She wears a ring on her finger with a saying that reminds her to always look on the bright side. And last year, at the age of 21 when she was diagnosed with rare form of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, looking on the bright side might have not been the easiest thing Erin had ever done. After all, she was in the middle of getting her college degree in Biology at UNR, she was in the middle of making new friends…and she was in the middle of, well, life. Being diagnosed at such a young age was a complete shock to her…she immediately put everything on hold & began intense chemo treatments. Time passed & her hair fell out (but she had the cutest wig!!!) and thankfully the cancer she was diagnosed with was treatable. She says that her experience with cancer definitely changed her for the better…it not only made her a stronger person but now that she is in remission, she can look forward to her life ahead. She is back in school & is able to look on the bright side more than ever…she can spend her time doing things she loves-shopping (Anthropologie!!!), going to the lake, spending time with friends, Disneyland & so much more. Erin is a brave, beautiful woman & I was so lucky to have been able to photograph her!
Erin-next time you want to hit up Anthropologie (or if you want to give away any of your darling clothes), you know who to call. You are a complete doll & I am grateful to have been able to spend time with you photographing you in all of your beauty. XOXO, marielle.
If you know someone who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer or recovering from cancer & would be interested in a complimentary photo shoot, please drop me a line. Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive & excited for my Brave Beauty project! It means the world to me & I look forward to all the Brave Beauties I will be able to meet in the future.
And now here is the lovely, beautiful Erin…
She has such a beautiful smile!
I love, LOVE how Erin’s hair has grown in! Such a fun style…
She said that when she met him that things just felt right. So right, in fact, that Sutton said that when she first met Pete, she felt like she was home. The comfort she felt when she was with him…the way he put her at ease & made her feel happy…just felt like home to her. And on a beautiful, overcast (and very cold!) day in Brentwood, Tennessee, Sutton & Pete promised to love each other…to cherish each other…through thick & thin. Through the words of the ceremony, they smiled at each other because at last they had found a person with whom they could be themselves with…they had found someone who loved them unconditionally…and they had found that home in each other. As Sutton & Pete were pronounced husband & wife, they simply couldn’t have been happier.
The grey sky loomed over the Wolf Den farm as the horses & alpacas chewed the yellow flowers. The wooden chairs were decorated with bouquets of baby’s breath flowers & the arch was draped perfectly with burlap. To say I was obsessed with the location would be a complete understatement. Someone there told me that they loved the location because it just “felt like Tennessee.” Neon green grass, wood fences, a lovely barn, horses & alpacas, rustic pathways & incredible greenery everywhere you looked. It was a perfect, PERFECT location for Sutton & Pete’s perfect, perfect day. After the ceremony, the guests partied all night to an amazing band, ate incredible food (I ate life-changing grits!!!), devoured not one but THREE wedding cakes, and danced the night away in masquerade masks. To put it simply…had the time.of.their.lives celebrating Sutton & Pete’s new lives together as husband & wife. Denise & her team from Big Events wedding made sure every detail was in place & even surprised Sutton & Pete with a vintage getaway truck! I loved the bold blue tones in the decor, the lace details throughout, Sutton’s cafe colored dress (and Valentino shoes!!!) and the rustic details throughout. Without a doubt, it was a night to remember for everyone who was there. You can see an amazing video of the wedding HERE.
I had never been to Tennessee before & I just have to say that it is definitely one of my new favorite places! The people there are sooooooo kind, so genuinely caring & the food is down-right ridiculous. Sutton & Pete-you two are simply adorable together. It is so cute to see how you both just light up when you look at each other. To say you make each other happy would be such an understatement! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing me out to Tennessee to capture your incredibly amazing wedding. I loved being a part of your special day to document your wedding….but more than anything, I am blessed to call you both my wonderful new friends! With much love & gratitude, XOXO, marielle.
