Audrey Reagan Vaca

Yea! She finally came. Audrey Reagan was born on Thursday, February 12th at 3:34pm. She weighed 7 lb 3 oz and was 19.75" long. She has dark blue eyes and brown hair. Everyone's doing well, and Ava is really excited to have her baby sister here. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes!

Baby taking her time...

I was due two days ago. TWO DAYS! Everyone says the second ones come early and fast, but not my little girl. She's taking her sweet time. If she doesn't show up on her own by Thursday, then I'm getting induced. I'm cool with this, but also a little scared. You see, I have a thing with numbers. My husband thinks I'm crazy. I only like even numbers. When we moved to Charlotte three years ago I made him switch our new phone number because it ended in 13. I picked out a new one, which ends "2100" and ever since then we get calls ALL THE TIME from people trying to call Sears. I've memorized their phone number (543-2100) so I can be of assistance everytime I pick up the phone and hear someone confusidly say "um... is this Sears?"

Anyway, Thursday is great because it's 2/12. Also, 12 is my alltime favorite number, and this Thursday happens to be President Lincoln's birthday which I also think is cool since he was one of the greatest Presidents this country has ever had. You've probably figured out what I'm afraid of, and that is FRIDAY! It's Friday the 13th! Can you imagine what a little terror this girl could turn out to be? Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Karen & John - 12.6.08

So I'm 12 days from my due date and happy to report that I finished Karen and John's proofs in time! They turned out really well, and I couldn't be happier. Karen and John got married at St. Mary's Chapel and held their reception at the Pewter Rose Bistro in the South End (a very cool reception site if I do say so myself.) It was a lot of fun and they were a great couple to work with.

As for me, I shot my final "pre maternity leave" wedding last weekend on 1.17.09 for Rachel and Turner. They also got married at St. Mary's, but held their reception at Roof With A View which is a very cool, 5th floor warehouse style venue right next to Bank of America Stadium. Needless to say, there is a huge balcony where you can see the entire skyline from. I can't wait to get going on their images so I can share favorites with you from the fun (but super cold) day!

So this little girl squirming around in my over-capacity abdomen still doesn't have a name! We pathetically sent out a poll to all of our friends/family to get their feedback on the three names we're down to: Reagan, Leah, and Emma. Right now Reagan leads Leah by a very small margin. What do you think??? We had Ava's name settled on months before she came. Talk about second-child syndrome already taking place...and she's not even here yet!

Nicky & Dave - Florence, Italy Wedding

That's how long I have left until my due date. I went to the OB today, and this little girl is already 5lb 2oz. Our daughter was 5lb 4oz. at birth, so her sister is definitely going to be bigger! As a result, I'm hoping for a January baby instead of the targeted date of February 7th.

So I finished up Nicky and Dave's Italy proofs. They are as gorgeous as ever and I'm really proud of the results. I posted a lot a few posts back, so I'll just add a few more here.

I'm now working on Karen and John's December wedding at St. Mary's uptown and am trying to finish it before my final "pre maternity leave" wedding on January 17th. I have confident clients, don't I! Only three weeks before my due date, but no worries, I have an awesome photographer assisting me and ready to take over should I not make it :)

I'll do my best to post the results of all that I'm working on before the little babe arrives, but ultimately Mother Nature will dictate. Happy 2009!

Is it really December?

Ok, so I haven't posted in over a month so I figure I'm due. I got a kick of energy tonight and updated the site as well, so check it out for some new photos on the various pages. We moved this past weekend and are finally in the new house which I'm very excited about. It was very emotional to leave our last house, as our toddler daughter's entire life has happened there and we have many fond memories as a result. But now that we're in the new house the excitement we feel has replaced the sadness from just a few days ago. Just a few more boxes to unpack and we'll be set!

So... Italy was FABULOUS as you can imagine. Nicky and Dave's wedding went off without a hitch. (Well, that's not entirely true - my American battery recharger blew a fuse at the hotel and killed the charger permenantly, so my kind husband had to go on a whirlwind cab ride after the ceremony to find me some fresh batteries. I'm so thankful he was there!) Anyway, the wedding was held at a beautiful castle on a hill in Florence called Castello di Vincigliata which is located in the Fiesole village of the city. It is literally hundreds of years old. Guests flew in from all over Europe and Australia to attend. My husband and I spent our first three days in Florence for the wedding, then the next four in Rome.

We discovered quickly that the rest of the world is so more exotic than we Americans when it comes to weddings. They dress to the nines for occasions like weddings, which is evident is some of my photos. Everyone wears hats! It's lovely! Dave's mum and sisters were so smokin' hot that Japanese tourists started taking their picture when they left the hotel earlier in the day to come to the castle! Isn't that a hoot!

Anyway, the wedding was fabulous and this couple is simply blissful for one another. It was so obvious that neither really cared about anything else at all than simply being married to one another. So in love! I love it when I get to capture couples as perfectly fit together as Nicky and Dave are. Here are several images from the big day. This is more than I normally show, but with such an awesome location and gorgeous couple can you really blame me?

Getting ready...



The dress was Italian made, of course.


So here are a few pics of the venue: Castello di Vincigliata








I love all the hats!


Here is our beautiful bride arriving in a vintage Fiat 500 being greeted by her father.


Dave and his groomsmen are awaiting the start of the ceremony in the courtyard.


The processional through the courtyard.


Our happy couple during their sunset ceremony.




They were a funny bunch! Very lighthearted and up for fun all evening long!


Dave's sisters taking a self portrait on the terrace. I love this one.


These are some beautiful shots of Florence from the castle as the sun went down.

Dave and Nicky enjoy a peaceful moment while listening to their opera singer at the start of the reception. She sang in the ceremony room and echoed throughout the entire castle.

The speeches were more than anyone could handle. I was even tearing up.


Nicky and Dave passing through the courtyard later in the evening. The entire castle had this magical glow.

View of Florence after dark.

When in Rome...

So in about 72 hours I'll be heading to Italy with my husband for 8 days! I'm shooting a colleague's wedding at a castle in Florence, then spending the following week in Rome on vacation. I've never been to either, so I'm really excited to go!

I will do my best to NOT check email during this time, so please have patience if you send me something. I'll reply the week of the 16th.

In a mad dash to finish all of my work before Italy, moving, baby, etc. I'm happy to post a few pics from my recent 3 month session with "Baby Drew" as my 2 year old affectionately calls him (or any other baby boy she sees.) I took Drew's newborn pics when he was born in July. The little man is growing up quickly!

Europe anyone?

Ok, so this may be my last post for a while. Life is just insane! We sold our house on Sunday and have until December to pack and move (right down the street to our new house.) In the meantime I'm shooting one wedding, two engagements, a baby, a family, and a bridal portrait in a 10 day span... while working full time. Oh, and the big kicker? We planned an 8 day trip to Italy back in May before we were expecting and before our house ever went on the market!

I can't complain because I bring everything upon myself, but it's a lot to pack, move, work, work some more, and take a trip to Europe in the middle of it all. I mean, I can't wait to get there and look forward to sharing pictures with you of all the beautiful things we'll see (especially Nicky's wedding at a castle in Florence) but I can only do so much! So here are some last "new pics" until I return from Italy. These are from the engagement I did last weekend for Lauren and Brock. They're natives, but call NYC home these days. They were home for a Clemson football weekend and really wanted to get their engagement pics done in time for the holidays so I said, "why not?" Hope you like them!