I know, I know...the election was weeks ago. I'm not THAT behind (although if you could see my "To Do" list you might beg to differ). I'm talking about voting for your favorite pair of names for the Sweet Life birds. I got lots of emails with suggestions, some of which you can read in the comments section of the original post. After giving it intense consideration :) I narrowed the field down to three. They are:

1. Amor and Vita (Latin for love and life and my personal favorite)
2. Pepe and Sasha 
3. Sonny and Sweetie

On the right, there's a web thingamajigger where you can vote and track the results. Voting will go on until December 31. The winner will receive a free Fearless Bridal session, so if your suggestion was one of the three chosen, tell all your friends to stop by the blog and V-O-T-E vote! Do not however get your computer-genius friend, cousin, sibling, etc. to write a tricky little piece of web code to vote every three minutes or some such...remember I'm married to one of those computer geniuses and we will find out about it and disqualify that pair of names. So keep it on the up-high, people!

Here they are once again...don't let them stay Boy Bird and Girl Bird forever!

Edited on 1/1/09 to add: Drumroll, please...the winner of the Name the Sweet Life Birds is Amor and Vita, suggested by Kaitlin and Nick, who were married in September. They are the lucky winners of a Fearless Bridal session. Thanks to everyone who contributed name ideas and voted! I had so much fun checking the stats that I'm definitely going to run contests more often!

(The stuff that spilled over the edge was really good with a scoop of ice cream, though. )

Happy Thanksgiving!

Abby has the most scrumptious cheeks.

"Hey lady...take a picture, it'll last longer." Um...Ok!

If only baby fat was as precious when you get older.

So here she is at (approximately) seven months...

And now..Abby at one!

Abby started walking at nine months. Nine months, people! That's crazy-early! She hasn't slowed down since she found her feet. Getting her to sit for a while for pictures was a challenge, but you should never underestimate the entertainment value of a pine cone.

Ready to get moving again. Her smile just kills me. And don't you love those two little teeth? I mean really, how much cuteness can one kid reasonably claim? Share with the rest of us, girlfriend!

With her mom, my niece Wendy.

Maybe my favorite from the whole shoot. I love the expression of pure joy on her face. It's good to be one!

With Daddy, Wendy's husband Walt.

Slides are always grin-inducing.

Those cheeks are just too yummy!

One of the things about being married that I didn't expect was how much I would come to love the family I married into. I've always said I had the best in-laws a girl could wish for. It's been amazing and humbling to watch his five nieces and nephews that became suddenly mine with a simple "I do" grow into the loving, talented and interesting adults that they are.  Now they're marrying and starting families of their own, bringing still more joy into all our lives. I'm so glad I get to photograph the results!

Click here to see more from Abby's One Year session.

Zoe works it for the camera in the shot on the right, then graces me with her smile in the shot on the left!

Zoe, ready for her close-up. Check her pretty pink rhinestone collar. Carey's bouquet is pretty sweet, too.

Ahh...puppy love!

Carey's mom was on hand to pooch-sit so that we could also get some more traditional poses. Just bee-you-tee-FULL!!!

A classic pose on the steps at Duke Gardens. Carey's dress was simply stunning. The sash detail was really pretty and different. I loved that she didn't wear a veil so that the sash wouldn't be hidden.

This shot makes me think of Cinderella.

My favorite. Carey, thanks for allowing me to photograph you in all your bridal gorgeousness! Give Zoe a belly-rub for me!

TA-DAA!

I never thought a logo could make me so giddy with happiness. I've been looking for a graphic designer for a while, but was totally overwhelmed by the process. Combine that with an almost total lack of time to interview designers and you have inertia...complete and total non-progress on one of my business goals for 2008 and 2009: all new print materials. Then Frank found 99designs, a website with the mission of connecting talented graphic designers with business owners like me who need something designed.  It was so amazingly simple: we submitted a design brief ("clean, simple, tagline included...NO CAMERA GRAPHICS!") and included one of my all-time favorite images as an example of our style -- the famous Heath Fearless Bridal Sunflower Shot!!!!

We paid a small set-up fee and determined a dollar amount as the "prize" that would be awarded to the winning design. Then we sat back and waited...but not for long. Within a few hours, the first logo design was submitted.  Even though I wasn't crazy about the first design (Hello, people: "No camera graphics" means NO CAMERA GRAPHICS!!!) it was so much fun to open up my inbox and see that more designs had been posted. I'm telling you, it was like Christmas there for a whole week.

As the contest owners, it was our job to rate the designs and give feedback to the designers. While there were lots of cool designs submitted, it was Jon Whelan's design that won us over. Jon says he included the birds to represent nature (since I love to shoot outdoors). There are two of them (there are two of us -- brilliant!) and most couples are just that: couples. (Mother-in-laws don't count.) More "two" significance. The boy bird is giving the girl bird a sunflower which relates back to the picture and just so happens to be my favorite flower. (Happy. Colorful. Simple. Need I say more?). The type was clean and modern, plus he worked in the tagline "Life is sweet...remember it well." He even gave us a more modern take on the lime green color I love so much. All in all, the clear winner!

Then came the tricky part: paying him.

