It was one of the best phone calls I had received in a long time. On the other end of the phone was my ultra fab friend Jess, who told me that she was pregnant! I screamed, jumped up & down & laughed like a crazy 12 year old. To be honest, I’m almost always that ridiculous but when I talked to Jess on the phone that night, I was exceptionally rediculous. I was soooooooo excited for the great news because, quite simply, I knew that she & her husband were going to be the best parents ever. It is so fantastic when your friends have great things happen in their lives-it makes our own lives even better. And this was no exception. Hearing that she was expecting was wonderful, exciting & so fabulous!

Jess has the kindest, sweetest heart of anyone I have ever met. She is giving, totally genuine & is by far the best cook on planet earth. I’m not kidding. She’s made some meals that Sam & I talk about for weeks & weeks. I am so grateful to have a wonderful friend like her in my life & I am so excited for her sweet baby girl to make her appearance!

We almost postponed the shoot because it was hailing when I left my house, but I am so, so glad we did the shoot when we did. The light was incredible & Jess looked fabulous. We finished up with a few shots of her knitting at her house-she’s been knitting some darling things for her baby to be. I love, love how these photographs turned out! I’d love some comments! xoxo, marielle.

This first photograph makes me swoon! Ugggghhhh…Jess…you are gorgeous!

It all started with his car. Yes, his car. Luke’s gorgeous, midnight blue mustang GT. It pulled up into the 7-11 parking lot where Nicole & her friends were hanging out & that’s where it all started. Nicole approached Luke & asked, “Can I have your car?” He smiled his sweet smile & offered to give Nicole & her friends a ride in his car. And that’s how it all began.

Their relationship began just as friends & morphed into something wonderful. Something incredible. Something that without a doubt will last forever. Nicole & Luke have literally seen each other through life’s unexpected challenges & made it through as a team. If it’s going out for a night on the town or simply playing a game of Mario Kart, Nicole & Luke have the most fun when they are together. Because, quite frankly, there is no Nicole without Luke. And there is no Luke without Nicole. And yes, it’s as simple & as fabulous as that.

I had the pleasure of photographing their engagements at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. We had so much fun & I loved being able to see how sweet & kind they are to each other. They speak sweetly to each other, they care for each other & they are without a doubt each other’s best friend. Nicole & Luke were the winners of my February giveaway. If you haven’t read their amazing story, check it out here & bring some tissues when you read their incredible journey that they have gone through together.

Nicole & Luke, I had such a fun, fabulous time with the two of you! I am so grateful to have had the change to spend time with you & document your special love for each other! I can’t wait for your wedding! With  much appreciation…xoxo, marielle.

There is just something about Friday that makes me want to jump up & down, sing at the top of my lungs & put on my most fabulous sequined shirt. The only problem is…which sequined shirt do I wear? There are quite a few of them in my closet so it might be hard to narrow it down…

I’m grateful for all things fabulous & thought I’d share some things that I feel give my simple life a little oomph.

* Cadberry Bunny Eggs. If you follow me on Twitter or on Facebook, you know I have a problem. Like a huge addiction with Cadberry Bunny Eggs. The creamy, dreamy goodness is just heavenly & I love, love, love them! They are fab.u.lous. I know there are other Cadberry addicts out there so don’t hate!

* My 50mm 1.4 lens. This lens just makes me happy. I love the bokeh, I love how fast it is in low light situations & I just can’t live my life without it. Simple as that.

* Being happy with who I am. Seriously.  So what if I don’t cook dinner every night? So what if I talk waaaaay too loud? Who cares if I just happen to mix plaids with stripes? I can say that being myself & being okay with who I am is a liberating, fabulous thing. Start being happy with who you are & you’ll feel the same!

* Formspring. I just signed up on a fab website called Formspring where you can ask me questions & I answer them. They don’t all have to be photography related. I think it could be a great way for friends & clients to get to know yours truly! If you have any burning questions for me, please ask away! www.formspring.me/mariellehayes

* Hadley. Seriously. This girl is only two, but I think she has a pretty good idea about how rock it out like a celebrity. See below.

