I hope everyone has a very happy Thanksgiving.  Try not to eat toooooo much turkey!

The studio is closed this weekend, from November 23 through November 27.  And actually, I am moving out of the studio on Friday and temporarily relocating my office back into my home.  Remember, my new address is:

shawna K studio
PO Box 13195
El Cajon, CA  92022

My email address, website, and phone number will remain the same.

In other news, I am getting ready to go on my maternity leave, so to speak.  My maternity leave is a long one with these twins on the way and a toddler at home, so I will be working very sporadic hours from December 2006  through July 2007.  My normal business hours will not be in effect; however, I will still be answering your calls, returning your emails, and delivering your prints and albums as they come in.  Thank you for your patience with me as I struggle to even get up and down off the couch!!!  This large belly is quite a sight!

Oops!  I made the mistake of posting Zarah and Seth’s engagement pictures a while back and promptly crossed them off my “blogging list.”  And sweet Zarah didn’t even point out to me that her wedding hadn’t appeared on my blog, even though she is an avid blog reader!!!  So . . . better late than never . . . here are a few images from Zarah and Seth’s wedding.

By the way, Zarah & Seth are two of the sweetest people you will ever meet.  Their wedding was emotional and filled with their love for God.  You can really tell that their faith is so strong. 

I loved taking preparation pictures of Zarah because she had all sorts of pretty accessories.

I thought Seth was going to lose it when he saw Zarah walking down the aisle. The tears were definitely welling up!

Ceremony: St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Coronado
Reception:  Hilton Mission Valley
 

I am officially 27 weeks pregnant now, and each baby is weighing in at a little over 2 pounds each.  They are also about 14.5 inches long now . . . EACH . . . which means I’ve got almost 30 inches of baby stretching and kicking inside of me!  Considering little Miss Devyn was only 21 inches when she was born, I’m just a wee bit more uncomfortable than I was in the last month of my pregnancy with her!

Apparently this is around the time when I am supposed to start feeling the babies hiccup, however, I haven’t felt that yet.  Thank goodness, too, because Devyn had hiccupping episodes about 3 times a day and it got SUPER annoying.  Cute at first, sure . . . but very annoying later! 

Officially, I have only 90 days to go . . . but most likely it will only be more like 60.  Two months . . . kind of scary!

I try to avoid controversial topics on my blog because this is a place where I like to keep things lighthearted with information about me, the studio, and fun pictures of my clients.  Unfortunately, something has come up recently and I feel it is important to share this shady scheme with you.

As a bride planning your wedding, you may have submitted your information to a wedding vendor listed on a website, only to have that vendor not email you or call you back.  I know that if I was planning my wedding and this happened to me, I would be irritated and think that the vendor clearly doesn’t care about me or my wedding.

However, some wedding planning sites are in the practice of collecting names of wedding businesses and offering the owners a free listing on the planning site.  It appears to be a great way to get your business name in front of brides-to-be.  Some sites go so far as to add a business name for free, even if they don’t have permission from the business owner.  Then, they will allow brides to “contact” that vendor through the planning site . . . and when a bride’s lead comes through, they charge a fee for accessing the lead.  Some sites don’t even tell the business that they are receiving leads.

As such, wedding business owners such as myself either never get the leads, or we have to fork over a lot of money to receive the name and email address of a potential bride.  It’s a very strange form of extortion.

My recommendation is that if you are interested in a vendor and you found them on a wedding planning site (such as onewed.com), please contact the business owner DIRECTLY instead of going through the site.  You really just don’t know if the person you want information from has actually received your contact info or not.

And, please, if you are interested in my services, feel free to email me here or call!  Thanks for listening.

-shawna K

I had the opportunity to work with some really fun girls the other day, identical twin sisters Shelby and Caitlyn.  Fortunately they have different hair color nowadays, so it was easy to tell them apart!  And they were so, so much fun!!!

Here’s the peek:

Aren’t they adorable?!?!?!

There’s nothing moms, dads, and grandparents enjoy more than receiving photographs of their loved ones for the holidays.   What could be more perfect than an enlargement from your wedding day or an album of images from your recent portrait session?

We have recently extended your online viewing and ordering capabilities so that you may have adequate time to select and order the perfect present. 

As an added bonus, you will receive 10% off all orders placed before midnight on November 20, 2006.

Any orders received in December will be subject to a 50% rush fee and will be subject to our labs’ time constraints.  We will make every effort to fulfill all orders placed in December.

 Now thru Nov. 20 - 10% off
Nov. 20 thru Nov. 30 - Regular Price
Dec. 1 thru Dec. 15 - 50% Rush Fee

Happy holidays!!!

-shawna K

Marlo and Jeremy were married at St. John of the Cross — an absolutely gorgeous church with perfect lighting. It was interesting to work there, because that’s where my dad went to elementary school and I had never been there before!  Their reception was held at the San Diego Marriot.  Every detail was perfectly planned with a gorgeous lime and white theme.  Marlo’s gown was simple and elegant, and Jeremy looked pretty handsome himself!

 Marlo arrived in a vintage Rolls . . .

Fresh daisies everywhere!

The room decorations and lighting were simply stunning.  Often times people forget about lighting on their wedding day and how it will impact the overall atmosphere of their reception.  When you are working with your coordinator and/or florist, don’t forget to discuss the lighting for your wedding.  Marlo’s aqua lights set the mood for the dancing and really helped to get people out on the dance floor, even in the middle of the day!

Who doesn’t love cupcakes?!?!?! Yum!

Ceremony: St. John of the Cross
Reception: San Diego Marriot
Florist: Petals “Shell Kelsay” http://www.petalsbyshell.com