Christa & Cory love snow.  Christa says that they are both winter babies (both born in February) and she really wanted to have snowy engagement pictures.  We knew we had to have the shoot done to get their save the dates designed, so we scheduled it for just a couple days after Christmas, and crossed our fingers.  Considering we hadn’t had much at the time, I wasn’t going to get my hopes up.  So, you could say I was a little excited when I woke up that day to some pretty great fluffy snow. Just enough for great photos, but not too much to make the roads bad for our trip up to Columbus.  We even had some start to fall at the end of the session, it was perfect.

They are one of the sweetest couples and I am so excited to be apart of their exciting year!  Thanks for a great shoot guys…and for letting me photograph Eva…she’s adorable!

Could this look any more cozy?! I’m thinking no.

Image credit: Justin, oh, and it just happens to be one of my favorites.  Sometimes I get a little jealous ;)

Image credit…you guessed it ;)  Justin.

Love this one:

Christa & Cory, you two are awesome…we had soo much fun on this shoot, and I know that your wedding is going to be even better!  How about you move it from November to…uh, next month? Great!

My job is centered around love, and I realize not many people can say that.  The purpose in what I do is to document the love people have for one another.  Whether that be a family, newborns, wedding days…it’s all centered around people that want to document their relationships.  A perk that comes along with this job is that I have made the most amazing friends from my clients.  I typically leave a wedding feeling like I’ve known the bride & groom (and usually the entire wedding party & families) for years.  I am in awe that I get to watch kids grow up…maternity shoots, newborn shoots, 6 month shoots, 1 year shoots…it’s amazing to watch them grown and become the amazing people they are.  Megan Steve & Cade are no exception, they are as sweet & kindhearted as one can be.  Megan and I have been emailing back and forth since before her shoot…we even are having lunch just to catch up!  The best part…I have been asked to document these first amazing years of Cade’s life (and hopefully many more to come…I better do those senior pictures Megan ;)  We already have a date planned for Cade for his birthday shoot in October.

Obviously I am feeling very grateful today ;)

Thank you to all my amazing clients.  Thank you for not only allowing me to photograph your lives, but to become your friend.  It’s an honor.

**love** this photo…so much.

What are you thankful for today?

First off I want to say, Happy 2010!!!  It’s gonna be an amazing year for Cassidy Dawn Photography and we are soo happy it’s here!  We’ve are currently halfway booked for weddings for the year, and lots & lots of inquires rolling in from the holidays, so be sure to email soon about your date before it’s gone!  We also have quite a few requests for fall photos…so if you were hoping to have a fall session, please let me know so I can get you on the list…if this year is anything like last year, the dates will go fast!

I’ve been missing on here lately (I warned you ;), but that’s only because of everything we have going on!  Not only was Christmas perfect (like always), I had the best New Year yet!  Actually, I kept forgetting that it was New Year’s Eve & Day…to me, it was moving day :)  We are thrilled to finally be living in our too cute little house and happy to be homeowners. Not to mention we finally have both pets under our roof…it’s too cold for my baby to be living outside ;) Thomas & Sayid are…um, co-existing…but I am sure they will soon become great friends…or at least acquaintances ;)  Oh, and thanks to all our family & friends that helped us move.  I was in awe all day at the love that was shown by them.  Not only did we have people helping us move everything we own (which is too much ;), but we had neighbors stopping by to welcome us (we go to church with most of our neighbors!), our friends/neighbors even fixed lunch for all our helpers (a yummy fish fry!).  I am telling you, I don’t think we could be in a better place.  Loving every minute of it :)

Okay, now onto what you really want to see…pictures! Right in the middle of fall this year I got to photograph Joe.  I’ve known Joe for a couple years now, and knew we would have a great time.  He’s crazy talented and he picked some amazing spots for our shoot.  Joe, you’re pretty great.  That’s all I have to say :)

My favorite!!  I’ve actually been wanting to shoot in a field like this for a while…thanks Joe :)

We had to sneak in a few of Cydney…she’s actually gone on a few shoots with me to help with the reflector.  She’s pretty great too.

Don’t forget, I’m leaving on Thursday for Nashville for a photo conference…so it will be boring on here again, but I am sure I’ll sneak on a time or two with updates.  I’m still posting shoots from October, so you can imagine how much I still have to show you!

I just had to share one of my new favorite images of all time.  Really.

It combines so many things I love.  Great light, beautiful wedding attire, a little shout out to the best state ever, and of course…an adorable dog. Yep, expect this to be front and center when I finally update the website ;)

More of this beautiful wedding tomorrow!!

er, are….

Audrey Haydon & Whitney Scully!!!

