Then Comes Marriage

2008 – Year in Review

Wow!  2008 has definitely been a momentous year to say the least.  We welcomed our baby boy in February, I launched my new blog the same month (I was on the phone with my blog designer on the way to the hospital to make sure it gone done before Brayden was born!), I launched my new logo and branding, I shot 21 fabulous weddings, tons of awesome families, and I’ve seen my business grow in ways I could have never imagined!  I’m feeling a little nostalgic today so let’s take a walk down memory lane and looks at some of my favorite images from 2008!

January

Last January I was pregnant, huge, and very grumpy!  I was ready to get Brayden out of me!  But, I did have two fabulous weddings to shoot and I was not going to let anything stop me!

First was Lauren and Robert at 7 Degrees.  Jasmine snapped this shot of me.  At the time I didn’t think there was anything wrong with being 36 weeks pregnant and standing on a chair.  Now I just think I look silly!

But, the wedding was amazing and I’m so glad I got to be a part of it!

The following week was Ashley and Tyson’s wedding.  The night before my husband and I were driving to pick up a new lens and on the way home we got in an accident.  

The paramedics came and I was fine, but just super shook up.  I got sent to the hospital and they thought I was going to have the baby, but the contractions finally stopped and at 1am I was sent home.  As I was leaving the hospital I asked the nurse, “So, if I’m a wedding photographer and I have a wedding tomorrow can I go?”.  She told me I probably shouldn’t, but of course I still did.  Chuck came with me to make sure I was okay.  Although I had extremely swollen feet I was fine and the wedding was amazing!

 

February

Good thing I didn’t miss Ashley and Tyson’s wedding!  Brayden was 4 (very painful, excruciating, long) days late.  I rushed to launch my new blog and branding before Brayden was born.

Brayden was born on the 12th and he did a lot of this for the first few weeks.

A couple of days later Jessica came over to do our newborn pictures.

Hauggy and Brayden also did some quality bonding.

March

I was itching to shoot something other than my baby and dog so when two of my favorite people came in to town I made them do an engagement session!

Brayden turned one month old and I made the poor kid lay naked on a chair in the middle of a field.

But, it was a pretty picture :)

One of my favorite families also came in to town and I made them do a family shoot.  Are you seeing a trend here?  I was bored so I made everyone do a shoot whether they liked it or not!

UCLA lost the NCAA tournament … again.  But, Brayden sure did love basketball!

April

My first official month back on the job and it was a good one!

First up was Baby Griffin.  What a cutie!

Then onto Chelsea and Sean’s unforgettable engagement session!

And Nikki and Jeff’s fabulous wedding!

 

May

The month started off with Natalie and Scott’s wedding.  They just so happened to get married 10 years to the day that Chuck and I had our first date!

Then I got to shoot a cool baby with a cool name.  Baby Drew!

I shot a few awesome engagement sessions!

Krista and Erik

And Shelley and Dave

And I also got to shoot one of my all time favorite couples with their new little guy.  Gina, Joel, and Baby Julian!

And guess what?  Gina is pregnant with baby number 2 and she’s due on Julian’s 1st birthday!  Stay tuned for more pictures of this gorgeous family next year!

 

June

Lots of wedding this month!

Jackie and Stephen

 

Matt and Rachel in Boise

And Chelsea and Sean at The Montage

Brayden kept getting cuter!

And I shot another awesome engagement session

 

July

Brayden was feeling patriotic on the Fourth of July

Another one of my favorite families came into town for a shoot

And Alex and Corey got married!  I just adore these two!

 

And Baby Cameron came to visit me for a few pictures!

 

August

I went up to Berkeley to shoot Ki and Andrew’s engagement session.  Can’t wait for their May wedding!

Janelle and David were married!

Shelley and Dave were married

 

I got my very own fan club on Facebook thanks to my BFF and number one fan Christy!

