February 27, 2007

On Saturday, Danielle and Donnie were married at the Powel Crosley Estate.  The bride, bridesmaids, and flower girls all wore gorgeous gowns.  Dad said the flower girl dresses were some of his favorites of all time.  The ceremony and family pictures finished with enough time for dad to photograph the couple at sunset, with the romantically colored sky reflecting off the water as their background.

After dinner the party began.  The couple looked like they had so much fun during their first dance, including more than one big dip.  The bride stayed on the dance floor most of the night surrounded by friends who had a blast enjoying the music and company.

Dad is guessing that the groom is into fishing, explaining this creative groom's cake.

Congratulations, and enjoy your honeymoon Danielle and Donnie!

Sunday mom and dad both had a fun time with Riley and Frank for their maternity session.  They are expecting their son very soon now; in fact, he was trying to come early so Riley was fresh off of bed rest .  Mom said she hopes she looks as good as Riley did at 34 weeks pregnant! 

When Riley and Frank found out they were having a boy, the first thing they bought was a pair of Adidas sneakers for the baby.

Frank looks so in love already!  What a sweet picture.

Mom loved this picture, showing Riley's beautiful pregnant belly.

It is already obvious that Riley and Frank are going to be wonderful parents.  We cannot wait to meet their baby boy!  Riley is hoping for a St. Patrick's Day baby .

Just a quick update about the boo boo on my eye.  My eye is no longer swollen, but every day it turns a new color.  It was blue, then purple, and now it is turning yellow and green.  Dad says I look like Rocky, but mom just hopes it gets better soon.   

February 23, 2007

Did you know that Whoppers come with mayonnaise on them?  If you did not know, then consider yourself warned because you can go and ask for no onions, no pickles, and no tomatoes but be completely surprised when your burger is served with gross mayonnaise!  I guess that shows how often we eat fast food.

Thanks to those of you who have complimented our new web site.  We're excited about it too, and we are glad to hear the positive feedback about it.

But the point of me blogging today is that I almost forgot to show off the art gallery wraps from our Valentine's Day contest!  They arrived 2 days ago and dad took pictures of them so I could put them on my blog.  The winner of our Favorite Picture contest was Lacy and Joe, and they won an 11x14 Gallery Wrap.  Here is their winning image printed on a gallery wrap.

Gallery wraps come ready to hang on your wall, no frame needed. 

Our second place winners for Favorite Picture were Michelle and Mark.  They won a 10x13 Canvas Print but decided to upgrade to an 11x14 Gallery Wrap as well!

With a gallery wrap, the image is wrapped around a support frame so the picture is still visible on the sides.

All of the winners' prints are in the mail.  We hope you enjoy them, and congratulations again!

Aunt Lora, I hope you are feeling better!  Kidney stones STINK!!  I have a boo-boo too.  Yesterday I was climbing on my play furniture and fell off.  I was very brave and hardly cried, so dad didn't realize I was really hurt until about an hour later when mom pointed out a big bump on my eye that makes my eye half swollen shut.  Today mom told dad to take a picture of my eye but I didn't want him too.  He managed to get one showing my boo-boo before I hid my face.

Later this afternoon, dad took me for a walk and mom told him to bring the camera just in case I would let him take some pictures of my eye.  I kept telling dad, "No take pictures Dada" so there aren't any of my eye.  But when mom was looking through the pictures, she saw these:

At first glance, you might not see anything wrong with these pictures; however, when mom saw them she was DISGUSTED!  Yes, that's me with my hands on the two things that every dog in the neighborhood pees on when they go on their walks.  YUCK!  Mom didn't know dad let me touch those things until she was  going through the pictures.  Good thing mom made me wash my hands when I got home!

February 22, 2007

Have you noticed our new web site?  It is one of the fun changes mom and dad are working on.  They've been working on the site for a while now, but it just went on-line yesterday so we are all excited.  Pretty soon, I'm going to update my blog to match the new site.  Next month, mom, dad, and I are all going to one of the biggest annual photography conventions.  It is hosted by WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) and is in Vegas.  It is going to be so fun!  We are excited to see all the latest and greatest products being offered at the trade show and get some ideas for new albums and options to offer.  So there are lots of great updates in the works!

