Going into my first ever destination wedding, as a guest and a photographer, I had some pretty high expectations. I mean when a place is called Dreams, who wouldn’t? Personally, I can say that it was pretty fantastic and held up to all of those expectations. Professionally, I couldn’t say anything less.

In my opinion Bobbie and Ryder had one of the most beautiful weddings I’ve seen. They knew what they wanted and went with that. Their wedding day was enjoyed 100% and never once filled with worries about their officiant, the flowers, or any of the other details that I’ve seen so many get tied down with. When I started shooting that day Bobbie was so relaxed as she sat in the stylist’s chair. She was fresh out of the spa from a massage and didn’t have a thing to worry about, which I think is what most brides hope for at the point in their wedding planning. Meanwhile, upstairs in the the groom’s suite, the guys were joking around, laughing, and throwing back a couple Coors Lights (what else would you expect from Colorado boys?).

The relaxed theme had begun much earlier in the trip and carried through all the way through the ceremony, right to the end of the trip. I have to say, I don’t think I’ve ever gone back home from shooting a wedding 100% more relaxed than when I left. I guess the massages and beach might have helped.

The entire week we spent down there was a testament to the support that Ryder and Bobbie have surrounding them.

When in Rome, right?!

The resort photographers had dibs on Bobbie and Ryder following the ceremony, so we met up a couple mornings later to do a Day After Session.

Congratulations again Ryder and Bobbie!

-alm

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I’ve been editing through Ryder and Bobbie’s destination wedding pictures from Cancun, Mexico. It seems like it had to have been at least a decade ago that it was warm enough for a bride to wear a strapless dress outside and not get frostbite. That’s one of many definite perks to the whole destination wedding thing! Check back tomorrow for more proof of the awesomeness that is getting married in Mexico in the middle of winter.

-alm

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Last time I was here I was writing to welcome in 2010 and January. Now I’m saying goodbye to January. Eesh! I don’t plan to make that a habit, but with a handful of trips and a sickness this week that has completely had me down and out, the blog got bumped from my to do list.

This weekend I’m participating in the Classic City Bridal Show in Auburn. I’ve never done a bridal show before, so we’ll see if I come back next week having loved it. I’ve been doing a lot of preparation for the show and ordered a boatload of new samples. My fabulously handy husband, Mitch has also been helping me with my booth construction. Today as I sat in my umpteenth day of a drug haze, I heard our door buzzer and remembered that my new sample album was due to arrive today. I am so glad that I’ll have this big book to show off to all of the brides this weekend. I pretty much instantly fell in love with it!

Second only to the fantastic print and construction quality, my favorite thing about these books are how creative they allow you to be. There are at least a trillion different combinations of cover materials, images mixed in with the covers, and specialty materials (think glass and metal) that you can combine to create a totally unique album.

I went a little non-traditional with this sample, for those of you out there thinking that material might be a little too wild for you.

The creased pages allow the spreads to flow so beautifully throughout the entire album.

Just a note to any 2010 brides, my schedule is filling up very quickly. Email me at anna@annalynchmcclary.com to get the ball rolling today!

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It may be 2010 in the real world, but in my little blog world I still have lots to post from 2009. I find it so crazy that it has been 10 years since all of the Y2K worry, and even more how much has changed in a short 10 years. 10 years ago I was just discovering the freedom that being 16 and having a driver’s license could bring. I thought that life was incredibly hard and full of stress, if only I had known how easy it was. It is hard to believe that over the last decade I met some of my best friends, graduated from high school and college, moved enough times to make me never want to do it again, had my heart broken a couple times, went through some rough patches, met and married the man of my dreams, started my own business and found so much happiness. It really feels like all at once 2000 was a lifetime ago and a minute ago. I’m sure in 2020 I’ll have a million new memories to add to the list, and feel the exact same way.

A little note to anyone waiting on an email or call back from me, today is my first day back after about three weeks off. I’m slowly working my way through my inboxes so keep an eye out!

Now, to kick off 2010 right, with a blue eyed little boy who has grown an absolute TON since we shot these!

These eyes will break many girls’ hearts.

This could quite possibly be one of my favorite images ever. There is something just so timeless about Hudson and his mommy.

-alm

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Just a quick note to let everyone know that I will be out of the country from December 19 through Christmas Eve and will then be spending the holiday with my family! If you have any questions in the meantime, just shoot me an email at anna@annalynchmcclary.com and as soon as I get a chance I’ll get back to you. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!

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I should probably start this post off by saying that the search party can finally be called off. Let this post be proof that I am still alive and kicking. The holiday season this year just had to be prioritized over my blog for a little bit. Luckily, just in time for Christmas break I am back!

I couldn’t really think of a better way to kick off my return tour than to get to brag up one of my couples and show proof of their awesomeness. About a month ago I received an email from Amanda asking if it would be okay to post a wedding image on J.Crew’s website. Her dress was from J.Crew (absolutely stunning by the way) and throughout her planning process she kept in touch with one of the ladies who had helped her through the ordering process. So, of course I said to run with it, and I have to say it is pretty cool to see one of my images up on a national site, and even more up on a site that I might have a bit of an addiction to.

