My brother got hitched, I got a new sister and I became an insta-aunt all in one glorious day!

So I have been pretty non-existent on my blog over the past few weeks for a number of reasons, well, that number would be two. The first being that I am working on a super big, super exciting, super secret project for Caroline Maxcy Photography... ok, I'm not going to do that whole thing with you all, trying to make you squirm with anticipation, on the edge of your seats, holding your breath, wondering "what in the world could it be?!?" I'll just come right out and tell you that I am finally getting together my branding and re-doing everything (website, blog, logo, etc.). Not that exciting, I know. But in a world where pretty much anyone can get themselves a fancy Digital SLR and a 50mm 1.4, slap the word "photography" after their name and set up a facebook page I decided that, in an act of obedience to where I believe God is leading me, I am actually going to invest some time in marketing myself. I have even contracted a FANTASTIC hand-lettering artist and friend to whip up some whimsical branding for me (Thanks, Melissa!). And maybe, just maybe there will be a facebook page that you can come to and "like" if you so please... maybe (if you haven't guessed I am not the type that likes to fit into a mold.) What I really do hope is that this new "structure" will allow me to start actually sharing on a more consistent basis with you all some of the truly breath-taking beauty that I get to capture with my camera. So get yourself on the edge of your seats, hold your breath, squirm, squirm, squirm... and wait. You may just start seeing all this newness by the end of the year.

The second reason that I have stepped back from blogging is that my one-and-only big brother got hitched this past Saturday! Yay! It was beautiful. It was glorious. I now have an awesome new sister and became an insta-aunt to her two fantastic kids in the matter of minutes on Saturday afternoon. It was the perfect display of God's magnificent and perfect plan for our lives. But as a creative person, you seem to get sucked into these sorts of things like matter into a black-hole. I wouldn't have had it any other way. Designing, coordinating, and orchestrating the whole affair with my soon-to-be sis-in-law, simply put, took over my entire life for quite some time now. And if you know me at all, you know that I worried way too much about way too many details trying to make it a truly special event for my brother and his bride. But all that really mattered is that come ceremony time on Saturday, my brother wore the biggest grin while he couldn't take his eyes off his bride and everyone in attendance couldn't help but to have their eyes and their hearts focused fully on the gloriousness of a God that brought these two together.

I knew that being in and being present at the wedding meant that being the official photographer was not going to be possible for me. So I hired my super talented photographer friend, the lovely Sarah Sandel to capture the day's events. But I, of course, had my camera in tow (when I wasn't carrying a bouquet, that is) to capture moments like these below.

I love you Chet and Jen! I wish you the best of luck in a lifetime of marriage! And I know that you have only been on your honeymoon for a day now, but after spending most every day with you all for the past two weeks, I have to admit that I kinda miss the both of you. Enjoy!

The Paper Princess Bride

Each year as October comes closer and closer to its end we find ourselves taking sides. Love it or Hate it. The haters normally do things like, disappear when the convo turns to costumes or plan an apple picking trip to the mountains for the last weekend of October (that's for you, Tim and Raylene). But you'll find me on the Love side, mainly because, the word Halloween is synonymous with Creativity for me (oh yes, and you get to act like a fool in public for one night and no one seems to care.) Every year it comes down to the decision of the costume? Basically I feel like missing the opportunity to get crazy with creativity would be a disservice to my title of "designer."

In college my cousin, Bianca and I dressed up as Baby Dolls in an old dance costume, pigtails and all at a Florida State football game. We thought we were safe from lewd comments in our modest costumes but made a big mistake by carrying around giant lollipops. Another year my other cousin, Angie, and I were insects, not creepy insects but gloriously beautiful insects. We worked all night before a party to create our glittered, glamorous creations. And proudly fluttered around all night as a lady bug and butterfly. And other years, I have been everything from a rap star's girlfriend, to a flapper girl (with an authentic 20s hat), to Jessica Simpson (blonde wig, camo hat and a "Real Girls Eat Meat" T), to a white trash bride (pregnant belly, hill-billy teeth, fake cigarette and all).

This year I focused less of my energy on "getting into character" and more on "getting into costume." The seed of an idea popped in my head early on. I had been messing around with alternate ways of creating things using paper in my graduate design thesis (where I created paper dresses for a fashion and identity exhibit, you can check it out here and here) and in a wedding invitation (where I deconstructed an atlas and used each page as a pocket folio to hold invite components, you can check it out here). Then I saw Kirk Smith's creations in this year's 2010 Art to Wear Fashion Show and I have been dying to make an actual, wearable dress out of paper, much like his creation using Jimmy John's wrappers (check it out here).

First I needed to come up with a theme. I knew I wanted it to be a book and thought about using romance novels, Stephen King's Carrie, or Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind before I settled on William Goldman's The Princess Bride. I set out for supplies a few days before Halloween and two books, mounds of adhesive, a bit of clear wire, an elastic band, multiple strips of velcro, return trips to Michaels and Barnes and Noble, plus some stitching later I was wearing my creation by party time on Saturday night.

Below you will find a rare instance of me in FRONT of the camera. Ugh. I never know what to do with myself when I am looking back at the lens. Thanks, Kelly Lynn Bailey, for being such a great photographer!



photos by Kelly L. Bailey

CREDITS:
The Princess Bride book / Barnes and Noble
Tiara / Party City
Bling / Target
All construction supplies (adhesive, elastic, clear wire, hole punch, sewing machine, thread, velcro) / Michaels

These are a few of my favorite things...

SENTIMENTAL ALERT! In a new year cleaning sweep I was making an effort to clear up some space on my computer by transferring the past year's photography to my external hardrive. This allowed me to take a little trip down the ole' 2009 memory lane, and my-oh-my was it ever so pleasant... *sigh* I was thanking the Lord for everything that he blessed my eyes with in the past year. One of the most fantastic things about being a photographer (and why I could never put my camera down for any extended period of time) is that you have reminders of life's beauty just about everyday. Thank you, everyone, who invited me in and allowed me to capture you, your family and your special occasions this past year.

My Favorite 29 of '09. Okay, so there are really way more than 29 photos that I adore from 2009 but I had to limit it somehow. Even now as I am posting this I am thinking of things that I didn't include. But here you have them... some of the absolutely most beautiful things I got to marvel at through the lens of my camera in 2009.

Tiffany's Bridal Session

Tiffany was having a practice session for her hair and makeup so we decided to throw in a bridal shoot on the same day at her wedding and reception location. Tiffany was such a great model. She and her mom even humored me when I wanted to climb up in a tree to get a different angle. Thanks, Tiffany! I knew that we had a great day to come at the wedding.