Jessi of Just Chic Events planned and designed the shower! It was lovely! One of my favorite florists ever, Kate Baker, did all the florals and they were loverly for sure! Also, My Sweet and Saucy made the cute dessert bar which was as beautiful as it was delicious. The retro theme was so cute and clever, but also very classic and elegant.

I couldn’t be more happy to see this event featured on Hostess With The Mostess! Go check it out on HWTM:

And…. Here are a few of my favorite shots of the day:

Paola + her hubby Eric posed for some shots in the new nursery! How cute is that room??

The tables were so pretty! Loved Kate Baker‘s floral clusters!

YUM! Dessert bar by My Sweet and Saucy!! What could be better??

Treats!!!

Deeeeeelicious.

I’ll end with this touching photo of Paola with her mom!! So sweet!!!

One thing that I found really cool about this shoot was that Victor asked us all to play with a more editorial style of shooting. Meaning, a collection of images and details that will give off a mood and a feel. Rather than focusing on making each shot a work of art, focus on the story and mood at hand. I really like this notion because at when I shoot a wedding I really want my photos to portray the mood, vibe, ambiance, and story of the day. So this little mini-workshop helped me see things a little differently and grow in a new way…

…and of course I love the images too! Hope y’all will enjoy!

And thanks to the following for making this opportunity so awesome & valuable!

- Mentor Photographer: Victor Sizemore (http://www.vcsphoto.com)
- Stylist: Summer Watkins (http://www.summerwatkins.com) of Grey Likes Weddings (http://www.greylikesweddings.com)
- Hair and Make Up: Amelia C (http://amelia-c.com)

After the show, I got to have a little photo shoot with the models who could hang around! The idea was that Serra Plaza could use the photos for promotional reasons, but hey, who am I kidding, I just wanted to take pictures of these amazing models!!!!! So I did. And I LOVED it! Here’s a look at those photos!!

I love this first look! It’s not too formal and has a great casual-chic feel to it! I LOVE the look of layered necklaces with a wedding dress! Fab!!!

Aughhhhhhh. This look KILLS me!!! If I was getting married again I totally would go this route. Honestly, I originally wanted a dress like this but never really found one that worked for my uber petite body. SO I ended up wearing a lace dress! LOL! So opposite. But yeah, if I ever get a redo, I’m all over this!!

I had so much time with the last model, Amanda, and I had a great time photographing her! I also LOVED her look! So chic and retro! And I love that the dress is short! Some times I wish I would’ve worn a short dress because they are so unexpected and stylish. But truth be told I guess I’m just a little too traditional. Still…maybe for a vow renewal I could wear this?? AJ do you approve??

Hello shoes!!! I love you? Will you be mine? Oh what’s that? You don’t come in size uber tiny???? BUMMER! Okay fine, I’ll just live vicariously through my photographs.

Is Amanda fierce or is a Amanda FIERCE?!  You betta work!

The photo on the left is one of my favorites of all time! Ohhhhh Amanda! You are GORGEOUS!

Now, besides photography I really love to be in front of the camera. I just love cameras. Period. Whether in my hand or pointed right at me. I’m kinda diva like that. So I may have been a camera hog during this session, and I can’t wait to start seeing the girls blog photos of me. But since you know I’m not really a model, and I am PHOTOGRAPHER, I figured I better blog the pics I took of them, stat!

Here’s a peeksy at our fun girlie-photog day!

Here’s Anna right in front of my place. The sun was bright, which made it the perfect opportunity to take what I had just learned from J* about natural reflectors and shooting in bright sun! I think I did well! Hope Jasmine approves!

Anna you are gorgeous! And pure awesome!

Then Brittany and Laurie and I at cupcakes at Vanilla Bake Shop. Shhhh it’s a secret! And then we hit up The Viceroy! I love this shot of Brittany. It’s SO her!

Brittany is amazing! She is from Chattanooga and has the BEST Southern Accent! She is like butter. Ah to be a Southern Belle…

Then there is Laurie! So cool! So fierce! Look at her rock it!

But I made her laugh. Cause I am hysterical!

Brittany strutted her stuff like a total LA Chick!

Brittany you are gorgeous girl!!!!!!

And Laurie!! You are gorgeous too!!!

Seriously look at those high cheek bones! Those piercing hazel eyes! GOR-GEOUS!!!!

We finished our awesome day looking at the beautiful Santa Monica sunset. And it hit me. WHOA! I’m so lucky! I’m so lucky to be a SoCal girl! To see beauty like this! And to be capturing it all in photos! Lucky lucky lucky!

And then we ate really good Korean food. And I felt even luckier

So here are a few shots from our family portrait session, which we took at Kenneth Hahn Park. I really need to enjoy this park more often because its so big and beautiful! Because we’re family and chatty with each other, we kinda lost track of time and got a late start! The sun was getting low, but did offer up some cool lens flare!

Kenneth Hahn has a beautiful lake and creek thing running through it! Yes, it’s man-made but it still makes for a pretty background!

Here’s my Leo! My nephew and I have this crazy bond! He cracks me up and actually reminds me a lot of myself when I was little. He is a unique little kid who loves to ham it up, get attention, be the boss and is dangerously smart! Yes, that can mean he doesn’t always listen to the adults when he should…but I think its kinda awesome. hehe. I love that he beats to his own drum! I feel like we are kindred spirits and that I was destined to be his Aunt. It’s kinda amazing how things work out in this world…sometimes your family isn’t born to you, it finds you!

My niece Georgia had a playdate with her BFF Molly that day, so Molly tagged along as my assistant Of course I had to shoot some pics of these two girls! Aren’t they fierce?!

The girls already have developed such style! Check out their awesome shoes!!!

I love this sweet moment.

Mitch & Angie have been married 15 years!!! And they are still sooo in love!

This last shot was at the end of the day and Leo was not having any more of the “smile and look at the camera” thing. In fact he told me his face was hurting from too much smiling! LOL. I told you he beats to his own drum! So, it is what it is. An almost perfect picture. But maybe what makes this picture perfect is the fact that Leo is goofing off and just being Leo. Its so much more real!