Monthly Archives: November 2008

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Marie’s Bridal Session

November 24, 2008 – 2:15 am

Marie & her family have always been so special to me.  I went to high school with her & her brother way back in the 90’s (yeah, I’m THAT old… LOL!).  They have a reputation for being so kind, and willing to help anyone who needed a hand.  When I spotted Marie & her beautiful mom at the Blue Ridge Bridal Showcase last January, I was so excited to see them. They just bring warm energy wherever they go, and I definitely needed it on that cold winter day! I was so happy when Marie booked me as her photographer for her summer wedding, and even more so when she wanted a bridal session.  As I’ve said before, bridal sessions are great for so many reasons:

  • Becoming more comfortable in front of the camera
  • Trying out your hair & makeup (and testing how long it takes to do both together, since that is what makes the day become delayed almost every time)
  • A chance to move around in your dress for a longer period of time than in the dress shop to make sure no more alterations are needed (in Marie’s case, a loop on the back of her dress was weak & broke very easily during this session, so she still had time to take it back to the shop & have it fixed for her wedding day!)
  • And who wouldn’t argue with having more time in that beautiful dress that you probably paid lots of money for, and looks so good on you?!?! :)

Honestly, it makes perfect sense to have a bridal session done… and that’s one thing I wish I would have done for my own wedding.  I could have prevented ALL of my “I wish I had done this instead” feelings that I have now (don’t get me wrong though, I still had the BEST wedding EVER!!!).  If I would have had more time this year for myself, I know I would have had Shelby do my bridals too.

Back to Marie now!  We did her session at the Shenandoah Valley Golf Club, where she booked her reception.   Since her fiancé is the Head Pro there, and was working that day, we had to be very careful not to let him see her.  It was quite interesting!

Can’t you just feel the radiance shining through when you look at her?!?

Gorgeous…

Here’s a shot of Marie with her mother & sister.  I love it, love it, LOVE it! :)

This is the bridal portrait being displayed at her reception.  I saw people constantly going back to look at it throughout the night.

Next up is her wedding post!  Stay tuned for…

Marie’s bridal portrait
Richard & Marie’s wedding
Ryan & Jenny’s wedding
Wedding Window - Vendor Spotlight
Jennifer’s bridal session
Matt & Jessie’s wedding
OUR WEDDING - pt.1
Khimaira Farm - Vendor Spotlight
OUR WEDDING - pt.2
Rodney & Tiffany’s wedding
Gary & Staci’s e-session
Wesley & Heather’s wedding
GS Productions - Vendor Spotlight
Matt & Laura’s wedding
Geoff & Jennifer’s wedding
OUR Day After session w/ openField photography.
Rob & Jen + Two!
Matty & Jessy’s wedding
Splitpine Studios - Vendor Spotlight
Sean & Kathy’s wedding
Kara’s maternity session
Gary & Staci’s wedding
Manda’s generosity
Keith & Jessica’s wedding
Valley Pig Pickin’ - Vendor Spotlight
Brad & Casey’s e-session
David & Jacki’s wedding
Jaxson Ray - newborn

 

By Lori | Posted in bridal portraits | Comments (0)

Brad & Casey + Two!

November 17, 2008 – 2:31 pm

Brace yourself… First, I need to apologize for depriving you of my regular blog posting. This year has been so INSANELY busy, that I had to leave something on the backburner while taking care of my clients… so it had to be my blog. Thank you to all my incredible brides & grooms that have been so utterly sweet with understanding. I seriously have THE best clients on Earth! I have taken steps to prevent this from happening in the future, which you’ll hear about sometime soon along with an exciting new launch that I won’t spill the beans about just yet…hee-hee. So, for now I am super-excited to get the ball rolling on showing you all the awesome events & sessions I’ve been covering! Let me list what I have to catch up on (I’m going to update this list at the end of each upcoming blog post, so I can be held accountable if I miss something!):

Marie’s bridal portrait
Richard & Marie’s wedding
Ryan & Jenny’s wedding
Wedding Window - Vendor Spotlight
Jennifer’s bridal session
Matt & Jessie’s wedding
OUR WEDDING - pt.1
Khimaira Farm - Vendor Spotlight
OUR WEDDING - pt.2
Rodney & Tiffany’s wedding
Gary & Staci’s e-session
Wesley & Heather’s wedding
GS Productions - Vendor Spotlight
Matt & Laura’s wedding
Geoff & Jennifer’s wedding
OUR Day After session w/ openField photography.
Rob & Jen + Two!
Matty & Jessy’s wedding
Splitpine Studios - Vendor Spotlight
Sean & Kathy’s wedding
Kara’s maternity session
Gary & Staci’s wedding
Manda’s generosity
Keith & Jessica’s wedding
Valley Pig Pickin’ - Vendor Spotlight
Brad & Casey’s e-session
David & Jacki’s wedding

