I have to say, my first official Hawaii wedding was one of my absolute favorites to date. The couple; embodying everything you possibly can about ‘Aloha’, were equal parts relaxed, fun and amazing gorgeous. Its a photographers dream.  I ‘re-met’ the bride and her now, husband, when my family and I  first moved to Oahu last summer. Scared, confused and out of place these two swept us up like Ohana and made us feel welcome, and at ease in a strange new place. They taught us everything from; how to  do a beach day right, and even how to properly eradicate centipedes. (Side note: YIKES) I can not say enough kind words about these two- which made shooting this wedding EXTRA special for me.

The bride selected a real dream team of vendors from her gorgeous Joelle Perry custom gown to excentuate her growing bump, to the amazing hair and make up by Marian Melanie to the bouquet and event planning by Alana Madrid Florals & Events. The event took place at the Hawaii Polo club- a  huge open field surrounded by beautiful trees, and butting up agains that amazing Hawaii ocean. The bride and groom, who are naturally photogenic, were so fun to take photos of. They also had the benefit of being 20 weeks pregnant, which added a whole other element of beauty and fun to their story line. It also made the ceremony, on of my favorites to date!  I hope you enjoy going over their wedding as much as I did taking the photos. Cheers friends! 

Wedding Day Details

Dress: Joelle Perry Wedding  

Hair & Makeup: Mariah Melanie

Florals & Even Planning: Alana Madrid Florals & Events

Location: Hawaii Polo Club 

Lead Photographer: Elizabeth McDonnell Photography

Second Shooter: Amber Schyne 

XO

Taking a few weeks off to welcome our newest little member to the family. Hope to talk to you all soon. Before I sign off for a bit though, I wanted to share a few of OUR maternity photos from our session with the amazingly talented Cait Schlablach ! Follow her and all her amazing photos and adventures on Instagram and Facebook!

We love you and your work Cait! Thanks again! <3

My dear, sweet, thoughtful, smart, BEAUTIFUL friend, rounded out her beautiful family with her 4th child this winter. I was lucky enough to capture her at 35 weeks pregnant, just 3 weeks before I got captured her sweet daughters birth! For her maternity session, Erin decided to do photos of just her and the baby…saving the whole family photo thing for the coming months. We were really able to just capture her and Sam together, which I know Sam (and Erin) will cherish forever. We headed into an open park that had just recently been covered in this beautiful white/yellow buffalos grass & yellow flowers to capture Erin in her last, and final trimester of pregnancy. The desert sun, indigenous cactus, and beautiful mountain provided the perfect relaxing setting for baby & mom. Thank you Erin for letting me be a part of this! Love you with all my heart! Congrats!  

Maternity shoots are one of my favorite types of shoots. There is just something so incredibly exciting about the whole thing. Bonnie and Vitopaolo just recently moved to Tucson from Italy.  Bonnie was born and raised here, but Vito is experiencing living in the desert terrain for the first time. We decided to head to Tanque Verde Guest Ranch to take these maternity photos, and let Vito, have his first encounter with a Rattle snake. No joke- there it was in the middle of the path. Yikes! Needles to say, we managed to escape alive, baby bump in tow.

Photographing these two Arizona Italians, who are expecting their first baby this winter, was a blast. They are so warm, so loving and so very very excited. I don’t know any Italian, but I am pretty sure that Vito continuously looking at Bonnie and saying “….bellissimo!….bellissimo!……bellissimo!” in almost every sentence, meant that he thought she was beautiful. And beautiful she is…

You two will be beautiful parents! Hugs to you all.

I love this idea!

I have a real soft spot for Dad’s and daughters…

This next photo is extra special. Tina, had the idea to take a photo of her and Gia in the same pose as she was once photographers with her mom.  It was such a special tribute to her mom, who passed away. With a two year old, this can be a little tricky, but I think we got close.

These 3 and a half were just adorable. 

I of course had to get a few shots of just Tina and her beautiful belly. 

Such a incredibly kind and sweet family! 

This is one good looking pregnant lady! Except for the belly, she didn’t look pregnant at all! 

Isn’t she the cutest?!

They decided not to find out if they were having a girl or a boy until delivery, which is such a fun surprise! 

This is my favorite. 

Thank you Tina and Rick for letting me photography your beautiful family! 

Introducing our baby and the bump package! I have so many mom’s who get their maternity photos done, and then after the baby comes, decide they want their little one photographed too! This new  package offers a discount for booking both shoots with me.

Details Include:
-The Belly and the Baby…………………………$350
-Two photo sessions
-Maternity Session with Mom to be
-Newborn Session, once the baby comes
-100+ hi-res photos from each session

Check out some of these moms and their cute little babies: 

Hope to see you soon!

We got a lot of photos pf Dana laughing because her husband is HILARIOUS!

Dana is seriously stunning.

I think this is my favorite image of the shoot…

I love this next one…

How cute are these tiny Tom’s?!

I’m not kidding. Adam is F-U-N-N-Y!

These next few Wildcat themed photos were completely necessary because Dana was on the pom line for U of A and Adam was on the Football team (how fitting!). I love theses…

These are two of my favorites from the shoot.

Boy!

Thank you Dana and Adam for an awesome shoot!

At 7 months pregnant, Kelsey Shirley looks adorable. Awaiting the birth of her second child, she couldn’t be more excited, and it shows. Kelsey and I took her maternity pictures in the Old Barrio district in downtown Tucson. I love to take pictures here because the lighting is amazing, and the old buildings and doors give a rustic sensibility to the photographs.

Kelsey is having a girl, so I love this hot pink door we were able to find

These are the types of backgrounds you can always find in the Barrio.

Kelsey’s pump is the cutest!

I adore this next photo…

I am a big fan of texture. I love the texture this brick wall added to Kelsey’s photos.

Thank you Kelsey for an amazing shoot! Congratulations to you and Nate!