Amelia Strauss Photography Blog » Amelia Strauss >> Southern California Editorial Photographer / Destination Wedding Photographer

That’s right - the garter.  I know, maybe not the most typical part of a wedding day to get excited about, but I completely adore this image…

Hmm…it appears that a month is too long to wait between blog posts.

I hope to resurrect this blog from the dead this weekend!

Here is an image from a session I shot recently - I really like the movement in the wind.

Meet Ashley and Owen, the totally awesome and completely hot, newly married, Mr. and Mrs. Peak.

So, while we were out shooting a series of night portraits in the rain - with horses none the less - their approximately 800 guests were indulging in some delicious wedding favors.

But what exactly do you do when you have a very large guest list and still want a very personal touch?  Apparently you bake…a lot.  Ashley’s grandmother set out a couple of days before the wedding to begin baking homemade chocolate chip cookies for every guest.  Other family members pitched in to help, and they actually pulled it all off!  The cookies were placed five to a box, and packaged in ribbon and stickers that tied in to the wedding colors.  (For the record, that is THOUSANDS of cookies).

And they were EVERY bit just as delicious as they look.  What is more personal than Grandma’s homemade cookies?  I just love the southern hospitality of these favors, and the thoughtfulness and love behind them.

This is just a great concept!  Maybe I’m really biased because I’m fascinated with cooking and baking, as I’m a little challenged in that department.  Regardless, the cookies kicked some major rear…and I want one right now…

Alright, does anyone want to actually see a wedding posted on this blog? Yeah, me too!  Sidenote: I’m all about the orange details in the above image…

I have absolutely loved working Emily and Matt!  I am continually blessed with clients who quickly become friends.  These two are no exception.  Easy to be around, fun-loving, laugh all the time, roll right along with quirkiness - what more could a girl ask for?  Oh yeah, a fantastic wedding party…which was part of the package too.  I had the best time on their wedding day.

We kicked things off early last summer with their Engagement Session, and followed up with Emily’s Bridal Session this winter.

I have so enjoyed working with you both, and I am honored to call you my friend.  Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of your wedding day!

Yay for random details on film…

Getting ready at Oak Street Salon in Mountain Brook…isn’t she happy?

Emily’s wedding gifts from Matt…

Okay, I LOVE these bouquets!  Super cool.

A huge thank you to my friend Cristi Owen in Phoenix who flew in to second shoot Emily and Matt’s wedding!  She was fascinated by the leaves in Birmingham…which was great.  This is one of her shots - I love how it sets the tone for the day!  (Though the sun didn’t stay out much longer!)

And on to some portraits - my favorite part of the day!

I’m not sure why - but this is probably my favorite image…

Reception and other favorite shots to come!

WOW!  Apparently it’s March.  Where is this year flying off too?

So, I am VERY excited about this Month - I have so many new projects and adventures.  Lately I’ve been swamped under album orders and deadlines, and preparing for WPPI, where I get to reconnect with my Alpha Kappa Camera Girls!  That’s right - we have a penthouse suite in Vegas…don’t worry, there will be plenty to share about that!

I thought y’all might want to have a look at Aimee and John’s Valentine’s Day Engagement Session here in Los Angeles.  I just love the light in these images - the West Coast isn’t bad on the eyes, and neither are these two.  I have the best story to share about Aimee and John, as well as the most fun part of the session, so it looks like this is going to roll on to the blog in installments..

For now, here’s a random peek into the day.

Absolutely LOVING this one…

I thought this turned out pretty interesting…

Walking off into the sunset…

YAY!  I can’t wait to share my favorites from the day - and I also have some pretty big 101 in 1001 items that are about to be checked off on the blog.  (As well as some that have been completed for a while!)  Give it up for MARCH…

Here’s to amazing clients who get engaged in New York City, have their engagement session in Los Angeles, and tie the knot in Atlanta. Who doesn’t want to tag along for awhile with this couple?  I got to spend Valentine’s Day with Aimee and John and play around all over this city - which was fantastic.  Congratulations to you both - I will always treasure this time I got to spend with you, and I can’t wait for your wedding day!

