Fun with Ashley and Chris

Well, as though photographing the King and Queen wasn't enough excitement for the day, I had the privilege to shoot an engagement session of Ashley and Chris!!
We began at Beasley Park on Okaloosa Island where they met and then off to the jettys where we had some wild and wet fun!!

King and Queen of Spain

Today King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofie of Spain visited Pensacola. It was truly exciting to photograph their visit for the Associated Press! I have had the opportunity to photograph countless presidents and entertainment icons, but never royalty. It was a treat!

Kara and Jason's Engagement

Kara and Jason came to the Red Dog Studio to do their engagement shoot on Valentine's Day. We mixed studio settings with some outdoor images reminiscent of "Singing in the Rain" complete with rain!
They were so cute with each other and their love and joy for one another is readily evident in all of their actions.
Enjoy their engagement photos!

Just cattin' around today!

Wow, I had three clients who were both stunning and aloof. No, it wasn't Angelina, Brad or their many children. It was Mishka, Isabella and Sam!
Isabella is the princess of the family. She is sleek, slim and a true beauty! Mishka...he's the spunky one. He loves his toys and will creep and crawl until he finds where you hid them. Sam is the shy one. He finally came out to see what was going on with the rest of the crew!
The "parents" Joyce and Dale are awesome folks. Joyce was in several of my classes and is a very talented artist with her drawing and photo skills.
Enjoy their cats!!

Wedding Photojournalists Association

I am excited to announce that I was chosen to be a member of the Wedding Photojournalists Association the premier select membership for wedding photojournalists.
THE WEDDING PHOTOJOURNALIST ASSOCIATION
Leading the way in Wedding Photojournalism, WPJA represents the most discriminating talent around the world technically, creatively and visually. Qualified members hold industry-leading standards, skills and business integrity.
The WPJA sponsors educational programs including seminars, conventions and workshops geared toward wedding photojournalism. We also host wedding photojournalism contests, judged by top working photojournalists and news photo editors actively in the photojournalism industry. The purpose of these contests is to celebrate the photographers who document and record the found moment.

2009 Brides Choice Award

This is so cool! I just found out that we won this!

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced that Mari's Paradise Images has won the 2009 Bride’s Choice Awards™!

In its inaugural year, the Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and honors vendors from the WeddingWire Network that demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility. This year’s recipients represent the top three percent of WeddingWire’s vendor community, which includes over 100,000 wedding vendors from across the US. That means Mari's Paradise Images is one of the very best wedding photographers.

Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the company, the Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds through surveys and reviews.

“We are excited to launch this annual award program to honor high-performing vendors based solely on the experiences of our WeddingWire community,” according to Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “This year’s recipients have set the bar high, exhibiting excellent service and expertise in the wedding industry.”

Mari's Paradise Images would like to thank our past clients for speaking on our behalf and helping us win the 2009 Bride’s Choice Award!

Brooke and Sean's Engagement Eden State Gardens

I swear, I haven't laughed as hard as I did during today's engagement session with Brooke and Sean in a long time! Sean brought me to tears with his fun antics. They were just both so full of life and in love it was a blast!!
We went to Eden State Gardens to do the shoot. That's one of my favorite places to photograph. The spring flowers were blooming and the colors were lush and green despite the impending rain showers.
I can't wait until their wedding!! I know we're going to have a great time that day as well :)

Dogs take over the Red Dog

Oh it has happened! I went and bought a doggy couch and now the dogs have taken over the Red Dog Studio!
I had the pleasure of photographing Spotte, Misty and Jonesy!! What a blast!