Just wanted to share Amanda's and Richard's beautiful CD case. These custom cases are included when you purchase all of the images from your session on a CD. These aren't only for weddings. They're a beautiful keepsake and make a great display on a bookshelf.
February 01, 2012
January 30, 2012
Open House with Savvy-Stitches
I am so thrilled to be hosting an open house on Saturday, February 25 from 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. with my dear friend, Jenny Gilbert, owner of Savvy-Stitches. This will be a great opportunity for you to see some beautiful dresses for little girls and also see Jenny's new outfits for spring. She will also have onesies, pennant banners, hooded towels, and a few other items. Jenny is so talented, and I'm excited for everyone to see her work. I've included several pictures below of items she's made. Check out her website and be sure to like Savvy-Stitches (Frankfort, KY) on Facebook to stay up to date on new items.
This will also be the perfect time to see some of the new items I'm offering this year like the accordion mini albums, new collage designs, hardcover albums, ceramic tiles, and more. There will be doorprize drawings, and anyone attending will be eligible for discounts on packages for spring and summer sessions. Anyone purchasing an item from Jenny will get an extra discount on a portrait session.
These necktie onesies are so adorable and make for great photos. The matching pennant banner would be a wonderful accessory for a first birthday party.
Long-sleeve t-shirts and onesies can be personalized with initials and other designs. Love these little boy colors.
And how adorable is this for a little girl?!
A little baby girl look will look so super cute in this onesie with a matching pennant banner at her first birthday party!
Do you have a little chef at home? I'm sure she'd love one of these personalized aprons.
Pink and green is one of my favorite color combinations for little girls. Love, love this pennant banner!
Here's the front and back of one of the dresses Jenny has made. I would be in so much trouble if I had a little girl!
She even makes accessories!
How perfect if you have a big girl and a little girl! I love these dresses because they match but aren't exactly alike. Can I say it again? Love, love!!
This outfit with the ruffled pants is just precious!
I hope you will join us for a fun open house. Feel free to contact me at lcollins1974@insightbb.com with any questions. Hope to see you on February 25th!
January 29, 2012
Harper - 3 Months
I seriously couldn't believe it was time for Harper's three month session. She did amazing for her newborn session and did great for this one too. I was thrilled to get some with her big brother this time--and I know her mom was happy too!
We started out with a few family shots. I loved the black and purple!
She was so happy!
Loved how this one turned out!
Oh Harper you are too cute! Cannot wait to see you at six months!
I had to play around with a few Valentine card ideas.
January 23, 2012
Eloise & Hudson
It was a real treat to photograph these two cuties for the first time. Eloise was five months old and Hudson had just turned two. Needless to say, their mom and dad have their hands full. I was so thrilled to spend time with these two. I featured several of their photos in the post about Valentine cards and collages, but here a few more of my favorites.
I don't think she could've been any happier!
You know how much I love hats on babies! I think I'll be in love with this photo for a long time.
Love it in black and white too!
This is another favorite!
Then it was big brother's turn.
His mom didn't think he sat still long enough to get any good shots, so she was really happy with this one! So was I!
January 17, 2012
Collages
I'm excited to have new products to share with clients this year. Another favorite is the collage print. I have a ton of sizes and designs available, but here are a few of my favorites.
This one is perfect when you have several pictures that you love. It's sized 10x30 and can be mounted, so it's ready to hang with or without a frame.
The center square on this one can be any color and you can select any text as well.
This collage is perfect for the babies in the Milestones & Memories program.
I was so excited when I found this collage template. I love that it's square (24x24), but uses circles for the pictures and text. I also love that the colors and text can be customized. It's perfect when you have a ton of pictures you want to showcase in one area. It can also be mounted so it's ready to hang with or without a frame.
Mini Accordion Albums
I absolutely love these mini accordion albums. They come in either a 2x3 or 3x3 size and are perfect to keep in your purse to have on hand to show off the favorite pictures of your little ones. There are several designs available, but here's one of my favorites.
Front side of the book.
Back side of the book.
Inside images.
Outside images.
And just in time for Valentine's Day, I got this template. What a perfect Valentine's Day present for grandparents! The Valentine's book is sized 3x3 only. Accordion books are $50 for a set of 3 (must be same design).
Front cover of the Valentine accordion book.
Inside pictures.
Outside pictures.
Valentine accordion book back cover.
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day will be here before you know it. I have several new designs for Valentine photos, which are perfect for wallet sizes, 3 1/2 x 5s, and 4x6s. What better way to celebrate the day than by sending friends and family cute, personalized photos of your little ones.
