If you haven’t been to Green Day in the past, I highly encourage you to attend this year on April 17th- you will learn all sorts of new tips and tricks for being greener and more earth-friendly in your everyday life.   You’ll also get to visit my booth at the event, and if you’re there at the right time you’ll see the wedding broadcast LIVE inside the Monona Terrace!

Now on to the fun stuff…  Engagement photos!  Right away when I met Kelly and Mike, I knew we were going to get along great.  They both have an exciting passion for green practices and local business- something we should all incorporate into our lives whenever possible.  In fact, Kelly even asked me to come visit the bridal boutique that is donating the re-purposed wedding gown that Kelly will be married in.  A photographer’s opinion is always nice when considering your gown, wouldn’t you think?  Anyway, the fun continued with Kelly and Mike a couple of weeks ago when we met in Madison for their engagement portraits.  We decided to incorporate the local florist who is also donating their services:  J. Kinney Florist on Monroe Street.  We met with Jane prior to beginning the photographs, and she showed us some local flowers that will be available for the wedding.  Going with local flowers that do not need to be shipped in from out of state reduces the carbon imprint of your wedding by eliminating costly travel and use of fuels.

J. Kinney’s shop is just adorable!  We began by scoping out some of the cute little scenes that are set up all around.  This lampshade behind Kelly & Mike is made of leaves!

Every inch of the store is covered in colorful, playful decor and accented by lovely florals.  These poses are a tad traditional for my style, but they really worked well for the scene with the adorable antique rocking chair and the busy background.

Kelly’s engagement ring was created by The Jewelers Workshop here in Madison.  What makes it eco-friendly?  Recycling!  I was amazed as Kelly told me all of the things that these guys do to preserve materials and reduce waste- right down to sending their carpeting and the paper towels they dry their hands on back to the refinery to have all of the gold dust stripped out of it and prepared for use again!  WOW!  And the diamond is over 100 years old, too.  The engravings around the side were created just for Kelly & Mike…if you look closely, they included the letters “IV” in the design.  That stands for “Isle View,” the name that the couple has chosen for their lovely home.

I’m not USUALLY a rings-on-flowers kinda gal, but given that we were in the floral shop with all these colorful blooms…it was fitting. 

Here is some of the lovely local freesia that might make its appearance on April 17th.  So colorful!

Meet Iris, the J. Kinney Kitty.  She’s a sweetheart!  We captured this cute image of her watching the goings-on from her perch on the store’s current display in the window…  A cozy-looking bed surrounded by plants.  Great spot for a nap!

We thought it was such a great spot that I asked Kelly & Mike to hop on up for a few shots.

This shot didn’t QUITE work as I’d planned…oh, sun.  You are a blessing AND a curse sometimes!  But I still like the fact that we got J. Kinney’s signage in here, as they’re a sponsor of the wedding and therefore very important. 

After saying good-bye to Jane & Iris and thanking them for the use of the beautiful shop, we stopped next door at Barrique’s to wait for sunset to get closer.  We figured that an engagement session is a good excuse for a glass or two of wine, and Kelly & Mike picked up…guess what…  THE ISTHMUS!  We paid homage to the Isthmus in this shot, as a thank you for making this wonderful event possible!

No peeking!

We headed on over to Kelly & Mike’s lovely home on Madison’s West side.  They live right across the street from a nature preserve, and on top of that they have this beautiful willow tree in their backyard!  How stunning with the afternoon light!

Across the street, we found this beautiful birds nest that emerged after the snow melted off the branches.  I thought it was a nice, rustic background for one more shot of Kelly’s one-of-a-kind ring:

With the sun quickly dropping behind the horizon, we had to work fast to get some sunset shots in.  Oh, lovely light!

I just love this shot of the two of them…  They look so peacefully happy together!

This next shot is hands-down my FAVORITE image of the day.  I love it so much that I’ve found the couple one more wonderful donation:  A CANVAS WRAP!  And an eco-friendly one at that!  Pixel2Canvas is a great company whose owner I met at WPPI last week (a professional photography conference held annually in Las Vegas).  She was so excited about the event when I told her about it that the first words out of her mouth were, “Can I donate their canvas?!”  Um, how could I say no to that?  SO, congratulations, guys…you’ll be receiving this GORGEOUS image as a gallery-wrapped canvas to display in your home!  Pixel2Canvas uses OBA-free printing and their stretchers are from reforested wood that is grown in the US.  How wonderful!

