March « 2011 « The Arms Up Blog

Archive: March, 2011

Patrice and Shawn – Married!

Friday, March 25th, 2011

Last weekend I had the pleasure of hanging out with Patrice and Shawn for their beautiful wedding day! This wedding was really special, as it was about 7 years in the making. The day started a little off-kilter schedule-wise, but it righted itself and we all literally got to the church on time!

I also got to work with Steve Alejandro of SA3 Studios (here’s his website: www.sa3studios.com) and major thanks to him for all his amazing help! I really enjoyed working with you!

These two are super sweet and their daughters are amazing. I really loved all of their family too. Thank you both so much for having me for your wedding! It’s been a long engagement and I was so excited for the event to finally happen! Thank you so much, I was so honored to be a part of your special day!

Posted in Wedding | 4 Comments »

Lauren and Ryan – Engagement Session #1

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

When I first met with Lauren and Ryan about photographing their wedding, we hit it off right away. They are fantastic, funny, and are quickly becoming some of my favorite people. Because of this, they’ve also become my guinea pigs in a way… I wanted to add a 3 engagement session set with a photo guestbook to my larger packages, and I asked Lauren and Ryan if they’d be interested in trying this out with me before I started offering it to clients. They were game -and this is the first of their 3 sessions.

I got to meet their little pug Zoe, who is a beautiful and very sweet rescue with one eye. She has quite the personality! I love dogs and rescues are really close to my heart – we have a Border Collie mix rescue named Piper. We also have a little Hawaiian princess pure bred Jack Russell named Chloe (she was born on the Big Island). I pretty much instantly fell in love with Zoe, and watching her waddle around Laumeier Sculpture Park was so much fun.

These two automatically draw you in when you meet them, and you really have to appreciate their brand of humor. It’s so genuine and simple, and it’s just a blast to be around them. I was really happy we had gorgeous weather on Sunday for their session, even if it was pretty windy. I loved that it teased Lauren’s hair around though, and added a more ‘real’ element to their pictures.

It is such an honor and a pleasure to be working for these two. Lauren and Ryan, thank you so much for choosing me to document your engagement and your wedding!

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Connect With Samantha

To Inquire about Wedding Photography, Book a Boudoir Session or Portrait Session, please Contact Me!

Visit My Website (Portfolio and More Information about Collections and Samantha)

Facebook | Twitter

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I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment! Thanks! xo

Posted in Engagement | 10 Comments »

WeddingChannel Deal!

Monday, March 21st, 2011

My WeddingChannel deal launched today and I’ve already gotten an incredible response! Go check it out and take advantage of an amazing deal while it lasts! The deal is a Bridal Boudoir, Fashion or Trash the Dress session for only $50 – these sessions are normally $250! I am discounting them for a limited time because I want to do MORE of them – get a great deal now while they are a steal.

Here’s the link: http://deals.weddingchannel.com/deal/st-louis/arms-photography

To get an idea of what Boudoir and Trash the Dress photos look like, check out the links below:

Boudoir: click here

Trash the Dress: click here

And if you are a little unsure of what a ‘Bridal Fashion’ shoot might include, let me explain – it can be one of two things. You can don your wedding gown and your Groom can wear a handsome suit or dressy get-up prior to (or after) the wedding and do a fashion-inspired shoot, either in a studio setting or somewhere outdoors, to get more ‘portraits’ of the two of you incase your wedding day schedule is really hectic. (By portraits I don’t necessarily mean traditionally posed; think modern and elegant, spontaneous and gorgeous). Or – you can don your gown and do a fashion-inspired shoot, modern Bride style. Again, this can be out and about or in a studio set-up (or both), depending on the look you want, and you get treated like a Super Star Super Model for a few hours in your amazing wedding dress. These shoots are a blast, both with the two of you or just the brides, and I am excited to be running this deal to do some more!

So go on and check out the WeddingChannel deal, book me up, and let’s go party with my cameras!

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Connect With Samantha

To Inquire about Wedding Photography, Book a Boudoir Session or Portrait Session, please Contact Me!

