This week I had the blessing of speaking with a local business owner in Torrance, CA about photographing new jewelry being made and offered by her business - Shelley Enterprises. 

​As a woman, who doesn't like beautiful jewelry?  I was ecstatic and excited to see what was needing to be photographed.  As you can see below, this choker is g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s.      

Last week was an amazing week for my family photography business here in Northern Virginia.  The highlight of the week was being able to photograph this amazing business owner and her fabulous designs.  She's able to create so many things I was blown away; from cards to onesies and everything in between.   

As Diana was showing me her products, I was mesmerized with her creativity.  I think you will too, that's why I'm so thrilled to share her designs and feature her Northern Virginia business.    

Christmas is right around the corner and only a few other holidays have as many wonderful and timeless treats that represent the season.  The fragrance of cakes, cookies, tarts, candy canes, and more saturate the air everywhere you go.  I feel like I’m gaining 10 pounds just thinking about all the great food!

During this time, if you’re like me, many families look for delicious and creative desserts to have for Christmas Lunch/Dinner or for your office holiday parties.  It’s better if you can have delicious desserts and not have to bake or cook them yourself.   

Well, you don’t have to look any further.  Let me introduce you to Jasmine Hardin of Jazzy Cakes.  For the last few weeks, I’ve been seeing videos and pictures of her cakes on Facebook.  I decided to contact Jasmine to learn about her and her business.  After meeting Jasmine, I was fascinated by her story and how she began her business in April 2016.  She articulated, her and husband enjoy cooking and baking.  Jasmine enjoys baking cakes for her family, but one day her husband purchased a bucket of fondant for her to experiment with.  Her eldest child’s birthday was approaching, so Jasmine utilized the fondant to decorate his cake; which was a Monster Car cake.  Being proud and excited about the work she created, Jasmine took to Facebook to share pictures of her creation.  As you can see, her first cake was beautiful.  From there, many of Jasmine’s friends loved her creations as well and was interested in her creating something for them. 

Raise your hand if you've ever planned a kids' birthday party? Or perhaps a surprise party for someone? Bridal Shower? Baby Shower? Reunion? Bar/Bat Mitzvah? Shall I keep going? Planning a party is a lot of prep work and so often includes many details that we think of after the fact. 

​All too often I am asked, why hire an event planner? My answer is always the same; to be able to be a guest at your own event. Even when I got married, I still hired someone to take care of the details the week leading up so that I could sit back and relax! 
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​So, really, why hire a professional event planner? Here are four reasons…