Leslie and Husam were engaged

Another one of my favorite families came into town for a shoot

 

And Brayden Bittel learned how to sit!  Woohoo!


September

I went to Northern California for Romy and Ryan’s engagement shoot at Ryan’s family vineyard!

Sandy and Dave were married

Trista shot an awesome family session for us!

Tara and Tyrone were married

Brayden went to Disneyland for the first time

I shot Lorraine’s maternity session

And Krista and Erik were married!

 

October

Heather and Justin had their engagement session at the “Happiest Place on Earth”

Alison and Wayde were married

Another successful Bengard family shoot

As well as another successful Imus family shoot

And Tracy and her family won my Nie-Nie auction

And last, but not least, Brayden Bittel was the cutest sock monkey ever!

November

Heidi and Chris’ engagement session.  They are my first 2009 wedding!  Can’t wait!

Brayden Bittel was excited about our new President!

Another fun shoot with the Cox family

I had fun with Brayden’s future wife, Baby Caroline

And we braved fires to shoot the Ramirez wedding

 

December

My FAVORITE family shoot of the year!

I taught my first mentoring session and it was so much fun!  I can’t wait for the sessions I have scheduled next year!

We headed south of the border for Krista and Vince’s Puerto Vallarta wedding

My last family session of the year was so much fun!

And here’s a sneak peek of my last engagement session of the year!


 

Wow!  That made me tired and was much longer than I intended it to be!  Pat yourself on the back if you’re still reading :)  

Thanks again to everyone for making it such a successful year for DrewB Photography!  I can’t wait to share everything I have in store for next year!  I hope everyone has a very safe and happy New Year!

Posted in First Comes Love, My Life, Then Comes Baby, Then Comes Marriage | 12 Comments

Mr. & Mrs. Cardoza

I blogged Krista and Vince’s engagement pictures last week and now here are their wedding pictures.  Their Puerto Vallarta wedding was held at El Set, which is a restaurant that used to be a movie set.  How cool is that?  The ceremony was on the roof deck with gorgeous ocean views.  The weather was absolutely perfect and the day went off without a hitch!  I love destination weddings because they are (usually) stress free and all about spending time with the friends and family who made the long trip.  It was a great day and I was so happy to be a part of it!

Below are my favorite pictures and here is the slide show!  Congratulations Krista and Vince!

Posted in Then Comes Marriage | 2 Comments

Adios!

Adios Amigos!  I’m heading down to Puerto Vallarta for my last wedding of the year and will be out of the office until Tuesday.  I don’t think I’ll have much internet access so I’ll be answering emails when I return.

But, before I go I must blog a session that I shot on Monday because I know Ashley will be disappointed if I don’t :)

On Monday I got to do something really fun!  I got to teach another photographer!  I shot Tracy’s family session in October and after the shoot she had lots of questions, which I was totally happy to answer.  Tracy thought it would be a good idea to do a mentoring session.  I had never dreamed of doing a workshop or teaching sessions or anything like that.  I just didn’t think I had anything to teach!  But, once I started thinking about everything I could tell Tracy I had a list a couple of pages long!  So, we got together all day Monday and discussed business strategies, marketing tools, shooting and editing.  And we also did a shoot so Tracy could implement everything that we had discussed.  It was so much fun!  I had a casting call on my blog and Ashley volunteered herself and her husband, Jeff.  Ashley always leaves the sweetest comments on my blog so I knew they would be a fun couple to shoot.  Ashley’s a photographer herself!  Be sure to check out her blog.

Here are some of my favorites from the session.  You can also see Tracy’s on her blog.  I’m so proud of her because her homework was to go home and get a blog and she did it that night!  What a good student :)

If you’re interested in setting up a mentoring session with me send me an email drew@drewbphotography.com.  I will have special rates for the winter months!

And a very special thanks to my good friend Jenny B for making a gorgeous bouquet for us!  Thanks Jen!

Posted in My Life, Then Comes Marriage | 10 Comments