Ribbons & Pearls...we are having a girl!

This last week has been a whirlwind! Last weekend we were surrounded by about 60 of our closest friends and family to celebrate the coming of Miss Bailey Ashley Albright. The turn out of our first baby shower was so large I had flashbacks of our wedding back in September. My mother and Sister were rock stars putting together such a fabulous event. Usually baby showers consist of women, light finger foods and little games...not this baby shower! We had the men join us with wine, beer and burgers! My favorite part of the vast array of yummy food...the CUPCAKES!! It was a fun afternoon of great food, great people and a truck load of PINK gifts...which I am still trying to figure out how everything is going to fit in our sweet little ranch house. We felt extremely blessed and surrounded by love!!!

Coming soon...pictures of the nursery!!!!

The new & the old

Lots of new things!

Towards the end of last year I mentioned that our wedding photos would be posted on here. Life takes over and I am just now stopping and thinking back on our beautiful day. I decided to browse back through the 400 or so images and it got me thinking... the best thing you can do as a bride is hire a brilliant photographer! One that fits your style and personality. The images are your time capsule of that special moment, yours to keep and enjoy forever. All the facial expressions, your embraces and all the other little details that somewhat fade in your memory with time. I am so thankful that I found Aubrey. She captured the rustic, southern romance feel that I was looking for. Plus I found out I was pregnant two days before the big day. So, the pictures are even more special!!
You can view Aubrey's work here:aubreymarieblog.com

This is our Save-the-date that I designed. I had them printed off and then I made them into magnets.

These are the programs that I made for the ceremony.

(Front Side)

(Backside)

I love vintage burlap banners! I decided for my wedding I wanted to get a little crafty and attempt to make my own version. I selected four different fabrics from a local fabric store going by the color scheme that I choose. I love blue and orange together (as long as they are a good simmered down hue and not too bright or tacky). I also love gray! So two tones of blue, two tones of gray, soft gold & ivory were the main colors. Orange was the accent color. The colors of nature plus my color palette all presented a very rustic, warm display with a little bit of color for flair. Back to the banner...I choose the saying "Love Birds" because it fits us, two free spirits completely in love with each other.Plus I have a THING for birds...love them! The rest of the put together process was just some good ol' crafting...cutting, hot gluing, & hand stitching!

I always knew I wanted Hydrangeas. Ever since I was a little girl in Georgia running around my Great Grandmother Ivie's house, I have loved hydrangeas. She grew large blue hydrangea bushes on one side of her house. Every time we visited her in Stone Mountain Georgia I would cut one stem off and hold on to it all day long...or a least until it wilted. It was only fitting that this was my wedding flower.To add a little variety I used white and blue Hydrangeas. I bought them wholesale online and then my sister & I cut and processed them when they arrived the day before the wedding.

 I also love the softness of feathers, so Iwanted to incorporate them somehow. This is the finished maid of honors bouquet that I made and it encompasses most of my color palettes.

*Side story: I took a pregnancy test the day my sister & I processed the flowers. The kitchen was consumed by hydrangeas, my sister was cutting away and I was standing in the bathroom looking down at a white stick that had "Pregnant" appear on it...STUNNED! I walked out and showed my sister the stick. We laughed and cryed tears of joy while we hugged. I kept saying "Oh my goodness" and my sister was just as shocked as I was. I called my husband (Because I could not wait) and told him we were pregnant. His voice was so cute...it went a couple octives higher with excitement and I could feel how happy he was! It was a beautiful day! 

 

For my bouquet I went with simple & elegant white Hydrangeas.

Hydrangeas in mason jars for center pieces...can't get more southern than that.

The final centerpieces for the tables were an assortment of hydrangeas in mason jars, empty wine bottles that we took labels off of and put battery operated twinkly lights down into each bottle, along with tea lights and moss. I used the same four fabrics that were in the burlap "love birds" banner and made a decorative, fabric focal point for the middle of each table (My beautiful friend Ashli helped me accomplish all the cutting of these. The scalloped edging was an idea I got from Martha Stewart) . The tables had sheer linens on them in shades of ivory, peach and baby blue. Then this special fabric held each center piece. I loved when the sun went down how everything twinkled!

