It’s a new year.  It’s a good time to think about our goals and where we are headed, both personally and professionally.  It’s also a good time to be thankful for what we have.

Every year about this time I write down new business goals for myself.  But before I plan for the future, I first take a look back at the year I just wrapped up.  Taking a look back helps me figure out what goals I did achieve, what goals I surpassed, and what goals I have yet to accomplish.  And every time I take a look back, I am extremely grateful for all my amazing clients.  Because without them, I would not be able to achieve any goals at all.

I’d love to highlight ever family, child, and couple I’ve spent time with this past year.  I love them all!!  But that would make this post unbearably long, so I thought I’d recap the amazing couples who trusted me to capture their weddings in 2011.  Thank you all who invited me into your lives to photograph your memories!!  I am grateful.

2011 weddings…

Heather and Bryan‘s at Valley Garden Center in Phoenix

Irene and Jesse’s wedding at Bella Giardino in Phoneix

Cheryl and Doug’s wedding at home in Ahwatukee

Sara and John’s wedding at Tre Bella in Mesa

Robyn and Josh’s wedding at Reflections at the Buttes in Tucson

Theresa and Mark’s wedding at Sagauro Lake Ranch in Mesa

Sara and Jake’s wedding at The Rim Golf Club in Payson

Alyssa and Eric’s wedding at Reflections at the Buttes in Tucson

Erica and Peter’s wedding at The Stillwell House in Tucson

Norma and Adam’s wedding at Aldea in Phoenix

Robyn and Josh were so much fun to work with, that when their wedding was over I think I went into a mini depression.   But I had a chance to relive all the happy memories when I found out their wedding was featured on DIY Bride today!!  Yay!

I loved Erica and Peter’s wedding!  So I’m naturally psyched that Borrowed and Blue decided to feature it today on their website.  Yay!!

I photographed Tanya and Patrick’s engagement session the other week at Boyce Thompson Arboretum.  The location was Tanya’s suggestion, and I love this place, so I felt like we were on the same page right from the start.  Then she asks me, “is it OK if I bring our dog to the engagement session?”  Well… of course it is!!  I LOVE photographing dogs, and it’s so much fun incorporating pets during engagement shoots.  At this point, I feel like Tanya and I are sharing vibes.  Then during the session she changed into the prettiest sun dress (which is exactly my style and fav color) and at this point I’m convinced her and I could hang out over coffee and chat all day long like two friends who haven’t seen each other in ages.  I love her!  And Patrick?  Well, he’s super sweet, polite and truly compliments Tanya.  A perfect pair!

Below are some of my favorite photos from their session, but you can view lots more on their slideshow here.

Enjoy!!

Over the last few weeks I’ve been blogging about a get together I had with Sarah Shaw, Kathryn Crouse, and Julia Romano.  At our fun photo gathering, Sarah and Kathy brought some amazing models for us to practice on.  Now that I’m done blogging Part 1 and Part 2, I thought I’d finish up this series with Part 3.

I was lucky enough to work with Brianna and Logan last, just as the most perfect end of day light glowed in the sky.  (Brianna and Logan actually just got married and Sarah just photographed their wedding).  They were willing to come hang out with us and be our amazing models for a mock engagement shoot.  Love them!!  They are beautiful and sweet people, and I’m totally digging how their photos came out.

Hopefully, there will be more get togethers in the future.  This one was definitely fun for me!

I couldn’t be happier that my last wedding of the season was with Erica and Peter.  They are the sweetest couple… so friendly, laid back, and gracious!!  I’m so happy for these two.  Below are some of their wedding photos, but you can view tons more on their slideshow here.

Sarah (from Fazzi Photographry) and Julia worked with me at this wedding (I love my team).  The day started capturing a few “getting ready” photos (Sarah took the pics of the guys).

Erica and Peter’s beautiful ceremony was at the Lutheran Church of the Foothills in Tucson, Arizona.   A favorite moment of mine was when the guests were arriving.  Erica’s sister played the viola and her friend played the piano while guests took their seats.  The music was so personal and gorgeous to listen to.

Sarah grabbed the photo of Erica and Peter walking down the aisle.  I love that shot!

After the ceremony, we headed over to the Stillwell House in Tuscon, Arizona.  The Stillwell House reminded me of New Orleans.  It is such an awesome historic location for a wedding reception, and even more awesome for taking photographs.  And the girls actually made their own bouquets.  I thought they turned out FABULOUS!!

