Thank You!

I just wanted to say THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH to all of those who voted for MPC Photography for the Ledger Enquirer's 2009 Readers' Choice Award. I am so happy to announce that MPC Photography won (along with 2 other fabulous photographers- JE Hedges & Ritchie White).

This is the second year in a row MPC has won this award and I think it is the best award a business can win, because the votes come from the community. And this must mean I am doing something right...right? :)

You guys are the best!!!! Thank you again!

*image from Google Images

In other news...Keith & I went to the Yankees vs Braves game tonight in Atlanta with several friends. The Yankees won 11-7 and it was an awesome game. I love all things NY so yes, I am a Yankees fan! The fans were truly divided at this game as there were thousands of fans for both teams!

And I just wanted to say I am soooo very upset to learn about all these recent deaths...Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and especially Michael Jackson. I was devastated and shocked to hear about MJ because I have been a huge fan for years-even through all the weirdness. I actually still have the original Thriller & Bad "albums"...not tapes, not cds...the actual albums!

He was a huge part of my childhood, as I can remember my dad moving his car out of the carport so me & my girlfriends could roller skate to the tunes of MJ. I remember trying to Moonwalk (which I still haven't mastered 20 yrs later), and I remember all the kids that would wear the one sparkly glove and red leather jacket. And how could you forget the "We are the world" song??

RIP to all three, and I pray for comfort to all the family, friends, & fans.

I am on my way to Savannah for the weekend so I'll blog you when I get back!

Seeing each other BEFORE the ceremony

Taboo topic, I know. But before you close out this window, I want you to at least read this blog!

A lot of people have this notion that seeing each other prior to the ceremony is bad luck. It actually has NOTHING to do with luck at all...this "tradition" stemmed from arranged marriages!

Yes arranged marriages...people didn't know who they were going to marry! The "veil over the face" is also a part of this old tradition, as the couple didn't see each other until the Officiant actually said "you may kiss the bride" and the groom lifts the bride's veil!

Image found on Google images.

So now you're over the bad luck part right? If not...keep reading! :)

So let's talk about the day of your wedding. "Tradition" says all formal shots of the couple are done AFTER the ceremony, along with shots of the both families, and the entire bridal party. This can take an hour if not longer!

When you see each other prior, you both look your absolute best. Your make-up is still fresh, your hair is is still in place, the groom's tux isn't wrinkled, etc. This is probably the ONLY alone time that you two will have together for the rest of your wedding day. It isn't any less special...in fact I think it is even MORE special.

I was talking to Julie of JE Hedges Photography tonight about this topic and a valid point she made was...usually the first time the groom sees the bride is when she is walking down the aisle. And what happens when the bride enters the room? Everyone stands up...which means that the groom's view is blocked!

When you see each other prior, the Groom gets a close up view of the Bride without any distractions. He gets to see every important detail of the dress, the hair, the make-up, the shoes, the bouquet...HE gets dibs on the Bride! The "First Look" as most photographers call it is intimate, only the Bride & Groom (and of course the photographer) are in the room. There are no family or friends, no loud talking, no babies crying...it's actually quite romantic.

The excitement, nervousness, and happiness...all those emotions are NOT lost when you choose to do a "First Look"! All those emotions will be captured by your photographer! Seeing each other prior to the ceremony means MORE images of you. It also means after the ceremony you can go directly to the reception! Stop keeping those guests waiting and enjoy your wedding day!

And let me just add it's not mandatory... but it is preferred! :)

If you want to read more on this...click HERE.

This wedding planner wrote a 4 part blog on the subject!

In other news, I am going to the Braves vs Yankees game tonight in Atlanta!!! I am so excited and disappointed at the same time. Excited to see the Yankees but disappointed because I reallly wished I would have seen them play in the original Yankees Stadium before it was tore down. Oh well...I hope it's a great game!

This weekend I will be in Savannah for a wedding and an engagement session!

And some time next week I hope to have Callie & Spencer's wedding images up!! :)

Kara & Ben {Wedding}

A few weeks ago I assisted Emma with Kara & Ben's wedding in Gainseville, GA. The wedding was at Buck Creek Farm and the setting was gorgeous! Beyond Details catered and as always everything looked & tasted fabulous! The band they hired had everyone dancing all night long!

