MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Merry Christmas from Our Home to Yours!! For all of my amazing couples this year I hope that you are enjoying your first Christmas together as a married couple. Doug and I are enjoying our first Christmas in Kentucky together.

Here's to a "Saintsational" Christmas!!! Cheers!! Best Christmas Wishes to you all! Enjoy the day with your families! :)

Lauren and Dustin -- Married!!

I feel so blessed this year because I have loved every couple that I have had the opportunity to work with. Lauren and Dustin are another incredible couple that I had the joy of telling their story. They both did so great from the engagement session 9 months ago, to Lauren's bridals, to the wedding day -- and their pictures show their ease with one another. Thanks for allowing me to be a part of your special day. I look forward to capturing more memories for your family down the road. ;)

Carrie Bradshaw!! Amazing!!!!!!!!!!

Michelle's mom characterized Michelle perfectly at her wedding this past Saturday when I heard Miss Kim call her Carrie Bradshaw. Her style and personality do suit her to that well, but her mom was referring to her laugh in one of the bridal shots. However, when they changed before leaving the reception she came out in an incredible skirt suit. She definitely fit the bill then.

Anyway, I have been waiting to release these images for a couple of months now. And it's been KILLING me!!!!!!!!! We were lucky enough to get an amazing rainbow during her shoot. I was literally jumping up and down with joy! And Michelle was wonderful -- even though it was sprinkling, she wanted the picture. The rest of her images were pretty great too. Take a look for yourself!!

Southern Belle!

Frannie's bridals were taken at Madewood Plantation in Thibodaux. It was my first time shooting there, but it was wonderful. I could have stayed on the front porch for the whole shoot. Frannie has a very thin build and tiny waist, which was accentuated even more by her dress. With her height added to that, she looked like a model that day! One of my favorites though was the laughing shot on the back porch when she was sitting at the bistro table. I love the natural beauty that's evident in a laugh.

City Gal!

Lauren's pictures turned out very cute in an adorable, sassy way. She was able to truly look like she was daydreaming about Dustin at times. And other moments, you would have thought he was standing across the street. I was amazed at how well she was able to go into her own little world. The main image that comes to mind is when she's sitting on the white steps barefoot, gazing down the street with a smile that says, "I'm in love!"

Tara's Bridal Session

Tara's images turned out very beautiful without much fuss. She preferred less dips and twists when it came to the posing, but with the hair, make-up, dress, and personality -- nothing else was necessary. ;) Oh, and I absolutely loved her flowers! The colors were perfect for this time of the year. An excellent choice!!

Swamp Thing!! ;)

I mentioned before how much I loved the trails that Allie took me on for the engagement -- the bridal trail was no different. It was incredibly beautiful!!! A bit hot the day we were out there, over a hundred degrees with the heat index. She was a trooper though, and I love the shots in the tree. What a brave gal! Thanks for being a great sport about it mom! And thank you to Allie's dad too for being the one with the initial idea for her to climb it to begin with!

Plethora of Bridals!!!

Just a fun warning that I'm going to be posting four bridal sessions from all of last month's weddings!! I'd love to go into detail on each, but time is limited, so I just want to get them up so that my bride's can share with their family and friends. Especially since the dress is no longer a surprise! ;) I adore each of these women, and I think each of their shoots reflect each individual personality, as it should. Please enjoy these beauties!!

Meet Melanie and Quang

I had a great time with Melanie and Quang. They are both very sweet and seem to appreciate the small things in life. Melanie gave me a beautiful explanation of why she wanted to have pictures with some oak trees. My memory is awful, and I don't want to tell the story wrong, but it was very sincere. I laughed a lot too because they were giggling very nervously at first, and then I think they just turned into fun laughs by the end. :) I hope you had as much fun as I did!! Enjoy!

Tara and Michael -- Married!!

Tara and Michael had such a smooth wedding, everything went so well! Tara has been very organized throughout the process, so I'm sure that helped. ;) I love shooting at St. Joseph's Cathedral, but it was my first time at the Municipal Auditorium. The ambiance in the reception was amazing!! I loved it! Thanks for letting me be a part of your day! Enjoy!

Allie and Derek -- Married!!

I've had such a wonderful time working with you guys! And it's been a blessing to be involved with the Barrios family twice now (Derek and Brody are brothers). I love getting to keep in touch that way! :) So Allie, now it's your turn to find someone on your side of the family so we can do it all over again! It's been great!!