I meant to show this last time I posted, but here is the super cute Valentine's Day card that I made all by myself for dad.  He LOVED it!

As you can see, the front is a colorful array of my attempts at drawing hearts.  Inside is a cut out of a little boy blowing a kiss inside of a heart which I colored.  On the back, it is hard to see but I taped a small little white felt heart.  Didn't I do a great job?!    

Mom is now in her second trimester!  Her and dad are about to leave to go to a doctor's appointment where they will hear my new little brother or sister's heart beat.  They are going to record the sound so I can hear it, so if it works I'll put it on the blog too!

**Update:  Well, I don't have a sound file to put on line just yet.  Even though mom is almost 15 weeks along, they still weren't able to hear the heart beat using the doppler.  The doctor said the baby was moving around way too much and wouldn't stay in one place long enough for the doppler to pick up the sound.  SOOO, they had another ultrasound and were able to see the baby (and see the heart beat) once again.  He or she is healthy and doing great!  I'll have to wait until the next appointment to share the sound of the heart beat.

February 19, 2007

I know you native Floridians probably disagree, but mom, dad, and I think the weather lately has been BEAUTIFUL!  The sky is a bright blue with fluffy white clouds, the sun is shining, and the wind is blowing (mom loves the wind!)  It hasn't felt that cold out to us in the day time, so on Saturday mom and I spent the day at the park.  We sat by the pond and watched the ducks, we went on the swings and down the slide, and except for one other family we had the entire park to ourselves even though it was a weekend!  How great is that!

Dad spent Saturday with Diedre and Brian at the Kapok in Clearwater.  They are a gorgeous couple and had a gorgeous wedding!

There were lots of great vendors at Diedre and Brian's wedding.  They had Cara from Hearts Video as their videographer, and dad always enjoys working with her.  The florist was Dana Dineen (727-709-1989), and the reception band was City Groove (813-966-3701).  The music for the ceremony was provided by Rosewood Quartet (813-230-8231), and one of the musicians is my Aunt Kellie's friend's dad!  My dad told him he had to check my blog so I could show a picture of him. 

Mom thought it was sweet that during the ceremony, the couple had their mothers and their grandmothers light the unity candle.  It was a really great idea to include their grandmothers in that tradition. 

At the reception, when Diedre and Brian got onto the dance floor for their first dance they seemed to just melt into each other.  The serene smile on Brian's face just perfectly defines the moment. 

With an anniversary so close to Valentine's Day, you just know their marriage is going to be filled with love and romance.  Congratulations newlyweds!

There are going to be big changes at Jason Angelini Photography very soon!  Be sure to stay tuned...

February 14, 2007:  Happy Valentine's Day!

We hope all of you are enjoying a day of romance with the one you love (or, on the other hand, having fun celebrating "Singles Awareness Day"!)  We are spending the day together as a family.  Mom, dad, and I are going to make some homemade Valentines together!

But now the reason many of you are checking the blog today...Our Valentine's Day Contest Results!  We were incredibly touched by the number of people who took the time to vote and support the couples who entered.  The official ending count was 1057 total votes! 

We thought it was so awesome how much effort people put into this contest, and we were shocked that there were couples with over 100 votes who did not win.  So...to share the Valentine's Day love we've decided to give something to the couples that came in second and third place in both categories as well !

In the Favorite Picture category, the winner had 184 votes!  And the winning couple is...

Lacy and Joe!!!!

Congratulations you two!!!  They win a beautiful 11x14 Gallery Wrap ($150 value) of their image.  We'll be sure to show a picture of it on the blog when it gets in.  Joe and Lacy, email us the address where you want it shipped!

Second place goes to the couple in this category that brought in 166 votes.  That couple is:

Michelle and Mark!!!

We loved the interpretation that came from one of their voters:  "I like this picture best because it represents the sun setting on his bachelorhood."

Their second place prize is a 10x13 Canvas Print on Matboard ($75 value) of their image.  Again, email to let us know what address to ship your print to.  Congratulations!

The third place couple had 61 votes, and they are Rachel and Seth!!

They win an 8x10 Metallic Print ($20 value) of their picture.  Let us know if it is going to Florida or Paris .

