Marielle Hayes Photography

Fancy Friday.

01.06.2012

- A few weeks ago I was tucking Hadley into bed. I was wearing my (not cute) pajamas. As I was saying goodnight to her, she got a very serious look on her face. “Mommy. Mommy. MOMMY,” she said as she stared at my rear end. “Mommy-you are SO FANCY with your big bottom.” And that right there? That’s when I died! IF ONLY having a big booty counted as something fancy. I laughed when I thought how in Hadley’s sweet 4-year-old mind that having a large rear end counts as something exciting & fancy. So if you are in the fancy club with me, Happy Fancy Friday!

- I love this quote I found on Pinterest by Thomas Monson…”Don’t save something for a special occasion. Every day of your life is a special occasion.” I love this quote because I feel like every day should be fancy (the glittery & sparkly kind, maybe not the big booty kind)…every day should be an occasion to break out that glittery shirt, to eat that fancy chocolate & to vacuum your house while donning the glittery shirt & eating said fancy chocolate.

- I organize my closet by color & I’m not ashamed to admit that amid the blue section & red section of clothes that I have an animal print section as well as a sequin section. Bam!

- Thanks to everyone who voted for their favorite wedding photo of the year! You guys are amazing! The winner of the 20×30 canvas is….Shane & Tammy!!! Thanks to everyone who voted! Shane & Tammy will now have a huge fancy canvas of themselves in their home for all to admire!

Happy Friday to you all! Wishing everyone a very fancy & fabulous New Year! Here are some peeks of a few photo shoots that will hit the blog next week!

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2011 Reflections & an Awesome Giveaway!

01.02.2012

in Weddings

I am lucky to honestly say that I have found the perfect job for me. It’s amazing how much joy & happiness my journey as a photographer has brought me. Through being a photographer, I have met incredible people who have become my friends, I’ve been able to document beautiful weddings & I’ve been able to live my dream. To my clients from 2011, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for trusting me to capture your laughter, tears, joy & happiness.

My favorite part about the New Year is that it gives me the chance to reflect, see where I’ve grown, figure out what things I need to work on & look back at the wonderful memories & friendships I’ve made throughout the year. I am so, so blessed.

2011 was a whirlwind year & I can’t believe it’s over! I was lucky enough to be able to travel to Texas & Hawaii for weddings. I was lucky enough to have my photographs published in a cookbook. I was lucky enough to photograph dozens of families, engaged couples & couples tying the knot. Hadley started preschool, I surfed a wave in Hawaii, we visited Canada as a family & despite the amount of candy I ate-I had no cavities at the dentist. It was a wonderful, fabulous year!

So what better way to celebrate the wonderful couples who I’ve photographed last year than with a GIVEAWAY!?!?!?!? Here are the juicy deets…

Below I’ve posted one photograph from each wedding I’ve photographed this year (some which I still have yet to blog…like I said-this year has been a whirlwind!). To vote, you must like my photography fan page on Facebook & write on my wall with the name of the couple who you’d like to see win! Easy, peasy. Comments on this blog post will NOT count as votes so go to the Facebook fan page, y’all! One vote per person.

The winning couple will receive a 20×30″ canvas (of their choice) from their wedding. Ready, set, GO!!!! The winners will be announced on Friday, January 6th.

Gabrielle & Jordan’s lovely winter wedding at the Reno Temple…

Paige & David’s beautiful & fun (best dancing EVER) wedding also at the Reno Temple…

Melanie & Brian’s fabulous & awesome wedding at the Reno Temple…

Shana & Eugene’s modern classic wedding at the Hotel Shattuck in Berkeley…

I hopped on a plane to the great state of Texas to celebrate Stephanie & Gerardo’s Dallas Temple wedding…

Definitely my favorite photograph of 2011! I loved Tammy & Shane’s lovely wedding at San Francisco City Hall…

Lupine & Courtney’s intimate wedding at the modern City Hall in San Rafael…

Katrina & Adrian’s fun & funky wedding in San Lorenzo…

Brianna & Alex’s DIY wedding (her mom made her dress!) at the Oakland Temple…

Becky & Devin’s hilarious, beautiful & fun wedding at the Tannenbaum Lake Tahoe…

ALOHA! I photographed my beautiful friend Heather & her husband Jordan at the Laie Hawaii Temple…and yes-they are so awesome that they rented scooters for the photos!

