Mateo and Oregon

The rest doesn't matter...haha. Well, the husband and i journeyed out to Oregon to visit Jp's best man and the fam. We went up during the perfect weekend with perfect weather, pretty trees, and yummy food. If you don't know Jp and I, we love food, and it was good. Especially the wil atlantic salmon...so good! Anyways... Mateo is so cute! He would give us our wake up call by jumping in our bed

After getting ready for the day, Jp and i fell in love with the Zaporteza's tree. This tree was awesome!!! I don't know if the leaves are still there, but this tree was really cool. The color was so cool and really big, but not only was there 1 of them, but 2! That was really hard to see, but really cool!

They have a huge front yard and since it is a corner house, it was full of trees and event here backyard was so nice... minus the 2 dead plants Tiff killed..haha... But really, Their house is beautiful and it looks like a house house.... Fully and nicely decorated, clean and really broken in... it really is a beautiful house...haha... Jp and I were taking notes aside and thinking of how we can decorate our house cause really, it looks like it's out of a catalog, they probably don't think so, but it is... I didn't post pictures of the interior cause you have to go to oregon to see it...hehe

After an awsome lunch that I wished I remembered the name of it, but when I find out, I'll be sure to blog on it, cause I had the best and only Salmon Hash I have ever had... So the fam brought us to Portland and we did a lot of walking and some sight seeing... Well... Jp went sight seeing thanks to Albert... but that's a whole other post...haha

Day two, we got our wake up call from Mateo... gotta love it, and this time, Albert fed him before we left to go shopping at Nike... cause when your at Nike, your there for at least 2 to 3 hours... and I didn't realize this, so Mateo wasn't hungry anymore, but Jp and I were starving.



Since we were starving, we went to McMenamins. This restaurant is located in an old school. Cool concept, but really weird...

We had to walk down these halls to get to the restaurant... scary! I was even afraid to go to the bathroom by myself...so i had the hubby escort me...it was super scary...

But did Mateo care....not at all.... He was havin a blast!

The cool thing is that Tiff is learning to use her camera, so she was capturing some cool shots while we were there...

Even after eating all that food, and all that playing, Albert let Mateo fly a little bit...

Okay, this last picture is here for a reason... This hand is famous!!! The magic comes from these fingers =)

Even though this was a short trip, I had so much fun and it was so beautiful. It is nothing like California. They have huge old trees and we have tall palm trees... The weather is different, but the town has so much character. I can't wait to go there again and spend more than two days with them. Not to mention the guest room's matress. So comfortable! Thanks Zaporteza's for letting us visit. We will be back sooner than later... see you guys for Christmas! haha... See you in Vegas..haha

earl + cheryl = married

We are going through a couple of changes at the moment, but we couldn't resist...

First, there is going to be a posting bonanza this weekend! We need to talk about oregon, washington, the workshop, and the wedding! well, the wedding is going to have to wait a little bit, and you will see why in the next paragraph, so stay tuned for a first class ticket to oregon and washington. Now...

Earl and Cheryl were married on november 10th and had such cool style. From the dress to the city pictures to the reception details. it looked so awesome! with the style of their wedding, everywhere you looked, there was always something to take a picture of. That could be why we have over 2000 pictures to sort through!!! Yup, I said it, 2000 pictures...but the wedding was a blast!

This post isn't to show the slideshow... but just a teaser of what is to come. I didn't really want to show who this couple is yet, becuase they are so cute! but just a couple shots to get your feet wet, cause really, there is a lot more to come!

The shoes... you gotta love the shoes. There is another picture to represent how Cheryl branded her wedding, so keep tuning in. They were so classy looking...

Jp really has an eye when it comes to really feeling the moment. When I look at this picture, and I always say this, but it looks so quiet. This shot is right after the sponsors put the cord and veil over the couple, and the prayer was after. I think John really captured the moment.

This picture meant to much to me... the pressure of the day and what is to come and just of what is expected of you as the bride and groom truly melted away when they were just walking together hand in hand. Seeing Cheryl and Earl before the ceremony, there is no way you can't let the big day get to you, but during this time, I believe they actually were able to look at each other and just think...we just got married ... and enjoyed each other as husband and wife for their first hour of marriage.

To Earl and Cheryl, the wait will totally be worth it! We hope you are having an awesome time on your honeymoon and can't wait to hear back from you guys when you come back...

check out their movie trailer with
*** Red 5 Studios, a Calomay Production***

Transition Stage

Hello People!

It's been almost two weeks since we posted, but so much has gone on. We had our first wedding on Saturday and it was so fun! The bride was so beautiful with such an awesome dress! Well, we have so much to catch up on and so much to post on and will update everything here soon! Don't worry...

brian + jackie = engaged!!!

We just got back from a 4 day awesome trip from Oregon and Seattle. We spent some time with our good friends Albert, Tiff and the funniest one of the bunch...Mateo. The latter part of our trip we were in Seattle for a photography workshop. But more on that later...