You see, Jon is in South Africa. How cool is that?? Unfortunately, though, PayPal won't send funds to South Africa.  OK...so I tried MoneyBookers. More hassle: MoneyBookers won't take US dollars. So now I'm thinking I'm going to have to fly to Cape Town to pay Jon $300. I was willing to do it and was even thinking I could write it off as a business expense until Frank snipped off that particular wild hair. I think his exact words were: "Great idea, honey, right up until the point we get audited."

( It was worth a shot.)

Luckily, I found Alert Pay and was able to transfer the funds to Jon. It was definitely worth the hassle and I highly recommend him. He even sent me the design before he got paid so that we could make a deadline for our upcoming ad in Weddings magazine. How awesome is that?!? If you want his contact info, shoot me an email and I'll give it to you: Elizabeth@sweetlifephoto.com. Jon is working on the design for our new business cards and letterhead. I can't wait to see what he comes up with!

We'll be working the new logo into the blog and website in the days to come (oh, who am I kidding -- it'll be weeks). Until then, I need the help of my loyal blog readers: I want my birds to have names. Yep, that's right. I don't want them to be "Boy Bird" and "Girl Bird" forever. So I'm announcing a contest. Send me your ideas for names by December 1st either by leaving a comment or emailing me. I'll pick the three most original pairs of names and then we'll vote here on the blog for the best names. The winner will receive a free engagement or Fearless Bridal session. So c'mon people, put your thinking caps on and name my birds! (Does that sound weird?)

Anyway, it must be the cooler temperatures or all the beautiful colors and Fall-themed decor at the wedding that's got me thinking about my favorite season. Our groom on Saturday works for a wine distributor and was able to provide hundreds of wine corks that were featured in the table-top arrangements and used as place-card settings. One of the great advantages of having two photographers at your wedding and reception is that while Frank was covering all the craziness on the dance floor,  I was able to wander around the room photographing the special details. I found this one cork and loved the message stamped on its side.

It got me thinking about some of the things I love about Fall. Each one of them qualifies as a "simple pleasure": taking long walks with Pepper on cool, crisp mornings; pulling on a favorite comfy sweater; curling up by a fire to read a new Deborah Crombie mystery; cooking Chicken Noodle Soup for the kids again; smiling at the sight of pumpkins and mums and actually looking forward to a little yard work. Especially with all the gloom and doom in the news, its nice to be reminded that it's the simple pleasures in life that make me happy. Just thought I'd share, ya'll!

I knew when I first met these two that I would love working with them. They are madly, deeply, truly crazy about each other. Basically I just have to point my camera in their general direction and good things happen. Of course it doesn't hurt that Fearrington is full of awesome spots to photograph.

Ryan is a guy with serious skills. The elusive heel click, for one.

Karate Kid - style Kung Fu:

He's got intricate dance moves (and makes Michelle laugh):

He's got the dip down.

And -- wait for it -- he serenades the love of his life with his guitar.  Sigh.

This guy can do cute:

And cuddly:

And, um...well, let's give these two some privacy, shall we?

Yep, the guy with the guitar usually gets the girl.  (So all you prospective grooms out there, if you have any hope of marrying a beautiful, smart defense lawyer, you would be wise to follow Ryan's lead and find a guitar teacher now.)

Maybe my favorite of the day.

Check back soon for Michelle's turn in the spotlight: her bridal portrait session, which was possibly my favorite ever (hint: Michelle's session included a stop at Cameron Indoor Stadium and features a blue Cameron Crazies wig). Until then, view the slide show from their e:session here.

Thanks for an awesome afternoon you guys!

Carey and Daryll tied the knot in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Goldsboro on July 26 at Walnut Creek Country Club. But since I'm just a wee bit behind in my blogging courtesy of a fabulously successful Spring wedding season, in Elizabeth World, they're still counting down the days until the Big One.  Join me in my fantasy, won't you?

Back in April, we met up at Duke Gardens for what would be the first of two engagement sessions, thanks to a surprise thunderstorm. We'd only gotten about 15 minutes into the session when the sky opened up. Daryll is a true officer and a gentleman to boot, so as we huddled under a shelter hoping to wait out the storm, he very gallantly offered to shield my camera from the rain under his shirt. He's even sweeter with Carey.

Sometimes body language says it all:

Possible my favorite from Shoot #1:

It was June before our schedules meshed so that we could give the ol' E: session thing another shot (no pun intended). The couple decided to change up their outfits a bit and the bright orange, blue and green just kills in this picture.  I love it. Plus Carey's eyes are gorgeous.

Sometimes an image just cries out for a little processing fun, like this one. How awesome is the light? I didn't create it, just enhanced it with a little glow and popped the colors a bit. Tres, tres romantique!

I mean, really: how cute are they?

I love the look on Daryll's face in this one.

One of the things that's great about shooting in Duke Gardens in the variety of places to shoot. I'd never even seen this spot before this session and I thought I knew the gardens inside out. I love how sweet Carey and Daryll are together and I love, love, love the pretty light:

Check back soon for a post on Carey's bridal session, including the sweetest little dog in the world, Zoe. Meanwhile, enjoy the E: session slide show!

Jefri and Adam were married in August, so check back soon for more images of their beautiful, intimate wedding at Duke Gardens. Jefri, you have an amazing smile and I'm so glad I got to capture it!