Puppy Seat

Posted by Liana at 4:45 PM

We just stopped off at Starbucks in SC on the way to ATL. Check out
Chloe in her pink puppy seat! It's got two layers of foam under the
pink blanket. My mom spoils her rotten! LOL

White Horses

Posted by Liana at 11:10 PM

Yesterday I flew up to North Carolina for a Bridal and Engagement Session that I photographed today for Tammy and Jon.

It was PERFECT out - we couldn't have asked for better weather! We had so much fun taking pics in Tammy's home-town and I'll be sharing the Bridals in May... for now here's a sneak-peak of the Engagement session.

Tables Are Turned : Our Epics Coming Soon!

Posted by Liana at 9:40 PM

The tables have been turned. Today Sara was so awesome to shoot part I of our two-part "real" engagement shoot.

It was VERY last-minute that we pulled everything together, and the sun did not stay up long enough for us, so I'm getting up at 5:30AM tomorrow so we can chase the sunrise and squeeze in "part 2" before I catch a flight.

Charlie and Grace naturally had to be included in part of our engagement shoot. Here's a teaser Sara put up on her blog of me getting Gracie dressed ;)



I can't WAIT to see/share the rest from this series! I'm such a dork. (And it gets worse!) LOL

RSVPs - Is this Normal?

Posted by Liana at 6:33 PM

Perhaps all the fellow brides-to-be and recently-married can help with this.

Our wedding is just over 40 days away, we sent invitations out over a month ago, and the RSVP deadline is tomorrow....

To date, 40% of our list has NOT RSVPed - is this normal??

Cassie and Robert Married in Savannah!

Posted by Liana at 1:45 PM

Since Cassie and Robert BOTH serve in the military, the Mighty Eight Air Force Museum in Savannah, GA was the perfect place for their big day!

Baby B: Three Months!

Posted by Liana at 2:38 PM

How beautiful is this little angel in her Christmas best?

I just ran across this session and realized I neglected to post anything from this shoot we did around Christmas time. Need to remedy that!

24 Hours to Fight Stimulus : Say NO to higher taxes, more inflation and debt

Posted by Liana at 12:45 AM

Want higher taxes, MORE inflation of the dollar, and the start of socialized health care? That's what we'll get FOR SURE if the so called "stimulus" package gets approved tomorrow.

The politicians just moved the vote up to tomorrow - to try to get it passed before people can actually read it! If it is passed, they are going to have to get the almost TRILLION $$s from SOMEWHERE to fund all kinds of ridiculousness (such as $88 million for ATV trails and $600 million to buy cars for government workers).

They'll be a) borrowing money from the private sector that could otherwise be invested elsewhere b) increasing taxes and WORST of all c) printing "funny money" which is going to make the value of the dollar decrease even MORE and lead to even more inflation. These are part of what got us into a recession in the first place!

There's a grassroots effort going on to get the attention of congress - go to www.NoStimulus.com NOW and sign the petition to STOP them from passing this trillion-dollar disaster bill that's disguised as a "stimulus" program.

We have less then 24-hours to get as many signatures as possible. Let everyone you know about this. You can also call and/or email your state senator to ask them to vote NO on this.

“Instead of focusing on three major issues – job creation, housing and compassion for Americans who have lost jobs through no fault of their own – to boost the economy, this bill has morphed into a bloated government giveaway,” said Chambliss. “The majority in Congress has been in runaway mode when it comes to spending taxpayer dollars. This legislation is yet another sign that Washington is more concerned with pet projects than with the welfare of taxpayers.”

Sore Legs! What to do?

Posted by Liana at 1:42 PM

Last week, I started back with the trainer again... I have over a dozen pre-paid sessions to use up still... and it makes sense to use them up to keep me accountable before the BIG DAY...

BUT I'm also doing lots of activity on my own...and I think I took it too far yesterday. I can hardly MOVE today I am in so much pain! Agggg.


