Blessings

Hi Everyone! Sorry I haven't posted in two months. My life has been a whirlwind the last several weeks. As many of you know, we were excitedly awaiting the arrival of our baby boy who was due April 8th. He decided to take his time and arrived on his own on the 14th. Elias James Vaca (EJ) is his name, and he was 7 lb 4 oz, 21.75". He is the sweetest thing ever, and I am head over heels in love.

Sadly, two days later, my own father passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack while en route from Charlotte back home to Indiana. Words can't express the devastation and the mixed emotions having been given new life, only to have another one taken away so quickly. My Dad did get to meet EJ, and for that I'm forever grateful. He would have loved him so much, and I'm sorry he's not around to watch him grow.

So that's where I am today. A few more weddings left this year, but I'm already booking for 2012 so that is exciting! I hope everyone enjoys their summer, which officially kicks off this weekend for most!

Hurry Up and Wait

It's 5:00am. I'm up due to either late pregnancy insomnia, the fact my entire team is getting outsourced in the next few weeks, or the shower of pollen on North Carolina that is making my sinuses hurt so much in the middle of the night. It's OK though. I'm finally catching up on my Google Reader. I have so many favorite blogs I love to read, and I've been neglecting them for several weeks now. Most are DIY design blogs. My dream job would be to repaint/refinish old furniture for a living... who knows?! Maybe I can do it after maternity leave (re: #2 on my list of insomnia possibilities). It's all good... whatever will be will be; I'm not overly worried.

I spent a good amount of time last night working on Katie and Will's wedding collection. They got married a month ago in Chapel Hill. While I'm really anxious for our baby boy to get here, I really need to finish their collection before he does; btw, he's due two weeks from today! Anyway, I'm in the middle of the ceremony right now, but just LOVED these pictures of the flower girl. How sweet is she?

So many kids are just NOT excited to be in a wedding. She's the exception!

Can't you just see the sense of excitement and importance on her face?!? Love it!

28 Days

Not Netflix... not rehab... I'm due 28 days from now. I couldn't be more excited! Maybe he'll come early although I really like the idea of an April baby, so March can just take it slow with me.

On another note, I just posted the album layout I designed for Matt and Gillian (September 4 wedding) on Facebook. It's a 10x10 album, hence the square images. I really like it, and I used a new program to design it which cut my design time by at least 50% and gave me a lot more creative flexibility... something this lady needs these days!

Next up is editing. I shot a super fun wedding in Chapel Hill two weeks ago that I need to edit, then I'll be heading on to editing last week's bridal shoot. We captured the bridal shoot it in two very odd locations: a fire station and a retirement home :) I thought I'd seen it all, but these were firsts for me! Both locations turned out great though. I can't wait to share images. The most exciting part was the fire station got a call while we were shooting. It literally took between 8-12 seconds for the truck/firemen to be gone. I've nevre seen anything so fast in my life. I was very impressed and am now even more thankful for our firemen, policemen and others who put their lives on the line daily to protect ours. So cool!

 

WeddingWire 2011 Top Five Award!

Charlotte, NC – January 25, 2011 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, is thrilled to announce Cloud 9 Photography has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011.

Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation. 

Cloud 9 Photography stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year. 

“WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud Cloud 9 Photography for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.” 

We are happy to announce that Cloud 9 Photography is among the very best within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for nominating us to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011. 

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today here.

For more information on the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011, please visit www.WeddingWire.com. 

Happy New Year!

2011 is finally here! This makes it "real" for all you brides to be who have been waiting. It also means I'm only three months from meeting our baby boy... definitely makes it real for me (and a little scared at the same time!)

Needless to say, I'm taking April and May off, but other than that am gearing up for another great year of photographing your weddings, babies, engagements, families and more! Check the calendar on my website for up-to-date availability.

Happy 2011!

Thanksgiving in two weeks?!?

So, I've been MIA, I know. I'll be the first to admit I'm not good at all about staying up to date with my business in the blogging world or on Facebook, but I try! I'm a part time photographer, so unlike everyone else, I don't spend my M-F 8-5 being able to do all that cool stuff! Please forgive me...

So where did October go??? I have no clue. I know I say this every year, but this year I mean it like never before... "I cannot believe Thanksgiving/Christmas are right around the corner!" What the heck! I think I need to pause life for a few days to absorb it all and be able to take it on!

I've been eating like crazy. I'm hungry every 60-90 minutes. Seriously. It's beginning to get annoying. I took my oldest daughter to McD's for lunch and devoured a McRib (so glad it's back!) and large fry. I'm sitting here two hours later starving. This baby has to be a boy. I was never this ravished with my girls. I guess we'll know in 12 or so days!

So what did I do in October? I'll tell you what: edited and shot, edited and shot (say that ten times and you'll know why I haven't posted since October 5th). November is the unofficial "I want my family picture for Christmas cards month" so I'm busy doing it all over again this month. I have a strict self-inflicted policy to not take any more work after Thanksgiving through New Year's, so I'm looking forward to that. I just collect orders, print 'em, and ship 'em!

So last month I had the honor of delivering my final wedding collection for the year! This was to Gillian and Matt who were married Labor Day weekend here in Charlotte. They had a gorgeous day for their wedding. I loved getting to shoot at Providence Country Club for their reception. So "southern", wouldn't you say? It was gorgeous. Here are some faves:

The rest of the month I spent doing kid and family portraits. Matthew is 18 months and his cousin Ryan just turned 1. I've been photographing both of them since they were itty bitty, so it's fun to see them grow each year. We did their shoot at Freedom Park and it turned out really well. There's just something about that bridge that I love (and it's not the people the walk across it every 15 seconds while you're trying to shoot. LOL!)

The Collins family is one of four kiddos who are dear friends of ours. I've been photographing them for a few years now, and it's really fun to see them mature. We did a "take 2" of the group picture, as the kids just weren't up for it the first time. I'm so glad we did... they turned out great! Sometimes you just have to admit that kiddies are not in the mood and you'll have to try another day :)

Beckett - Charlotte Baby Photographer

I am on a roll... just finished up Baby Beckett's newborn session. I'm working like a dog today because tomorrow's my birthday and I want to take the day off from all work (full time job and this.) Happy birthday to me...

This big boy (almost a ten pounder) was almost two weeks late! We all patiently awaited his arrival which couldn't have gone smoother. Proud new parents, Chris and Hannah, just happen to be my 2010 advertising couple. They are too sweet, and my hubby and I enjoy hanging out with them when they're in the neighborhood. They were married in Tybee Island which was one of my all-time favorite weddings to shoot. So fun, and done so well :)

This might have been my best newborn session yet. It's best to photograph these little ones when they're just days old. Babies change too much after 2-3 weeks! It makes me eager to have daily photo sessions with our newest addition come April. (It will be our final edition, so I'll go all out. hee hee) Beckett was awesome. He was cranky and awake the first 20 minutes, then passed out cold the rest of the session allowing me to manipulate him six ways to Sunday along the way. It's been hard, but I've chosen a few of my faves to share with you. Check out my Facebook page to see even more!