Liz & Pepper’s wedding was the first on my calendar for 2010…. and it couldn’t have been better. Their day was wrapped in an envelope of peaceful calm. Liz, the ever cool & collected bride, appeared to be happily enjoying every minute of her wedding day.

At the end of the night, I gave her dad a hug and told him how happy I was for them… and that I especially loved his toast. He just smiled and said, “It’s so easy. When it comes from the heart… it’s simple.” Word up. :) I think that’s why Liz & Pepper’s day was such a breeze…. they have been dating for 7-ish years…. and from the looks of it, their hearts were already married. Yesterday’s celebration was simply making it official. Everyone knows it’s right…. and that confidence inspired the beautiful day that officially began their new wedded adventure.

Church: Eastridge Presbyterian
Reception/Catering: Wilderness Ridge
Flowers: Stem Gallery
Cake: Cakes by Char

Ummmm…. yeah. Gor-geous shoes!

Love this!

With a name like Pepper…. you know this is one cool dude. Pepper and ‘the guys’ played cards in the church basement before the ceremony…. (and taught me some fancy card-playin’ vocabulary. I always just smeared the cards around in a pile b/c I can’t shuffle to save my life…. but apparently there’s a term for that… it’s called ‘washing.’ I feel so official  now!)

First look….

L.O.V.E!

How fun is this?

We headed outside so we could make good use of Liz’s gorgeous coat. She’s had it for years, and it just so happened that it was a perfect match for her dress! Gotta love that…. :)

She also had a pair of fancy wintery gloves to go with it. I love the elegance of winter weddings!

Moments before walking down the aisle, I spotted Liz in the back hall way peeking through the door/window. I couldn’t tell for sure if she saw me and was looking at the camera (I was trying to be transparent!)…. or past me at Pepper at the front of the church…. but I love this image.

I grew up down the street from Eastridge Presbyterian Church, and after 10+ years of shooting weddings, would you believe this was the first wedding I photographed here? C-razy! The church had a lot of great light and interesting architectural lines. I can’t wait to go back! Pastor Jim Crelin, as entertaining as he was enlightening, performed the ceremony.

The perfect location for a winter themed wedding reception…. the Lodge at Wilderness Ridge.

Another L.O.V.E!!!

So cute.

The cake was gorgeous! Made by ‘Cakes by Char,’ Liz said it was inspired by another cake featured on my blog. Yay!

The flowers and centerpieces were all done by Stem Gallery. They always do such an incredible job!

Liz is so darn gorgeous!

Thank you both, so much for entrusting me with the memories of such an important day. I am truly honored! It was delightful to be part of your families for a day….. best wishes for a fun (and safe!) winter escape to the slopes! :)

What started in a neighborhood bar, is preparing to take this lovely duo to a new city–yet to be determined as hopeful job assignments hang in the balance of what is yet to come. What an exciting (but understandably nerveracking) place to be!

I don’t know if I can reveal Ben’s career aspirations (confidentiality?) but they are exciting to say the least. These two will be hanging on for quite the ride! Luckily, I caught up with them in Omaha for their engagement session on what was a cold, hazy day. They were great sports and happily put up with frozen fingers and cold toes! Thanks guys!

I think this is just plain adorable. Look at how Ben looks at her! Ca-yute!

In front of the bar that started it all… The Green Onion. I {heart} the coy look on Christine’s face here!

Great job you two! I’m looking forward to photographing your wedding next fall… it will be here before we know it!

I’ll be discussing:
Design basics
Intro to Adobe InDesign
Marketing & Social Media (Blogs/Twitter/FB)
Wedding Photography – The Big Picture

The cost (which includes lunch! Yum!) is $109.

For info on signing up, contact Tina Gunn or Tanya Siragusa. I hope to see you there!

Toolulu’s Deb Averett & Christy Nelson recently produced a one-of-a-kind event in downtown Lincoln called “Awesome Camp.”

It was a conference of sorts, where everyone was welcome and anyone who wanted to could sign up to present a 20-minute seminar on the topic of their choosing. Topics ranged from kayak water-polo, to wind energy, to book publishing. Very neat!