Nicole & Luke’s bright & bold wedding at the Chism House in Reno…

Megumi & Huy’s colorful wedding (look at her kimono!) at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga…

Anjali & Brian’s classic & colorful wedding at the Palmdale Estates in Fremont…

Jared & Marie’s wedding at the Reno Temple (we may or may not have eaten Taco Bell halfway through their photos…)

Brittany & Ben’s fun wedding filled with laughter at the Oakland Temple…

Lindsay & Jeremy’s fantastic wedding at the Oakland Temple…

Leilani & Kofi’s wedding was fabulous…and also at the Oakland Temple!

Jen & Alan had the best wedding cake of 2011 (lemon poppyseed!!!). Lovely, sweet wedding held at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga…

Sophie & Zack’s outdoor wedding under the pine trees at the 20 Mile House…

I hate to be partial but my sister Morgan & her husband Dallon’s wedding was definitely my favorite wedding of the year. So happy for them!

Keli & Johnny’s wedding at the Chateau at Incline was filled with joy all around…

I was hired the DAY OF Amber & Conan’s wedding after their photographer forgot about their wedding! Loved their Lake Tahoe Wedding…

Vanessa & Neil’s San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts wedding was perfect-complete with their English Bulldog as the ring bearer…

Charlotte & Billy’s wedding at the Oakland Temple was perfectly perfect…

Clarissa & John’s personalized wedding with lots of singing, laughter (and a vintage car!) at the Berkeley City Club…

Kristin & Brent’s colorful wedding at their home in Petaluma (complete with ice cream truck!)…

Gar & Lane’s personalized DIY wedding at the Oakland Temple…

Taylor & Jeremy’s wedding at the place where they met & fell in love-on the UC Berkeley campus…

Heather & David’s wedding with killer views & the dance part of the century at Heavenly Lake Tahoe…

Caitlin & Brad’s amazingly detailed DIY wedding in Caitlin’s parent’s backyard…

Erika & Brian’s heartfelt & sweet (and windy!!!) wedding at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco….

Vanessa & Silvio’s beach wedding complete with a clam bake at Half Moon Bay…

Erika & Mig’s sweet wedding at the Oakland Temple…I’ve shot so many weddings there this year!

Mallory & Jordan’s fun (and almost rainy!) wedding at the Oakland Temple…

I almost cried when the sun went down after their wedding but once the Christmas lights came on, I almost cried from happiness! Claire & Russell…

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In Memory of Karli Johnson.

12.21.2011

in Personal

We just wrapped up the fundraiser for Cristian & my heart is filled with gratitude for those around me who are SO giving & so willing to share what they have with people in need.

After the fundraiser closed for Cristian, a tragedy struck in a young family that lives in my hometown Reno. Through the help of my friend Nicole, I’ve realized that doing another fundraiser is a very appropriate thing to do. I know that so many of you have already given, but please read the following story about Karli Johnson:

Karli was a young, positive, loving woman who was 7 months pregnant. Last Thursday morning Karli had an aortic dissection – doctors felt it was safer to separate Bodie and Karli. He pulled through like a champ, 5lbs 1 oz 18 in. Karli, on the other hand had to get through the next 48 hours. She was so brave and courageous through all of this. As she waited during those hours, she was positive, cheerful & worried about others instead of herself. Saturday afternoon Karli was finally able to meet her sweet baby, Bodie. She held him for about a half hour & shortly thereafter she went into emergency surgery. Sadly, the doctors were unable to save Karli’s life. She was a young wife, someone who had a passion for everything around her & someone who was so excited to be a mother. She loved Bodie & her husband Willie more than anything.

There are so many people whose lives were touched simply by knowing Karli. I simply cannot imagine the heartbreak that this small family is going through right now & I’m hoping that together we can raise some money to help with medical bills & other expenses. It is better to give than to receive…Karli spent her life giving others joy. I have learned this month how much better it is to give than to receive…I know that at this point in the year we are all strapped for cash as dollar after dollar has been spent to purchase Christmas gifts for the ones we love. If you can, please make a donation to this family during this time & share in the true meaning of the Christmas spirit by clicking on the donate button below the photograph.

