Gorgeousness for Thursday Thu. February 18, 2010 gossip
Just because you might need some prettiness in your life today, here's two photos from yesterdays GORGEOUS shoot put on by the WeddingChicks and styled by Carter & Cook. The menu card is by Paper and Thread. There were a TON of amazing people involved in this shoot, but I want to wait until I can post the whole thing with you to do the long post with everyone!
Here's a little sample of what we shot in the morning:
And this is what we shot in the afternoon (there may or may not be one of the NEW SHOOTSAC covers that will be available during WPPI somewhere in this photo...):
(thanks to Katie & Ryan for being the hot models).
A Winter Wonderland Shoot Thu. February 11, 2010 people
We saw the location from the side of the road. "NO TRESPASSING", declared the sign in the front, but we willfully pulled our car into the snowbank on the side of the road and unloaded bright scarves, hats, and a gorgeous couple.
We were renegades.
Because really, how can you pass up a spot this good:
Of course, the homeowner showed up a few minutes later, once we had set out the cake, the flowers, and had the bride all dressed up and ready to go. Being of the "Ask forgiveness, not permission" sort, I'd been here before. This time though, we had someone better--Darren! He's the kind of guy that you just have to love when you meet him, and he went to have a chat with the owner. "No problem, have fun", the owner said, and we were good to go!
Thanks Darren :) You are very nice, and you look great in these photos:
When you've got such a great guy, you know that close by, there must be an equally or greater girl. In this case, her name is Alex:
Alex, you are SUCH a trooper! Not too many girls I know would stand out in the freezing cold and SNOW, and pull it off as effortlessly as you do! In my defense though, you did have Darren to keep you warm:
Now, what good would it be to treck all the way out to the mountains and into the snow and not bring some gorgeous decor? The incomparable team of Jesi Haack and Carissa of JL Designs created the table design, look and feel of the shoot, and of course the GORGEOUS flowers!
By the way, those white flowers are the new hot flower this year--they are called Anemone's and I think we'll be seeing a LOT more of those beauties!
Jesi brought a fab table with her, but when we saw this run down old picnic table, we were in love:
The table wasn't only good for the decor--it was also a perfect spot for the CAKE! Melody of My Sweet and Saucy created this gorgeous work of art to give us the perfect touch for our shoot:
Oh Melody. You are SO good.
Back to the table setup again for a second! Can we just take a moment to say how fabulous Jesi made it look? Thank you Jesi and Melody for designing and styling something so beautiful! Wrapping the containers for the flowers was pure inspiration.
Olive Hue Paper came up with some beautifully printed goods, including these awesome "he" and "she" place cards! Love them:
One more of the bouquet, just because it's pretty, and I like pretty:
Back to Alex & Darren for a minute:
Look at the boots! They belong to Jesi:
Fun fact: The sweater vest that Darren is wearing came from a thrift store. The arms were used to wrap the flower containers, and having him wear the "vest" was a game time decision:
Alex's hat is mine, from Urban Outfitters:
Changing up the style a little bit. Alex's hat is mine, from Heritage (division of Forever 21):
These make me feel cozy!
Fun fun:
Loving the bright pop of color here:
My two faves of the day:
This one is my #1:
A few portraits:
Some more prettiness:
Proof that you can get people to do anything when you're holding a camera:
Jesi, Carissa, Melody, Olive Hue, Alex, and Darren--you are all superstars! Thank you so much for indulging me in doing this winter shoot--can't wait to work with you all again soon!
**for all the brides that have emailed me regarding where Alex got this dress--sadly you may be out of luck! here's what she had to say":
"My dress is Jessica McClintock lol it's a dress they had for a vintge inspired prom dress line and never sold any! I got the last one in the store, they had sent all the rest back. I bought it at the K Street Mall in Sacramento at a JM store."
So there you go. Living proof that expensive doesn't mean good and good doesn't mean expensive! Good luck to all the brides searching for this one :)
The cool thing is that my good friend Doug over at Totally Rad Actions has come up with his latest beauty--Lightroom Presets! He showed me a demo the other day and I was absolutely SHOCKED at how amazing they are. He must be some sort of crazy genius to be able to make something that can turn your photos into works of gorgeousness that easily. I'm not surprised though, because the actions have completely revolutionized the way I process my photos--I can't imagine my photo world without them! To snag the Lightroom Presets or the Totally Rad Actions, click the banner below:
Also, just to be clear, I do receive an affiliate commission when someone buys the actions after seeing them on this blog. That is not why I endorse them--there are lots of companies out there offering such commissions that I would never promote. I promote them because I LOVE the way they make my photos look, and that's all. I have a similar program available if you are interested in promoting SHOOTSAC™ Lens Bags or HIpslips because you love them and they has changed your life and the way you shoot. If you're interested, email me here: flamingo@shootsac.com
As for something cold, here's another little ditty from the snowy shoot last week (more coming very soon, I promise!!) This cake is by Melody with My Sweet And Saucy and the shoot itself was styled by Jesi Haack!
I used the Totally Rad Actions on this photo, Yin/Yang, and Pool Party at 30%!
