It starts right off with a bat with January’s LIVE PHOTO BOOTH special.  This wedding add-on, event showstopper and memory maker was MADE for erikaLEIGHphotography.  Two words mean fun, unforgettable wedding:  OPEN BAR  but if you had three words it would be LIVE PHOTO BOOTH.

Book by January 31 for HALF OFF your very own LIVE PHOTO BOOTH.

For more information on this and all the other good stuff coming up in 2010 email ELP:  fun@erikaleighphotography.com.

More updates as the promotions get locked in… ELP is gonna work hard in 2010… but with everything in the planning sessions so far… it will be more FUN, than work.

As always… be in touch:  erika@erikaleighphotography.com

NON-PHOTOG NEWS:  That Michelle on this season’s ‘The Bachelor‘… she’s one-of-a-kind.

Mrs. Taube.

Fun.  Love.  Love fun.  Fun love.

I was a ‘daddy’s girl’ growing up.  For no specific reason, though I’m not sure there’s ever a reason… but I’m assuming the chick and chick relationship is always a little more full of tension, something scientific about ‘hormones’ etc.  :)  My mom was in charge, too.  Not like she bossed my dad around but when it came to enforcing the chores, expectations and rules my mom was more verbal than my dad.  I’m sure it wasn’t a role she enjoyed but it was necessary.  Naturally as I grew older my relationship with my mom transformed into one of deep friendship.  Oh, trust she can still put me in my place if she feels the need but I now look to her for advice and support and she is now just a person that when I have a few minutes  to spare it’s her I call to talk to (though she claims she never gets to talk to me.)

She is the one girl in a family with four kids.  Her brothers are my wonderful uncles… Mark, Reed and John.  They are all as different as you could possibly make a family.  One a dentist, one an outdoorsman/athlete and one a comedian.  Their only similarities in my mind are their love of fishing and their huge, bottomless hearts.  Growing up I thought the boys were like their mother, my Grandma… fun-loving with an endless heart.  I thought my mom was like her dad, my Grandpa… distant and strict.  I’ve gotten smarter though… Living away from my mom for almost nine years I slowly started to realize the power of her ways.  The power in her expectation, in her strictness, and in her strength, the same power I see in my Grandpa.  Growing up and seeing their relationship I wondered how he won my Grandma, he seemed cold and ornery but NOW it is obvious.  He wouldn’t let on at first, as he’s aged he’s showed the family this amazing, caring side of him… he is in complete awe of my Grandma.  In big family events when he hasn’t seen grandkids in months he’ll still take pictures and 90% of them will turn out to be just my Grandma.  We look through photo albums where he has labeled them, ‘The love of my life, Mary Ann.’  He takes her coat, helps her into her chair, reminds her of her coffee, helps her in the car all with this look on his face like he understands what love is.  This is the trait my mother has.  I never really saw it while growing up.  I recognize it now in the little things.  She has no idea how to work technology but has taught herself how to text and even joined to Twitter to stay on top of her way-too-busy daughter, she’ll send cards (like with a stamp) to me on holidays (valentine’s day even) and sometimes just because, she remembers everyone’s birthday, she probably visits my site twice a day and she forwards on any photography related news or emails.  These are small, there are large things she’s done like give birth to me (duh), buy my plan ticket out of a bad situation and visit me when she knew I needed something constant by my side.  But it is in those small moment I notice what I didn’t most of my life… and that make her so inspirational… she makes me realize you don’t have to give someone a million dollars, you don’t have to kill their enemy, you don’t have to tell someone 40 times a day that they’re great to truly love someone and change someone’s life… sometimes it is just being there.  Like she was… and still is.  It’s bare-boned loved… she doesn’t need to show it off, doesn’t need to scream it from a mountain… she loves through action.

The way she is makes me feel like my life is important… not because she tells me I’m pretty or my work is great or you can do it… but through example.  With me and with everyone, she is someone who can be counted on to care… I know that though I am just one person, I can be that one person to many in ways that don’t need fame or publicity for a job well done.  A consistent friend, a consistent mother, a consistent wife… filled with love… that’s what she is… I hope to be just like her someday… when I grow up!  :)

Love you momma!  erika@erikaleighphotography.com

Bobby.