Any dollar amount will be accepted. 100% of the donations received will be given to to this family. The photograph of the poppies will be emailed to you in high resolution format. The photograph is then yours to print, frame, give as a gift, use as a desktop photo, etc. The photograph will not have my watermark on the image. ALL of the proceeds will be given to the Johnson family to help them during this tragic time in their lives.

God bless each & every one of you who have been so gracious to give…you are truly angels in someone’s lives this year. XOXO, marielle.

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Because We Have Been Given Much.

12.05.2011

in Personal,Photography

It’s a song we sing at church every once in awhile. And it’s a song that I simply cannot sing without crying. The words are so simple but there is so much beautiful powerful in them. And whether you believe in God or not, the words are so true because they apply to each & every one of us…

Because I have been given much, I too must give.

Because of thy great bounty, Lord each day I live.

I shall divide my gifts from thee with every brother that I see,

who has the need of help from me.

Because I have been sheltered, fed by thy good care…

I cannot see another’s lack and I not share-

my glowing fire, my loaf of bread-my roof’s safe shelter over head,

that he too may be comforted.

At this time of year, it’s easy to look around us and see how blessed we are. It’s also easy to look around at those around us & see that there are people who are struggling. Family illnesses, home foreclosures, people losing their jobs, those without the means to provide basic needs for their families. Life.is.HARD.

I am going to share a story with you about a family who needs some extra help at this particular time in their lives…

Cristian is a 7 year old boy-currently he’s in the second grade at school. On October 1st Cristian was complaining of pain in his right foot. As the days progressed his foot started hurting more and more, by Wednesday October 5th, Cristian woke up unable to walk & unable to use his right side. That morning his parents took him to his doctor for a check up. The Doctor sent him to the emergency room & later that day they diagnosed him with a brain tumor on his left side. They soon discovered that the tumor was the size of an orange. He was flown to the Oakland Children’s Hospital where he underwent an 8 hour surgery to remove the tumor. After the surgery Cris recovered well….and as his family was eagerly waiting to hear from the doctor regarding the results from the tumor. On October 14, they were given the bad news that Cristian’s Tumor was malignant and that we would have to do Chemotherapy for four rounds along with a bone marrow transplant & radiation.

As if this wasn’t already a hard enough time for little Cris & his family, his father was laid off from his job at the same time. Their family has six children to care for along with heaps of medical bills.

I’m hoping that you can see all that you’ve been given in your life & recognize how much others can benefit from your small contribution. Because we have been given so much in our lives, I really believe that we need to give to others & help those who have needs greater than our own.

Although our lives & the trials we are given are uncertain, there is one thing that is for sure: that there are wonderful people out there who are willing to help…and I hope you are one of those types of people!

I am holding a fundraiser for sweet family-100% of the money raised will go to this family to help them in this time of their lives. Thanks to my friend Liz for donating the lovely merry-go-round photograph. The other photographs are ones I took while traveling in Europe. Each photograph that you purchase will be emailed to you in a high resolution format. The photograph is then yours to print, frame, give as a gift, use for Christmas cards, use as a desktop photo, etc. The photograph you are emailed will not have my watermark on the image. ALL the proceeds will go to Cris’ family to help pay for his medical bills & to help them get back on their feet.

Here’s hoping that you can see another’s need & share what YOU can with this family. Thanks in advance for helping this sweet family in their time of need. Merry Christmas to each of you!

I am hoping that the photographs will be purchased for $7 each, but I am leaving the amount blank so that you can donate as much or as little as you like. Donations will close on December 24th, 2011.

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Workshop!

12.01.2011

in Personal,Photography,Portraits,Weddings

I had the pleasure of hosting a fun workshop in Nevada in October-it was a ton of fun & we covered everything from posing to lighting all the way down to interacting with your clients. I am lucky enough to have amazingly beautiful friends who were willing to model for the workshop! Thanks to everyone who came & a special thanks to Derek & KayLynne for being so gosh darn attractive! And thanks to my sweet dad who let us use his prized Corvette for the photos!

Here are my favorites from the workshop…