Scarlett Lillian's Old Captivating Studios Blog: April 2007

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FYI, I have been having email server issues today. It seems to be working ok again, but if you sent me an email earlier today, I probably didn't get it, so please resend it.

Much love,
Scarlett

I got "trashed."

How exciting! I'm thrilled to announce that this week I have been chosen as TrashTheDress.com's Photographer of the Week for Jessi and Daniel's recent beach wedding! Trashthedress.com is a popular website that top wedding photographer's from all over the world are selected to have their fun trashy dress pictures showcased as this trend grows more and more in demand by brides. I feel honored to be chosen amongst some of the best in the industry! Thanks to Mark Eric for hosting such a great website and to Nataly Lemus for a fun interview. And of course Jessi and Daniel for being such a fun bride and groom!

Check out my interview and pics here!

Jessi and Daniel: "Trashy" Beach Wedding Part 2

For Jessi and Daniel, they weren't just uniting as a couple, they were uniting as a family this past Saturday with their daughters Serah and Teagan. Serah, the jr. bridesmaid, and Teagan, the flower girl, I think were more excited than Jessi to play dress up and twirl around in their special red and white dresses that had been waiting for them to wear.

With family all the way from the Phillipines and across the country, it truly was a special day of uniting family with a lot of love and a lot of sun as they exchanged their vows at the historic Casa Marina over looking Jacksonville Beach.

After the wedding, the little girls went home with their grandma, and Jessi and Daniel had fun rolling around in the sand and splashing in the water for a steamy Trash the Dress Session.

Thanks too to my friend Amy Martin who joined me in celebrating the day with Jessi and Daniel.

Here's the slideshow of their day!
>>>CLICK HERE

And below are some of my favorite pictures from the day!

America's Next Top Flowergirl, Teagan.

Serah getting to wear make up for the first time.

Jessi's dad used to be a photojournalist in the Navy so we bonded over photography. I just love this shot of him capturing his baby girl as Jessi's mom touches her up last minute.

This is my favorite picture of the day of Jessi, Daniel, and their daughters all embraced as one.

This picture below cracked me up!

After the trash session, this little girl politely came up to Jessi and said, "Excuse me, ma'am, may I ask, are you a real bride?" When Jessi responded she was, the mature little girl said "Oh, that's so pretty." She then continued to interview Jessi about every detail of her wedding day as she was a reporter for a bridal magazine. It was the cutest thing ever!

Jessi and Daniel: "Trashy" Beach Wedding Part I

Congratulations Jessi and Daniel!!

This weekend my "pretty" friend Amy Martin came down from Charlotte, NC to help me shoot a sweet intimate wedding for Jessi and Daniel at Jacksonville Beach. The wedding was over by early afternoon, so we had fun playing in the water afterward for Jessi's Trash the Dress session that even Daniel wanted to be a part of with his new bride. It was so awesome to get to trash a bride AND a groom, as well as here the funny comments from everyone watching on the beach and their gasps back and forth.

"Awww, it's a bride.. Ohmigosh... is she really going to... oh no she didn't... but that's her wedding dress! I can't believe she did that, but wow how cool, I want to do that one day!"

Here's one of my favorites for a sneak peak. I love the way it captures Jessi and Daniel's playful spirit. Stay tuned later this week for more pics from their day and the rest of their "trashy" beach pics.

A captivating email

I love being a photographer. But one thing I love more is how God uses my creative gifts as a tool to open up opportunities to inspire others for His glory through the people I meet along the journey of my job. I'm so thankful for others that have shared knowledge and encouragement to me along the way, so I'm always looking for opportunities to give back and pay it forward. It's cool though when you find out about how you helped someone without even knowing you were being used in their lives.

For those that don't know, part of the reason I chose the word "captivating" for my business name was because of how much I loved the book Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul by Staci Eldredge. It is a book that truly changed my life and a must read for every girl, woman and bride. It's even a great book for guys to read to understand the intricate ways God designed a woman's heart.

