Amanda and Jon’s Union Station wedding was the kind we love to photograph: relaxed, intimate, and beautiful.  It was classic with a hint of vintage with suited the hotel so nicely.  I felt like their wedding could have taken place any time between the 1920′s and now and it would have seemed perfectly in place. Now that’s timeless.

The detail on their beautiful (and tasty) wedding cake was fantastic!  The photo below on the right showcases one of their fantastic centerpiece displays.  I love the tall ceilings inside Union Station, and the tall flower arrangements suited it so well!

Amanda and Jon – Thank you for allowing us into your lives. You are beautiful people and it was our pleasure to spend your wedding day with you. May your love stand the test of time, always. :0)

We knew Lauren and Ayal’s wedding would be spectacular, but it exceeded expectations on every level.  The Houstonian Hotel was fantastic to work with–beautiful interiors, the staff was incredibly friendly and helpful, and the grounds outside were amazing.

We photographed Lauren’s brother’s wedding at the Hotel ZaZa in Houston the year before, so this was especially sweet for us because this crew makes us feel like family!  All in all, it was a beautiful weekend to get married in Texas!   Lauren and Ayal – may every day of your life be filled with more beauty than your gorgeous wedding . . .

. . . may you always find a way to move as one to the same beat . . .

. . . and may you find at least one moment in every day for a tender exchange of love

Congratulations to you both! :0)  We can’t wait to share more with you–your images are turning out absolutely beautifully

I will be the first to admit it: I went overboard.  Waaaaay overboard.  But it’s my baby’s first birthday and it had to be celebrated BIG!  Even more than that, this was a celebration of his life, his being here, and our family having finally gotten to this place.  Besides, it has been a while since I’ve done anything crafty, and I’ve been wanting to sculpt as of late, so with that and our “go big or go home” attitude, you had to know this was going to get out of hand…

Months of planning, a morning and evening party for crowd control, and a baby hopped up on sugar who loves a crowd – this might be the most images in one blog post on this site ever so get ready! ;0)

Seven has been enamored with the sound of Dr. Seuss books since he was only days old.  I think it’s the rhythmic sound of the phrases.  I’ve even memorized the first 1/3 of Cat in the Hat and recite it to him to settle him on airplanes.  Dr. Seuss was a natural pick for his birthday theme!

Our friend Jessica is an amazing culinary artist and she did the most incredible job putting together the Seuss themed food for the party!  She worked tirelessly for us, in planning, preparation, and just keeping things well put together on the day, and did I mention she is also in her first trimester of pregnancy?  What a friend!  We inhaled copious amounts of food coloring and it tasted glorious!  Jessica thank you SOOOOO much!!

You may have heard me mentioning on twitter about making trees.  Here they are – Truffula Trees from The Lorax to frame up my crazy-over-the-top cake focal point. (More to come on that in a bit…)

We had a Photo Booth set up in the back for fun photos of our guests – and Sean. ;0)

I’ve been seeing these cute month-by-month photo collages at first birthdays, but our favorite photos weren’t usually taken exactly at one month intervals and I couldn’t narrow them down so I went with a general progression of Seven’s life instead.

With a birthday right after Valentine’s Day, Seven will probably always have a candy bar at his party — at least until he starts to complain about all the pink!

So the cake…

I knew I wanted to try to make it myself so I took at Fondant I class at Sweetwise (which I highly recommend by the way!).  I figured the only right way to do a Dr. Seuss cake would be for it to be a topsy-turvy cake and since I didn’t have time to take a class on that too, I watched a youtube video instead.  The cat on top I sculpted out of clay because, as I mentioned earlier, clay has been seeming like a lot of fun lately so this was a good excuse to try it.  The cake definitely had it’s flaws, but over all, I thought it turned out pretty nicely – especially for my second time ever laying fondant and my first ever tiered cake!