Congrats ladies!  Contact me soon and let me know which photo you’d like…however in this case, I haven’t posted Whitney’s session & I haven’t photographed Audrey yet (this weekend in DC), so you can hold off till they are posted.

I decided to draw 2 names for 2 reasons.

1. I avoided the drawing because I didn’t feel like making a video (then didn’t)…

2. I was overwhelmed by the amount of entries…you all know how to make a girl feel special :)

Sorry for the short post, I have more to do in the next 2 weeks than I can even describe…got to get back to work.

Here are a few of my favorite Polaroids from the weekend!

*for those that asked, my new camera is a Polaroid 600se (the only professional Polaroid ever made…it’s fabulous and I love it so much!).  I bought it more for personal projects & photos, however, I don’t know how I will resist bringing it to a shoot or two ;)

I love this photo more than you could ever know. I love my boys :)

Chelsea & Matt (and a sneak peak of sayid…)

My office view…

Have a great start to your week!

In all honesty, I was completely petrified to do this shoot.  I didn’t tell Heidi that.

I love my job and the creativity that it allows me to have…however, on this day – I was thinking that a little cubicle would be nice…well, not really ;)  I’ve never photographed a maternity shoot, and frankly, I had no idea what I was going to do when it came to poses.  That is, until I got there.  After that, any photographer knows, it just happens…and when your subject looks like Heidi…your job’s not too hard at all!  I was really just nervous about posing and not making everything look the same and uncomfortable.  Heidi is so easy to photograph that I should have not even thought another thing about it…it all just happened, and we even tried a new look (outdoor backdrop)!

*disclamer…we liked the wrinkles…it’s more organic. no comments on my lack of ironing ;)

You are so beautiful.

love this one.

I love these images. Heidi, thank you so much for allowing me to photograph this amazing time in your life.  It means the world to me that I can keep coming back and witnessing such wonderful moments in your life.  Your wedding was beautiful, your little belly is adorable, and I can’t wait to meet & photograph precious baby Sharp.  Oh, and you would you just tell him/her to come already…I wanna meet them! ;)

Heidi is due any day…along with the 12 other beautiful pregnant ladies I know…seriously, I know a lot of babies on their way!

I met Heather & Evan last February at Schlegel’s in town.  We talked about their wedding while warming up over hot chocolate (well, that’s what I had…coffee & I aren’t friends).  Heather was describing all of the details she was planning into her day.  There’s a good chance that I crossed my fingers under the table in hopes that I could be there too.  The wedding sounded dreamy, absolutely dreamy.  To my delight, I heard from them soon after our meeting and was so excited for September 5th to come around.

We had the most perfect, warm day, and guess what?  The wedding was every bit as dreamy as I had expected.  Heather & Evan did a wonderful job planning all of the details of the day.  I love looking back at the pictures and remembering little aspects of the day: Heather’s anticipation while she waited for Evan to walk up during their first look, their crazy, sweet bridal party…I think I made a few friends that day, the stunning ceremony…in one of my favorite churches to photograph.  Everything about the day was perfect…here’s a little look at what I saw.

Elliott Mathis did it again.  The flowers of the day were stunning!

You know I love when the bride & groom decide to see each other before the ceremony.  It’s also soo romantic!  One of the first things I noticed about Heather when we first met was her face when she would look up at Evan.  Adorable. For example, see bottom photo left & right ;)

The entire wedding party attire came from She Said Yes! in Chillicothe!

Heather’s gift from Evan…so sweet!

Evan’s a firefighter in town, and he had a couple visitors right after the wedding…loved that!

The poor couple got pounded with birdseed…I mean, really…it was everywhere!

I’m a sucker for a great car.

The reception was held at The Madison in Chillicothe.  It was my first time shooting there, and I was in love!  I can’t wait for more wedding receptions here, the venue was gorgeous, the staff was amazing, and the architecture…well, you can’t beat it.

Cakes from the oh, so fabulous…Erin of the Cake Kitchen!

Evan & Heather now share an anniversary with his Grandparents. They did the sweetest dedication for them.  Heather was also wearing Evan’s grandmother’s pearls that she wore on her wedding day.  The whole thing was so beautiful…and yes, I may have teared up…just a little ;)

I don’t know where to start on the reception dancing.  Hands down it was the best dancing reception I have ever been to.  I do believe it was a combination of 2 things.  One: Amazing guests that have crazy awesome moves. Two: the most amazing DJ’s I’ve encountered thus far. (plug time)  Rick & Dawn May (info below)…will here on out be the premiere DJ’s for Chillcothe and surrounding areas (in my mind)…they are so talented…and so great at what they do.

