Outdoor session in February?

I can't believe that we were able to have an outdoor session in February! We popped outside for some shots of the kids and it felt great to breathe in some fresh air! Just a little sneak peek of these adorable kids...

Erica + Erik | farm love

Erica and Eric are engaged! Eric is a cattle farmer so they chose to shoot their session at a friend's farm.

Congratulations E+E! I look forward to your wedding in June!

Lego themed birthday party!

My two youngest boys were born 6 years and two weeks apart so it only makes sense that they share a party date, at least for the time being while they don't mind. Oliver has a Valentine's Day birthday so it is a tradition that I bake him a heart shaped birthday cake. He started off his morning opening up his new present- a mini-trampoline! Needless to say, it was a big hit!

The mustache... he had it painted at school but I love what it adds to the picture!

This year I made my own Lego invitations. Here is what I used (everything is available at Michael's):

12x12 primary color card stock paper
Recollections brand 1.5" circle die cutter
ArtMinds brand pre-cut foam mounting tape or foam mounting dots (found in adhesives aisle)
Crayola colored pencils

Each 12x12 sheet makes two invitations. My invitations measured 6"x 3.75". A paper cutter is a huge timesaver for this project. I cut each 12x12 in half creating two 6"x12" strips. Then I cut the 12" side down to 7.5". With the 4.5" scrap portion, I used the circle cutter to punch out the 6 dots that will mount to the folded invitation. I used coordinating colored pencils to write "Lego" on each dot before mounting them.

The computer fonts I used for the invite were: Claire Hand (main body) and Helvetica ("Ages 2+8").

Each 12x12 could produce three 4"x4" invitations if you chose to design 4 dot Lego blocks. I liked the look of the 6 dot Lego blocks.

Each party guest received a custom made Lego block of soap that I purchased from this Etsy store. I cannot recommend them enough! They were so great to work with. They packaged them individually and created these cute little tags which were a nice surprise.

I knew I wanted a cool Lego cake and although I love to bake, I decided to leave this project up to the professionals! I booked Sweet Simplicity Confections. She is Ellen Bartyzal and she is based in New Prague. She did such a great job of taking the internet photos I found and brought them to life!

These cake pops were so delicious! So delicious that they inspired me to try my hand at them. I recently purchased some cake pop supplies to give it a try (this will be another blog post).

Ellen presented them in this fun Lego block carrier. Her husband drilled holes into the bricks to push them through. I love how hard core that is!

I loved how the cake turned out! Thanks for everything Ellen!

As fashion obsessed as I am, the boys had to have a cute birthday outfit on! I found these customized Lego logo shirts at this Etsy store. They turned out so cute! I spent the morning doing so many photo shoots that I neglected the fact that I had to feed twenty people! Oh well, everything turned out and the photos were more than worth it!

A rare smile from Aidan. By rare, I mean RARE. I love my boys so much!

A great time was had by all and I had so much fun running with the Lego theme. Party planning is so much fun! Do I smell a new business venture? Ha- I sound like Tori Spelling.

Thanks for reading!

Canon to Nikon --> this girl's plan

I'm dreaming of a new camera... only it isn't the rumored new Canon 5D Mark III (although I am very curious about that!), it is the new Nikon D800. Yep, I'm switching to Nikon. Why? I'll admit it, I never in a million years thought I would switch to Nikon. I have always been a Canon girl. When you buy your first camera you ultimately have to choose. For you non-photographers, Canon and Nikon are like Ford and Chevy. Which one is better? That's tough to say, but most photographers feel strongly either way. For me, it started with almost everyone I know shooting Canon. Once I got to know more photographers, a Nikon shooter would pop up here and there. Now that I am good friends with two different Nikon shooters, I have fallen in love and am excited to make the switch! In my eyes its the best and I have to have the BEST!

The Nikon D800 is currently on pre-order and available next month. I recently priced out all of my equipment for sale and here is a list:

Canon 5D w/grip- pending sale
Canon 30D w/grip
Canon 20D
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L non IS
Canon 50mm f/1.2L- pending sale
Canon 85mm f/1.8 w/hood- pending sale 
Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro w/hood (non L)- pending sale 
Canon 15mm f/2.8 fisheye- pending sale
Canon 550ex Speedlite- pending sale

pending sale means that there is a buyer for the item but the item has not yet exchanged hands. 

Please contact me for a full price list. Serious inquiries only please. I need a realistic look at my funding for the new Nikon gear. Some of the gear is available for purchase now, but since I am still shooting, some of it isn't available until next month.

Thanks!

Crewcuts | 40% off sale!

What is my favorite? An additional 40% off sale items at J.Crew! A certain handsome little 7 year old of mine is going to look dapper in this Italian chino suit and bowtie for his First Communion this Spring!

Our duck!

We have a new neighborhood pet! She's a muscovy duck and I have no idea where she came from, but this species originates in South America. My boys started noticing her hanging around their bus stop at the corner and she can be seen in a couple of other neighbor's yards including ours. She's not timid and the boys often "follow" her home as she walks the street like a pedestrian. I love her! I hope she sticks around!

NEW! | Apply to be an OWP Senior Socialite!

Kayd & Abhrajeet | Eagan Wedding Photographer | Indian Wedding Ceremony

Wow, where do I begin? Kayd and Abhrajeet had an amazing wedding day. Let me preface by saying that they were high school sweethearts and have been together since the 10th grade! Their parents used to have to drive them around when they were dating because they didn't even have their drivers licenses yet, isn't that sweet? You definitely don't hear stories like that these days! Kayd and Abhrajeet celebrated their marriage with both a Catholic ceremony and an Indian ceremony. It was a whirlwind of a day! We started with the first sight and some wedding party portraits, went directly to the church for the Catholic ceremony at St. John Neumann in Eagan, and then directly after the ceremony we all traveled to the Airport Marriott so that everyone could get ready and dressed for the Indian ceremony. There literally was not a moment to spare and being that the wedding took place in November, we ran out of daylight fast. That was a bit of a bummer because I would have loved to photograph all the ladies in their Sarees in some gorgeous natural light but with weddings you can't always control everything.

This was such a big day, I couldn't tell their entire story in one blog post but here are some of my favorites:

At the hotel- there were a limited number of Indian women that could help the wedding party and guests into their Sarees so this getting ready part of the day took some time. The detail and design is so intricate, it's not a matter of putting a dress on. These rolls of fabric were draped, wrapped, and folded onto each woman ever so carefully. It was a beautiful thing to watch!

The results are breathtaking!

This was my first Indian ceremony and it was amazing to watch!

This canopy held by the bride and groom's brothers was placed between them so that they could not see each other initially. The moment it was lifted Kayd had such a great expression and the guests all cheered!

There is a lot of interactive ritual and many, many steps that they need to go through.

I love that not only did the wedding party wear traditional Indian clothing, the parents, family, and many of the guests dressed up as well.

Now this was the absolute best... Kayd and her father did their traditional father/daughter dance and as the end neared... they busted out into THRILLER! This was all planned out and a surprise for all the guests.

Kayd's family and the whole wedding party participated!

This day was such a great example that as a bride and groom- you can make your day exactly how you want it! There is no need to do what everyone else does or follow tradition for the sake of following tradition. In the end, it is your day so live it to remember it how you want it! Thanks K&A for having me!