They’re one of those couples that’s been together forever. Everyone knew they were destined to get married, but the when … well, that was a little trickier. The time never seemed quite right, to Karlye, but Anthony finally prevailed, and they were married last month under the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C. — just like Karlye never knew she always wanted.

Can you believe this dress???

They didn’t have any official attendants, but Karlye’s BFF  was an unofficial bridesmaid Mallory (and makeup artist, and overall wedding coordinator), of sorts, along with my friend Sara, who was actually the one who recruited me to shoot the wedding.

Mallory said “Assume the position!” and Karlye obliged, hahaha.

Gorgeous.

With the warm spring we’ve had, most of the cherry blossoms on the mall were gone. Fortunately the ones along the Potomac are a different species that bloom slightly later.  YES.

This little guy? Oh yeah, that’s Karlye and Anthony’s son. That kiddo is adorable.

The wedding was in the middle of the cherry blossom festival, so parking was a nightmare! We waited a good long while for the groom to show up … and for the flowers … and for the D.J. But finally, it all came together!

I love this custom ring box from Etsy.

Here’s Sara, dutifully lining the aisle with petals. She’s such a good friend to Karlye!

It was a stunning location.

The ceremony was officiated by my other friend, Christiana. Are you noticing a theme? Sara, Christiana and I are all Weddingbee bloggers!

Karlye and Anthony did a wine box sealing (I use that particular link because that was the first place I’d ever heard about it).

Of course, Anthony couldn’t get through his vows without laughing. What a guy!

Can’t. get. over. that. dress.

Bubble time!

We had a few minutes for some quick portraits while we were waiting for someone to bring a car from the far-off reaches where it had been parked.

Then it was time for the reception, which was held in a private room at a nearby restaurant. The appetizers were to die for, by the way.

A quick cake cutting … and they wrapped it up. Short, small and sweet. A perfect wedding and a perfect day.

Congrats, K&A. I am so grateful for the chance to be part of your wedding!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Questions? As always drop me at line at 614.507.1135 or email lisa (at) lisaricephotography.com. I’ll email the winner Tuesday, Feb. 14. (it won’t be announced publicly, just in case you’re hoping to surprise your significant other … ) Happy Valentine’s Day! <3

I’m not giving up on my photography, but I am slowing down and cutting back on the number of weddings I’ll be taking on in the coming year. I still have many dates available, so just call or shoot me an email and you’ll hear back from either me or my assistant Jessica right away. Also I’ve extended and expanded the promotion I announced a couple months ago until the end of March. Couples with weddings between now and August 2012 get a second shooter — for free  – until further notice! Previously the promo was only through December and only applied to my Complete package.

But the main reason I’m blogging today is that I’m hosting two boudoir marathons in the next couple months! One is coming up really quickly, Feb. 17-18 here in Columbus. I posted it on Facebook a few weeks ago, but Jessica pointed out to me this evening that I really should put something up here too.  Speaking of Facebook, you really should “like” us over there! I’m going to be holding a few giveaways in the next couple weeks, and I’m on all the time for my new job, so most of my new work goes up there long before it appears here. I will try to do a better job of keeping the blog updated, though.

Anyway, on to the boudoir marathon details!

I’m offering several options, and I think you’ll agree that they’re all kind of awesome.
Blush: $200
Session at local luxury hotel
$50 print credit (enough for 10 4×6 professionally printed images)

Wink:$250
Session at local luxury hotel
Disc of fully-retouched high-resolution digital negatives
OR
DIY Boudoir Album Kit with hand-bound book from Igloo Letterpress and a full set of 4×6 professionally printed images*

Flirt: $550
Session at local luxury hotel
Professional hair styling and makeup
Disc of fully-retouched high-resolution digital negatives
8×8 custom designed 20 page lay-flat album with linen cover

Seduce: $750
Session at local luxury hotel
Professional hair styling and makeup
Disc of fully-retouched high-resolution digital negatives
8×8 custom designed deluxe leather-covered album with unlimited pages
8×10 gallery wrap canvas

On-site Hair and Makeup by Meg Morosco of Makeup Artistry by Meg — $75 a la carte
*Includes airbrushing, lashes, and a Smashbox lip gloss to take with you!*

Looking for a deal?
*20% discount with signed model release*
Referral bonus! $50 additional product credit if you recruit a friend!

