A few from the Labor Day weekend wedding that Jason and I did at Bella Sera. Since the wedding AND reception were both held there, I was a little concerned that we would have trouble providing variety in the pictures. Not to worry! With a beautiful, stunning bride like Kelly, the setting is really insignificant…her images just shine! (Todd didn’t do too badly, either!)

(casual moments weddings, from weddings to babies – your family photographer, perfection in the craft of custom photography in Anderson, SC, lake keowee weddings and event photography)

This little sweetheart has been in front of my camera almost yearly since she was a tot, and it’s always such fun to see her grow and change. The camera just loves her, and so do I! Just look at what we got this year:

Clemson SC photographer, Anderson SC children’s photographer, Mt Lebanon PA photographer

I have wanted a picture of my whole family for ages. Really, I’ll bet you’re wondering why it took so long, right? How hard could it be for a photographer to snap a pic ? Let me just say, I have a real respect for the planning & commitment that is involved. It is very difficult for every single one of us to be together at the same time, and when it happens we are usually on a pretty tight schedule. Factor in trying to plan clothing choices that people have to remember to pack before they travel, trying to predict the weather, throw in a few small children, throw in some distracted son-in-laws, and well – you can start to see why this took 6 months and one previous failed attempt. But I am thrilled with what I got, it really is “us” and you can bet that I’m taking advantage of the canvas sale I talked about in my last post. This is going HUGE in a metallic canvas in my new house!

Here is another senior session, which I just LOVE doing. We had all kinds of crazy weather for this shoot – everything from rain to hot, humid sweltering sun. But Carly stayed cool and calm and beautiful throughout, and we captured some gorgeous images. Carly is planning on donating her hair to "Locks of Love", so this was our last chance to capture that long silky mane before her new look!

for you coupon-clippers out there: The Grocery Game  – getting good results from what I hear on other blogs & forums, especially if you buy brand-name products and watch for deals. Some girls are reporting savings of several hundreds after just a few months (apparently it works best if you stick with it & build up your pantry – not unheard of to get 10 boxes of cereal for like $10.)

from the site: "The Grocery Game is a website that can save you hundreds of dollars
on grocery bill each month. Log in, spend a few minutes with a pair of
scissors, and you’re off to win The Grocery Game!

When you play, you’ll get a weekly list (called Teri’s List) of the
lowest-priced products at your supermarket matched with manufacturers’
coupons and weekly specials — advertised and unadvertised. The Grocery Game does all the hard work and research, and presents it to you in a straightforward format.

Gather your coupons and Teri’s List and you will have everything you
need to play. Teri’s List matches sales to coupons from weeks past,
along with new coupons from this week’s Sunday paper. Members of The Grocery Game eliminate those time-consuming hours and
usually save even more than the coupon pros. For example, just because
an item is on sale doesn’t mean its time to play your coupon. Our
databases track the sales history on nearly every item in the
supermarket, waiting to use a coupon on rock-bottom sales. Now, the
best possible savings are quickly accessible to busy professionals,
overworked moms, single adults or anyone who wants to cut their grocery
bill by 50% or even more."

This was an impromptu photo session for the daughter of some friends of ours that we saw during our trip through PA. Alicia and Carlos are expecting their first baby in just two weeks. Look how tiny she is! We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl…but one look at Alicia’s glow and you know this is going to be one beautiful baby!

It actually snowed a few inches here on Wednesday night, and the snow lasted most of Thursday. It barely registered a blip on my radar, and Jim didn’t even think about it affecting work or not – he didn’t even leave early since the roads were clear. But when he got to work at 8 am, no one was there. They had decided not to open until 10, and didn’t realize he had switched with the other Doc to work, so no one knew to call him. Schools were cancelled, & there was also no milk, bread, or hamburger in the stores because there was a chance of freezing rain. It has been pretty cold, in the 30′s, and yesterday I snapped these pictures of the lake – the water is still in the mid 50′s, warmer than the air, hence the mist which is really pretty! And how crazy is it that our boat can still be in the water without any worry about it freezing?

I think you might recognize this little girl…she is currently featured in my Blog header above, with the furry hood, and she is all over my website at various ages. Her mom and I go way back, and Abby holds a very special place in my heart – let’s just say that she is the answer to a prayer, and living proof of how all of us are entwined in ways that we can’t even begin to imagine! These are some of my favorites from her session:

Nothing more contagious than her laugh:

A little ‘tude:

These eyes:

I have been spending a lot of time working on ways to let everyone here near Lake Keowee know that there is a new option for South Carolina family & children’s photography in their area! I will be placing a pretty big ad in the community newspaper that everyone reads, and also something on our own little Channel 15, which is Keowee Key’s own TV channel – kind of like a continuous slideshow of community events & ads. Then in March I will be doing a direct mailing to everyone here, an oversized postcard with all of my info on it. Hopefully that will get the ball rolling! Meanwhile, I am still booking sessions in PA…have 3 to do in January. Stay tuned as I release more weekend dates for PA in the late spring as the weather improves!

We are leaving this morning & headed to DC for a weekend with all of our kids at Embassy Suites in Chevy Chase. This is our belated Christmas celebration. I’ll have my cell if anyone needs to talk to me. I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures. See you Monday!