Okay, deep breath… and on with your regularly scheduled blog-reading…

I’ve decided to go ahead and post a recent session first… I know it’s not fair, but if you knew my reasoning behind it you would understand… just trust me :)

I met Brad & Casey the other day for a fun family session while there was still a little bit of color left on the trees.  They are getting married next October (October 2009 is now BOOKED!). We did their engagement session a few weeks ago, so be on the lookout for those pictures later on. We had a great time during their family session despite the cold wind, and I have to say that I totally want to adopt the kids! Kendall is such a good brother, and so well-behaved. Definitely every parent’s dream child from what I could tell. Taylor is just plain cute as a button, and totally every photographer’s dream child! Her personality just screams “LOOK HOW AWESOME & FUN & CUTE & SASSY I AM”! You really have no idea how much I was cracking up at her during this session… Brad & Casey, I know you probably thought she was just crazy, but if every family session had a child like that involved, I’d be in Heaven :)

I haven’t climbed a tree in a while, so this was fun. I think they thought I was nuts!

I LOVE this one!

What sign, officer?  Actually, I turned around after taking this photo and a police officer was slowly driving by looking at us… only my luck…  lol

Towards the end of the session, Taylor got scared (not by me!), and started crying.  How sweet is this?

But just a little coaxing, and she was back again :)

By Lori | Posted in business news, families, little ones | Comments (2)

Women Build Exhibit @ Shenandoah Arts Council

November 15, 2008 – 8:27 pm

I know I have so much blogging to catch up on, but I wanted to let everyone know about the joint art exhibit that my work with Women Build is being displayed in.  Lauri Bridgeforth & I were called upon to produce work for the Kalbian/Harris gallery at the Shenandoah Arts Council.  Last night was opening night (yes, I know I should have blogged this in advance), and we had a great turnout of over a hundred people… if you don’t live in this area, that’s a great turnout for this small town.  I  met so many new faces, and made some great contacts with artists in the area.

The East/West Studio Faculty Show is also being shown in the David Holliday Gallery.  This amazing group of artists has a wide variety of art on display.  My favorite piece of the entire exhibit is a sculpture called “Gratitude” by Chrissy McFarren.  It depicts a woman sitting indian style with a beautiful pregnant belly with her arms raised up in gratitude.  I can’t wait to have that same gratification ;-)  Chrissy’s other pieces (”Seasons of a Woman’s Soul” & “Ecstasy - The Tree Woman”) were also favorites of mine, so you must go see them, you will not be disappointed!

There are 18 pieces of mine on display, all depicting the hard-working women involved in the Women Build project.  The show runs until December 12, so go check it out at the Shenandoah Arts Council located at 811 S. Loudoun Street in Winchester.  Gallery hours are 1pm-5pm Tuesday thru Saturday.

Here’s a taste of the pieces I am showing:

By Lori | Posted in business news, events, non-profit | Comments (2)

VOTE! Unless of course…

November 4, 2008 – 8:23 am

I know everyone’s been hearing that they should go out and vote, but I’ve got a different message…

If you are only voting with your party lines, and haven’t even looked at the issues, please don’t vote.

If you watched, read or heard a political ad & believed what it said without looking up facts from reliable sources, please don’t vote. (political ads are a HUGE pet-peeve of mine since hardly any of them are 100% accurate, and some I’ve seen this time around are 100% lies… why is this allowed, and more importantly why do people actually believe them?!?)

If you believe any of that “he-say, she-say” nonsense about the candidates’  lives without knowing the truth, please don’t vote.

If you received an email forward about a candidate and thought to yourself “Hmmm, that’s interesting, let me forward this on to all my friends”, really people… please don’t vote.

And, if you don’t know the true records of the candidates & haven’t looked at both of their plans, my goodness, please don’t vote.

It’s great that we live in a wonderful country who let’s everyone vote, but the idea behind that is that all those who vote can actually make an informed decision…  can you?

 

This election will determine so many aspects of our lives for many years to come.  So many important decisions that will affect you, your children’s & grandchildren’s lives are going to be decided by the next President.  Think about where you will be in 20 years, and what you will be dealing with.  Raising a family? Sending a child to college? Caring for your elderly parent? Caring for yourself?    Based on the facts, which candidate will serve your best interests?  Do you know?  If so, then VOTE!!!

(this is a shot of us on Halloween… I was Uncle Sam & Jon was my recruit)

 

By Lori | Posted in personal | Comments (2)