MOMMY'S GRADUATION: CLASS OF 2008

Do you see Natalie's mommy? Can you tell which one she is? If you said, the one on the far left, you got it! That's our "B" (I don't know if anyone else ever calls her that but Natalie's Poppa calles her that sometimes and I have noticed that I have picked it up too, but I didn't see it listed as her nicknames in the yearbook that just came in this week (06.20.08). At this angle she is in the middle.
Can you find her in this one?
She's pretty easy to identify in this one.
From my angle, I couldn't get her face (not even a profile), but this Brittany receiving her diploma with sweet pat on her back from Mr. Brown.
Up, up...
and away they go!
okay, now they are now I think they are coming back down...just that quick!

okay the rest of the images are a few posed shots after the gradutation...the lighting really sucks on a football field so these are not the greatest shots...it was cold and I was tired of sitting in the cool grass...so I made so technical errors, but I would still rather have less-than-perfect images than memories not captured with photographic images. So in advance, please excuse these "off" images, but just remember I can't always be a photographer...sometimes I am just an excited and sometimes a little nervous mom.

Natalie and Brittany
Brittany, Natalie and Cameron
Brittany and Cameron
Katie (best friend and her maid of honor) and Brittany
I think Natalie thought her mommy's special hat was quite interesting.

okay, I guess the exposure was bad on this I thought it should be black and white, but who doesn't love a good black and white image.

another one
Brittany's daddy, mom, her little sister, Natalie, Brittany and Cameron
Mallory and Brittany.

I narrowed it down to these images. I didn't get to do as many as I had hoped to do after graduation. I think because it was cold (especially for the middle of May) that everyone disappeared and we were ready to also because we were hungry too.

~~Natalie's Mimi~~

Mommy AND Daddy's Baccalaureate

There's not as many images from baccalareate so I included some of these from both parents on this posts. The above image was from this year, Natalie's mommy walking in.

Again Brittany and I think that is Hunter walking with her. They meet in the middle and walk with somone else as their traditonal walk in.

Brittany was class president. This is her giving the welcome speech.
Natalie and her parents afterwards (May 2008)
at least Natalie and her mommy are saying "cheese"...
A year earlier (May 2007), Natalie and her daddy (and the sun in their eyes)...I did do better finding a better location outside the gym (one w/o staring at the sun).
all three of them after daddy's
Like I said I didn't have too many from these events. It was a little early for me and photography!

Daddy's Graduation Last Year...Class of 2007

In efforts of catching up, I knew I would post images of Natalie's mommy...one of the events in Natalie's World this spring along with wedding showers and such. So it made me think of last year's graduation too... Natalie and her Mommy and Daddy after her daddy's graduation, May 2007

The next image Natalie's Mimi's family (my family) on the same night.
Natalie's Mommy and Daddy
Kind of cute, uh...catching this one of her looking at him:
Natalie acting silly...not sure what that about other than the silliness that little children to when they are a little nervous or put on the spot.

Finally a cheese from Natalie and her daddy:
Natalie and her Aunt Cari while we were waiting to find out where graduation would be held: in the gym or out on the football field. It had rained that afternoon and the field was wet, but it had stopped so they at the last minute the decsion was made to go to the field. Thank Goodness...as bad as it was sitting on the wet bleacher, it would have been worst in the hot gym. I did happend to bring a few towels with me just in case.
Natalie, Aunt Cari and Brooke (my niece)...
Natalie and her other family, from right to left: Natalie's Mommy, her aunt, Emma, Natalie, her Nonna and her Papaw.
Daddy on the field with his classmates...

receiving his diploma... moving the tassel...
This one is out of order, but this is Cameron in line before it starts.
The other angle of Cameron moving the tassel...

Next is mommy's graduation, almost a year later.

Photos by Natalie's Mimi (me) and my Friend (Pam, fellow photographer) thus the reason we had two different angles.

~~natalie's mimi~~

THE MINIATURE BRIDE WHO LOVED CHOCOLATE

Here she is before the chocolate about a week earlier with her mommy during their formal bridal portrait session for the upcoming wedding.

At the wedding:

As soon as the wedding party arrived and were annouced, the bride and groom had their first dance as husband and wife. While they were dancing Natalie discovered the strawberries and the chocolate fountain: strawberries and chocolate two of her favorites things!

Natalie licking her lips while her mommy and daddy are in the background dancing. another mouthful...

Please be sure to scroll down and view the wedding images and then scroll a little further to see Natalie at the last wedding eating chocolate again. Natalie loves chocolate probably as much as her Mimi does!

Also check out the other posts that I finally finished that I meant to finish before the wedding and before I posted any wedding images. I am officially caught up to the point of the wedding. I still need to add a few images that we captured with the new wading pool on Monday. Mommy and Daddy shouldn't be the only ones having water fun this week (while on their honeymoon)! I will try to get those up soon!

~~Natalie's Mimi~~

"We're going to chapel and we're gonna get married..."

