Kembra + Guy: Michigan Orchard Wedding

January 26, 2014

I’ll warn you now—this is one of my longer wedding blog posts. Kembra’s family hosted this amazing wedding at their orchard in Michigan, and they did an incredible job with every single detail for the day. On top of the gorgeous details, this whole group was just plain fun and super laid back. Kembra and Guy were both so sweet, and their wedding party, family and friends just radiated joy.

This was my very last wedding last year before I took a break to have Zelda (I was seven months pregnant at the time), and I was thrilled to go out with a bang with such a fun day. Huge thanks to Liz for helping out as the second photographer, and for running around to make sure every moment was captured whenever my big round tummy slowed me down.

Check back next Tuesday for a brand new blog post.

Revisiting Favorite Memories: A Tradition in Print

January 14, 2014

One of my favorite things to do is to sit on the floor at my parents’ house and flip through old boxes of loose family photos that we’ve collected over the years. My mom sorted them by year, and I love starting with the earliest photos of our family and moving through the years.

I worry sometimes that these printed photos are becoming a lost art. I had hundreds of photos on my computer from my college years that I never printed, and I lost most of them when my computer crashed my senior year. How many of us are taking hundreds or thousands of photos on our phones each year only to lose them when we forget to back them up? How often do you take the time to go through all of your phone photos to pick out your favorites and print them out?

A few years ago, I decided that I would give Jeff the same gift for Christmas every year—a memory box with my favorite photos from the year. It’s such a fun gift to put together. I get to spend hours reflecting on memories from the year and picking out my favorite photos. Some are professional photos that we’ve had taken. Some are photos that we took using my professional gear. Others are shots that we snapped on our cell phones while we were out and about. I pick out about 200 of my favorites for the box and get them printed as loose 5×7 prints. We have a shelf in our living room where we’re collecting the boxes in chronological order (we’re up to three boxes at this point—one for each year of our marriage).

If you haven’t made a point to go through your photos in a while, I absolutely encourage you to make a tradition of printing them out in some form to enjoy, even if you only choose a few to swap out in frames around your home. If you’re interested in creating your own memory box tradition, get in touch to learn more about printing your photos from the year to keep in a custom box with your favorite photo on the front. Boxes can be as small as 50 prints or as large as 500. I love all things sentimental, and I see it as an important investment in my family’s most cherished memories.

40 Weeks

November 25, 2013

I won’t technically hit 40 weeks until Thanksgiving day—my official due date. I’d like to say that I’m posting this early just in case she comes a little early and I wouldn’t otherwise have the chance, but it turns out that the final “official” week of pregnancy before the due date comes around can make a bit of a head case out of a new mom to be, and I’m starting to convince myself that she’ll hold out for another few weeks. I’m trying to tell myself that I’m okay with this, but as more people check in to see how I’m feeling and to find out whether anything has happened, I can’t help but feel just a little twinge of disappointment (I can’t imagine how Kate Middleton felt with the whole world watching and waiting—talk about pressure).

I can’t complain about pregnancy itself. Besides the humbling fact that I now prefer assistance to put my shoes on (if it wasn’t 25 degrees outside, slip on shoes would be my best friend these days), I’m generally feeling good. Really good (Maybe too good? I feel like there should be signs that labor is on its way, like feeling terribly uncomfortable or something).

At this point, the anticipation is getting to me more than anything. Now, I enjoy a little adventure, and I’ve gotten so much more comfortable with the unknown over the past four years from running my own businesses and making the crazy split second decision to move to DC for eight months, but even in those cases, I’ve always had some sense of control.

In this case, I have absolutely no control for the first time in my adult life. The preparation is done—as “done” as it can be. Jeff and I took a 12 week class that taught us about nutrition and exercise and how to have a natural birth (and how to set expectations in case things don’t go as hoped). Her room is ready for her. We’ve read (or at least scanned) the books. We’re ready to meet her.

But for now, we wait.

The Knot Magazine: Featured Wedding

November 20, 2013

When I first started to get serious about photography five years ago, I remember looking up to photographers who were featured in printed magazines—I never thought I’d see the day when “Allie Siarto Photography” would be featured in print. Well, lo and behold, this little dream of mine has just come true! The Knot Michigan reached out to me earlier this year about featuring Clare and Jim’s Kellogg Center wedding in their Spring/Summer 2014 magazine. It just arrived at my house hot off the presses, and I couldn’t wait to share. Grab a copy for some beautiful Michigan wedding inspiration, and check out Jim and Clare’s feature on page 98.

Check back next Tuesday for a brand new blog post.

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