Okay . . . I couldn’t resist. I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to post one of Ashlie and John’s pictures. There will be more to come, but this one just struck a chord with me. This is one of my favorite images. I just love Ashlie’s curls and her veil and the design elements on her dress. To me, they’re perfect!

-shawna K

Oh wow . . . we have way more stuff than I thought! Actually, I should rephrase that. I have more stuff than I thought! And most of it is photo stuff!!!! (Big shock, right?). Well, I have photography magazines, photography books, new equipment, old equipment, albums and then more albums, negatives, film, hard drives. The list goes on and on! So, tomorrow is my last packing day, the movers come on Thursday, and we will be in our new home by Thursday evening provided that all goes well. I think I am about 80% packed, so I should be fine. Then a wedding Saturday that I am very excited about.

Today was exciting because Ashlie and John got to pick up their pictures, too! They had the most gorgeous wedding at the Marriott by Seaport Village. Absolutely stunning! I’ll post those soon, but I think it will be after the move!

-shawna K

Well . . . we signed the escrow papers today, so everything should be official! We’re moving in next week. I cannot wait! We knew that the house we are moving into was going to be tented today for termites, so I don’t know what I was imagining exactly, but it sure was scary to head up the hill and see my new house covered in green and yellow stripes! It looked so weird. Of course, we had heard of a home exploding during tenting before, so we’ve been having nightmares all week! But so far, it’s still standing!

So, we’ll be moving in on Thursday (next week). I am soooo excited, but sooo stressed at the same time! Fortunately, we hired movers this time around, so the move should go fairly smoothly. We’ll see . . .

-shawna K

Mari & Charlton received their wedding pictures today. I have so much fun delivering wedding pictures because I get to see the looks on people’s faces when they sit and watch their slideshow or open their box (or boxes!) of proofs. It’s so much fun! Today was no exception. Charlton couldn’t make it, but I got to relive Mari’s (I know her as Alexandra!) wedding with her. And Mari got to relive her wedding day through my eyes and my vision for her wedding! She was quite pleased that I “saw” and captured so many different facets of the day. First of all, Mari was an absolutely gorgeous bride! Here is one picture where I caught her in a moment while she was getting ready:

Here’s one where she is totally camera aware, but still catching her with so much anticipation in her eyes:

My assistant and I had about 30 minutes of alone time with the bride and groom (always nice!), so we were able to get some stunning formal photographs of them:

After the ceremony, there was definitely no hiding that they were excited to be married:

The cake was soooo pretty:

Something that we did that we don’t always get to do was sneak the couple away from their reception for about 5 minutes at sunset. I think it was well worth the time!

And lastly, the guests REALLY enjoyed themselves (of course)!!!

Thanks for looking. And don’t forget to click on their names to the right to watch the mini-slideshow!

-shawna K

Location: Marina Village
Cake: Ranch Catering
Flowers: Sweet Posies
Videographer: Jeff Roldan www.roldanproductions.com

Michelle & Aaron didn’t exactly know what to expect when I told them to meet me on the streets of La Jolla. I think they envisioned orange sunsets and crashing waves in their background (we did those, too). But they definitely weren’t expecting to find art amongst the businesses in town. But NOW they understand why I had them doing what they were doing and we had soooo much fun!

And here’s another instance where I am friends with brides mom! I first met Michelle’s mom, Nancy Stevens, when I asked her to be the florist for my wedding. Nancy had work that was above and beyond all of the other florists’ work that I had seen. Nancy knows her flowers, knows weddings, and is the most amazing floral artist I have met. Let me tell you . . . the bouquet she made for me has been preserved and is HANGING in my home to this day! I couldn’t have asked for a better bouquet . . . but above all else, I made a great friend!

So now, five years later, it is time for her daughter to get married. [ And I hope Nancy isn’t reading this because she’s been crying every day for two months now because her baby girl is getting married!] I have the honor and privilege of getting to photograph Michelle and Aaron’s wedding and let me tell you . . . I cannot WAIT! These two are fun and gorgeous. It’s going to be quite the wedding!