Bobby is the man.  This little boy can and should be the poster boy of all baby products… he is perfect frame, perfect size and the most perfect, warm-your-heart personality.  I never wanted him to leave, he smiled the whole time and just won over my heart… not to mention his mom and dad were a dream to work with and why wouldn’t they be with the most problem free child in the world on their hands.  I love photographing babies in natural light in just their mini diapers… its innocent and simple and you get the great little details like that little neck line on Bobby, or the wrist line on those with those little chubby arms and the still in tact un-aged, un-calloused skin of their tiny toes.  Oh Bobby… so sweet.   REMINDER:  FAMILY SPECIAL COMING IN SEPTEMBER (but being debuted below… read on for details for booking and securing your spot early!)

The day I saw Nikky… not even met her, I wanted to be her friend.  Though it sounded like a pursuit I went on, it was probably the easiest thing to want as Nikky is friends with everyone… REALLY, EVERYONE.  I’m surprised she doesn’t have a key to the city by now with all her connections.  It was easy to be her friend but through my own faults it wasn’t always easy to keep her, I’m so happy now to call her one of my forever friends… there won’t be a day from now until I die that I won’t consider her one of my closest friends… we have our moments but I will love her and need her in my life forever.

She is a short tiny blond that always wears cowboy boots, when not wearing roller skates.  She has been seen in every location in Atlanta and has worn every color of spandex created.  She knows your mother, she knows your cousin, she knows your best friend’s ex-boyfriend from Utah… if she doesn’t know them, they know her.  I love these things about her but I love her most when she’s wearing her children sized shorts (still too big for her), old screen printed shirts, half brushed hair and amazingly imperfect manicure sitting in my passenger seat, on a couch or across the table from me killing chips and queso.  Regardless, her most public moments or more private with friends, she is always herself… not afraid of it… enthusiastic about it… about everything.  That’s inspiring to me… with everything we all face it is truly hard to be enthusiastic about everything and do so in a way that is believable and real AND inspiring.  Things get in her way, people get in her way, life gets in her way but she doesn’t stop drilling away enthusiastically toward being happy…

Her outlook on life is definitely an inspiration in my business and life together but in her case she has been more than just an inspiration to me.  She has been my support in times where I wasn’t hers & my friend in times where I wasn’t a good friend.  I have no doubt that she’d work tirelessly to help me and my business out, as she has already through referrals and words of encouragement.  I want to mention one very key thing though… I say ‘saved my life’ often… I believe all my friends at one point have taken me from a dark moment to light and often them being in my life as a group saves me… (from myself often .  But Nikky truly has saved my life, kept me breathing… her and Sheyvone together pulled me back.  They both ‘enthusiastically’ hounded my mother, father, brother, Montana hotels, Montana airports when they knew it was necessary and they wouldn’t have stopped until I was safe.  Simply put, she knew what was necessary.

She now is in a spot of unknown and what is next but I never worry for her… I love her deeply and feel her pain but know that she knows better than anyone that she will be fine… she will be happy.  Because she defines this quote… comfort and luxury, stability and money, easy and rich won’t make her happy… they’re not requirements in her life, they’re by-products of her enthusiasm for everything else.  Thanks for being my friend, through it all, Nik.  You rock… yep, you read it, you rock… one more time, you rock!  :)

SNEAK DEBUT: I’ve mentioned the family portrait special I’m rolling out in September… well I anticipate the fall being SLAMMED… So I wanted to offer it up to my lovely visitors first.  $125 Family Portrait Session (savings of $125)… ON LOCATION… that’s right, at your house or at a park or anywhere your heart dreams it-ish… or dreams it within 45 minutes of 30319.