As we began the walk back to Isle View, I caught this wonderful moment…  The happy couple walking hand-in-hand towards their home together.  Sigh!

To Kelly & Mike:  I cannot express how honored I am to be a part of your wedding day.  I am learning so much about being earth-friendly in my business!  I’ve had a wonderful time getting to know you, and I can’t wait for your wedding…just one month away!  I will forever remember this unique experience!

To keep up with Kelly & Mike’s adventures in eco-friendly wedding planning, PLEASE visit their blog and leave some love!!  They are diligently documenting all of their experiences and spotlighting all of the local vendors making it possible.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT KELLY & MIKE’S ECO-FRIENDLY WEDDING BLOG

For details about hiring Red Gecko Studio as the photographer for your upcoming wedding, please use the Contact section of this blog! Red Gecko Studio proudly serves weddings and special events in Madison, Milwaukee, and southeastern Wisconsin. Travel to any other location in the world can always be arranged,so don’t hesitate to ask about your destination wedding! Thanks for visiting, and please take a moment to leave your thoughts as a comment!

I’ve known Tia & Mike since before they were married over three years ago, but we’ve been out of touch for quite a while.  I love that Tia became my Facebook friend and we were able to reconnect over the past year.  I got to find out what this couple has been up to and I love checking out her photos!  Mike is a volunteer fireman and they’ve spent a lot of time remodeling their first home together.  When I advertised on Facebook that I was seeking outgoing couples for some fun shoots, Tia spoke right up!  It is so flattering to me when a friend becomes a fan of my photography.  The three of us settled on an ice-skating portrait session at Red Arrow Park in the heart of downtown Milwaukee.  The location was fun, the weather was bearable, and I’ve gotta tell ya…Tia & Mike rocked it on the ice!

On to the eye candy…  We began with some simple laps around the ice rink at Red Arrow Park.  I was so impressed by Tia’s skating skills!  Even with the very delicate train on her gown, she had no trouble scooting around on the ice with ease.  I can’t tell you what a relief it was; my biggest fear that day was to send poor Tia crashing to the ground in a pile of tulle and skate blades.  What can I say, I’m a worrier, even when I ignore the worries and take the risk anyway.  It is usually worth it!

The building across the street (which I’ll refer to as the famous pink-glass building whose actual name I’m not sure of) made a lovely backdrop.  I brought this image to a critique recently and was informed that the chandelier mimics the shape of Tia in her gown.  Entirely unintentional but I love it anyway!  For me, the little boy looking at them makes the shot.

Mike & Tia took great direction, and they are such a warm and loving couple together that it was easy to give them one simple idea and watch them bring it to life with smiles, laughter, and genuinely loving glances.

This girl can twirl, on ice skates and in a big poufy gown!  I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, because she’s a dancer…and it shows!

After some fun on the ice, we stepped out of the rink for a few shots.

They were up for anything.  “You want us to climb up on this bench in skates?  Sure!”

Take two people in love, place them anywhere, and tell them to enjoy this little moment in time.  Voila!

Across from Red Arrow Park stands the Performing Arts Center.  In hindsight, I wish I had gotten it in the background with the skating rink…but oh well.  Lesson learned!  Who’s going skating with me next winter?!  Regardless, the PAC lights up in alternating colors at night.  So lovely, and so much fun!  We caught some of the pink…

This is absolutely my favorite shot of the night.  I knew it as soon as I saw it!  And it goes to show that you’ve GOT to keep your eyes and mind open when shooting portraits.  We went there to shoot ice skates, and my favorite shot features neither ice nor skates.

More fun shots ensued with the changing colors…

Yup, it’s the antique-style treatment that’s becoming so popular these days…but I love the warmth that it adds to this glowy kiss!

I adore the textures and patterns in this one…especially how the pattern on the wall mimics the pattern in the brick, yet the smooth texture of the wall contrasts against the rough texture of the worn brick.  Oh, and the couple’s pretty cute, too.

As far as I’m concerned, a shoot is never over until I can no longer SEE my subjects.  Otherwise, I wouldn’t have these fun shots of Mike & Tia heading back to their car!  This one is TOTALLY candid…

To Mike & Tia, I had SUCH a fun time running around in the cold with you!  Thank you THANK YOU for giving me this opportunity to reconnect with you both, create some fun & fabulous images, and play around in the dead of winter.  I hope you enjoyed your preview!