These were the main DIY projects for our special day!

Mrs. to Mama

I'm back! The wedding has come & gone and I am officially a Mrs. now. After a few much needed weeks of down time I am ready to get back in the swing with my photography and blogging thingy. The wedding turned out to be a perfect evening with our closest friends & family. So much love was floating around you could pretty much taste it in the air! Our friend Chef Lon from Colorado composed an extraordinary display of Italian food and everyone mingled and sipped on Tres Suenos' wonderful selections of wine, grown & made right here in Oklahoma. Pictures are coming.... our lovely photographer Aubrey is getting married right after us so the pictures are taking a little longer to come back then usual. Alot of the details were crafted by me & my dear friend Ashli...a true DIY bride...so I can't wait to share!!!

There was one surprise that we were not expecting.....two days before our wedding day we found out that we are pregnant!!!! I am now 7 weeks along (still pretty early) and me and this little grape in my belly are doing fantastic! I have always wanted kids I just never thought it would be happening before we got through the wedding and the honeymoon coming up in a couple of weeks. But, we are beside ourselves HAPPY!!!!
It has been an adjustment worrying about what kinds of foods & drink I am putting in my body, but I was a pretty healthy eater before so it's pretty much the drink that's been the biggest adjustment! Jt & I have been together for almost 10 years, we bought a house two years before we got married & now we skip the newlywed phase and jump right to becoming mommy & daddy....cheers to doing things backwards...that's how we roll! :)

Two Become One

We officially purchased JT's ring...one more thing to check off of that dreaded list! We got it at the same place JT designed and bought my ring, Parsons Jewelry in downtown Edmond. The people at Parsons are so great! We looked through a few catalogs and finally settled on this beveled beauty. It's tungsten with brushed beveled edges and a polished middle. Absolutely LOVE it...I was not expecting to see JT so excited about a ring but he was!!!

Tawny Port

So we have a new little occupant in our backyard...a little brown bunny! Several months ago a hole popped up back by our storage shed. After weeks of Praying that it was not something awful and ruling out the fact that neither JT or I were randomly digging holes just for fun, we finally encountered the little fella. We bought this house last year as our first home. When your a first time homeowner you don't really think about things like spiders wanting to share your house with you or a bunny who looks like your dogs toy setting up shop in your backyard! New procedures had to be put in place to make sure Bella did not think that this bunny was her toy! Over the last several weeks the bunny has become braver showing himself more often & Bella has become more fascinated with her new little friend. The Bunny & the Pit Bull...what a sight! Since the bunny has decided to stick around we thought he could use a name. Introducing "Tawny Port"...

He hides in my flower bed...maybe one day I will catch him sitting upright on his hind legs like he does sometimes which is oh so cute! To explain the name choice...I mentioned in an earlier post that my uncle introduced me to his own concoction of wine. Well, it is equal parts Merlot & port wine mixed together! Try it, it is absolutely yummy! While shopping for the port wine I accidentally grabbed a bottle of Tawny port wine. The difference? Tawny Port  is aged in wooden barrels, gradually mellowing to a golden-brown color and gives off a sweet nutty flavor, while Port wine is red in color and not as aged. I just like the name... our little brown Tawny Port!

Weddingness

"We seek not rest but transformation. We are dancing through each other as doorways."

~Marge Piercy

 I have had an amazing amount of stuff going on lately! Between wedding invitations, my man's ten year high school reunion, one of my girl's leaving for a new job and an endless list of wedding details to shop for, I am exhausted! I have not been able to really do anything photography related lately, but I wanted to share a few things amongst all the chaos going on...

Some people float in and out of your life as quickly as they have entered it. Others make such a profound impact  that you are forever changed! I met a wonderful person named Nicole two years ago while working at my day job at a commercial construction company. Me & Nicole became quick friends... two Georgia girls who liked mostly the same things, had the same work ethic and both were goofy odd balls in our own way. She is now like a sister to me! For two years we went through all the tumultuous transitions the company has taken together, leaning on each other for support. A couple of weeks ago I had to say goodbye (but not for good)! Nicole decided to follow a different direction with her career and went over to another company. It was a really sad day! I have learned so much from her...about myself and many other things, I am truly gong to miss her being there everyday! So here's a shout out to my girl Nicole! She will be my day-of wedding coordinator, which has me extremely relieved! I love my Nicole!

