VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL

**All spots for the Valentine's Day Special have all been booked,

but contact us to schedule your own For His Eyes Only session** 

Need to find a Valentine's Day gift your fiance or husband will love?  A  For His Eyes Only  session is the perfect playful and romantic surprise.  These pictures are tasteful and above all fun.  It isn't a nude session; often it is what you don't show that makes the image seductive.

Our Valentine's Day special includes a  For His Eyes Only  session with a password protected gallery which you can use to choose your favorite images.  These will be put into a beautiful fabric covered folio with a Swiss ribbon enclosure as your gift to your special someone.  We are offering this special for $250, with the CD of all images available for an additional cost.

We will only be doing five  For His Eyes Only  sessions, and you do not need to be one of our current wedding or portrait clients.  The special is available only to the first five people who book.  The session must take place on a weekday this month so pick out your favorite pair of high heels and schedule your session right away!

January 24, 2008

WE'RE ON VACATION!!!

We will be out of town until late Tuesday night, so if you need to get in touch with dad it would be best to call him (813-240-6611).  We are headed to Colorado for some fun in the SNOW!  We are all very excited to build snowmen, go sledding, maybe even ride a dog sleigh, and to just enjoy the beautiful winter weather that mom and dad miss so much.

THANKS FROM NONNA

The prayers and well-wishes sent from all of you to Nonna were great.  We gave her the book at her birthday dinner tonight and she loved it.  She said to sincerely thank all of you who sent her a message.  Prayer is an awesome thing;  today Nonna got good news from her doctor.  They told her that the radiation seems to be helping!

SIBLING SESSION IN TAMPA

On Monday dad went to Tampa to photograph two sisters and their little brother.  Their grandma wanted some pictures of them dressed up so their mom called dad for the session.

The three of them were so funny!  Dad said that even though they are all close in age, they are all very different from each other.  Their personalities came through in the pictures and the session was lots of fun.  Here are a few of the images:

Dad said this girl seemed to love having her picture taken:

I think I need to try a button up jacket the next time I dress up.

This is mom's favorite!  Their expressions are so cute.

January 22, 2008

FOR NONNA'S BIRTHDAY

We are so touched by the kindness of everyone who has sent messages of care, concern, and prayers for Nonna as her 80th birthday gift.  We are going to wait until Thursday morning before binding the book for her, so please keep them coming!  We want her to have a big fat book to carry with her when she goes for her treatments.

If you didn't see our original request, we are asking everyone to send a message to Nonna that we can then print out and make into a book.  Nonna's 80th birthday is Thursday and whenever she is asked what she wants she always says prayers.  She is battling an aggressive cancer and would love prayers for her health and strength.

Please help us give her an awesome birthday gift.  Send an email to either jasonangelini@aol.com or jasonangeliniphotographyorders@yahoo.com (with "Nonna's Birthday" in the subject line) by Wednesday night so we can get the book made for Nonna on her birthday.

ABBY AND JOSH'S WEDDING

On Saturday Abby and Josh were married at Christ the King Catholic Church in Tampa with their reception following at Maggiano's.  Dad said Abby and Josh were so nice and their day was relaxed and full of happiness.  Dad knew it was a special day when early on he found that Abby's bouquet could stand up all by itself!  Abby tried to get it to do so again balancing it on her hand, but it wasn't as cooperative then.

Abby bowing her head during prayer:

Abby looking beautifully bridal:

After the ceremony, dad went with the bridal party to the University of Tampa for some pictures.  It was the first Saturday dad was at UT when there wasn't another wedding, engagement session, or family session there as well!

The newlyweds:

The reception dinner at Maggiano's had family style food and lots of it!  Dad said it was all delicious.  One of the favors was beer that the bride's dad brewed.  The label warned the guests that they were "Not Responsible for Over-Consumption."  How funny!

Congratulations to Abby and Josh.  Enjoy your cruise!

ANNIVERSARIES

While at Maggiano's dad saw some family members of a bride who was married in 2005.  January 8th was their 3 year anniversary, so Happy Anniversary to Marie and Adam!

