The Lock In. The 'wedding planning and taxes' weekend!

5 months and 20 days until the BIG DAY!!
WOOOO HOOOOO.
Now that I got that off my chest. HOLY CRAP. 5 months to plan a wedding is not a lot of time, but we don't have 5 months. Our wedding season starts in May, so we have 2.5 months. CRAAZY.

Justin popped the cork on the Pinot Grigio. I stacked the sliced red peppers next to the hummus and cheese on the platter. Love, Wedding and Marriage played softly from the living room, as the candles on the coffee table set  the mood of relaxation.
We planned a lock in, for ourselves. We put all the couch throw pillows on the floor, on top of the plush white rug. We snuggled up with our fleece blankets and laughed with each other until time stretched from PM to AM without a blink. We made list after list, and refilled the wine. Checked off detail after detail, and refilled the coffee. THIS is what wedding planning should be. And I'm so glad that we never pushed it before when things seemed not to fit, we just waited....so that everything could fall in to place just as it has. Oh! And taxes are stupid but complete.

Here's our wedding inspiration!!
Pinboard

http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/233061349436394237_ePVieUL9_f.jpg

http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/171347960792123809_K16Y3CCW_f.jpg

http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/233061349435954845_8oRQ12WC_f.jpg

http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/233061349436276924_m6EDmAlg_f.jpg

Mint & Metal

A styled shoot.

Mint & Metal
A little spring thing, with hues in coral, gold and a glamorous minty-zing.
It's here...the pin-board for the winter-gone-spring-themed wedding shoot.
March 9th, 2012 we'll be teaming up with a great list of vendors for a full on fab photo shoot. 


Here's the look!!

A video contest and a step in the right direction...

As you probably read in my recent post Overflowing with Life we had a pretty great time last weekend.
On the business side as well as the personal side. We wanted to test some off camera flash and lighting techniques so we figured what better models than our best friends; who happen to be married; who happen to be gorgeous!
The shoot could have gone so many different ways because we were in the company of friends. I'm bossy, Justin's timid. I'm overbearing, he's easy-going. I get irritated easily, he gets really irritated when I get irritated. But none of that happened. We ebbed and flowed just as gracefully as waves working around each other to get to the shore. We took turns posing, lighting and shooting. We took time to congratulate each other when we nailed a sweet shot. Our friends laughed with us. And we laughed with each other. It was a step in the right direction. We overcame a fear of trying something new, we did it in the comfort of friends and managed to come out on the other end still smiling. This can only mean bigger things for our future as a husband and wife photography team!!
Hopefully you've checked out the information about our latest and greatest giveaway!
We're giving away a complete wedding photography package
to one very lucky couple who submits their video and wins by viewer votes!!! We can't wait to see all of the unique videos...March 21st we'll start accepting videos!! Check out my video announcement here.



And for your viewing pleasure, a few sneak peeks of the shoot with the gorgeous Liz & Justin:

LOVIN' LOVE - Win a Wedding Video Contest Announcement

"IT'S A PRETTY BIG DEAL!"

Announcing the LOVIN' LOVE 2012 WIN A WEDDING Video Contest!

[video of me making an @#% of myself]

Who can enter:

Any engaged couples who 'LIKE' Maui Creative and are not under contract with us or any other photographer.

Couples with wedding dates between October 1st, 2012 and March 31st, 2013 

What to include:

In your 30 to 60 second video please include:

Your names, the date of your wedding (if you have one) and all the reasons why we should choose you. The video should show you AND your fiance. Bonus points for mentioning things your into that we've also mentioned on the blog or on facebook that we're into!! 

Who can vote:

Anyone who likes Maui Creative on facebook. [facebook.com/mauicreative]

Details: 

Submit video by uploading the video to youtube and emailing the link along with your contact information to mallory@mauicreativedesign.com  by March 21st.

Voting begins April 1st.

Winner announced June 1st.

Disclaimer:

Videos that are not rated PG-13 will be disqualified from the giveaway. Please keep it appropriate for all viewers. No nudity, no profanity, no violence. Thanks. 

Fine Print:

Maui Creative is giving away a full package wedding day coverage valued at over $2100. There are no prints, disks or any other products included in this give away but will be available for purchase. The couple will receive full service photography coverage just as any other contracted couple. Maui Creative can be the only professional photographer at the event. The wedding must take place within the above stated dates, and must take place within a 100 mile radius of Canton, Ohio. The chosen couple will be chosen based on the originality and creativity in their video. Fans will vote for their favorite videos and a final decision will be made by the photographer. 

Go...now....get creative!!!

Here's an example of something Justin and I did for our wedding website that might be an inspiration for your video.

Overflowing with Life

We sat at the rectangular table, candles flickering and catching the sparkle in each of my best friend's eyes.  I looked around and inhaled the moment and right then I couldn't have been more full, or so I thought. Our friends are the type to stay up all night. We make full course meals at 3am, and spend the whole next day curled up together in our pajamas. This was one of those weekends.

Sunday morning started off with toasted cinnamon bagels, scrambled eggs and french pressed coffee but ended up with feathered hairpieces, smokey eyes and lot's of pretty.

Justin and I researched all week different ways to set up our off-camera flash, I painted a back-drop and set a table.  There's never been so much glam in our living room. We spent the afternoon Sunday shooting together, feeling just like a real team. Our friends sat, donning their wedding attire gracefully, and with every stroke of the shutter I grew more and more full. Every time that flash popped and an image appeared in my LCD, and every time Justin did exactly the type of thing I'd seen other photographers do I felt my heart so full it spilled over.

This isn't just photography. This isn't just a career. This is all of our worlds colliding and leaving us overflowing with life.

