Posted on March 5, 2011 by rebeccaclaire

Key limes are like regular limes only lime-ier

It’s Nathan’s Birthday and so in honor of my partner in crime, I dedicate this post.

My husband Nate is a great bs-er. Ask him a question and if he knows the answer, he’ll give it to you. But you can never be 100% certain that the answer he gives you is true. Nate is a big sponge of information, and whatever he doesn’t know, he surmises. He’s a pretty smart guy too, so his guesses are generally logical and believable. I present some of them to you. I can neither confirm or deny the truthfulness of this information, but I will sometimes wiki it (as much as you can trust wikipedia either).

I asked Nate, as we ate key lime pie, what makes key limes so special? Here is his response:

Key limes are a lot smaller than regular limes and usually smaller items have more intense flavor. So key limes are probably “lime-ier limes.”

wikipedia say’s: It is smaller, seedier, has a higher acidity, a stronger aroma, and a thinner rind than that of the Persian lime (Citrus x latifolia). It is valued for its unique flavor compared to other limes, with the key lime usually having a more tart and bitter flavor.

So I guess that’s “lime-ier” right? Score one for Nathan!

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Posted on March 1, 2011 by rebeccaclaire

We have a WINNER!!

Well, everyone is a winner because they all have great stories. But we have a winner in our poll of Favorite Engagement Story. It was a heated race. I don’t know that I’ve ever had that many votes cast before. I would love to post pictures of all of our winners, so please send me a cute shot, and I’ll post it on this blog! And before the anticipation gets too great, our winner is!!

Julie & James!

Their story was so sweet! I know we can all relate to the frustrations of timing and the joy when the stars align (even if you have to align them yourself) and everything working out in the end. So congratulations Julie & James! Please email me to schedule your portrait sitting.

Second place goes to Becki & Jon with their fantastic video. Jon is a very creative man and that video made me sniffle despite having never met you two. I feel like I got to know you and I know it was extra special for Becki watching your relationship played out on the big screen! Your prize is $100 off any booking! That can be applied to both portrait sessions as well as wedding coverage.

Third is Devon and Thomas with their “perfect moment.” I am so impressed Thomas waited as long as he did. I’m sure that ring was burning a hole in his pocket starting the day he got it! $50 off any booking for you!

Fourth is Kellye & Jason whose love waited and grew along with their adorable little boy! Free 8×10 for you lovely folks!

Fifth is Neena & Alex with an awesome story of a man with a plan (and some great dance moves)! You get a free 8×10 as well!

I always have such a great time with this contest. Every engagement is unique and we all love to hear the stories. So keep an eye out for future contests! And thanks for sharing.

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Posted on February 28, 2011 by rebeccaclaire

My Brother Got Married

And we photographed it, of course. But Adam & Christi wanted me to be a bridesmaid. Luckily, my husband Nathan and our lead associate Beth stepped up. That isn’t to say I didn’t shoot. Oh, I did. But Beth shot lead and Nathan 2nd shot for her. And they did an amazing job! I LOVE all of the pictures, so bear with me, this is an image heavy post. We started the day at Belle Avance Salon. It was a great way to start the day. Christi arranged for lunch to be delivered and we had a fabulous time being pampered. Then it was time to head to the venue. The wedding was at Wolf Mountain Vineyards which is beautiful! I felt pretty good about my recommendation of the venue. Crown Mountain Limo provided fantastic transportation.

I know this post has a few more pictures than usual, but I just couldn’t help it. I love them all!!! Beth & Nathan really made this happen for Adam & Christi and the rest of our family. They caught all the moments. Of course, you’ll notice a small addition to my bridesmaid attire. Like I was going to wander about WITHOUT a camera?! HA! But I knew it was covered. That doesn’t mean I didn’t try to convince Adam & Christi to let me tape a few flowers to the camera and carry it down the aisle instead of a bouquet (that idea was vetoed despite its brilliance).

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Posted on February 24, 2011 by rebeccaclaire

Christi’s Bridal Portrait

My brother married a lovely woman. She claimed to be terrible to photograph. She’s beautiful, but claims to be unphotogenic. I’m not certain what she’s talking about. We met in Dahlonega at Belle Avance Salon the day of her hair trial and headed over to the Smith House where everyone was to stay during the wedding, but no wedding day events were to take place there. She brought her little sister Kaili who is delightful, and her mom who is the sweetest mom on the planet (sorry mom, you can have 2nd place). We had a great time and proved Christi’s fears of unphotogenicality totally unfounded. 🙂

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Posted on February 21, 2011 by rebeccaclaire

Engagement Story Entries

Polls are closed! Come back in the morning for the results!

It’s time to vote and boy do we have some amazing stories! I feel like the theme this year is “Love is worth the Wait” with a subtext of “Sneaky Friends and Family.” A couple of rules before we get down to business.

Voting ends at Midnight on February 28th! That means you have a week to get your vote on.

You can vote once every 3 hours, so be sure to send your friends and family on over to boost your score.