Also, the 21st was the 2nd anniversary for Allison and James.  We hope you had fun going through your album and looking back on your day.  Dad is going to be photographing their daughter's 1 year pictures soon and I can't wait to see her again so we can play!

So since we did a 3 year and a 2 year, we have to say Happy Anniversary to our couples celebrating their 1st anniversary this month!

Katy and John, Kristen and Dwight, Laura and Remy, Tanya and Ricky, and Emily and Steve

Happy 1 Year!

January 21, 2008

JUST UNDER TWO WEEKS LEFT FOR THE VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL

We still have two spots left for our Valentine's Day special.  Be sure to schedule your session right away.  Mom and dad did a session yesterday with a recent newlywed and said everyone had lots of fun!

NONNA'S BIRTHDAY REQUEST

Many of you who follow my blog have read about Nonna, who is fighting a very aggressive and rapidly spreading cancer.  She is trying to stay positive as she does so, but of course this is a difficult time for her.  Thursday is her 80th Birthday!!!  When she first found out she had cancer, doctors were unsure how long she would be with us, so her 80th birthday was a goal for her.  When anyone asks her what she wants for her big birthday, she says all she wants is prayers.  Mom thought an awesome gift would be just that, lots of prayers for Nonna's health and strength.

We have a special request of all of you for Nonna's birthday gift.  We want to get as many people as possible to send Nonna a short note letting her know people are praying for her.  We'll print them all out and bind them together to give her a book of encouragement and prayers for her birthday gift.  So we are asking everyone to please send us an email with a note for Nonna sometime before this Wednesday, the 21st, when we will take them all to be bound together. 

We know this is only 2 days away, but we are hoping to get lots and lots of prayers for her to celebrate such a special birthday so please send in an email and ask others you know to do so as well.  You can send the emails to either jasonangelini@aol.com or jasonangeliniphotographyorders@yahoo.com and put "Nonna's Birthday" in the subject line.  What a wonderful birthday gift it will be to show her that she is surrounded by the power of prayer.

January 15, 2008

MAGEAN AND ADAM'S WEDDING

The Lange Farm is truly a beautiful location for a wedding.  Michelle is always so helpful and the grounds there have so many great places for pictures.  Dad was excited to go there again for Magean and Adam's wedding on Saturday.

But before heading to Lange Farm, dad met up with the groom at Saddlebrook Resort.  While the girls were starting their hair and makeup, the guys were outside enjoying a game of golf.  A while ago, Magean's dad told Adam that he couldn't marry his daughter unless he could beat him in a game of golf.  The morning of his wedding, Adam ended up as the winner of the game.

I wonder what would have happened if he didn't win?  It just so happened that this guy was hanging out on the golf course too.

It takes a sassy girl to wear a leopard print sassy garter!

Adam couldn't take his eyes off of Magean the entire ceremony:

I warned you that Magean was sassy!

This picture of their first dance just had to be bigger to do it justice.  What a ROMANTIC moment!!  You can feel the connection between them just by looking at this picture.

Doug Decker from Grant Hemond was the DJ and did a great job as he always does.  The reception was a fun time.  Dad loved that the couple had wine bottles personalized with one of their engagement pictures out on the tables.  Magean is a Chi Omega alumna so during the reception all of her sorority sisters formed a circle around her and sang her a song ending in a loud cheer!

The newlyweds:

This wedding was a great blend of Sassy and Romantic .  Thanks for having dad there and congratulations!

CHECK YOUR EXPIRATION DATES

One of mom's New Year's goals was to cook a "real dinner" more often.  We were eating too many heat and serve dinners and mom wanted to use fresh foods to prepare and cook good meals.  Dad is loving it!  But the other day as mom was taking the Cilantro Chicken out of the oven, she burnt her wrist and got a gross burn.  As she was looking every where for the burn cream, she found old medication in some of our first aid kits.  Once she dealt with the burn, she looked through all the medicine and there was some that expired in 1997!  Dad said they should keep it as a momento of the year they started dating, but mom instead cleaned out the medicine cabinet and first aid kits so nothing expired is left.  We thought this would serve as a good reminder for all of you to do the same.  You don't want to catch a cold and end up using Dayquil that expired ten years ago!

