Raise your hands to the roof cause there was mass awesomeness at Jodie & Jordan’s wedding at the Calgary Zoo! From Jodie’s huge smile getting ready to the tears Jordan expressed while he watched her walk down the isle, the day was filled with oodles of emotions. Therefor, it is my utmost pleasure to introduce some of the shots that we captured during this perfect day.

A special note to Terence of TLAW Photography … it was so awesome to work with you again on this wedding. And of course, a special thanks to Terra Law of Inspired Occasions Wedding Planning who made the day run so smoothly. And finally, the details and decorations were absolutely PERFECT!

Hope you enjoy the photos!

When she walked through the door, she not only looked FABulous but had the biggest & greatest smile one could ever witness. Lisa was just hours away from saying “I Do” and she was glowing. It was such a calming sensation watching her interact with her ‘Girls’ & of course, father. She was living in the NOW and enjoyed every minute of it. It didn’t matter that they were running a tad behind, she was soaking up every moment, as a bride should on her wedding day. It was such a pleasure taking their getting ready shots as the ladies were a riot. But as girls do on a wedding day, they not only laughed but cried. I give them a lot of credit though, they did their best not to let the happy tears ruin their gorgeous makeup they got done at MAC.

And then there were the guys. So calm and collected & looking handsome all dressed up. I still remember the ‘twinkle in Kent’s eye’ (ok, maybe a little too cheesy) when he saw Lisa walk down the isle. It was as though no one else was around when he watched her walk down the isle. And who could forget that first kiss?!!! I think that was THE longest first kiss I have ever witnessed. I almost filled up an entire 4Gb memory card on just the kiss alone ;o) All kidding aside, it was awesome to see two people so in love.

The day was perfect. And I am ecstatic to reveal a sneak-a-peak photo. Many more to come but I hope you enjoy this first one.

I love when my clients pick their locations because it brings a touch of who they are. Kent used to bike around this area with his best bud and he used to capture the flag at the Weasel Head and now, he ‘captures Lisa’ at the Weasel Head. How adorable is that, right?!!!

Kent & Lisa were amazing and so romantic. They brought a cute picnic basket with a bottle of wine to enjoy the beautiful view. We went for a little stroll and had oodles of fun along the way. I just couldn’t stop taking pictures of them! I hope these photos bring out how much they love and respect one another.

I am really looking forward to their wedding in July!

The day couldn’t have been better for Susan & Felipe’s engagement session. At first glance in the sky, we thought that it may rain buckets but that didn’t deter them … they brought an umbrella, that fortunately, never had to be used. In fact, the conditions couldn’t have been better. The colors turned out fabulous and I loved how Susan & Felipe interacted with one another. As you’ll see, they were a riot to work with and were excellent at improvisation. When I was editing their e-session, I would catch myself smiling from ear to ear looking through the pictures.

Their wedding is just around the corner and I’m really looking forward to shooting their wedding! Hope you enjoy the engagement session photos!

Note: A very special thanks to Jessy for coming along & snapping some amazing photos!

I have to give Terra & Matt a huge high 5 for traveling quite a distance with their 2 year old & pooch to shoot at this old abandoned barn. They certainly were troopers but I’m so glad they were up for the adventure.  Terra was well prepared for the session which made my job so much fun … they brought some amazing items that had special meaning to them which was brilliant. I love it when couples do that! They definitely worked it well and I am so excited to provide a sneak peak into our morning shoot.

The first photo I absolutely love because of the symbolism I find in it. It looks as though all the riff raff is behind them and they stand together looking into the future which is bright and wide open. I know, maybe a tad cheesy but cheese seems to be my middle name.

Note: A very special thanks to Melissa for being the ‘babysitter’ while we snuck away. You’re a great friend and a super babysitter!

I know more now about Turkey than I ever did a few weeks ago & all the credit belongs to Fevzi. In fact, he even provided special insight into the ‘meaning’ of LIFESEVEN. According to Fevzi, ’seven’ in Turkish means ‘the one who loves’ … and if you put that together with the first half of my company name, it translates into, “LIFESEVEN=The one who loves life”. I couldn’t help but LOVE IT! Absolutely brilliant! Anyway, enough about me, this shoot was all about Fevzi.

I have to admit, a few times I thought to myself, “This guy could be the Prince of Turkey and I could be shooting royalty!” The way he carried himself, the way he chose his words thoughtfully and carefully, made me think those thoughts. And even the way he polished his shoes and didn’t have a speck of hair or dust on him. Simply amazing coming from a gal who somehow invented cashmere jeans! A running joke in my family is that I have a cashmere dashboard from all the dog hair that I have floating around. Anyway, again back to Fevzi … whenever I see polished shoes such as Fevzi’s, I think military. And sure enough, my ‘profiling’ was correct. Fevzi educated me all about Turkish law and every male has to serve time in the military. He told me more about the numbers they have in their army and their battles and victories. Needless to say, I was impressed with Turkey!