For details about hiring Red Gecko Studio as the photographer for your upcoming wedding, please use the Contact section of this blog! Red Gecko Studio proudly serves weddings and special events in Madison, Milwaukee, and southeastern Wisconsin. Travel to any other location in the world can always be arranged,so don’t hesitate to ask about your destination wedding! Thanks for visiting, and please take a moment to leave your thoughts as a comment!

We started right outside the Memorial Union, where Lake Mendota was frozen over enough to traipse around on the surface with ice fisherman and a group of people reconstructing the sunken Lady Liberty statue from a 1970’s prank.

As interesting a backdrop as that was, it wasn’t what we were expecting…the finished sculpture.    Guess they fell behind!  But it turns out that the frozen tundra look was fun all on its own!

Mmmmm, toasty looking…it almost seems like it could have been a nice, warm day!

The scene was enhanced by the castle-like figure of the red gym.

And even more amazing is the Union Terrace as a backdrop…you don’t get that very often.

The dip…not so easy on a frozen lake…

I was super lucky to have Mike and Luke from The Visual Soundtrack accompany us on this shoot.  It was great working with them!  Here’s Luke in action…

I love the architecture of the Union.

A cover of white snow is reflecty.  Fun to shoot on!

I love that you can’t tell here where the pier ends and the lake begins…  And if you’re not a Madisonite, it might not even be obvious that this IS a pier (if not for the no diving sign).

I even got Katy to sit in the snow.    Go Katy!

One of the things I really admire about Luke &  Mike’s work is that they know their stuff about studio strobes.  They set up an off-camera strobe light and got some fantastic shots…then they generously turned over the cord to me so I could grab a couple well-lit shots!

I’ve been a teensy bit action-heavy lately, I’ll admit it…

After all was said and done, we revisited the scene of the crime: The Orpheum.  Katy & Joey’s wedding reception was held here barely six months ago!

To Katy & Joey: Thanks so much for being troopers through the cold and snow for this shoot!  I know all three of us photographers had a wonderful time.  Hopefully we can do another portrait session soon, perhaps for a one-year anniversary?  He he he!  You guys are just too fun.

For details about hiring Red Gecko Studio as the photographer for your upcoming wedding, please use the Contact section of this blog! Red Gecko Studio proudly serves weddings and special events in Madison, Milwaukee, and southeastern Wisconsin. Travel to any other location in the world can always be arranged,so don’t hesitate to ask about your destination wedding! Thanks for visiting, and please take a moment to leave your thoughts as a comment!

Wedding dances always bring a little moisture to my eyes.  They are filled with such tender moments.  In the midst of a very public day, the first dance between a husband and wife is just a little more intimate than any of the other events of the day.  The smiles that bounce between them, the whispers exchanged that nobody can hear, the spontaneous laughter or stray tear that escapes an eye…  These are quickly becoming some of my favorite parts of the day.  Even a touching dance between a bride and her dad or a groom and his mom can steal my breath.

And so, as at the end of every wedding comes the dancing, here I’ll close our Best of 2009 post series by sharing some sweet dancing portraits.  Enjoy!

#1:

Melanie & Joe's First Dance (with Studio Noveau)

#2:

Scott & his Mom at Songbird Hills Country Club

#3:

Carolyn & Chris's First Dance at the Eisner Museum in Milwaukee

#4:

Julie & Matt at the Hilltop Resort in Wisconsin

#5:

Marianne & her Dad at Blackhawk Church in Madison Wisconsin

#6:

Another Father-Daughter, Megan and her Dad in Verona Wisconsin

#7:

Ashley & Jason Break it Down Destination Wedding Style in Mexico!

#8:

Katie & Greg at the Madison Concourse Hotel, with Jessica Kempen Photography

#9:

A Sweet Kiss at Alli & Mike's University Club Wedding

#10:

Beth & Dan's Wedding at the Monona Terrace

Thank you everyone, for following this series and sharing your comments.    Please take a few moments to vote on the other Best of 2009 posts and share some love.  All voting will be closed on THURSDAY of this week, March 5, leaving me just enough time to post winners before I leave for a week of photography networking, inspiration, and education in fabulous Las Vegas.

To ensure your vote is counted, leave the NUMBER of your favorite image in the comments section below!  The couple belonging to the winning images for each post will receive a FREE 8×10 of their featured image!

For details about hiring Red Gecko Studio as the photographer for your upcoming wedding, please use the Contact section of this blog! Red Gecko Studio proudly serves weddings and special events in Madison, Milwaukee, and southeastern Wisconsin. Travel to any other location in the world can always be arranged,so don’t hesitate to ask about your destination wedding! Thanks for visiting, and please take a moment to leave your thoughts as a comment!

