Last weekend we flirted with rain off and on all day during Tara and Chris’ wedding at the Ritz in Sarasota, Florida. But in true South Florida style, the clouds parted right before the ceremony and left us with a beautifully saturated sunset after.

Thank you so much Tara and Chris for letting me be a part of your day, I wish you two all the happiness in the world.

Anna from Day Planners pulled together a spectacular event as usual, and as always Roger from The Naked Florist created the most breathtaking arrangements.

I’m an RN and he’s a retired professional surfer. We’ve been together for 7 years….7 awesome years might I add.  We’re getting married in September… Staying true to our roots, the ceremony will be overlooking the ocean- my dream since  I was a child. I saw your site and really loved your story and outlook on photography. I’d love to chat when you have a moment and if you’re local it would be great to sit down and look through your portfolio if possible.

When I drove out to Santa Monica to chat with Lindsey, I knew that I would have a blast shooting this engagement session. Lindsey and Shaun have the kind of energy that just radiates. It’s that contagious, can’t stop smiling and laughing type of energy….

The short of all this is, the last seven days or so of giving haven’t gone as smoothly as planned.

But….

I want to make up for it. In a pretty major way.

Tomorrow a huge give away, the first I have ever done, will be announced on one of my favorite blogs The Loveliest Day. Please check it out first thing in the morning. Spread the word, it’s going to be killer. I have to admit I am pretty excited about this one.

I also want to continue giving in another way, by sharing a weekly roundup of my favorite posts, ideas, inspiration on a weekly basis. I do tons of research as a wedding photographer, and I am doing even more wedding research now that I am a bride to be. While I love the idea of creating a completely separate blog to share and track my journey to marriage I figure why not share it on my wedding photography site. Once a week, awesome information….I’ll gather up all the info I find and share with you my favorite stuff.

More on that next week. In the mean time, wake up, check out The Loveliest Day first thing tomorrow morning – it will be the best day of giving to date!

Tis’ the season

That’s what this is all about.

Sometimes I get overwhelmed. Sometimes I feel like I want to be doing more than I am doing now. Sometimes I wonder if I’m doing things the wrong way. I worry because failure is uncomfortable. But we aren’t growing as people if we aren’t a little uncomfortable at times and beautiful things usually don’t develop from complacency.

It will happen, I don’t give up. And I am always working to fight the fear of failure.

Wow. So those are my thoughts for tonight…sometimes it’s nice just to write them down.

Back to sharing : )

I love this post on DIY wedding calligraphy from Knotty Bride. If you haven’t checked out this blog yet, it is one of the most resourceful if not entertaining wedding blogs out there and this calligraphy tutorial is definitely something I would like to try out even if I don’t end up making my own wedding invites. I love lettering and design so this is right up my alley.

Click here to find the complete DIY tutorial included a supplies list and more beautiful examples…

I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays.

I actually made a last minute trip to Seattle to be with my fiance for Christmas. Jamie is a charter pilot so last minute trips are something that we have gotten accustomed to (but never used to). Luckily, this time we were able to arrange a trip for me to be with him in Seattle for Christmas. Which was AWESOME because Seattle is one of my all time favorite cities. (Disclaimer, I would LOVE to have the opportunity to shoot a wedding there <3)

We had an amazing and relaxed Christmas browsing the shops, going out to eat, and relaxing at our hotel. It was an amazing holiday

So now, back to some of my favorite DIY wedding ideas…

I have recently become obsessed with the idea of terrariums, I’ve seen them skewed across Pinterest and these minature gardens displayed under glass is just so appealing to me so when I saw this DIY terrarium place holder from Green Wedding Shoes I immediately book marked it into my wedding folder.

I was thinking that you could even make something bigger or as a part of a collection for a centerpiece. These place holders could also be taken home as favors for your guests. Awesome.

You can find the whole tutorial here on Green Wedding Shoes and it was submitted by Jessica + Garett over at Wednesday. They have an amazing collection of DIY ideas that are definitely worth checking out as well.

Hope you all had an amazing holiday, if you know of anyone who got engaged during the holidays please send them this way to take advantage of my 30 days of giving.

I would also be completely psyched and extremely grateful if you shared my portfolio with anyone you know that is planning an upcoming wedding and researching wedding photographers.

I like the idea of using natural elements in my wedding and these DIY artichoke wedding ideas from Ruffled are beyond awesome.

Check out this blog post with more details on how to prepare artichokes as hanging bud vases and candle holders:

I love this idea of making your own stationary (or wedding invitations!) from Martha Stewart. The head of a of Treviso radicchio is used to make a roselike print – seriously so beautiful.

Find all the instructions for this simple yet stunning idea here.

This is some of my favorite stuff.

I love creating and I love and appreciate others who create products that can be used to put together a meaningful and unique wedding.