A man with much knowledge and even more drive. He has several projects on the go and I wish him all the best in making them a huge success. Without further a do, here are some portrait shots I took of Fevzi.

b.PHOENIX

I first met Michelle at a workshop called “Transcend Your Beliefs – The BIG Let Go” put on by an amazing person, Kim Marchuk with Transcending Nutrition. The workshop was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING (and yes, I just used ‘amazing’ twice in two sentences ;o)! It has literally transformed my life and I’m going to go out on a limb here and speak for the rest of the group when I say that it was a workshop that I’ll never forget. Watching individuals blossom through their limited beliefs and walk away with a whole new perception on life is invigorating.

Michelle is a HUGE inspiration to me. She shows strength and courage despite whatever she is going through. I know she will accomplish any goal she sets out to achieve.

When Michelle picked the location, it boggled my mind that I had never photographed a session there. I suppose it was always reserved for her. The morning was extremely fitting for all that we had been through as a group. Powerful winds woke me up early that morning and I was concerned that the wind was going to be too fierce for the photo shoot. As fate would have it, I didn’t have Michelle’s cell number so I crossed my fingers and headed downtown. To my amazement, Michelle was ready to rock’n roll and wind? What wind?! Her determination was astounding and I couldn’t help but be amazed by her tenacity. Ironically, as soon as we started photographing, the wind calmed and it couldn’t have been more perfect. She was a natural and it only took her a matter of seconds to start moving like a super model.

It was an honor to photograph Michelle and I look forward to another session later this season with her son & her!

While we were down in Texas visiting my family for the holidays (I know, I’m so far behind in my posts), I was O’so lucky to photograph my cousin, Jenni, and aunt, Katie. Unfortunately, we didn’t have oodles of time for the photo session since they were heading back to New Orleans but we did snap a few.

A few days later, we ended up driving to New Orleans since Jessy has never been there before and I was ultra curious to see what the city was like years after the infamous Katrina swept through. I was quite surprised with how much work has been put into the city to bring it back to the state it was in prior to the hurricane. Jessy & I spent a few days wandering around the French Quarter enjoying the cuisine and music the city had to offer. Once we had our fill of the French Quarters, we headed to Katie & Jenni’s place for a get together. So we hopped on this bridge that seemed to be the never ending bridge. Finally, Jessy said, “This is the longest bridge I have ever been on!” We laughed about this later because as it turns out, it was the longest bridge in the world!

Looking back, I wish we had time to photograph the gals in the French Quarters but it shall now go on my Bucket List for the next time we visit the family. I hope you enjoy some of the photos we were able to take.

Bonjour! Today I feel spontaneous, hence why I have taken a huge leap of faith and added a new category to my blog. May I take this opportunity to properly introduce you to ADORE! This category is going to be as much as a surprise to you as it is me. I know that sounds a little out of this world but whatever hits me during the day, I am going to make a vow to introduce it to YOU! Adore is devoted to anything or anyone that I admire, have a weakness for, and things that I’m wild about. Now this is the time I also need to provide a forewarning that I sometimes think a little outside the box.

But I figured I would start off on a soft note and bring to you THE MOST AMAZING MARTINI found on the face of the world. I am quite confident with this claim& if anyone would like to dispute this declaration, I challenge you now to an old fashioned thumb war! Okay, with that said, this is the moment where you would hear the drum roll as I reveal a martini that COULD change your life (or maybe just your opinion of martinis) … it is called …. barrum-ta-dum … THE CABLE CAR!

I was first introduced to the Cable Car by Gloria Christie, owner of The Ultimate Chicktips. I was heading down to Vegas and she emphasized that I just had to try it. And since I was chained to the blackjack table and forced to gamble (drinks are typically free in these situations), I gave it a whirl. Upon my first sip, my head didn’t move … and then, my eyes looked left and then right … my inner thoughts screamed, “where is the waitress? I will need more of these & shortly!” And since I took in the experience of WPPI this year via Facebook, I would like to share one of my favorite things about Vegas. ENJOY! … Oh, and drink responsibly!

It has been quite sometime since I last posted and I hope to get caught up soon but I wanted to post a photo of the e-session I shared with Wanda & Matt today. It all began at Starbucks and by the time I got there, Wanda & Matt had already made friends with a gal who was a self-proclaimed ‘know-it-all’!  She was a riot & a great start to our session. I must state for the record that this couple are absolute TROOPERS! Not literally but Matt shot this entire session on an empty tummy and Wanda put Wonder Woman to shame! Out of the blue, Wanda suggested & proceeded to climb onto the roof of an old barn … and soon after, she dangled backwards off of a fence post. And I would fail miserably at writing this post  if I forgot to mention how she skipped on down to the river over boulders of rocks as though it was just a walk in the park. Although, may I also add that if Matt was wearing the proper shoe attire, he would have given Wanda a run for her money. Needless to say, there were some good chuckles and I am eagerly anticipating shooting their wedding in Cereal, Alberta in just a few months time.