The waves crashed upon the north shore of Oahu as the palm trees swayed in the tropical breeze. The breeze blew through the hotel suite, creating a fabulous, pulsing energy. The energy of the bridesmaids making the final touches on their dresses…the energy from the clicking of high heels on the hardwood floor…the energy from every final spritz of hairspray & every final stroke of mascara applied…the energy & the emotion that came when Shariana’s bridesmaids helped her get ready… As the last button on her wedding gown was buttoned, her sweet bridesmaids oohed & aahed over how incredibly amazing she looked. The waves crashed on the shore outside the hotel & it’s energy mimicked Shariana’s excited energy. This was a bride who was ready-ready to walk down the aisle & become Will’s fabulous wife.

The bride & groom were surrounded by family & friends for their gorgeous wedding. The ocean provided a turquoise backdrop for their seaside ceremony & after they said, “I Do,” they partied like there was no tomorrow. If you follow my blog, you know that I am such a sucker for details & this wedding was chalk full of them! I loved the strands of paper lanterns adorning the reception site, the darling hand fans that were given out as favors, I loved Shariana’s incredible shoes. The reception was filled with hula dancing, fire dancing & even fireworks! At the end of the night, the bride, groom & their friends splashed in the ocean & had the time of their lives. Like I told you, it was a party to remember.

Shariana & Will-I hope you know that I love being around the two of you. I love the connection you have as a couple-I love how fun you are together. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have photographed your wedding! I wish you nothing but a fabulous life full of wonderful love & fun! With deep gratitude…xoxo, marielle.

The view from Shariana’s suite overlooked Turtle Bay & was gorgeous…

Shariana’s wedding gown was absolutely stunning. I was obsessed with the ruffles…

Love the look on Shariana’s face as she sees Will waiting for her at the end of the aisle.

This is my favorite photograph of Shariana & Will from their wedding. They look sooooo amazing!

I was so, so, SO excited about this photograph. ANY bride who is willing to lay on the beach in her wedding gown gets a gold star in my book! Love this photo so much!

The food was amazing. Thanks to my fab husband for making the food look picture perfect before digging in!

There was a fire dancer at the wedding who was incredible!

When I first met the Campbell family, I was blown away at how fun, stylish & fabulous they were. They are incredible, caring, talented & wonderful people who are just down right fabulous. And they have the most adorable kids on the planet, to boot! The best part about this is that Hadley is in love with their son, Thad. She talks about him all the time & sometimes even sings, “Happy Birthday, Dear Thad” at random times during the day. Sooooo cute!

I had a great time with them in this amazing field of yellow weeds! The kids were so well behaved & I think we got some pretty fab photographs. Looking at these photographs makes me sooooooo ready for Spring!

I’ll start out with one of my favorites from the shoot…

Looooove the expression on his face here!

Their love is sweet. Kind. Simple. Pure. Their love shines right through their souls & all the way down to their toes. In essence, their love is what I would say is pretty darn perfect.

Having the opportunity to photograph Jane & Alex’s was seriously such a dream for me. Not only was their wedding picture perfect, but Jane & Alex allotted a few extra hours on their special day for their bride & groom photographs. Note to all future brides & grooms: this is such a fabulous idea! We were able to spend so much time together & I was able to take them to a few amazing locations, which made for some pretty incredible photographs. I basically am obsessed with the photographs of Jane & Alex in the field…okay, I’m totally obsessed with them.

This is just my humble opinion, but I think that anyone who was in attendance would agree that this was a wedding that simply oozed perfection in every sense of the word. The simple & gorgeous details of Jane & Alex’s wedding were to die for: their amazing flowers, Jane’s intricate beaded gown, her custom necklace from November Thirteen, the couple’s first dance (it was choreographed!!), & even the flowers at the Oakland Temple looked extra gorgeous! In essence, their wedding was just as perfect, just as fabulous & just as beautiful as the love that Jane & Alex share!

Jane & Alex-I seriously LOVE you guys. You are both so sweet, kind & genuine & I hope you know I admire you both! I know your marriage will be just as amazing as the two of you are! With much love, xoxo, marielle.

