of comic relief.  It is a true treasure hunt and the gowns range from the gaudy to the glam.  If you are really looking to buy, then I would recommend buying one of the VIP/Power Hour tickets to get in early.  Or, if you have a dress hanging in a closet that could get a little love from somebody else, consider donating it to the cause!

Today I photographed singer/songwriter April Geesbreght at her home in Fort Worth.  April is a exceptionally talented musician who just released a new album Big Fire.   Last night, April had a midnight show but she still had tons of energy this afternoon.  For more info on April, visit www.aprilsmusic.com or look for her on iTunes.  Her music will also be on my website very soon!  

I am sad to say that my old camera bag is getting close to retirement.  My dad bought it for me when I was in school in 1995–so I have used the bag for nearly 14 years!  It is old, ugly, and holey and I love it.   I even had it back in the days of film.  (Remember film?)  The bag has criss-crossed the country with me and has been overseas enough times that it probably should have its own passport.  

For months I have been looking for a bag that could replace my haggard looking sidekick when I stumbled across this bag at Calumet in Escondido.   It is a fun little tote/wheely bag from Jill E Designs.  They had a wild hot pink one which I was really tempted to get, but decided to be conservative and stick with black.   The bag holds two bodies and about four or five lenses.  I am sure with some clever packing I can get even more in there.   While it isn’t big enough to hold ALL of the gear I take to weddings, it will hold what I need to carry on the airplane with me.  It has a fun polka dot printed interior and a padded pocket for my laptop.  

So next time you see me wheeling through the airport on Sunday mornings after a big wedding, be sure to notice my cute new camera bag and not the bags under my eyes!

I shot Erin and Steve’s engagement session this past weekend.  They met in high school will be tying the knot this summer at the Stanford Chapel in Northern California.  Erin and Steve have such a natural, playful chemistry with one another–they were so easy to photograph.  Yes folks, their smiles are real.  We also went into an arcade where Erin hit the high score in skeet ball.