I love this engagement session. Liz and Keith were troopers in the cold and mud, Liz even had a cold. But all I see is happiness and love. I can’t wait for their March wedding!

Here’s a little bit of what our Valentine’s looked like. We never made it to the movie (molten cakes take a long time to prep,) and Lucy maybe had a melt-down or two, “no pasta! no pasta! no pasta!” But that is what Valentines at home are all about, right?

These gorgeous flowers were waiting for me when I woke up. I loved them. I LOVE them. And I love Sarah from Honey of a Thousand Flowers, because she is a genius. This is the prettiest arrangement I have ever received.

A few of Scott’s favorite things and then a little something special.

See that cute heart? Scott ripped it right in half. Sad.

Lucy was obsessed with “daddy’s balloon!” until Scott said it was going to get her. And now she says, “scary balloon.”

Knock! Knock! Knock! Who could it be?

Making sure she doesn’t leave any candy behind. Who cares about that other present?

And Lucy loved hated her Valentine present. It was so sad. She loves Cinderella, she loves dress-ups. I thought it would be a match made in blue-rayon heaven. But she wouldn’t wear it. She wouldn’t look at it. She wouldn’t touch it. For someone who wasn’t even sure if she liked princesses, I was pretty crushed. Oh well, at least we had molten cakes and blueberry ice cream to look forward too. Scott and I make a good team. He made the molten cakes, and I made the ice cream. In fact, he made the molten cakes why I went to the gym between dinner and dessert. Romantic fail on my part, but romantic win on his. This tops as one of the best desserts we have ever made. I ate two, and finished off the ice cream.

And look at this. The next day I put on a dress and Lucy got all excited. We dressed up together and had a dance party.

Look at old she is getting. It makes my heart hurt a little.

This was my favorite Valentine’s yet! I love that Lucy is getting old enough to enjoy the holidays with us.

I have been holding onto Kristy and Adam’s beautiful Zion Vow Renewal for quite awhile. Their feature just came out in Destination I Do magazine and it is perfect! Kristy is the talented genius behind Momental Designs, where she makes beautiful, custom invitations and stationery. I was honored and excited when she asked me to photograph her 10 year wedding anniversary in Zion National Park. It just happened to my 10 year anniversary the same month, so I got to live a little bit of the dream along with Kristy and Adam. Every detail was lovingly thought out, and so much care was put into making the day memorable, lovely, delicious, and fun. Kristy and Adam are from Scranton, PA, but fell in love with Zion during one of their National Park explorations. For their May 15th, 2010 renewal, they headed out West with  a small party of loved ones and celebrated in style. Kristy has some wonderful thoughts on planning and executing their big day, which you can find here. Thank you so much Kristy and Adam! I loved witnessing the renewal of your love and commitment and I am excited for all your future adventures! And thank you Destination I Do for the wonderful feature. I feel all kinds of fancy.

Ceremony Location: Zion National Park
Dinner: Bit and Spur
Floral Design: By Bloomers
Calligraphy: Betsy Dunlap
Cameo Necklace: Frontier Plunder
Terracotta Favor Bowls: Palamo’s Nest
Linens: Latavola Linen
Guitarist: Rustin Reber, Enterprise, Utah
Officiant: Sharon Vollett, Salt Lake City, Utah
Redesigned wedding bands: MarcCo Jewelers, Luzerne, PA

Valentines gets a bit of a bad rap. Oh, “Just another holiday the card companies created to make money.” But you know what I say? Any excuse to brighten up a dull winter month is fine by me. There is not much going on from January 2nd, to mid-Spring, so, come February, I welcome the pink and red, chocolate, and flowers, homemade goodies and hearts. Did I say chocolate? Lots and lots of chocolate.

