Oh. My. Goodness. Three months to the day since my last blog entry. Shame on me!

People, I am undergoing some very exciting transitions and changes in my business. I can barely keep up! But there's no lack of excitement around here, and I will be bringing you all up to speed just as soon as I can, including a new logo, website and soooo much more!

I am trying out a booth at Red Deer's "With this Ring..." Bridal Gala tomorrow (February 8th) at Westerner Park. Very excited to introduce myself to the Central Alberta market! I leave in a few hours to go set up my booth. Wish me luck!

January was a crazy busy month for me- which is unusual since winter is usually "downtime" for photographers. I will be blogging about those shoots soon, but today, in anticipation of the new web hits I will be receiving from all the cool people I will meet tomorrow at the Wedding Fair, I am sharing with you the latest, greatest post I did on Facebook, the notorious "25 random things about me". This has been circulating facebook for a few weeks now, and I LOVE reading people's fun facts! So here's mine. Hopefully it sheds a little more light on who I am. If you are brave enough, leave me a comment with something cool about you!

Karen's 25 Random Things About Me.

1) I turned 29 on Feb. 2nd. It didn’t hurt a bit!

2) I was born with a 20% hearing loss in my right ear. I had 5 ear surgeries before the age of 10, and last time I went to see a specialist, I think I was down around 35%. I have been getting acquainted with the idea that hearing aids are in my future.

3) To me, a soy chai latte is a slice of heaven in a mug. And not because I don’t drink milk, because I do (though, less and less), but simply because soy milk nuttiness is the perfect complement to chai.

4) I am a photographer. I am super passionate about documenting moments in the lives of my family, friends and clients, and even though I have been doing this for years, I still get excited whenever I see a photo I took that is framed in someone’s home, or as their facebook profile pic!

5) I have traveled to over 20 countries (China, Thailand, USA, Europe…). As beautiful and diverse as the world is, there is still no other place I would rather call home, and raise a family, than the West Coast of British Columbia, where I grew up.

6) I like wine. A lot. Mt favourites these days are Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir. Sometimes I think I will take sommelier courses just to learn more about wine.

7) My name became Karen Dean last year, when I married James Dean! Never get tired of telling people that I married James Dean. Hehehe.

8) In grade 12, I broke both my wrists at the same time! Fell backward in PE class.

9) I really love to cook. I am so thankful my mom taught me how when I was young, and that I’ve had some great foodies walk into my life to inspire me.

10) I feel very strongly about speaking encouragement and warm thoughts out loud. I want all the great people I run into in life to know the things I love and admire about them. Kind words are scarcer than they should be.

11) Paradise for me is spelled S-P-A. Seriously, you CANNOT go wrong with me and the spa. LOVE being pampered!

12) I can honestly say that my wedding day was one of the best days of my life. It was sunny, I felt pretty, I laughed and cried, ate good food and drank yummy wine, and all of the people dearest to my heart (well, almost all) were there to share in it. I never wanted that day to end.

13) Along with that theme, I have this little fantasy about becoming independently wealthy and flying all our close friends & family to a villa in the South of France (or somewhere equally intriguing and gorgeous), just to enjoy quality time with them.

14) I have my Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Victoria. Choosing to do that program was one of the best choices I’ve ever made- for the people I met, and how much it opened my eyes to things I didn’t even know I knew nothing about.

15) I never, ever want to have pets. This was a deal-breaker for me in finding a spouse. Kids yes; dogs no.

16) I have 2 little nephews that I just adore! They live in BC and I miss getting to hangout with them. They change so fast!

17) Next week, I am starting the Body for Life 12 week challenge. I’m not going crazy hardline with it, I’m just in need of a challenge, and intrigued by the method. Eeek! Now you can all hold me accountable…

18) I need a lot of sleep. 8 hours is pretty much a minimum, but ideally I think my body would like 10 hours a night. This is tricky since I am always trying to accomplish a lot in a day… the 10 hours rarely happens, and 8 hours doesn't happen as much as it should.

19) I was in Phuket, Thailand with 2 friends on Dec. 26, 2004, when the Tsunami hit the shores of SE Asia. Miraculously, I was asleep at my hostel on a hill, and didn’t even hear news of it until we tried to walk down to the beach an hour later. I’m very aware that that day could have gone very differently for me. If you catch me taking life for granted, feel free to remind me of this ;-)

20) I absolutely love good bread. Baguettes make me happy!

21) Ironically, I hate pastry. Pie crust, danishes…even croissants are dicey.

22) I adore finding the PERFECT gift for someone.

23) I often feel overwhelmed by the hardships and evil in this world. The other day, I went to see “Slumdog Millionaire”, and while I really appreciated the story, I was also heartbroken that those hardships (and worse) are realities for kids all over the world. I know that feeling overwhelmed is ineffective, so as I continue to process that side of life, I hope to discover the role I was created to play in helping people.

24) I feel really rich in love, life and friendship. I've had a great run- already!

25) I just moved to Red Deer, and I am working while my husband goes to school to become a nurse. I never dreamed that this would be a part of my life’s story- and I love that. What’s coming next?!

Photo from our wedding day, courtesy of LaCour:

Viesha & Rob were married on a beautiful autumn day in September at The Ranche in Fish Creek Park, Calgary. It was a simple and elegant celebration.

I adore this venue. It has classic charm in a gorgeous outdoor setting, but also, I was first introduced to my husband James at his sister's wedding here in 2001. I was thrilled when I found out that this is where Rob & Viesha would be hosting their wedding. I was waiting all year for this one, and it was the perfect end to my weddings for 2008.

I will post a few photos here, but if you want the full story, scroll to the end for the slideshow, or **CLICK HERE**.

