First I have to tell you about a mistake a made.  A pretty big one in fact.

I woke up on Sunday morning with a massive headache and a severe sore throat.  I woke up and took the strongest meds I could find, some Tylenol that I had to get a few months ago from the Pharmacist personally, they wouldn’t sell it over the counter.  So I pop these pills and set to the task of making sure I’m all packed up and evrything is in order for the trip.  As the hours progress, I am getting much worse.  Not only are my symptons still there, but now I am getting very sluggish and having trouble thinking straight.  Not a good thing when you’re trying to pack.  As we had finished packaing the car, I ran back inside and grabbed the nighttime Tylenol as well.  But the only box I could find was daytime…  Hmm…..  Unless… OMG.

I had taken the nighttime Tylenol by mistake!!!!  I spent the next 12 hours falling asleep everywhere, on the way to the airport, on the plane, in the taxi to the hotel, at the hotel, AND at dinner.  And then, at 10:00 pm, I woke up!

We went to two awesome parties, the first one was broken up by hotel security when we arrived, [nothing bad - too many people is against the fire code] so then we headed to the GoBee party and had the perfect evening with a few hundred of our closest friends!  Sara & Lauren, seriously, it was an incredible party, the best yet!  My husband had his birthday, and it was great having everyone at the Swanky Soiree sing to him as well as taking us out until the wee hours of the morning!

I spoke today on the convention floor in the SmugMug booth about my Wedding Albums, and since it’s Album Monday we’ve got another gorgeous book for you to feast your eyes on!  Sarah went with a full copper Cu29 album with an Armour cover.  We tinted the cover image to perfectly match the coppery sheen of the spine and back cover, and it all came together perfectly!  Here are my shots of the Album:

Sorry for so many pictures, but i really wanted to capture the sheen of the copper leather as well as how the cover looks different depending on the angle of the light!

Here are a few of my favorite spreads from this gorgeous Album!

Thanks so much Sarah & Andrew!  I hope you and your family enjoy this for many years to come!

I am still going to make a plea for all Brides & Grooms to do a First Glance – where you meet before the ceremony!  This situation has happened many many times in my career.  The kitchen has an order to feed 200 people.  In order to do that, they have to start cooking at a certain time in order for the food to be piping hot and perfectly ready to serve for dinner.  Which means, if the ceremony is late at all, that time is automatically deducted from the photographers time.  Always.  The ceremony starts 15 minutes late?  Doesn’t matter, the photographer still has to be completed by 6:00.  The ceremony is an hour late?  Same thing, photography must be finished by 6:00 or dinner served to guests will be cold, and no one wants that!

This wedding of course was an extreme situation, even when things are horribly late I’ve always been given at least 5 minutes to get a few shots, but this time no, not even a single shot!  So if you are a Bride and are thinking about doing your pictures beforehand, I would absolutely recommend it!  If you and your Groom are completely adverse to seeing each other, then I would strongly suggest that the Bride get portraits with her Bridesmaids and the Groom with his Groomsmen, along with each side of the family, so that after the ceremony all we need are a few family shots with both the bride and groom, a few wedding party portraits, and then of course, time with the Bride and Groom!  Even with just 5 minutes of time there is so much we can do…

As the party rages on down below, Nikki is back in the Bride’s Room changing into her Pakistani clothing with her bridesmaids!

When the women returned, they performed several numbers for the guests.

And after a while, Sohil and the other family members joined in!

This little boy could care less about the beautiful women and the brightly colored clothes, he just wanted cake…

These little boxes are filled with special candies brought all the way from China!  And although I am by no means fluent in Chinese, I’ve done enough weddings that I am 99% certain the stylized character on the front of the box means “Double Happiness”.  Of course I opened a few boxes and found the prettiest wrapped candy that I could for props!

Double Happiness, Double Happiness, Double Happiness everywhere!!!!  Oh crap, I just realized that in the below picture, Double Happiness is upside down!!!  How embarrassing for me…  Well, i did warn you that I’m not fluent in Manderin.  Hopefully for the album we can just flip it around!  Sorry Nikki!!!

As they left, guests showered them with rose petals, it was a perfect exit!

Thank you Nikki & Sohil, I wish you all the happiness in the world!

The Wedding Ceremony would be held outside, in the snow.

For a photographer, that is a very important thing to know!  I arrived and was speaking with the coordinator about all of the details, and she kept mentioning how cold it would be, and I couldn’t figure out why it would be cold, I know this venue has heat!  Once she told me about their plans, I made a quick phone call, and had someone there in about 15 minutes with boots, a hat, and my very special photographer’s gloves!

OMG light!!!!!  I was so happy when they lit their unity candle!  Even though for me I am standing a bit too close to the bride and groom for comfort during a wedding ceremony, it was so dark that I figured none of the guests would even notice me up there.  All of this light shining on their faces is from one candle being lit.  Hey, and did I mention that it was really dark outside? 