And here’s to the sunset in Malibu…

So here I am living the good life in Los Angeles. We have this wonderful place right on the beach in a fantastic community. The weather is incredible. (As I write this, it is currently 68 degrees and rising, while SNOWING and slushy in my hometown)! I am finally living on the same side of the country as my husband again. This city is a photographer’s dream come true. And yet, I find myself racked with homesickness.

For every beautiful moment here, I keep missing something I love back home. How do I start embracing this new life? I tried to just throw myself into everything I could find immediately, but being busy isn’t really the same as quality time is it? No matter how that time is spent.

I was very fortunate to quickly find a church I love, and join a small group. Through a crazy small world circumstance, I made a friend in my community who is one of my client’s best friends from college. I also had a couple of good solid friendships I knew I wanted to really invest in before I ever even got here permanently, so I definitely have that to be grateful for.

But how to meet people? This was my biggest hurdle. Last week, I found I was almost drowning in this feeling of loneliness - I just felt so adrift and without direction. Okay, maybe I’m still struggling with that…but the point is that last week, this became a catalyst for me to go out and do something about it! I needed to get out of my edit-and-album-design-at-home-alone mode, and go have some fun! Make some friends in my industry! (This being another thing I really miss about Birmingham). I was invited to a lunch with Heather, Regis, Victor and others - which was super fun - but I definitely felt like I was the girl going “let’s hang out just a LITTLE bit longer..”.  I’m already bribing them to hang out with me again!

So, also last week, I saw a link on twitter to a photography shootout.  Having no clue what this was, clearly my next thought was, “I should totally sign up!”…because that’s completely logical I’m sure.  I think I just wanted to do anything and everything to meet new people!  So, I sign up for this seemingly random event, and yesterday I headed up to Pasadena for the entire day.  And it was awesome!

I can’t believe all the time and effort that went into making the day possible.  Basically, I was put in a group with about 10 other photographers, and we just shot all day.  But it was so much more than that to me.  I met people.  I made friends.  I enjoyed myself.  I got to play and have a good time, and for just a little while, I wasn’t homesick…

A huge thank you to Hanssie and Matt for putting the day together, and to the amazing Mary Lallande and Amanda Auer for really making it what it was!

I’ll definitely be posting about the day, my new friends, and some cool behind the scenes images of what exactly a shootout is!  If you have a chance to go to one, you should.  I’m so thankful I got to have a fun and new experience with such great people.  My group rocked by the way - the best…without a doubt.  I’ll also post some images from the day…very different than anything I’m used to.  It was great to shoot with other photographers and be challenged.  I can’t wait to get my film back and share some of the images!  For now, I’m just posting a couple digital scenes I grabbed along the way.

Here’s to a great weekend!  Hoping I can live in the moment and to the fullest - no matter where I am..

I cannot WAIT to share the images from Ashley and Owen’s incredible wedding. For the meantime, I’ve been culling down through their digital images - and I have been just blown away by the intimacy in our night series…

So, this wedding was absolutely gorgeous, and I’m so excited to share it on the blog! Check back soon for a full post once I have the film images. These two amaze me in so many ways - and it was an honor to photograph their wedding day!

Okay, so I shot the vast majority of this session on film, which I’m still waiting to get back - but in the meantime, I intend to make Erin happy and give her something of a sneak peek on the blog!  What does that mean?  You will see this session posted roughly three times on this blog!  Which is fantastic, because how can you NOT just love these two, and also, this will force me to blog more…

I’ll give all the behind the scenes details and location and image information in the next post - so definitely check back for that.  Erin and Adam are a delight!  We had a great time, and really explored some interesting ideas together.  Most of all, I just had a great time with them!  Can you tell?

One from probably my favorite series of the entire day:

I find this series pretty and interesting…it just feels raw…

LOVE this one..