There is another reason why I love Valentines Day. I was never one of those girls who was constantly gifted candy grams or delivered pink carnations. I might have dreamed of secret admirers, but the reality is my first Valentine was my husband (who, by the way, made me a blanket our first lovers holiday together. He’s sweet.) So, although I wasn’t showered in admiration as a teenager, I did have a secret weapon, something that made my Valentines pretty special. I had a Valentine’s Day Man. In reality, this was my mom and dad. In my childhood, this was a magical being, much like the Easter Bunny, who knocked on our door then dashed away, leaving gifts and goodies in his wake. This helped insulate me from all the other expectations that go along with Valentine’s. I had my very own Valentines Day Man, and that was enough. Fairly early on, I realized that my card was written out in my dad’s distinctive handwriting, but no matter. When I was a little older, I learned to appreciate what a thoughtful and loving gift my parents gave me. I’m not sure if other families do this or not, but I think this tradition is a keeper. And come 6pm, Lucy is getting her very own, special Valentines Day Man visit this year.

Some might hate it, some might be indifferent, but I think Valentine’s is pretty awesome. And I know, I know, every day should be like Valentine’s, and we should do little things all the time, not just when a holiday tells us too. But you know what? Life gets busy, and chores can make days monotonous and boring. It’s nice to have a day to remind us to appreciate the ones we love, and feel appreciated and loved in turn. And since we are parents now, Scott and I are doing our own special day at home, complete with Valentines Day man, chocolate molten cakes, Lucy and The Princess Bride. I hope your February 14th is just as lovely.

I’m so honored and excited to share Maile and Mitch’s wedding feature in Utah Bride and Groom. Val did a beautiful job laying out the magazine. If you haven’t already, you should pick up a copy. Utah Bride and Groom is consistently top notch, and I feel pretty special to be there, amongst all the lovelies and inspiration. Of course, it all comes down to Maile and Mitch, and their beautiful wedding and wonderful team they had working for them. Thank you Val and Utah Bride and Groom, for the amazing feature. I have my copy purchased, on the bookshelf with pride!

Be sure to check out all the amazing vendors who contributed to Maile and Mitch’s wedding (listed down below.)

Dress: Penelopes
Floral, decorations, landscaping: Emily Brooks
Catering: Culinary Crafts
Videography: Haugen Creative
Utah Bride and Groom
Band: Joe Muscolino

So sorry for the lack of posting lately. Lucy and I have been under the weather with a bad head cold and the blogging was the first thing to go. But we are feeling better! Yay! And I’m back with this sweet little session from last summer. Amanda and Danny, will you forgive me for being so behind and posting this 6 months late? I hope so!

So, better late than never, I present PDN Top Knots, 2011! Cool, right?

There it is! There it is!

The online version, and the actual version.

A couple of stories.

Lucy was so scared of Santa, that she wouldn’t come out to help put the cookies out the night before. She peaked around the corner and cried, “No! No! No!” thinking he was literally in the room, eating up all the cookies. Poor thing. Christmas is a lot to take in.

I had the video camera all set to go and record Lucy’s grand entrance into the living room. Fifteen minutes into it, I realized I had turned it on, but not to record. Ooops. I would feel bad, but Lucy’s reaction to the kitchen set we got her was a little underwhelming, at best. She was most excited about her new dress and shoes, and had to put them on right away.

One day, it won’t just be Scott and I up at 6:00am, giggling, waiting for Lucy to wake up too. If we do our job right, she will be waking us up! We loved our little bit of Christmas morning, with Lucy sitting on Scott’s lap, eating her chocolate orange.

and it means a bit of trouble and a lot of fun!

Is it weird that I love these two? I really do. If I could add some extra family members in, I would take Maile and Mitch. Because they made me feel like family, and that is why I love my job. Maile and Mitch are beautiful and handsome, kind and happy, and so, so in love. The smiles never left their faces, they were beaming the whole day. And their wedding was absolutely perfect, just like these two, and I’m so happy that I got share in their beautiful day. A huge shout-out to Emily Brooks for all the lovely landscaping and florals, Culinary Crafts for the delicious food, and Penelope, for once again, an amazing dress. I was lucky to work with such a talented group of people.

Maile and Mitch, I love running into you all year long at weddings. Thank you for your warm hugs and happy smiles!

Dress: Penelopes
Floral, decorations, landscaping: Emily Brooks
Catering: Culinary Crafts
Videography: Haugen Creative
Utah Bride and Groom
Band: Joe Muscolino
Assistant: Christine Barlow