We're off!

Well, we're off immediately after our weddings tomorrow. Leslie and Sean are getting hitched in Jamaica, and they decided to bring us along!

If you're trying to reach us, email us through the website, or comment here. If it's nothing urgent, leave a voicemail and we'll get back to you. I hope to be able to blog from the resort, so check back!

Good week to be a photographer!

Summertime can be overwhelming in our business, but this week has been a good one to be a photographer. We got a lovely gift from Leslie, who is flying us to Jamaica soon, and were surprised by a package that arrived today, containing my favorite vodka, and some single malt scotch that Joe is excited to try.

We photographed the kitchens and several dishes for Inverness Club's website, and got a personal thank you from the executive chef. Thank you for the thank you, Pete!

Pixie!

Pixie is our newest foster, and she's up for adoption. She's a very good dog.

Click on any photo to enlarge the cuteness.

The succulents

Joe had a quick break between projects, so he put together his office succulent garden. I love how these plants look so mod and other-worldly. They're also easy to take care of.

The glass containers are all different shapes and sizes, but the huge window dwarfs them - the bowl in the center is much bigger than it looks, it stands knee high when it's on the floor.

Moving took a lot more time than I thought it would, but we're so happy with the new studio. We've got ten times more light, a functioning kitchen, a dedicated shooting space, and the rooms are just laid out so much better for us. Stay tuned for more photos!

Click on any image to enlarge.

The Joe Burger

"People like me have no business deciding what goes on their burger!"
-Joe

Joe and I went out to a chain restaurant the other night (I know, but it was late and all the local places were closed) and he got a burger. There were all these choices, so he went crazy. I think he had bacon, fried onions, barbeque sauce, and blue cheese dressing... anyway, he said this on the way home and it made me laugh.

He's got a point, though - if you're not a cook, you need some guidance, some good ideas to choose from. Too many choices tend to lead to a big ol' mess you're not going to be happy with.

That's my deep thought for tonight.

Great wedding today, with the sweetest couple, at the Toledo Club (click the link so you can see our photo that is on their menus). The staff is always so great about taking care of us and making sure we got a chance to eat, which we like to do, because the food is good and Joe doesn't have to choose anything, except beef or chicken.

Anybody out there? What do you like on your burger? Even if it's a soy and gluten-free veggie burger!

I must have it

Though I'm usually not a big PB fan, this duvet was so cool it knocked me over. It's a really fun pattern (which should hide dog hair) and you can see Pantone color numbers/names when you look close.

If it's not already, this fabric is going to be a huge cult hit with designers of all kinds.

Sneak peek at the new office

It's still a work in progress, but here are a couple quick pics. Here's the exterior, in case you missed it. Click on any photo to enlarge.

The new living room, complete with flat fireplace.


And the new (antique) conference table. Where the magic happens. ;)


My desk (look how clean!), see one of Joe's orchids in the window? He's got a green thumb.


The front step, and a section of unfinished floor. I'm planning to tile it.


A bit hard to see, but here are some glass pieces Joe chose for his succulent container garden.

Jamaica'n me crazy

We're packing up our equipment and digging out the passports for a destination wedding in Jamaica!

Leslie, the bride, brought us the sweetest gift bag, with beach towels, rum candies, aloe vera, bath salts, an underwater camera (clever!), and these golf balls. I dubbed her Client of the Year for her thoughtfulness.

You can bet I'll be sharing photos with you from the beach.

Happy Father's Day!

My dad is the smartest man I know. He can fry a perfect egg, build a shed out of scrap wood and duct tape, fix all the bugs in your program ("they're not bugs, they're features!"), make a wedding tiara of pure and sterling silver and white sapphires (with necklace and earrings to match), build a bridge out of toothpicks that can hold 50 lbs, then make gourmet soup for dinner from bones, surplus canned goods and whatever produce he has in the back of the fridge.

My dad is one of two men I know that I actually like to be stuck in a car with for a long drive (Dad came first, I married the second). I never get tired of talking to him. And I know how lucky I am.

I love you, Dad!

Photo of me and my dad by Joe, Brenna, or Kristin, at my brother's wedding. We had four photographers there, and I'm not sure who got what. Interestingly enough, I'm wearing another one of Dad's original necklaces (rough-cut citrine, on a satin cord) here.

