When planning a destination wedding, I'm sure not many people have Tulsa on their list, especially in February. But that's just what Don and Deborah had in mind. Getting married in Tulsa, surrounded by friends who love them. They live in gorgeous Idaho but Don grew up here and his best friends in the whole world are here in Tulsa. It seemed only right to fly in his new bride, Deborah, show her off and tie the knot! Almost perfect plan...except for our wacky weather. A little ice storm (sound familiar) threw them off kilter but just a bit. Airlines lost their luggage but thankfully, they had carried their wedding clothes on board and just scrambled to fill in the rest. 3 other couples + one colorful Reverand Horn and it was done deal! Deborah was a beautiful bride, Don a handsome groom, and their hosts and honor attendants, George and Sherri had taken care of everything else, including a surprise guest to make their favorite Ceasar salad! Even Maggie the resident poodle was dressed to the nines and celebrating this beautiful union! Congratulations Don and Deborah and we wish you all the best! Thanks for being proof that it's never too late to find that special someone who will ride Harleys with you!

21 years ago I got a marriage proposal that went something like this: Jay to me over the phone (one that was still wired to a wall) : So, do you think you can get off work early Friday?  Me: I don't know, why? Jay: Well, since we don't have kids this weekend, I thought we could go to Norman and get married. Me: Oh, okay. I'll ask.  I'm NOT kidding. That's pretty much how it went. So, on February 3, 1989, I took the afternoon off and we drove to Norman, Oklahoma to get married. It was exciting! We didn't tell a soul. When we got to the courthouse, it had been sleeting and was getting icy and they were sending people home early and we barely wrangled up a judge to marry us! It was in this judge's chambers that I first met Greg and Jennifer Hopeman - who were Jay's college friends. They stood up for us.  We had dinner with them and stayed over at their house that night before heading off to our "honeymoon" at the horse races on Saturday and then back home with a quick stop at Service Merchandise to get our wedding rings and move our households together and tell our kids we got married and we were all going to live together now and be a family. That was the FUN part. This is the FUNNY part - I am very close to my sister.  So, I call her on Sunday as usual and she asks - what'd you do this week? I say - well, I got married and she starts laughing and says "Me too!" She was supposed to get married in April but they got tired of all the wedding stuff so they eloped to Miami, OK and got married at Laverne's Wedding Chapel 3 days before we went to Norman, and neither of us told the other one before.  It was really funny but I guess you had to be there, huh? So, I guess the point I'm trying to make is, even though I didn't have a wedding to speak of, my wedding day holds special memories for me and so does my sister's for her. The one thing I can honestly say we do miss is the photographs - or lack thereof. Neither she nor I have any photographs of our wedding days and it just really makes me a little sad because I wore a kick-ass Calvin Klein silk skirt, blouse and a hand painted silk man's necktie (I did say 1989) and the cutest little boots! My sister wore a black leather mini skirt and boots to her wedding! We were young, cute and skinny and had big hair and not one picture for either of us!  It makes me realize that what I do is a real blessing and how important it is to people to have a recorded memory of that day, even if it's just an elopement.  Happy Anniversary, Honey! I love you and would marry you in Norman, Oklahoma in an ice storm all over again! (but this time I'd get someone GREAT to take pictures! Like Sarah Rhoads ... Oh, wait she was 3 years old maybe) At least she can take our photos now.   Here's a couple of images taken of us this past September in Seattle by Sarah Rhoads Photography. We aren't young, cute or skinny anymore but we are still in love and these photos mean the world to me.  xxoo  

Double Digits. It's such a special time and yet so often it's not even recognized. The one cross-over in age we all make - from the single digits of childhood to the double digits we will most likely spend the rest of our lives in. I so love children at age 10. It's always been a right of passage in our house. When one of our kids reached 10, we made a HUGE deal about it and had what we called a "double-digit celebration". They all counted the days until it was their turn. It was very fun! It's the basis for the LSD Photogaphy Double-Digit session. At age 10, you should just have a big deal made about you! Laura had to watch her two sisters go before her and she was counting the days until she got to come have her double-digit celebration with me. I have been photographing Laura and her sisters since they were born so I actually have a little tear in my eyes for these sessions because the very thing I love about them is also the most sentimental to me. At 10, there is a special look - it's so hard to define in words - but it's the cross between childhood and adulthood and when I'm photographing these sessions and we're joking and talking, I see it through my lens - sometimes in just a blink of an eye split second it's there - the glimpse of this little child becoming an adult. For  me,  especially when it's a child I have been photographing for years, I feel so priviliged to have to have watched the transformation and the passover of this little person. It always moves me so. I have always referred to Laura as an "IT GIRL". I'm sure you'll agree from these images but I swear, she has been this way since she was born! As beautiful on the inside as the outside, Laura has got it going on now!  Laura is an outdoor girl and likes sports, reading and listening to Taylor Swift!  I expect her to have a fabulous life in the double digits and I'm proud to have helped her kick it off in such a special way!  You Go Girl!

Getting an engagement session in in Tulsa, in January, is tricky to say the least. The weather is crazy and so unpredictable! We set this up and Chrissy and John braved the wind and were total  troopers, not to mention Ethan.  But, let me mention Ethan. Chrissy and John are neither one new to love and marriage but through different circumstances and twists of fate, each had been alone for several years, wondering if there was another love in their futures or if they should just try to forget about it. Well, the funny thing about twists of fate? They twist the other way too!  And it just so happens that these two have lots of friends and family who love and encourage them and talked them both into registering on E-Harmony's website.  "Just put a profile on there. Can't hurt anything." They were SOO right.  Chrissy and John were a match!  These two are darling together. I love their playful spirits. Her soft-spokeness and his gentle kindness.  It's a match made in Heaven.   AND right in the big middle of things is....Ethan. Ethan is Chrissy's double-digit son -(almost 11)! So this is more than just uniting a man and a woman - this is creating a family.  A beautiful little family!  I gave Ethan a camera while I was shooting his mom and John and he's pretty darn good. He thinks he might like to have one of his own. YES!  John and Ethan are great friends already and, despite their allegiances to opposite Oklahoma football teams, are well on their way to a lifelong bond. (Just not on Bedlam Weekend!)

This summer Sophia and I had the opportunity to create images for a calendar to support a local dance theatre/troupe.  The calendar has just been released so here they are!   The Tulsa Folkloric Dance Theater was founded in 1999 to serve the community as a conduit for learning about the beauty and meaning inherent in dances from around the world.  Sophia has been a member of this dance theatre for several years and performs with The Purple Roses of Cairo as well as a tribal bellydance group,  throughout the year and in the summer theatre peformances at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.  These images feature the bellydancers and the band who supplies the beat!  In addition to being a stellar photographer, Sophia is a graphic designer by trade and did all the edits/design/layout for this calendar.
We had a great time stylizing and shooting this at The Barn in Tulsa.  As many of you know, Sophia and I have been BFF's since Kindergarten and she loves to dance here - and the costume part - she LOVES that part too!  Anyway, I added a few extra images of her at the end just because I love to shoot her but especially when she gets in her dance "zone". Her flair+my lens=Magic! This kind of gives me the opportunity to say how great it is to have a friend for so long who inspires and encourages and with whom you can rant, rave, whine, cry, laugh til you wet yourselves, laugh some more about that, cheer, swear and anything else with total abandon.  I guess that's friend freedom and it's a rare thing and I'm so thankful she and I have had it for so many years!  Strive for it - it's awesome! 

If you want to purchase a calendar, shoot us an emal and we'll hook you up. $19.95  and all proceeds benefit Tulsa Folkloric Dance Theater.  Support the ARTS!