NATALIE AND HER MOMMY

I did the Pre-Bridal portraits of Natalie and Brittany and the engagement portraits. Years ago my good friend, Pam, a professional photographer, and I discussed who would photograph our children's weddings when the day came. Well, we knew we didn't want that pressure for ourself being the photographer and parent of a the bride or groom (in her case just groom...she has two boys and I have one of each...so I get to see both sides of the fence). So we decided then we would trade up since we both have two children. I did pay her assistantant the fee the fee that Pam pays her when she assists with her other weddings and I will, of course, put all the hours in that we always have after a session, but especially after a wedding (lots and lots of images files), of editing and retouching, etc. I have more files than normal. I have files from my camera (a few), files from her assistant's (many more than mine) and Pam's (even more than both of ours). So I have lots of files to go through when I get them time. I have been taking a few days off my regular work to re-cover, wash clothes, and try to put everything back in place around here. So I have took the time to scan through these images. I am sure they will be put on the back burner as I have lots that I am behind on and I am starting to schedule new sessions today too. The first image is cropped very tight, but it was my favorite image from the bridal session. It is posted below (about 1/2 down). This image was enlarged to 16x20 and displayed at the reception as you come into the door. Both of my girls look absolutely beautiful in the image. I also displayed one of Brittany by herself at the reception too by the bride's table.



This next image is how Natalie looked when I took her curlers down before doing her hair for her portraits with her mommmy and daddy. We were so worried about her and her nap schedule and how it would affect her mood for the wedding, photography before the wedding and the reception...my hopes were to make it through the wedding because she didn't have to be a little angel at the reception...she already looked like an angel...so she didn't have to act like it too...that's just too much for an almost 3 year old. I called her:

"LITTLE SHIRLEY TEMPLE"

So Natalie ran into the formal parlor while they were doing their photographs and acted silly with her mommy and daddy. She wanted to show them her new hair do.

A beautiful formal portrait of the bride and groom...
another one...
I had to throw this one in from the wedding cermeony, my beautiful daughter, Cari, also bridesmaid...
And one more from the actual ceremoney...my cute nephew, Dalton, walking with Natalie. I was so glad that he could be the ring bearer and she could hold his hand to walk in. She thinks he is so cool and she loved walking in and out of the church holding his hand.
When Pam and I went to the lake house a week earlier to scope out the plans for wedding portraits before the wedding, I told her I want one really good portrait of the three of them to replace the one I already have in my living room. Her comment was "no pressure, uh?" But it really wasn't. I have realistic expectations of weddings and especially of Natalie and how she can be at any given moment. They took four and that was what it took to have a great photo and to lose Natalie's interest.

MY NEW WALL PORTRAIT OF THE THREE OF THEM...

I love, love this one. It doesn't get much better than this of Natalie. This is a geniune expression. I don't know what Pam or her assistant were doing at this time, but it certainly peaked Natalie's interest. Thanks again, Pam!
The bride and her miniature bride...
The Miniature Bride and her daddy...
kiss for daddy...
kiss for mommy...

My new daughter, Natalie's mommy, the beautiful bride...
My son, Natalie's daddy, the handsome groom, Cameron...
I designed this collage from the first 1/2 of engagement photos that we did in the fall at the campus of LSU. This was displayed on Cameron's groom's table along with his LSU cake.
I designed this for the wedding favors that I designed...sort of like the birth annoucements or wedding invitations with vellum overlay. I added a special thank you from Cameron and Brittany along with an appropriate little poem that applied to them. "Thank you for sharing our special day with us. July 29, 2005, we became a family. Since then our lives have not been the SAME. Today will forever be another special day. For today, we will all share the same NAME." Brittany approved of it...so I proceeded. Natalie's sweet Poppa helped me with this project...cutting card stock, ribbon, (I think I cut the vellum), ribbon and the assembly of these. I don't have a photograph of the finished product, but when if I find one when I post more images, I will add it then.


To view a few other poses from the bridal portrait session go to my other blog:

http://www.japimages.blogspot.com/

I still hope to catch up the blogging some more this week, but this gives you an early sneak peak of the wedding that has been a significant part of Natalie's life.

~~Natalie's Mimi~~

MOMMY AND DADDY GOT MARRIED!

We'll the best laid plans didn't go as planned. I guess that is sort of normal for a wedding. But all and all, I am pleased and I think the guests, the wedding party, the family, and above all, the new couple enjoyed the wedding. I didn't get either blogs caught up yet...maybe I will this week before I get back into work mode full force. But I wanted to post these images to give you a sneak preview of the wedding and what has been going on in Natalie's World the last few months, that finally came together whether we were ready or not, May 31st, 2008.

Okay, I started with the text with intentions to add the images after I got them ready. But I realized that I forgot that I started this post after I had started a new post with the images. But I wanted to used the information I had on this so here it is. I think when I add both posts this will follow the one with all the images...oh well.

The fourth image is what I created in an 8x10 for Natalie's table. We had the typical bride's table, the groom's table and something a little different, a Miniature bride's table. After they cut their cake and fed each other, they helped Natalie cut her cake and fed her and she fed them. It was one of my favorite scenes in the wedding. Okay, I decided to go back and get some of these images. And I guess you've seen them first since, this blog system shows first what was posted last. I wanted to add them now since I may forget to do it later when I get busy and back to the order of my other work.

I hope you enjoy these new images. I hate that they are out of order. I really wanted to get the other images from the last few weeks posted first, but I really wanted you to see these as soon as possible. Natalie did have a ball at the wedding. She danced on her litttle tippy toes all night long. She had chocolate on her "wedding gown" soon after we got there after she discovered that we had a strawberries and a chocolate fountain. So I changed her into another back up outfit that I brought for the reception. As you can see in these images too that her hair is down...we made it through all the photographs and the ceremony with it up...so I was pleased. What can we expect out of an almost 3 year old!

~~Natalie's Mimi~~