Sarah took this one of the guys… super cool!

Aren’t Erica and Peter stunning?  I thought they both looked amazing!!

Below are three photos Sarah took of Erica and Peter.  I love how they turned out.

The center pieces were very personal to Erica.  Her mother grew all the cactuses and her father cut all the wood bits.  I love that her parents helped create her decor.  I also loved that she stepped outside of tradition, and opted for a desert table instead of wedding cake.  It looked like there was some yummy cheesecake there!!  (The following detail shots are a mix of both mine and Sarah’s photos).

Erica and Peter… thank you for asking me to document your wedding day!!  I had a wonderful time.  Congratulations!!

The other weekend I had the pleasure of photographing Alyssa and Eric’s wedding in Tucson, Arizona.  Alyssa has been diligently planning her wedding for a while now.  I know she poured her heart into the event, and she worked hard to make sure everything was organized and beautiful.  I was so excited to see all of her energy manifest into a gorgeous event.  Alyssa and Eric are such sweet people, so I was thrilled their day turned out so perfect.

Below are some photographs of their wedding.  But you can view lots more on their slideshow here.

Sarah, from Fazzi Photography, was second shooting with me this day.  We both arrived at the Hilton El Conquistador in Tucson, Arizona where Alyssa and the rest of the girls were getting ready.  I love photographing this part of the day.  Everything is so girly and the energy is always so exciting.  I thought Alyssa glowed with gorgeousness!

Sarah grabbed these two photos of Alyssa, and I’m pretty sure they are my favs of the morning.  Isn’t Alyssa stunning?  I also asked Sarah to snap some photos of the shoes and jewelry… I loved what she came up with!

The ceremony was at St. Odilia Catholic Church.  It was a beautiful event, full of tradition, God, and love.

I love this moment when Alyssa’s father gives her hand to Eric.  It choked me up and I had to fight back the tears.

Sarah’s photo is on the left with her new wide angle lens… love it!

After the ceremony, we met up at the Reflections at the Buttes for photographs.

Alyssa and Eric have the best group of family and friends… so much fun with this crowd!

Sarah snagged this pic of the guys, and it totally cracks me up.  Too funny!!

I love Reflections at the Buttes.  The grounds are gorgeous, the staff are all amazing, and their receptions are always well executed.  I was happy to hear Alyssa was having her reception here.  My two favorite moments of the evening was the cake smashing (I don’t think Alyssa knew about this… which made it even funnier/sweeter), and the mariachi band, Luz de Luna.   These musicians are dah-bomb!!!  I LOVED them!!

Alyssa and Eric, congratulations!! I wish you both the best and loads of love!!

I’ve been looking forward to this wedding for a long time.  Robyn and Josh are funny, laid back, love to have fun, and so easy to be around.  And Robyn has this amazing creative vision, so I knew their wedding was going to be pure awesomeness.

Robyn and Josh got married last weekend at Reflections at the Buttes in Tucson, Arizona.  It’s a beautiful venue and the perfect backdrop for Robyn and Josh’s wedding.  Robyn chose to go with a “springtime wine” theme.  She had bright happy colors and flowers throughout, and touches of wine motifs in all the right spots.  It was such a cool combo and perfect vibe for this couple.  And I hope the photos below communicate the good energy of the day.   If you’d like to see more of their wedding photos, you can view their slideshow here.

The day started at Circa 79 Salon, where the girls got dolled up for the big day.  Then we moved to Reflections to finish the final “getting ready” touches.

Below are a few of the photographs Sarah, from Fazzi Photography, took of the guys.  The guys are hilarious… I was cracking up going through Sarah’s images.  Thanks Sarah for capturing these guys so authentically!

The wedding ceremony was beautiful.  I thought every moment was perfect.

This next photo is one of my favorites!

I think these next set of photos shows off how fun this couple is.  I seriously had a blast photographing them, their friends, and family.  They were a rockin’ crowd!

Josh and Robyn are such a gorgeous couple… I love these set of photos.

The photo on the right was captured by Sarah.

Below are just a few of the details of the wedding…  such a fun theme, right?  I loved it!

Robyn and Josh have a close group of friends…  they seem more like family than friends.  I loved watching them celebrate this wedding with their friends and family by their side.  Having all that love in one room is one of my favorite things about photographing weddings.