Meet Renata and Terence

Renata and Terence will be married in June 2010 in Jackson Square. I have wanted to do a wedding there since I first saw one in progress a while back. Renata and Terence were so much fun during their session. Renata is cheerful and bubbly, and Terence is of course tall, with a quiet but very cute demeanor. It's interesting that I generally find my couples balance each other perfectly. They laughed so much during the photos, and I got tickled every time they did. My cheeks were hurting at the end! And every time I showed Renata the back of the camera she'd say, "Oh my gosh, that's my favorite!" So Renata, you'll have to let me know which ones actually end up being your favorites. ;) Enjoy your slideshow!

Kari and Scott -- Married!!

Kari and Scott's wedding was a lot of fun. They were married at St. Dominics in Metairie, and had their reception at Pat O's on the River. Kari of course, looked gorgeous! And Scott was completely laid back and hilarious the day of the wedding. My favorite parts involved the reception. Kari was unaware of what their first dance song would be because it was a surprise from Scott. He chose "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green. I thought it was sweet then, but tonight Kari shared with me that one night when they were out a long time ago, he played that song and pulled her out onto the dance floor. Too cute!! I love it! And then, to Scott's funny side....two of his friends sang at their reception for over an hour (they were extremely good too!) and Scott again surprised Kari by joining his friends and singing "Just a Jiggelo". That was only until he met Kari though, as he sang to her in the song. ;) You have both been wonderful to work with! Thank you for letting me tell the story of your day.

Dawn and David -- Married!

Dawn and David were absolutely wonderful to work with throughout the past year. They have both been so sweet and laid back, but with very fun personalities. My heart was honestly pained for them the day of the wedding though due to the weather. They were supposed to have an outdoor ceremony and reception. The weather, however, challenged them to make the final call a couple of hours before ceremony time as to whether or not to proceed inside or out. They pretty much had a 50/50 shot. But it was such a HARD decision. I love the Maison Dupuy as well, but that's my worst fear. The reception ended up being moved inside with a few tables left out by the pool. I could see disappointment on their faces during the discussion of what to do, but this couple handled it with as much grace as I believe possible for that situation. And they enjoyed their reception regardless. I hope you guys know how special I believe you are, and it has been an honor to capture your story. Enjoy!

Meet Allie and Derek

Allie and Derek will be married in just a couple of weeks. Allie grew up in Lafitte and really wanted to do her bridals and engagement session on the trails that she explored with her dad and grandma growing up. (I stand corrected ;) -- her brother was also around for many of these excursions as they got older. They still have contests to see who can spot snakes, alligators, etc. first.) She was so excited when she found out I would go there for pictures. In fact I loved the idea because it was something different. I had no idea how gorgeous it was going to be. The scenery was breath-taking. On the bridal session (which I can't post just yet, not until the wedding) the temperature was about 105 degrees out. I'll tell more about that experience when I post the images. The weather for the engagement session was just the opposite; we were even chilly a few times. And we saw an alligator and a HUGE spider on this excursion -- only a snake on the first.
Anyway, enough about the atmosphere, Allie and Derek did wonderful! They were so cute because they couldn't quit laughing -- which kept me laughing the whole time too. :p We had a good time, and the pictures are beautiful. I'm so happy I was able to do these for Allie because I know that she has such a personal connection to the locations. Enjoy the pictures!

Meet Julia and Brock

Julia and Brock will be married next April. He proposed to her on Tulane's campus on the bench that you will see in the pictures. They had a very cute session--they weren't afraid to be cuddly at all, which of course I love!! One of my favorites is the last shot of the streetcar...very romantic. Great job you guys!!

Dawn's Bridals

I can finally post Dawn's fun bridal session! We shot around Lafayette St. in the Warehouse District. She looked so great, very modelish! The pictures came out great thanks to her laid back attitude and complete trust throughout the session. Enjoy!

Natalie and Brian -- Married!!

I know Natalie has been anxious to see this since I teased her with one image a few days ago....so the "full take" button at the end of the show probably won't be live until sometime tomorrow. Enjoy!! :)

Alex's Birthday Weekend

This past weekend we brought Doug's little cousin from Houma to New Orleans to spend the weekend with us for her 13th birthday. We had such a great time with her, and we went non-stop. Oh to have that kind of energy again! :) Saturday we took her to the aquarium and the imax - both of which she had never been to before. Saturday night we watched "17 Again" (which I must admit Zac Efron is quite the cutie!) while stuffing our faces with pizza. After, we had cake, and then she wanted to watch the movie again. Sunday we started the day with beignets at Cafe du Monde at the Riverwalk. Then it was off to the insectarium, streetcar ride to Camellia Grill, and finally snowballs at Hansen's(which are only the most amazing in the world! click to check out the history behind the snowball stand). Whew! It was a lot of fun to see her experience some of these for the first time. And it is great to spend time with the "little" ones because it reminds you to be silly, not to take life for granted, and to explore your back yard in a way you may not be used to doing.

