At the Fair with Ely Fair!

I got to do some pictures at the fair, yay! I was so excited to finally meet this couple, and they were a lot of fun to photograph! And they're GORGEOUS! And not just because of those beautiful smiles--they simply oozed with love and excitement for one another.  It was a long evening pushing through crowds and waiting for the right shot, but they were so sweet through out the whole process. I feel so lucky to have such great clients. I can't wait to photograph their wedding next summer.

More to come of these two!!!

Reception No. 3

This past weekend was my parents threw my sister and her new husband a reception at our home in Oklahoma. Reception no. 3. One was in Michigan, one in Korea, and one here in good ol' OK. My mom decided to play on the western theme (Yes mom, thank you for confirming all the ideas of  hay bails and hick to the northern guests), and of course she went all out, as always. Love you mom, but you are a little crazy. All of you readers out there that have had the pleasure of meeting Sue, you know it's true. Don't deny it. Anyway, I have digressed, but here are a couple of details from the night.
There were about 16 tables, and mom made a different cake for each table:

This one has eatable gold on it, fancy pants

Here's the happy couple!

Oh, the barrels. We had to go to 2 different Atwoods to get them all.

Mr. Cho was the keeper of the fire. One of them anyway. There were three.

Husband got deemed King of the Grill, he cooked over 60 steaks!

Lets not forget the 100 LBS OF PEANUTS. Because everyone needs to take two pounds of peanuts home with them. But no. We have 98 pounds left. Anybody want a peanut?

Any we have to throw some baby pics in there. This cutie is Stella. Best name ever.

And this is what we all did the day after the party! Love you dad!

I make fun, but mom really is great at what she does. I didn't take any pics of her fine chocolates because I didn't get to them before guests did, but if you are looking for someone to cater a dessert bar at your wedding, let me know, she's makes beautiful, tasty treats!

Photos Anyone?

The past two weeks I have been brainstorming ideas about taking photos at the Great State Fair of Oklahoma with a couple that I've had booked for MONTHS now. Sadly, though, my sweet little bride may have the swine flu. YUCK! 


Needless to say, she didn't want to expose me or her finance to the epidemic, soooo I have loads of ideas and a cleared schedule for tomorrow night. Anyone interested in a free couples session at the fair?? All that is required is for you to purchase your tickets, tickets for some of the rides, and maybe some cotton candy or ice cream, AND post your favorite fair experience in reply to this post.

New on Website: Little Friends! And blog header winner!

Due to overwhelming response, the winner of the blog header is....VIBRANT! If you couldn't tell already :)  Thank you to everyone who helped me to make the choice. 


I also wanted to announce that I just added a new section to my website: Little Friends! If you are a pet owner, you know how our little furry friends become part of the family. So I have expanded my site to include them. Of course, our own pup makes his appearance many times, because he's just so irresistible. Remember him when he was so cute??? 

Oh, look at that little face, how can you not fall in love with him! I've said it before, I'll say it again - I'm convinced that God makes puppies (and babies) so cute so that you fall in love with them.  And then you get all attached, so when they chew up your FAVORITE rocking chair, you don't banish them to the streets. Speaking of chewing, does anyone know a good brand of pet bed to buy for a puppy who eats everything???


Anyhoo, more pet photos at the site, www.elyfairphotos.com.

Vote Please!

Okay, so my friends who majored in Marketing have been getting on to me about having a plane jane blog. I swear, I am a disgrace to the graphic design community, I am so clueless when it comes to backgrounds and headers for the web. Clueless. Ask me to design you a print piece, and I can make you the most elaborate, blow your mind piece of art, but talk to me about web and I go blank.

In addition to my mental block against web, I may be the the 3rd most indecisive person on the face of this plant. Number One: Brett Favre. Number two: I'm not sure who this is, but I'm giving myself benefit of the doubt that there is at least one person that stands in the deodorant isle blankly looking at all of the brands, smells, designs, strengths, and cursing the flooded market of goods, at least 5 minutes compared to my 3.

So, I'm asking for your help in my inability to make a choice. Please vote for which you like best.

Vibrant set:

Muted set:

Semi-Seasonal Set:

Studio Audience, pick up your polling device and please vote now.

More from the Land of Cheese and Beer

I never thought it would happen. Ever. My husband actually uttered the phrase "I'm kind of beer'd out." He would be a disgrace to his family if they had know that those words had slipped out of his mouth. I was in awe. I guess that's what Wisconsin will do to you if you're not a native. I'm not much of a beer drinker, this was my drink of choice most of the weekend because I didn't want to feel left out!

I'm not sure if I had mentioned that the reason we had ventured to the north was to celebrate the marriage of one of my closest friends from High School. He married his college sweetheart, and they had a wonderful wedding in Milwaukee. The reception was A-maz-ing! They had a family style sit down dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant, where they brought out HUGE servings of 4 different main courses, and you served yourself. Awesome. I am such a naughty photographer-friend though, I was having way too much fun at the wedding (and stressing out about passing out when I did the reading!) that I really only took these two photos! I wish I had taken some of the bride, she had the cutest dress, and her hair was SOOO gorgeous. Beautiful day, beautiful people.

I feel so blessed to have friend that have traveled through life with me, going all the way back to middle school! It has been so fun to watch us all grow up, and find those people that we committed our lives. I'm excited to see what is in store for all our futures, and hope that we will all continue to stay close through out our lives. 

                          

Love these people. Will always have a spot in my heart and in my life.

Classic Beauty

On our excursion to the north land, we got to visit my grandparents. They are such an amazing couple. Been married 50+ years, and their love is still apparent. Feelings are still apparent. He still talks about how lucky he is, and how she was the prettiest girl in town when he courted her. And she dotes on him for what good care he takes of her. And Grandma even still gets mad when Grandpa looks over her shoulder with commentary when she's making apple pie. I guess that never goes away :)


While we were there, Grandma pulled out some of their old photos, and Grandpa is right, she was a total bombshell! We took some and scanned them, and I just had to share. I'd really like to post the pics of her in her bathing suit that she sent to my grandpa when he was oversea's in the war, but Grandma would surely disown me if she ever found out.

I hope hubby and I are as cute as them in 50 years.

My Sister

I am SO excited to see my sister this weekend! I am very blessed to have one lovely and amazing sister that lives near me, but the other has decided to abandon her little sister and live a billion miles away. Okay, so just Chicago, but still seems to far.


Anyway, I am very, very, very excited to get to see her soon. She has a pretty demanding job, so we don't even get to talk on the phone much, which makes me sad because she's pretty much one of the best people I know. Super smart, dedicated, successful, compassionate, fun, generous and has one of the most infectious laughs. You could pretty much say she's my hero.


When I was in grade school, she was in high school. About once a month, she would take her off campus lunch time, bring subway and come eat lunch with me. So while all of the other little kiddies ate their green beans off of the white Styrofoam trays, I got to have a roast beef sandwich with my sister. It was awesome.


This past fall she got married, and I'm so happy for her. I've seen her heart get broken a couple of times, and some jerks take advantage of her giving spirit. It's good to see her happy. Now I'm just ready for her to pop out some cute babies.