Send me an e-mail to lcollins1974@insightbb.com if you're interested in booking a mini session for Valentine's Day. Sessions are $50 and will last 20-30 minutes and include 1 set of Valentine wallets. These sessions are for up to two children ($10 for each additional child--sorry no families).
January 13, 2012
Amanda and Richard--Married!
I was so excited about my last wedding of the year. Amanda and Richard have been nothing but awesome and fun since the first time I met them, so it was wonderful to watch as all of their plans came to life. They were married at The First Christian Church in Richmond. It's a beautiful church, with lots of stained glass and arches in the sanctuary.
First up, a few details. Note the fishing poles on the right. Richard is quite the fisherman, so the ring bearers carried these down the aisle.
Amanda is an events planner for Berea College, so she did a great job planning all the details, including the buckets carried by the flower girls.
I love when bride's use really meaningful things on their wedding day. This ring belonged to Amanda's grandmother.
Geri, my assistant and right hand on a wedding day, got this ring shot while I was photographing the guys.
I'm not sure if it was nerves, but Richard had a little trouble buttoning his vest. :-)
Richard with the guys.
Richard's grandmother was so super sweet. There's no doubt how much she loves her grandson.
When we started doing the pictures of Richard by himself, he said he thought it would be cool for him to sit in one of the church pews. He was exactly right. Loved this shot!
I always love when the bride's mother helps with the dress.
I'm not sure why, but I absolutely love this photo. You can't tell but the room was pretty small where everyone was getting ready, so it was a little hectic. I loved when Amanda was looking in the mirror and love that her mom was in the photo too.
I loved while I was getting these shots...
Geri was getting these next two.
Okay, so I know I say this every time I blog a wedding, but I so love doing close up shots of the bride. Out of all the shots from the entire day, these are almost always my favorite.
One of my favorites.
And did I mention how much I loved Amanda's blue sash on her dress?! I love when the bride includes color on her wedding dress.
This was another favorite shot of the day. I love how happy she looks in this one.
And I heart this one in black and white too.
This was one of my favorite shots from the day that Geri got as Amanda and her dad came upstairs.
Geri got this one just as they were about to walk down the aisle.
Love Richard's expression when he sees Amanda walking down the aisle.
This was another favorite of mine taken just after Amanda's dad gave her away.
Okay, I have a lot of favorites from this wedding. Here's another one. I can't remember what was said, but it was obviously funny.
You may kiss the bride!
Amanda and Richard left the church and then returned to dismiss their family and friends row by row.
Geri got this close up while I was getting the shot above.
Richard wanted to be king for a day, and I do believe he was!
There were lots of details at the reception too, like these suckers on the kids table.
Amanda and Richard gave everyone handmade Christmas ornaments.
I always love the father/daughter dance. Amanda and her dad danced to "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman, and they were quite the dancers.
Geri took this one as Amanda's dad let her go and she made her way to Richard on the dance floor.
Richard dancing with his mom.
Amanda's dad gave a beautiful toast, and also mentioned having grandchildren. Check out the couple's reaction below. So funny!
The dance floor stayed full, and I just loved this picture of Amanda's parents dancing. Her mom didn't stop smiling all day.
Richard's parents enjoyed the dance floor too.
This was one of Geri's last shots of the night. Even though the dance floor was crowded, it was like they were the only two in the room.
View more photos in the slideshow!
Church: First Christian Church (Richmond, Kentucky)
Reception Venue: The Historic Boone Tavern Hotel & Restaurant (Berea, Kentucky)
Hair & Make-Up: Julie Eades and Vanessa Burnell at Salon 116 (Richmond, Kentucky)
Florist: Whitney from The Added Touch (Richmond, Kentucky)
DJ: 242 Productions - Ben Wilcox (Berea, Kentucky)
Wedding Dress: David's Bridal
Bridesmaid Dresses: JC Penney (blue sashes were made and added later)
Bridal Processional: The mothers and bridal party walked in to Canon in D. Amanda and her dad walked in to Butterfly Waltz (composed by Brian Crain). Amanda said her dad used to call her his "little butterfly."
Unity Candle: A Page is Turned by Bebo Norman
Recessional: Bittersweet Symphony Instrumental by Aranbee Pop Symphony Orchestra
Introductions: The bridal party was introduced to Battle Without Honor or Humanity from the Kill Bill Soundtrack. Amanda and Richard were introduced to 20th Century Fox Fanfare (Richard wore his crown to show he was king for the day).
Cake Cutting: Sweet Pea by Amos Lee
First Dance: Smile by Uncle Kracker
Father/Daughter Dance: Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman
Mother/Son Dance: First Lady in My Life by Paul Todd
What was the most memorable moment of your day?
