After a gorgeous wedding at the St George Temple the entire bridal party made their way up north to this couples gorgeous reception at The Bungalow in Pleasant Grove. It was simply gorgeous. When you stepped into this garden it was like you were taken away to a perfect English Garden. Every detail was so perfect. I loved all the brides vintage touches from the white washed antique doors that were used in the picture display and all the white iron pieces throughout. It was so gorgeous…

Oh and I have to mention the food…oh, oh, oh…the food. It was totally de’lish! They had Kneaders cater it and it could not have been more perfect. But one of my very favorite parts of the whole wedding was instead of the traditional wedding cake, these two love birds did a wedding cake made of cheesecake. It was so yummy! I am such a huge fan of cheesecake and to have an entire wedding cake devoted to it was sublime. And such a great idea, right!

So take a minute and enjoy this gorgeous wedding. I am so excited to be showing it off and feel so lucky to have been a part of this gorgeous couples big day. They were one of the most amazingly wonderful couples I have ever worked with and I am so happy to share their big day with everyone.

My heart is so full as I write this post. This past week I have had the amazing experience to be a part of these little ladies lives. Miss Iron County Crystal Cardon’s platform is on pediatric cancer and she has worked tirelessly on the Fight Like A Girl Campaign. She has focused her efforts on four little girls in our city who are all suffering from pediatric cancer. Hallie Munford, Sadie Webster, Avery Evans, and Kensley King are some of the most amazing and brave little girls I have ever met. And I felt so lucky to be a part of the princess party that was thrown for them…

What a fun filled day…getting their faces painted by an amazing artist, making candy treats, blowing bubbles, and painting nails. But the highlight was definitely when the three real live princesses showed up to spend the afternoon with them. They were so excited! I have to admit my heart skipped a beat when they walked in the door. I am a total Disney nut and I can only imagine the excitement of these little girls as these gorgeous princesses walked through the door. With all they are enduring, I am sure that every joy is truly cherished. And as I got to watch both the little girls and the princesses cherish every moment of this special day. And I can’t help but admit it was such an amazingly tender and sweet moment. As I sat there watching them all have their princess party together I could hear the lyrics from one of my favorite songs playing in the background…

“A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you’re fast asleep,
In dreams you lose your heartaches, whatever you wish for, you keep.
Have faith in your dreams and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through,
No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true.”

Such an amazing day…

We have been working hard on an all new booth design and I am so excited to show it off! Want a little hint…too bad! Guess you will just have to come to the Cedar Bridal Showcase and see what we have been up to! The details of this super cute wedding are some of my favorite yet

And of course, as is our style…we will be hosting some amazing giveaways for all you cute brides out there! Can’t wait to see you soon!

Fast forward a couple days and I was talking with my good buddy Tina from Irresistible Weddings about all the fun brides we had met, and we were looking at some pictures from the show and there was this picture of this one really cute bride that I had met and chatted with. I said to Tina, “I thought that bride was so cute, I would love to do her wedding. She was adorable.”

Fast forward a few more days to this engagement session. So I pull up thinking that I am meeting with one bride, and this cute girl (the one from the picture jumps out). I was so excited!!! So in the end in the end it worked out perfectly…I got this super cute couple that I am so excited to work with!

We had a great time at their engagement session and I can’t wait for the big day!!!

I am sure there are some of you out there who are asking yourself, “Back? Back from where?”

The truth to that question is, I didn’t really go anywhere literally. But I feel like I have been gone for the past year, just a sliver of myself, and I have been walking around not really. 2011 was quite the year, and honestly not in a good way.. it was a very, very hard year. And don’t get me wrong, there were lots and lots of wonderful things that happened and wonderful people who came along, but for most of the year, things were just hard, and life was just not what it was supposed to be. Now if you aren’t into the “real” stuff  and are just here to see the photos, I would skip right over this post. Because I am about to get very real…

So about a year ago, my life just changed. I didn’t see it coming. I wasn’t prepared for it, and I had absolutely no idea the toll it would take on my life, my business, and my family. I have always kind of had this opinion that I am somewhat invincible and because I have overcome hard things in the past and always try to have a positive outlook on life that I could pretty much “keep my chin up” and make it through anything. And this past year has been a huge test of that. I’m not going to get into what happened, because this post isn’t about the trial…this post is about the overcoming. And sitting here now, having been through what I have been I realize that I had go through what I did to get to where I am now. And I can honestly say I am in a better place in my life than I have ever been. Don’t get me wrong, it was hard, really really exhaustingly hard, but anything really worthwhile in our lives always is…