All the guests at this party knew how to have fun, love, laugh, and boogy down.  Even the kids knew how to have a blast.   The reception was a seriously fun party, and the energy was flowing all night long.

Congrats Robyn and Josh!!!  You guys are awesome!!

In a recent post, I mentioned that I’m going to focus my business this year on children (6 months – teenagers) and weddings only.  I mentioned that one of the reasons I love photography is because I like to capture honest moments.  Well, children are always truthful…  so it makes sense that I enjoy photographing them.  But weddings fall into this same category.  Wedding days are full of so many raw emotions and honest moments.  It’s that constant honest thread throughout the day that keeps me passionate and excited to photograph weddings.

Below are some of my favorite photos from 2010.  They are in no particular order…  all these couples are fabulous and I loved working with them all!

Dixye and Jason’s Phoenix wedding:

Stephanie and Matt’s Tucson wedding:

Brooke and Kirk’s Tucson wedding:

Janelle and John’s Sedona wedding:

Karina and Alex’s Gilbert wedding:

Nicole and Sonny’s Phoenix wedding:

Genie and Jarod’s Mesa wedding:

Heather and Shane’s Phoenix wedding:

Stacey and John’s Mesa wedding:

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I love doing engagement sessions.  It’s a time where the couple and I get to know each other better before the wedding.  It’s a time to let loose and have fun.  It’s a time to be creative.   Yup.  I love those engagement sessions!

In no particular order, below are just a few of my favs from 2010:

Sara and Jake’s engagement session at Boyce Thompson Arboretum.

Robyn and Josh’s engagement session in Maricopa.

John and Janelle’s engagement session in Sedona.

Stephanie and Matt’s engagement session at University of Arizona in Tucson.

Karina and Alex’s engagement session in Old Town Gilbert.

Sara and John’s engagement session in Mesa.

Heather and Shane’s engagement session in Phoenix.

Nicole and Sonny’s engagement session in Old Town Glendale.

When I did Stephanie and Matthew’s engagement session, I gushed about how amazing these two people were.  I probably got a bit carried away because I am only the photographer… but they really are that amazing.

So I was super excited for their wedding day to arrive.  They got married in Tucson, and I knew their wedding was going to be filled with love and beauty.  But I wasn’t expecting to get choked up as many times as I did throughout the day.  As the day unfolded, I encountered one moment after another of so many beautiful family exchanges.  Hugs, tears, laughter…   faces that were proud, faces that were emotional, faces that were filled with love.  I realized why Stephanie and Matthew were so remarkable.  Because of their family.  They have an amazing foundation to build from.

By the end of the night, I was rethinking my entire life.  The big stuff…  love, marriage, kids, career.   I was moved that deeply by this wedding.

I know Matthew and Stephanie can do anything they put their minds to.  They’ve already proved that with the amazing acomplishments they’ve achieved.  But now knowing their family a little better, I know they will reach places that only few of us dream about.

If you’d like to see more of their wedding photos, you can visit their slideshow here.

I also did a second slideshow for their Funny Booth, which you can view here.

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Before I get to the photos, I want to give my usual shout outs to the amazing people I worked with…

My fab second shooter… Sarah Shaw….  Thanks girl!

Hair and makeup was by Khara Williams.  Every girl turned out gorgeous!

The beautiful flowers were by In Full Bloom Weddings.

Angel and Litza from E-Motions Video did the videography.  They were fantastic to work with!!

The reception and “getting ready” moments were at Reflections at the Buttes in Tucson.  I have a few more weddings here in 2011, and I’m so excited because this place is beautiful.

The ceremony took place at St. Philip’s.  This church is stunning!!

OK…  on to the pics!

Stephanie has impeccable taste.  I loved every detail…  from her dress to her shoes.

Seriously…  are we all drooling now?  Drop. Dead. GORGEOUS!!

The ever so handsome Matt…  he looked fabulous.

The next shot is one Sarah took.  I love it!

The reception was awesome.  Stephanie’s mother, Kathy, did so much work for this party (and her awesome girlfriends helped too).  She thought of every detail… right down to supplying flip flops for every girl in attendance so they could dance comfortably.  Now that is some serious love!!  Kathy… you rock!

The Funny Booth was a big hit, and all the guests were so fantastic for getting involved and having fun with it.  Thanks all!!  You can view more Funny Booth photos here.