QUICK FAQ SESH:

• Q:  ”But Erika, what’s considered family?” … A:  You and someone/something else… Yes, your hamster counts.  Up to eight people… oh that’s a big fam!
• Q:  ”What’s included?”… A:  Two hours of family + Erika time, on-location, and up to three digital files so you can make your holiday cards thee HOTTEST in town!  Sure to impress those ritzy fam members in New York or Iowa…
• Q:  ”How do I sign up?”… A:  With your calendar out, email me (erika@erikaleighphotography.com).  Tentatively only shooting Monday days, Wednesday/Friday evenings and Saturday and Sundays (limited weekend availability that’s why I want YOU to jump on it quick!)  Tell your other friends after you’ve signed up!  :)

All other details/questions can be worked out by shooting me a quick email!  erika@erikaleighphotography.com  OH FAMILY PORTRAITS ARE SO MUCH FUN… and in case you didn’t already know, these aren’t your typical, run-of-the-mill shots.

OTHER NEWS: Tomorrow look for #11 and #10, were getting close to the end of 1YA fun!  AND get excited because early September ELP’s newly designed blog will be up and ready for your viewing pleasure… it’ll be grand, GRAND I TELL YOU!

Anticipation.

I have a list of shots I consider my ‘must-have’ shots at any wedding… I will tell my brides my favorite shot is usually the one of the grooms face as he anticipates his bride making the walk toward him… toward their forever.  I see the same anticipation here… and though I’m the most impatient person I know, that is a type of wait everyone should feel!

When I set out to do this I thought I would pre-write all my blogs and then post the day they came… and while I got everything else scheduled out and created, I decided it would be better to write these daily when just one person was on my mind…. So they’d stay somewhat fresh.  Well, they have done so!  :)  It is today that it sunk in how great all these people are that have inspired me… BUT also how freakin’ beautiful they are.   Seriously… some of these people (Neta included) are super-model-esque caliber people.  I felt bad at first but then thought… they are who they are… and beautiful people need just as much (if not a little more) spotlight on their goodness.

No one can resist wanting to meet Neta just from seeing her… after meeting her, no one can resist wanting to know her for forever.  She has this addicting spirit that isn’t corny or over-the-top but it is always evident.  She is a calm mix of cultures with a subtle humor and is a stable conversationalist.  Whatever intimidation you may feel in looking at her, she will put to rest quickly when she talks to you.  I knew of Neta before I met her… I’m sure this is the case with most people in Neta’s life.  Now here’s where her perfection stopped in the beginning time of knowing her… I love her so I can say this… she had a dream and continued to let it be a dream. Everyone has dreams… I always think back to my favorite book, AGAIN, Love is A Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield when he says “The new wave girl knows what pop dreams are made of.  She knows Debbie Harry was lying when she sang, ‘Dreaming is free.’  She knows dreams are something you have to steal.”  This is the probably the only quote of the book I slightly disagree with since A. Stealing something technically makes it free, right?  but more so B.  I believe dreaming is free but it’s like those ‘free websites’ that tell you how to make a million dollars… its just not that easy.  But Neta became an inspiration to this business owner (future, at the time) when she decided to get rid of the comfort and stability in her life and take off on her dreams.

She quit a stable job… at a time that was very hard for her because they really needed her there, this of course brought on further guilt of pursuing her dream.  Guilt I find is a common setback in doing something incredible.  She did her research, planned, but most inspiring, she jumped right in.  She knew very well that it could be a complete failure but was content that the road to possibly living out her dream would be worth it even if she never found her final resting spot in it.  I consulted her often as I jumped into self-employment and she was never afraid to share details, share pitfalls, share triumphs.  I think in today’s economic times so many people are afraid to share their business knowledge, but she did so with enthusiasm.  I have several friends that are ‘entrepeneurs’ and it is always nice to be in their presence… they know that while we make our own hours, our hours are not OURS any more, they are our business’ hours,  they know that there is an opportunity cost to hanging out with friends past five o’clock (or any time really) and that everyday tomorrow could be the last of our venture, but above all, in general, they are satisfied with what they are doing… this is me… this is Neta… and satisfied doesn’t even begin to describe it.  While I am a big believer in the saying ‘all things come to those who wait’  I DO NOT believe it applies to dreams.   Neta is an inspiration because she defines this title quote… I know more and more good things are coming her way, cause she most definitely will go after them!   Check out her AWESOME adventure here:  Dance & Music Academy of Woodstock! So proud of you, Neta… Let me know if you ever need an extra vocal instructor………….. HA!  :)

