This is a friend of ours from Church, his name is Trey and he’s been into acting for awhile now. So far he’s done some modeling and it looks like casting directors and  agencies really like him. It doesn’t happen to many, but I think within this next year this young (18 year old) Christian man is going to be all over our television sets on some sort of hit program. Trey has what is called the “IT” and attracts people to his look and his personality. Hopefully when Trey gets to be rich and famous he can come back here and pay off my home for us! LOL! Here are some of the images I retouched for him.

It’s the rage of the future. These are going to be what every Bride and Groom and their families

will be asking for when it comes to finished wedding books. And they’re not only beautiful,

but less expensive too!

I’m talking about

“LASER PRESS PRINTED WEDDING BOOKS/ALBUMS”

We’ve been showing these to clients for a few months and its starting to make

sense and catch on. You can either book us with one of our beautiful flush mounted albums

or book the same plan with our new Press printed Coffee Table Books and save enough money

to get albums for both sets of Parents!

They range in size from a small 7×7″ all the way up to the large 11.5″ X 15″ landscape book.

So why settle for anything else, come on in and see for yourself how beautiful these books are.

We know you’re going to love them!

I love getting wedding favors at weddings and some are really thoughtful and others are gulped up like a chocolate bar or a single chocolate truffle in a pretty little box. But did anyone ever think about how much money was being spent on these? I’ve had some of my couples spend thousands of dollars on heart shaped crystal wine bottle stoppers with their names engraved on them to silver miniature champaign flutes for their guests.

When you are having 150 -200 guests the costs for these trinkets cost about $4-5 each or more. Even Custom Cookies can add another $600- $1,000 to your wedding budget. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have favors, but think about this… the only thing left after your meal is consumed, the flowers die off and his tux is returned to the rental store is your professional photography. This should be the most important item to any bride and groom. But then again, everyone has different priorities, some spend more on flowers, on a specialty cake and then don’t have enough money left for great photography. So when you’re discussing your plans and starting out your budget, think about what’s important to you and think about how you are going to remember this big day too!

This is Jennifer (so stinkin cute) and Jake (soooo tall). Jake is the brother of Greg (CHP) who’s wedding I shot last September and his lovely fiance is Jennifer who was also in that wedding. They needed some quick photos for their “Save The Date” cards and we shot this session in ten minutes at the park right around the corner from my home studio. In a few months when the weather is better and Jake has more of his hair grown out after graduating from the CHP Academy, we will be taking them on our San Francisco Experience full day engagement shoot along with videographer Eric Leas of Acti-Video productions. Now thats one engagement shoot you are going to want to come back and see!

But for now, here’s a little bit of what we shot of them this morning.

Before and after. Its amazing how some imagination with hair and make up can do to change an already pretty young woman into a beautiful looking princess on her wedding day. The same applies for the Groom. I’ve seen guys personalities completely change when they are in a tux. I think its the “James Bond Look” that has them walk, talk and act differently. So, have some fun trying out different looks before settling on your finished hair and make up and also think about purchasing a new tuxedo instead of renting one. The cost really isn’t that much more sometimes, and besides everyone else is wearing new formal clothing, why is the groom wearing a rented tux that has been worn hundreds of times by others? When I got married over 20 years ago we purchased my tuxedo and I thought I wouldn’t  wear it again. Not so, I’ve had the opportunity to wear it at many formal occasions and special holiday parties and actually saved alot of money by owning my own, plus it fits better too.

Had a busy week and weekend. Last Wednesday through Friday saw  four couples and booked three more dates for 2009! Also on Saturday  spent the entire day from 8:45am-6pm at the Grand opening of our all new Alfred Angelo bridal shop here in Roseville,Ca. I set up my instant on site photo system and photographed every Bride-To-Be who tried on gown’s. It was a blast and brides and their families loved being able to receive a 5×7″ color print right away of themselves to take home after purchasing their gowns. Angelo’s own designer of all the gowns Michael was also on hand from Florida to help with finding the right gowns to fit and look beautiful and also answer any and all questions. Having the designer on site was amazing and helped everyone! Alfred Angelo bridal shops are located all over the world and only now sell through their own network of stores. The value you get is amazing and the high end material’s used along with the huge selection to choose from will have your head spinning! I didn’t see one gown on anyone I didn’t like.

The biggest thing that really impressed me too was the attention to customer service from the very moment you walk into their store to the final fitting, they treat you like family. And that can’t be a bad thing, now can it?

Here are some images from the grand opening.

  Trying to watch, capture and get the shot’s needed of a professional trainer is somewhat of a task, especially if its Christina Clark! This little gal with the Size 0 waist moves fast, talks fast and I was to just capture her while she worked her skills on her students. I was running all over the place trying to get just the right angle and at the same time trying to make sure her clients were not being bothered by having a photographer shooting around, on top and next to them for the next 45 minutes. Not only did all her clients get a great workout, but this over weight, non exercising photog was needing a cold water and a towel. I was exhausted just watching all of them! LOL!

Never a dull moment in a professional photographers life. here are some of the images from just a couple hours ago.

Sure she looks cute and innocent….she will work you like a Marine Drill Sergeant and you will feel the burn. I think I lost weight this morning just watching! Ha!

I’ll be busy this weekend at the Grand Opening and 75th anniversary of our new Alfred Angelo Bridal Shop at the Roseville Galleria Mall near our home. They will have about 5 other vendors on hand all day from 10am-6pm and all sorts of free gifts to brides just for stopping by. Sponsored by Brides Magazine, this is going to be a grand event!

So, come by and check out the new store and if you’re a bride have your photo taken with your Alfred Angelo Gown on and receive a free instant 5×7″ color photo to take home from us!

Where: Alfred Angelo Bridal  1208 Galleria Blvd. Suite 170  Roseville,Ca 95678  916-797-1919

Across from the Galleria Mall near Buca Italian restaurant 

Yes its true, when Chocolate is mentioned I’m a big push over. A business friend of mine needed some images for his wife’s new website of the cookies she bakes and sells online. He asked how much I charge for a product shoot and I said kiddingly, I’ll work for some Chocolate Chip cookies. Big mistake, plus I ate about three of these mammoth cookies, which tasted amazing. At least now they can get the new biz off the ground with my photos. Now all I need to do is try to loose the extra few pounds I put on eating all those cookies!