I’ve never photographed  a wedding I have been so closely involved in. From helping to choose the colors (blue & coral to match the water & sunset), to making the food (my other favorite pastime) to hosting it at my house (which was tricky at best, but hey we made it work)….. I had a hand in every detail, and it was so much fun! Talk about living vicariously  And I couldn’t have done it all for a more wonderful person and friend.  Rob – you are such a lucky man! And Rebecca…I wholly approve of your choice – except for the fact that it moved you all the way across the country and away from me! We miss you around here!  But I’m so happy for your new life and you  were such a beautiful bride! (Check our Rebecca’s awesome bridal portraits here!)  We had a great time having the family and friends over and of course making all of the yummy food!  And the small and simple ceremony was so sweet! Rebecca and Rob are having a reception today in Michigan where they both have roots and this blog post is in honor of them. Congrats!

Phew…..it’s been a whirlwind of a week! Five days in Las Vegas for WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International), followed by two full days of shooting, followed by two full days of recording a Christmas CD for the OCMCO…  I’m glad to be settled down again, back to my regular routine of kids, editing, shooting and working on making my business better for my clients a little bit at a time.  I learned so much that I can do to improve how I shoot, light, pose and edit as well as have stellar customer service this last week at WPPI, and I can’t wait to implement all of the wonderful things I learned!  One goal I have is to be a more consistent blogger, so although this is a short post, I would like to  show off a fun set of Senior Portrait Graduation Announcement cards that I designed and ordered today for one of my beautiful Senior clients!  Designing announcements is such fun!

A Very Happy Valentine’s Day from our family to yours!

“Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”  ~Robert Heinlein

“You really shouldn’t say “I love you” unless you mean it.  But if you mean it, you should say it a lot.  People forget.”  ~Author unknown, attributed to an 8-year-old named Jessica

“It is not that love is blind.  It is that love sees with a painter’s eye, finding the essence that renders all else background.”  ~Robert Brault

“Love one another and you will be happy.  It’s as simple and as difficult as that.”  ~Michael Leunig

So, today is my little sister’s birthday.  I thought I would surprise her with just a few images from the family portraits session we did in Laguna Beach when she came out to visit Sunny Southern California this month!  We had a great time for the few days her family was out here – dinner and sleepover at our place, then Disneyland and California Adventure, then dinner here again – and Christmas gifts!  It was a whirlwind of a trip, but so fun! Somewhere in there we fit in a quick portrait session at the Lab or Anti-mall in Costa Mesa and at the beach in Little Corono in Corona del Mar.  I haven’t even looked through the whole session yet, but I wanted to pull out a few for Britt’s birthday, so here are a few of the beach ones that caught my eye …surely more to come later! Happy Birthday Brittany!

Would love to have this large on my wall again sometime soon…

My little nephews Xander and Liam are growing up so fast! It was time for a brief update of their pics last time they came to visit! Enjoy Brandon and Sara – and Happy Birthday this week, to a very awesome brother!

I’m writing to tell you about an opportunity you simply will not want to miss! The annual Christmas performance by the OCMCO, part of what is now the largest choral and orchestral organization in the world, and certainly one of the finest!  This  concert will feature some of the most beloved Christmas carols of all time – including my own personal favorites – O Holy Night, What Child is This, and most stirring arrangement of Carol of the Bells I have ever heard.  In addition to some Christmas classics, such as Silent Night and Go Tell it on the Mountain, enjoy some lesser known carols (such as beautiful arrangements of  On Christmas Night and Riu Riu Chiu) and many more.  And all of this will be enjoyed in the beautiful Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, CA.  And to top things off, you can look for me and all three of my children up on the stage and after the performance (let me know if you are coming  and I will look for you afterwards) – we all get to be in it this year!

I am so confident that this will be the most inspiring, uplifting and enjoyable holiday concert of the season, that I am willing to back it up with this guarantee: If you come to the concert and it is not the best Christmas concert  you attend all season (I know that is subjective, but it is entirely up to you to decide if it is or isn’t), I will reimburse the full cost of your tickets with Studio Credit at Vanessa Honda Photography – just scan in and email your ticket stubs or receipt or present them to me in person and I will issue a credit to you good towards, prints, images or session fees.

So how do you take advantage of this not-to-be-missed opportunity, you ask?  You can purchase your tickets online here or call 714.556.2787 to purchase your tickets. Tickets start at just $18, so affordable for this beautiful venue and world class performance.  And they are expected to sell out by the end of November, so get them now while you still can (they are half sold out already, I hear…)

Here are the details:

Saturday December 3rd, 2011 at 2:00 and 7:00 PM.

Orange County Performing Arts Center
Renee and Henry Segrestrom Concert Hall
600 Town Center Dr
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(just off the Bristol exit on the 405 fwy)

To purchase tickets, CLICK HERE! or Call 714.556.2787, open 10am – 9pm daily.

Be sure to let me know which performance you’ll be coming to!  And now, enjoy some pics I took of the Segerstrom Concert Hall, where we’ll be performing. See you on December 3rd!

Well, I may be a bit biased, but I really do think they are  the cutest ever!  I finally had the opportunity to meet my little niece Emery this week, and what a doll she is!  So sweet and beautiful! And she shares a birthday with my daughter, Kate!  Also spent the holiday playing with little Liam, my other brother’s son…so with all of this hanging out with family I snapped a few shots while playing around in the yard.  Gotta love those Anderson blue eyes – and do you dig Liams “biggest/happiest” smile ever?  I just love these little ones, and am happy to share these with the rest of my family and all of you!  Enjoy Zach – and Brandon and Sara. You have adorable children!

Hopefully this will be the first post of many featuring this adorable little guy!  Why is that? Well, he is my newest little nephew, born earlier this year, and I finally had a chance to meet him last month on my first trip to Utah!  What a great time my kids had meeting their newest cousin, and he charmed all of us with his ready smile and adorable dimples.  We didn’t hear a peep out of him during our entire visit!  We didn’t have much time (or the props or equipment) for a full photo session, but I couldn’t help but take a bunch of candids while we were there, and we even went up to the bedroom and grabbed a few while he got changed…  So here are the pics from our visit Jesse & Mindie – hope you enjoy!  And welcome to the family Braxton!

I had the loveliest time visiting with a good client and great friend a couple of weeks ago.  She invited us to her ranch for a picnic and Easter Egg Hunt.  I, of course,  brought my camera along to document the happenings.  And was hoping to get a few updated shots of my own kids while at such a lovely location. But mostly just wanted to enjoy the day with the kids and any cute photos that came out of it would be a bonus.  They kids enjoyed climbing the rocks, swinging on the tree swing and looking for eggs the Easter Bunny left for us in the Tunnel of Love.  I enjoyed the good company, warmth and sunshine and the long walk by the lovely lake and tree-lined lane.  And I did get my bonus of a few cute shots of the kids, which will be posted here for friends and family to enjoy! These guys are the light of my life, and they keep me going every day, putting one step ahead of the other.  What I wouldn’t do for their smiles…