AND NOWWWWWW… quick corny note:  All of you that emailed me, first off thanks! second off, wow.  Proof that everyone has someone/something amazing taking them through life.  It keeps me inspired to keep looking out for those people in my life… I hope you all that wrote me forwarded your email to the person you were describing… It’s sweet medicine to tell someone they’ve changed your life!  And the winner of the $50 American Express Gift Card is Kaye H!  YAY… money.  I will be emailing you in a few.  Instead of just sharing her inspiration… I thought I’d pull a few rockin’ sentences from a couple different notes:  ”She doesn’t know how to not give.”  ”I never knew that something so small could have that big of an affect on my whole world.”  ”… is my inspiration just because she is who she is…”  ”I am proud and honored to call her a friend and even more driven in life to find what it is that makes me happy and smile.”  ”I am alive because of him.”

Thanks again… more fun coming in the next two weeks!   I love you Margaret M., you made my day!  …erika@erikaleighphotography.com!

Adoration.

I sent this to Celeste (the mom pictured) and she wrote back the most beautiful description of why she loved this photo… I agreed with all of them.  She mentions contrast, colors and all those photographic elements that one could say.  But she also mentioned the precise reason I love it… it is that grip… those indents in Celeste’s arm that really show the connection here.  It’s need.  It’s adoration.

I went out, far out into the country to Tamara’s house to shoot her, her husband and their two boys. It was a pretty afternoon and I thought it was just going to be just like any other shoot day.  But then we sat down after, after her strong persuasion, to eat dinner that she had made for her and I as they boys had already eaten.

Tamara is this sweet little southern number, perfect body, quiet personality, warm soul.  She comes across as a young woman with the perfect life.  A husband that is great and adores her, two energetic yet perfectly well behaved and polite boys that she stays at home with and a beautiful home.  She never seems frazzled or stressed (though with two young boys I sweat because of stress just thinking of it) or down.  I spent a year standing next to her and enjoyed getting to know so much about her… she always greeted me with a smile and hug no matter what the circumstance.  Though she doesn’t know it, her confidence in and love of my work pushed me through some hard critical photog days.  These things are great, but it was at that dinner that I understood her affect on me.

We sat over a meal of slowly cooked pot roast (at the time I didn’t eat meat, so I picked at some vegetables and listened to her talk).  After I had pried, she starting talking about how her family became a family… it wasn’t ‘we met, we fell in love and here we are.’  She was, to put it nicely, not treated well in a previous situation.  And to put it simply, in my eyes, she should have quit at life, quit thinking it was going to get better, quit believing that something was going to change.  She sat there and spoke with a smile on her face, watching her boys out the window build a bonfire, of a life one should never have to live, that she very well did.  She fought hard for herself and for the things she loved most.  She fought hard for things so many of us take for granted.  You would NEVER know this and even as she shared she had this glow about her as though she understood it and was at peace with the things that happened… her smile only faded in order to chew, not because of the subject matter.

We all have our own personal tragedies some serious, some far too small to even put focus on but we do… I am so guilty of this.  She, her personality and her smile inspire me to remember that the fight is worth it… the fight of life, the fight of business, the fight for our children, the fight for ourselves… because the things we love are the things we labor for.  She is proof that there is, and should be, a smile at the end of it…  and maybe a little pot roast, if you’re lucky!

Thanks to my 47 entries in yesterday’s contest… I’ll announce the winner tomorrow!  My apologies for the delay, I’m in lovely little Iowa… and while we DO actually have running water and electricity… my travels, by air and car, have made the Internet a little less constant!  YAY… tomorrow is FRIDAYYYYYYYY.

