T Family Session

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting up with Chriselda, Miguel, and their two adorable girls to snap some family portraits. The family drove up to Oceanside and we met on base at Camp Pendleton at a spot that reminds both Chriselda and me of our home state, Texas! 

I met this gorgeous family earlier this year when I spent Valentine's Day volunteering with with the San Diego Help-Portrait group to do a fundraiser for Haiti. Chriselda, who is also a photographer, and I had both participated in Help-Portrait last year, but at different locations. See her blog posts about the Haiti fundraiser here and here! This Saturday, she and I will be working together at two locations, and I can't wait! (To find out more about the Help-Portrait movement, please take a look here.)

For now, enjoy these fun photos!

Thanks again for allowing me to capture your growing family! :) See you soon!!

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W Family Session and a SPECIAL!

It's Thanksgiving already! Well, what better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than by sharing some photos of a recent session I did with the W Family? I met up with Fred, Jenna, and their adorable kids at their house, then we went to a nearby playground to grab a few shots. It was cold and cloudy that day, but they rocked it and we got some great shots before hurrying back inside for some delicious hot chocolate. :)

Many thanks to this lovely family for allowing me to capture a fun moment!

And now for the special...

It's BROWN THURSDAY! Do you know what that means?? Well, I don't really either.. In fact, I just made it up. (I think!) In any event, with all the craziness happening tomorrow, Black Friday, I'm happy to announce a special on family sessions booked this month!

Contact me by 7:00pm next Tuesday, November 30, and I'll be more than happy to book an hour-long family session with you and your loved ones before the end of the year for only $125! The price includes your time in front of the camera with me, editing of all images, an online viewing gallery you can share with your family and friends, and a disc of high-resolution files.

The fine print: This special is good for a one-hour photography session with Lauren Nygard at the location of your choice (within reason!) for up to five people. If you are a family (or group of friends) of 6 or more, the price increases by $25 per person. As always, military families receive additional discounts, so please contact me for more information. Sessions must be booked by 7:00pm (California time) on Tuesday, November 30 with payment due at the beginning of the session. Session is to take place by December 31, 2010.

Questions? Feel free to ask me! I can be reached at lauren(dot)nygard(at)gmail(dot)com.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

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Ann and Kevin are married!! Part 2!

Welcome back!

Here are more images from Ann and Kevin's lovely wedding! We'll start out with a few detail shots.

The rings!

Here is Ann starting the walk down the aisle with her dad. Oh so happy!!

Officially MARRIED! Woohoo!

The bride's gorgeous bouquet:

Instead of doing traditional toasts at the reception, Ann and Kevin asked for roasts from their family and friends! This is Kevin's father reading his hilarious roast. Yes, those are his notes on a roll of toilet paper!

The bride and groom really enjoyed the roast. :)

They shared a lovely first dance!

And I definitely teared up a bit during the father-daughter dance. It was so sweet! (Shh! Don't tell anyone!)

Instead of a huge cake, the bride and groom opted for a delicious tower of cupcakes from Sugar Fix in Pasadena, topped with a small cake they could cut into together. Check out all of those flavor choices!

Here's my husband-slash-fantastic-assistant enjoying a cookies-n-cream cupcake. Yes, that's an Oreo in there! YUM!

I had to practically drag them off the dance floor for this shot, but I think it was worth it! It was one of the last shots of the night and tops the list as one of my favorites from the day.

Many, many thanks to Ann and Kevin for allowing me to be a part of their special day!! The end to this story is definitely a happily-ever-after, and I can't wait to see it unfold! :)

Here are the vendors from the day:

Venue: Cho Residence, La Canada-Flintridge
Portrait Location: Descanso Gardens, La Canada-Flintridge
Coordinator: Theresa Cho (Ann's wonderful mother!)
Floral Arrangements: Janet Kim & Jung Lee
Equipment Rentals: Imperial Party Rentals
Music: Gigmasters, DJ Ser-gio
Cupcakes: Sugar Fix, Pasadena
Food: Auntie Kim and Sushi Ahjusshi

Dress: Martina Liana gown from The White Flower Bridal Boutique, San Diego
Hair & Makeup: Hill's Beauty Club, Los Angeles

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Ann and Kevin are married!!

Hey y'all!

You have NO idea how excited I am to be showing this wedding to you! You may recognize Ann and Kevin from the engagement session we did at Balboa Park a few months back. In that post, I mentioned that I knew Ann and Kevin from grad school. What I didn't mention was that our other good friend, Holly, was going to be officiating their wedding this month! Last Saturday, I joined Ann, Kevin, and their family and friends up in La Canada for a gorgeous backyard wedding at Ann's mom's house. The details, all handmade and created by Ann, were incredible and added to their perfect day! The fabulous Candice Benjamin joined me at this wedding and we had a blast!

Here's a look at the pre-ceremony images.

I met up with Ann at her mom's house, where she got dressed for the day. Check out that gorgeous dress!!

Ann's sister, Esther, helped to get her dress laced up just right!

Here's another thing I loved about Ann and Kevin: they were more than willing to do a "first look" before the ceremony! After Candice shot getting-ready pictures of Kevin and his brothers, they joined us in the backyard to greet each other for the first time on their wedding day. Ann brought these fun balloons and you can just see the excitement!

After their peak, we headed off to Descanso Gardens for some fun and gorgeous wedding-day portraits. Getting together before the ceremony for a portrait session is a great way to ensure the couple gets the images they want from their wedding day, before the tears really start to fall and before the cake is smashed in their faces! I highly recommend that all brides and grooms plan for a first look. :)

Can you feeeeeel the love toniiiight?! Oh, sorry! Back to Ann and Kevin... (Have I ever mentioned how much I love The Lion King?)

They really worked it in front of the camera! They were naturals!!

Ann's bridesmaids were her childhood friend, Sarah, and her sister, Esther. Kevin's groomsmen were his two brothers, Kyle and Darren. Here are the six of them in action!

 Here is the bridal party with the officiant of the day, our good friend, Holly!

That's it for now!! Check back tonight for Part 2: The ceremony and reception!

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