Fresh Face 2012

Congratulations to these two beauties below for winning their age category in the 2012 Fresh Face Contest!

As Emma does every year she has once again picked her favorites for this year. Congrats to the three kiddos below. Please email me to claim a $50 gift certificate valid toward a future session!

We had a total of 47 participants for this years fresh face. Day one was on my own front porch and thank goodness it was! It was windy, cold and we even saw some hail. You would never know by looking at these images below. Day two was perfect beyond words. Partially cloudy and the perfect temperature.  Thank you so much for another great year!

2012 Brings....

I notice everytime I come back to blogging it is about catching up or change. Yep here I go again. I know many of you do not get the newsletter and have missed out on my announcement and other news. So where do I want to start?? hmmmm...How about where the heck have I been???

Back in September I headed to Florida for vacation and a wedding. It was fabulous but I was not feeling fabulous. Feeling a little lazy for not being able to run after my kids or do the simple things I wanted to do made me upset. I decided I needed a change and thats when I started to eat better and exercise. Yes on vacation I started this...nice timing right?! The runs were slow and very hot. However the view was motivating enough to keep me going. Every morning I ran to the waterside and along a private drive with beautiful homes. The last night we were there we staged our own family photo which is my before picture I can use. Once I returned home I joined the Y, entered a few 5k's and changed my eating habits. The last 5 months were hard but worth it. I have lost a total of 30lbs so far. Feeling fabulous at 30 and I can now chase my kids without feeling winded.
Obviously along with this I was working but not as much. During this time I also launched Love Junkies with my friend Sarah Gaylor. Yes changes were being made but I knew more changes needed to be done. So what was next....well here we are.
I started MJP almost 6 years ago with children and family. It was everything to me and still is very near to my heart. However, 2012 bring many exciting changes in my life. Turning 30, the positive response to Love Junkies and the last year I will be offering children and family sessions. It took me many months to make this official. I had to be certain before I announced it. Now I am. Along with this I have changed the pricing structure for this last year. Children and family sessions will now be on a digital plan. I would like to think these new prices will give those a chance to experience MJP who might have not been able to before. I am limited to sessions each month now. I have several set dates per month planned out thru August.

Along with these changes brings more family time and a chance for me to return to school to finish my business degree. Something I really want to finish!

So now you know what I have been up to!

BUT there is still 8 months left in this year and my favorite event is happening next month. Our 5th annual FRESH FACE CONTEST!!! Stay tuned tomorrow as I post dates!

Katelyn and Wes

I remember the day I met Katelyn..in fact it was not hard to forget because when she walked through my door I saw her wearing a bracelet that represented a dear friend of mine who had recently passed. At that moment I knew she was going to be a bride of mine. I am not sure if I really expressed how I felt about it but we both noticed each other wearing them which struck up instant conversation. That day I felt like it was a sign.
 Katelyn and Wes are such a fun loving couple. They had made great choices for picture locations and a great reception spot! They were spot on with her blue shoes and his cool socks. The bridal party was quite fab too and so easy to direct. I think the one thing I will remember most on their wedding day was our quick trip downtown worthington. Katelyn wanted a shot in the middle of the road and we got so lucky! As we were walking, a worthington cop just happen to be turning and stopped traffic for us to grab the bridal party shot. Perfect timing! The night ended perfectly with dancing and drinks.

Many Blessings to you both!

Sam and Brandon

 I was super lucky to have Sarah by my side on this trip. Just the car ride there and back was enough to write a short story on. I will sum our trip up in the car by saying the following...,Hansel and Gretel, yogi bear, getting lost, deer, pulled over by cops, thong and the 3am giggles.

Ok now onto the important stuff....

First I want to thank Brandon and Sam for being so wonderful and flexible during their wedding day. It was such a breath of fresh air to have so much time to photograph just the bride and groom. Next I want to shout out to Sam's mom Berny for being AMAZING to Sarah and I.

We started the day at Kellogg Manor house by photographing the emotional getting ready process of Sam.

 Then we separated. Sarah went off with the guys and I took the girls. It was perfect outside with a slight breeze. The ceremony was beautiful minus my 70-200 fall off and me jumping to catch it (i swear i heard gasps behind me). Of course we finished pictures of family and enjoyed over an hour of photo time with the bride and groom. This was delightful! So relaxing and we accomplished so much. :)
The reception was at the Lawton Community center and there was a really neat museum inside.

All together a marvelous day!

Mackenzie and Josh

So thankful for people like Mackenzie and Josh. They welcomed me with open arms during their wedding. Making it so easy to photograph them and their wedding. The scenery around the church was so fun as you can see. M and J may your lives be full of love and laughter!