Tonight I got a beautiful email about Captivating from a photographer friend, Julia Christopher, who brought tears to my eyes. So I just had to share her sweet words.

"Been meaning to tell you for a long time that you are the reason that I bought the book and Scarlett, it is changing my life. I feel like it was written just for me. I just teared up and weeped, it's just beautiful. I just wanted to tell you that the Lord has used you and it is such a blessing. I pray that you will be very blessed and protected this year.

Your fellow Jesus- lovin' picture taker... ;)
Julia "

Thanks so much sweet Julia for taking the time to share your awesome words! You are a beautiful example of a truly captivating person.

And for others reading this, if you haven't read Captivating yet, go read it!

Real Easter eggs

In the spirit of Easter this past Sunday, yesterday I ran across some REAL Easter eggs. On my walk around the lake with Rhett, I discovered this Momma Duck and her beautiful nest. On today's walk, I couldn't help but bring my camera to document the beauty of life being created as the Momma Duck tenderly sits day and night protecting her delicate eggs waiting for their arrival into the world around the lake. It's such an incredible analogy to me of the beginning of a new life with Christ, here just days after we celebrate His resurrection, and how He is always tenderly and patiently protecting us waiting for us to come out of our shell and be reborn in His love.

On a comical note. I happened to notice yesterday that Momma Duck had two bodyguards near by looking out for her. Then today, they were still around her. I'm almost beginning to think it's an Anna Nicole case where the two male ducks are waiting for the eggs to hatch to reveal who the real father is. :-)

Momma Duck and her babies

Larry Birkhead and Howard K. Stern

I personally think this one is the babies' daddy.

Chrissy and Chris: An Italian Princess

This weekend I shot a destination wedding in Orlando, FL for Chrissy and Chris McPherson. As a special gift to Chris, Chrissy surprised him with a Bridal Glamour Music Video we shot of her around the Portofino Bay Hotel where their wedding was also held. Using one of her favorite songs from A Cinderella Story, Chrissy said moments before her debut "Chris, you truly ARE my prince. And thank you for always making me feel like a princess when I'm with you. I dedicate this video and the words in it to you." Then the lights went low and her video was showcased on a projector screen for the whole reception to see. It was an honor to be a part in helping give Chrissy this gift to her new husband.

Chrissy had some awesome bridesmaids who I felt like were old friends by the end of the day. So later that night, Jen and Harvest and I jumped in the photobooth that Chrissy had at the reception. The photobooth was such a hit for guests to have a fun way to remember the wedding by. I'm definitely going to have one at my wedding one day! Check out how you can rent one at www.partybooths.com

Congratulations Chrissy and Chris!!!!

Stay tuned for their highlight intro to debut in the coming months.

All because 6 people fell in love.

A few weeks ago, a picture circulated around our family's email that my uncle sent out taken of my grandparents.

"Kind of reminds you of a high school prom picture," my uncle Chip wrote with a "tee hee" following.

The picture was taken for my grandparent's church directory, and yes, it was your typical posed studio shot with Grandma's hands resting on Grandpa's shoulder. Seeing the picture, I wrote back "I see I need to get my camera on Grandma and Grandpa for some non-high-school prom pics of them."

And today I did.

I'm in Orlando to shoot a wedding for Chrissy and Chris (This weekend I will be publishing Chrissy's awesome Bridal Glamour video, but having to wait until she debuts it at the wedding. Check back soon!). My grandparents also live in Orlando and tonight were dressed up on their way to a double date with their best friends, Mr. and Mrs. Seminara, who they have known for over 55 years. As they headed out, I grabbed my camera to capture how dashing the love birds looked.

It's one thing to shoot other people, but when shooting my own grandparents and watching them share kisses, I couldn't help but think "I'm here today because those crazy kids fell in love 56 years ago." (Well, April 21st it will be officially 56 years!)

After they left, I went back to the bedroom to put my camera up and looked at the pictures Grandma has framed in the room of both sets of my great-grandparents. I was never able to meet either set of them, but I really took a moment to look at their pictures and study the features in their faces that I could see were passed down through the generations. And as I stood there looking at the pictures, I thought again, "I'm here today because these 4 people fell in love."