Red Dress Run - Saturday August 8th

What a fun, albeit a little weird, day!! Last year for this event, I was sick -- and I had a wedding to shoot that day. So while everyone was on our rooftop having breakfast "pre-run", I was in bed ensuring that I would make it through the day. This year though, I was able to see everyone, and participate. The New Orleans Hash House Harriers puts on the Red Dress Runevery year. They are a group who's motto is "A running club with a drinking problem." You can imagine based on this, that not too many people are actually running, especially in New Orleans heat mid August. (This year there were 5,500 paying participants.)

We started the morning by hosting breakfast on our rooftop again before the run started. And of course...we took a few pictures before heading out that I want to share with you. You see, we don't normally get to participate in many weekend events because many of our weekends are tied up with photographing our wonderful clients. So when we do get to participate, I think we enjoy it more than anyone else. It's kinda like a kid in a candy store. :)

Like Mardi Gras, we are now looking forward to White Linen Night, and Red Dress Run 2010. Next year Red Dress will be on August 14th -- I hope to see some of you on the rooftop for breakfast, but don't forget the red dress!! :)

most of our group

Me and my "Nola Brew" Cheerleader

Michaele and I (One of Doug's past brides that I am friends with and absolutely adore!)

love the glasses -- they were perfect for the occasion!

Second Encounter

Oddly enough...not long after my first encounter of running into my other brides at another wedding, I ran into another one of my upcoming brides at Natalie and Brian's wedding. Frannie and Doug's wedding will take place this November. We did their engagement shoot in downtown Morgan City (it's also posted on the blog). And this image is also Natalie's first sneak peek of any of the images from the wedding day. I love this image of her and Brian though -- they look wonderful. And Natalie was absolutely stunning!! :)

Frannie and Doug

Past, Present and Future

This has been a post that I have wanted to get to since June....I'm a bit backlogged. At Celeste and Brody's wedding I ran into a previous bride and an upcoming bride. Erica and Scott were one of my first Louisiana couples, and they have remained supporters of my work ever since. They are actually the reason that I booked Celeste and Brody, because Celeste and Brody were in Erica and Scott's wedding. And now, Erica and Scott were in Celeste and Brody's wedding. This November I will photograph Allie and Derek's wedding -- Derek is Brody's brother. Does this feel like the six degrees of separation yet? :)

It was very exciting for me to have all of them in the same place at once. It's neat to run into one couple, but two was double the fun. Erica and Celeste have been two of my most trusting brides of my abilities right from the start, and I do believe that was reflective of the pictures they had when all was said and done. I am also lucky enough to consider them as friends now too. Thank you both for everything.....and Allie -- I look forward to capturing your wedding too!

Erica and Scott

Celeste and Brody

Allie and Derek

Myself, Erica, and Celeste

Meet Jen and Chris!

Wow! We had such a hot morning for this shoot -- the temperature was supposed to be near 100 degrees. I think we all felt like it was that and then some! But, Jen and Chris were great despite the heat, and they have some fun pictures as a result.

April's Bridals

Okay, so sometimes technology is not always our friend! :( I have April's slideshow, but it won't allow me to embed it here they way I just did the other two. BUT....you may view hers at http://www.bradfieldphotography.com/aprilbridals.mp4
Sorry, it's still a puzzle right now. I'll work on that!

Revee's Bridals

Celeste's Bridals

A few Bridal Sessions!!

Okay, so I almost forgot to post some bridal sessions on here -- how could I do that when all three of these ladies had amazing sessions. I had so much fun with each of you. :) And I love that you guys completely trusted me, even if we tried something crazy. And Revee, I still think you nailed that serious face in that one particular image -- and you thought you couldn't do it! Celeste, I loved the purple wall of the ice cream parlor. You're right, it really captured your personality. April, the pink wall -- I loved it! I know you got sassier than you realized you could - it was great! And the one you chose for your large print was wonderful too! Again, so much fun ladies!!! Thanks a million for making me look good! ;)

Isabel and Sean -- Married!!