Amanda: I don’t think I can pick just one. The whole day was a dream come true for me. I put so much time and effort into planning our day and making it special and personal for us, so when I think back on the day, the whole thing was perfect and memorable. I tried to take a few moments out and just look at everything and everyone and take it all in. One of those times was during the reception, when the DJ played the first song to get everybody to dance, Party Rock by LMFAO. I looked at everybody on the dance floor and it was so crowded, so many people were up dancing with us and laughing and smiling and having fun. That was all I had hoped for….I wanted people to leave our ceremony and reception and at least say they had fun. Our dance floor was never empty and it seemed people were having a great time.
There were also moments with Richard - when I first saw him. I was walking down the aisle and seeing all these faces watching my dad and I, and then I just focused on my love, my best friend! He looked so handsome and his smile was perfect and his eyes were shining and he looked so happy.
Mine and Richards first dance was a favorite moment, along with my dance with my dad. My sister dedicated the song Wind Beneath my Wings to me at one point (which is a song she and I have always called our song) and the personal moment she and I shared when we were dancing was a moment I’ll never forget. And seeing my mom’s beautiful, smiling face throughout the night still flashes in my memory about the day.
The limo ride from the church to the reception was perfect and I’m so glad we had that time with our bridal party and just for me and Richard to have some down time – sitting next to each other and able to hold hands and share a few special thoughts and moments. But all in all, I married my best friend, the love of my life. The end of the night when we finally had quiet and private time and we just laughed and talked about the night and all the beautiful people in our lives and how absolutely perfect and epic our day was – that moment was also one I’ll never forget. I can’t pick one moment. The whole day was more than I could have ever dreamed it would be and I couldn’t be happier.
Richard: Since Amanda named nearly everything that happened in the wedding I’m having trouble trying to think of something that she didn’t mention. I would have to say the moment that sticks out in my head the most is the moment that the music started for Amanda to walk in to, and and I knew she was getting ready to enter. My nervousness level shot through the roof, and I began to get anxious. Then the moment that the doors slowly opened it was as if time stood still. It was just me and Amanda in a room by ourselves standing there locked into each other’s’ gaze. Seeing how beautiful she looked, I lost my thought process. I didn’t even know where I was or what I was doing. It was as if I was observing an angel ascending from the heavens. From then on I don’t think I stopped looking at her till the ceremony was over.
Do you have any advice for future brides and grooms?
Amanda: Just to take time throughout the day to step back and look at all there is in front of you. Take time to take it all in and see how all the work and planning came together to make your day special for you and your partner. During the ceremony, I looked out into the church, and it was filled with everyone we know and love. They were there for us! And that was one of the coolest things – for all those people to be in one place and because they care for us! And above all to remember the reason for the day is the love between you and your spouse and to keep that in the forefront of everything.
Richard: Never stop trying. What I mean by that is that you should still try just as hard to impress, surprise, love, and romanticize each other just like when you were courting each other. Never let the love and passion even have a chance to die.
Were there any funny moments from your wedding day?
Amanda: Probably just the end of the night when I looked around the room and saw all the water beads that I had used in the centerpieces literally everywhere in the main dining room of Boone Tavern. People were throwing them all night and playing in them. They were literally everywhere and some anonymous suspects also decided to take them out to the parking lot and put them on people’s cars and windshields. At one point, one of my bridesmaids even decided it would be funny to dump a glass full of them down the front of my dress! Actually, I didn't find this too funny.
Richard: Amanda and I found a candy garter similar to the necklaces and bracelets you had when you were a kid. We thought it might be funny to use it, and when I removed it from her leg and bit into it, my front tooth got chipped. So the rest of the night I was missing half of my front tooth while talking to people. No one asked what happened, even though they probably wanted to.
If you could change anything, would you?
Amanda: No!! Not at all. Everything was perfect in my opinion. I wish it had lasted longer but that would be the only thing I would want to be different.
Richard: I wouldn’t change a thing, but maybe not bite into the candy garter so hard.
Where did you go on your honeymoon?
Amanda: We went to the Florida Keys and stayed at the Hilton Resort and Spa in Key Largo. Richard was able to spend quite a bit of time fishing while I relaxed by the pool or on the balcony of the room. We ate lots of great seafood, went shopping and spent a day exploring from Key Largo on down to Key West.
January 12, 2012
Sneak Peek
Here's a little sneak peek from one of my sessions last Saturday. These little ones were just precious. Miss E. is five months and her big brother H just turned two in November.
January 09, 2012
Picture of the Day
I had a couple sessions over the weekend and have more this week, so I will be posting pictures of some totally adorable babies soon. In the meantime here's the Picture of the Day taken this afternoon in downtown Lexington.