So keeping the wedding ball rolling...here is my wedding inspiration board! Choosing a wedding theme for myself was alot harder than I thought it would be, I think because I like too many different things, ha! If you can not already tell I love birds...particularly black birds and blue birds! Somewhere along the way "Birds of a Feather" became the official theme, with southern influence and a kind of midsummer nights dream/enchanted forrest background to it! Set at a vineyard, it will be a night of feasting and dancing outdoors!

Baby Sprinkle

                         "Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life"

                                                               ~Albert Einstein


I took a road trip up to Indiana to join in on the festivities of my beautiful cousins baby sprinkle. I spent the whole weekend catching up with family, sipping my uncle's unbelievably yummy concoction of wine(more on this later) and relaxing by the pool soaking up that summer sun! The last time I got to see this side of my family was four years ago, so a visit was long overdue. It was a great weekend! Baby Hudson is due in August & I can't wait to meet the little guy!

I snapped a few pics of the baby sprinkle...of course...these are a few favorites.

Some kids are pure entertainment. Brighton, my cousin's daughter is one of them! 3 going on 17, Brighton would leave us all in suspense anticipating her next sassy little statement. She was so much fun I could have hung out with this kiddo all day...probally becuase I am a big kid myself!

This little doll was sitting across from us at the sprinkle. Her facial expressions were cracking me up!

Our engagement session favorites

I came across a very lovely & talented photographer while reading the spring/summer 2011 issue of the Brides of Oklahoma magazine. Her name is Aubrey and she is the talented photographer behind Aubrey Marie Photography. When we spoke for the first time over the phone it was like speaking to an old friend that I have known forever. As sweet as cake and genuine to the core, Aubrey is truly wonderful! There were so many beautiful images to choose from it was hard deciding which were my favorites! I can't wait for her to be there to capture us on our special day in September!

Small side story...When I told my mother the name of our photographer (Aubrey) she gasped and said "oh Lauren, I almost named you Aubrey after my favorite song!!". My mother loved the song called "Aubrey" (you can listen to it HERE)...which I never knew this story...but she ended up naming me after her favorite perfume at the time "LAUREN by Ralph Lauren". When I first met Aubrey at our little Starbucks meeting I told her what my mother told me about her name and she smiled and said "that's the song I was named after!". When I think of Aubrey I think of us as kindred spirits...in more ways than one. :)

*These were the ones that touched my heart

Schwartz

In September I will be walking down an isle, surrounded by pine trees, towards the love of my life JT. 9 years & many adventures later, I am going to be marrying my best friend. We still crack each other up on a daily basis...complete goof balls...and are still consumed with each other! Anyone who knows me truly knows that my life is a series of different shades of blue...my car, my kitchen, my beautiful baby doggies eyes...my life revolves around the color blue! I told my love that I wanted a medium blue Sapphire when he asked what style/type of ring I wanted...well, he spent months designing this beauty and  searching for the perfect shade of blue sapphire! The result...the most beautiful, romantic, vintage styled sapphire ring I could have ever asked for! We call it the Schwartz (after the movie Spaceballs)...why? I don't know...one day we were being our normal, goofy selves and it just popped out of my mouth, accent and all, and it stuck with us...still makes us laugh! :)

