Laurice wanted something vintage for her maternity photos. Something soft and feminine, with bright floral, grassy areas, and lots of nature. After much debate, we decided that the Spring’s Preserve was the perfect location for the shoot!

Thanks for hanging out with us! We had a blast! Can’t wait to meet Miss Joey and take her new-born pics! Can you imagine how beautiful she is going to be?

xoxo,

Suzi

I totally adore this white vintage umbrella that Laurice had! What a gem! She ordered it to use for her engagement session pics, but never ended up using it! So, we found good use for it!It was so awesome that we spotted these cherry blossoms!

The cake was simply stunning!The candy station was pretty fun, and got wiped OUT by the guests!!This is what the groom’s cake looked like!I loved the band that was at the reception during cocktail hour.The lighting was amazing, made extra beautiful by LED Unplugged.It is Polish tradition to do a blessing, which was given by Marta’s mom and brother, in which the couple also ate some bread and kneeled down on a special piece of fabric.This handsome little fella was just so cute and fun to photograph!

A cigar bar was also present at the reception in which the groom amongst several of the guests enjoyed.There were yummy appetizers too!Here is one of my friends in the industry, Clint, with his lovely wife! Clint is an amazing DJ and also a fantastic Elvis impersonator!After cocktail hour and some mingling with the guests, the bride and groom enjoyed taking a few more photos around the gorgeous property!And here is that amazing surprise I was telling you about in the previous post. Marta’s brother-in-law arranged for Chinese lanterns to be released by the guests in the bride and groom’s honor! It was a glorious site to see!The release of the Chinese lanterns was fantastic!The champagne toast, with raspberries! Clint occupied the guests with his famous Pass That Dollar game following dinner. The guests had a lot of fun with it!Here are a couple of photos of the past owners of Rainbow Gardens and now the new owners. Such a beautiful family business! I love family businesses – I think they really deliver more from the heart, and that is definitely the case with Rainbow Gardens!Gorgeous cake, right? And the set up is stunning too! Can’t beat having all of those twinkle lights in the background along with the votive candles!Time to party and catch the bouquet! Who looks like she wants it the most?? This was a sweet sisters’ dance!Sushi was served during cocktail hour, so I thought I’d have a little fun. I’ve always liked playing with my food. Venue: Rainbow Gardens

Lighting: LED Unplugged

Our Lady of Las Vegas Catholic Church is just stunning! We got some amazing portraits there! I simply didn’t want our time to end. LOL. Nevertheless, we had a reception to get to over at Rainbow Gardens, so I finally let these two board their party bus and head over to relax a bit.

I loved these adorable flower balls that were hung on the ends of the pews.This was such a precious moment as Marta and her brother looked at one another before they began to walk down the aisle. Can you see the tenderness in their eyes?

Next up, we’ll move on to see a glimpse of the reception, lots of details, and a fabulous surprise that Marta’s sister and brother-in-law planned for the newlyweds. It’s so amazing – you won’t want to miss this!

Marta and Doug are actually two of the three wedding coordinators at Rainbow Gardens, so they know quite a bit when it comes to weddings! Rainbow Gardens is actually a family-owned and operated business. Marta’s sister and her husband own Rainbow Gardens as well as Bowties Tux and Bridal Salon. Marta completely got the hook-up on her gorgeous Maggie Sottero gown, obviously!!

Marta, having come from a big Polish family, followed Polish tradition to do a first look that was present in the eyes of their closest friends and family, followed by a blessing by Marta’s mother and brother.

Then it was on to the party bus and over to Rainbow Gardens for all of the pre-ceremony portraits. One thing that I must give props to Marta on is knowing how much time she actually needed to sufficiently cover all the parts of her day. She made sure to allow for plenty of coverage time after the first look to do family portraits, bridal party portraits, as well as a bridal portrait session for herself. Marta actually had 11 hours of coverage on her day! Quite a bit, but you know what, it wasn’t stressful at all. She planned it so perfectly, in order to allow for a leisurely experience. I don’t think she wanted to feel rushed in any part of her day, so she made sure to get enough coverage!

