Featured!

A couple of months ago I did a very special shoot that I have been DYING to share with you. I haven't been able to share much because it was for something specific.

I have worked before with Lauren of Lo Boheme, but I think this shoot maybe takes the cake. It was so much fun! I can't wait to share lots from the shoot with you this week, but today I wanted to share with you all the places the shoot has been featured in the last week or so.

First of all, Lauren has a brand new website and it's AWESOME! You should definitely check it out. If you are a bride, friend of a bride, bridesmaid, or just like something pretty for your hair... this is the place to look! I have several of her pieces and I wear them on random days with jeans and a white tee!

You can check it out here: Lo Boheme
I love the whole feel of her site and I was so happy to contribute a piece of it!

Lauren has been really making a name for herself and was so excited when she was asked to contribute to Anthropologie's new bridal line BHLDN. You can now buy two of her pieces from their site! How cool is that?!?

If that isn't enough Lo Boheme for you, check out all of these cool places she has been featured this week (along with my photos for her new line)!


944 Magazine, San Diego





Wed Loft





Wed Loft (again)





Pretty Little Weddings





Aisle Candy

At the end of the day...

I walked into her living room and slumped down into a chair.
My mom looked at me and said the 4 dreaded words that always mean trouble is coming:
"We need to talk".
A myriad of what might be coming raced through my mind...
Someone had died....
Someone was sick...
My parents were moving away...
Santa Claus didn't exist...

She continued, "I think you are too stressed out with this wedding planning."

Tears slowly started trickling down my cheeks.
First one, then the other.
Faster and faster until I was audibly crying.
Stressed out was an understatement.

As we sat in her living room talking, I shared with her how much of a toll it's been on me having Javier gone. I knew it would be hard... I knew I would miss him, but I had NO IDEA the effect it would have on my everyday life; on my emotional well being.

In addition to that, I was trying to plan a wedding... arguably one of the most stressful things to do... without the help of my fiance. And I couldn't make a decision. Not one. Every time I thought I came to a decision, I found that a few days later I would be over it. Or even hate it. I had found a dress I thought I loved, but I couldn't bring myself to buy it. I finally found a venue I thought would be perfect, but I couldn't manage to go look at it. I had settled on colors... but then I would see something else and think it was better. So after 5 months of being engaged... all I had figured out is who my groom was going to be. And while that is really the most important decision... and the reason for the wedding in the first place... It wasn't bringing me any closer to the wedding we were supposed to be having in just a year.

And that was another thing.

A year.

It seemed like so long.

It was starting to feel like planning a wedding was standing in the way of being married.

So yes, I admitted, there was a problem. But what on earth was I supposed to do about it??? And so began the brainstorming. What was most important to me about the wedding day?

1. That I marry Javier
2. That our family can be there to celebrate with us.
3. That we have beautiful pictures that we can keep forever.

After a short time, with those things in mind, we had come up with a plan. I was thrilled. I felt relaxed, and for the first time since we got engaged... really excited!

I am a wedding photographer. This is what I do.
I am surrounded by AMAZING weddings that I shoot, that my friends shoot, and that I see on the countless blogs that I read on a regular basis. But somewhere along the line, wedding planning stopped being quite so much about me and Javier and our unique relationship and started being more about planning a wedding that was blog-worthy. When I realized that's where it had gotten, I knew it was time to make some changes and simplify. I knew that the thing that mattered most was that we be married at the end of the day.

It also reminded me why I do what I do. I don't do it so that I can shoot the most amazing weddings and get featured on the most prestigious blogs. While it's a huge honor to have my work featured anywhere... the biggest honor is to have my brides and grooms walk away with memories of the day they started their lives together.

When the day is over... the "i do"s have been said... the cake is eaten... the dance floor is empty... the bridesmaids dresses are hung in the back of the closet never to be seen again... the flowers have died... the details have been thrown away... the fancy hair is taken down and the make up washed off... what is left over?

A marriage.

And pictures. Pictures to remind you of how beautiful you looked and the feelings you had as you looked at the person you would spend the rest of your life with. Pictures to remind you where you have been, how far you've made it, and the amazing things still ahead.

