Caroline & Dave's Wedding Portraits

I know this is pretty unheard of on my blog, but I loved so many of the creative portraits that we did at their wedding that I'm making a separate post for just the posed shots!! Caroline & Dave wanted a lot of artistic portraits, and they had some awesome locations to work with, so I we pretty much rocked it out!! While I'm at it, I'll throw in a few standard portraits as well just to show you that I do take them when requested. Let's start with the traditional and end with funky..

A touch of Chicago skyline...


Happy & sweet...




Your standard, front of the church shot...


Face framing..


Kinda candid, but not really...




Bridal party silliness...


Background romance...


I like to move it, move it...




The dramatic staircase shot...


A more relaxed version of the staircase shot...


From badass...


To backlit...


An experiment in attitude and awkwardness...


C-c-c-cold...


Warm..


Last but not least... Cover Girl! Work it girl, do your thang... if you haven't noticed... Caroline is FIERCE!! Tyra would be proud. ;-)






I have a feeling I'll be seeing many more flying veil shots after this!

WPJA Action Winner

I'm honored to have another image place in the Wedding Photojournalist Association!! This is from the Q1 2008 contest (I didn't submit anything for Q2.. but there's always Q3 & Q4!) and was taken during Caroline & Dave's wedding, which I'll be blogging about next (sooo many awesome photos from that wedding)!! I love that WPJA actually includes judge's comments (sometimes), which you can see underneath the image! Thanks to Dave and all of his guys for giving me an award-winning moment to capture!!

GREEN IDEA: Suit Recycling

Alex (the hubby) and I have been fans of the excellent service of Men's Wearhouse ever since we used them to supply the vests and ties for our wedding (our groomsmen used tuxes they already owned from being musicians... but that's a different kind of suit recycling!)

(Yep, that's us!! I can't believe it's going to be 5 years this October!)

So, I was naturally interested in a post I saw on Vintage Indie Blog that said Men's Wearhouse is doing a National Suit Drive for the months of September and October! Here's why it's more awesome than taking your suit to Salvation Army...

"A Second Chance
For many unemployed men, a new suit is the first step toward a second chance. During the National Suit Drive, every one of our over 550 stores will be collecting gently used professional attire to benefit at-risk men and youth transitioning into the workforce. All clothing we receive will be distributed throughout the community by local nonprofit organizations.

How It Works
Simply visit your nearest Men's Wearhouse store during the months of September and October and donate professional clothing, such as suits, sport coats, slacks, ties, and belts. All donations are tax deductible, and participants will receive a coupon for 10% off* their next Men's Wearhouse purchase as a special thank you. Plus, we'll contribute a new dress shirt for every suit we receive." - National Suit Drive website

I know Alex has a few suit pieces that he's outgrown since college, and he'll definitely be able to use the discount toward something like a new belt or dress shirt. Who knows... an old suit just might end up being super stylish threads for a retro-indie guy like Joce (who snagged his amazing tweed suit from a resale shop!)