Arlington VA Portrait Photographer - TaShika

I had the pleasure of photographing TaShika at her studio apartment on Saturday in Arlington. She's hoping to start her own interior design business soon, so she wanted the pictures to capture her decorating style too. She has certainly made the most of a small space with lots of beautiful elements. I can see why her friends and family are coming to her for decorating advice! Here are just a few of my favorite portraits, isn't she gorgeous?!








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Google's New Wedding Planning Tools

I have to share Google's latest and greatest addition (is there anything Google doesn't do??), just introduced last week. It's a new set of Google Docs templates to help couples stay organized with wedding planning - everything from the wedding day schedule to gifts. Style Me Pretty, the blog for everything weddings, has helped out by lending some of their favorite wedding vendors to offer tips on many of the documents. After all, it never hurts to have an expert's advice on important decisions like choosing a venue, the cake or especially the photographer. :)

Wedding planning can quickly become an overwhelming task, but with these documents, everything you can think of is covered. Perhaps the most helpful and time-saving is an address book that allows you to request your guests fill out a pretty form to collect all the info you need for the invitations. Instant spreadsheet without any typing on your end!

The more I look through the templates, and documents, the more amazed I am. They really thought of everything! Another valuable tool is a budget calculator to guide decision making and make sure every dollar is accounted for. With so many tempting wedding details to splurge on, a budge worksheet insures that one part of the wedding doesn't take more than it's designated share. Just plug in your numbers and all the math is done for you.

Any of these documents you choose to use are stored on-line by Google so you can access them anytime, from anywhere. How handy is that? All these tools make staying organized easy and fun, whether you enjoy keeping track of the details, or not!

Washington DC - National Cathedral - Winter Wonderland

A few inches of wet snow is a magical sight! The whole world looks clean and fresh, with each detail highlighted by a bit of frosting.

The frosting was beginning to drip, but I couldn't resist a quick stop at the National Cathedral on my way to a Food for Life class this morning. I wish I'd had more than 10 minutes to soak it all in! Though I could have done without soaking in the globs of melting snow that were falling on me. :)

I also wish there were places to pull off the road on Rock Creek Parkway - I had a hard time driving and looking and kept seeing great material for pictures. Though in this case, I picture is only a small reflection of the glory of the real thing! So, the stream and the cemetery along Rock Creek Parkway will have to remain a beautiful picture only in my mind's eye.

But now, on to what I can share from the National Cathedral:

Washington DC Wedding Photographer Loves Happy Clients

Happy clients make me happy. When I've captured a couple's wedding day in a way that makes them smile every time they see the pictures and want to look at their album or slideshow every day, then I know I've been successful in doing my job. It totally makes my day, and often my week, when a client tells me how much they continue to enjoy their wedding pictures.
I'm honored to receive the Bride's Choice Award for 2010 from Wedding Wire. I look forward to making many more brides and grooms (and their families) happy this year!