Why we do what we do

Here are a few photos from Sarah and Jason's wedding. After their awesome engagement session (props to Joe for this one), I couldn't wait to see the wedding photos. Brenna did an amazing job, although Sarah and Jason are so gorgeous, it can't be too hard to catch them looking good.

These were shot in the few seconds immediately after the ceremony. When you see emotion like this, captured carefully and perfectly, without anything in the way, you can't help but be moved. Do me a favor and click on the middle photo to see it larger. These photos are precious now, but ten, twenty, even fifty years from now, they'll be worth ever so much more. And that's why we do what we do.

Pat yourself on the back, Bren!

Pack your knives...

We recently got a little taste of Top Chef right here in Toledo. We went to Inverness Country Club for a quick shoot in the kitchen, followed by some portraits of their wonderful food. We got to taste it afterward and now we just want more.

Check out these pics, SOTC (straight out of the camera), which means they'll only look better after I tweak them. The executive chef you see garnishing soup for its closeup is our friend, Peter. The kitchen staff all call him "Chef" which I thought was super cool.

We're on the move!

We've been working on our new office space this week and things are taking longer than we thought. Joe's handling customer service and dealing with some tech problems and I'm heading up the renovations.

Because most of our computer equipment has been unplugged, we are a little behind on emails. Feel free to give us a call if you have an urgent question. Otherwise, we should be able to catch up over the weekend (visiting dad = long car trip = time to answer email).

Thanks for your patience!

You can thank me later

I have a problem with dairy. Not philosophically, but digestively. I won't go into it. But this Hagen-Dazs sorbet is SO good that I don't miss it. It happens to be low in fat and calories, but you won't even know, I promise.

The orchard peach (sorbet) is rockingly good, too, and it's even funner to alternate between the flavors (if you have a husband with his own spoon who doesn't mind sharing).

Mimzy, the office bunny

Did y'all know we have an office bunny? We adopted her from the pound a few months ago. She loves to play on the couch while we work. Have you seen a bunny play?

The big reveal

I've been hinting at some big news lately, and I can finally announce it. We're moving!

We'll be just around the corner, in an adorable space that I've been ogling for years. We'll have a lot more natural light, separate rooms for our work areas (important when you're married to your business partner), a whole kitchen with commercial sink, a dedicated studio space, and access to the studio from the ritzy little mall at the Davis Building.

I am very, very excited. We'll have both the old and new offices for the month of June, and be fully moved by July 1. Nothing but the adddress will change and customer service should not be interrupted for more than 24 hours. Wish us luck!

Please click on those pics to enlarge. Isn't that just the coolest shop? Ooh, and in the second one you can see Itty and Bitty, the dwarf spruces we planted to celebrate our new digs.

Cake in a Cup

Cake in a Cup is a new cupcakery in Toledo. As a cupcake connoisseur, I was skeptical at first, but I fell in love... most especially with their Hostess with the Mostess cupcakes with the awesome ganache on top and cream in the middle, but everything's pretty darn good.

One of the owners worked for us 8 years ago as a model bride, and we lost touch only to meet up again over cupcakes.

Here are just a couple of their specialties, the Mostess and the popular Devil Wears Prada with the dark chocolate truffle center and white chocolate on top. Here's their whole menu.

If you're local, check it out, and if you're not, go ahead and lick your monitor. ;)

Does anyone remember Jack Handey?

I'm dating myself here, but I used to love Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey on Saturday Night Live.

Here are a few favorites:

To me, it's a good idea to always carry two sacks of something when you walk around. That way, if anybody says, "Hey, can you give me a hand?" You can say, "Sorry, got these sacks."

I hope if dogs ever take over the world and they choose a king, they don't just go by size, because I bet there are some Chihuahuas with some good ideas.

Instead of having "answers" on a math test, they should just call
them "impressions," and if you got a different "impression," so
what, can't we all be brothers? (That one's for Joe!)

Seriously

Are these not the funnest shoes money can buy? $86 here.

Love me some photobooths

I have always had a thing for photobooths. I wanted one so badly at our wedding, but they were a few thousand dollars to rent. We came up with a faux-to-booth for a fraction of the cost - we just set up a digital camera with a backdrop and a squeezebulb so weddings guests can take their own pictures. It's a ton of fun. Add our booth to any wedding package for $700 (click here for details).

Or find a vintage photobooth here and be sure to report back!

Pictured are some photos from a Decisive Moment photobooth at Lia and Sam's wedding.