Until you have a child of your own, words cannot describe to you the kind of love I feel these days for our sweet baby girl. It’s a surreal, all-encompassing, indescribable, knocks-you-on-your-back, eternal, kind of love. A love that melts your heart and your reasoning all at the same time. A love that puts EVERYTHING in perspective and shows you the meaning of depth and dedication. A love that draws you closer to God.

I am officially addicted to Mia…

One more thing I TRULY love? When fabulous friends, who also happen to be clients, refer their other fabulous friends to me to “do what I did for them”. And when the referring client gets just as excited to see the newly referred clients’ shots as we are…that’s my kind of passionate person! THAT’s the kind of peeps I love to hang out with. And that’s the adorable situation with my sweet friends, The Boutwell’s, who referred their sweet friends, The Reiss’, to me to capture the beautiful joy of their little family.

Not only did I have a blast capturing the adventurous Boutwell Family (check it out here), but the Reiss’ were obviously cut from the same cloth. They were adorable, fun, and open to whatever I had in mind. And when it came to their choice of album covers? I have three little words for you…Lime Green Leather! GORGEOUS and soooo much fun! So obviously I wanted to do a fun album design to go with it…full of color, joy and the boundless energy that is their kids.

Here’s just a snippet of their joy for you. But be warned…it’s contagious!

I am honored to have been nominated, once again this year, for Best Photographer in San Diego on 10news.com’s A-List!

I’d be so grateful if you’d take just a moment to VOTE FOR ME, in the Wedding Photographer group, using the link above! Thanks so much friends!

Kris
xoxo”

“I just wanted to contact you because Get Married Magazine asked to feature The Sassy Bride in their Winter 2010 issue. Woohoo! I was asked to submit a few pictures from my favorite wedding I’ve featured & I chose [yours]!”

Larissa…I’m overjoyed for you and your adorable Sassy Bride blog and I’m beyond honored that you’ve chosen one of MY weddings to headline your Get Married Magazine feature! What a huge blessing…THANK YOU! And Congratulations cutie!

xo…B

“Dear Betsy,

Thank you so much for capturing our “Big Day”. We are absolutely in love with the photographs…they are so amazingly good! You made us feel so at ease and comfortable throughout the whole day, which is huge for a bride. We feel so blessed to have found a photographer like you.  Thanks for being so sweet and easy to work with. We can’t wait to work with you again in the future!

Love,

Kristine & Uriah

P.S.  Uriah loved, loved, loved the boudoir album…it was the perfect wedding gift!!!”

[moh-tuh-vey-shuhn]

noun

This week has been a continued week of challenges:  ongoing bed rest & meds to keep our sweet baby girl growing INSIDE of me instead of a NICU, cracks in our new home’s slab foundation, financial balance between our home construction and my not working, broken water pipes in our temporary condo, family health issues, not owning a large enough share of Anthropologie to allow me to walk in the door and just take anything I want…the list goes on and on.

It’s always interesting to me the rate at which obstacles can appear once the first one is brave enough to step inside my door. It’s like a Wii hurdle competition…after the initial shock wears off, I’m deftly leaping over each new hurdle like they were an ugly loafer in the shoe aisle at Nordy’s Half-Yearly sale. But after a few laps, I feel my motivation wane and I lose focus on the finish line. I start looking at my feet instead of at the prize. I trip on a few but continue to push on until I feel like I’m too weak to go on. Shuffling, hobbling, limping in between each new hurdle, it’s then that I look around and see that I’m not alone. I don’t have to continue on by myself…I’m flanked by my hubby and surrounded by amazing family & friends who are all running along side of me to make sure I clear each jump…passing me water & shouting encouragement. And when I fall flat on my back…I’m reminded to look up, to my amazing Lord, who conquered all of this before me, and so very much more.

So I had to cancel a few months of shoots!…those of my clients who can wait and who love the work I do for them, will still graciously be there when I’m back on my feet.

So my kitchen’s torn up & soaked through!…my incredible friend and landlord just showed up with a plumber and brought me a hot sandwich for lunch and took sleepy Duke out for a midday potty break.

So we’re on a tighter budget than we thought we’d be for the pre-baby house construction!…eating leftovers instead of dining out and finding a crib on CraigsList versus the window at Pottery Barn is NOT going to kill me.

Who am I to complain? Who am I to stress or worry? What do I really have to fear? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! No hurdles, no speedbumps, no pitfalls, can change the course I’m on…onward & upward!  No scabs, no bruises, no scars, are going to change the person I am inside…they make me stronger & wiser! And who can’t use more wisdom?!

