Are not just for brides....

I would do a free photoshoot if someone wore this


paired with a bolero like this

and maybe paired with these

Ahhhh, talk about eye candy!!!

Five Love Languages series (book review) tonight or tomorrow! If you're in a relationship, don't miss out on this series. Apparently I have 2 love languages that rank equally. Can you guess? AND, Jose and I have the same top 3 but in different order.

p.s. There are some wedding disaster news I have to tell y'all about and could use some advice. Let's just say I may have to get... ahem, creative with my wedding cake. And that's not the only thing...

I got soggy boots on and there's a nice warmth coming from under my desk thanks to my heater.

So .. how about I do something different today? I'm leaving to Texas to do more "wedding stuff" AND Christmas AND my brother is in town = I'm running around & really tired. Grab yourself a nice hot cup of cocoa and let's look at some pretty stuff.

Rain makes me want to do this SO SO badly! Anyone interested in playing in the rain with me?

I just bought this from Etsy to incorporate into my wedding invitation

WHEN did Dakota Fanning suddenly grow up?!

I changed my mind and actually asked this for Christmas instead :P

Speaking of.. You know what's ironic? My photography business is titled Imaginale Design (fusing Imagine with my nickname "Ale") because that describes my mindset -- my imagination is vivid. Then I went to Anthropoligie and almost cried when I smelled MY SMELL!! And guess what it's called? Imagine by Lollia !!! YES. Go to the store and smell this -- I promise you this is what I will smell like on my wedding day :) :)

I think I found my wedding SHOES! They're on sale too! Click on red ... MMM! Now that's Latin... Unfortunately, the 6 was still too big for me, so now I'm on the hunt for a 5 1/2....

Let's gain 10 pounds in the next hour trying these out, yeah? ;)

I died seeing this wedding: bottled coca-cola, Mexico, big flowers, lace --- oh my, oh my

Speaking of Coke -- I gotta run! Taking my brother to the World of Coke while he's here :)

Ciao!!

P.s. I just finished The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I LOVE fiction and need a new book for the Holidays. Any suggestions?

Okay.. this is about my photography and not weddings, but I'm so excited! Go check out the sneak peek of the Alice in Wonderland - Tea Party shoot I did with my fiance's sister a few weekends ago :)

A little more about me ... :)

I am SO EXCITED! I should be planning a wedding, but something exciting is happening in a month: HALLOWEEN! Okay, okay, I am not usually this excited about Halloween, but let me tell you WHY I AM this time!

This, sadly, will be the last year I am living in Atlanta. After Jose completes his masters in May, we are moving out to either TX or California. OR Europe. Ha... j/k (though we have looked for possibilities).

Anyway, Jose's sister Jasmine and I are planning on having a crazy photoshoot next weekend. We got onto the topic of "Alice in Wonderland." After that, everything went UPHILL. I mentioned dressing up as madhatter for Halloween with some girl friends, and suddenly ... it clicked. ALICE IN WONDERLAND THEMED PARTY FOR HALLOWEEN!!

Oh, yes. I am going there. AND I am having awesome collaboration help with Jasmine and some friends of mine.

You can just imagine how we're literally BURSTING with ideas, texting each other 24/7, and Jose rolling his eyes constantly. Could I be any luckier to have such an awesome soon-to-be sister?!

Let's just say.. I am taking madhatter to another level! Here is my inspiration:

I'm sorry I'm not posting anything "wedding" related today (image wise). I'm feeling pretty crappy because I have really, REALLY bad allergies :( Hopefully I'm not coming down with a cold... or even worse, the flu!! My co-workers are already approaching me apprehensively just in case, haha.

Also, I'm busy working on this little guy



I do have a question though, if anybody is reading this. I am shooting my first wedding as the main photographer in October and out of curiosity, I wanted to know: If you were getting married (or WHEN you were) ... what would be (or was) the ONE shot that you absolutely wanted your photographer to capture? Not the "obvious" ones like first dance, first kiss, cutting cake, etc.

EVEN if you're single, I would love to hear your opinion. Mine? Like I said before ... Jose's face when I walk down the isle. I want to capture that moment and keep it forever! I know the day I'm walking down the isle I'm going to have a million sparks going off in my stomach that it will all be a blur. I want to remember when he first saw me on the path to becoming his wife :)

Woaaah the thought that I WILL be doing that in a few months makes me all jittery and excited! Sometimes I don't think this truly sinks in.

So yeah, what is your MUST HAVE shot if/when you get married?

I have GREAT things in store for you all!! I will be holding a ... GIVE AWAY some time next week. And believe me, this one is truly exciting!!!

AND, I also have a little DIY project I will share with you all... here's a sneak peek ;)

-deep breath-

After plenty of nights working on this till' about 2 a.m. (with a steaming laptop on my lap) -- I took a huge leap into one of my life's goals: my photography business. Photography makes me SO happy. I love doing it without even thinking about charging people, but it got to the point that I wanted to keep growing. Growing means: workshops, new equipment, programs, etc. So while my passion is still a hobby, I definitely want to take this to the next level. And since I can't do it without investment, I pushed myself to create a website I am happy with (and did all my own!) to officially offer my services (my love :) to others.

This is the beginning of my journey. I'm really happy about documenting it because I hope that a year or two from now, I can look back at this and see how I've grown. I'm really scared and THIRSTY. I honest to God think people are beautiful and I am OBSESSED with children! That's probably one of my favorites! I can't wait to have my first "newborn" shoot. AHHH that makes me so excited! God has blessed me so far with these opportunities and I have faith that He'll continue to guide me....

What I did not enjoy in creating my site:
burning laptop on lap
sweating profusely from hot laptop
the stupid logo that is "hidden" in my publisher that I don't know how to UNHIDE!
being self conscious of my photography once it was up on my "official" site
how long a lot of little things take

What I enjoyed:
being able to say I did it on my own!
having SOOO much room to play
inexpensive
did I mention how much room I had to play?
pushing myself

Last, I owe a huge thanks to my love who refers to himself as my "agent" -- haha. He expects me to pay him and post tons of photos of him on my site. Haha, just kidding. Kind of. But really -- you're so good to me :)

Alright, here's my heart on your keyboard: Imaginale Design

My first official "kid" photoshoot. I hope this puts a smile on your face this Monday! Such a beautiful family with love that just spills off their face!