A New Day (With No Mistakes In It) Fri. February 5, 2010 my life
I used to LOVE Anne of Green Gables. I would watch the movie over and over again, clinging to the idea that girls with red hair were a valuable part of the world. The movie somehow gave me hope. My favorite saying in the movie was, "Tomorrow is a new day, with no mistakes in it". I just loved that.
Nobody in my family has red hair, and through a giant practical joke of genetics, my brother ended up tall with blonde hair and blue eyes. Cruel? Yes.
I remember my mom taking me to get my hair done when I was 7 or 8 years old, and I told the stylist that I wanted bangs and a part in the middle of the rest of the hair, just like Ashley, the girl with the perfect hair in my class. I have no idea to this day why they actually cut my hair that way, knowing that my short, curly, un-partable hair would never be that long, straight glossy brown that would hang perfectly in that sort of cut. Instead, I just ended up looking like an unfortunate "Annie", with the worst hair in the whole school.
I grew up, learned to use a blow dryer and a flat iron--I could give Vidal Sassoon a run for his money!
A few months ago, I dyed my hair a dark brown. It was the first time I've ever dyed it, because in my adult years, I came to actually take pride in the fact that I had hair that was different. When you're a teenager, all you want is to blend in, but once I was out of high school, I valued anything that set me apart as an individual. I've always thought of myself as a redhead, even in the bad times. When I look in the mirror now, I like the dark brown hair, but I don't quite recognize myself.
I do somewhat feel like a more dramatic, hotter version of myself though, which is a nice phase to go through. I'll probably keep it dark brown for another few months and try to maximize that feeling!
Although my hair might be brown now, I am still, at heart, a redhead. Always have been, always will be. It's part of what makes me who I am--and what sets me apart.
Maybe it wasn't just a genetic mistake after all :)
Since I don't have any photos of me with dark brown hair on hand, here's a photo from my most recent wedding that at first I considered a mistake. But now, looking at it a little closer, maybe it's not a mistake after all.
**I was actually able to find my 4th grade photo of me with the worst hair ever. you will see that I was not exaggerating. enjoy!**
February 4: Thursday Thoughts With Jessica Claire Thu. February 4, 2010 my life
Happy Thursday everyone! A place where I will recap the events of the past week. However considering I only blog a few times a week, I may relegate Thursday thoughts to the last Thursday of the month henceforth to avoid what happened last week where I didn't do any posts in between Thursdays. That was utterly shameful. SHAME!
Okay, enough shame. I'll start with what's happening today.
You might notice that I never post videos here--I do not like the way I look in videos! However, I will be chatting LIVE today with Becker on The B School Study hall--you can go over there, log in with your twitter name and ask us questions! Here's the skinny:
Don't let me show up there and have nobody to chat with --that would be awkward!
This has been a very interesting week on a few fronts. It's been an up and down week, with lots of highs and lows. It's easy to blog "Thursday Thoughts" on weeks when everything is great, but it's a little bit harder on weeks that take more of a downturn. I could write here all about how everything is pretty and sparkly, but everything isn't all the time, so this is what you get this week :)
I think everyone has those times where things just don't seem to be going our way--it can be big things or little, but it really just amounts to feeling like you're running up against a brick wall. Normally, I would chalk this up to other people being jerks, but sometimes you just have to face the truth--sometimes it is your own fault.
Once you realize this, you have two choices:
1. Pretend that it is somebody else's fault and keep on doing the things that aren't working, or
2. Take responsibility even though it feels like a punch in the face and change your actions to avoid future painful situations
I chose "2" this time. I've been slinking around with my tail between my legs ever since, knowing that my own actions have caused a disruption in my life. I know it was the right decision because I felt better almost immediately and also because I started to see a change almost immediately. Also because I didn't feel a desperate urge to run out and consume as many cupcakes as possible in the shortest amount of time possible.
And because this part of my week was such a bummer, here are a couple of photos from a shoot that make me happy:
As the week progressed, it did improve! My brother & sister-in-law, Michael and Cyndie have gotten really into cooking and made us the most delicious meal last week along with some of our closest friends. The only thing better than knowing how to cook that way yourself is knowing other people who love to cook that way and are willing to let us be guinea pigs. They could probably serve guinea pig and it would be delicious (I know ya'll are adventurous, but please don't!).
The Grammy's: Don't care. Except how did Taylor Swift win for album of the year?! I think she's so pretty, and a good singer, and a talented writer especially for her age, but album of the year? Really?
Favorite new website: WWW.WHERESTHEDOUCHE.COM. Absolutely hilarious, and I love that submissions are requested. One girl sent in a pic of her stepdad--I'm just waiting for someone to send in photos of someone that I actually know!
One of the things that Jeff and I love to do with friends is play games! A few times this past week we had dinner with friends and then played games until our eyes hurt. My new favorite game is Rummikub--it requires just enough brainpower to make it interesting but not enough to make me want to throw the tiles off the table. It's a fine line!
My favorite thing that I did this past week was a shoot up in the snow. This shoot will be featured on SMP next week so I can't post it just yet, but I will share one of my favorite photos. Special thanks to Jesi Haack for pulling a fab team together for this shoot, which I will tell you all about in a full post. For now, here is a shot I love:
Thought of the week--what is the best color combination for a spring/summer wedding?
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