…I’ve had the privilege of photographing her since her middle-of-the-night debut last March…

…and I don’t know where the time goes, but she’s ONE, and on. the. move.

After an attempted “studio” shoot (where she wasn’t about to sit still long enough for a picture, let alone smile about it), we drove down the street from my house where this beautifully lit field/bridge to nowhere sits adjacent to a strip mall parking lot…

Once she was free to roam, she was a happy girl…

hello gorgeous eyes.

ummmm….favorite.

Dear Natalie: Happy Birthday (a little late ) sweet girl…

…perhaps never more so than on this particular day…
I couldn’t love this series of pics with her mama more…

…aaaannnnd this might be one of my fav pics of all time…

Dear Olivia: you get more beautiful every year…happy birthday.

She is gorgeous…

…and he ‘aint so bad himself (hows about that amazing hair???)…

…and they are super in love. Which I love.

Last year on this day, we got 3 inches of snow…this year the trees are covered in the white blooms of SPRING!
Dear Jessica and Tim: loved seeing your love through my lens…can’t wait for September!

Up until this year, all those pics (with the exception of the few I have hung on a wall) have lived on an external hard drive and never see the light of day. 
Well not no mo’.
This year (as a birthday gift for my sweet husband) I created a book of our year in pictures. Now I know the whole world has been doing this for years, so it’s nothing novel or new, but instead of a blog post on my fav personal pics of 2011, I figured I’d just share the layouts of the book.

We had our family pictures done by the unbelievably talented (and funny) Michelle Huegsten of Untamed Heart Photography. Besides those, the rest are just our everyday life, captured by yours truly. Enjoy!

I chose a really simple cover that simply said the year on the front and a Bible verse on the back…lots of white space (which makes me happy)

In comparison, I’ve known Briege for approximately 5 minutes…but it sure feels like she’s been a part of the family forever and I couldn’t have been more honored to capture the day that made it official.

These are hands down, some of my favorite “first look” pictures ever…I guess when you wait 6 years to become a man’s wife, you’re a liiiiiiiitle excited when the day arrives

…and lest you think Briege was the only one thrilled about the day, check out Drew’s face as his bride came down the aisle…

Briegey: I knew you’d be beautiful…I didn’t realize you’d be stunning.

…hands down my fav sibling pic ever taken at a wedding…

Da boys…

…and the beautiful ladies (flowers by my sweet friend and Ah-mazingly talented second shooter/florist extraordinaire, Krissy)

After the group pics (…and a sliiiiight little detour that landed us at a military gate guarded by the biggest guns I’ve ever seen up close), we arrived at this beautiful, historic lighthouse. Can’t tell you how much I love the barefoot bride, dress blowing in the breeze motif going on here :) 

Krissy’s angle (better than mine, which totally annoys me ).

Favorite.

I miiiiight be slightly biased, but these kids are pretty darn adorable!!!

kissing cousins…

The best man’s toast highlighted some of the major world events that have occurred in the time Briege and Drew have been dating…suffice it to say, I was laughing so hard I could barely hold the camera still. Ten points for creativity and 20 points for the funniest best man speech ever, Pete.

All told, it was a perfect day…full of laughter, beauty, happy tears, lots of love…

…oh, and a fairy tale ending…

Dear Briege and Drew: I think it’s safe to say it was worth the wait Thanks for letting me be a part…be sure to fly me back for all big occasions to come (and try to order up some warmer weather, eh?). xoxoxo

Emery got to tag along for the trip with a big time warning that I would be working for much of our visit…there were hours at a time where I literally had no idea where she was or what she was up to (but trusted that someone did)…and the few times the “momma” in me had to take a break from working to make sure she was okay, I found her doing some version of this:

Watching her play with all my cousins kids reminded me so much of when we were all younger…and kind of made me long for heaven when we’ll all live together in one place.

Between the rehearsal lunch and an evening of pounding more IN-N-OUT burgers than I care to admit, I squeezed in a family shoot for my cousin Reid…you just don’t find scenes like this in middle America…

Love these shots of these sweet kiddos and their mama.

Sibling pics at this age are what we photographers like to refer to as “the impossible”…but I just love this shot because although it’s far from “perfect,” it truly represents life at this stage…

One last attempt at some family shots…

…annnnnnnddddd… my fav from the session. I’ve never given a picture a title, but if I were, this one would be called “delight”.

Dear San Diego…your weather sure doesn’t seem to cooperate when I come visit, but you sure do have some wonderful peeps inhabiting your town!

…pitchers and catchers reported last week and that can only mean one thing…

SPRING.

I’m gearing up (or hunkering down, depending on how you look at it) for baby number 3 in late April, and wanted to do a round of mini’s before I take a little time off to re-group.

So here are the deets…contact me ASAP (kelly@relicphotography.com)  if you’d like to book a slot!

Early last year I got a call from an unbelievably talented graphic designer (who I’d done some work with on projects for my favorite cupcake shop) and her wedding photographer had bailed on her just a few months before her big day. I had already closed the books for 2011, but I quickly realized the opportunity before me and asked if she’d be interested in a “trade” of services. It was hands down my best business decision of 2011 (and fortunately for her, I returned her wedding images way faster than I did her e-mails regarding my re-brand .

It took a while, but thanks to her abounding crativity and endless patience with my repeated use of “the woman’s perrogitive”
(…you know, the right to change your mind … ), Elizabeth literally got inside my head and helped me pull out exactly what I wanted but could never describe. And I could not love the results more!

That’s my new logo…isn’t it fab?

And the seal…it just makes me smile when I look at it!

I’m also so grateful, as usual, for my invaluable assistant Krissy, who, as usual, made up for my technological deficiencies by getting the elements of my new blogsite loaded, tweaked, and looking pristine.

My new business cards are so fancy…I almost wrecked my car the first day I had them because I couldn’t stop looking at them…

…and what’s a post without an actual picture…so here’s one from a session last week with my new branding.

Love.

Exciting things are ahead for Relic Photography in Twenty Twelve…stay tuned…