A very snowy Replay session on the frozen Lake Mendota:

A fun in-home professional portrait session with a local Personal Trainer:

And finally, a daring bride & groom on ice skates at Milwaukee’s Red Arrow Park:

Until then, please check out all of the Best of 2009 posts and cast your vote before winners are chosen on Sunday, February 28!

For details about hiring Red Gecko Studio as the photographer for your upcoming wedding, please use the Contact section of this blog! Red Gecko Studio proudly serves weddings and special events in Madison, Milwaukee, and southeastern Wisconsin. Travel to any other location in the world can always be arranged,so don’t hesitate to ask about your destination wedding! Thanks for visiting, and please take a moment to leave your thoughts as a comment!

Along with spring comes a very exciting wedding season.  I’m thrilled to begin!  However, before that happens let’s finish up our Best of 2009 series so we can announce some winners and award some prints.  YAY!

As you already know, I LOVE details.  So, let’s take a look at some bouquets, rings, and other things from 2009’s lovely weddings.  Remember, vote by telling us what your favorite image is in a comment on this post.  The couple whose image gets the most votes gets a FREE 8×10 of that image!

#1:

Anne's Beautiful and Colorful Bouquet at the Capitol in Madison

#2:

Anne's Grandmother's Locket

#3:

A Combo Rings-&-Bouquet Shot from Gwen & Scott's Wedding

#4:

Wedding Rings with Boat Motor Propeller at Carolyn & Chris's Wedding

#5:

Cute Planter Placecards at Julie & Matt's Wedding

#6:

Megan & Darcey's Wedding Rings in Red Boxes

#7:

A Lovely Bridal Bouquet from Ashley & Jason's Mexico Wedding

#8:

A Bridesmaid Bouquet from Jesse & Bridgette's Wedding

#9:

A Stunning Cake from Katie & Greg's Wedding with Jessica Kempen Photography

#10:

Another Lovely Cake from Alli & Mike's Wedding

#11:

A Pair of Ring Shots from Beth & Dan's Wedding with Studio Noveau

#12:

A Unique & Beautiful Necklace from Alicia & Jason's Wedding

Don’t Forget to vote for your favorite by leaving a comment below…  Thanks for voting!

For details about hiring Red Gecko Studio as the photographer for your upcoming wedding, please use the Contact section of this blog! Red Gecko Studio proudly serves weddings and special events in Madison, Milwaukee, and southeastern Wisconsin. Travel to any other location in the world can always be arranged,so don’t hesitate to ask about your destination wedding! Thanks for visiting, and please take a moment to leave your thoughts as a comment!

Here in Madison I’m finding that we have a wonderful network of local photographers who  I can call friends.  Pierre of Pierre’s Portrait Art is a great artist and dedicated to sharing his knowledge and inspiration with all of us.  On Superbowl Sunday I had an amazing time attending Pierre’s workshop on posing.  We got to photograph another fellow photographer and her hubby, who have been married for five years this year.  They were fun to work with and did a great job of putting up with all of us!

Here are some of my images from the day, both portraits and candids of my fellow classmates and our mentor in action.    Let’s start with our beautiful couple.  Even a hotel hallway can provide a portrait backdrop:

Pierre’s lovely wife Anna showing us how to instruct our subjects:

Pierre in action, too – they make such a great team!

Larger workshops mean that you don’t always get the greatest angle on the subjects, but you work with what you get. 

This one is absolutely my favorite from the day…

Yummy window light:

An exercise in perspective and size:

Gotta tell both sides of the story, of course!

I just adore this hallway.  And ya gotta love a classmate who’s ready to go model when it counts!  Thanks, Mike!

The fabulous Pierre shows off his mad posing skills!

Thank you, Pierre, for being so generous with your time and your expertise.  It is photographers like you who push and enable all of us to become better photographers and business owners- and that in turn has a positive impact on all of our clients and couples!  To all my friends from the workshop, I hope to see you guys again!

For details about hiring Red Gecko Studio as the photographer for your upcoming wedding, please use the Contact section of this blog! Red Gecko Studio proudly serves weddings and special events in Madison, Milwaukee, and southeastern Wisconsin. Travel to any other location in the world can always be arranged,so don’t hesitate to ask about your destination wedding! Thanks for visiting, and please take a moment to leave your thoughts as a comment!

