Thanks to everyone who entered the contest! I’ve done the hard part of narrowing down all the entries to two final couples, and now it’s up to you all to vote for your favorite!

How to vote: Simply comment on this post with the names of the couple you want to place your vote for! Only one vote per person. Voting will close at midnight (central time) on September 10, 2010. Any votes placed after that time will not count.

Without further adieu, our couples!

Couple #1: Rachelle and Brandon

The relationship: Rachelle and Brandon met five years ago during their senior year of high school. A few years later, they had a daughter together, named Jaiden, who will be the flower girl at their upcoming wedding.

The proposal: “Brandon works the night shift at work, and I go to school during the day. We don’t get to see as much of each other as we might like, so I try to stay up late sometimes just so I can see him. One night he had called and asked if I could stay up with him and help him with his taxes, so Jaiden and I cat napped on the couch waiting for him to get home. When he walked through the door, Jaiden ran up to him to give him hugs, and when he put her down and she came running around the corner. She had a little black box in her hand and said, “It’s for you, Mama. Daddy got it!” I looked down to see Brandon on one knee, and he proceeded to tell me how he couldn’t imagine his life without me, and it was time to make our family official. It might not have been in the middle of a huge crowd or at the place we met, but it was perfect for us, and I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

The wedding: They are having an Alice in Wonderland/Queen of Hearts themed wedding at a local hotel. Their colors are red and black, and the wedding party will be dressed in top hats (the guys) and Lolita hats (the girls). Their reception will include a candy bar and a mashed potato martini bar, and their first dance will be “The Hollow” by A Perfect Circle.

Couple #2: Ashley and Eric

The relationship: “We had an English class together in the 7th grade and sat right across from each other but never would speak. So high school came around, and our mutual friend gave Eric my number. Eric texted me, and I had no idea who he was or what he wanted, since we never really spoke. He told me that I looked really good that day and how pretty I was. He invited me to his nephew’s birthday party at the skating rink, so I went. When the couple skate came on he asked me to skate with him (it was so cute). He then held my hand and we skated the whole time. Then the next day he asked me to be his GIRLFRIEND. I was ecstatic! Of course, I said yes. Then the beginning of my senior year, I found out I was pregnant. We had no intentions of being parents at the age we were. We were scared. But together we pulled through it and now have the cutest little boy ever. We both parent him together and are deeply in love with each other.”

The proposal: Eric proposed to Ashley last fall. He was holding their son and got down on one knee. Ashley immediately said yes.

The wedding: Their theme is roses, and their colors are red (her favorite) and yellow (his favorite). They are having a church ceremony with the reception following in La Vergne. Ashley’s family all live out of state, so she’s very excited that they will all be attending and be able to meet Eric and his family.

Now vote!

Don’t forget: You can still enter to win free wedding photography! All entries are due September 1!

So you all may have been wondering what I’ve been up to lately! August was a busy month for me, personally, so I look forward to sharing some photos from the past few weeks. Last weekend, my friend Laura and I drove out to Gatlinburg to relax and destress.

I’m always enthralled watching taffy being made.

While we were there, we drove out to Cade’s Cove. It was so pretty! Click this panorama to see a larger version.

I captured this one using the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone.

It was neat seeing the old buildings and churches.

We also hiked the 2.5 miles down to Abrams Falls.

All in all, it was a very relaxing trip! My next getaway is to New York City in December; I’m super excited about that!

I’m holding a contest for all you late 2010/early 2011 brides!

{THE FINE PRINT}

Isaac was born just last Friday. He was a few weeks early, but born at a healthy weight of 5 pounds, 15 ounces. He was a dream to work with. He slept soundly through the first half of our session and let me prod and mold him as I wished. If you are thinking of scheduling a newborn session, this is why the first week of life is the best!

We probably could have convinced him to go back to sleep for the second half, but I was enjoying taking photos of his eyes. Plus babies make the funniest faces when they are awake!

Congratulations to new parents Aaron and Shana!

Melissa is my roommate. She’s proof that finding housemates via craigslist CAN work! We’ve been living together since around the beginning of this year. She asked me one day recently if I could take a couple shots of her because she didn’t have any recent headshots, and I happily obliged. These were just quickly taken in our back yard. Gotta love that golden hour light.

Most of my packages come with print credits. The credit is good for any product you can get through your online gallery, or it can be applied to an album. A lot of people use them to buy basic prints to frame. However, I thought it might be a good idea to showcase some of the specialty items you can get.

I figured I would start off with a bang and show a canvas. Yes, canvases are pricey. But they are glorious. I have one hanging in my upstairs hallway (which is otherwise pretty much void of anything) of a photo I took back in February of my boyfriend and myself.

This is a 16×24 inch canvas, which isn’t huge; it’s probably about the minimum size I would recommend. You can see how it compares in size with the door in this photo I took from down on the first floor. (Ideally, I’d like to put a light on the wall right above the canvas, shining down on it. I haven’t gotten that far yet. And don’t mock my terrible paint job!)

The image is printed on canvas material and then wrapped around a wooden frame, so the very edges of it can’t be seen from a direct front view. Keep this in mind when choosing which photos to order for a canvas.

And, of course, the wonderful thing about canvas is the great texture!

PS: If you’re a past client who has ordered any products, I’d love to see how you are displaying them! Please send photos!

My 18-year-old cousin Cara passed away this morning. She battled with leukemia for most of her teenage years and was one of the strongest people I know. She will be very missed. Please keep her family in your thoughts.

Anna and Mike chose the perfect day for their wedding! After nearly an entire month of 90+ degree weather, they were blessed with a warm-but-not-hot and breezy day. They were married at the First Baptist Church in Paducah, Kentucky, with the reception held afterward at Anna’s family’s farm. It was such a gorgeous wedding! Thanks to Hannah Elaine for allowing me to shoot with her again.

Hope everyone has a great and happy fourth!

I arrived home last Wednesday to a package from AT&T. Yes, it was the new iPhone 4! I never bought the 3GS, so going from 3G to 4 was quite the upgrade. After staring at the pretty (extremely clear) new screen for about an hour, I decided to play with the camera using my (somewhat) willing models: my cats!

Then I realized that really only I like to look at millions of photos of my cats. So the next day, Jonathan and I tested it out at the Adventure Science Center’s Way Late Play Date. It seemed to me that it performed better in low light conditions than the 3G’s camera did with normal light.

And…video!

I think I’m in love. Did anyone else get the new iPhone?