i have a confession - i am addicted to reading blogs. there are so many amazing blogs out there and so much creativity! what's a girl to do?

one of my daily reads is emilystyle and she just wrote about how she enjoys looking at a old wedding photos. coincidentally, gina had an antique photo that she loved and asked that we re-create the pose at her own wedding. we did not have an elaborate living room to use as a background so we found a simple hallway to use instead. here is the modern interpretation of the photo.



go and check out emily's blog!

gina and martin planned such a lovely wedding. they were so calm and collected the entire day plus all of their friends were so excited for the two of them. the most amazing part is that gina and martin have only known each other for a short time. the story goes that they were set up by friends and knew right away that they were mean to be together. amazing! they are such a sweet couple and i wish them all of the happiness in the world.

gina and martin, if you are reading this from your honeymoon, i hope you are having a wonderful time and congratulations again!

enjoy your last vacation before the baby arrives...vacations change just a bit when you have children. yes, they are going to be mommy and daddy in a few months!

gina and martin are big soccer players so we added a soccer ball for fun.
venue: allied arts
caterer: cassis catering
flowers: a bed of flowers

friday

happy long weekend! enjoy the extra day at home!

super cool

jerry and i will be celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary on july 1st.
i am supposed to plan our anniversary outing this year and i have been going back and forth on destinations. should we go out on the town and stay in san francisco? go back to our favorite b&b in the whole wide world, the inn at occidental? st. helena, where jerry proposed, is another great spot. on our last trip to st. helena we stayed at the adagio inn which was right in town and close to my favorite restaurant, tra vigne. but wait....look at this new place in san francisco! cavallo point - the lodge at golden gate. doesn't it look spectacular? i love the fact that they are fixing up old buildings for a new purpose. this might be the one!

i really need to make up my mind quickly since the clock is ticking. decisions! decisions!

gina and martin

here is a sneak peek at gina and martin's wedding from this past weekend at allied arts in menlo park.
they are such a wonderful couple and it is quite obvious that they are meant to be together. the wedding was lovely - the family, friends, food, location...all perfect.
gina and martin - thank you for letting me photograph your wedding! have a wonderful time on your honeymoon!

and the winner is.....

jill e.! she is the lucky winner of a free photo session. thank you so much for all of the entries - i thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the responses. here are a few photos for you to enjoy.

crazy

it is 11:23 p.m. and i should have been in bed a few hours ago. the weekend was super busy with a wedding on saturday and a super fun birthday party today. i have been busy backing up the backed up files to the back up, back up drive. just being safe!
i will announce the winner of the photo contest tomorrow. sorry, i am too tired to count the entries.
off to bed!

sneak peek

here are a few more photos from one of last weeks photo sessions. these boys are so adorable!
we met at picchetti winery in cupertino for pictures and they have a bunch of peacocks roaming around the property. the boys were really fascinated by them. plus, peacocks make the strangest noises so even though we couldn't alway see one, we could hear them!


have a fantastic weekend!

back to school

going back to school for the day was so inspiring! i picked up some new tips and tricks which i am so excited to put to work. here is a sample from the photo session that took place during the workshop. love the old car and the old red barn!

i have a fantastic wedding coming up this weekend. gina and martin are really sweet and i am super excited about allied arts as the venue. beautiful couple + beautiful location = my dream!

{contest update}
my friends, the clock is ticking! only a few more days to win a free photo session or use the $400 credit toward a wedding! the competition is open to anyone and there is still time to get your friends and family to put in the word for you. all you have to do is get a bunch of people to send me an e-mail with the the answers to a few questions. the submissions have been really wonderful to read - thank you to those of you who shared such wonderful lessons from your mothers!
see the blog post from sunday, may 11th with all the details
don't be shy, tell everyone you know about the contest so you can get the free photo session! aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers, sisters, neighbors, a play group, book club, co-workers.......the more the merrier!

