The other day my hubby, Matthew, came home from work… I felt like I needed to stretch my legs and I told him that I wanted to go running (which shocked him, because he knows I am not a runner…at all..), however, once I explained that I want to put on my rollerblades and have him run while I hang on to the back of his shirt, it all made sense to him Now, let me just say… I am terrible at rollerblading. Let alone, on the busy walkways of Edmonton. No really I am terrible. I haven’t busted those sweet puppies out since last year (i rode them once last year- so no improvement to be had).

But I wanted to start it up again and have it as my new primary form of exercise. Sitting on our front step I laced up those rollerblades perfectly- stood up on my wobbly legs and I clung onto Matt’s arm.

O Heavens.. what have i gotten into!

Any little twig or small pebble on the sidewalk made me nervous and I told Matt to slow this action down just a little bit and I would proceed very cautiously and ’step over’ the obstacles. Which I must say- Edmonton should do a little fix-it-ups with its sidewalks. Those are dangerous.  20 minutes goes by and Matt is still my main support… In a rash decision I decided to venture away from the womb- I let go of my safety hold. I was building up speed on the smooth sidewalk…
I felt the chilly Edmonton breeze through my ..err…hair…extensions..
I turn my head around to give my hubby a ‘Look at me!’ smile,
and as I was turning my head back to ’starting’ position…
I saw it..
I saw the curb…
I saw the curb that could cause my death…ok, I am being dramatic, but still.Not knowing how to slow down…
I looked back at Matt and give him this look as if ‘oh sweet mother of mercy..what have I done..?? HELP ME!!!’
but I knew there was not enough time…
Matt see’s my dilema
and he yells in a concerned voice
‘Jump the curb!!’
and I had no choice…time was up..
So I did what I had to
I jumped.

and I landed..

now, it didnt look glamerous, or professional by any means but the fact still remains- I cleared a 4 inch jump…
and landed on my very first run of the season!

As I laid my head on my pillow that night… I looked over at Matt and said in all seriousness… ” I bet you didnt know you married a ‘rollerblading hotshot’ ” He chuckled to himself and said

‘Goodnight Babe’

——–
Since we all know that blogs posts are boring without pictures… here are a few from a recent wedding I shot.Cheers,
-Kari-

Late last fall as wedding season was slowing down (that being said, we had more winter weddings then ever!), I said to Adam “I handled that awesome hey?” (I do most of the post processing, which means hours on the computer having a love affair with photoshop). To which he replied, “um, yah, not bad honey”.

“WHAT??” Not bad? I thought? Every single bride received her images on time (if not early), every album was perfect, emails were answered the same day, I was on top of my game. A Olympian (you have no idea how many times I re-spelled that) of the computer. Before I stood on my coffee table and made myself a paper-chain faux medal, he replied “You just seemed a little frazzled. You needed more time for you”.

“frazzled?!?”

I may or may not admit that tears welled up in my eyes (innocent until proved guilty of course).

Did he just call me out? Speak the truth, albeit in his every gentle & kind way….

I slowly got off my coffee table and said “your right. I needed balance”

So what did I learn? What did I do differently this year? Truth?

Lots.

I have learned (and am still perfecting) the art of balance. Editing images in the morning, and then if its an especially hot day, taking my son to the beach does not equal bad & unmotivated. No, it equals smart. I come back to my work, refreshed, renewed, fulfilled and with the energy of my toddler.

I shoot weddings because I love them. I edit the photos and love it.

But I also know that “we give our lives to that which we give our time”.

Photoshop will never love me back.

Rockwell & Adam will.

Therefore, I have learned how to put myself & my little family first, take the odd bike ride (while brewing up new pose ideas!), and just love life.

Because in loving life, I am a better mother, wife, friend and photographer.

That happiness is contagious and as such, it shows in my clients images. and that makes me happy.

and once again, not a single bride has had to wait. In fact, most have had their photos early.

Funny how it all works out.

Peace = Beauty

This past sunday we had a Booth at Bridal Conference in Edmonton.It was a fantastic time! We are so incredibly excited for the upcoming season and are pretty sure we snagged all of the kind, lovely, sweetheart brides out there! Our inbox is already bursting at the seams with brides wanting to book us, and we feel such gratitude. Gratitude to be able to do something we love. Not everyone loves what they do, or is excited to go to work, but we are.

For that we are truly humbled and blessed.

At this fair, we wanted to do something different. We wanted to reach out and bridge gaps. There is nothing worse then snobiness, and we have found in the past, that bridal vendors (those in the same field) are often very standoff-ish and snobby to one another. Because of competition I assume in Edmonton. But, the fact is, if you are passionate about what you do, you will have clients, regardless of competition. We wanted the freedom to go walk past other photographer’s booths as we were browsing the fair, without the panic of them “seeing us” and wondering if we were “scoping out the competition”
So, we did what we have always wanted to do. Make friends of our peers. Thats right Internet, we walked right up, introduced ourselves and said “hi”! We complimented their work and discussed photography-ish things (things that would put your average person to sleep) and it was fun! At first they looked at us like we were crazy (im sure thinking “dont they know competitors dont talk???”), but you know what? In no time at all, they came by our booth to chat & mingle some more.
We’ve always believed that being competitive and snobby just kills the soul and makes your photos ugly (because you are to busy being worried about everyone else, instead of loving your craft), and we were right, being friendly & kind really is the best. We made some fantastic friends of some talented photographers.

Beautiful lashes can make such a huge difference in photos. So much so, that we recommend brides wear fake lashes (they can range from natural looking, to very dramatic) on their wedding day, as it just makes their eyes “pop” in the photos…and nothing is more romantic then a nice bed of lashes during a coy looking down pose. It just adds beauty. But how much better if a Bride could actually grow those lashes!!
Then you could have them on your honeymoon! Even in the ocean!

A blog that we love to read is doing a give-away of a fantastic lash conditioner. The product tester (totally independant of the seller) tried out the product and noticed a HUGE difference (and this girl seems obsessed with nice lashes…and thus picky)!

Read about it and enter it here. Its a $120 giveaway!

and stay tuned to this blog! In about 2 weeks time we will start catching up on such a busy busy summer of lovely weddings! yay!!!

Edmonton wedding photography/Edmonton Wedding Photographers/ Edmonton Weddings

Chad and Nicole

…

For this wedding I ventured out past Edmonton the short distance to Camrose. Ok, if you want a place that is peaceful, happy and quaint and only 1 hr away at most from Edmonton- Camrose is the place for you.
As soon as I came home from shooting this wedding- I told Matt that someday, some way I am going to
live in Camrose and live my dream.
A book in hand, a scarf around my neck, sipping on a tea in that cute park…
watching then ducks swim by. all day everyday.

They fit together like Cinderella and her Glass Slipper.

The day I met them… I knew…

I knew that they would live the ‘Happily Ever After‘.

Just like in the story.

He swooped her off her feet..
She won his heart..

They are eachother’s everything.

….

And I am so thankful that I had the privledge of shooting their wedding.

Cheers,

Kari