That's one thing I love about being a wedding photographer. With each wedding, it's such an honor to me to be able to witness the beginning of a generation between the union of the bride and the groom. And it humbles me to know that God is using me to capture the photographs for them that will be passed on through their children, and their children's children and beyond. And maybe one day they too will look at a picture I took 50 years from now and think 'I'm here all because these two people fell in love.'

(By the way, that's a great to song download, "Two People Fell in Love" by Brad Paisley)

Here's the pictures from today:

My Grandma's parents, the Bunton's, from Beufort, South Carolina. This picture was taken on their 50th wedding anniversary.

My Grandpa's parents, the Bowdren's, from upstate New York. Cool fact about them, they were both deaf, and raised 5 boys!

My grandparents, Larry and Mary Bowdren.

Grandma smitten by Grandpa!

Ok, so believe it or not, my grandma is a huge fan of America's Next Top Modelalso. You should hear her go on about who's dissing who and who deserves to be the winner and who deserves to go home. It's so funny! It rocks to have a hip grandma. So for fun while we were waiting for Grandpa, I told her to do a sassy supermodel pose. And let me tell you, she didn't hesitate to whip that hand on the hip and do her serious model face. Go Grandma, you darling diva you!

Happy 3rd Birthday Rhett!!

I still remember the day I brought home my baby boy from the pet store.

I had originally wanted a cute girl chihauhau that I could dress up in frilly pink outfits and carry in my purse like Legally Blonde. I had finally found the cutest one and brought my mom back to the pet store to let the puppy dog eyes melt her heart too. Then we get the pet store and I discover my new chihauhau I had picked out and was ready to get was GONE. I was so bummed, but my mom encouraged me to walk around the puppy palace a little more to see if there was something else I wanted.

"What about this one? He's kind of cute and fluffy," my mom said.

"Yeah, he's cute, but he's a POODLE Mom. That's so cliche. A prissy girl like me with a poodle, I don't think so." Yeah I know, as if carrying a chihauhau in my purse wasn't cliche.

But then Rhett got on his hind legs and put his paws on the cage and layed those puppy eyes on me that quickly melted my heart.

"Well, I guess you ARE kind of cute," I told him as I reached down to pet him. "Ok, I'll take you out to play with you, but I'm not buying you because I want a girl dog."

I picked him up and he melted like butter in my arms. As I played with him, 5 minutes turned to 10 turned to 15 and my heart got more and more attached. He had the funniest personality and every time I would try to put him down, he would jump back up to try get back in my arms. I had fallen hard, but I was determined to get a girl, so I asked my mom to go get the black girl poodle who was in the cage with him. As soon as my mom brought over the female and put her in the play pin, Rhett let out a baby "Grrrrrrr" as if he was saying "Stay away, this is MY mommy." And that's when I knew, I was going home that day with not only a boy dog, but a poodle. Funny how the last thing I imagined could make me happy ended up being the very thing in life that brought me the most joy these past 3 years.

Today is Rhett's 3rd birthday, and to celebrate, yesterday his Aunt Rachel brought him gifts and took him to the park to play. Rachel is one my best friends and has adopted him over the years as her little nephew. She will be getting a Sheltie later this year and Rhett is looking forward to having a playmate. For Rhett's birthday we originally were going to take him to the dog park, but found out last minute that he wasn't allowed since he isn't fixed (I hope to breed him one day. If anyone reading this needs a male poodle for stud services, let me know!). So instead we took him to a regular park to play fetch, and he ended up being a rockstar on the playground with the kids and made so many new friends throwing the frisbee for him.

My little boy is growing up so fast! Sniff sniff. Here are some pictures of him growing up and his slideshow from yesterday opening gifts and at the park.

Though he wasn't a chihauhau like I had hoped to get, he did become a purse dog for a while until he got too big. And yes, the t-shirt was true at the time. ;-)