Matt & Lisa Family Photos

Today was a great day. This is the second time that I have been fortunate enough to work with this family. The last time that we met they were a family of three. Today I got to meet little Mathew.  Newest member of the family.

SHP Summer Picnic 2010 Slideshow

Here is a slide show that I put together for the people at SHP. It is a sneak peek of their photos before they get their prints.

SHP Summer Picnic 2010

WOW......30 hours later and I am still recovering from this corporate party. I have said it before and I am sure that I will say it again. These guys really know how to throw a party. Every event that this company throws seems to be even better than their last amazing event. If this keeps up they are going to need to give their employees an extra day off to recover from all of the excitement.

50% OFF Promotion

For limited time I am running a 50% off promotion. This promotion is for the first 5 clients to book a wedding with me. Four hour minimum.

I charge an hourly rate of $150  $75 for my wedding day photography. That rate includes:

1-2 hour environmental engagement session Including one 8x10, two 5x7, two 4x6
3 Months Online Viewing for you and your guests.
Online Photo Slide-show of your engagement session and wedding day
$5.00 credit to every guest who is pre-registered on Pictage to shop for prints and products. The average wedding has over 100 guests. That is a value of over $500
2-for-1 Prints for a 30 day period for you and your guests
$200 Gift Credit for you after your wedding is posted on Pictage. You can use this gift card for prints or toward your wedding album or any other product offered by Picatge.

Offer ends 10/31/10 

The bridal gown

The bridal gown has always been a symbol of purity, and was in history an outward sign of a maiden's worthiness. The concept of a white wedding gown dates back to Queen Victoria. Marriage was considered a union between two families and it was essential that the bride be an honor to both. Purity was valued above all else and so great care was taken to ensure that the bride be presented as an unspoiled, protected, and valuable treasure. So, the white dress became the symbol of all these things, and a symbol of the bride-to-be's innocence. The elaborate styling of modern wedding gowns can be attributed to Empress Eugenie, the bride of Napoleon III. She was quite the fashion plate of her generation and wore what was to become worldwide style, replacing the customary wedding finery of the day.

It was thought that the white wedding gown also served to ward off evil spirits. Omens and evil spirits and good luck tokens were always a part of the wedding gown tradition. It was said that the bride should never make her own dress and should wait to have the last stitch sewn until just before she entered the church. It was also a popular traditon that the bride should not try on her complete wedding outfit before the wedding day or, it was felt, she would be "counting her chickens before they hatched."

Traditional bows, or love knots, which resemble a number eight on its side, originated in the late 1500's. The sideways eight, you will note is also the sign for infinity (i.e., eternity). In years past, brides wore dresses covered with love knots and after the wedding, guests would snip them off as souvenirs.

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe is amazing. I can not wait to go back. I would have taken a lot more photos here but I was asked not to photograph the Natives Americans.

Somewhere in Texas

This is really sad. This is what is left of a small town in Texas .

Fort Sumner, New Mexico

I found this old building on my way into Fort Summer, New Mexico. I have no idea how old it is. I just wish that I could have gotten closer to it. Dam fences.

The traditional centerpiece "Wedding Cake"

A wedding cake is the traditional centerpiece at the wedding reception. You might find it interesting that originally, the cake was not eaten by, but thrown at the bride! It developed as one of the many fertility traditions surrounding a wedding. Ancient Romans believed that wheat and barley were symbols of fertility and so, wedding cakes included one or both of these ingredients. Incidentally, wheat was among the earliest grains (predating rice) to be ceremoniously showered on the bride and groom. In its earliest origins, the unmarried young women attending the wedding were expected to scramble for the grains to ensure their own betrothals, much as they do today for the bridal bouquet. Somewhere around 100 B.C.E., Roman bakers began creating small, sweet cakes with it. The tradition of pelting the bride, or breaking it over her head, died hard. The Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius in "On the Nature of Things" ("De Rerum Natura") wrote that the throwing tradition mellowed into a custom of crumbling the sweet, wheat cakes over the bride's head. As a further symbol of fertility, the couple was required to eat some of the crumbs, a custom known as "confarreato," translated into "eating together." After all the cakes were used up, the guests were supplied with handfuls of "confetto," a sweet meats mixture of nuts, dried fruit, and honeyed almonds.