So funny, so personable, and after dating for 7 years, so in love!

Even with a winter wedding and winter engagements, they were determined to not have wintery-looking engagement pictures.  So they wore warm-weather clothes and we headed to the downtown area, taking quick breaks whenever Nancy’s nose got a bit red!

They also brought along several different outfits, always a great thing for engagement sessions.

Thanks Nancy & Will!!!

Based in New Zealand, their papers and boards come from environmentally sustainable European mills, made specially for Queensberry to ensure their suitability for long-term photographic presentation.

I just received the 2010 Swatch Book, which shows all the current colours for covers and mattes, and this may sound silly, but the Swatch Book itself is so beautiful that I had to photograph it for the Weekly Article.  I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun with a Swatch Book!  I’ve had it only a few weeks, but I’ve already had 4 orders placed for a Queensberry!

Cover in Carbon Buckram

Most popular Mat Colours: Black and White

Classic Genuine Leathers: Navy, Aubergine, Burgandy, Cherry, and Tangerine

More Classic Genuine Leather: Black, White, Sand, Cappuccino, and Chocolate

Contemporary Genuine Leather: Iron, Earth, Sandstone, and Graphite

Close-up of Contemporary Leathers: Blueberry and Ivory

Micro Leathers

Silks: Claret, Raspberry, Rose-gold, and Buttercup

Silks: Aquamarine, Twilight, Stone, and Black Pearl

Buckrams: Pearl, Gold, Copper, Fushsia, Amethyst, and Rose.

Buckram: Carbon, Gunmetal, Silver, Indigo, Sky, and Mint.

Bengalines: Black, Antique White, Silver, and Sage.

Any company that takes this much love and care on their Swatches clearly cares about what they are producing.  I had the impression that I was being loaned a precious little child, and not just a collection of the 2010 cover options!  I’ve been a fan of Queensberry for many years, and i am delighted to now have the opportunity to offer their Matted Albums to my Brides – the finest matted albums in the world.

But first, check out this rocking bridal session with Nikki & Sohil – gorgeous.  Remember their hot engagement session?  They brought the fire back for the bridals!  BAM!

We started the session at the McCune Mansion, a 100 year old mansion built for one of Utah’s Railroad barons.  It has been lovingly cared for in the past century and the entire home is a work of art.  Take me out for a drink sometime and I’ll tell you all of it’s amazing history!

From the McCune Mansion we then caught the sunset at La Caille, this being the last week of October I was surprised to see that we still had so many leaves on the trees!

Coming soon, their wedding in the snow!!!  BRRRRR!!!!

Kathy & Chris’s Album was a cute little monster of a Book, 300 sides with over 400 images!

The cover feels like suede, the color called Mushroom. A fun bit of customization, instead of the regular printed picture on the front, we did custom photographic prints for the covers, and I am so happy that our request for the photographic prints was approved! It turned out so beautifully, everything I could have imagined and more.

And here are a few of my favorite spreads from this 300 side Book!

Mmmmmmmmm….. Yummy! Congratulations Katy & Chris, I’m so happy you have your Album! Don’t forget, we have a date at Javier’s next time I’m in Newport!

Love, Pepper

Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to view this collection right off of the runway.

Gowns begin at $800 and you won’t believe the look!

PLUS you get an additional 10% off of every gown purchase!

Take advantage of great shopping incentives and gift give-aways!

Call us at (435) 655-3180 to schedule your fitting.

Call us at 801.531.1215 to schedule your appointment.  Be sure to request the V.I.P. suite when you call!

Our SUPER trunk show is but a week away; February 26th and 27th.

So, to the brides we have not yet met:

You will not want to skip this event. We don’t even know you yet, but we know you’re out there, searching for something special, something to less run-of-the-mill, something sensational. If we’re lucky enough to meet you at the SUPER trunk show next weekend, we just know you’ll find the one.

There is so much pollution in Southern California that is create a beautiful hazy light, even on sunny days.  When in Utah, you can see that haze sitting over the valley like a plastic grocery bag, just browish and see-throughish and just hanging there.  It’s icky.  I mean, lets face it, no one wants to wake up in the morning and realize that their clear view of 20 miles to the other side of the valley is now obscured through a brownish mist, a garbage specter hovering.

But in California, instead of hanging out in the north and ruining the view, the mist is more fine, it smells of the ocean, and it soaks up a bit of the sunlight coming from the southwest, making it easier on the eyes.  Even though I am glad that I no longer continually breathe in California’s air, I adore shooting in it!!  Best light in the world in my book.

After the temple, we visited several location along the coast in Newport and Laguna before heading to the reception.  First stop In N Out!!!

Sydney and Nick, I want to thank you both so much for sharing your wedding day with me.  You made me feel like an honored guest and a welcome friend, and I had a wonderful time working with you both!  The wedding album is going to be a gorgeous record of all the fun from that day, I can’t wait!

Love, Pepper