Well this is the year I’m finally getting hitched;) It’s also the year I’m hoping to help give out a little hope. This summer I’ve had the great opportunity of joining an amazing team that puts together an incredible event every year called Get Hitched Give Hope (GHGH). This is an event where brides can bid on auction items such as Photography packages, Wedding Planning services, etc. and the proceeds benefit the charity chosen for that year. Wedding professionals donate their products and services to the event, and it’s a great way for the industry to come together as a whole and give back while brides get gorgeous goods.The ladies and gentlemen that run this organization are unbelievably talented and giving and every year they raise SERIOUS money for the charity of their choice. This year they are teaming up with Dream Foundation.

Dream Foundation, founded in Santa Barbara in 1994 by Thomas Rollerson, is the first national wish granting organization for adults suffering life-threatening illness

The mission of the Dream Foundation is to enhance the quality of life for individuals and their families who are battling life-threatening illness.

Dream Foundation helps adults find peace and closure with the realization of a final wish.

Along with an amazing event they host every year with the live auction and ticket sales proceeds going to the Dream Foundation; they also do year long fundraising. That’s where I come in! There are three ways that you can help me raise some money;)

First, I’m donating $100 dollars from every portrait session I book in the next 6 months to GHGH. If you need a portrait of the family for Christmas, give me a call and know that $100 of that money is headed to help grant a wish! That means any portraits session from pets, babies, engagements you name it:) A two hour portrait session costs $300 and included is a high resolution disk of images. Feel free to call or email if you’re interested.

Second, GHGH has teamed up with a company called Gividend. They are a website that filters daily deals by location and lifestyle for Seattleites. They pull from Groupon and many other similar sites, combine them all and then select the deals that you have specifically said you are looking for (entertainment, dining, health, etc…) For every person that just signs up they will donate a $1 to GHGH. It doesn’t cost a thing. All you have to do is a few clicks and voila! You’ve just raised $1! Click here to sign up!

Lastly, Buymytronics.com (based in my home state of Colorado!!) gives GHGH proceeds of any old electronics we send them. Do you have a broken or old cell phone that is just sitting in a drawer somewhere…..give it to me and I can send it in to Buymytronics and the parts will go to raise money for the Dream Foundation. This goes for any old/used/broken electronics you have hanging around the house. To find out more about how they work click here. Please shoot me an email if you have anything you would like to donate:)

Whew…that’s a lot of info I know…but it’s all going towards an AMAZING cause!

Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and thank you in advance for helping Get Hitched Give Hope raise money to grant some final wishes.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

When I was home in Colorado earlier this month I had the great pleasure of attending Traci Remley’s baby shower:) Traci is a childhood friend of mine who I hadn’t seen in about eight years.  Other than the fact that she had a different last name and a baby bump she looked and acted exactly the same as the Traci I knew so many years ago. Walking into her parents home in Sedalia I was flooded with memories and tried my darnedest not to start tearing up from happiness and making a scene! Traci immediately came over and gave me a big hug and we caught up on life. She had a good crowd of ladies there including her best friend Heather who is also pregnant! Both are having girls that will be about a month apart, which I think is just so perfect! Traci and her husband Kyle will be naming their baby girl Luci and she is due in October, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that’s she’s born on my birthday 10/10/10!! Here are some of my favorite images from the day….

Heather made Baby Luci this adorable letter “L” to hang in the nursery.

Meet Tamale (Molly)  and Skyler…….some of the cutest puppies ever!

Jan, Traci’s mother, was truly glowing with happiness!

These ladies are so stunning! Beautiful light and beautiful ladies, I couldn’t ask for more!

Traci and her sister Shena:)

Ok so all of a sudden out of nowhere there is a donkey ass that just popes into the frame, and Traci and I just start cracking up!

Turns out it’s Jan’s donkey Hoodwinked that is just grazing in the yard as we were taking pictures. Apparently it liked me because it followed me around the entire yard!

Gorgeous…….that’s all I can say.

I had such a wonderful time and I felt incredibly welcomed by Traci and her entire party. It was such a lovely day and nothing beats seeing a wonderful friend so happy.  Thank you Traci for inviting me to share in this day with you and I can’t wait to meet baby Luci:) 10/10/10!!! Also today is Traci and Kyle’s 2 year wedding anniversary so I’d like to wish you both a huge Congratulations!

Here’s a few of my favorite first looks from last season.

Happy Friday!

I had the great pleasure of meeting Melanie Duerkopp’s family for the first time last month. Melanie is a wonderful friend from college and was roommates in New York with Justin and I. Her Grandma had come over from Germany for the holidays so Melanie thought it would be a great idea to get some family portraits done while she was in town.  I adore her Grandma, she has such a free and happy spirit. When another photographer asks you to take portraits of their family it is a huge compliment, and I wanted to make sure that the portraits would be everything she hoped for.  We spent the morning at Volunteer Park in Capitol Hill and the Asian Art Museum, and thankfully the rain held off. It was such a fun day…COLD….but fun! Melanie is also a great photographer and has a blog that showcases all her adventures in the San Fransisco area and beyond.

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A couple of weeks ago I blogged about the pregnancy shoot I did with the Farrell family and I promised a look at their new addition, baby Holden Liam. Holden was born in November and my family and I got to meet Holden over the Christmas holiday.  Like I mentioned in the previous blog post Ashleigh Farrell is one of my sister’s best friends so getting to see Mallory meet Mr. Holden for the first time was really special. The cholic gods were on our side that day because Holden was in a wonderful, relaxed mood.  He was down right charming, giving me cute little smiles and lip curls.  Precious doesn’t even do him justice, he was beyond precious! We were all smitten within seconds.  In the McKenzie family we consider our close friends to be family. We always lived far from our other relatives so we made special long lasting connections with the “family we had around us” which was our friends. Ashleigh and Shaun are definitely family and when I get asked to capture such incredible moments in their life I feel so blessed. Days like that one remind me of how wonderful my job is.

I also mentioned in the previous post that Ashleigh is also a blogger and has a great blog that is filled with touching and funny stories about their new life with Holden. It’s a wonderful read and I highly recommend it to any new mothers out there.

Today also happens to be Shaun’s Birthday coincidentally, so a big Happy Birthday shout out to Shaun. I hope you have a wonderful birthday with your new baby boy!

Here are some of my favorite shots from the day, and even some with my parents, my sister, and yours truly:) Can I just say there is nothing sweeter in the world then seeing my daddy holding a little baby boy…..melts my heart every time!

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