Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you’re all having a wonderful Thanksgiving. Denny & I have a goofy tradition of eating nachos every Thanksgiving. It started our first year. We were living in North Carolina (away from family) and tried to go out for dinner as a treat. That’s when we learned that restaurants open for breakfast and lunch on Thanksgiving but CLOSE for dinner. We ended up at Wal-Mart and shared a cheeseburger & nachos from their snack shack. We’ve shared nachos every year since. It’s a fun little tradition that’s all our own. The rest of our day is spent with extended family so it’s nice to have “us time.” Of course, we always take a photo… big surprise. 

Years ago Wal-mart started closing their snack shacks on Thanksgiving, but we’ve found a few gas stations that sell nachos. Nothing says Thanksgiving like eating nachos in your car with a few kids piled on top.

I also had a small 3 generation family session this morning. Below are a few images. Apologies to the second generation – those grandkids are just too cute so this is as far as I’ve gotten! I promise I’ll post more very soon. Probably tomorrow.

Mrs. B., Tom, Mike, Jim & crew – thanks so much for sharing your time with me. Now we’re off to dinner with family! Have a great weekend. Best – ie

Melissa, Paul & their girls

Melissa is a dear friend of mine. She’s a photographer-turned-mom (of 9 years now) and she’s a phenomenal mother. She’s helped me get through everything from establishing nap routines for my kids to managing motherhood & business responsibilities. AND, she’s Griffin’s Godmother. She’s awesome.

I photograph her family annually. They just moved into a new house and we decided new portraits are needed. 

So, here are the girls… Tessa & Rianna.

And the family….

And everyone needs some one-on-one time…

Thanks for braving the cold with me guys! The house is beautiful, can’t wait to shoot Spring portraits in the yard!! Best, ie

Belli Fiori

Remember Krissy & Joe’s wedding? I met florist Lisa Gallagher at their wedding. Lisa grew up with Krissy and owns Belli Fiori (www.bellifioristl.com) on The Hill. Lisa is not professionally trained so her bouquets are really free-form and not so standard. Remember Krissy’s mini-calla lillies? Very cool….

Anyway, I had some images (from Krissy’s wedding) for Lisa so I dropped in Saturday morning… with my two little ones in tow. I’ve got a few images of her building. Couldn’t get any inside shots because there were two unruly children running around. Trust me, I was lucky to get these. Enjoy. Best, ie

Now, I’ve been a mother of two for a year & a half and have nooo problems running errands with them… or so I thought. It was ridiculous. Jane (my 3 year old) immediately took off her coat, both kids started wandering around. Thankfully they veered away from the (breakable) vases and went for the Thanksgiving-themed display (with pine cones and hay). Then someone has to potty. So here I am, trying to communicate with a fellow wedding-industry professional, and we need a potty break. No problem, Lisa totally understands.

And frankly, we were only able to have a conversation because Lisa’s mom (who is a saint, BTW) was entertaining / wrangling my children. How wonderful is she? Incredibly wonderful.

So we use the potty and both kids fall in love with the sink (because it’s short, they can reach the water). As if one potty break wasn’t enough, Griffin (my 1.5 year old) thinks that sounds like a good idea so now we need a diaper change *and* the diaper bag’s in the car, at this point it could only get worse if they broke something. Lisa tells me to leave the kids and go grab the bag. I run. I come back and both kids are making sounds that indicate nothing but pure happiness. Between the pine cones, fun ladies, and small sink those kids could’ve stayed there all day! It was hilarious. As I cleaned up Griff, Jane started helping Lisa assemble a bouquet. She quickly told me she needed to stay and help Lisa. It took awhile (and all 3 women) but I (we) eventually got the kids out the door. When we left Jane said she wanted to go back. I told her maybe some day. I love businesses that can handle my kids… especially when I can’t! Ha!! Lisa does really great work. We recently worked together on another project but I can’t shot pictures yet, but I will when I can. Thanks for letting my kids move around Lisa, I’ll bring leashes next time! Best! ie

AFQ – Dinner party, part 2

Ok, I’m a day late getting this up. It’s just been a crazy weekend. Here are more images from Andy’s friday night dinner party. Be prepared, these images will make you hungry. I ate lunch before I started processing and had to stop & make a snack in the middle. The tomatoes are my favorite, I love tomatoes.

My younger brother Matt works for Andy and he was the server for the evening. I like watching them work together.

This is the second course. It’s a soup but the soup isn’t in the bowl yet. I was doing that all night; shooting food half-prepped – drove me nuts. Just when I thought Andy was done putting a plate together, he’d turn away, I’d start shooting then he’d show up with something else! In my defense, there IS broth in the bowl. I thought it was just heavy on substance and light on liquid. I know, I’ll stick to photography.

Andy introduced each course, I thought that was a nice touch.

The tomato & salad photos are some of my favorites. And the tomatoes were sooo yummy.

I do have photos of the main course but I’m going to save those for a post later in the week. Sorry, like I said, this weekend has been crazy.

And now for dessert!

Even his doodles are fabulous.

All lined up like soldiers!

A toffee and sugared pecan cake layered with chocolate ganache with vanilla tuile cookie and heath toffee crumbles on the plate. This was the first time he’d done this dessert, not bad for a first run.

AFQ – Dinner party

Tonight my brother was hired to cook for a private dinner party. I went along to shoot promotion images for his website and future marketing materials. I’ve only got a few images tonight but I promise, I’ll post more tomorrow. 

Appetizers were served in the wine cellar. 

Andy did two appetizers, this one was my favorite; shrimp rangoon. Yum. I had at least 4. (shhhh…)

All those wine glasses, you know there was going to be some serious wine tasting going on…

Genius at work. Andy’s plating up the first course, a 4 piece tasting. 

I’m very sorry for only putting up a few images tonight, I’ve got things happening early tomorrow so I really need to hit the sheets. I’ll post again tomorrow — promise. Andy, thanks for letting me watch you work – it’s always fun and educational. Best – ie

Becker Rehearsal Dinner

Tonight I photographed a rehearsal dinner for Tony & Hadas. They’re getting married tomorrow at the Lucas School House in Soulard. Dinner was at Andrew’s French Quarter, so you know the food was super yummy! 

The lovely couple – we got outside just 10 minutes too late… not as much light as I wanted, but still lovely.

Another lovely couple! Don & Sandy Becker, Tony’s parents. The couple had fun with their theme… their tables (for tomorrow’s reception) will be named after Presidential pets and each table will have a President’s favorite beverage! 

Red roses and purple buckets of candy – perfect. 

Hadas and her dad having a moment.

Hadas’ brother gave a very nice toast — and believe me, I’ve heard a few.

Andy out-did himself with dessert – it was beautiful.

And the award for best use of color goes to… Larry! I saw this ensemble early in the evening and just couldn’t stop loving it. This was the last frame I shot, fabulous. And yes, Larry picks out his own clothes! Well done Larry! Hadas & Tony – thanks for sharing your evening with me. Have a wonderful wedding! Best – ie