*The DIY album kit is something I’ve been psyched about for awhile. I’ll take some pics and post them tomorrow. The goal is to save you a little money and offer you a nice, printed product to give your significant other! Plus it’s a handbound book from a local artist/crafter! Doesn’t get any better than that, my friend.

P.S. I think you’ll want to check out the blog and Facebook tomorrow for a sweet surprise!

This was my first try at a shooting/editing technique called the Brenizer Method, developed by Ryan Brenizer. I used this tutorial to guide me. Gabby made a fantastic subject for the shot. I can’t wait to show you some of the other images from this senior photo session.

For those of you interested in the tech specs, this was about 50 shots with an 85mm f/ 1.6, equivalent to about 37mm at f/.7 using Brett Maxwell’s calculator.

Mike’s a part of a group of guys that my husband hangs out with, and I have to say, all the wives of the other guys and I were so happy when he and Ashley got together. They’re just perfect.

There’s this stretch of Riverside Drive next to the zoo that gets this lush wall of lilacs every spring. I had been wanting to take pictures there for-ev-er and Mike and Ash were happy to oblige. We did have to wave off a few bumblebees, though.

Then it was off to my aunt and uncle’s yard for some sunset images. The light out there is to die for. If you’re wondering why they’re blowing dandelions, they’re making wishes for their future together. (cue the “awwwww”s, everyone!)

These last few images are my favorites from the day. I can’t help it.

Thanks for being good sports, Mike and Ashley! Hopefully we’ll get the chance to do this again sometime.

This tasty dish was my dinner tonight, thanks to the bounty of the CSA that I joined this year! I’m so psyched that I’ll have my own haul of veggies every week. The other cool thing about CSAs is that you’re often introduced to new foods you haven’t tried before. This week I was handed a medium sized bunch of green swirls. I had to Google around before I figured out that they were garlic scapes — the spicy green tops of the garlic we’re used to eating. Most of the websites I visited suggested making them into pesto because of their complex, bright garlic flavor, and that sounded just perfect to me. I based my recipe on this dish, though I cheated and used my food processor for the pesto.

Summer squash and spaghetti noodles with garlic scape pesto

Did you know that you can make pesto with pretty much any kind of nut or seed you have on hand? I’ve used walnuts or pecans before, but tonight I only had sunflower seeds. The pesto turned out delicious!

Summer squash (I only had one on hand, so that’s what I used)
2 T butter
salt
Whole wheat spaghetti (I used about half a box)
Parmesan cheese (for serving)

For pesto:
4 garlic scapes
1/6 c. sunflower seeds
1/2 c. olive oil
1/3 c. parmesan cheese

Use a mandoline or vegetable peeler to slice your summer squash thin. Melt butter in a large skillet and sautee summer squash with a light sprinkling of salt until tender, about 8 minutes. Cook pasta according to directions on package.

Add scapes, nuts or seeds, and cheese to food processor and chop. Slowly drizzle in olive oil and continue pureeing until well blended. You may have to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a spatula. (Scape pesto is a significantly lighter green than traditional basil pesto. Don’t be alarmed! )

Strain pasta when finished cooking and add pasta and pesto to skillet. Stir to combine. Serve hot with extra cheese sprinkled on top!

Peony season also means that it’s wedding season, and I’ve been going full force for the last several weeks with engagement shoots and wedding prep work. June and July are particularly busy. You might recall that I’m a bridesmaid in my cousin’s wedding, and shooting my husband’s best friend’s wedding, as well as my own brother’s wedding.

