Funny testimonial from past bride, future trash-the-dresser…
I received this e-mail from Jess tonight, we shot her wedding rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding, reception, made her honeymoon album, shot her Valentine's Day boudoir pics, her friend's wedding, another friend's surprise bridal shower and we'll be shooting her sister's maternity pics in a few weeks. She saw the new blog and my trash the dress pics from last weekend and she's booking her shoot for Aug or Sept this year, even though she's been married for over a year now….ladies, even if we didn't shoot your wedding or your wedding was 20 years ago, get the dress out for a photo shoot, it's SO much fun and there's so many awesome pics that come out of these shoots. Jess sent me this e-mail tonight, "You are like a really cool restaurant, I have to keep coming back until I have tried everything on the menu!" LOL That was awesome and made me laugh!! Then in a later e-mail she said, "I just got my dress out…it's so pretty! It deserves more pictures!! It's so cool that you get to wear it again!" 😀 Jess, I can't wait for your photo shoot!!!!
April & Neil…trashed the dress!
On Friday, we photographed April & Neil's wedding…they were up for ANYTHING artsy and non-traditional (which I LOVE) and since they weren't planning on leaving for their honeymoon for a day or two, we decided to do their trash the dress session yesterday. It was perfect timing too…TrashTheDress.com was just featured on Good Morning America yesterday morning and as we were getting ready to leave for their photo shoot, we were watching the TV segment showcasing this new concept in wedding photography…I love being on the forefront of a new trend. 🙂
One bride who was interviewed on Good Morning America said something like, "I said my vows to my new husband, not to my dress" which I thought was perfect. The ides is that you'll never wear the dress again and your future daughter won't want to wear it so this is the perfect way to create some extraordinary photos in unique settings after the wedding. The idea isn't to completely ruin it (usually) but to get it wet and filthy…April will still be able to dry clean it and preserve it, she just might have a few extra stains to look back on and smile years from now after she remembers how much fun we had together yesterday. 🙂
We started their day at the Avon Perennial Gardens and got a ton of pics of them in the creek, getting wet and having fun in the garden area, it was gorgeous!! Then, we went to the war memorial fountain where we took some fun pics of April getting completely wet for the first time in the dress. After that, we went to my aunt's house…she has a beautiful pool in her backyard that was perfect for a TTD session. These are just a few of my faves that caught my eye after downloading tonight…there will be MANY more posted throughout this week as I continue to edit. 😀 Keep checking back!!
The groom…just hanging out. 🙂
Her bouquet was floating the whole time!
Loved this one…she started to grab her bouquet and the dress whipped around. You can see how dirty her dress was around the bottom edges by that time…
More coming soon!!
Boudoir, Bridal & Kitties, oh my!
Last Sunday, we had a BLAST photographing Cori’s bridal portraits & boudoir session!! Karen Hall & Co. did a great job with her hair & make-up, as usual…she looked flawless. 🙂 I think when some brides think of bridal portraits, they envision the traditional altar formal shots that were popular way back when….well, times have definitely changed and this bridal portrait session was anything but ordinary! I think it’s becoming more popular because brides are able to see how their hair, make-up, flowers, etc. will turn out before the wedding and get some fun pics at various locations in the process. 
Cute shoes….although they looked like they hurt…:O
Cool ring shot…and Cori left behind a little artwork on the wall (below)….;)
She looked gorgeous!!! Her eyes just popped in her pics….
LOL….I LOVE THIS SHOT! As we were walking around the monument downtown, I stopped a group of guys with skate boards to see if we could borrow one for a quick shot. Cori was totally up for anything!!! I heard people walking by saying, “OMG, those are going to be awesome pics!” Her dress ended up a little “pre-trashed” from the whole shoot (as in dirty and now has a few holes) but she was so great about it, she knew it was going to be worth it and that later on, she’d look back at those stains and remember what a great time she had that day at her photo shoot. That’s all that really matters….
And then we had to stop by Border’s for some last minute help from the knot. LOL Since Cori is a knottie, this shot was only fitting. 😉
The people at the bookstore thought we were nuts…oh well! I’ll do anything for a cool shot….