Stephanie and Matt… you are both so special and beautiful.  Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your wedding.  Congratulations!!!

Robyn and Josh remind me of something familiar.  They remind me of a good movie, snuggling up on a rainy day, laughing at nothing, and eating chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven… all rolled into one.   They remind me of home.  That feeling of all knowing and being completely comfortable no matter where you are.  Yeah… that’s what Robyn and Josh remind me of.   Home.

Their session was so much fun for me.  I also have to give major kudos to Robyn and Josh for all the work they did.  Robyn did an amazing job scouting the locations and picking out such awesome outfits.  And Josh was full of so many fun ideas at the session, I almost felt like all my work was done for me.  These two made it easy for me!   I really can’t wait for their wedding in May of 2011.   It’s going to be amazing!

If you’d like to see more photos in addition to the ones I posted below, you can view their slideshow here:

I’ve never been to the University of Arizona before.  Obviously, living in Phoenix I’m well aware that U of A and ASU are huge football rivals.  But I’m clearly past college age and not much of a football fan, so I never paid too much attention to the competition between the two schools.  But after visiting U of A the other week, I have to say that U of A kills ASU…  hands down the Tucson college rocks!  I’m simply basing this on the fact that I could photograph anything and anybody at U of A all day long because it is so beautiful there.  I still don’t know anything about football.

Anyway, the reason I visited the campus is because Stephanie and Matthew chose to do their engagement photos there.  Matthew graduated from U of A last year, and Stephanie is finishing her last year of nursing school there.  But the campus means more to them than just fun college memories.  It’s where they first met.  And it’s where Matthew proposed to Stephanie.

Matthew is a Lieutenant in the Army.  Stephanie also serves in the Army, and when she finishes nursing school she will continue serving as an Army nurse.  Stephanie and Matthew are impressive individuals, and as a team they are phenominal.  They already have had so many amazing experiences and are so accomplished at such a young age (if you’re in your 20′s, you’re young to me).  They are so sweet, and kind, and gracious, and polite.  I felt oddly proud of them… which took me a little off guard because that’s a little weird in some ways.  But I honestly wanted to call their parents after our photo session and say, “you must be so proud!”

They are clearly connected and in love… they fit together perfectly.  And I hope I captured some of that connection in their photo session.  Below are some of my favorites, but you can see much more in their slideshow here.   I cannot wait for their wedding in December!

This was one of my favorite weddings I’ve had the pleasure to photograph.  Brooke and Kirk are so incredibly full of life.  They are fun, young, loving, happy, and just plain cool.  Of course their family and friends are just as awesome, which helped make this one heck of a very special wedding day.

There are so many photographs, and just not enough space to display them all here.  If you’d like to see lots more pictures of the wedding day, feel free to view the slideshow here.

The Details:

Makeup Artist: Aundrea Trapp (If you are having a wedding in Tucson, check her out here.  Her work is beautiful!).

Second Photographer: Sarah Shaw (A very special thank you goes out to Sarah!  She works all my weddings with me.  She’s amazing and I couldn’t do it without her.  All her photographs below are marked with her name, and you can see more of her photography work here).

Ceremony Location: Tucson’s Foothills Presbyterian Church

Reception Location: Embassy Suites Tucson – Paloma Village

Brooke’s style is just stunning.  I loved her dress.  I loved her blue shoes.  And when she pulled out her bird cage veil…  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!  The weather wasn’t the only thing hot that day!  Brooke looked gorgeous!!

A few photos Sarah grabbed of Kirk while he was getting ready…

Brooke and Kirk decided to do a “First Look”.   I love it when a bride and groom decide to see each other before the ceremony.  It allows for better photographs.  And it also allows for the bride and groom to have a few personal moments with each other before the day takes off and gets chaotic.  Below are some of my favorite photographs captured during this time.

The ceremony was a perfect blend of laughter, tears, love, and happiness.  Check out the flower girls.  How cool are they dressed up as fairies?   So cute!!

There’s lots more reception moments in the slideshow.   But I wanted to post some of the fun craziness that was going on that evening.  There was not one bad dancer in the house.  Everyone got their groove on in a serious way!  These folks rocked the house!!

Brooke and Kirk, thank you so much for asking me to be your photographer.  It was an honor and tons of fun!!!  Congratulations!!!