A Sneak Peek...

Celeste and Brody were married last month at St. Francis in Houma. They are going to be my first couple to participate in an image release party at our studio. I'm looking forward to it probably almost as much as Celeste!! However, some of her family members are away on vacation so we had to postpone the party by an extra two weeks.....so I promised Celeste I would give her a sneak peek at the images.

I hope this is enough Celeste. :) I know it's going to leave you hanging for more, but I couldn't let you have all the best ones up front. And there is a better sparkler picture that you'll see later, but this was just a cute one in your determined attempts leading to success. :) See you guys soon!!

April and Nick -- Married!!

Susan and Brandon -- Married!!

This was such a FUN wedding party! We had sucha great time creating their images. Thanks for being so wonderful!!! Right down to the train coming through at the perfect time -- I couldn't have planned it better.

Meet Dawn and David!!

What a fun shoot! You guys were great right from the start!

Kim and Ryan -- Married!

Meet Frannie and Doug!!

I had a lot of fun working with Frannie and Doug to get some of these amazing shots! It's always fun to shoot in a new environment, and I had a blast shooting in Morgan City. We also managed to dodge the rain that was all around us. :)

Meet Natalie and Brian!!

Doug's Fashion Shoot

Yesterday I helped my sweetie, Doug (www.artisanstylephoto.com), with a fashion shoot for one of the upcoming editions of a local wedding magazine.  I won't reveal which one just yet, you'll have to check back once it's released.  Anyway, it was a lot of fun even though it was a long day (9-6), but we learned some stuff and had a great time working with everyone that was involved.  Of course I had to take a few pictures throughout the day -- below are some of Doug working with the art designer, and also some of the weird positions he contorted himself into.  :)  I love the first one because of the people watching him in the background -- they look thrilled.  

Well -- check back later -- not sure yet when it goes to print, but I'll reveal everything once it hits the stands.  And you'll be able to see shots on Doug's blog which is set to go live very soon.  He did an awesome job yesterday, the pictures are fantastic!  Great job babe!! :)

One Last Image for Today....

I still haven't put my finger on it just yet, but I love this image!! I'm not sure if it's because I took a different angle on the shot, or how great the sky is, or just the body language of Revee and Philip -- whatever it is -- I really enjoy this image. Just wanted to share it with you. Maybe because it's so peaceful? See...I'm still trying to figure it out. :P
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Something Different...

I've been playing around with textures lately, and just wanted to experiment with a few of the images from the recent engagement shoots.  The first one reminds me of a romantic "Starry Night."  Anybody else think so?  I really love the selection of images below.  I'm so lucky to be blessed with such wonderful couples.  You guys have it all -- cute, sweet, romantic, sexy, fun... the list goes on.  I had a great time getting to know each of you!  Thanks! :)  I'm always looking for feedback, so please feel free to leave a comment about whether you like the textured effects.    

So this is just something a little extra for you --- this is actually me and my sweetie. ;) A good friend of ours, Tyler (lightinghisworld.com), took this for us last year when we were visiting in Kentucky.  This was one of the first images I played with for the textures.  I just thought of this one because I finally ordered a copy of it for myself recently.  

Meet Revee and Philip!!

The special part about their pictures is that Philip proposed to her in Jackson Square. Aww! :)

Meet Tara and Michael!!

Meet Kari and Scott!!

Here's the video of their engagement session. Kari and Scott met at Lucy's --so we had to do a few photos there. The pics at the bar were right where they met!

Rachel and Tim -- Married!

Lots of new stuff coming soon!!

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been awol the past few weeks. Things have been busy, but busy is good. :) I had two weddings recently that I will be posting images from soon, one will be in this post. And in the next month I have several bridal shoots and engagement shoots coming up. I'll definitely be posting some images from the engagement shoots, but of course the bridals will have to wait until the wedding. My goal is to do twenty weddings this year, and I'm almost closed out for the year with 18 currently. I say closed out, but if the schedule permits I will do a few more than that! And I've begun booking for next year as well. As always, I appreciate your support, referrals and feedback. I recently had a bride very nicely tell me that I should really update the website because what I was showing her in person had evolved so much from what's on the site. And I honestly love that she told me that!! It was already on my to do list, but I'm sure I won't procrastinate as long now. You can count on there being some great updates to the main part of the site hopefully within the next month. It was very refreshing to have someone else notice how much my images have changed. I myself find it amazing how much my style is beginning to emerge and develop into so much more. My mom has always been my biggest fan from the time I enrolled at Western. She's constantly telling me that I'm my own worst critic -- which is very true. That makes it all the more meaningful when I look back to pictures from a couple years ago and see the growth that I've gone through.