Right now, we want you to meet brian + jackie. Yay! they're getting married!!

This shoot was special because first of all, it was our very first engagement shoot, such a perfect day to have it, and with an awesome couple! John has known jackie for about 5 months now and seemed to have a general interest in our work, so she asked us to do her engagement shoot...so cool! jackie and brian are getting married back east so i thought it was totally cool that they had some pictures from southern california to start it off. We wanted to do something super special to present this, but that was taking tttoooo long, so here it is....

Beauty for Ashes Photography

world premiere slide show...just click on their names!
***** jackie and brian *****

Thank you so much for waiting to see them, we love them especially the ones right below... again, congratulations on your engagement, and happy wedding planning from here on out... it's going to be so beautiful...

here are some of our favorites...

Please, give us some feedback, so please leave a message, we would really love to here what you guys had to say!

John and Lauren
Beauty for Ashes Photography

True Bella

Okay, we are guilty. True Bella had her photo shoot quite awhile ago, it was so long she went from being the only child to a RUNNING, older sister. It is so amazing how much time flies...Ruby, the mother was actually pregnant with baby #2. The parents haven't even really seen these photos, so we hope you absolutely love them! We actually had this shoot back in January! haha ...

Well, I wanted to start off these series of photos with her feet, cause it shows how small they were back then, and also how much she uses them now.

Haha... True's...when is he coming home picture...oh no Ruby!


I think this photo might have captured how she was...very quiet and well behaved. She seems so quiet here...

So True's parents discovered she was allergic to something a little late...haha. They found out she was allergic to dairy and what a journey it was to find out what it was. Not only a journey, a sacrifice because her Mom loves loves loves chocolate, so a few sacrifices where in mind. Well, her being allergic to dairy, it made her skin really dry and I thought post process work was needed, but I hesitated. This was a time in her life and family where this was True. Spots and all. Praise God it was nothing life threatening, so some of the shots, they were left in. Only because this is what I knew of True back then... SSOOO Cute red spots and all!

During the shoot, she was sooo good! I think she started to like the camera because we would find her looking at the lens a little more and more throughout the day!

I love this picture my husband took (detail shot) since True is a little bit older, she is more independent now, but at this age, she could barely hold her bottle without her mom. I also love this because it shows how small her hands are in comparison to her mom's. So different in size and represents how much Ruby guides True in her life. It shows how much Ruby's hands are involved in growing her and showing her Christ.

So cute!

So, by the time we went outside, she was getting really tired and irritated with Beauty For Ashes Photography...Sorry True!



So True is an older sister and is running all over the place...we can't wait to have photo shoot #2 with her and her sister. With better equipment and better knowledge of our cameras, we can't wait! So Ruby and Ben.... how 'bout it?

Work...Work...Work

Alright...

So it was one of those nights... a night that I think every married couple goes through.... or maybe it's just us, but I hope every other couple goes through, or else John and I have problems...but it was just one of those nights. So I was trying to think of how I can be part of his day, or part of his everyday routine... Since I am now going to be working in LA, I am taking advantage of the fact that I still have the luxury of sleeping in right now, but not for long, and kind of neglecting my husband in the morning cause I know sleeping in will no longer be an option anymore, so.. here are a couple of items my husband picks up every morning like clockwork...without a doubt...trust me, I've seen him do it...

His Wedding Ring

His Keys...

His bag...

And since the hubby is sick, he is a big fan of cough drops right now...The lunch sack... yeah, he could pick that up more often, but that's my fault =(.

So, I was like, a big fat picture of my head...no that wouldn't work...I can't think of anything cause it is way past my bedtime, so i just wanted to make a little note to tell my husband and the world...



My husband works really hard, commutes really far, and starting up our business... I don't realize how awesome of a husband he is to do all this for our family of two...not three yet... He is very talented and loving towards me... He is already sleeping right now.. but I love you very much!

Blogged Out

Okay,

So Time Warner is still in the works of giving us our internet back. Oh the funny thing is, Time Warner sent us a bill!! haha. They bill a month in advance too, but we don't have internet! And, they are billing us for our installation fee because we"cancelled" our internet....Anyway...

So, a couple of weeks ago, I was telling John, the other half of Beauty For Ashes Photography, how blogged out I was...but now that it's been awhile, I am so missing it right now! I want to share pictures, and the newest additions to our great adventure to becoming awesome photographers... haha...

Quick update.. as you know our wedding photographers are holding these workshops and telling us all their secrets.. So I, Lauren, will be flying out to Washington on Saturday for a 1-day workshop and flying back. Then, in October, we are flying to Oregon, hanging out with The Zaporteza's, fellow Nike-an's, and then taking a road trip back to Washington. Then, Beauty For Ashes Photography will be attending a 2-day workshop on bettering ourselves and becoming one with our cameras... but really, it will be a blast, cold, and very educational, so I am very excited!

So, I miss my blogging that includes pictures... So, the pictures will have to wait, but they will be great!