1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Italy
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland Paris
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Gone on a hot air balloon ride
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Princess Diana Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Scottish Highlands
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Totally copied a post from someone else’s blog to your own

Your patience is appreciated during this ever-so slightly stressful time! I’ll be back on form and back up to full speed before you know it, and I’ve got some exciting news to share with you all soon!

I’ve recently had the opportunity to take some Christmas portraits of Daisy for her parents, and to be sent to other friends and family over the festive period. As this is going to be Daisy’s first Christmas, you can see that she’s understandably excited to be getting a visit from Father Christmas:

She had even gone to the effort of dressing up as one of Santa’s elves!

I think she has every chance of getting lots of presents this Christmas - Daisy smiled through the entire session without any problems at all. She is definitely going to be on the “good” list with the folks at the North Pole!

Until the end of January, all portrait, trash the dress and boudoir sessions are priced with a 50% discount for both new and existing customers. Why not treat the special people in your life to some treasured memories that will last forever?

- Portrait session fees are cut to £25 until 31/01/2009
- Boudoir & Trash The Dress session fees are cut to £75 until 31/01/2009 and include two free 8×12 prints.

We have places remaining for our North West boudoir day to be run in Preston on 31/01/2009. Subject to requirement, we will also be scheduling an additional January date in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Please contact us to register your interest. All images from these sessions will be delivered in time for Valentines Day.

For pricing information, or to book a session, please contact us via the details on the website.

I met up with Vic, preparing at her Mum’s house after returning from having her hair and makeup done. She’d also received a card from Kieran, and she was busy reading this when I first arrived.

Flowers (along with chair covers and a starlight curtain for the venue!) were provided by the exceptionally talented Flower Boutique of South Shields:

Just as Vic finshed putting her dress on, the clouds shifted, the sun started to break through and the excitement was ever-so slightly noticeable. The dress had a full train that looked absolutely stunning whichever way you looked at it. Vic positively glowed, and barely showed a trace of nerves.

In the meantime, groom Kieran was already at The Little Haven Hotel in South Shields. Some of the evidence that was left lying around the room clearly showed that he’d been doing some last minute preparations! He was joined outside later by Best Man, Mark, and page boy Dylan.

The ceremony itself went off without a hitch. More than one person commented on how emotional Kieran looked as he caught sight of his bride for the first time, though it’s not hard to see why!

The timings of the day ensured that we had plenty of time inbetween the ceremony and the reception for taking photographs of the happy couple. After the group photographs, and a chance to mingle with their guests, I took Vic & Kieran to their honeymoon suite for some photographs of them as a newly-married couple.

After a brief pause, everyone was called through to be seated for the wedding breakfast. The speeches were all very memorable, with Uncle Ken in particular dispensing some invaluable advice in how to keep Vic quiet when trying to watch the football (you need a knitting needle, apparently!)

I realised, after the meal, that I’d not yet managed to grab a picture of Victoria’s wedding shoes. Turned out that I was lucky: She’d already taken them off to give her feet a bit of a rest!

After the meal, and before the evening reception had started, I managed to persuade Vic & Kieran to follow me into the night for a few final portraits. It was starting to rain, the wind was picking up and I think we’d all admit that it was on the cold side, but we managed to grab a few more shots before heading back in!

The evening reception followed in the high spirits of the rest of the day - guests were kept entertained by a great DJ and filled with wonderful food both from the buffet provided by The Little Haven and also from a chocolate fountain. Before everyone was too filled up, the happiest of happy couples took to the floor for their first dance. Some people couldn’t be dragged away from the chocolate however!

Before I left, I was given a reminder of why I love photographing weddings so much: A personalised card from the Bride & Groom, thanking me for my beautiful photographs, before I’d even left the venue! Small touches like that remind me how I know that I’ve got the very best job in the world!

The rest of the photographs will be available in due course, after Vic & Kieran return from their honeymoon. Please contact me if you’d like to be notified when this is.