Congratulations to all three of the couples!!  And now for the Most Romantic Proposal...

Every couple in this category had over 100 votes!  WOW!!  The winner of this category was the couple that had more votes than any one in the entire contest (186 votes)!!!  So congratulations to...

DANIELLE AND MATT:  "The Beach"!!!!

Some of the voters said they like that Matt wrote the story of the proposal.  Matt, being voted Most Romantic means you have a lot to live up to today!  They win a free engagement session with an extra month of their website gallery and an 8x10 portrait statuette of one of their engagement pictures ($155 value).  Just contact dad when you are ready to schedule your session!

Second place in this category had 138 votes (and the most international voters!)  This couple is:

LAUREN AND JAMIE:  "The Airport"!!!

Gotta love the homemade glitter sign .  They win a free engagement session ($75 value), so just give dad a call when you want to set that up.  Congratulations!

With 102 votes (the 5th highest number of votes out of all 12 couples), the third place couple is Mackenzie and Treavor:  "The Beach"!!

An afternoon of kayaking with a ring hidden in a seashell...not only is that romantic, but that is perfect for Florida!  They win a $20 gift certificate to use towards whatever Jason Angelini Photography products or services that they choose.  Email us and let us know where you would like this mailed.

Thank you to everyone who entered, and congratulations to all the winners.  We had so much fun with this contest and we hope all of you did as well!  If you would like to read the details and past blog entries, or view all the pictures and read the proposal stories, click our Valentine's Day Contest archive page.

February 12, 2007

Dad's engagement session yesterday was at the beach with Leslie and Michael.  It was a cloudy evening which made the sky beautiful!  It also made it a bit cold for Leslie, and for dad's feet when he walked into the water to get a different angle.  Here are a couple pictures of Leslie and Michael having fun at the beach:

After dark, dad took the couple down the main road for a few pictures.

Leslie and Michael had a four hour drive back to Jacksonville that night!  We hope you had a fun road trip home .

February 11, 2007

Yesterday was such a fun day!  We had a small get together for some of the couples that live near us.  Thanks for everyone who came over to hang out with me, mom, and dad.  We all enjoyed it, but mom said it was especially great for her to be able to meet everyone since she is usually "behind-the-scenes" and only sees people through their pictures.

I had fun showing off my toys and playing ball and making a mess with the napkins.  Everyone was really nice to me and I got to play all day!  People thought it was funny when they asked about the baby and lifted up my shirt to show them my belly.  I don't get it!  If mom can say her belly is a baby, why can't I?

Thanks again to everyone who came to spend the afternoon with us.  It really was a great time and mom, dad, and I all enjoyed seeing all of you!  We have the BEST couples ever!!!

Right now, dad is at the beach for an engagement session so I'll be sure to show some pictures tomorrow!

February 7, 2007

Someone pointed out to us that next year, June 7th falls on a Saturday, making the day a memorable one for a wedding:  6-7-8 !

But now I'll tell you about 2-3-07, Jessica and Tom's wedding date.  Jessica is a friend of one of our couples who were married last July.  Her and Tom were married at Indian Rocks Baptist Church with their reception following at the Island Way Grill.  The bride's shoes were white satin with black lace accents.  Mom thought they were fabulous!

The church had such dramatic lighting that really set the mood for the ceremony.  The couple added to it by having tall candles line the entire aisle leading to the stage where they stood with their bridal party. 

After the ceremony, Jessica and Tom left in a Rolls Royce Limo.  Talk about going out in style!  They hired Jack Venable for the Rolls Royce (727-457-4444).  On the way to the reception, the couple stopped by the beach for some pictures.  It was just starting to lightly rain but they stayed outside, enjoying the moment in the beautiful setting.  Mom said she loved that the couple stayed in the rain because it gave them some gorgeous pictures!  That's a benefit of professional equipment; dad's camera is weather resistant . 

Mike Alstott and Dave Moore are part-owners of Island Way Grill, so it was great that Mike Alstott was there that evening and the bride was able to get a picture with him!  Dad said the food there was delicious!  Maybe that means he'll take mom out to dinner there one night soon...    