It was the perfect day for a wedding & everything turned out beautifully! Kara & Ben opted to see each other prior to the ceremony and let me tell you, this is SUCH a great idea and a huge time saver! (I will elaborate about this some more in another blog!)

They also had a small cocktail hour with an ice sculpture & shrimp & drinks. The drinks were served in custom cups (reception favors) and custom koozies! I can truly say it was the perfect wedding!

Here are some images I took from their beautiful day!

Coming up soon is Callie & Spencer's wedding!!!

Bekkah & Steve {Engagement}

A few weeks ago I met with Bekkah & Steve at the Naval Museum to shoot their engagement session. Bekkah showed up in the cutest dress that had my favorite colors: pink, black, & white....which, by the way Bekkah, where did you get that dress from? LOL! And Steve was rockin a casual sheek look, in a white button down & jeans! They look so good together!!!

If you've already had your engagement session done with me, then you already know that it's like a mini workout. LOL! I love to explore and just find different locations for engagement sessions. And this time was no different. We started at the museum, and then Bekkah showed me this covered bridge that I had no idea even existed! I LOVED IT! We then went to downtown Columbus to shoot in front of the courthouse and down to Broadway.

The great part is, even though it was EXTREMELY hot, we got it done before the rain. I am not exaggerating when I say as soon as I walked in my door, it started pouring! *whew*

Their wedding is only 3 weeks away!!! So we got these done in just enough time!

Click HERE for slideshow.

*slideshows expire in 60 days*

Mya & Haven {Wedding}

Mya & Haven were my first Friday wedding! It was a busy week with me driving back & forth to Auburn 3 days in a row! The week started with me driving to Auburn on a Wednesday to shoot Mya's Bridal session, Thursday for the Rehearsal dinner, & Friday for the wedding.

Mya & Haven had the largest wedding party I've ever shot! They had 10 bridesmaids, 10 groomsmen, 2 maid of honors, 2 best men, 2 junior bridesmaids, 2 junior groomsmen, 1 junior bride, 1 junior groom, 2 flower girls, 4 bible carriers, 4 ushers, 4 attendants, and a partridge in a pear tree! So including themselves there was a total of 46 people in the wedding! WOW! Their colors were Tiffany Blue & Pink and as stated in my blog about Mya's bridal session, Mya's dress was just stunning!

Throughout the day you could really see how much these two are in Love! I have no doubt they will have a long happy marriage together!

Click HERE for slideshow.

*slideshows expire in 60 days*

VENDORS

Victory World Prayer Center

Fountainview Mansion

Collective Memories Video

Happy 1st Anniversary Arlene & Rick!

This day last year I was in St. Croix, Virgin Islands shooting Arlene & Rick's wedding!

Today they are happily celebrating their first anniversary!

I hope you have many more!

Also, I wanted to wish all the father's out there a Fabulous Father's Day!

MPC Photography in Bliss Wedding Magazine

The summer 2009 issue of Bliss Wedding Magazine has hit the newsstands and MPC Photography is in it!! This is my first time advertising with them as this magazine is distributed in East Metro Atlanta. I am hoping to reach out to the Atlanta area brides!

Here's my ad:

I am also excited that they chose Page & Brent to be one of the featured couples for their "recently wed" section! The only problem is they put photography by "MCP" photography instead of "MPC" photography! Ughh!

Click HERE to see the magazine & read the article!

Green Wedding Shoes

The mother of one of my October brides (Nicole) sent the most FABULOUS site, and I just had to share it with you! The blog is called Green Wedding Shoes and it has sooo many cute and wonderful ideas for weddings!

There are several ideas & tips and photographs that you can get some great ideas from for you own weddings! She also features work from various photographers so there are lots of cool ideas for me too! :) I am especially loving the balloon idea in several featured blogs. I've only done this once with my sister-n-laws engagement photos and I LOVED it!

If any of you come across some great blogs or websites that you think would be beneficial to others, please email me and I will be happy to post it for others!!

Mya {Bridal}

Mya's bridals were shot at the beautiful Fountainview Mansion in Auburn, AL. Mya wore a gorgeous gown and had her hair & make-up done...she looked like a real princess!