The BIG announcement....

is finally here. Well, not here...head over to the new facebook fan page to see the announcement.
MAUI CREATIVE

I vow to love you all the days of our lives...

It was barely 8am as I stretched and rolled over. "Babe, I figured out what I want my wedding vows to be" He replied with a distant "humpghh" from dreamland. I continued, "I vow to love you all the days of our lives, and when death does us part...I promise to finally stop bossing you around" Giggles ensued and I knew I wasn't going back to sleep after that. I continued to chatter to myself until Justin finally responded "I vow to love you, and if you don't go back to sleep, I'll punch your face". And we both lay laughing, our chests bouncing from the motion in the mattress springs. How remarkable sly of him for 8 in the morning.

So, that's how we came up with our wedding vows. Here's how we chose our Wedding Photographer:

When Justin and I finally got engaged after over half a decade of courtship, people's most asked question surprised me. It wasn't "where's the ring?" or "how did he propose?" or "when's the wedding?". Nope. It was "who's going to take your pictures?" and it was always accompanied by a snicker and a giggle or some animated hand motion insinuating that they were imagining us photographing our own wedding. This perplexed me. Where people under the assumption that we were the photographers in the world? Did they think we were so awesome that we would only want ourselves to photograph our wedding? What?... Did they presume that would be a tough decision?
It wasn't.
Meet Claire [,Todd] and Roux the 3 who make up Rouxby Photography in Columbus, Ohio

We are incredibly excited to work with a couple who's work spoke to us about who they are, long before we made a connection on skype. We're so excited that we get the opportunity to have them at our wedding, to mix in and mingle with our crazy friends and family but most of all SO SUPER excited to see how they see us...and to have that vision captured and preserved forever in a photograph. We just can't wait.

Check them out! Who knows, maybe one of these days we can combine our talents and work on something really awesome together!!

Happy Friday!

It's in the details...

Everything about life is wonderful when you look at the big picture, right? But isn't it so much more awesome when you take in all those little details. I realized that before I was a photographer, what I thought was envy of the pretty girl in school, or thinking the new kid had a sweet smile was actually just my knack for noticing the details. And now I notice them even more as my eyes become trained to think in photographs. And the details are so so important, because 10 years from now my subjects will remember how awesome their nail polish was, or how sweet their beard was back in 2011 or how perfect their mother's antique vase looked sitting full of beautiful flowers on the head table at their wedding.

Life's best bestowals are found in the details. And as a photographer, it's my job to savor and preserve those details. Some of my fondest memories of my Grandma and Grandpa's life is in tiny little details. The way the front closet smelled where the mailslot was, and tucking in behind Grandma's mint chewing-gum- scented jackets to grab the mail from the slot. Or the way the same mint gum would make her kleenexes minty. Or how the tiny bowls of vanilla ice cream before bedtime any time I stayed over tasted. Or even the way my parents clang their spoons against their hot cocoa mugs when stirring their 2 or 3 cups a day. The details make up the whole, and without the details the whole cannot be remembered for what it was.

Seven from 2011. Our version of 'The best of 2011'

With a twist.
2011 was the year for firsts. Our first full season. Our first non-friend client. Our first over-night trip for a wedding. Our first civil ceremony. Our first wedding day disaster. Our first use of an assistant photographer. Our first wedding ceremony in the rain. Our first real, full year in business. And we made it. Shewf, I can wipe the sweat beads from my forehead and put away my icy hot and ibuprofen. We made it.
January and the coming of the new year tends to be a reflective time for everyone, so of course we wanted to showcase the best of what we captured for our clients in this year of firsts. So let this be, our first: 'Best Of' post of our career!
Justin and I chose these favorites based on the way they make US feel. Not for their exposure or composition, or for the colors and contrast. We chose them for their emotive aspects, as models for the type of photography we hope to capture more of in the coming years for our clients.

7 categories of our favorites, The Best Shots of 2011.

Best Bride Shot

JUSTIN'S PICK
Krystal, in all her wedding glory, as she waves goodbye to her guests and drives off in to the sunset a married woman!

MY PICK
Ellen just looks so editorial, so thoughtful and fierce. Beyonce would be proud.

Best Groom Shot

JUSTIN'S PICK
Trevor nervously awaits the cue to turn around to see his glowing Sarah for the first time on their wedding day.

MY PICK
Joe literally rubbing his palms together with ornery excitement to walk down the isle...err to party afterwards!

Best Detail Shot

JUSTIN'S PICK
He loves shoes.

MY PICK
I love feathers!

Best Bridal Party Shot

JUSTIN'S PICK
They had the best time getting this shot! (Including Justin)

MY PICK
Clay is a monster about to eat Kelley for dinner! It's great fun and
something Justin and I would totally do in our own photos!

Best Engagement Shot

JUSTIN'S PICK
He likes "how they need each other".

MY PICK
Levi just deployed and he didn't want to let Katie out of his arms!

Best Ring Shot

JUSTIN'S PICK
The grit of the concrete and the sparkle of that diamond just hit the spot for him!

MY PICK
I just remember how excited I was when I looked over,
and BAM, right on the table was this magazine! I love the retro feel.

 Best Dancing Shot

JUSTIN'S PICK
How can you not love those glasses and all that attitude!

MY PICK
She's just having so much fun! Spinning and spinning!

Well, there we have it folks. Our 7 categories, a favorite from each from 2011! This post was as much a learning experience as it was a challenge for us. It made us see where we need to put more focus, and how we can see more artistically through the lens.


Just a few more quick favorites
JUSTIN'S PICKS

MY PICKS
I'm a woman, I couldn't decide...

Thanks for a great 2011, you've all been wonderful! Truly wonderful.

Leave comments or click the follow button to show some love in 2012!