You probably have noticed that michellelindsayphotography.com has gotten a facelift!  With the switch over to the new blogsite, some minor issues have popped up with email that we are currently working to resolve as quickly as possible.  In the meantime, if you would like to contact Michelle Lindsay Photography, please either Facebook me or call the studio at 202.257.7993.

Additionally, if you have sent an email to Michelle Lindsay Photography anytime between yesterday afternoon and now, please contact me to let me know as you probably received a bounceback message.

I apologize for the inconvenience and we will let you know as soon as the issue is resolved, hopefully later this evening.

Michelle

So I know I’ve been completely MIA since the holidays, but I promise it’s for a very good reason and that with my lack of presence, a lot of new and exciting changes are about to happen! I’ve been working with the amazingly talented SugarB Studio and Identity Kitchen for a fresh, updated look, along with a brand new blogsite (website and blog combined). The soft launch is happening later this week, along with the top 10 of 2010 so please stay tuned! I PROMISE it will be well worth it!!!!

Cheers!
Michelle

This fall was jammed packed with engagement session, and while I know I’m falling behind in blogging my fall weddings (and I promise to go back to them in the New Year), for now I want to share another adorable engagement session.

Claire and Jav wanted something very fun and urban for their engagement session and since Union Station had significant meaning to them already, it was an obvious choice. I met up with them one unusually warm afternoon, along with Suburban Video (who was filming their Love Story at the same time). The thing I love most about photographing at Union Station is that I’m always inspired by the lighting there and the incrediably unique patterns that are everywhere you turn.

Take a look.

I first met Cara when she was about 6 months pregnant. She was a bridesmaid in Emily and Carl’s wedding at the Hotel Palomar…and she look stunning. She was the perfect pregnant woman – small, petite with the most adorable belly bump. Naturally, I was really excited when I heard from her a few weeks later inquiring about maternity photos. We decided to keep it really simply and organic, and while it might seem a bit ironic, picked a vineyard as the location for the session. I met her and Jeffery out at Piedmont Vineyard one very chilly afternoon. By the time the session was over, we were pretty much all frozen to the core, but it was totally worth it.

I can’t wait to meet their beautiful daughter in February!!!

When I sat down to write this post, I went back to last year to see what I had written for Cans for Comments…and it kind of made me sad. Last year I said I was having a hard time getting into the holiday spirit and here I am, once again, lacking all holiday cheer. What is up with that? Why haven’t I pulled out my holiday decorations or gone out and gotten a Christmas tree? Why am I annoyed that I have to wade through the mass crowds at the mall to buy a stupid iPad (just an example…no one is getting an iPad this year so don’t get your hopes up). Why am I dreading dealing with the airport because I know, inevitably, my flight is going to be delayed or cancelled and I will spend yet another holiday stressed out beyond belief wondering how the heck can I get myself halfway across the country to see my family. When did I become too busy to stop and enjoy the holidays instead of dreading them.

You know what my favorite holiday movie is? The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. I think it’s because everytime I watch it, I feel a little bit like Cindy Lou Who. I know what the holidays are truly about, yet every year it’s like I need a helpful reminder to ignore all of my cynicisms and focus on what really matters. Last year, Cans for Comments did that for me and this year I’m hoping it will again.

So help me give back to others.

Starting today and going through next Friday, for every person who comments on my blog, I will donate one canned food item to Bread for the City. Bread for the City provides residents of Washington, DC, with services, including food, clothing, medical care, and legal and social services.

Don’t worry. You’re comment doesn’t have to be anything super insightful or even about photography. Anything will do. As a suggestion, I’d actually love to hear what everyone’s favorite holiday traditions are so start there and feel free to expand. Last year I had 32 comments and this year I think – no I KNOW – that we can double if not triple that number.

And because I prefer to post with a photo, a sneak peek from Cara and Jeff’s vineyard maternity session. They are getting a very very special gift this holiday season…

It’s cold. And they are predicting flurries today. Brrrrrrrrr. Winter is here, but in 40 days I have the sweet relief of San Antonio, Texas for PPA’s Imaging USA convention from January 16th -18th.

Photographers: Are you going? Did you know that if you join the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), you get a FREE registration to the conference, one of the largest in the country?!?

Did you also know that if you drag your butt down to San Antonio in January, I’ll be there speaking as part of the genNext segment featuring 10 up and coming studios from around the country?

So come hang out! I promise you will not regret it.

To learn more, visit www.PPA.com/Join-Go

WARNING: This post contains many many delicious, mouth-watering food photos and you will absolutely, 110% be hungry after reading it.

