It's Our Wedding Anniversary, So Let's Trash The Dress!

Elham and Sam are so cute! she is refreshingly creative and he just sparkles when he looks at her. They decided that their third anniversary was the perfect time to do new portraits, so we met in the park with a stack of clothes and an attitude for adventure. When we realized that the children's fountain was running, we couldn't help but TRASH THE DRESS! Thank you Elham and Sam for such a memorable afternoon...I had so much fun with the two of you!

Portraits! Portraits! Get Your Portraits! Portraits In The Park Special

If you've ever wanted a special portrait created and didn't think you had the (pick your excuse ;-D):

A) Money
B) Time
C) Organization

Well, Excuses be Gone! (Sorry, Wayne Dyer). Three days only, next week only, I'll be setting up in a local park for casual lifestyle mini-sessions. Get that portrait you've always wanted and your Holiday Shopping done at the same time. Special package pricing includes options for Holiday Cards, Photo Jewelry and more. Times are filling up fast, so call for yours, now.

Secret Sedona Wedding

Here at last are the long awaited images from Dawn and Dino's wedding in Sedona. While it is always an honor to be part of a wedding, sometimes it's also a privilege. This was certainly the case with these two. Together for 20 years, they decided that it was time to have a very intimate private ceremony away from their home in Florida and then share the good news after the fact.

We started in Tlaquepaque, a wonderful shopping village that is patterned after a traditional mexican village. From there we found a rocky outcropping on the road to Red Rock Crossing where the ceremony took place. Margaret Van Damme of Van Damme Weddings coordinated and officiated this special day. Dawn wore a sweet Jim Hjelm gown...

....but wanted to "trash the dress" after the ceremony, so brought A SECOND GOWN purchased on e-bay(!) for that special part of their day! And what a day it was!

Green Wedding Friday - The Boojum Tree Hidden Gardens

Boojum Tree Hidden Gardens is a wonderful venue for your green wedding. Beautifully appointed with lush gardens and architecture, you need bring in very little to enhance the already beautiful surroundings. The Boojum Tree makes re-useable centerpieces available as well as suggesting plants as centerpieces that can be later given as favors.

Tasha Miller, event specialist at this venue, offers tips to her couples to help cut down on waste while offering suggestions on favors that will really be used rather than looked at once and thrown away.

Internal changes have helped make The Bojum Tree earth-friendly, too. Set-M-Up Bartending (inhouse bar service) makes recycling a priority and the office had gone paperless, offering you the convenience of email for your communication.

Whether you are looking for unique architecture or getting close to nature, Boojum Tree is a really lovely place for a wedding celebration.

http://www.boojumtree.com

A Little Something For You

This month's desktop image is a street shot. Please feel free to download and enjoy.

Once I got to go to New Orleans. A city that celebrates death like it does life. I wanted to share this image with you for Halloween. Click on the image to download a copy of your own and freshen up your desktop!

Keep checking back for new images. Sometimes bridal, sometimes something different, but something always for you.

101 Goals in 1001 Days - Update

It's been a while since I posted about this mainly because I've been caught up in life and not paying attention to the things I set out to do, but in one long weekend I managed to attain three very important goals ;-D

We used to go camping before we got married...a lot...and I loved it. Camping for me ended about eighteen years ago when the dog we had at the time made our last trip such a miserable experience that I could never really get my husband excited about it again. When I made my list one of the biggest goals was to get him somehow excited to go again. This weekend, for J.'s birthday, we finally did it. Three days, two nights at Wood's Canyon Lake on the Mogollon Rim with our neighbors, their kids, grandkids, 2 dogs and a kayak in tow. Almost freezing temps, campfires and coca cola cake, our current dog who relished every moment and one happy girl camper who finally got to get outside again.

We came home Sunday afternoon just in time to unpack and pack for a very secret elopement in Sedona. Take one beautiful east coast girl and mix with a very happy groom, a couple of girlfriends and a guy and magical things can happen. Portraits started at Tlaquepaque, a beautiful little shopping village in the heart of Sedona. Then a drive to a hilltop overlooking the valley. We got to Red Rock Crossing just in time for a sweet ceremony on Oak Creek, then our adventurous bride and groom changed into a gown and tux shirt bought just for the occasion and dove into a very chilly Oak Creek for a trash the dress session.

Our Beautiful Bride and Groom are keeping the wedding a secret just a little bit longer, so photos will come on the blog when they are ready to share, but in the mean time, I'll leave you with a photo of a very happy dog guarding her tent in the high country.

Goals accomplished:

7. Do a Trash The Dress Session
27. Go Camping
39. Photograph a Wedding in Sedona

61 to go.

5 Things On A Sunday - Interesting Things Around The 'Net

Well, it's really starting to feel like Fall...the winter lawn is in, there is a nip in the night air and my thoughts are turning to All Hallows Eve. Here are a few interesting things I've found for your ghouling pleasure:

Do you Facebook? I've become addicted to Reign of Vampires. Come, be part of my clan.

It's time to start thinking about your once a year alter ego. Are you still on the search for this year's perfectly wicked ensemble? Maybe a fantasy costume? I spend a lot of time looking for ideas for my homegrown costumes and every so often come up with a really wonderful website. This one has a great variety and I'm loving these finds at Sexy Costumes. Find an adorably sexy costume for your party here.

Are you into Extreme Pumpkins? Me, too, although I haven't done any since moving to Arizona since they seem to rot faster than I can carve them in our wierdly dry weather. Some really great ideas at this website: Extreme Pumpkins.

Are you in charge of the office Costume Party? Here are some tips for this year's bash.

Ellen Pranks on People