So those were the details. I had this secret fear that I would plan all of this stuff and in the end, what seemed so elaborate to me would end up looking like a few well decorated tables sitting in my house instead of a Seuss wonderland.  In the end though, I was really happy with the results.  What made us so much more happy though was the great turn-out!  We really do have the best friends and family anyone could ever ask for!  It warmed our hearts to have them all here to celebrate with us.  Seven was thrilled too.  He loves people – big and small alike – and a bunch of people at his house just to see him was perfect. :0)

If you can believe it, I used to be these kids’ (on the left) nanny, starting with when the oldest was 5 months old. She’s 12 now and carries my son around like a little lady.  How time flies!

We completely lucked out with the weather and got the one nice day of the week for Seven’s birthday.  The little girls all played outside with sidewalk chalk and each made Seven birthday cakes. :0)

Happy Birthday!

Seven and Violet are little buddies!  When they were a little younger, Seven was constantly grabbing at her and now it’s her turn to return the favor. Here she is giving him a sweet kiss – right before she tried to take his ears off. ;o)

Seven talking to his very-soon-to-be new friend Baby Crafton.  It’s about time we got some more boys around here!

That’s a wrap!  Happy Birthday My Love! You are the best thing that has every happened to us and no celebration if any size could ever fully express our joy! We love you SO MUCH!

Who has a wedding party who is completely up for that (and let’s not forget, in freezing temperatures…)? Ruth and Frank!  This whole group was just so phenomenal!  We love our couples, but what makes our job even that much better is that they have amazing friends as well!  It was freezing in Brooklyn last weekend – spitting snow and windy – and not one person was anything short of completely fun as we ran around Dumbo after the ceremony.  Thank you all SO MUCH!

After talking with Ruth about their wedding, Sean and I were super excited to get to New York and meet her and Frank!  They are fun, comical, quirky, energetic creatives and their wedding was the perfect reflection of that.  I’m sure we’ll be sharing more from them in the future, but for now, check out this little sneak peek of images from our snowy Dumbo mayhem. :0)

Photographers, are you getting ready for the WPPI convention (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International)?  Here are a few things we’re about to share:

- Details on attending one of the best workshops in the world for improving your imagery (and it’s free)

- Listen to some of your favorite speakers (without going to platform or plus classes)

- How to save approximately 50% on your hotel stay.  (Don’t worry—if you’ve already booked your hotel, there’s probably still time to cancel without penalty!)

- How to get discounts with vendors you are already using

- Canon users: Want your lenses cleaned and calibrated?  Camera bodies cleaned and checked?  How about having this done for $25/each (or potentially less) for up to four bodies/lenses?

Ready?  Here we go!

How to experience “Secret” WPPI: 7 Ways to get the most out of the convention (Official WPPI registration: Not required!)

1. Attend print & album judging!

This year, it takes place on the 19th and 20th of February.  If at all possible, make it a point to sit in and listen!  Judging is open to the public; so you actually don’t even have to be registered for WPPI at all in order to do this.  There are many different categories being judged at any given time; however, if you sit in on the “premiere” category, the judges are required to explain why they give each and every image its score.  If you’ve never done this before, sitting through image after image and seeing what it is that judges look for, what makes a strong image, what makes a weak image, etc. is invaluable in how you’ll view your own work from then on.  Technical mistakes you may not even have known existed start to become apparent (and therefore allow you to stop making them!) and perhaps best of all, you can see what literally thousands of photographers have submitted–meaning you have a great idea of what everyone else is doing, which gives you a great starting point for truly differentiating your work to make it unique.  In my opinion, sitting in on print judging is essentially being able to attend one of the best workshops in the world for improving your image quality, and it doesn’t cost you a dime.

2. Listen to speakers on the trade show floor!

Nearly all vendors provide a free pass to the WPPI trade show if you’re not officially registered.  When you walk in the doors, you should be able to find a program that lists trade show floor speakers along with booth numbers and times.  Sometimes there is absolutely fantastic information in these short talks!  We have even listened to someone’s platform talk, and then their small trade show floor talk, and better information has been given at the trade show.  You also have a much higher likelihood of getting a question answered when there is a small group of people at the trade show as opposed to hundreds or 1000+ in a large platform room.

