Barrel-o-Monkeys

I've never actually experienced a barrel filled with real monkeys.... but I'm pretty sure this crew came close to the real deal! I photographed Shelly's kiddos and extended family the day before Emir and I left for Annette & Brandon's destination wedding in Grenada. What a send-off! Here are Shelly's two little monkeys....

Along with papa and mama monkey....

Here they are again modeling the AT&T reception in the area.... (bars.... ha ha ha!)

The full barrel of cousin monkeys. This shot was about .137 seconds before they all tackled me. The little animals can't scare me! Ha ha!  ;)

Assistant in training:

Some rockin' monkey dance moves:

Way too fun! Great to meet the whole crew. Thanks for your patience while I've been on the road! :)

Down the Aisle: Matt + Jacy

Good ol' Auburn, Nebraska... It was the scene for Matt & Jacy's big day.... and it didn't disappoint! :) Here's a quickie sneak peek!

The limo was late arriving at the church to pick up the wedding party.... but they were such good sports! Here they wait patiently on the curb. :)

Safe travels to St. Lucia! Enjoy the sun and the sand! :)

Down the Aisle: Matthew + Amy

For the mercury to hover around 80 on a day in mid-July, you know something unusual is going on.... something quite special. :) Today was exactly that. Special. Not just because the weather was uh-maaa-zing.... but because these two people (who are clearly meant to be together), made each other a promise that they will spend the rest of their lives making good on. And that, my friends, is certainly something special. As a gift to mark this special and joyous occasion, Amy gave Matt a pocket watch. The coolest!

At the reception, Matt + Amy had their parents' and grandparents' wedding photos on display. I marveled at the refreshing simplicity of those images from an era where photography is barely recognizable compared to what it is today. Sometimes a simple and clean portrait is just what the doctor ordered. Classic. Timeless.  :)

I love the texture of this wooden box on the guest book table....

Interesting view of the ceremony...

Luvin' the short tuxedo outfit!

Onward with the tradition of a quick bar visit....

7-18-09. :) Too bad there's not a '0' ball!

Matt + Amy go together like ketchup and mustard! (with pretzels! Wait... am I alone on this one?)

The wedding party was up to some silliness...

More love bird shots.... :)

Look at all this reception beautification!

First dance at sunset.... how perfect is THAT!? :)

You did it you two! Congratulations and best wishes! :) (PS: Knobbe family.... so fab to see you all again! Big hugs all around!)

The One, the Only... The Denominator

This is Dominic. He belongs to my sister Gina and her husband Roy. He's lovingly referred to as 'The Dominator' by my brother Tony. I don't know if you've seen this sketch on Saturday Night Live about the 'Mom Translator,' but we could've benefited greatly from this gadget as kids. :) My mom often re-invented names (unintentionally) of everyone including my teachers, some friends, and even well-known sayings and expressions. So it didn't come as much surprise to discover that in mom-speak, 'The Dominator' eventually became 'The Denominator,'  as in.... the lower part of a fraction. Too funny!

Gina, Roy & The Denominator live in Eugene, Oregon and are currently here in town for the week. They came over just this morning so I could photograph Dom for the first time. Good times!

Still not too crazy about tummy time.... especially on a stark white surface! Ha! He was a good sport though!

Gina is building quite the collection of little baby leg-warmers. They certainly make diaper changing easier!

Ok.... this photo warrants an explanation. If you're looking carefully (you are, right!?) you notice my sister's hands holding The Denominator upright, right? :) Aren't you wondering where the rest of her is? Ha ha ha! No, I didn't 'photoshop' her out of the photo.... The image is 'as shot.'  The Dom is sitting on a table, and she's holding onto him while squatting underneath. He's not quite big enough to sit up on his own yet (only about 3 months), so I wouldn't normally do a shot like this, but he was so cute... and I won't see him again until Christmas.... so.... it's a shot with a pair of magical 'floating' hands in it. I kinda like it that way.... though. A mother's hands are kind of magical, aren't they? Always there when you need 'em.... magically healing every bump, scratch, and owieee. Makes perfect sense to me! Ha ha ha!

This shoot was also fun because I got to see how a baby photographs in our own home! I shot this on one of the sofas upstairs in our loft. The Dom was quite comfy in his lil' red onsie with matching stripped leg-warmers! Too cute! (Soooo Nebraska, don't you think?)

Love those toes!

Back on the other sofa.... mom and dad were waiting for him!

That's one happy boy! :)

Bloggin' Bride

Can I tell you how excited I am to be shooting Stephanie's wedding!? This girl is on FIRE! She lives in St. Lake, UT and I haven't officially met her yet... but we've talked on the phone, played email ping-pong... and.... we've blogged. She started a wedding blog to document her inspirations and the planning of her big day... and quite the fantastic writer she is! She was recently chosen to write yet ANOTHER guest post on Elizabeth Anne Designs about planning her wedding and choosing her photographer (a-hem!).  Check it out here! Great job as usual Steph... can't wait for your big day!

Featured on theknot.com TV {Tomorrow!}

Last night Kiersten from theknot.com contacted me to request the usage of an image from Katie & Nathan's wedding on their weekly web TV show. Cool beans! Tune in at 11am central time TOMORROW (Wednesday July 15th) to catch Katie & Nathan in this week's special geared towards eco-friendly 'green' weddings!

UPDATE: You can find the image of Katie & Nathan (plus more eco-friendly ideas) featured here.

Featured on "Lucky"

Anne & Tim's wedding was just featured as a {Real Wedding} on the Lucky Me blog. Check it out! :)

Anonymous Gifter?

I finally got around to opening some of the mail that has been piling up on my desk lately and found THIS lil' gem waiting from me! There was no name, no card, nada. I'm not sure if it was meant to be anonymous or if Bella forgot to include a note.... but whatever kind soul sent this thinking of me.... THANK YOU times a million! :) I'll put it to good use next week! {UPDATE:} Turns out the surprise was an early b-day gift from my dear friend Michelle! (I'm turning the big 3-0 this week!) What a perfect gift! Thanks Michelle!

Class of 2010: Amanda

Columbus is in the house! I am luvin' the colors in this image.... oranges, reds and yellows are my FAVE! :)

Drama, drama, drama!

Fabulous! Way to rock Amanda!

Class of 2010: Libby

More seniors, more fun! Thanks for making the trip down from Columbus Libby!