If you submit a contact form through this website, I will receive it, but may not respond right away (I will try to write back within 48 hours). If you need a quicker response, please call me! I almost always have my phone with me and will answer it if I can. 614.507.1135

Love you guys! Will post more soon!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about why photography is so important to me and it’s really changed my shooting style. I talked a little about the Beloved Movement about a year ago, but I recently participated in an online seminar on Beloved and I’ve been incorporating some of the techniques from it into my sessions lately. I have to say, I’m loving the results.

My hope is that the time the couple spends together shooting the photos is just as valuable as the pictures themselves. I don’t want to just make pretty pictures of people — I want them to be meaningful.

Thanks for not looking at me like I was crazy for all the questions I asked and the things I told you to do, Robin and Jason! You guys are awesome.

I could not be more excited for this boudoir event! Not only do I get to shoot in Chicago for the first time, I also get to meet one of my best online friends, Jenna of Jenna Cole and That Wife. She’s one of the people that inspired me to follow my dream and start my business, so I’m thrilled that we get the chance to collaborate on these mini sessions. Jenna will be shooting with a little more of a sweet slant, while I’ll tackle the sassier images.  You’ll have about a half hour session with each of us, and you’ll get three edited files on disc from each mini session. We’ll have a hair and makeup artist on site for booking.

Attendees will also have the choice of purchasing an album custom designed by either me or Jenna. She has a simple, clean design style with white backgrounds, while my boudoir albums feature a variety of sexy backgrounds with a little more depth. We’ll have examples on site for you to look at on the day of the shoot.

Only SIX ladies will be accepted for this awesome shoot, so contact either me or Jenna ASAP to reserve your spot! Call me at 614.507.1135 or send me an email at lisa@lisaricephotography.com to book.

I kinda skipped around a little bit from the order that I planned to publish these posts because I wanted to tell you all about boudoir photography and my upcoming boudoir marathon. So if you don’t remember, I recently posted about why it’s so important to have an engagement session with your photographer, if you can.

Plan your session out
Talk to your photographer about what to expect on the day of.  Where and when will you meet? What should you wear? Do you have a particular vision for your photos?  Maybe you want to take photos at the bar where you met; Your photographer needs to plan for the low-light in this situation. Maybe you want photos of you two shooting some hoops at the local park. Also think about PDA – public displays of affection. Modern wedding photographers usually expect to take photos of couples kissing. If you’re not comfortable with that, you should speak up. All of these things you should talk about with each other and with your photographer ahead of time.

Wear your best
Wear clothing that makes you feel comfortable and fabulous! For best results, don’t wear overly “matchy” outfits with your significant other and bring more than one outfit.  Usually one outfit that is dressier and at least one that is more casual. Bright, rich colors, especially “jewel tones” look great, and patterns are fine as long as you don’t overdo it.

Arrive on time

Photographers usually schedule sessions in the hours right after sunrise or right before sunset because that’s when the light is best for photos. If you show up late, you’re limiting the amount of time you have in the best light. And that’s all I’m gonna say about that.

Bring props (but only if you want to)
Items that are special to you as a couple or things that represent your personalities are fun to incorporate into pictures. Don’t be surprised if I ask you to surrender your engagement ring for 5 minutes so I can grab a great pic of your bling. I promise I’ll return it safely!

Have fun!
The more willing you are to get a little crazy, the more fun and unique your photos will be. “Crazy” might mean lying down on the ground, climbing a tree or a ladder, or crawling inside bushes. I bring a blanket for my couples to sit on if they’re worried about a particular item of clothing, but if you want to wear a new designer dress, consider bringing another “playtime” outfit, too. Trust your photographer even if you feel a little silly.

Funny story: These pics aren’t from an engagement session, either! I asked my cousin and his girlfriend and my brother and his fiancee to come out and play one day awhile back and snapped these shots just for fun. Daniel and Emma, the couple in most of these photos, are two of my favorite people. Love you guys!