Starting out the wedding day with a pair of amazing Valentino shoes…I’d say I was pretty darn happy…
Sutton & Pete opted to see each other before the ceremony…I LOVE when couples do this because it gives me time to capture sweet moments like this…
And then we have lots & lots of time to capture beautiful photographs without feeling rushed…
Sutton’s sweet father walked her down the aisle…and was beaming the entire time…
Wedding season is definitely in full swing & I’m so excited about the weddings I’ve shot so far & excited for the weddings I still get to shoot this year! With the announcement of my Brave Beauty project, I’ve already booked a few photo shoots with amazing women with cancer & I am excited! So, in a nutshell, I AM EXCITED ABOUT EVERYTHING! I have SO much to blog but I’m out of town this weekend for a wedding in Grass Valley. For the mean time, here are some sneak peeks of weddings that I’ll be posting when I get back to town…
Laney & Josh’s beautiful wedding at the Oakland Temple…
Sutton & Pete’s incredible wedding in Tennessee!!…
And Debbie & Jaren’s sun filled wedding at the Oakland Temple…
I hope you all have a fabulous, safe & wonderful weekend! Can’t wait to share all of these beautiful weddings & other exciting photographs with you when I get back!
For over a year now, I’ve had this idea in the back of my mind…it was an idea that excited me almost more than anything. And today I am very excited to finally share my idea with you…My idea is to photograph females with cancer…free of charge…and to call this project Brave Beauty. I personally don’t know what it’s like to have chemotherapy or radiation, but I assume it’s a time in people’s lives when they don’t feel beautiful. Every woman in the world wants to feel beautiful…and my goal with my Brave Beauty project is to showcase the inner AND outer beauty of women who are incredibly brave despite the diagnosis they have received. I aim to do at least a few photo shoots of cancer patients each month…and they will be free of charge & include all of the images from the session. If you know someone who is a Brave Beauty who you think would be interested in a free photo shoot, please drop me a line HERE. I am SO excited about this & I can’t wait for all the wonderful people I will meet because of this project!
While Shoshone & I chatted during her photographs, I asked her if she felt any different since she’s had cancer. What she said to me has stuck with me. She said, “I don’t feel any different inside…but I know I am a better person because of this.” At the age of 14, during her first week of high school, she was given the unexpected diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Her family knew that she was an exceptionally caring, compassionate girl…but until she received her diagnosis, they never realized the depth of her strength, faith & courage. As her mother says, Shoshone has decided to meet her diagnosis head on…with her eyes wide open & with all the honesty & courage that she is capable of having. Shoshone is the girl who chooses every.single.day to LIVE despite the tremendous emotional, physical, social & mental challenges she faces because of this diagnosis.
Shoshone loves makeup & fashion…and she is also an incredibly gifted dancer. Her cancer may have taken some things away from her, but it has definitely made her a better person, just as Shoshone said. It has made her look to the positive aspects of her life…and it has made her LIVE each day to the fullest. Shoshone completely embodies the inner radiance of a brave beauty & I am happy to consider her as my new friend.
Here are my favorites from her Brave Beauty session…
Isn’t she a total doll?
Not all of Shoshone’s hair fell out during her treatment so she decided to keep the few long pieces that didn’t fall out instead of cutting them. I LOVE how true she is to herself & I love her strands of long hair…
LOVE this…
I love that Shoshone’s sweet mother, Heather wanted to step in for a few photographs…
At the end of the session, Shoshone brought out her wig & we did some fun shots with it!
I feel like one of the most important qualities in the person you marry is someone who can make you laugh. Someone who makes you genuinely happy. Someone who will pick up the broken pieces after a hard day & just make it better by making you laugh. Maren & Sam are that couple. The couple who make each other laugh…the couple who has soooooooo much fun together…and the couple who will smile & joke with each other because they are just happy to be together. Maren & Sam met Sam at church while attending Stanford over five years ago. Awhile after meeting, they both served missions for their church. After their missions were completed, they found themselves again at church. Sam asked Maren out & as they say, the rest is history! On a misty, romantic day, Sam proposed while flying kites on Windy Hill & Maren said yes! They are getting married this summer & although I was already booked for their wedding date, I was elated that I was able to spend the afternoon with them photographing their engagements! The Stanford campus is full of incredible architecture & incredible places to shoot & since it held such meaning to Maren & Sam, that’s where we did their photographs. Here are my favorites…
Seriously how cute are they?
The one on the left is my favorite…