PASSION

I am becoming more and more aware of the fact that I am predominantly moved by love! I am addicted to romance of any kind & I love to surround my self with it...be it a book, a movie, a song, or people who are just completely intoxicated with each other! There is no greater feeling! Being what you would call a "newbie" in the overall world of photography I have been trying to focus in on where I am going to fit. I have spent hours upon hours looking at fellow photographer's from my part of the country and beyond to see what moves me. I am really partial to anything southern, so naturally I have been looking at many talented artists from places like Louisiana, Georgia & South Carolina. I stumbled upon two very special photographer's that have inspired me and  given me new direction on what I want to be doing...I had to share! The photographer's are Wildflowers Photography & Three Nails Photography. Both of these two photographer's work is so unbelievably stunning I just sat in awe while soaking up both of there entire blogs! The way they capture people, the sets & the light...everything has a dreamy, romantic cast over it that I just absolutely love! Another thing that struck a cord with me is their way of turning an inspired idea that they got from a story or a movie & then turning it into a work of art with props, wardrobe and brilliant locations. I am a huge movie buff and reader of fiction and there have been many times where ideas fly around in my head after seeing a movie or wishing I could see something from a book come to life. Having the art & design background that I do I can't wait to create and to try out some of these new ideas in my head. I stumbled across both of these photographer's for a reason...completely & utterly inspired!!!

A little bit of background...

I was born & raised in Georgia. Climbing trees, exploring creeks, drinking sweet tea, & taking trips to historical plantations are just some of the many things that make up my childhood. It was not until after my parents moved us here to Oklahoma in the 4th grade that I realized I was from a completely different world. Today I find myself inspired & drawn to all things southern. Even though my southern accent is completely gone after living so long in Oklahoma, I will always be a true Georgia girl!

Growing up I would spend hours & hours alone in my bedroom writing, drawing, watching movies, listening to music...completely absorbed in my own creative world. I knew early on that I was destined for the arts. When faced with the task of picking a path to pursue as a college degree I was torn between art & interior design. I ultimately chose the interior design degree thinking that would be the best fit for me career wise...I did not even look into the photography field due to an earlier run in with film photography my freshman year in high school. Freshman year I took a basic photography class wanting to know what it was all about (I always loved taking pictures with disposable cameras and I was constantly looking through old family photos even though I had seen them a hundred times). At that point, the world of photography was all film, digital did not exist. I have a very sensitive nose & having to develop the film myself really ruined the whole experience for me. I was not mature enough to see past the nasty egg smell of the developing process. I got through the class & told myself there is no way I could do that again. So Interior design it was. Right out of high school my parents moved out of state. I had began a relationship with a guy that I was not ready to give up so I moved out on my own & had to start a full time job to support myself. Working full time I could not handle a full load in college, so I went part time working towards that Interior design degree. My job was in the design industry and I was fortunate enough to work side by side with professional Interior designers everyday. Five years (going part time) into the degree I hit a wall. The classes started to become more & more creatively constricting and the designers I worked with everyday showed me with their experiences that this was not what I wanted to do. I needed to be completely free creatively and having to stay within the box with rules & codes was driving me absolutely crazy. I had two choices, keep on the path I was on (which included quiting my job because the rest of the classes in the interior design degree were day classes & also be completely miserable for the next 2-3 years) or switch degrees. After thinking & double thinking everything I ultimately switched my degree over to general studies. It was the only degree that would keep all my existing credits & allow me to pick and chose the classes to finish out my college career. This is the point where I stumbled back into photography. My love of photography never went away, I just never focused in on it since high school. My how the world of photography has changed! I decided to take a college photography course to see if it would spark something in me and I was completely captured. I am the type of person who believes everything happens for a reason. I now know why I went through all those art & design classes...so that I could create my own world like I did growing up. With photography I can design the sets & backgrounds for my photo shoots & I can experiment with different perspectives and techniques...whatever my little creative heart desires! This is where I was made to be!

{Lover of the Arts}

My name is Lauren. I decided to start this blog for the sole purpose of documenting my journey as a new and inspired photographer. I love the arts in all forms...If I am not creating something I am thinking of something new to create. I have always danced to the beat of my own drum and have been completely unpredictable... in a fun & goofy sort of way. I am currently working out of Oklahoma & as of right now I am open to all types of photography while I am still sharpening my craft. I can tell you the formal, just smile at the camera type of thing is not what I am about. I want to capture real moments and real emotions with movement and light. I am a very eccentric person & I do not fit into just one mold, so I have a feeling my work will take on that same quality. The most exciting thing about this new journey is the fact that I will always be learning and growing as an artist...there are no limits!