…including nearly getting arrested. :O Cori was standing on top of the monument wall (fountain was behind her) and we got this shot to get a different perspective of the capitol building…most people shoot it straight on, making it appear bigger in the background…we wanted to try something a little different…she looked like she was on top of the world here. 🙂 But after I snapped a few pics, a cop showed up…luckily he was cool about it and none of us were hauled off…lol…
After her bridal portrait shoot was done, we went back inside and she changed for her boudoir shoot…
SEXY!!
She looked SO HOT! Her fiance is going to LOVE these…I wish I could be there to see his face when he gets his little black box of 5×7’s on the wedding night. 😀 (By the way, I did get permission to post these since she was ok with showing them off on my blog…and she said her fiance won’t look here before the wedding since he doesn’t want to see the dress until the ceremony…how cute is that?!)
And since he’s a fire fighter, we had a little fun with the hose….
I loved these shots on the blue table….of course, after this shot was taken, the building owner walked in (oops!) and we decided to move to plan B, we went to her house to finish the shoot….
It actually worked out really well…she was able to light some candles and be more comfy at home. 🙂
And then her kitties wanted in on the action…:) You all know how much I love animals so of course, I had to include them on the blog. (Kitty boudoir below…) ;p “Look mom, I can replicate that pose!”
Cat fight…Diana caught these two duking it out in the middle of the shoot…LOL
Sweet kitty face 🙂
Cori was so much fun to work with that day and on Monday, I received this e-mail from her:“Hi Erin,
I just had to email and tell you how glad I am that we picked you guys as our photographer, I think you meet everyone for a reason and after yesterday, I know why I was lead your way. Yesterday was great! First of all, thanks for recommending Karen Hall. My hair and makeup were above and beyond what I ever expected. Not to mention how incredibly wonderful they are, I can see why you all work so well together. Second of all, the pictures were phenomenal, and I only saw a few on the little camera screen. I can’t wait to see all of them. Third, you have no idea what doing that photo shoot has done for me. Not only do I know how great I’m going to look on my wedding day and won’t be so nervous to be ‘the center of attention’, but taking all of those shots really made me feel SO good about myself, I feel I have a new confidence that I didn’t have before. You made me feel so comfortable and so beautiful that I recommend every woman to do this even if it is just for them, it was a great experience! Forth, I have a new respect for models, because I was tired and sore from holding all those poses, whew! LOL And last, please be sure to tell John and Diana how grateful I am to all of you for doing all this yesterday and how much fun it was. I hope that you get some good shots that are really going to take your photography to a whole new level, I will be sure to HIGHLY recommend you to anyone looking for a GREAT photographer.Ok, I’ll stop being sappy now and let you get back to work because I’m almost teary eyed from all this.
Talk to you soon.
Cori”
Trash the Dress Sessions!
One of my brides inquired about this new concept in wedding photography (click HERE for more background info and HERE for a video documentary) and I'm THRILLED to be doing our first session, weather permitting, next month after her wedding!! I think a lot of our clients didn't realize that we can do these fun, unique sessions for them as well as a "Day After" wedding session with the bride & groom at other locations in a more relaxed atmosphere. Last year we started offering boudoir photos too although not everyone is comfortable with me posting sexy sample pics here. So, if any of you out there would like to do a Trash the Dress session, Day After session or a boudoir photo shoot, e-mail me at [email protected] for samples and pricing info. We typically shoot those sessions on our down time during the week or on Sunday afternoons since we're booked with weddings almost every Saturday. 🙂
I am the luckiest photographer ever!
A week ago last Sunday I had the opportunity to shoot bridal portraits for this past weekend’s bride and she was gorgeous – inside and out. She and all of her friends and family were the nicest people we’ve ever met and really made us feel like we were a part of their family. The best part was that she LOVED anything super creative and artsy! We surprised her with a folio of pics from her bridal portrait session on her wedding day and of course, I couldn’t post these until after her wedding since she didn’t want her future hubby to see her dress. 🙂 I think bridal portraits are really making a come back and they aren’t the boring, traditional altar type of shots that were popular in the ’80’s – thank goodness!! LOL
