Cute!

Posted on February 25, 2008

This weekend I spent time with one of the cutest little girls I have met! Put some frosting on her and you could just about eat her! She is so full of personality and has ringlets of hair that fall in her face.

Take a look for yourself!

How do you say no to this face?!

It is also time to be thinking about Easter portraits. (I know!) My Easter Promo is below. It is a super deal and I look forward to seeing you on the square the Saturday before Easter, March 22nd.

Lunar Eclipse

Posted on February 21, 2008

Last night we had a lunar eclipse from about 8:30 until 11. Unfortunately it was cloudy during the really dark part of the eclipse, but at about 10:30 we were able to see the moon. Here is a shot of it and although the moon looks pretty normal here, I thought the cloud strokes gave it a dramatic effect.

Allie + Brian

Posted on February 20, 2008

My good friend Allie is getting married! I am honored to be able to be a part of their wedding as the photographer (even if it will be in Duke Gardens!) This past Sunday we shot their engagement photos around downtown Hickory and, despite the cold weather, had a great time!

Here are a few pics from the day.

This one just makes me laugh!

Too Sweet!

A little photoshop fun!

Congratulations you two! I am looking forward to April!

Lisa + Marcus

Posted on February 7, 2008

As most of you know I shot a wedding while I was in Sweden. I love to learn new things about other cultures and I am sure most of you do to. I know that you brides would like to get inspiration from other wedding traditions as you plan your wedding. So sit down, get a cup of coffee because this blog post is going to be long!

There are a lot of similarities and differences and of course not every wedding in Sweden is exactly alike, but I will do my most to share some traditions that stand out to me.

One big difference is there is no “giving away” of the bride. The day is centered more around the couple and less around just the bride. I know this bugged my husband a lot when we got married and everyone kept talking about “my day” when, in fact, it was our day.

It is also very common to meet before the wedding. Below is a special moment between Lisa and Marcus. I don’t think they can smile any bigger….their face just exudes happiness and they see each other for the first time on their wedding day.

Another tradition I really love and I am sure many other wedding photographers would really love is the fact that we have at least an hour before the wedding to take portraits of just the two of them. I think we had about an hour and a half to walk (or drive) around town to some beautiful locations. We had a chance to get a lot of really beautiful images of the two of them.

The bouquets are not entirely different from what we have here in the U.S.

You may also notice by now that you don’t see bridesmaids or groomsmen. It is not that common to have a big wedding party. It is most just the bride and groom, but occasionally you may see one bridesmaid and/or groomsman.

Wedding ceremonies are not entirely different from most here in the U.S. It is common to get married in the state churches in Sweden, which are mostly old and beautiful. This ceremony was special because Lisa is a music teacher and all of her friends are extremely talented musicians. Seriously I felt like I was in a concert during most of the wedding.

Married!

I caught a first kiss as a married couple as they walked out of the church.

They had a receiving line after the ceremony and I caught this moment between father and daughter.

After the wedding we were able to get a few shots in Swedish nature. This scene is very typical for Sweden. They have many, many lakes and trees. It is an absolute dream for people that love the wilderness, hiking, camping, and skiing.

Swedish receptions are a lot different from American receptions. Typically they have a sit-down meal. The couple also chooses hosts for the event. There are usually around 2-3 people chosen to host and they are in charge of entertainment, making programs for the reception, timing of the different speeches, etc. During the dinner guests have the opportunity to give speeches, sing a song, do a funny skit, or whatever they can think of. There was some really great entertainment during the dinner of this reception.

But first they were escorted in as the King and Queen of Sweden, Carl Gustav and Sylvia.

A few details.

These guys were really great.

This was really fun, but I have never seen this done in Sweden, only in Denmark. But if the groom leaves the room during the reception, all of the men get up and steal a kiss from his bride….it also happens if the bride leaves the room. Too fun!

And why have just one cake when you can have an entire table of cake?!

I have never seen a group of people as crazy about candy and sweets as I have in Sweden! Most of you know we got married in the U.S. and Sweden and we had to have twice as much cake for half as many people when we got married in Sweden!

They do have the traditional cutting of the cake as we have in the U.S.

This reception was different from any I have been to as they actually danced!

Dancing is not such a common thing for Swedish Wedding Receptions.

So that gives you a little bit of a peak into Swedish tradition. Thanks for making it this far down on my blog post! If you would like to see more pictures from the wedding, you can watch the slideshow.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SLIDESHOW

Until next time!

Kajsa

Posted on February 1, 2008

Sorry for the absence on the blog! I have been so busy trying to catch up from being gone for so long. We have also been busy with our new addition to the family. On Saturday my mom and I stopped by the Humane Society of Catawba County and I found the most perfect little girl! I had actually went looking for a male ORANGE cat (of course!) but came out with a little gray girl cat. She is so sweet and starting to get used to her new home. She loves to cuddle up beside of you on the couch and get rubbed on the head. Her name is Kajsa [ky-sa], which is a common Swedish name for girls.

For any of you interested in a pet, I would strongly suggest you stop by any Humane Society. All animals are spayed or neutered and given their shots and vaccinations.

Here are a few pics of little Kajsa.