To check out The J.Crew Wedding Album click here. Their image is in the bottom right portion of the page and you’ll be able to see the ALM logo to pick it out.

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I can safely say that I never thought that I’d be reaching back to memories from my senior homecoming for this blog. However, that’s pretty much where I remember this one starting. We were on one of our many long bus rides headed to a softball game. Us softball girls knew how to make those never ending rides fun though. As hard as it is to believe, talk of boys didn’t really dominate our conversation. This one day however, the hot topic was who everyone was going to the homecoming dance with.

The conversation had almost worked its way around the bus when someone volunteered that Amanda was being awfully quiet (if I remember right this was probably Katie), which was pretty rare. She eventually volunteered that there was this one guy she thought was cute, but she wasn’t sure if she was going to ask him to homecoming. At that point I think she really thought she was going to get away with not telling us a name. I can promise you that it never crossed any of our minds to let that happen though.

After a little prodding she volunteered a little more information and admitted that he was a freshman and finally threw Brandon’s name out there. In her head I think she expected all of our jaws to drop and talk her out of doing any such thing. Instead we did just the opposite and wholeheartedly endorsed him as the best candidate for her homecoming date.

At the wedding, Brandon’s best man, Tommy gave a speech essentially giving the he said version of this. It was hilarious to hear the shock that any senior girl, much less Amanda would want anything to do with a freshman guy. I think they probably had the jaw dropping reactions that Amanda expected out of us.

Eight years later it was astounding to see how beautifully their relationship had grown and completely changed and stayed the same, all at the same time.

They chose to see each other before the ceremony. These first sight images are always my favorites because they are just so honest.

-alm

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I think we’re all guilty of saying, “When this ___________ happens, I’ll be happy.” I can go way back with the phrases that I have forced into that blank; when this guy likes me, when I graduate high school, when this semester is over, when we get married, when I move out of here, when we move back to Colorado, or any of the other million phrases. There came a point this year though, that it stopped. I don’t have any idea what happened or why, but I clearly remember one road trip by myself that I just couldn’t believe how happy and lucky I am. It has stuck since that moment. Sure, there are things I’d love to change and things I wish could happen. However, the big things that truly matter, I already have. There is no point in wishing time away, because no matter what this is my life and even when it is hard, it is still good.

I have a job that pulls me into some of the best moments in people’s lives. I can’t tell you how many weddings I find myself with a lump crawling up in my throat or how many days I sit at my computer editing and get choked up. One of the best parts of this however, is that I get to shoot back around my hometown of Sterling, Colorado quite a bit. That means that so many of these couples were my friends back when we were all still trying to fill in that blank. As I sat editing through Amanda and Brandon’s pictures I couldn’t help but just smile. It was very clear that they were simply happy.

We started out their wedding weekend at the rehearsal with their families. Check back tomorrow for wedding images.

Brandon, Amanda, and their beautiful little girl Addison.

Addison led the dinner blessing and definitely rocked it!

-alm

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I’m not usually one to wish time away, however October hasn’t exactly been my favorite month of the year. After the sickness that was H1N1 knocked me on my butt for two weeks, I was ready to roll on the stack of work that was awaiting me. My good old MacBook Pro had other plans though. I believe the display simply went out, but won’t know for sure for another 3 weeks! That’s right, Best Buy’s warranty department is going to take 4 weeks to get it back to me, but that’s a whole other rant! So, there I was with loads of work and no computer for a week. The good thing that came out of all of this was that I finally took the leap (well technically I was pushed) and bought an iMac, which I am loving.

Now, back to the good stuff! A couple of days before the sickness struck, Mitch and I flew back to Colorado and I got to shoot my newest cousin. Now, I can safely say that I’ve never been the type that loved holding and taking care of little babies. Like I said in a previous post they quite simply intimidate me. But, for the first time I actually really enjoyed just sitting (not brave enough to move around yet) and holding snuggly little Wyatt. Not that I haven’t enjoyed all of the other little ones I’ve gotten to hold, I was just chalk full of fear the entire time that I might break them. So, yay for progress in not being afraid of the under 10 lbs. crowd anymore!

Congratulations again to Jake and Sarah! Also, a late congratulations to two of my other cousins, Angie and Cass who brought home a new little girl shortly before Wyatt was born.

Onto the aforementioned snuggly cuteness…

-alm

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I’ve been looking forward to this week for the past two months. After being constantly on the go and in airports, I had pegged this one as my week to play catch up on the computer and possibly even on this very neglected blog. However, towards the end of last week the flu caught up to me. I thought I had completely rebounded, but have found that isn’t necessarily the case. However, if I keep waiting to feel better it seems like it could be Christmas before I get a new post up.

This ought to show you how far behind I am on blogging, I had no idea where I left off! Thanks to this sick day, I’m going to let Ryan and Leaha’s images speak for themselves!

-alm

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