That is why I do what I do.
That is why I am a wedding photographer.





To read more about our wedding and my planning process (including a post with a little more about this) feel free to head over to my wedding blog: "Girl Plans a wedding, Boy goes to war"

Above image from our engagement session with Jordana Hazel of Hazelnut Photography.

Green Wedding Shoes!

Soooo...

I am SO excited to share a very special feature with you today!

It's not the typical feature of my own photography... but this time it's photos of us!

The engagement photos that Jordana of Hazelnut Photography took of Javi and me are currently featured on Green Wedding Shoes! A HUGE thanks to all who made this shoot possible:

Photography: Hazelnut Photography
Concept/Design: Carter and Cook Event Co.
Cake Lollipops: Sweet and Saucy Shop
Hair Piece: Lo Boheme



Make sure to check out the feature to see more!
And if you are interested in my wedding planning adventure... you can check that out here:

Featured: Wiley Valentine

I LOVE seeing my work show up places. It is so fun to get that email telling me someone has seen one of my photos somewhere. It is fun to see what other people see in them, and I especially love when they are used on design and inspiration boards. The thought that my photo could inspire someone is one of the reasons I love doing this!

My friend Courtney (who has done hair and make up for me and my clients) is a guest blogger for Wiley Valentine the next couple of days. In yesterday's post, she featured a couple of my photos and I was thrilled and honored! Make sure you check their blog and hers too! Lots of inspiration!

Spiders, Publications and +Sites

Last night I was sitting in my house with my mom watching the ever addicting show, Glee, and one of my worst nightmares came true.

There was a spider crawling across my sweatshirt.

A SPIDER.

ON. MY. SHIRT.

I panicked.
Then I squished it.
With my hand.

WITH MY HAND!

Maybe I need to reiterate that it was a spider!
By now I'm freaking out and my mom is looking at me like what is wrong with you?!?!?
So I did the only thing imaginable.
I started to cry.
Then I made my mom check to make sure it was dead.

Maybe I should take this moment to tell you all how afraid of spiders I am. Or maybe you've figured that out by now...

My mom (who has recently joined twitter) suggests that I tweet what just happened. Trying to grow up and stop crying, I quickly tweet: I just killed a spider. That was walking on me. With my bear hand. And then I cried. And panicked. And made my mom look for it.

Then I am ready to continue watching Glee, which thankfully has been paused on our tivo. And then I hear my mother laughing. Not just a giggle, but a full on guffaw... complete with tears.

"Your BEAR hands? You have BEAR hands???"
I am confused.
Then she points out that I misspelled bare.
"Well, to the spider my hands were probably the SIZE of a bear."

What can I say, I blame the spider.

In other more exciting news, Some of my photos were recently featured on an amazingly wonderful blog called Wiley Valentine. If you haven't checked them out, you should!







Another very exciting thing I cannot wait to share with you is a whole lot of NEW that is coming this way! I am finally going to have consistent branding... everything will match soon! I don't want to launch my fabulous new website (Thanks to the amazing Show It) until everything is together, but take a look at my new +Sites. This is an option for all of my brides and grooms, and I think its a much better alternative to the wedding websites offered by a lot of providers out there!

Check out a recent couple of mine, Ryan and Nicole. These sites showcase your engagement photos, your story, and your wedding details. Once the wedding is over, the details are replaced with a wedding slideshow, and you can enjoy your website even after the wedding! Click here (or the photo below) to check out their site. It will also give you a sneak peak of my new branding!

PUBLISHED! Kind of... :)

I recently became a member of the [b] school. I've decided I love it. I like getting involved in conversations and just making new friends! Today I signed on and saw the following little message on my message board:

i think.. one of your images is on 100 layer cake.. ;)

WHAT?!?!? I immediately headed over to the blog thinking it must be a mistake, and sure enough, there was my photo! I am soooo excited! Another one of the photos from the shoot with Lo Boheme at Union Station. Make sure you head over to the blog and leave some love!

A special thanks to Lanne for giving me a heads up!



See my photo???