Yours truly jumped at the chance (are you surprised, really?) and presented “Awesome Photos in 10 Simple Steps” and “Twitter: How Not to Suck at It.” Emir got in on the fun as well with a web usability presentation!

The event was generously held at Red 9 (have you eaten there lately? we were treated to salads that were out. of. this. world!) and sponsored by great folks like Screen Ink, A to Z Print, SMC  Lincoln, Toolulu, Think-Do-Be-Create, Firespring, Fierce Robot and of course, the fab peeps at Red 9.

Silicon Prairie News was on-hand and recorded this video (they apologize for the sound and video being out of sync… kinda funny!)

Here’s a video of the mavens behind the event, Deb Averette & Christy Nelson

See more images and read more about it at Silicon Prairie News and Toolulu.

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by none other than Scott Sheppard from WPPI Radio. We discussed my upcoming InDesign master class at this  year’s WPPI conference. Check it out for yourselves! Hoping to see you in Vegas!

Nope. I’ve been here (and Nashville, at a conference) but mostly… here. What in the world could have me so busy that I haven’t had time to blog oodles and oodles? Besides, it’s winter. As a wedding photographer, doesn’t that mean I’m pretty much on vacation until spring? (yeah right!)

One really cool/challenging/healthy thing I’ve been up to is…… running. Not in the usual way (which is in circles, all around like crazy trying to get 10 zillion things done), but rather…. in the kind of way that should hopefully prepare me for the Lincoln Marathon (half marathon) this spring. I have never considered myself a runner, so you might be asking yourself why in the world I would start now?

For starters…. It’s healthy. And that, in and of itself is really the only reason one needs, no? :) My friend Christina convinced me to sign up for a marathon training class (which is great, considering I had no clue what I was doing when I started!). It’s offered by Ann Ringlein from the Lincoln Running Company. If you’re a runner… I’m sure you know who she is. The woman is pretty much an icon in this town when it comes to all things running, so I knew I was in good hands.

Marathon training class started on Jan. 7th… and since then, would you believe I’ve already run 80 miles!? (Not bad for 5 weeks, considering I could hardly make it 2 miles when I first started.) I’ve also met some really cool people, seen different parts of Lincoln in ways as I’ve never seen them before, and managed to lose about 10lbs so far! All the running I’ve done has been outside… even when it was literally only 2 degrees out and snowing with howling winds. When you get home from a run like that…. I have to admit… you feel pretty darn badass (in the very best of ways!).

I’ve also spent the past several weeks doing the production work on several wedding albums (on their way here as I type!), designing various wedding invitations, strategizing and re-building my senior and kids&families info packets, and creating a few various framed pieces to donate to different local fund-raising events (not to mention meeting with all the newly engaged brides in the midst of planning their weddings and looking for a photographer!).

And teaching. Another couple of classes start next week!

Plus, I’m really excited be working on the development of a really cool product for photographers (so much fun! hopefully coming soon!).

And perhaps even more exciting than that (is that even possible?), I’ve been preparing for a flurry of fun at the upcoming WPPI conference in Las Vegas. Booking travel, finding the best deal on hotel rooms… and of course, creating and polishing all four of the different speaking engagements/presentations I’ll be delivering! Teaching a master class on InDesign, speaking at the AsukaBook booth (not once, but twice!), and wrapping up the entire conference as part of Photographer’s Ignite at the closing session. Seriously… I am PUMPED!

In the meantime, I’ve got my nose to the grind stone…. my eyes focused on my goals…. and my chin a way up high! :)

Yay for 2010!

Super special thanks to everyone for volunteering your beautiful smiling faces for my special project. I look forward to a fun night next week!

For everyone else, stay tuned in the next coming month or so for the release of this top secret item. ;) That’s all I can tell you for now!

Thanks again!

TOP SECRET:

I’m looking for peeps to appear in some promo shots for something fun I’m developing (top secret!). If you’re game (at least 21 years old) and available this coming Tuesday night (Feb. 9th) from 7-9pm, email me (khara {at} kabloomstudios {dot} com) and I’ll follow up with more details. (I will make it worth your time, promise!!)

Will be a good time for all!