And while so much of what happened was a personal thing, I know without a doubt it affected my business, and not in a good way. It has undoubtedly affected me and my ability to get things done. It has made me feel not like me. And I know that it has made me not able to always give 100% of myself, the way I have always try to do. I know that I have had clients who have been upset, mad, frustrated and more and for that I am truly sorry. Letting people down is harder than anyone will ever know, because that is so not like me. I am the “get-it-done” girl, I am the girl who never says “no.” I am the girl who people always say, “How do you do it all?” So not being able to be that for all the people I love, including my clients has probably been the hardest part of everything. I would never intentionally let anyone down, and not being able to do what I have always done has been one of the biggest worries I have carried.

But one of the greatest parts of this whole experience has been how so many of you have come to my aide. I think a lot of times I  get so busy taking care of everyone else and making sure everyone else is happy that I haven’t always been aware of all of the amazing people around me who have come to my side, held me up when I couldn’t do it myself, and got me through this whole thing.

Just life everything in life, I know that there have been people who have not stood by me, who have talked about me, and criticized me. And really when it comes down to it that is fine. I am not perfect, I did the best I could, and sometimes in life the level as to what “your best” is changes. There are days when we give more than other days. And even from those people I have learned amazingly valuable lessons about patience, understanding, and being aware in my own life of the value of what really matters. But I also know that that there have been ten times the amount of people who have been by my side every step of the way…and I have truly learned without a doubt that the words below are some of the most true I have ever heard.

There are so many of you, who in big ways and small ways have helped me through this. You have rallied around me and protected me from so much of the bad that was happening. The smallest acts of kindness , when you were completely unaware of what was going on, have meant the world to me. I have learned this year who my most true friends are and how much I love each of you. I can honestly say without a doubt that the kindness, support, and love that has been shown to my family has changed my heart. There are so many of you that I want to thank personally, because I feel that my survival of this year would not have happened with you…

Tyson, Jackson, Tripp, Margaret & Gary, Grandma Cinderella & Grandpa Jack, Chrisanne, Amanda & Bodi, Tina, McCall, Kristie, Teresa, Alisha, Shelley, Kaitlin, Lindsay, Melissa & Bryan, Ashton, Branson, Natalie, Candi, Celeste, Dr. Stoltz, Angie, Joan’l, Richard, Garrett, Annalies, Luanne, Laura & Tyler, Wendy, Sandy, Rebecca, Tia, Brooke, Amy & Michael, Erin, Karen, Janice, Cheryl, Marilyn…and so many more of you whose small acts of kindness have been big huge acts of love for me and my family. I know that there are amazing people who I have overlooked, but I hope you know that there are so many of you that have played such an important part in this year for me and that in my heart I think of you who have been there for me. All that you have done, has made me want to be a better person…a person more like you.

And through it all, while there have been days that were hard and terrible and heartbreaking. There have been many many moments of joy and inspiration and love. And because of the support of so many of you I know that I have emerged a better person, a better mother, a better friend, and a better business owner. And I am excited for the future, very very excited! And despite some very rough times there were some amazing lessons that I learned along the way…So now here we are, a year later, and at the end of this journey. And despite all the hard…there was definitely a light at the end of the tunnel. Because I feel like not only am I AM FINALLY BACK, but I know without a doubt that I AM BETTER THAN EVER!!! And that is year is going to be the most amazing year yet. I feel like the last few weeks I have started to breathe again, this weight is gone, and I am ready to hit the ground running! I want everything to be better than it has ever been before and I am so excited to bring all that excitement to AK STUDIO.

