Mandy's 40th birthday wish was to spend it in Vegas with her closest friends, so they flew in from all over the country to indulge in a long, luxurious weekend at the JW Las Vegas Marriott Resort & Spa. I dropped in on them before they headed out for a night of shenanigans on the Strip, and I'm pretty sure we laughed our way through the entire shoot.
Here's some of my favorite evidence...
It looks like you got your wish, Mandy. Happy Birthday!
Liz and Juan hail from Pittsburgh, but they decided to tie the knot in Vegas to marry fun with function. The Vegas locale proved an exciting destination for their East Coast family and friends and an easy-to-get-to spot for the people who know and love them in Southern California. The result? An intimate ceremony at a cathedral on the Strip, a low-key dinner at a gorgeous hotel, and a weekend they will be talking about for years to come...
Ceremony Site: Guardian Angel Cathedral
Dinner site and cake: Bouchon Bistro at The Venetian
Flowers: Roxi Floral
Event Coordinator: Preferred Events
They went the traditional route for the first look. I loved how Juan's brother genuinely shared in the nervous excitement...
Cue their ridiculously cute son (and ringbearer), Austin...
Dinner followed a few hours later at The Venetian...
Thanks for having me, guys! I hope your weekend in Vegas was everything you thought it would be.
On April 11, 2009, my husband and I arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to bring home our daughter, Selah, whose first birthday happened to be the same day. Malnourished and showing noticable signs of rickets, she could've easily been mistaken for a four-month old. She was unable to hold her own bottle, eat from a spoon, or sit up on her own.
Her eyes said it all.
By her second birthday, she was walking. By her third birthday, she was running and climbing.
Today she is every bit her age, and her eyes are still speaking for her.
Why, hello there! I know...it's been a while. This little thing called finally--and officially--launching Advance Church has consumed me, my family, and a whole lot of our friends for the last few months, so KLP has most definitely faded to the background. I'm happy to report, though, that I'm back and looking forward to some fun shoots this spring. First, though, I thought I'd post a handful of shots from Advance's grand opening weekend so that you can see what I've been up to since I've been gone. :-)
All right...
On Saturday, March 24, my husband sent some members of the launch team out to begin hand-distributing more than 8,000 grand opening flyers. Meanwhile, my boys and I kicked off a 24-hour prayer event in one of Advance's back rooms...
By Wednesday, the sign we'd been waiting to see go up since January finally arrived to replace our humble 'lil banner.
On Friday, March 30, the parking lot was roped off to clear space for the free skateboarding demo...
Which featured Advancer Dave Shumaker and Let It Roll Skateboarding.
Back over at the grill, folks enjoyed some free grub...
While the kids played games inside before watching 'Hop.."
We spent Saturday giving away gift cards and more than 4,000 Otter Pops at the Extreme Thing Sports and Music Festival...
...before welcoming everyone back to Advance on Sunday for the official grand opening experience...
It was a day 14 months in the making for this founding core group, and we can't wait to see what God does next.
Jordan and Kristen Lindstedt trust me waaay more than they should. Especially since I almost: killed them during their engagement shoot (we weren't expecting the train); got them kicked out of a library on their wedding day; fell off a ladder in the snow onto their family.
So why they trusted me to shoot their Christmas photos in a hand car wash is beyond me. Didn't they know their toy poodle would almost suffer irreversible trauma? Nah. And that's precisely why we have so much fun together...
She's Fran. Frantastic.
Favorite moment of the shoot: Getting soap in my hair and laughing so hard that I was absolutely not concentrating!
Thanks for giggles, guys. Until next time...
:-)
Violet and Justin Fenton are almost ready to add a fourth branch to their family tree...
...so I met up with them to see if Violet could bring a much-needed glow to the unusually cloudy afternoon.
Soon-to-be big brother, Lincoln, was reluctant to stray too far from Justin...
...but eventually we lured him away.
Thanks for making the most of a gloomy day with me, Fentons!
Enjoy Thanksgiving, and please keep me posted on the arrival of your new 'lil man!
Check out this video to see more fun shots from the afternoon..
Sue Abacherli is adored by friends, family, and her kindergarten classes for a lot of things, but taking good pictures is apparently not one of them. So on Sunday when she surprised her daughter, Laura, with a beautiful baby shower, I knew what I had to do...
I love how these two images say, "First-time aunt & grandma."
Laura, you are adorable. Enjoy what remains of your pregnancy.
And, Baby Kathryn...
Try to be prompt. You really don't want to keep your grandma waiting. :-)
I'm calling it my Charlie's Angels shoot.
It was hot. The sun and shadows were harsh. And I made them hike in heels.
They are an event-planning force to be reckoned with...
Preferred Events' Mia, Julianna, Mollie, Cariann, and Jessica.
Thanks for being such troopers, ladies. You were so lovely and fun!
I can't wait to see your new website!