As a photographer, I am going to let you in on a secret…we aren’t big fans of the gimmicky dances.  It’s true. Dollar dance, generation dance…YMCA…ugh.  However, Rick & Dawn made them so fun!  The dollar dance contained fast paced current songs, and it was not only entertaining, but funniest thing I’ve seen in a while.  Oh, and the hats below where a huge hit during the YMCA.  They played the perfect mix of classics & down right great dancing songs.

So just know, if you are going to ask me a suggestion for a DJ…I will only have one answer.  Rick & Dawn May of May Audio Visual.  They are the best.  Oh, and I might beg you to hire them, so I can work with them again. :)

You can’t end a wedding without a little Journey. It’s just wrong not to.

Heather & Evan, you two are the best! Thank you so much for choosing me to spend the day along your side, capture memories that would help you remember this day for years to come.  I am more honored & blessed than you may ever know.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Vendors:

Photography: Cassidy Dawn Photography ;)

Flowers: Elliot Mathis, Chillicothe Ohio (740.775.1220)

Attire: She Said Yes! Chillicothe Ohio

Church: First Presbyterian Church, Chillicothe, Ohio

Reception: The Madison, Chillicothe Ohio (740.637.0126)

Cater: Touch of Class catering, Brian Curtis (awesome pasta bar!) (740.626.7100)

Cake: Erin Allsop, The Cake Kitchen

DJ: May Audio Visual, Chillicothe Ohio (740.701.0732)

One more thing: Brides, we are booking fast here at Cassidy Dawn Photography for the 2010 wedding year.  We are currently over half-way booked for the year…and days are going quickly.  If you were hoping we could photograph your wedding day, contact us soon so we can reserve your date!  We’d love to be there :)

I love this couple, these picture, and these new locations…what a wonderful shoot!

How adorable are they?! I knew I was excited about this shoot…but I was even more excited proofing the pictures.  I love them so much. This couple is so sweet together and were soo easy to photograph.  I absolutely can’t wait to photograph their wedding this December!

We had a great time walking around finding new spots for photos.  I usually have a couple ideas of where to go, or at least a street to walk down, but I always give myself one challenge:  Don’t do the same thing as everyone else. It’s common here to use the same things over and over again.  It gets so boring–at least use them in a way you haven’t before! I am excited to do more shoots downtown and find new places to use!

Who knew how great the Courthouse could look in engagement pictures?!

Did I mention the light? Oh, my the light.

Left: favorite.

Oh, another favorite!

And just a couple other things to note: this weekend is the Annual Fall Festival of Leaves here in Bainbridge, Ohio (where I live ;).

It’s one of my favorite times of the year; be sure to come out and enjoy our beautiful village!  I’ve even taken the weekend off to enjoy it. Today is a day full of spending time with my husband (he’s off today) and my puppy, then the Paint Valley football game (50 years of football!) this evening. Saturday will be Festival time & a baby shower. On Sunday it’s back to the Festival again for church and the parade :). It’s going to be a great weekend! Oh, and if you have extra energy at night…feel free to come help our youth group sweep the town streets, a yearly tradition (and we take all the help we can get ;)!

One last thing, if you need a laugh, head over to my friend Blake’s blog and read about a new game he created…and a little about yours truly.  I read a lot (and I mean a lot) of blogs, and Blake’s is by far the funniest blog I read…so I promise, you won’t be disappointed!  (I’m still laughing at that post!)

Have a wonderful weekend…hope to see you on the streets of Bainbridge!!!

It’s that time of year again!  Christmas cards are ready!

I am really excited for this years options…I hope you all like them too :)

All cards are 5×7 flat cards with a linen texture, and they come with envelopes!  They are also completely customizable…so if you’d like to change a color or two, or maybe the wording, just let me know!  The back also will have room for a message if that’s something you are interested in!

To order yours, just use the online ordering site…or if your gallery has expired, send me an email!  The deadline for ordering is November 16th (this will ensure you will have them in time to send by December 1st…if that’s a goal ;)

*if you are a client on the cards templates, thanks for being so cute…

“I never look good in pictures”.

If I could only tell you how often I hear this.  Right as we started Myriah said that exact statement, so after I took the very first shot I turned the camera to her and she said…”wow, I really like that one!”, then smiled.  Trust me folks, we don’t believe in making people look bad in photos…it’s not what we do :)

Thanks for a great shoot Myriah, I know it was a little warm that evening, but you totally stuck it out and nailed every single shot.  I hope you love your photos…I do!  Have an amazing senior year at Greenfield!

Oh, by the way…you do look good in pictures ;)

*love* this one…oh, and these too!