I've been posting a lot lately about what's new with Carolyn Vaughn Photography so this week I thought I'd share something I love other than photography - JEWELRY.  The vintage trend is everywhere.  I love this style and I especially love mixing vintage with contemporary pieces.

My BFF Christina Conrad, who by trade is an interior designer fell into designing jewelry on the side.  I adore her style as an interior designer and don’t buy anything without consulting her first, but I love her jewelry as much or more.  It wasn't until she was stopped by women all over town and asked about where she bought her jewelry that she realized that she was creating a new niche.  It wasn't long before it snowballed into a side business to her already successful interior design business, Rhys Cameron.  I love photographing her pieces because I get a peek at her new lines of jewelry, so I thought I'd share with all of you.  Enjoy!

"I have had the honor of making such pieces for brides to be, the wedding party as well as the mothers of the brides and grooms.  Even the coveted bridal bouquet which is a fun way to wrap up the old, new borrowed and blue all in one items."   -Christina Conrad

To see more of Christina’ work visit: http://www.facebook.com/pages/rhys-cameron/154046520099   Or contact her: rhyscameron@gmail.com |  515 240 4731 

It's bridal show time!  The Bridal Forum is this Sunday, January 8th from 10:30-3:30 at the Sheraton in West Des Moines.  I will be at the show with my asstant, Barbie Bishop.  Please stop by and say hello!

Here's a cute video about the show.  http://vimeo.com/33996713

Rebecca and Trevor had a 'ball' exiting their wedding ceremony at Des Moines' Botanical Center on December 20th.  It was my last wedding for 2011 and it was great to finish with such a fun couple! I hope you had a wonderful holiday as husband and wife!

It's been a very busy year and so many wonderful things have happened.  This summer we spent almost every weekend with brides, celebrating and capturing one of their biggest days in their lives.  It’s great to see so much love in the air.  Not only have we been busy photographing weddings but there have been plenty of babies, senior pictures and family sessions to go around.

This year I decided to give my brides and long term clients a little ornament that they can hang on their tree every year as a little time capsule of this moment in their lives.  Ornaments are funny things, as they seem so little and minuscule but over the years as you acquire more and more of them, the more sentimental value they each have.

With this, I want to thank all of my clients this year and wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  May next year be as full of memories as this one.

-Carolyn

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around my house.  Not because there are presents under the tree already or because Christmas decorations line the walls or have taken over the outside of the house.  It just so happens that it's that time of year when I get to deliver all my hard work over the past few months, and there's a lot to deliver! As an adult, I've grown to love the traditions of the holidays and building up the excitement not only for the kids but also for myself.  I’ve come to love the wrapping and presentation of each individual gift and knowing that the person on the other side of this very simple box has just as much anticipation as I, the one who wrapped it so carefully.

I suppose this is how I’ve come to the point of creating my own packaging for Carolyn Vaughn Photography.  As a photographer, I get to box up the so very precious keepsakes for families, brides, mothers, fathers and grandparents. There are photo albums that will sit on their coffee tables; brag books to give to friends; there are prints that will hang on their walls for years to come; or even the tiny little accordion albums that will fit just perfectly on their desk. These boxes aren’t just boxes full of toys that Santa brought - they’re memories, timeless memories.

So here it is, my love of photography and wrapping all rolled up into one. 

-Carolyn

Last Thursday we had the first of two mini sessions at the studio.  And I have to admit that I’ve been anxious to get out from behind the desk and get behind the camera to do what I love.  It was a great day with wonderful natural lighting that always seems to be just perfect in the studio.

Tomorrow is the second and last day of holiday shooting.  One family is coming in from Carroll, Iowa, and it's been a year since I've seen them.   I can't wait to see how the kids have grown!

Hi Carolyn!
 
Just wanted to say THANKS so much for being so great to us on our wedding day. You and your assistant Barbie were exactly what I'd hoped you be and more. You have been very professional and organized throughout it all, and you made me feel so comfortable going into it. The wedding day itself was perfect in our eyes, and absolutely beatiful. We cannot WAIT to see the pictures to sort of re-live the day!!! :)
 
You did such a fantastic job of meeting my needs, but also throwing in ideas of your own. I completely trusted you as soon as I met you, and knew everything was going to be fine. And everything was better than fine, it was perfect. So thanks again, like I said, we are so very excited to see them.
 
Many people in Adam and I's families said how wonderful you were, so congrats. You are fabulous at what you do, and I can tell you truly enjoy it.
 
                                                                Jodi and Adam

It feels like Fall today and it's a reminder that the holidays are coming.  Family sessions are booking now and weekends are filling up fast.  Schedule your session while it's still lush outside!

The day was perfect for Lauren and Nathan at Lake Okoboji and they happily celebrated all day long.   After their ceremony the bridal party went on a boat cruise to take photos and to quench their thirst with a fish bowl at The Ritz .  Meanwhile wedding guests toured the lake on the Queen II.   Later everyone enjoyed an evening of dinner and dancing under a gorgeous tent at the greenspace, Arnold's Park.  They are a high energy, boisterous bunch and they really like to laugh! Congratulations you guys!  To see more photos from the wedding visit   http://www.facebook.com/carolynvaughnphoto and click on the 'Lauren Nathan' photo album.