The Oakland Temple’s flowers were beyond incredible. I think I got a little carried away with the photographs of the tulips!

This is hands down one of my favorite photographs of a bride ever. Jane, you are utterly gorgeous.

There was a wonderfully chaotic, exciting buzz that filled the air as Ben & Lisa’s wedding was about to begin…the final touches were put on centerpieces, guests shuffled to take their seats, the adorable flower girls giggled with excitement, groomsmen & bridesmaids lined up to walk down the aisle. As Lisa walked down the aisle & Ben saw his lovely bride for the first time; the chaos turned into pure bliss & contentment. Because for Ben & Lisa, when they are together, the world around them simply disappears.

I loved being a part of this wedding because both Ben & Lisa were amazingly kind, sweet & fabulous. They wanted their wedding to be a celebration of not only their love, but a celebration of all the people in their lives who have helped & supported them through the nine years they have been together. They chose to be married on Valentines Day which made the mood of their wedding even more amazing. I loved the darling flower girls, Lisa’s simple yet amazing bouquet, the delicious sunshine that shined on during the ceremony…I just loved every single thing about this beautiful wedding!

Thank you, Ben & Lisa for letting me be a part of your lovely, perfect wedding day. It’s people like you who make me love my job even more than I already do. Your love & thoughtfulness towards each other is so evident & so incredible to witness. I wish you all the happiness that this life has to offer! xoxo, marielle.

Looooooved this adorable, attentive ring bearer during the ceremony. So cute!

Definitely my favorite photograph from this wedding. I love everything about this photograph!

I had so much fun with these ring shots! Couldn’t pass up having some fun with the Valentines Day candy!

How, oh HOW has it been a whole week since I’ve blogged? I’ve had a crazy busy week & by the end of the week I will have photographed three weddings! Wedding season is here & in full force! Let me tell you, I am looking forward to 2010 & all the amazing weddings that I am lucky enough to be a part of. Call it a crazy hunch, but I think 2010 is going to rock my socks!

Here’s a sneak peek from a Valentines Day wedding I shot this week. I love the feel of this photograph…so timeless & gorgeous!

I’m looking forward to shooting this couple’s wedding on Friday at the Oakland Temple….

And I’m looking forward to heading out to Hawaii on Saturday for this couple’s wedding….

When I woke up this morning, my mind was filled with things I am grateful for. For my life, my health, my sweetheart of a daughter & my fabulous, wonderful husband. I am very blessed in my life & thought I would share some simple things I am grateful for…

* Friends. I have such good, wonderful friends. I am so lucky to surround myself with creative, thoughtful & fabulous friends. And I’m glad that my friends want to be friends with ME-despite my annoying jokes & loud, overbearing personality.

* Cereal. Sounds corny, but my day WILL NOT START until I have a bowl of cereal. Any kind, any brand, any flavor. I don’t hate on any type of cereal except for Grape Nuts. Once I have my morning bowl, I am a happy camper & ready for the day!

* California Academy of Sciences…sounds like a weird thing to be grateful for but SERIOUSLY! This place is amazing-I love everything there from the rain forest, the multitude of exhibits with incredible fish & even the collection of Andy Warhol prints. This place is architecturally incredible & going there is such a learning experience. I love to take Hadley there & hear her talk about the “white alligator” and the “purple oppopus (octopus)” Love, love this place.

* Hope. We’ve had some lessons at church about hope & I’m grateful to have hope & faith in myself, in others & in the future that lies ahead. I’m grateful for God who gives me that hope every single day.

* Pandora. Sometimes I feel like my work experience wouldn’t be half as enjoyable if I wasn’t listening to my awesome playlists on my computer. Right now I’m rockin out to a Rhianna playlist. And I’m planning on listening to my Boston playlist later on. Pandora, I worship you.

* I’m grateful for the fact that my 2 year old has worn her pink tutu every.single.day this entire week. It makes me grateful that she has an appreciation for all things fabulous.

* My family. Seriously. They are awesome.

There are so many things I am grateful for & this year I’ve decided that I want to spend more time being thankful. Even if it is for the silly things in life. And because no post is good without a photograph, here’s a photo of Hadley being lazy & amazingly adorable.

