I need a bookeeper!!!

AGHHH my office is a hot mess! I need someone to come in & help me organize & get my stuff together! So please contact me if you have bookkeeping skills! :)

I'd post a pic of my office but I am too embarrassed! LOL! Keith & I are working on redoing this space so I'm in the process of looking for new office furniture. But until then I will leave you with an image I googled...I'm not this bad, but pretty darn close!

Oh & I officially booked another vacation to Vegas! Woot Woot!!! We'll be gone from June 3-7th! Can't wait!

Happy 1st Anniversary Tiffani & Jim!

One year ago today Tiffani & Jim said "I Do" in a beautiful ceremony surrounded by lots of friends & family!

And today they are celebrating their 1st year of marriage!

I wish you both many many, more!

Happy Anniversary!

Congratulations Raquel & Omar!

Congratulations to Raquel & Omar! They're having a baby! They just found out and I am so happy for them!

I can't wait to shoot their maternity pictures!! :)

The Sample Shop

I've been driving past this store for years and never stopped. Today I FINALLY decided to stop in and see what this store had to offer. Brides, non-brides, mothers, friends, sisters...the Sample Shop is the cutest local boutique. I could just walk around in there forever!

They had everything from monogrammed stationary, Vera Bradley bags, candles, Fine China, Cake toppers, cake cutters, guest books, albums...I could on & on!

They also have a bridal registry for you brides-to-be!

So stop by there & check them out...& tell them MPC sent ya!

This weekend I'll be photographing Page & Brent's wedding in LaGrange!

So yall have a great weekend!

Averie {Portraits}

"Children really brighten up a household - they never turn the lights off"...Ralph Bus

Saturday I had the pleasure of photographing little Miss Averie again! She is just the happiest & funniest little baby! Averie knows when the camera is on & just laughed & posed & rolled all around! My favorite pose I dubbed the "Marilyn", because she kept pushing her dress down as Marilyn Monore did in "The Seven Year Itch". And of course her other favorite pose is with her arm straight out like a crossing guard! It was hilarious!

Here are some of my favs...

Click HERE for slideshow!

Need a hotel?

One of my fabulous brides, well bride-to-be, Bekkah sent me a tip that I think would be VERY helpful to many of you planning your weddings. If you are having a lot of out of town guests, and you are looking for group rates on hotels, instead of calling or driving around town...Priceline now has a free service to take care of this for you!

The website is http://www.findgroupdeals.com/! You can put in what city your guests will be staying in, how many rooms you need and the price range you are looking for and then "bid" on the group rates they can offer you.

How Awesome! And this is not only for weddings. It can be used for any large groups where 10 or more rooms are needed! YAY! Thanks Bekkah!

And because I am just loving my new Blog Boards, here's a pic just because!

The lovely little Miss Skyler!

Updates

I purchased some new Blog Boards for my blog today & updated Debbie & Don's images below! YAY! Now images will be larger on my blog & they will have different "blog boards"! I am so happy with how they look! WOO-HOO!

And to show it off some more, here's one with some of my favorite images...

Debbie & Donald {Engagement}

This past Saturday I traveled to Ft. McPherson to shoot Debbie & Donald's engagement photos. This is an old but beautiful Army base in Atlanta. Of course as you know it rained Saturday and even on my way to the base it rained. Surprisingly when I arrived, it stopped!

Debbie & Donald's wedding is only a few weeks away so we HAD to get these engagement pictures done!

And here they are...

I promise they didn't fall.............................See! :)

Click HERE for slideshow!

*slideshows expire in 60 days*

Charity

I think it's very important to always give back, whether you own a business or not. There are so many people and great organizations out there that need your help. Whether it's money or time, it just makes you feel good when you help!

I recently helped two organizations. Relay for Life and Sisters, Inc (AKA Sorority).

A friend's mother is going to be participating in Relay for Life here in Columbus and when she sent me the link I was more than happy to donate to such a wonderful cause. And in case anyone doesn't know, money that is donated goes directly to helping the American Cancer Society.

If you'd like to help my friend's mother reach her goal, please visit her page by clicking HERE (this should bring up Pamela King's page).




Sisters Inc, which stands for Sisters in Scholarship, Technology, Economics, Refinement, and Service...is a charity outreach effort of the Gamma Tau Omega chapter of the AKA (Alpha Kappa Alpha) Sorority. *whew, that's a mouthful*

A good friend of mine is in this soroity and again, when she approached me about donating to this cause I was more than willing to help! They hosted the second annual "Rosa Parks Women of Courage Breakfast" on March 2nd. Monies raised are used to provide higher education opportunities for high school seniors and college students.

Each year at the breakfast, 3 local women are honored, whose lives exemplify the spirit of Rosa Parks. The field of law was instrumental in the struggle of civil rights; and this year the honorees were Judge Mary Buckner, District Attorney Julia Slater, and Attorney Dorothy Williams- for their service to our community!

I know there are SEVERAL more wonderful charities out there. So no matter which one you choose, just be sure to give something back!

Have a nice weekend?

I've been super busy so sorry for not posting sooner! This weekend I went to Atlanta to shoot an engagement session and meet with a potential bride. More to come on that soon!

Saturday night when I got back we went down to the civic center to watch the MMA fight! It was quite entertaining! One poor fighter got his arm broke right in front of us! OUCH! He had to be taken to the hospital asap!