- Cleared out office on Sunday (lots of heavy lifting)
- Killer workout w/trainer on Monday (sore already after that)
- Walked/jogged 4 miles yesterday AM
- Painted office yesterday PM... this means lifting a leg onto 3' stool, boosting myself up.. in essence a HUGE leg and body exercise over and over and over again.. to trim around the top. Mikey came to my rescue and finished when my legs gave out under me and I fell into a wall. Opps. Bump on my head hurts too!

I haven't felt this sore since the day after I ran a 10k!

By last night, I could hardly move. Every move shoots pain through my body. I'm supposed to go to another training session tomorrow. Should I reschedule it and rest, or go through with it?

Hotwire, Trust, Weddings, and Money

Posted by Liana at 12:44 AM

When you're planning a wedding, it's painful to look at the budget... because every little thing adds up. You budget, prioritize... but in the end you're still knocking yourself on the head over the fact that what you could have paid off your 2nd mortgage with what you're spending on a small wedding!

Priorities are clear. Marriage counseling, photography and videography are the frontrunners.

STILL every little detail is part of what is cherished, remembered, enjoyed. I want to stay in a gorgeous room for our first two nights as Mr. and Mrs. I don't care if it's big and fancy... I just want it to be to our taste.

So we booked the Viceroy Santa Monica. Simple, elegant, modern yet traditional all at once. Boutique. Beautiful. By the Beach.






This weekend after a particularly convicting talk about money, I canceled our reservation. We can afford it, but I know better. ALL the better uses for that $$! I wanted SOOO bad to justify the fact that it's our WEDDING NIGHT accommodations... but we'd already picked where we would splurge. I set out on a mission this week to find the perfect, affordable place to stay instead. Nothing was really what we wanted. Found an agent that gave us better rates at these places...


Mondrain is funky, modern, fun...






The London is raved about, and you get a whole suite... still not quite right...




So I finally rolled the dice tonight and bid on an unknown hotel on Hotwire. When you book with Hotwire, it's like Priceline. The identity of the hotel is not revealed until AFTER you pay and commit. No changes or refunds.

I bid on a hotel near the beach - at 1/4 of the cost of what we'd originally planned to spend. It's funny how God works when you trust Him and try to make the wise choice. Not your choice, but the one He'd have us make. How He turns things around and makes it 10x better.

Guess which hotel we got??



The Viceroy!!!

***insert happy dance here***

The Honeymoon Planning Puzzle

Posted by Liana at 12:29 AM

Planning a honeymoon out of the country, where we are gone for a whole MONTH is turning out to be quite the puzzle!

I know this is traditionally the groom's responsibility, however we've sandwiched our honeymoon in the middle of our destination wedding and teaching two Boot Camps in Australia. Since work is taking us down under, I've been working on filling in the puzzle our April schedule has become. Plus, Mike insists planning is one of my strong points so I should do it, whereas he excels at finding the perfect travel luggage and reminding us how everything "looks just like California!" LOL!



Mike and I started the research back in October, and are STILL planning away!

From the time we get married, to the time we get home:

26 nights of accommodations needed
2 nights in California
10 nights in New Zealand
14 nights in Australia

So far we will be staying:

9 nights compliments of hotel reward points (thanks parents & my Starwood stays!)
3 nights with hostess in Australia (so gracious of them!)
5 nights in a Bed and Breakfast (yummy breakfast included, and less than a hotel!)
2 nights on a Qantas plane since we loose a whole day in-air!
1 night on a boat in Milford Sound!

Only 6 more nights to plan for!

Here are a few of the places we will be going:

Rotorua, New Zealand


Milford Sound in New Zealand Fiordland


Hunter Valley Wine Country north of Sydney, Australia


The Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road west of Melbourne, Australia

Attention Clients: April 2009

Posted by Liana at 11:38 PM

ATTENTION CLIENTS: Mike and I will be GONE (out of state/country) for ALL of April 2009. April is the lucky month we are tying the knot, honeymooning, and teaching Boot Camps in Australia!

This means NOW is a great time to schedule that shoot early or get that order in! We will be in touch of course between now and April to make sure you won't miss us.