There are some ways I can’t wait to be back to my old self. Re-energized, organized, on schedule, and back to giving my clients all the time and attention they deserve. Back to being able to spend the time I want to with each client. Not having to rush or run behind. And in other ways, I am excited for a new energy to do amazing things. To not only take a photo of your wedding or your family, but to be able to capture a moment of your life. I found this quote by Annie Leibovitz and this is exactly how I feel. I don’t just want to be the random girl who just takes your yearly Christmas card photo. I want to be the person who connects with your family, sees the true vision of your love, and is able to deliver that to you to cherish forever. I want to be able to be someone who can give to you what so many people have given to me this year…something you find totally wonderful and amazing…

So the news it out. I am not going to be on TV and I didn’t win a million dollars…at least not yet. But I’M BACK…I am really, really back. To some this is probably not that big of news. And for me that is more amazing than just about anything. It is so good to feel that way again. I can’t wait for the future, and I can’t wait for what this year has to bring. I am so grateful for all that has happened, and all the blessings that have come to me along the way, all the people who have overwhelmed my heart with kindness. And I am so incredibly grateful for everything that has happened this last year…because it has brought me to this point. And I truly believe the best is yet to come…

Not sure what it is about me lately, but I seem to be a magnet for yucky weather, and yet the sessions always turn out super good. Like this one, I can not even explain to you how cold and WINDY WINDY WINDY it was! Up at the Draper Temple it was so windy this tiny little bride was practically blown away. But somehow we got the wind to cooperate enough to get some amazing shots. I am so excited to debut this Bride & Groom session. Just love how the muted colors all came together with the locations. It is a little bit rustic, and a little bit bohemian, and maybe a little moody with the grey skies, but whatever it is it is a whole lot of GORGEOUS!!!

So glad we survived the weather, and hope everyone enjoys this session. And I will see you two in a few days! Let’s keep our fingers crossed for no wind! no wind! no wind!

And I also have to tell you what a completely wonderful girl Crystal is, her platform is all about pediatric cancer, and this girl has been working so hard for the cause. She has started a blog called FIGHT LIKE A GIRL…which you should definitely check out. Coming up in a few weeks is a big benefit for four of our local children who are battling cancer and Crystal has had an amazing amount of support from our community. But you can help too! All the details are on her website!

Great job girl!

But I wanted to show off our fun booth from the So Utah Weddings Showcase. For all you brides out there if you aren’t a fan of So Utah Weddings yet, you should go like their facebook page HERE. Along with great tips and trend ideas, there is always great promotions going on over there

Hope you enjoy looking at the booth that I shared with Tina at IRRESISTIBLE WEDDINGS! I am so excited with how it turned out. The gold, champagne, and pink turned out so splendid! Some of my favorite details were all the gold pears (my hubby did those) and the fun candy bar. It smelled so good the whole day that I am surprised we didn’t eat every bit of it up!

Don’t you just love how the table turned out with all the different gold tones? And the cake is TO DIE FOR!!! That was definitely one of the brides favorite aspects. Tina got so many compliments on the cake. If you are looking for someone to make you an amazing wedding cake, you should definitely check her out. I also absolutely love these tall floral centerpieces. What a great way to make a big bold statement on your tables and not have to spend a lot of cash.

More fun details! And I just have to give a HUGE THANK YOU to Tina…obviously this booth would not have been possible without her amazing design skills. We are such a great team, and I just love all the weddings I get to work with her on. I can’t tell you how much I recommend having a wedding planner. It makes the BIGGEST difference to your wedding. So girls, if you are sitting on the fence about this one…DO IT!!! You will be so glad you did! And I also have to give a HUGE THANK YOU to my two amazing helpers Amanda & Shelley. These girls are my secret weapon. With them, there isn’t anything that can’t be accomplished. They worked so hard and spent so many hours helping us get every detail just perfect and I am so grateful to have these two in my life. Love you all girls!

Don’t you love this fun idea of the pears and the pictures. I was so happy when I found it on Pinterest!!! Gotta love Pinterest. And I want to say a big THANK YOU to the cute couple who so willingly served as our models for this shoot. She is one of my favorite girls ever, and it was so fun to meet her boyfriend. They were so cute together…and who knows, maybe some day wedding bells will be in the cards for them I also want to thank OCCASIONS BRIDAL for being so amazing to provide us with this gorgeous classic Audrey Hepburn style dress. If you are looking for your dream dress, you should definitely check out their boutique.

So there it is…what a great weekend! We met so many fabulous brides and I am already so excited for the weddings that I have booked. I am so excited to be a part of these totally wonderful couple’s big day. And I can’t wait to show off all the details of their unforgettable weddings. So Utah Weddings put on an amazing show and I can’t wait for next year!