We literally walked all around the mansion because every room was just so stunning!

I can't say enough about this location! I am so excited because I will be shooting Jena & Ryan's wedding here in October too!!

Here are a few of my favs...

*Top Right is my absolute favorite!!!!

I know it looks like her eyes are closed in the bottom one but they're not! I zoomed in several times to triple check! Weird?!

Click HERE for the slideshow.

*slideshows expire in 60 days*

I am SOOOO happy to also announce that I have two fabulous people helping me with my workflow! Hannah & Amanda! They assist with my editing and it is such a BIG help! Hannah's a quick learner & Amanda already had experience with editing/graphic arts so I am just sooooo happy to have them both helping me!!!

Have a great weekend all!

I am off to Gainsville tomorrow to shoot a wedding with Emma!

Reception Cards

I got in Tricia & Gary's reception cards and they are fabulous! Reception cards are basically the size of a business card and on the front they have an image from your engagement session with you names & date and on the back is instructions for guests on where to go to view your wedding images! :) This is so handy because lots of times your guests never get to see all the images so this way they know exactly where to go! Plus they will normally keep the cards as a piece of memorabilia from your wedding since of course your photo is on it!

I can customize them so that they match your wedding colors & I can change the fonts too! I forgot to scan a copy of the cards in so here is a digital copy of what they look like!

The Front

The Back (Notice I changed the "P" color to match their wedding colors!)

The actual cards themselves have a pearl finish and they are sooo cute!!!

Back from Las Vegas!

We made it back safely from Vegas! It was a fabulous trip! I'm sad to say I am not a millionaire though but it was still fun!

We arrived in Vegas at about 9pm Wednesday night & headed straight to the lovely Venetian. Our suite was gorgeous and huge!! My bff met us out there bc she flew in from San Jose. She was able to get the suite for free for all 4 nights! Thanks Lynda!!

When we got to the hotel we basically unpacked, went downstairs and had a late dinner, & then we walked part of the strip. I don't know why I wore new flip flops to walk the strip in, but by the time we got back my feet were so sore!

We did so much walking while we were there until we decided to get a bus pass! LOL! We went into almost every casino, ate the buffet at the Wynn, went to the top of the Stratosphere, had dinner at Paris & we had a front row seat to the Bellagio's water show, went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, saw Blue Man Group, went to Tao, ate at the Palms, went to the original "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign (where I saw a lucky photographer doing taking some gorgeous wedding photos), and finally we did lots & lots of gambling!

There were sooo many bachelorette & bachelor parties going on, 21st birthday celebrations, & weddings! Ahhh to be young again! :)

I can't say enough about Vegas...I love that city! We earned so many points while we were there that we actually were offered free suites when we return! So guess what...we're planning another trip back already! LOL!

I feel like I rarely slept the whole trip so when we got home last night I slept for 12 hours! And I am still tired now! But it's back to work! My day job changed my schedule so I work 4-8 there M-Th & 11-3 on Fridays. So I have to shift my editing schedule.

I hope to have some images up soon of Mya's Bridal & Wedding, Bekkah & Steve's engagement, & Callie & Spencer's wedding!!

Oh & my point & shoot camera wont upload all the images right now so here are the few I could download!

Lynda & I

Our friends Annie & Solomon came too...this is the first night @ dinner!
Lunch @ Paris

We thought it was funny we all happened to wear blue!

Keith, Lynda & I in front of the Venetian

This is us at the Stratosphere...they let you email one photo to yourself!

Not sure what Keith was looking at! haha!

*BTW...my blackberry is broken! So I had to go back to an old phone I had which doesn't allow me to get emails to my phone. So a new phone is on the way!

Wish Me Luck!

I am sorry I've neglected the blog! I have super busy with editing and shopping for my trip. I went to get a hair cut today for Vegas and my stylist got a little too scissor happy... It's a cute cut but I don't care for short hair on myself.

I will be on the road to Atlanta tomorrow at 4 and on a plane to Vegas at 7:15pm! And we'll be back on Sunday night.

I'll be sure to take lots more pics this time around!

Oh & that reminds me, Bridezillas airs on June 7th, be sure to tune in. I don't know if that is going to be Melissa & Michael's wedding though.

Wish me luck!