January 11, 2008

KYLA AND COREY

Dad had a meeting with Kyla and Corey a couple days ago.  When I came home from the park, I went in to go say hi.  They had decided to book dad for their October wedding (which is going to be great!) so I wanted to take a picture of them.  This is a family business after all!  Mom already emailed it to Kyla but I told her that since this is my blog, some of my pictures should be on here.  So here is the picture I took of Kyla and Corey (and dad):

As you can see from the picture, the flash on my camera is already broken!  Mom doesn't think it has worked since I got it but she didn't keep the receipt after her and dad gave it to me for Christmas.

BATHROOM BASKET IDEA

The baskets that many couples put in the bathrooms for their guests are a thoughtful detail.  Mom immediately thought of them when she saw soap imprinted with an initial and a matching monogrammed dish on the Anthropologie website.

Personalized Pair Soap & Dish Set

www.anthropologie.com

How cute would it be to have soap and a soap dish with your new last name's initial in the bathroom! 

MY OWN VESPA?!

I am trying to convince mom and dad that they should get me a Vespa and I'd let dad use it for his portrait sessions with other kids.  They said no way, but it still looks like it would be so fun!

Classic Child's Vespa

www.hammacher.com

Dad will be at the Lange Farm for a wedding tomorrow and Hyde Park for a fun family session Sunday so I'll have more pictures to share soon!

January 8, 2008

WHAT A FUN SESSION!!

Dad said he thinks his Trash the Dress session with Sarah, Rob, and their friends on Sunday was his most fun session yet!  Sarah won the session for free in our Most Creative Session blog contest in November.  During a break from the conference he is attending, dad met up with Sarah, Rob, and most of their wedding party at Jungle Games paintball field.  Dad said it wasn't just going paintballing that made it a good time (you can't go wrong shooting paintballs at a wedding gown), but it was everyone having a blast and getting really into the entire experience.  They are a great group of friends. 

This was the first Trash the Dress session dad has done where the bride's dress really was trashed (see Bronwyn, it is possible.)  And because Sarah is too good of a friend to ask her bridesmaids to buy a dress they can only wear once, she gave them the excuse to put on their gowns again.  When their dresses weren't getting as painted as they wanted, the girls just broke the paintballs open themselves!

Dad wants to thank Sarah and Rob so much for putting this together and for paying for him to play a round.  He loved it!!!  He says to give him a call next time you plan another paintballing trip.  Here are some pictures from this awesome session:

Sarah being stealthy:

Take a closer look at the bridesmaid's arm this one...dad caught this just before impact!

Paintball Warriors:

Now THAT is a trashed dress.

Awww, newlyweds.  Kisses even through giant face masks.

Okay, whose next with a creative way to trash their dress for a session?! 

January 7, 2008

GENELLE AND ERIC'S WEDDING

On Saturday Dad went to Edson Keith Mansion for Genelle and Eric's wedding.  The couple planned their wedding from Maryland and when mom saw the pictures she was just amazed at what a wonderful job they did with every detail.  The attention to detail showed...the consistent font used in everything, the bathroom basket, the ivy covered wedding sign at the ceremony with the ivy and gorgeous pink flowers decorating the arch, the unity candles that were made to stay lit even in the wind, the choreographed first dance, the monograms...it all came together so beautifully that we decided to do something different with this blog entry.  Here is an inspiration board with pictures from the wedding showing their orange and pink, fun and playful wedding theme:

The giant sunglasses were my favorite part, and dad loved the pink and orange square cake and the candy buffet.  Mom thought the framed poems that decorated the reception were such a nice touch.  They were matted in a pretty textured orange and pink paper.

He was part of my dream,

of course

but then,

I was part of his dream

too.

And another mom liked::

And hand in hand

on the edge of the sand,

They danced by the light of

the moon

the moon

the moon

They danced by the light of

the moon

Darla Stafford did Genelle's hair and makeup, the flowers were by Always an Occasion Florist, and Mark Plaster was the officiant.

Genelle and Eric, congratulations on your gorgeous day!