Caitlin Allwood (www.myspace.com/caitlinallwood) sang "At Last" for the couple during the reception.  Dad saw that someone had a CD of hers and when he asked about it, they gave him one too!  He listened to it on the way home from the wedding that night and said she is a good singer!

Jessica, Tom, and their families are great people.  Thanks for having us share this day with you!

When Sari and Nick chose their wedding date, they didn't even realize it was the same day as the Superbowl.  They are into hockey and as Sari says, "It's not the Stanley Cup playoffs!"  It didn't matter what day it was to the couple's guests.  They came from all over, as far as Paris and Vancouver, to share the day with the couple.

Sari is such a pretty bride.  Here is a picture of her getting her makeup done.

You can see that Sari and Nick are not only so in love, but they are also best friends.  Nick kept checking in with Sari as she got ready, making sure everything was going okay.  As they walked in from the parking lot of the Florida Botanical Gardens (where their ceremony would be held), Nick even carried Sari's dress for her!

The Rabbi for the ceremony was one that dad has worked with before and really enjoys working with.  We'll ask Sari for his name so we can tell everyone because he is great.  The couple had an awesome Chuppah!  It was so colorful and the fabric draped down all the pillars.

Sari and Nick's reception was on the Starlite Majesty.  The cake had a king and queen chess piece to decorate it, which is a cute touch.  Some of the guests were on their cell phones checking the Superbowl scores, and there was at least one small t.v. spotted, but for the most part people were more interested in enjoying the night and celebrating Sari and Nick's love.  Congratulations to Sari and Nick!

Dad took me outside to play with my cars last week (before he left for his busy weekend!) and took these pictures of me that mom thought were cute.

February 6, 2007

Dad got home last night and I'm so happy.  I missed him lots and lots.  He keeps trying to catch up on phone calls and such and I just follow him around the house to play with him.  He said one of the photographers who spoke at the seminar he went to yesterday was a celebrity wedding photographer and it was lots of fun hearing his stories about the famous actors and actresses.

I'll be back tomorrow with pictures from the weddings dad photographed last weekend.

February 4, 2007

Dad is away on his busy weekend.  He had a wedding yesterday and today, and he will be at a photography seminar tomorrow.  I miss him!  When he gets home to tell me about everything he did, I'll have lots to talk about for the blog.

A few days ago, dad took me to the pond to feed the ducks.  We had a really fun time!  We brought a whole loaf of bread because there are lots of ducks there.  I helped myself to a few bites too.

Ducks up close are not as cute as they are in my books, or as my rubber duckies are.  They are all bumpy and weird looking in person.  Dad says that they were kinda gnarly looking, but they were still cool.

Dad and I felt bad for one of the ducks.  It was walking really slowly around the pond to get to where we were throwing the bread.  Dad noticed that one of its wings did not move, which is why it didn't fly over like many of the other ducks did.  We were sure to give that poor duck lots of extra bread.

Another duck was really demanding of the bread.  It came up really close to me and dad and even hissed!  Dad moved me away and I told the duck, "GO DUCK!  EAT DUCK!" and pointed out all the bread we had already thrown over toward the pond.  The duck didn't want to get away from me though, so dad stomped around and told it to "Shoo."  It finally walked away.

Today of course is Superbowl Sunday!  Mom says she is happy that I like football so she can watch the game with me.  I like to cheer and yell at the TV just as mom does when games are on.  We are cheering for the Colts, though I am a bit confused about that because we rooted against them when they played the Patriots a couple weeks ago.  Aunt Kellie doesn't really like football, but she is hanging out with us too.  I think she's more excited about the pizza and mozzarella sticks then the game. 

**Late night update:  The Superbowl just finished and mom and I had to add how moving we thought Tony Dungy's post-game speech was.  He brought up Christian values and his faith when he was presented with the Vince Lombardi trophy.  When asked about being the first African American coach to win the Superbowl, he said he was proud of that but more proud of being a Christian coach, doing it the Lord's way.  It is said that he never raises his voice or swears and instead leads his team by earning their respect.  Congratulations to Tony Dungy and the Colts! 

Since Aunt Lora says she is going to read my blog more often, I just wanted to say Hi Aunt Lora!