Melissa and Kevin are total foodies. Perfect when you live in a city like Washington DC that has so many delectable restaurants to sample from. Well, Melissa and Kevin decided to bring their love of food into their wedding day and the result was over the top, satisfyingly fabulous – it was, without a doubt, my dream wedding (I’ve always said that if/when I get married, the two things I will go over the top spending money on are photography and food). Melissa and Kevin so cleverly wove their foodie passion into the theme of the wedding, from the mini forks holding the escort cards to the table names themselves, which were all of their favorite DC restaurants, including Dino, Brasserie Beck, Tabacon and Sorriso (the sweetheart table that Melissa and Kevin sat at was so appropriately labeled Home.) The cocktail hour had an array of stations, featuring cusine and spirits from around the world. Sangria. Sake. Spanish Tapas. Fresh Italian Mozzarella. Pecking Duck. A Raw oyster bar. Chilled soup shooters. Mini grill cheese sandwiches. Did I mention that this is still just cocktail hour? We haven’t even made it to dinner yet…which was, of course a 3 course meal.

After dinner, dancing followed (of course) into the late evening hours. And because everyone was not quite full enough, there were midnight snacks passed around that included mini milkshakes and chocolate dipped cheesecakes. This of course, was in addition to the regular wedding cake (which had sprinkles on it! Love it!) AND the tray of delectable chocolates that each table received. Whew. I’m not going to lie. I partook in the delicious food throughout the evening and I went home more full than I ever have from a wedding. And really really jealous of Melissa and Kevin’s wedding!

Halcyon House looked amazing and so many vendors worked very hard to transform this space into one of the most beautiful wedding receptions I’ve seen. It’s a pretty large space, but during Melissa and Kevin’s first dance, you can tell that they didn’t even notice that anyone else was even around. That’s what I love most about this couple. At first glance they both seen like very no-nonsense, straight to the point individuals, but if you keep looking and catch them at the right moment, their adoration for food seems pale in comparison to how they feel about each other.

Congratulations Melissa and Kevin!

Amazing Team of Vendors who helped make this day fabulous
Ceremony and Reception Site: Halcyon House
Event Coordinator: Simply Chic Events
Caterer: Occasions Caterers
Florist: Petal’s Edge
Decor and Lighting: Fabrication Events and John Farr Lighting
DJ: Chris Laich
Ceremony Musicians: Sage Strings via Bialek’s Music

Cheryl and Greg are huge Philly fans. When they told me that they wanted to wear their jerseys for the engagement session, I said if we were going to do it, we were going ALL in. Bring the glove. Bring the ball. We were going to play.

Now, after living in Boston for 8 years, I am a pretty die hard Red Sox fan. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that there was a split second where it crossed my mind that Cheryl, Greg and I were maybe not as good a fit as I initially thought we were, but during the session, their quirky, fun, spontaneous personalities reassured me and reminded me why I’m so excited for their wedding in Alexandria this upcoming spring.

It was a beautiful afternoon and we goofed around in Old Town for about an hour before piling into the car and heading over to National Harbor just in time to catch what was an awesome and amazing sunset…

The holiday weekend has come to a close. My parents are back in the car, driving the 15 hour trip home to Wisconsin. My belly is 5 pounds happier. Oh yeah, and my throat is plus one Strep infection. That’s right, someone thought it would be cruel and unusual punishment to serve me up with a case of Strep Throat over Thanksgiving. While I may not have enjoyed my turkey and mashed potatoes quite as much as I have in years past due to painful swallowing, it was still a holiday weekend to be thankful for.

Thankful. It’s a word I wished I put more thought into on a regular basis. I know that deep down I’m thankful for so many things in my life, but I’m not sure I do enough to show my gratitude. It’s so easy to get caught up in the everyday grind of life that somehow the days, the weeks, and then the months start to slip away and in the process of being so consumed within my own struggles, perhaps I forget to tell or show thanks to the many people and things in my life that give me the daily opportunity to live, dream and experience.

I can’t do it in a single day of the year. It’s not enough and I know that. I have to work harder every day to show my gratitude. But for now, I’ll start today by saying a few things I am thankful for. Call it cheesy. Call it cliche. I don’t care. It’s the holiday season, which in my mind, gives us all free reign to be a little bit corny.

I am thankful for my family and the love and the support they’ve given me year after year. My incredibly unique friends, who help me appreciate all of our individual differences. The ocean. The fab five (you’ll know who you are). Good health. A bed to sleep in tonight. The nurse at the ER today. My health insurance that covered my ER visit. Music….really really great, changes your world music. Peanut Butter. Strong coffee. The stranger that held the door open for me yesterday and smiled. Clean water and fresh air. Laughter. Tears…because they make us stronger.

This has been a year filled with my amazing family, great friends, a lot of laughter and even more tears. And I am stronger because of it.
So thank you. To all of you.

Shena and Tim are getting married next summer in Denver, Colorado (JEALOUS!) but since they live here in DC, the really wanted to have their engagement photos capture the two of them here at home. We all rose bright and early one very chilly morning and met down by the monuments. I love the monuments at sunrise. It’s so eerily quiet sans tourists. The only people around are the guards and crazy runners! And us.

Shena and Tim were amazing and totally braved the chilly temperatures and it made for lots of cute photos because they were forced to snuggle together to keep warm! And of course, the lighting was perfect. Sunrise sessions are quickly becoming my new favorite….