Andy & I met when we worked together at a local software company.  I can’t believe that was over three years ago!  We remained friends after I left the company, and I love reading Andy’s quirky and amusing status updates.  Everyone needs one friend like Andy: lighthearted, playful, and completely genuine.  His positive qualities don’t stop there- this guy has mastered the ability to create positive change and momentum in his life.  Since moving to Madison, he’s fallen in love with jogging and cooking and has adopted an inspiringly healthy lifestyle.  I saw our portrait session as an opportunity to document his success in this endeavor.  What fun!

We met downtown at a coffee shop and chatted for quite a while before we realized that we’d better get moving!  Our session was super fun.  We started at the Capitol, visited the holiday tree inside, and then strolled on State Street for a bit before transferring our energy to the efforts of shopping.  Fun, casual, coffee, shopping- what more could I ask for in a portrait session? 

Without further ado, heeeeere’s Andy!

I loved the colors & lights in the tree in the capitol.

We wandered around inside for a while.  I always love these lampposts!

We got several nice shots, but this portrait just feels the most like Andy to me.  It says, “oh, hai!”

And this is Andy’s tribute to Zoolander, appropriate for his first official modeling gig:

Time to get serious. 

And one last favorite from the day.  You know, just hangin’ around on a ledge…

Thanks, Andy, for letting me create these portraits for you!  I look forward to our next coffee and shopping meet-up on State Street.

For details about hiring Red Gecko Studio as the photographer for your upcoming wedding, please use the Contact section of this blog! Red Gecko Studio proudly serves weddings and special events in Madison, Milwaukee, and southeastern Wisconsin. Travel to any other location in the world can always be arranged,so don’t hesitate to ask about your destination wedding! Thanks for visiting, and please take a moment to leave your thoughts as a comment!

A few days ago, I realized one thing about this birthday that makes me very happy.  In some capacity or another, photography has officially been my preferred method of artistic expression for HALF MY LIFE.  I find it somewhat amazing to have done or been any one thing for half of a lifetime.  What started as a class I took in school just 14 years ago, at the age of 14, has now become my daily passion and my career.

It is with this milestone in mind that I step into this new year of my life with a barrage of emotions and ideas.  This year, I will grow my business.  I will hone my craft.  I will attend my first conferences and workshops as a professional photographer and entrepreneur.  I will do my absolute best work for each bride and groom who have entrusted me with the documentation of their special and unique wedding day.  I will meet new people.  I will give my all.  I may even write a book. 

My birthday is a day that I’ve come to see as an excuse to splurge a little on myself.  This year, I thought it appropriate to splurge on some new shoes to wear on some of my adventures.  I walked into DSW Shoes (my very favorite shoe shop) with every intention to buy a pair of sensible, responsible, and comfortable shoes for the blustery winter months.  And then, I laid eyes on a pair of fun, sexy, and very IMPRACTICAL red heels…

This year, I will shoot a session in these shoes.    This year, I will splurge on more cute heels.  Life isn’t always practical, so why treat it that way?

Thank you so much to my family & friends for being so supportive to me on this journey into adulthood – I love you all so much.  Thanks also to my Facebook friends, who showed me more love than I think I’ve ever felt from friends on any other birthday, and to you guys- my blog readers who put up with my silly posts about big plans & cute shoes.

To start off, here’s the promised color version of yesterday’s sneak peek.  Pink Chucks!  I LOVE them!

The shoes above were chosen because of their appearance in Mommy & Daddy’s previous portrait shoot, but the shot below features a whole family of Chucks:

We started off with a quick little all-family shot.  What a happy family of five!

Then we moved onto some individual portraits of the girls.  Get ready for some serious cuteness, and gorgeous blue eyes!  Three pairs!

After their close-ups, we moved on to some cute and girly shots!  Mariah, my sister and fab artist, put some adorable tutu’s together this past summer.  Such adorable little ballerina babies:

All together, these adorable little ones are unmistakable sisters!

I just can’t wait to get more opportunities to photograph these sisters as they grow up.  I can’t even fathom how beautiful they’ll all be with those blue eyes!

To the B family: Thank you so very much for inviting me into your home to meet these precious little sisters.  I had a wonderful time getting to know them and I look forward to more photo shoots in the future!

For details about hiring Red Gecko Studio as the photographer for your upcoming wedding, please use the Contact section of this blog! Red Gecko Studio proudly serves weddings and special events in Madison, Milwaukee, and southeastern Wisconsin. Travel to any other location in the world can always be arranged,so don’t hesitate to ask about your destination wedding! Thanks for visiting, and please take a moment to leave your thoughts as a comment!