I love pictures. I love pictures of couples, to be more precise. I know that you love pictures too. But what happens after you get that disc of images you ordered from your photographer? They’re great pictures of you and that special someone, but what do you do with them? After a year of giving couples just the disc of images for their use, it became quite apparent to me that most couples never get around to doing anything with their disc of images. So sad! But I understand…. because really, who has time to go through the bazillion images, pick the ones you like, take them somewhere to be enlarged, and scrapbook them? Or even if you just wanted to make a photo book, the task of finding a company that makes them…. and makes them well, is a time consuming task. So this year, for those brides and grooms who want a creative way to show off their engagement pictures, I’ve decided to offer a Photobook  style Guest Sign-in Book. Not only is this a great way to show off your pictures, but it’s a creative alternative to the traditional guest sign-in book. Instead of signing notes of Congratulations and encouragement in a book with no pictures, guests can sign and write notes to the lucky bride and groom in a book full of their engagement pictures….. so it can be shared for years to come with whomever sits next to your living room coffee table. I think it’s a much more personable and usable way to remember this time in your lives…. and I’m excited to make a ton of these books for my own coffee table!

Here’s the latest Guest Sign-in book that arrived this morning… custom designed by me!

It’s an 8.5 x 11” Hardcover Book….

That has a fully customizable front, back, and spine….

It’s pages are premium UV coated paper with great picture quality… and the pages are hinged… so you get the lay-flat effect. Love it!

The pages are thinner than Album pages, but thicker than just standard computer paper…

I’m a big fan of these White House Custom Color books… and I just wanted to share a little of my excitement this afternoon with you! Happy Wednesday!

He’s a genuinely good guy. First impressions say a lot about a person…. maybe even the things they try to hide. My first impression of Chris was just that… he’s a genuinely good guy. He loves the Lord. He loves my friend. He loves people and does his best to help where he can. He’s a hard worker. He’s a big WIN if you ask me!

Hmmm… what to say about Chelsea…. She’s everything a lady should be. She’s one of the only nurses I would want if I were in the hospital (she recently finished her Nurse Practitioner’s degree and rolls with the big dogs now ). She’s gorgeous. She has a smile that could make glaciers melt. Her quiet, yet quirky sense of humor never fails to have me in stitches (no pun intended…)…. and the list goes on and on. She’s someone I would want to be like when I grow up.

You can imagine the look on my face when Chelsea first asked me to be her wedding photographer…. well, basically I had a blank look of complete and utter shock on my face. I’m beyond honored Chris and Chelsea have chosen me to be their wedding photographer… and I couldn’t ask for more perfect clients and friends than them! We had so much fun shooting at the Orange Circle and Peter’s Canyon… and I’m SO excited for their November wedding at Strawberry Farms! Here’s some shots from our afternoon…

By the way… Chelsea claimed to “not know how to ‘work it’ “…. riiiiight.

Chelsea cracks me up… she’s so darn cute!

After we spent some time exploring around Orange Circle, we took a quick drive down Chapman and ended up at Peter’s Canyon… another one of my favorite places to shoot. The hills were painted a gorgeous spring green and as the sun set, we enjoyed the vibrant colors all around. Seriously… the whole time, Taylor Swift was singing “Today was a Fairytale” in my head… because that’s what it looked like.

Okay…. I couldn’t help myself. I HAD to shoot some of the details… because they were so good! I ADORED Chelsea’s dress from Anthropologie and the cute bouquet of flowers she brought along….

I was also a HUGE fan of her cute yellow strappy sandals from Nordstrom. (And I have to admit… I saw them at Nordstrom and almost bought them…)

Chris certainly brought “man-ness” to the shoot with his studly cowboy boots.

This was one of my favorites from the day…

Another “couldn’t help myself” moment… the sun flare was just so cool!!!!

Chris brought his truck… yay!

Passion.

Dear Chris and Chelsea,

You rocked my world with this shoot.

Not only were you easy on the eyes, but you were a breath of fresh air to my soul.

I loved getting to know you both better and I can’t wait for your wedding day.

I might cry. This is fair warning.

Loooove,

Kate

After coming back from the Middle East, spending time shooting an engagement shoot with Billy Jack and Alissa was PERFECT. Truly a blessing. Seriously…. it was a gorgeously sunny San Diego day, both Billy Jack and Alissa looked amazing, and we had such fun exploring around San Diego finding cool places to shoot!

Before I begin any engagement shoot, I always tell the couple this…. ” I know it’s a wierd thing to have your pictures taken… on purpose. It’s wierd because, unless you’re a model, people look at you funny if you act like one. Today, you have full permission to not feel ridiculous showing me your best fierce face. You have full permission to be “love-y-dove-y”… in face, I encourage it because those are the pictures you will love. Have fun today. Let yourself feel sexy…. let yourself feel in LOVE… because that’s what these pictures are for… to help you remember that time in your life when you were so in love you chose to take the next step and prepare to pledge your lives to each other. Enjoy it!”

Well… I didn’t really need to tell Billy Jack and Alissa any of that… because they BROUGHT the fun….and the sexy…. they BROUGHT the love. And it was soooo fun to share this amazing time in their lives! Their friendship and their love comes natural. I was inspired and left the shoot that night with a big smile on my face knowing that two of my very good friends had found the love of their life. They’re truly happy. They truly bring out the colors in life. And I’m so honored to be able to spend time with these two, and documenting “them”! Here’s some of my favorite shots….. (there’s a TON… I had a hard time narrowing my favorites down)

Alissa….. you are smokin’ hot woman!

Billy liked Alissa in that pose so much… he thought he’d try it too….

This was one of my absolute favorites from the day….

When we stopped for a quick coffee break at a bookstore, they both saw the giant checkers board and ran to play a quick game before we continued with the shoot. I love this about them… they love to play

Poor Billy got cold…

Thanks again you guys! I had a blast hanging out with you on Wednesday and I can’t wait to shoot your wedding in May! You guys rock my socks off….

Today was beautiful.

Today was inspiring.

The air felt full of creative vapor.

I took a deep breath and gave it my all.

Here’s a sneak peek from today’s engagement shoot with Chris and Chelsea…. more to come….