The response I received from my giveaway was totally amazing. I had emails that made me smile all the way down to my toes & lots of emails that literally made tears stream down my face when I heard of things that are happening in people’s lives. I am grateful that I can do something soooooooo small for people who really deserve it. Seriously, you guys rule.

Let’s get to the winner pronto, shall we? Serious warning, though. This post is long.

Here’s the story of our winner. It should be pretty darn obvious why I’m choosing her not only to be the winner, but why I want to BE HER. She is strong, incredible & supportive.

Luke and I met right after my junior year at Reno High had ended. From the moment I flirted with him, I fell in love. He was seriously the sweetest person I’ve ever met in my entire life. We dated all summer,and half way through my senior year we were blind sided with a medical emergency. Luke had a seizure while at work, and we found out he had an arteriovenous malformation–simply put, a bad connection between veins and arteries in the brain..the emergency doctor informed us that AVMs are rarely found in live patients because most rupture, cause internal bleeding and result in death. He emphasized how lucky Luke was and told us he would have to undergo emergency brain surgery in San Francisco. He also informed us that there was a very high chance of death, paralysis, mental retardation etc., but that if Luke made it through the surgery, we shouldn’t have any more problems in the future. For the week before his surgery, I was paralyzed with fear. I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that I might not spend the rest of my life with him. Yet, while I was being so selfish worrying about myself, Luke was the strongest person I’ve ever met in my entire life. I took a few weeks off from school and flew down to UCSF to stay with him through it all..needless to say, he made it out, strong as ever! We had to stay in the ICU & recovery unit for two weeks after his surgery. I remember, they didn’t have any rooms big enough for a rollaway bed, so I slept on the tile floor next to him for fourteen days–which is a HUGE accomplishment for this high maintenance girl : / It didn’t matter though, because even though we had only been together for ten months, I knew this was the man I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with, and I was SO grateful that God had still granted me that opportunity.
Luke and I wanted to get married as soon as I graduated from high school, but because of massive medical bills, we couldn’t afford it. So, we’ve lived each day together, working as a team to pay the bills while we waited….and finally!!–Luke proposed on December 31st, 2009 at midnight. We are newly engaged, and this June we will be celebrating our seven year anniversary, and the one year mark before our wedding! This gives me the greatest joy I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. I cannot tell you how lucky I feel to be able to have a second chance to spend my life with my Prince Charming. So, even if we aren’t granted with the opportunity to have you capture this time in our lives, I still consider us victorious. :]

Seriously. Nicole. I LOVE you. I LOVE your story. I LOVE that you slept on a nasty hospital floor for 2 whole weeks to be there with Luke. Your story is such a true love story & I am beyond excited to be able to document you guys in all your fabulousness together!

BUT.

WAIT.

THERE IS MORE!

There is one more piece to the giveaway! It’s not over! I had such a hard time only being able to give away one free portrait session. So I am leaving it up to you, my fabulous blog friends to vote on one of the following 5 people whose entries have been fabulous, moving & funny. The entry with the most votes by YOU will ALSO win a FREE portrait session with yours truly. Please vote by using the poll at the bottom of this post. The poll will close Sunday, February 7th at midnight. Read over the stories below & vote for your favorite!

Here are their stories:

1. Megan & Alan.

Five years ago, I was married to the most amazing man on earth.  We had such a beautiful wedding…It was the a perfect day…except for one thing: photography. We hired a photographer who was supposed to be amazing. We saw his stuff and liked it. We took a million pictures in the freezing, falling snow and again at the reception. When we were done and it was time for the photographer to check out, he realized something was wrong with his camera. ALL of our pictures were lost. We have lots of pictures that family took while the photographer was at  work, all with scrunched faces and blinking eyes. It was an unexpected glitch, but the day was perfect with or without pictures. That being said, I have become obsessed with having a working camera with me at all special occasions just in case! I can never go back and capture those perfect moments from that most extraordinary day. What I can do is make sure to capture the perfect moments all along the way.  As it is our fifth anniversary this month, what better time to take family pictures and to get a glimpse of the wonderful things that have come to pass since that beautiful day.