Visit My Website (Portfolio and More Information about Collections and Samantha)

Facebook | Twitter

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I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment! Thanks! xo

Posted in Big News, Boudoir, Editorial, Engagement, Wedding, Work | 6 Comments »

Chaela and Nathan – Engaged!

Friday, March 18th, 2011

I met Chaela and Nathan at Tower Grove park last Sunday – actually it had been the first time I had met the both of them, which was very exciting for me. They both turned out to be amazing people and I am so glad that they were referred to me by my friend Simonne Bolla. I also got to meet Macy and Banks, their gorgeous Alaskan Malamutes (who you can see below) and I am really excited that they are going to be the flower girl and ring bearer!

Chaela and Nathan met in nursing school, and here they are engaged! Just getting to know them a little was amazing, and I really look forward to their wedding in May. They were fantastic and were very open and trusting taking pictures with me after only just meeting me. I love when I’m able to connect with clients on some level and I look at the pictures and go “…wow.” These two are absolutely gorgeous, in love, and just awesome.

Thank you both so, so much! Can’t wait until May!

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Connect With Samantha

To Inquire about Wedding Photography, Book a Boudoir Session or Portrait Session, please Contact Me!

Visit My Website (Portfolio and More Information about Collections and Samantha)

Facebook | Twitter

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I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment! Thanks! xo

Posted in Engagement | 2 Comments »

Christa’s Baby Bump

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011

I have the distinct pleasure of knowing Christa personally. We went to high school together and I thought she was one of the coolest chicas ever then, and I still think she’s one of the coolest chicas ever now. Sassy, no-nonsense, but also sweet and caring, Christa is that fun friend that you can count on to be there with a bottle of wine and a ‘let’s party’ attitude to carry you out of even the deepest funk. She has the bluest blue eyes I’ve ever seen, she is a hairstylist extraordinaire (no lie, she’s the only person I allow to touch my hair anymore), and she has a level enough head that you can have a religious conversation with her and she states her beliefs and allows you to your own. Christa simply rox, and that is just a small part of why I’m so excited about her first pregnancy.

Christa is married to a sweet and shy guy named Adam, who has a ton of siblings, and who I also went to high school with (well a selection of them). He and Christa are amazing together. They are pretty much perfect, and have the kind of respectful and loving relationship that other people dream about. I am so thrilled for their pregnancy – babies are such a beautiful gift, and Christa and Adam are going to be the most amazing parents ever.

Congratulations you two! I am so blessed to be your friend, and I am so honored to have been asked to do these pictures for you. I can’t wait till the little guy graces us all with his presence so we can meet him! xo

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Connect With Samantha

To Inquire about Wedding Photography, Book a Boudoir Session or Portrait Session, please Contact Me!

Visit My Website (Portfolio and More Information about Collections and Samantha)

Facebook | Twitter

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I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment! Thanks! xo

Posted in Maternity | 5 Comments »

Rhonda and Ron – Married!

Saturday, March 12th, 2011

Rhonda and Ron are two of the sweetest people you could ever meet. And if you ever have the good fortune to be around the two of them, you’ll see how clear it is that they are completely head over heels for each other. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen another couple who are so attentive and loving… There was lots of smooching, hand-holding and just…those small, special touches all day. Watching them is enough to make anyone yearn for the kind of relationship that they have.

Their story started a long time ago, but finally after a lot of years (something like 6) they have officially tied the knot! Though it ended up being fairly cold, I truly fell in love with the day. Everyone was fun, hilarious (I called Rhonda’s little cousin “cutie” at one point during pictures, and the guys preceded to torture him with that all evening) and I really loved all the green. A green wedding in March? What could be more appropriate? I loved getting to chat with their daughter Brianna again (I got to meet her during Ron and Rhonda’s engagement session) because she’s the same age as my son Kadin, and she’s really such a character. She was a beautiful flower girl, and truly looked like a little princess in her tiara.