January 5, 2008

FRIDAY AT THE BEACH

Dad spent Friday evening at Clearwater beach with a family who was in town from Indiana to celebrate the holidays with their mom.  It was a bit chilly that night and though dad loves that weather, the poor youngest girl had a cold.  She was a trooper though.  Everyone had fun tossing a football around and enjoying the beach.  Here are some of their pictures:   

Check out this sunset!  Mark actually proposed to his wife right near where this picture was taken.

We wish you could have enjoyed more of the warm Florida weather before heading back to Indiana, but we are jealous of your winter weather up there!  Have a good trip back, and Go Colts!

PACKING UP CHRISTMAS

Starting on New Year's Day, we've taken down all our Christmas decorations and I helped dad pack them up and put them back in the attic.  The only thing left is our Christmas cards that people sent to us.  Mom won't let us take them down yet because she says having them hanging up makes her feel like she is surrounded by her friends and family.

We loved Robin and Bronwyn's card...of course, dad took the picture and mom designed the card so it was hard not to love.  The picture they chose had them sitting on the beach in the snow!  The Sword family also used a picture from their beach session with dad for their card, and Lauren and Cliff had their wedding pictures on the card they sent!

Frankie, Emelyn, and Jackson all looked great in their photo cards for their very first Christmas.  And their parents looked pretty great too!  Good luck to Sarah as she trains for a marathon.  That is awesome!

And Torrey the Lab's reindeer antlers were too cute.

Another one of our very favorites was the card Danielle and Brandon sent.  It was made with recycled paper and embedded with wildflower seeds that "will grow just about anywhere."  We are definitely going to grow them!  The card was made by www.greenfieldpaper.com and they make wedding invitations also so be sure to visit their site. 

Janelle and Jeff were married in 2004 and sent a card handmade by Janelle.  We are so happy that they have stayed in touch!

My personal favorites were the ones that played music.  I like to get all of them playing at once.  When all my singing stuffed animals were out too, it was quite a band!

Thanks to everyone for the cards.  Mom is going to be sad when we finally take them down.

HAVE FUN DAD!

Dad is going to be gone until Wednesday at the Professional Photographers of America's annual convention.  This year it is in Tampa so dad will be able to come home at night, though it will probably be past my bed time.  Dad is excited to meet up with some other photographers and to see the latest products and hear the speakers.  Mom is still around to answer any emails, and if you call dad and leave a message he will get back to you when he takes breaks during the day.

January 3, 2008

SARAH AND MARC'S WEDDING

Our last wedding of 2007 was in St. Pete.  Sarah and Marc were married at Fort DeSoto Park with their reception following at Patrick's Bayside Grill.  Sarah is a professional musician and dad first met her when he was photographing another wedding where she was the violinist.  If you need a pianist or violinist for your wedding, visit Sarah's website at musicwestcoastflorida.com.  Marc is a sports writer for the Tribune which makes mom imagine the TV show Everybody Loves Raymond, though they are too sweet to bicker that much.

Sarah got ready at the Sirata.  Now that I'm getting older I can almost get dressed myself but on a wedding day most brides need a little help.

It was so foggy that day that it was hard to see very far, but all the guests needed to see was the big smiles on Sarah and Marc's faces.

The first dance:

Dad said the food was some of the best food he has ever had at a wedding!  Yummy!!

The bride and groom:

We hope you two enjoyed welcoming in the new year as husband and wife!

OUR NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATION

Even though mom said that we were going to stay home for New Year's Eve, we ended up going to Nonna's house for a while.  We had fun and dad ate lots of sushi and mom won half a million dollars (but only on a board game).

We came home past my normal bed time but mom decided to let me stay up so we went outside and did some sparklers and party poppers.  Can you even find Everett in the smoke cloud of the second picture?

I was dancing to Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve and mom and dad thought I was going to make it until the ball dropped but at 11:30 I fell asleep.  Mom tried her best to wake me up at midnight.  She was cheering and making lots of noise and trying to get me to toast with my cup of sparkling grape juice but I would not wake up!  Everett slept through the beginning of 2008 too, so dad and mom got to cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie together.  They said it was a great start to the new year.

Just because I was sleeping doesn't mean I missed out completely.  Look at the fun I had with my celebration cupcake the next morning!

Everett giving me a New Year's Day hug.

Happy 2008!