I heart you all… erika@erikaleighphotography.com!

B & S.

They were one of my first couples I ever shot… I thought they would be the toughest.  He is my brother Brandon and she is my new sister-in-law Sara.  I’ve never known Brandon to be overly public in his emotions, he’s always just been smart… not smart with heart.  :)  But to this day some of their shots remain my most favorite symbols of love.  They really started me out on my path of works of emotion not just subject matter.  They’re a beautiful couple… not all couples have this look, not the ‘oh I’m pretty’ look, the look they have toward each other:  the ‘you’re my favorite person in the whole world’ look.  I hope someday I look at someone the way they look at each other.  (I win award for most uses of the word ‘look’ within two sentences for sure!)

One time my sweet brother Brandon thought I needed a haircut.  No need to go to the local Fantastic Sam’s… he’d take care of me, so he brought me out behind the rock ledge in our backyard (so the hair wouldn’t get all over of course, not to hide what he was doing?) and gave my bangs a spectacular trim.  I’m not sure I minded… when your idol cuts your hair, you don’t mind.  There were times I wanted to be disassociated from him, times I wanted his ultimate approval, times I wanted to hurt him so bad and times I wanted him to know he’s so amazing… this is a typical brother and sister relationship.  But I wouldn’t say were the typical make up of a brother and a sister.

He’s uber intelligent and I use only uber in special situations.  He is hands down the smartest person I have ever met… in simple logic and in book smarts.  I’ve known this from pretty early on.  While I am by no means a complete idiot, I fall FAR in comparison to his intelligence level.  He’d wear his super tight purple sweatpants and unbrushed hair to school while I’d be busy four hours getting ready and perfecting the ultimate bang poof.  He’d be intense in Academic Decathalon and I’d be busy editing the yearbook.  While he was an introvert and fine with it, I was an extrovert struggling to be MORE extroverted… yes, my parents loved me!  :)  Most people that know him will agree, he’s one of the smartest people they’ve met.  That could be hard on a person.  It could be a lot to live up to or become an identity.  He could become one of those men holed up with 19 computer screens around him constantly taking IQ tests (do those still exist?) and be single for life and share none of his gifts.  But it is not him.  He still manages to have more friends than I could ever begin to count, more people that are somewhat drawn to him, people in awe of him.  He is this quote from one of his favorite books growing up… he is so good at life, at owning his intelligence but not flaunting it, at being humble in all his amazing successes that no one ignores him nor hates him.  This is inspiring.

Some would think it would be hard to live in the shadow of that greatness… and believe you me, I tried to milk some pity out of many a situation at home and school.  But I never truly felt less than him in the grand scale of things… probably because he was in charge of that feeling.  It would have been him to belittle me and to have it actually affect me, not his or my friends or family… he had a chance many a time but never would take it.  Just this past May, he went on ahead and mastered another thing in life besides superior intellect… he mastered love.  Anyone looking on at them getting married and just their time together could be so mad that they didn’t get so lucky to have a best friend like Sara to spend a life with, but no one could be… he’s too good to want anything but the best for.  He is one of my idols.  I will always be in constant awe of him and know that despite our differences in passions and IQ… he made me so much of who I am today.   He inspires me to not be afraid of my talents… because talents matched with goodness cannot be ignored nor hated.

I love you Brandon!  Wish I got to see you this weekend… cause I’m coming HOME to Iowayyyyyyyy!  :)

OK… SO HERE IT IS… who wants to win $50 American Express gift card just for sending an email!? You do!  So email me… erika@erikaleighphotography.com and tell me who/what your biggest inspiration is and why!  Could be your dog, could be Marilyn Monroe, of course it could be me if you REALLY wanted to win!  :)  No seriously… I’ll be taking emails all day and will post the winner and their response tomorrow!  Judging based on creativity, sincerity, spelling and crazy use of ellipses… or the one with the most HEART!

Yall rock… erika@erikaleighphotography.com!

