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the people: annette & mark: trash the dress ~ laguna beach

htrainor — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:00:20 +0000

The big box sits, taking up room in a already full closet, crammed toward the back, covered in the offspring of dust bunnies gone by. It cost a fortune to buy and another fortune to launder and you wore it once…for about 12 hours. You’ll never wear it again, especially after the 5 -ahem–okay, 15 lbs of baby weight you have yet to lose –even though the “baby” is 5 now.

The dress I wanted for my wedding day was $8,000. My mom flatly refused, steering me toward the traditional Asian route of renting a dress for the big day. I hated that dress and would gladly “trash” it given the chance.

My friend Michelle (milaPhotography ) calls her trash the dress sessions, “One More Time.” Since not all “trash the dress” sessions actually TRASH your wedding dress. It just gets exposed to things that normally a wedding dress doesn’t get exposed to on a wedding day — like salt water and sand, paint and cake…

So what are you going to do with your wedding dress? Breed another colony of dust bunnies or pull it out, put it on and do something FUN with it.

When Annette contacted me to do a Trash the Dress session, she told me she wanted to trash her dress two days after her wedding at the beach. IN JANUARY. I told her it might be cold, but as long as she didn’t care, seeing as she was the one getting in the water, I was up for it. Lucky for her, it was 75 degrees that day. (Hello, California!)

So, with perfect weather and perfect sunset, we frolicked in the waves and amused the beach goers who normally don’t get to see a bride and groom swimming fully clothed in wedding attire.

CONTACT ME to schedule your trash the dress session! 951.264.1710

my life: dealing with burn out (mandatory furloughs)

htrainor — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 15:47:46 +0000

When you work from home, there are no days off. Even if I hired on a full time housekeeper, chef, and personal assistant. And if I threw my laptop, phone, and iPhone into the ocean, I still wouldn’t have a day off. Too much to do. Every day is consumed with the day job, homeschooling, cleaning, cooking, mothering, wife-ing and every night is editing, blogging, brainstorming and creating. In the in between times, there’s also network meetings, planning Shootouts, Choir Practices, and of course, Facebooking and Twittering.

So, every 4 months or so, I get burnt out. My to do list seems like an endless, reproducing monster that is covered in scratches, scribbles and tears. The top of my desk is piled with papers and post-its, pens and camera gear, markers and discs. My house and car are deplorable messes and my refrigerator is empty. When my world is in this state, I take a few moments, freak out and then stick my nose to the grindstone and start again.

Every other month, I force myself to have a furlough day. Joe Photo organizes a club on the [b]school called, “Day Trippin’” It’s basically a playdate for photographers. It’s also my mandatory day off. I made a commitment to go no matter how long my to do list is, how high the laundry is piled up and how many emails I have to write.

It forces me to pause and let my creative side play for the day. November’s Day Trip was to the streets of Laguna.

Since I am always shooting people, I tried to challenge myself to only shoot objects.

“The Loose Screw…literally.”

I had to break my “objects only” challenge when I saw “The Cowboy.”

the events: wine, cheese & art ~ pacific edge hotel

htrainor — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 05:58:43 +0000

I’m not really a wine drinker and I think art is okay. But I get really excited about cheese. Not cheese as in cheese-y, but cheese as in dairy product goodness found in the four essential food groups – pizza, fondue, spinach artichoke dip and Mexican food. So, when my friend, Mary Lallande – Venue Concierge at the FABULOUS Jay’s Catering, asked me if I wanted to shoot an event at the Pacific Edge Hotel, she had me at the word, “Cheese.”

If you remember, I did a bridal shoot at the hotel a few months ago. Check it out HERE.

Michelle of mila photography and I ate, hung out, shot some pictures, and ate some more. The ambiance was a perfect touch of simplicity and modern goodness thanks to Fusion Linens.

Jay’s Catering never disappoints with their yumminess. If you need a caterer for ANY event or wedding, you should call them!

Flowers were designed by French Buckets (you are gonna see more of their amazing work on this blog soon!!)

Desserts provided by Pacific Bakery and the floral arrangement by Blooms and Kisses:

Music provided by the Blue Breeze Band

What is a Laguna Beach event without art?

And fabulous people. Check out this spectacular hat!

Friends: The Wedding Jeannie – you need this woman to plan your wedding! Jeff Sipper – half of the Sipper Photography team and the adorable Tracy Norred of Serendipity Images

Upcoming Forecast: Family Classic Cars First Friday Event