Other than this I've been busy getting my 2009 schedule in order. I am pretty much booked solid though August!

I will be posting images from the engagement session this week! Stay Tuned!

Wedding Tips

I came across a website called Life Tips & there is a page just for Wedding Tips. There are tips for vows, gifts, planning, budgets, etc!

If you're still planning your wedding check out the website!

The main website has a variety of life tips though, such as self defense, college degrees, pet health, time shares, wines, etc!

Happy Wednesday!

I Need Your Help!!!

I have entered a contest titled "Name Your Dream Assignment". Basically you name your dream assignment...any place you'd like to go and photograph. The grand prize is $50K to complete your dream assignment!

My choice was Venice, Italy. To read why, click below to read my submission. And please vote for me (and tell your friends to vote PLEASE)!



*Please excuse my misspelled words! It was late!

Super Sweet 16

I want a do-over of my sweet 16. Granted I just celebrated my sweet 16 a mere 15 years ago***eeek I feel old***!! For some reason I am hooked on MTV's Sweet 16 show where parents spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on these fabulous parties. I don't need all that, but I wouldn't mind getting a Range Rover with a huge pink bow or a summer trip to Paris or a custom designed dress from a high end boutique!

Parents today...I feel sorry for ya! Start saving now because between life in general and sweet 16's, it is going to cost a fortune to raise a child!

So last Saturday night I had the pleasure of photographing the Sweet 16 Party for Quanavia! Her family rented a fraternity house in downtown Columbus that was filled with friends and family. The theme was " A Night in Hollywood" and there were decorations, food, drinks, a cake, cupcakes, a dj....hellloooo!!! I went bowling on my Sweet 16 and I thought I was cool because I got to drive myself & some friends to Peach Bowl Lanes all by myself! Well by today's standards that would be lame! LOL!

Well after I finished setting up, we all waited as Quanavia & her father pulled up in a black stretch limo! She stepped out of the limo with her tiara perfectly in place! She opened the door to the fraternity house to loud screams of "Happy Birthday" & "Surprise"!

These kids danced allll night! I miss having THAT much energy! Quanavia was serenaded by 4 times! She also had a father-daughter dance which was so sweet!

I'm sure she will remember this night forever! Oh & I forgot to add "Greenwave"...apparently a majority of the teens who attended the party attend Spencer High. *Woot Woot* I'm a Greenwave too! C/O 2006, um I mean 1996. :)

Happy Sweet 16 Quanavia!

Um yeah, if I would have know the party was this big I wouldn't have bothered with a backdrop!

For all you pet owners

I got this in an email & it made me run home to hug Bebe!

A PET'S TEN COMMANDMENTS.........
1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.
3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you.
5. Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.
7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you.

8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.

9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.

10. On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so.

Website Malfunctions

Well with the release of my new blog design, I decided to change the template on my main website. I wanted the colors to match. I got the template up but I am unable to change the font color for some reason. So if you are trying to view any of the pages with actual writing, wait about 24-48 hours. I should have it corrected by then.



*coming soon*
Images from a sweet 16 party I shot on Saturday!

My First Bridal Show

Well today marked my first official Bridal Show! It was definitely an interesting experience. I got up at 8am and we headed down to the Rivermill Center & I was all set up by 9:30. The show was from 1-5pm so I went home, played in the snow for a bit with my dog!

When I started heading back the snow really picked up. This was just unbelievable for Columbus!

Unfortunately we didn't have a big turnout as expected. I am sure it's because of our Chicago-like weather. I did get to meet some brides and show off my work and network with some other vendors. So I can't say it was a total loss.

My booth came out great I think for my first show. I had some help from Kimberly Nelson Floral Designs who graciously provided me with two BEAUTIFUL floral displays for my table. Everyone loved the flowers!!

Aren't these so unique? I LOVE them! Thank you SOOO much Kim!!!

And here's me "manning my booth"! Not sure why I decided to hold my hands out like that. I look like I have fire in my hands from the candles in the floral display! lol! And also as you see below the beautifully framed image of Raquel!

Framing provided by Mike McLaney of Imagine This Designs!

I love the damask peg board. I filled it with 5x5s of some of my favorite images!

And thank you to Mike & Kim from Imagine This Designs for manning the booth with me all day!! They also provided me with special business cards for all MPC clients. Remember, you will get 25% your custom framing needs! So please let me know if you need a card!

And in other news...as you can see my new blog design is up! I am so thrilled with it! A HUGE thank you to Dionne of Stuio Chic Design. She was so patient and patient through ALL my changes and requests. We still have a few things to tweak like the drop down menus but that should be corrected soon! Also depending on what browser you're using my search bar may seem like it's not lining up on the menu bar. If you're having a problem with that try Firefox as it is aligning perfectly there.

If you need a blog design check out Studio Chic Design & tell her I sent you!

It's Snowing in Columbus GA!

I can't believe it! I woke up & was in SHOCK. My poor Bebe didn't want to go outside & decided she would wait. LOL!

I've already gone down to the Rivermill Center to set up but not sure if anyone will show up since it's snowing so hard! But, I've got my fingers crossed!

I'll post another blog tonight with images of my booth!

Happy Sunday!

Here's my house covered in snow!