We all had a sense of humor about getting out in the cold for outdoor pictures, and back on the warm party bus for more fun. Rhonda is an incredibly thoughtful person, and had planned the day so well that I was even able to sit down and have a meal at the reception – that might be the first time ever for me! It was also my first time on the bus with the wedding party, something else that Rhonda had planned out so that it would be easiest for everyone and all our cars would be at the reception site. These two are truly awesome; they had a beautiful, emotional wedding – seriously, they both cried during the ceremony… how sweet! – and the rest of the night was fun. Ron and Rhonda, thank you so much for having me along! You both are amazing and I can’t tell you how honored I felt to be a part of your wedding. xo

Rhonda and her Dad were BOTH crying!

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Connect With Samantha

To Inquire about Wedding Photography, Book a Boudoir Session or Portrait Session, please Contact Me!

Visit My Website (Portfolio and More Information about Collections and Samantha)

Facebook | Twitter

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I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment! Thanks! xo

Posted in Wedding | 8 Comments »

Ready… Set… Off the Starting Line

Monday, March 7th, 2011

One week into March, I find myself once again doused in chaos. And in the midst of it all, of the constantly ringing phone, the constant emailing, the constant editing, the constant shooting, the constant allergy-combatting with Sudafed and Claritin, I have to smile and admit that I am the happiest woman in the world, to be launched off the starting line of the 2011 Wedding Season.

If you ask any wedding photographer what their schedule looks like this time of year, I’m sure it would be relatively close to mine. It is continuous correspondence, with couples looking for a wedding photographer, couples who want to schedule Spring engagement sessions, families who want Spring family portraits… and you also have weddings to shoot, editing to do, and all the administrative tasks as well. It’s a little crazy, but I actually enjoy talking with people and getting out to shoot after being holed up all winter. Especially THIS winter. What a doozy.

And it’s not just my work schedule that gets crazy in the Spring; both my little boys also start sports – football for Kadin, soccer for Max – so life is a constant juggling act. Max has an April birthday and Kadin has a May birthday, so parties also have to be planned this time of year. And there’s always the thought of bikini season hiding just around the corner in the back of my mind, so I try to get in workouts too, as much as possible. It is an exciting season, full of laughter, joy, happiness, gratitude, and utter exhaustion.

And 99% of the time, I wouldn’t have it any other way. The other 1%… well, I fully admit to indulging the fantasy of booking a flight to Tahiti.

Right now, I’m loving every minute of it. Bring on the Spring!

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Connect With Samantha

To Inquire about Wedding Photography, Book a Boudoir Session or Portrait Session, please Contact Me!

Visit My Website (Portfolio and More Information about Collections and Samantha)

Facebook | Twitter

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I’d love to hear what you think! Please leave a comment! Thanks! xo

Posted in Work | 1 Comment »

Kylie and Matt – Married!

Saturday, March 5th, 2011

Kylie and Matt are both incredibly sweet and wonderful people, like watermelon on a hot summer’s day. They both hail from Jerseyville, IL, and since I had never been so far north of Alton, it was a beautiful drive up and I really loved the opportunity to head somewhere new. I also loved that this was my first ever wedding shot with snow on the ground. All around, a gorgeous February day.

Kylie and Matt’s wedding simply oozed elegance. They chose to go with classy black dresses for the bridesmaids, each in a unique style, and all black with silver for the guys. Using red as an accent, you got these bright pops of color here and there, really setting the whole thing off. It was beautiful!

Kylie had warned me about their church, informing me of the blue walls and red carpet – but I thought that it was really quite beautiful, especially with all the wood, brick and stained glass. A very unique church, and a great backdrop for their wedding day. Kylie’s tears during the ceremony had me tearing up too, and you could just tell that these two are meant to be! They are peanut butter and jelly, each sweeter with the other than they are alone.

Also, Kylie has the most amazing eyes I’ve ever seen! And the kids in this wedding were some of the most gorgeous munchkins ever.

The reception was a blast. And I must mention here that they had several flavors of cake, including red velvet and coconut, and I actually took time to indulge. What coconut lover could possibly pass up the opportunity?

Kylie and Matt, Congratulations! You two are fabulous and I am so honored to have been there to witness and document your wedding. Thank you so much!