Rainy Day Bride.

She’s a ‘brave bride.’  And a brave friend on all accords… but she’ll never let the elephant run.  :)  I love this image for so many reasons… I love the colors… the reds with the peacock colors of the umbrella.  I love the contrast of many things:  her glowing dark skin against the WAY TOO white dress, rain sparkling against the diamonds in her ears and on her finger, the rusty wall against the pristine sacredness of marriage… but like I’ll say time and time again, it just has a feeling about it.  It just speaks to me when I look at it.  It stands out as timeless to me.  Something a bride can always look back and enjoy.

Sheyvone is my other best friend… her and Shervin make up my multicultural best friend clan.  Much like Shervin, she was my instant best friend.  I met her maybe three years ago, chillin’ eatin’ some queso dip with friends… what made me love her at first was her EXCEPTIONAL ability to find her way around anywhere… I mean she could get you to Juneau Alaska from downtown Atlanta without consulting a map.  This, for a girl new to Atlanta, was an extreme plus.   What made me love her after the awe of supreme directional giftededness (new word) wore off, was her EXCEPTIONAL ability to find her way around and into anyONE.  She’s one of those people never afraid of a crowd, so personable you just feel at ease in her presence. My other friends know of my deep adoration for this girl, I brag of her often as I find she is one of those people in life I aspire to be more like.  Probably why I keep her so close to me!

In the midst of friend fights, lost ways, money crises, men issues, business woes, she always remains the same cliché cool, calm and collected.  I am a WHOLE lot of crazy at times… I often say ‘crazy fun’ or ‘crazy awesome’ but I think she knows best it’s often a lot of other crazy too.  Still, I have never felt since my friendship with her that I didn’t have someone in my corner at all times.  Many married people could probably explain this easier, but the comfort one can have knowing someone they absolutely adore and respect will always be there for you… it’s priceless, truly priceless.  This is my Sheyvone.  Also like Shervin, I don’t see Sheyvone often… these are people that the connection is just there and doesn’t necessarily require time nor dinner dates… its solid.  She has fought many a battle in her life but she is not one bit jaded at the world.  All my title quotes align in a way that they describe the inspiration I am to be writing about… this is the opposite, Sheyvone is the constant in many peoples’ lives… though I’m not calling myself an elephant just yet, she would never let the hard things and hard battles in life go unfought for.  I have no doubt she’ll stand by me for the rest of my life.  That is inspiring.

Getting to write about Sheyvone just makes me realize AGAIN, how truly blessed I am to have the people I have in my life.  I look at all my close friends and wonder how I could ever be so lucky.  Thank you Sheyvone… I love you so!   You’re a constant inspiration just by being a constant friend!

Ironically yesterday was Sheyvone’s first comment at ELF.com.  And even more ironic:  Yesterday I wrote about my sweet Aunt Deann.  I touched on the special love between her and my Uncle Dan… turns out, yesterday was their 30th wedding anniversary!  CRAZY.  Happy 30 years… here’s to 30 more!  and… HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELISE!

Thanks for reading… TOMORROW will be my first giveaway… I’m straight up telling you to check back tomorrow!  :)  erika@erikaleighphotography.com!

Lifetime Love

I never stop loving this photo.  So I suppose the title of the photo describes both the subjects feelings for each other and my feelings on this image.  I am so very lucky as a photographer who specializes in babies and weddings (because I love them) to work with people at two of the happiest times in peoples’ lives… all circle around authentic love.  I never shot a wedding were I felt like the couple couldn’t make it to someday take a shot just like this.  A lot of small things make me deeply happy… live music, green arrows for left hand turns and 10 for $10 deals at Kroger… another one of these things is the look on the face of people like you see above when I ask them if they’ll kiss for the camera.  I urge all people out there to take a photo of your grandparents kissing (I got to just a few months ago, even though this isn’t them above) and remember their face when you ask them to do so.  I truly believe if you know to look for it before you do it, you will never forget the look.  You will never forget their excitement and almost fear of such a public display of affection… but you will also never forget what a lifetime of love looks like.