school

i went back to school for the day and it was fantastic. meeting with photographers to hear about the latest and greatest is wonderful and gives me new ideas and inspiration. i got to go on a photo shoot and watch other photographers to all of the work! plus, i think it is so important to network with photographers in the area.
i didn't want to do another post without a picture so hear is a sneak peak from one of my photo sessions from the weekend. we went up to picchetti winery which is an ideal spot for a photo session with the old barn and rustic buildings. just stay out of the way of the peacocks that roam the property!

hot

today is going to be hot. i love it! bring on the spring and summer weather!
i am heading off to school today. there is a workshop in santa cruz and i am looking forward to learning some new photography tricks and ideas. i will share when i return tomorrow.
there are five more days for the mother's day contest to win a free photo photo session. tell your friends, colleagues, neighbors, brothers and sisters to send an e-mail for you. there is still plenty of time. thank you for the people who have already sent messages. i have enjoyed reading about the lessons learned from your moms.
stay cool!

contest

i had such a lovely mother's day. i got to sleep in! i am such a fan of extra sleep so this was the perfect present. thank you jerry! doesn't sam look so excited about another photo session with mommy?
**6 more days for the contest**
(see the post from sunday, may 11th)
get everyone you know to send me an e-mail (with the answers to the three questions) and you could win a free photo session ($400 value). the person with the most referrals will win!

mother's day giveaway

happy mother's day!
in honor of mother's day, i am going to give away one photo session ($400 value).
use the photo session yourself or give it away to someone as a gift for a birthday present, wedding shower, baby shower, or 'just because'. (the $400 may be used toward a wedding package.)
to win the photo session, you must get the most people to send an e-mail to me with answers to the following questions.

question #1: what is your name?
question #2: who referred you?
question #3: what is one wise lesson you learned from your mother?

send your answers to me at loren@lorenwphoto.com by sunday, may 18th.

official rules: one entry per person, please. multiple entries by the same person will not be counted. you have until sunday, may 18th to enter. the winner will be picked and announced on May 18th.

pass my blog address along to as many friends, family members and colleagues...the more referrals, the greater the chance of winning!

then and now

i just finished the collage for the w. family.
could this family be any cuter?
i was looking through the old photos of abigail (taken in 2005) and it is amazing how much she has changed. plus, you can really see the family resemblance with the two girls. hazel looks so much like her big sister with the beautiful addition of red hair!

canvas madness

i am happy to announce that a few of my canvas prints are now displayed at All About Mom and Me which is a wonderful store in downtown Los Altos. this is the perfect place to find gifts for baby showers as well as a little something for your own peanut.
i am so in love with canvas prints that i want everyone to get one after a photo session. book a photo session during the month of May and you can purchase one canvas print at 50%. yes, 50%. half off! this is a super deal!
pass the word along to friends, neighbors and co-workers!
your photo session does not have to take place in May - just book a session with me and send in your deposit in May.
canvas prints come in a variety of sizes from 8x10 to huge!
create a really unique piece of art by selecting five of your favorite images for one canvas. each photograph is edited and enhanced then sent to the vendor for printing. the photo is then printed on canvas and stretched on a custom made stretcher frame. all canvas prints come with a wire for hanging.
questions? send me an e-mail - loren@lorenwphoto.com

surgery

ryan had eye surgery today. the glasses were not doing their job anymore and our only option was surgery.
the doctor said that everything went as planned and we were able to take her home two hours after the surgery. now both of my children have had surgery and i hope this is the last of it. it really is harder on the parents. ryan had no clue what was happening and she was out for the whole procedure while i got to be the worry wart. let's just say that i am absolutely relieved to be on this side of the experience. thank you dr. cooper...you were amazing.
(just a little extra thought about dr. cooper - she actually called us last night to check in and see if we had any questions before coming to the hospital. isn't that amazing? a simple phone call made all the difference! her call made me feel like we weren't just another procedure.)
have a great weekend!