I realize this whole post is a bit of a rant, but there's one more thing that touched my heart this morning. My sister emailed me a link this morning that I'd like to share with you. http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741 This was wonderfully composed. For those of you from New Orleans you may recognize several of the performers, there are three from New Orleans. I of course, instantly recognized Grandpa Elliott. A few months after Katrina, one of my first times back in the Quarter, we saw Grandpa Elliott out on Royal street singing as usual. But the moment I saw him it literally brought tears to my eyes -- one because he had survived the storm, and two because I knew the city would come back. It's the people like him that I believe help to make New Orleans the city that it is. And of course from a photographer's view point I loved him already because this man has so much character just in his face alone. And now, thanks to this video, I know his name. I hope that you enjoy the video as much as I did.

Finally, I said I would give some images in this post -- but it is actually the link to Monique and Tim's wedding. They got ready at the Renaissance Pere Marquette Hotel (which was amazing for the pictures beforehand!) and they were married at St. Theresa of Avila, and had their reception at the St. Louis Hotel in the French Quarter. When we came out of the ceremony a carriage was to take them to the reception. Well, it had begun to rain, but luckily it was a covered carriage. However, they were married on March 14, which in the land of parades, means there was a St. Patrick's Day parade passing through the Quarter. This prevented the carriage driver from dropping them off at the door. So Monique and Tim had to bail out of the carriage a few blocks from the hotel. Let me just say that the rain was not just a drizzle, it was a steady rain!! As they got closer, the parade was ending. If you're from around here, you know that the end of a parade is always signaled by the fire truck. Well, the riders on the fire truck were yelling at Monique and Tim to jump on the back. In my mind I'm thinking, "Please God, let them jump on!!!" :) Of course without much thought, they did just that!! And that folks is part of the reason I love New Orleans weddings, you really just never know what might happen!! :P I thought it was so neat. Thank you Monique and Tim for being brave enough to jump on there -- especially Monique in wedding dress and heels!! You are beautiful!
Monique and Tim's Wedding (It plays more smoothly if you let it load all the way first.)

Enjoy the slideshow and I will be posting more images within the next couple of weeks!

Meet Lauren and Dustin

I had a blast you guys!! I love the night time shots we got too!

A long time waiting!

Finally, I get to post some of these gorgeous images of Katie! We shot these the end of November, but her wedding wasn't until last Saturday. She was stunning, as you can see here!

New Slideshows!

I have new software that's awesome! Please let me know what you think!

Meet Michelle and David

I'd like you to meet Michelle and David.  They will be married this December.  We did their engagement shoot last Friday in the French Quarter.  When asked three words to describe their relationship, they said, "fun, affectionate, and special."  After spending time with them that day, I believe those three words suit them well. :)  I love the romantic shots we were able to get of them, as well as the fun, playful shots.  I really had a great time you guys!  Thanks for being so open for anything!  

This is a test....

Wow!  I promise I randomly chose an image in my nephew's folder, but this is probably exactly how I look right now while trying to figure this out! :P

Under construction!

Please be patient as I am trying to figure out how to make my images larger on the blog. I'm getting close, but html is literally a whole new language!! Thanks!

Krewe of Tucks

What a wonderful night!! Doug will be riding in the Krewe of Tucks this year for the first time. The festivities began officially last night with their coronation ball. It was my first ball ever, and it was so much fun dressing up in costume. With both of us being photographers, we actually don't have that many pictures of us out and about, but we made sure to get a few last night. I thought these were a few fun ones, and I wanted to share. I'll post more after their parade day, which is February 21. Come out and see us!

Celeste and Brody

I'd like you to meet Celeste and Brody.  They will be married this summer on June 12th.  We did their engagement session yesterday in the Warehouse District, and we had so much fun!  My watch has been broken, so when it ended I couldn't believe how long we ended up shooting.  We played around for a little while by the Riverwalk while we were waiting for the street car though, which took up some of the time.  I'm very glad they agreed to wait because my favorite shot of the day was from the ride.  They were such a blast to work with.  Thanks you guys, and have fun at your engagement party!!

I love the Porsche in the background!

Trying for a kiss...

Brody and Celeste

Running back for another try

They got it this time!

Just a little fun.... :)  

And my favorite from the day! .....you can even see the cathedral in the background

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