And because I can, I’ll be giving out a 4th & 5th prize to be announced as soon as I’ve decided what it is. It’s good to be the boss. 🙂

Back to the fun. In an effort to not get too wordy around here, I am going to link back to the post with our five stories. A quick warning, for those of you (us) with sensitive waterworks, be sure to grab a couple of tissues before proceeding to the stories. They’re all so sweet! So read ’em and weep (good, sappy, Kodak commercial style tears), then vote for your favorite!

Engagement Story Contest 2011

So let’s get this party started!

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Posted on February 17, 2011 by rebeccaclaire

Amanda & Steve’s Wedding

Amanda & Steve had a fantastic wedding in St. Louis. The ceremony was at Bailey’s Chocolate Bar which is a beautiful, cozy venue. They have a lounge area and bar upstairs and a room just beyond where they set up the ceremony.

Everyone had a great time and plenty of chocolate martinis. Amanda was a beautiful bride in red and Steve was very handsome. We did group & posed shots before the ceremony while everyone enjoyed their martinis. Steve and his family hate having their pictures taken, but we were quick and painless and everyone was surprised to find they even had a good time.Amanda’s friend Steve (not hubby Steve) officiated their beautiful pagan wedding. I very much enjoyed the Ring Warming and Hand Fasting. It was a very personal ceremony and they involved their families and friends.

Between the ceremony and the reception, Amanda & Steve took a break and then we had another round of couples portraits. They had built in a 3 hour pause, so we were able to really take advantage of the gorgeous setting at St. Louis Union Station.

Then we went to the most amazing dinner at the reception. Steve is a chef so he worked with the chef at the hotel to create the most delicious meal. I may have hurt myself with the eating.

And after dinner we partied all night!

We were so happy with the pictures. You can see them all on our website.

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Posted on February 7, 2011 by rebeccaclaire

Amanda & Steve’s Engagement Session

Amanda & Steve won an engagement session in a previous Engagement Story contest. I was in St. Louis this summer and we headed over to Forest Park right at dusk. We had a great time! Steve hates to have his picture taken. Of course, he doesn’t mind snuggling with Amanda. So what an easy time I had keeping him distracted.

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Posted on February 3, 2011 by rebeccaclaire

Engagement Story Contest 2011

Vote for your favorite story here!

It’s that time again! Now is the time of year that if you didn’t receive that ring for Christmas or New Years, you’ve got Valentine’s Day teasing you with possibilities. So to encourage all those on the fence about when to pop the question, the time is now! We are holding our annual Engagement Story Contest! This year we’re focusing on engagements on Valentine’s Day and earlier. We’re talking the big holidays and the small ones. Did he propose on Christmas in front of the whole family or on the beach in Aruba, just the two of you? Were there roses filling your apartment? A candle-lit dinner? Or something that called back a joke from your first date? We want the scoop!

The rules:

You cannot have entered previous years.

You must have your story submitted to in the comments section by February 16 (I’m giving you Valentine’s couples a spare day to just glow before you have to get to the business of spilling the details).

You must include your email address (not in the story itself, but in those little boxes that ask for information so I can get in touch with you and tell you when you win. It won’t post online).

Your story must be true.

You CAN enter for someone, however, the couple in the story gets the prize, and please be sure they won’t be all upset that you shared their story for all the world to see.

You don’t have to be located in Knoxville. We love to travel and do a lot!

Be creative. A poem or a link to a video of the proposal is great. If you have pictures, you can email them to me and I’ll include them. If you don’t have a video or photo of the actual proposal and you aren’t the poetry type, that’s fine too. But a picture of the two of you would be swell.

What do you win?

First prize gets a $500 couples session!*

Second prize gets $100 off any booking!*

Third prize gets $50 off any booking!*

Looking for inspiration? Here are previous contests to give you some ideas:

2010 Contest 2010 Winner

2009 Contest pt. 1 2009 Winner #1

2009 Contest pt. 2 2009 Winner #2

2009 Contest pt. 3 2009 Winner #3

And an idea for those looking to create a great engagement story!

*We travel a lot and may be on our way to your town, however, if we don’t currently have a trip scheduled to you, you can come to us, we can meet you somewhere fabulous or we can come to you. The First Prize portrait is free as long as you pay for our travel. Second and Third prizes may also have travel costs if you are outside the local Knoxville area, and we are not planning a trip to your town.

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Posted on December 21, 2010 by rebeccaclaire

It’s my birthday!

Today is my birthday! In honor of that, here are pictures from last year’s Sweet 16 Take 2. We always have a blast.

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Posted on December 14, 2010 by rebeccaclaire

The Pizza Kitchen

You may think The Pizza Kitchen off of Northshore Drive in Knoxville, only does pizza, but you would be wrong. We recently had the pleasure of participating in a review for this fine establishment and were pleasantly surprised with the amount of variety this local restaurant had to offer.

Hopefully this give you just a taste (har har) of what The Pizza Kitchen has to offer. And if you think these pictures tingled your taste buds, just run on down to The Pizza Kitchen and they’ll be glad to show you what it’s really all about.