And really…bed rest? All the motivation I need to get over my A.D.D. and bypass my always-on-the-go personality, is contained in this adorable little growing bundle stuck to the front of me. All I need to do is glance down at little Peanut in her cozy womb…and my body’s staying planted in this bed! We definitely need at least one more belly bump snapshot for her nursery wall pano!

The motivation to stay the course, to focus on others rather than my own minor woes, is here. And it’s not going anywhere!

Watch out hurdles…you’ve met your match!

Eyes fixed on the prize,

Betsy  xo

I’ve been dying…truly dying to blog this wedding! Kristine and Uriah are some very special people and their wedding was a perfect reflection of that. From the unique handmade details, to the spectacular garden setting…their Fullerton, CA wedding was AMAZING!

I first had the pleasure of meeting Kristine last year when she asked me to set up a boudoir party for her and her gorgeous bridal party, at an adorable home on Coronado Island. All the ladies wanted to do some very special, beautiful boudoir to surprise their men…and Kristine had special plans to surprise Uriah with a full boudoir album as a wedding gift! LUCKY GUY! Needless to say, we all had an absolute blast shooting all day and it sounds like Uriah was truly blown away by his gift!

After the boudoir shoot, Kristine graciously asked me if I would shoot their wedding…all the while keeping our previous relationship a secret from Uriah. To say the least, I was absolutely honored and stoked to have the extra secret to add to the excitement as well!

In the meantime, my hubby and I found out we were expecting our first child, so I decided to assemble a Rockstar Team to assist me for Kris & Uri’s big day…just in case my bulging belly got in the way. I was beyond blessed to hire Edmund Prieto and the adorable Katie Neal to share the joy of the shoot with me, and then was blown away to have Chris Kirby volunteer to come along as well! What a spectacular team to work with! We had an amazing time and I’m so grateful to the three of them for lending their talent. Muah!

Check out some of my favorite details…

I loooove doing ring shots…can you tell?

Isn’t the Muckenthaler Mansion gorgeous?

I had our team split up for some detail time with the ladies and the gentlemen.  While Katie and I were off shooting the ladies…

…the guys were having a full on photo-party w/ Edmund and Chris! I LOVE how playful everyone was!

Seriously…dapper just doesn’t cover it for those men!

And when it came time for the ceremony, God shone the most breathtaking golden light in through the palms. The slight breeze, that warm afternoon light, amazing energy & excitement, all the glorious colors and fresh garden greens, sweet spring smells…it was absolutely perfect!!!

I truly loved their pastor’s honest message of love and was blown away by Kristine’s brother singing a Oh, It Is Love by Hellogoodbye, while playing the Ukulele. I HEART THE UKULELE!!! So sweet! 

After the ceremony, Kris and Uriah were so generous with their time and allowed me ample to cover my most FAVORITE part of photographing a wedding…those special moments immediately following the ceremony with the “just married” couple. So emotional, inspiring and absolutely gorgeous!

After an incredible dinner (of which our entire team was so generously allowed to partake in!), some hilarious as well as heartfelt speeches, and quality time out on the lawn, the party got underway!

And after much celebration, this picture perfect couple was famously ushered to their getaway car by glorious sparklers held by all the guests! Such a beautiful ending to a beautiful day.

Kristine & Uri…thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to be a part of your special day. You are two genuinely amazing people and make such a wonderful couple together. I pray the Lord heaps years of blessings on your marriage and life together. I can’t wait to see what He has in store for you!! All my love & best wishes…B

VENDOR LOVE:

Location: Muckenthaler Mansion / Florist: Urban Gardener / Cake: Colette’s Events /Caterer/Rentals: Colette’s Events / DJ: Will An – Fascination Productions / Videographer:  Marcus McDougald / Bridal Makeup: Marlene Hargett /Bridal Hair: Denise Baker/ Bride’s Dress: The White Dress /Bride’s Dress: Amsale 2010 – Nadine dress / Bride’s Shoes: Fendi / Bridesmaid Dresses: Butterbynadia / Groomsmen Jackets: JCrew / Wedding Rings: Eli’s Jewelry

Because they are just so amazing, adorable, fabulous…Kristine & Uriah are beautifully featured on Larissa Turner’s wonderful wedding blog, The Sassy Bride, today! So awesome! Check them out… Kris & Uri. Thanks Larissa! xo