Aren’t these bridal party shirts just too cute?Marta’s bridal shoes were so adorable! I love the rhinestones on them! Bling bling!!I love the innocence of this one! Awww…Marta is so HOT! Love her rockstar face! The ring bearer was just so stinkin’ cute. For a three-year-old, he was incredibly well behaved and such a little flirt!Marta’s sister, owner of Bowties Bridal, toasts the happy couple on the party bus on the way over to Rainbow Gardens!The bridal bouquets were so gorgeous!Loved the detailing on Marta’s Maggie Sottero dress!One big, happy bridal party, minus one.Stud muffin.Stunning!The flower girl had such gorgeous electric blue eyes! She was a treasure to photograph! Here’s a pic of me with our lovely bride, Marta, shot by my partner Kira. Awww…

Stay tuned for Part II, the ceremony and post ceremony pics are up next…

I truly had a great time hanging out with these two at Calico Basin for their Las Vegas maternity session, despite the freezing cold weather! They were such terrific sports though – you totally can’t even tell how cold it actually was!

Lots of love to you both! Can’t wait to do the new born pics!

xoxo,

Suzi

The bride and groom got ready at Red Rock Country Club, and then headed over to Angel Park Golf Course for the ceremony, and then back to Red Rock Country Club for the reception! Yep, it was one heck of a busy day!

This was such a sweet moment of the groom with his parents as they were escorting him down the aisle. The bride sang her vows to the groom, with a little help from her iPhone.The ceremony was full of lots of music and joy. One of my favorite parts of the ceremony was when the bride and groom returned their purity rings to their parents. You could tell how proud the parents were. Thanks for letting me be a part of your special day!

xoxo,

Suzi

When we walked in the store this time, my eyes were drawn to the dress in the window – the one on the mannequin. It was gorgeous. And I secretly wanted it for my mother. She deserved it. I checked the price tag on it and staggered back as it was a whopping $125.  This was a lot of money for an eight-year-old to have back in 1991. Money I didn’t have no less.

I wasn’t afraid of not having the money. I always felt like if I wanted something bad enough, I’d work for it or raise that money somehow. It just didn’t seem like an illogical idea not to be able to afford something. Why wouldn’t I be able to afford it? As long as I worked for it, however long that would take, the money would eventually be there.

Even as a child, I understood value. I understood working hard for the things I wanted, no matter how long it would take to achieve that.

I remember going home that day and telling my father I needed to earn some money, so that I could buy my mom the best birthday present ever. He was eager to assist by allowing me to paint the fence in our front yard. He said he’d give me $40. I was stoked! I thought that was a lot of money! And it was! The fence was very intricate and made of wrought-iron, which my dad had made himself years before.

After I earned the $40, I asked my dad for more assignments, and he told me that $40 was more than enough to buy a birthday present for my mother. I told him how much the dress was, and he told me that was too much to spend on a gift.

I was so upset. I wanted the dress in the window for my mother, and I didn’t care how hard I needed to work to get it or how long it took.

Well, perhaps you’re wondering why I’m rambling on about this story. So, this brings me to my beef with today’s youth. Unfortunately, I don’t think today’s parents are teaching them the value of working hard for your money. Most parents buy whatever their child wants. As a parent, it’s so important to provide for your child’s needs, but for their ‘wants,’ it’s important to to let them learn how to earn their own money.

Parents are saving for their children’s college funds too, which is a nice and generous concept. However, my parents didn’t save for a college fund for me. I was very aware of this actually, and made sure I worked extra hard in school to have the best grades possible to get a scholarship to pay for my own college. I graduated as class Valedictorian, with the number 1 GPA ranking and earned a full scholarship to pay for my college. Not bad, huh? I did have to pay for books and supplies out of pocket though, so I got a part time job to cover those expenses.

Anyway, I’m just tired of seeing lazy kids, who are ungrateful, spoiled and unwilling to work to earn some money.

Are you willing to work harder to pay for the things you value? And is this a concept you are going to teach your children?

Shelby planned the perfect proposal here in Las Vegas! As part of Morgan’s 30th birthday celebration, he schemed up a clever plan to turn it into a proposal and engagement party as well! Morgan was completely shocked, as she explained to me that Shelby is more of a quiet and conservative type when it comes to matters like that! Morgan is the one who typically plans everything, as detail-oriented as she is – so it was a very pleasant surprise indeed for Shelby to pull of this secret!

Morgan thought the perfect place to have their engagement photos taken would be in Vegas! She started searching for Las Vegas photographers with a vintage flair, and lo and behold, lil’ ole me popped up.