Viesha's sparkly pink shoes from Paris!

Antique Vanity mirror in the Bridal preparation room at The Ranche:

Viesha's gorgeous bouquet of Vendella Cream Roses- my favourite!

Handsome Groom:

These are a crazy story! Viesha's parents grew these white pumpkins (and hundreds more) from SEEDS, so that they could decorate Viesha & Rob's "Cinderella Wedding"! Can you believe it? Very cute, and unique! They had one at every place setting at dinner as well:

I had never seen this before: Viesha & Rob wrote their own vows, and whispered them to each other privately at a moment during the ceremony, instead of reciting them out loud. It was very personal, and it cause a wave of waterworks in the crowd!

Oh, sweet autumn light!

This moneyshot is courtesy of my secret weapon shooter (James). I wish I could take credit for it!!!

Sittin'-in-a-tree...

 The Ranche at night:

Watching slideshows:

Want to see more? Rob & Viesha's slideshow:

Another great event to round out the year! Rob & Viesha, it was a privilege to be among your family and friends to document such a sincere and lovely celebration. We wish you all the best in your marriage, and trust you had an *amazing* time on your Honeymoon in Tahiti/Bora Bora!

Cheers!

-Karen

The story of David and Bethel is a romance years in the making. David is one of my closest friends from University. Together we and our friends innovated, brainstormed and critically-thought our way through our Bachelor of Commerce degrees in Entrepreneurship at the University of Victoria.

In our 4th year, David and I both went on exchange to Asia (he went to Korea, and I went to Beijing, China). We arranged to meet up in Thailand over Christmas holidays. The year was 2004. If you recall, that was the year that the enormous, devastating Tsunami hit South East Asia on December 26. Dave and I, and all of our friends were miraculously fortunate enough to escape the most devastating effects of that natural disaster- but it stirred our hearts like nothing else could. A few months later David went on a relief missions trip to Sri Lanka to help out in areas that were suffering to rebuild after the Tsunami. It was on that trip that he met Bethel.

It's so fitting that these two would have found each other on a mission to help others. Their hearts are just that big, EVERY day, whether they're among strangers, or their closest family and friends. So there was no shortage of love and admiration for these two on the day they committed themselves to each other in love and marriage, for life! What a beautiful celebration it was!

See for yourselves!

Some details:

Gorgeous bride Bethel:

Happy Couple!

Dave is a charmer with a fabulous sense of humor. This photo is a small slice o' Dave Namkung charm!

One of  my favorite shots from this whole summer. Check out these good looking groomsmen!!!

Handsome groom, and great friend:

I love this angle that James captured of David & Bethel skipping rocks:

Ceremony at First Metropolitan United Church in Victoria, BC

Another favorite by James! He caught this shot of Dave leaving the church. The expression on his face to me *definitely* says "I've hit the jackpot here...and I know it!".

Good times at the Reception:

What a privilege to play a role in such a great day! Dave & Bethel, we're honored to call you our dear friends. Congratulations!

-Karen

*Photo courtesy of LaCour.

As a wedding photographer, one of the most popular questions asked of me when planning my wedding was "So, who will be doing YOUR  wedding photos?". Well, I was truly spoiled for choice. There are so many photographers whose work I admire for different reasons, and I too went through the agonizing questions  that I'm sure most brides do in choosing their photographer. Will they be available for our date? Will their style capture our wedding day in a way that resonates with us? Are we getting the best value for our investment? Will we be comfortable working closely with them on our wedding day?

Admittedly, I did have a "first choice" of who I wanted to document our wedding day, but I wouldn't have presumed that they would be available, or willing to put in the travel time to make it out to our wedding. When I received confirmation that Andrew & Rachel from LaCour were willing and available to travel from Atlanta to Victoria to do our wedding photography, I knew all the answers to those important questions would be a resounding "Yes!". I was beyond excited.

Andrew and Rachel (along with their business partners Mark Adams and Erin Reed Adams) have been incredible mentors in my journey in photography. I did an internship with them at their studio in Atlanta for 3 months back in 2006.  Their style is something that has really shaped my approach to wedding photography. They were all journalists before they switched to wedding photography, so they see a wedding day like a complete story to document. This means they put in an incredibly long day (12+ hours at our wedding...amazing!). The results are totally worth it, and invaluable to their clients (I can speak from experience now!). Half the time you don't even know they're there, but they're snapping away on the sidelines, capturing photos of all the people dearest to you. I couldn't wait to see what they'd been up to all day at our wedding, and the photos were simply stunning! The best thing for us, of course, was that our wedding photographers were our great friends- and there's no better feeling for a bride & groom than that!

This is one of our favorites, of our big send-off at the end of the night:

*Photo courtesy of LaCour.

After we confirmed that Andrew and Rachel would be available to shoot our wedding, a few months later they were named "One of the Top 10 Wedding Photographers on the Planet" by American Photo Magazine. Yowsa!

Click here if you want to see ***The Whole Story*** of our wedding day. And turn up the music to hear some of our favorite tunes!

Andrew & Rachel, we are indebted to you for creating such amazing photographs to remember one of the most exciting, joyful, spiritual, emotional, and FUN days in our lives! Thank you for being such great friends, and so committed to excellence. I will always look up to you as artists.

Cheers, Karen.

On Saturday, James and I were out shooting a gorgeous wedding at the Ranch at Fish Creek Park in Calgary. It was beautiful sunny weather, colorful landscape, and a bride and groom- in love! Viesha & Rob had a wonderful wedding celebration with family & friends. Here's a sneak peek at what's to come with their photos:

Now these two are off to Tahiti and Bora Bora for their Honeymoon. **JEALOUS**!

Stay tuned for more!

-Karen