2. Sarah & Ben.

Hi Marielle,
We love your aesthetic and think your work is beautiful.  Ben and I have been married for 3 years. We have NEVER had professional pictures taken of us. We didn’t have an engagement session or a professional photographer at our wedding. That’s something that we now totally regret. We didn’t have very much money when we got married because Ben had just been accepted to UC Berkley and we were saving all of our money for his education. We think it would be so much fun to work with you and finally get a much needed family session. We are not afraid to let you do your thing, and experiment, try new things or go crazy with us! We are all for it, and it doesn’t hurt that we are super hot. Trust me we would make great models. We don’t have any kids yet, and I would love the opportunity to have a session with just us two before we start our family. We think you are an amazing artist and it would be great if we could get our first professional session with you. Thanks. Team Reinhart.

3.Daphne & Jacob. (submitted by sister-in-law, Tiffany.)

Daphne was the girl that won my brother’s heart in their early years of high school. I was so excited when they got engaged a few years later because they were what I had always thought a couple should be: respectful, loving, and understanding. A few months before their wedding date, something happened that changed their whole life plans—Daphne got pregnant. This was not at all something bad that happened to them; it just changed things up quite a bit. The money that was supposed to be spent on the many parts of a wedding was suddenly transformed into money needed for the newest addition to the family. We all chipped in to give them the best low-budget wedding we could make, but a lot of things got cut out of the mix. A real photographer was out of the question because of the cost, as we only spent $3,000 total for the whole wedding. Instead, Daphne had a family friend snap some pictures here and there, and we placed disposable cameras on the tables. They had many pictures, but had no real photographs that captured perfectly what that day was all about. As I mentioned before, Daphne is my idol, my best friend, and my sister. She has taught me many things by just being the person that she is. Daphne and Jacob as a couple are my idea of an ultimate love story. They are what I hope to have later on in life with my soon-to-be husband. I write this because they deserve their moment where we all wait by the computer to view their photographs online. I write this because I think I owe Daphne for a years of guidance and friendship. And finally, I write this mainly because I just love them all so much.

4.Mina & Nic.

Nic and I got engaged in December of 2008 (after many years of me pursuing him, he finally gave in!)  When we got engaged, we decided that October 2009 would be the perfect time to get married…beautiful fall colors, nice cool temperatures…what else could we ask for??? The only downside to that was that it left us with only nine months to plan. During the past two years, we have had 5 different friends get married. I am such a “picture person” that I had my camera for EVERY event at each wedding.  I was the one who took pictures of everything…I was the “unofficial” photographer — just because I like to have those special moments on film.  When it came time to participate in my own pre-wedding/wedding events — I obviously wasn’t able to be the one taking all of the pictures.  Unfortunately, none of my friends are as diligent as I am about capturing those moments. However, that’s not the real let down. We hired a photographer who happened to be a family friend. His specialty is taking pictures of the outdoors — and he does an absolutely fantastic job…..so, we thought, “Hey!  Let’s ask him to be our photographer!”  We made the (disappointing) assumption that he would be able to take (just as) amazing photographs of us on our wedding day as he does of the outdoors…we were wrong.  When we got the photographs back from him, we noticed so many disappointing aspects, but one truly stood out:  There was no photo (portrait) of Nic and me ALONE outside on the golf course after our ceremony. We have no wedding portrait!

5. Mike & Meghan.

My family and I would love to have a photo session with you.  You know every thing that Meagan has gone through with her cancer and we have not had family portraits since her hair has come back. We were actually just down in San Fran yesterday and tuesday to have her follow up scans from the radiation that she had in Dec. The scans turned out great, which we obviously are very excited about.  She has been after me for some time to get family pics done and I have just been pushing it off.  Either because of bad timing or I had a zit. And my face is clear for now so I might as well do it.  But the real reason is I love my family very much and I would do anything for Meagan.  She has gone through so much and I could only stand back and watch.  Sure I rubbed her back when she was sore and stood by her side when she was sick, but I never really knew what she was going through.  I know this is something very small compared to what she has gone through, but I also know it is something she would love to do. Hopefully you’ll think about us.