We had such a great time communicating back and forth regarding the engagement session, that Morgan began inquiring about having me come out to California for the wedding as well! I was thrilled, and am totally psyched that I get to capture both of these fun events for them!! (I know it’s a stretch, but hopefully baby pics in the future… hehehe).

Granted, I’m  usually a little slow to make postings on my blog, but Morgan lit a fire under my butt this morning when she sent me this beautiful thank-you e-mail:

Last night was sooooo amazing We had an amazing time with you all and could not have felt more comfortable and relaxed! It really was a lot of fun!!!

I am so excited to see the pics and I am really really excited about the future wedding pics They are going to be amazing!

We are so glad we chose you Suzi We just couldn’t stop taking about how darn cute you are!!!

Thank you again! Have a wonderful day!

Xoxo
Morgan
Isn’t it totally amazing to wake up to an email like that in your inbox? I <3 you Morgan!!

So, for a little intro into the photos themselves, these were taken at The Neon Museum (aka The Neon Boneyard) here in Las Vegas. Morgan knew it would be the perfect location. I suggested that after we finish up there, that we should pop on over to Fremont Street for a few more photos, as it’s just down the road. What a great time we had together!

Thanks Morgan and Shelby for having the confidence in me to capture these very important and special moments in your lives! Much love to you both, and I am looking forward to the wedding! Here’s a sneak peek just for you!

Respectfully,

Suzi Lighten

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I was truly so honored when Marilyn Gubler, mother to Matthew Gray Gubler (or better known as Dr. Spenser Reid on CBS’ Criminal Minds), hired me to photograph her wedding to her fiance, Tom DiGiacomo.

Marilyn and Tom were married in their private estate in beautiful Summerlin, a suburb here in Las Vegas.

I began the day with documenting them getting ready, followed by mingling with guests and cocktails. This was then followed by the ceremony, which was preformed in their lovely backyard. The pastor conducting the ceremony was the first I’ve seen to use an iPad to refer to during the ceremony. Pretty sleek!

As Matthew Gray Gubler escorted his beaming mother down the aisle, all the guests hummed the melody to “Here Comes The Bride.”

It was perfect.

Following the truly beautiful ceremony, the small group of close family was eager to get back into the warm house, as it was a wee bit on the chilly side.

After cocktail hour, the guests were treated to an amazing meal, prepared by Sin City Chefs, who specializes in on-site upscale catering to celebrities.

The food tasted as amazing as it looks.

Having never previously watched Criminal Minds before, I felt so silly not having better known more about how famous Marilyn’s celebrity son was. After the wedding, I naturally had to watch a ton of episodes to get myself more up to date on who Dr. Spenser Reid actually was!

He’s one pretty cool cat! The whole family is, and I loved hanging out with all of them!

I was bummed that I was unable to attend their full-blown reception at their ranch in Sandy Valley the next day, but I had another wedding already booked that day and wasn’t able to cover it. Nevertheless, this day was pure love!

xoxo,

Suzi

Matthew Gray Gubler blowing bubbles after the ceremony with his girlfriend, model Ali Michael.Marilyn’s daughter, with her husband, showcasing her little baby bump.Marilyn showed me around her home and let me have free range as to where I wanted to take photos of them. We ended up outside, in their bedroom, and my favorite – in their laundry room. I thought the laundry room would be a lot of fun for these two! Turns out they’re quite playful – and I loved pulling that out of them in these photos. I snagged this one of the amazing chefs at Sin City Chefs right before they all killed each other. All of Marilyn and Tom’s closest family.Apparently Matthew Gray Gubler likes wearing mismatched socks with unique patterns.This is me with Matthew Gray Gubler. He’s pretty tall, so he had to hunch over a bit to take this pic with me…

I love how creative Tara is!! She handmade red pillows and one of Lainy’s hats for this shoot. She is an uber Mega-Mommy and might possibly be turning into an Etsy junky like me.

We had been deciding back and forth whether to do the photos at Calico Basin or in studio, and with the weather being a bit temperamental, we elected to go for in studio by natural window light.

Thank you Tara for letting me capture one of your precious little girl’s milestones!

Doing baby portraits in Las Vegas is becoming so much fun!

xoxo,

Suzi