Well, we signed the paperwork. We sold our house in a whopping 9 days on the market! I have read article after article about how the housing market in San Diego is slowing down, but I have yet to see any real-world evidence of that. For one, we lost 3 houses to people who got there before us, offered above asking price, or had more money down than we did. It was a heartbreaking nine months. It seems as soon as the houses would hit the MLS, they were gone. I firmly believe that the only reason we were able to buy the house we did is because it was NOT in the MLS. Secondly, our house was only listed for moments before we got offers in. I didn’t even have to create the brochure I promised our agent I would help make (because I knew I’d make it spiffy ). There just wasn’t any time!

So . . . maybe the market is slowing down. Maybe people do have to list their houses for a couple months longer than in the past. But for the houses we’ve looked at, it hasn’t slowed down a bit.

Now, we just have to pack and move. Ugh. Will we ever find the time???

Erin and Brian had a truly fantastic day at Bernardo Winery. Complete with sunflowers, irises, a beautiful dove release, and delicious barbecue by Brian’s own catering company, the wedding was truly an event to remember! It sure seems like I’ve been doing a lot of weddings lately where I’ve known the mother of the bride for forever! Erin’s mom, Patti, has been a friend of our family for maybe 15 years at least?!?! I can’t remember how long it’s been excatly, but it was such a pleasure to get to photograph her daughter’s wedding. Here are some of the shots:

Location: Bernardo Winery
Catering: Chuckwagon Catering
Cake: Flour Power

Yesterday I woke up to Mike handing me the phone telling me that it was the alarm company. Apparently, my alarm at the studio was going off and they wanted to know if I wanted them to dispatch the police. Um . . . yeah . . . I think that’d be a good idea! I was so nervous because I had just had a nightmare last week that someone was breaking into the studio to steal my new television that I use for slideshows during consultations.

When I arrived, the police were already there and the building looked secure. Thankfully, the TV was still there! Apparently, the back door was closed, but not locked. Since I share the back area with the hair salon next door, one of the salon clients thought she was walking into the restroom when really she was walking into my storeroom. So, nothing was stolen, and it all ended well. But it sure was a nervewracking experience!

It was surprisingly dark and gloomy when we arrived at Wind and Sea for their engagement session, but Lindsey and Tony didn’t let that hold them back. It wasn’t long before Tony was literally dropping Lindsey in the water and the two were covered in sand! I think they were a little bit cold, but you can’t tell from the pictures. ahhhhh . . . .the lives of supermodels. It’s SO rough!

Anyways, congrats to Lindsey and Tony. They will be getting married this September.

Hi! I’m shawna K, owner and lead photographer of shawna K studio. Welcome to my blog. What is a blog, you ask? Well . . . WordPress defines a blog as: “‘Blog’ is a short version of ‘weblog,’ which is a term used to describe web sites which maintain an ongoing chronicle of information. One definition says, ‘A blog is a frequently updated, personal Web site featuring diary-type commentary and links to articles or other Web sites. Blogs range from the personal to the political, and can focus on one narrow subject or a whole range of subjects. Blogs are unique to the Web.’”

I made the decision to start a blog after I realized that many of my clients and friends were checking my pbase site to see what new images I was adding to my web albums. Since my pbase site has expired, I decided that it was important to develop a newsletter-style site where my current clients could see what I’ve been up to, brides and grooms could get a sneak peek at their wedding pictures, and my friends and family could check out my recent work. By incorporating some personal notes into my business, I believe that it will give current clients a chance to get to know me better and will give prospective clients some insight into my personality. I firmly believe that the better I know you and the better you know me, the better your photographs will be, so a blog is definitely in order! Also, since my business is so near and dear to my heart . . . it only seems natural to mix business news with personal news.

So . . . instead of bombarding you with e-newsletters and junk mail . . . check out my blog at your leisure. If you want to comment on anything I’ve written or want to send me an email, please do so. And don’t hesitate to send the link on to your friends. And who knows . . . your picture might be posted here soon!

Thanks!

-shawna K