Here'a another sneak peek...I spent a fun evening photographing Beth and Jeremy.  They are both soooooo nice and Beth has great taste in clothing, especially dresses!  They will be having a Halloween masquerade and i can't wait to shoot it!

These beautiful photos will be included in my slideshow tomorrow, but this bridal couple hasn't even seen them yet! Here's a sneak peek...The entire wedding will be up next week, promise!

Three days to go and I am getting excited for this Sunday's Bridal Forum hosted by Your Wedding Iowa .  My photo was featured on the cover of Your Wedding Iowa's Spring 2011 issue.Dee & Aaron (pictured below) had so many creative details at their wedding. The cover shows their unique message board -- as guests entered the reception they could scribble a personal message on the chalk board, dress up (if they choose) and have their photo taken at the photo booth.  See you Sunday at the Bridal Forum!

I'll be at the bridal forum this Sunday at the Sheraton in West Des Moines. There will be new things to see and I'm excited to show them off.  Please stop by and say hello!

It's really fun to frolic with high school seniors.  Recently I had the pleasure of photographing Haley at different locations around Lake Okoboji. We split our session into two, shooting first at dusk and again the next morning.  It was fun to mix up the lighting, locations and of course, change clothing!  Haley wanted to try different looks - swimsuit, casual and a little dressy.  It was important to Haley that we shoot in natural settings and I think she looks beautiful!

Meet the sweetest couple of the summer....Molly and Zak. Before the ceremony we were able to frolic on the family farm which was so much fun! The Iowa landscape is just so lush and beautiful-- I love the big sky and the rolling hills of corn and soybeans. Plus we used the amazing barn from 1915 for our backdrop against the balloons.

Make sure to notice the unique felt bouqets -- Molly MADE all of them! I've asked her loads of questions about making them and we will post more photos of these gorgeous creations soon and talk about the process.  They deserve a separate post!

The day flew by -- photos, then ceremony, then a ride in a vintage Chrysler with a quick stop at the Maytag Park in Newton. Then onto cake and dancing!

I had the best time photographing Malinda & Dave's wedding.  They are just the nicest couple ever! !

They come from kind families, have fun friends and it showed. The day was filled with so much positive energy and love and everyone was so happy to be there with them.  Guests gathered from all over Iowa and Kansas City to wish them well and they had a gorgeous day for it.

Psst...scroll through to see Dave's awesome groom's cake and I saved the best for last -- Malinda's adorable grandparents, the winners of the anniversary dance -- Celebrating 60 years of marriage.  Malinda and Dave have quite the role models!

I"m finally getting images up...families, babies and bellies....this is part one and there's more to come...

Mary Jane & Kevin celebrated their engagement at Lake Okoboji over the 4th.  They partied Okoboji-style and danced the night away with friends and family.  Check out the Cosmo fountain.  Yummy!

Bar Mitzvah fun ---  After listening to Gabe sing from the torah, they danced, danced, danced the night away.  This group of 13 year olds know how to boogie!  

Sweet Dreams is an annual women’s event that raises money for the I Have a Dream Foundation.  This year Charlotte and Fred Hubbell hosted the evening at their amazing home.  I am always happy to photograph events for Sweet Dreams though this year I was captivated or I should say distracted, by all the amazing details of our host's home!  The foundation "adopts” groups of low-income elementary school children deemed to be at high risk of becoming school dropouts.  I Have a Dream’s ultimate goal is for each Dreamer to graduate from high school prepared to pursue a higher education or a fulfilling career. To learn more check out, http://www.desmoinesdreams.org/

The Sweet Dreams board

They are sweet, traditional and definitely in love.  Heather and Justin were married on May 14th in a lovely ceremony at Westkirk Presbyterian.  Afterwards we traveled downtown for some fun (and chilly!) photos by the Capitol and the Art Center.  Then it was on to a romantic dinner and dancing with their guests.    It was a fun day!

Natural light makes me happy.   When sunlight streams through a window it can be warm, cool, soft or hard, and I have to mold it the way I want it.   In NYC I spent 7 years in a windowless studio where I was in complete control of all lighting, all the time.  In comparison, I find natural light so spontaneous and so fun to work with! I'm excited to tell you I am now offering studio sessions!   You can have a studio-only session or we can start in the studio and then venture out onto the streets of Des Moines' East Village. A few weeks ago my beautiful bff Christina Conrad and I made these photos in the studio.   We put on some tunes, played dressup and had fun!

I"m finally getting images up...families, babies and bellies....this is part one and there's more to come...

Over Easter weekend this year the Shriver clan traveled from near and far to be together.  There was a new baby, another on the way, three adorable grandkids and two very happy grandparents! It was fun to meet all of you!  -Carolyn

Last week I was spent a fun morning with Malinda & Dave, who are getting married on July 9th, 2011.  These two lovebirds have a long distance relationship right now and you can tell by the look on their faces that they are extra-happy to see each other!!!!

Even though it was cold and drizzling we had a lot of fun shooting engagement photos in Des Moines' East Village. Heather & Justin will be getting married in just 3 more weeks!!! Woo hoo!

The Sweet Dreams board