I’m excited to share my favorite finds with you….

I am all about taking on a few high impact DIY projects for our wedding. I think a ceremony backdrop is definitely something that I could accomplish and would be really meaningful. This DIY ombre fabric backdrop tutorial from Green Wedding Shoes is a stunning, high impact and seems incredibly simple to make.

Find the complete tutorial here.

Some personal and exciting news: I will be flying up to Seattle to spend Christmas with Jamie!! He had a last minute charter and while I was initally completely bummed out and sad that I would be without him on Christmas, we figured out a way for me to spend a couple of days with him there. Seattle is one of my favorite cities and I couldn’t be more stoked!!! It’s a little Christmas miracle ; ) 

Anyone have any suggestions for food, entertainment, things you must do in Seattle, please share!! 

Disclaimer: I partially blame Brandi and Carlton for leading me down this path. Brandi’s handmade brooch bouquet (made by Carlton!) was absolutely stunning. It really was a piece of art. And it is something that Brandi will be able to treasure forever. Imagine being able to show this to your children and grandchildren while telling them all of your wedding stories:

If I was going to have someone make my bouquet it would definitely be the Etsy seller My Bohemian Summer. Her arrangements are so unique and they have a simple elegance about them. A little bit about the shop:

At My Bohemian Summer, we believe that our art should be beautiful, uniquely designed and timeless. Using paper as our medium with origami, kirigami and paper sculpting techniques, we take pride in every fold and cut. Our attention to detail helps up to create unique one-of-a-kind pieces that are far from the mundane.

We begin with eco-friendly and recycled paper and supplies. Then each piece is folded and cut into beautiful works of art that are low impact on the Earth.

I have lately been interested in combining old and new, past and present into my wedding. I think that there is something so beautiful about combining opposites. So, I was thinking it would be interesting to combine real and paper flowers in my bridal bouquet. I like that it has a touch of sentiment and a touch of natural beauty. I haven’t done much research on this concept yet, so if you know any resources or website along these lines feel free to share! I did find this DIY yourself tutorial combining real and paper flowers. There are literally TONS of tutorials on how to fold flowers, so it would be as simple as finding one that appeals to you, and pairing it with fresh flowers that would compliment your arrangement.

You can find this tutorial by Jesi Haack Designs here.

The other day I saw a beautiful bouquet of poppies and recycled book page flowers. It was gorgeous. But of course I didn’t bookmark it. If you have seen it or you do see it please share the link!!! I’ve been dying to find it again

What do you think of alternative bouquet ideas? Is this something you might implement in your own wedding? Have any more sources of information, tips…? Please share!

Sometimes when I get all wrapped in wedding planning and working on my business it’s nice to come back to neutral.

This video does that.

I need that today.

So, I’ve gone on about how important photography is especially on your wedding day. Why you should find the right photographer, why engagement sessions are important, and why I think your wedding photographer should be with you all day.

Now is the fun part.

What do you do with all those beautiful photos after your wedding? If you don’t do anythinggggg else, please order an album from your photographer. I work with Renaissance Albums, they are handcrafted in New York and guaranteed for a lifetime. There are no words to explain the feeling of holding this beautiful book in your hands when it is all done. Did I mention these books are drop dead gorgeous? Plus, it’s your story, your favorite photos, put together in an artistic design in one of the most beautiful albums you could ever imagine for you to share with your kids and grandkids. Does it get better than that? Personally, I can’t think of anything more fantastic

Invariably, your photographer will also offer sever other options and ways to help you print your photographs – gallery wraps, framed prints etc….

Most photographers include digital negatives in their wedding packages and I wanted to share with you two of my favorite DIY (photo inspired) projects I have found.

This photo transfer project from A Beautiful Mess looks awesome, and it’s really simple to do! Basically you get a laser copy of your photo and use a gel medium to transfer it to canvas. You can find the whole tutorial here. This is a more artistic spin on the canvas prints that you can order from your photographer. It also gives you a little artistic freedom, which is always fun.

This first time I tried this one, I got too excited to see the results and tried to rub off the paper after four hours. Seriously, let it sit over night, don’t even look at it….

Also, after putting down the photo in step three, I would take a credit card and smooth out the paper, make sure there aren’t any bubbles or ridges. Then leave it alone. All night.

This next one I have not tried yet, but it is on my list to try out for sure!

I found this idea on Apartment Therapy, they featured a printing tool from PosteRazor, a free down-loadable program that dissects raster images into pieces that can be printed out on your home printer and then reassembled for an awesome, gallery worthy piece of art on your wall. This could be an amazing, high impact piece that could literally transform a room.

If you take any of these projects on I would love to see how they turn out!!! Do you have any favorite DIY photo projects. I would love to know about them, leave a link in the comments and share : )