I think I must have been having a rather intuitive day when I organized this countdown as everyday I get up and get to write about these amazing people/things with title quotes and images that somehow always have this fun little way of fitting together.  It makes me wonder if all these things in my life just align so wonderfully or if I just find these correlations because I’m a classic ‘overthinker.’  Either way… my beautiful Aunt Deann hails the number 24 spot on this countdown… below a photo of lifetime love… just one way she inspires me in fact.  She’s married to my Uncle Dan, no easy task, he’ll admit himself (joking, of course) but they are and always have been, since I understood love and relationships, the great story of love!  They met in high school and have stayed together through thick and thin (though it never seemed like there was a ‘thin’ for them) and have always done so with this adoring look for each other.  Anyone in our family can attest to this.  Despite having two parents in love and not knowing divorce in any of my extended family, they just have an air about them that screams soul mate more than any other.  Though she found her ‘perfect love’ in high school, on a personal level, she inspires me to love all my life… and to find that someone you can do that with.

Professionally, her inspiration is much along the same lines.  I must admit that I have the best family in the world… I’m sorry to all you others out there… because this is one fact (yes, fact) I do not budge on.  My Aunt Deann represents all my cousins and aunts and uncles that root for me every day.  I know that this title quote was probably true for my Aunt Deann once but now it is true for all of us nieces and nephews and her three children that she so adamantly inspires just by her support.  I have been known to say that even if I murdered someone my family would probably still love me and I know it would be my Aunt Deann that would be bringing me Special K bars in prison.  :)  She is a kind person.  She remembers all birthdays, inside jokes and sends cards just to say hello.  She is an animal lover and an easy crier.  She is so much of what I look at as good in people.  And it is all enduring.  Her love will last for forever.  Her support is unending.  Her ‘Were so proud of you’ letters will continue to come.  She is timeless in that what she stands for will never get old and when she is gone everything she stood for will remain in all of her kids and nieces and nephews and all she has touched.  She inspires me to support others in the same way she has supported me… through cards, special K bars, words, hugs, and time.  I love you so much Aunt Deann… thanks for inspiring me with your support… it’s so much easier to build wings on the way down with you there to help!  :)

Shout out to all of those checkin out erikaleighphotography.com and erikaleighfun.com both sites it record numbers last week!  AMAZING, in August… generally the off-season!  Thanks for your continued referrals… Kari P.  Ashley T.  and Sheyvone F. for just passing my name along (and doing some serious PR work for me!)   Still running my $250 off weddings for 11.01.09 to 11.01.10 if they are booked by August 31!  Still going to give away $150 in ELP money at the end of August… HOW DO YOU WIN THAT?  Comment on one or all of these daily posts to be entered!

Gosh, life is grand.  Stay in touch… erika@erikaleighphotography.com!

awwww love. it's lovely.

ELP wants to give newlyweds-to-be an early wedding gift!  Email me at erika@erikaleighphotography.com for more details and package information.  Wedding specials make me happy… much like fondant-covered wedding cakes do!

Important things to note:

1.  ELP will ONLY do 25 weddings in 2010.  Gotta keep my skillz (yes, with a Z) fresh and exclusive.

2.  ELP loves to travel for weddings… and for anything really!

3.  ELP is about to celebrate its ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY! The countdown starts tomorrow of our favorite photos and favorite inspirations that kept ELP going for one year and will keep us going for years to come!  Maybe YOU were one of them… Check back daily (yes, can you believe it… daily) to boost brain power, win rad (yes, I said rad) prizes and to see how many times I use ellipses (…) to punctuate whole paragraphs… You miss a day, you miss a lot.  :)

4.  Get pumped, join our fun-having email list to stay on top of all of ELP’s specials like our FAMILY HOLIDAY CARD SPECIAL that will be unleashed early September!

All the fun gets kicked off tomorrow, August 1st.  Make it your daily therapy…

As always, stay in touch… erika@erikaleighphotography.com