3. Want discounts on products & services you already use?  Visit your current vendors at the trade show!

The trade show can be a great place to find new vendors, new products, etc. However, even if you aren’t looking for something new, many vendors offer trade show only specials that you can take advantage of even if you’re already a customer.  Do yourself a favor and stop by and say hello—check to see if any specials are taking place, and you’ll be able to take advantage of some great savings for things you would have been purchasing, anyway.

4. Is there a workshop you’ve always wanted to go to, but haven’t had the chance?  Look for/attend extracurricular workshops at WPPI

Been wanting to attend a workshop with someone, but they haven’t come to your town?  Perhaps you’ve been thinking about going to visit them, but once you factor in the expense for the workshop + travel and accommodations, it’s just not something you want to do, yet.  Check and see if they are offering a workshop right before or right after WPPI.  Many people do this, which eliminates the travel and accommodation expense.  What if you check and they aren’t officially offering something?  Why don’t you get in contact with them and ask if they will?  Sometimes speakers aren’t offering something extra because they don’t have time to get the word out and set something up.  If you come to them, problem solved for them—and problem solved for you.

5. Go to parties, events, get togethers, etc. Outside of WPPI!

There are always several things going on all day and all night every day of WPPI that have nothing to do with the official convention.  Parties, events, get togethers, shoots, the list goes on.  Go to as many as you can—find people from other parts of the country or even other parts of the world than you.  Find people who are well ahead of you in their business, find people at your same point, and find people who are in earlier stages than you.  You can help people out in areas where you have more expertise, as well as get great ideas for your own business to implement when you get back home from people at the same point or ahead of you.  Having a strong community is fantastic where you live–but it’s easy when people share their ideas that what everyone is doing starts to be quite similar.  Bounce some ideas and be inspired by people who are several states or even countries away from you and your business.  If you’re able to implement things back home that are completely different from what is going on at home, it can breath fresh air and new life into your business, and your clients will take notice.

6. Want to save roughly 50% on your hotel?

Two options:  One, visit vrbo.com (Vacation Rental by Owner) and get in touch with people who own units in the Signature Towers at the MGM.  Often times you can get a great rate, especially if you’re closer to booking time and they still have a vacancy.  These rooms usually also have a small kitchen in them, or at least a microwave, which can come in handy.  Second option, stay across the street at the Excalibur hotel.  Rates are usually about half of MGM rates, and the hotel is connected to the MGM by a bridge that takes you over the main street below.  I also have a coupon you can use (valid until 3/31) to save a few dollars more than the already super low rates!  And that code is: LOCALS.  That will give you nightly rates starting at only $28.  Niiice!

7. Canon users: Want your equipment checked and cleaned for free?

If you are either a gold or platinum level CPS member, bring your CPS card to the trade show along with up to FOUR camera bodies or lenses (Make sure you have their serial numbers registered on the CPS website).  Drop them off at the Canon booth beginning as early as February 19th at 9:00 am, but no later than February 22nd at 2:00 pm.  They will be ready for you to pick up, usually by the following day!  And did I mention—it’s free?  If you’re NOT a CPS member, join now at the gold level for only $100 per year.  In addition to taking advantage of up to four pieces of equipment cleaned and checked at the trade show, you’ll also get two coupons for having two more pieces of equipment cleaned and checked.  If you have 6 pieces of equipment done per year, you’ll be paying less than $17 for each, and on top of that you’ll also get discounted repair rates, and a few other great benefits.  Seriously, join now.  Nikon users?  I would guess that NPS may offer something similar; but I’m not a Nikon user, so I can’t speak to that from experience.  If you’re familiar with NPS and know of a similar setup, please let me know!

I hope these tips are as helpful for you as they have been for us!

Are you a photographer or wedding vendor that is interested in receiving more photography & business related info from us?  (If you’re on our list already, you would already have had this info before it hit the blog!) Just click here and hit the send button! (And, of course we promise to never share your information with anyone!)