Which means I may not come back. Allie….I’M MOVIN’ IN!!!

Oh, shut up….you know I’m kidding. (sort of).

So why do I love Italy so much (other than the obvious)?

What….you can’t see it my favorite weddings??

I love the family feel, the country details, the colors and lighting. I love the wine tasting, sunflowers and rustic woods. It feels like everything matters.

So to leave off this exciting post….here is a collection of some of my favorite country weddings I’ve shot to date. And be sure to scroll all the way down for teaser on some HUGE news!!!

Nikki and Jonathan at The Black Horse Inn.

JC and Esther at Chamard Vineyards….(Ha….with my older font. My, how things have changed…)

And of course….Aileen and Jason at Historic Jordan Springs….ah….I can taste the donut’s now.

Venues (and one Awesome Donut Place):
The Black Horse Inn
Chamard Vineyards
Historic Jordan Springs
Carpe Donut
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What else does Terra Dawn Photography have planned for this year???

Let’s just say it involves an AMAZING Washington D.C. wedding planner, one of the venues mentioned above and a STUNNING real couple!!! And that’s just the tip of the iceburg!! Some of the best and most innovative vendors in the DC Area are going to be involved!

So. if you are in your first few years of business or looking to throw yourself into this nuthouse known as wedding photography, be sure to follow the blog and keep an eye out for next week’s post!!!

Terra Dawn Photography
The Blog
E-Mail: terradawnphotography@gmail.com
Skype Name: TerraDawnPhotog

Here a few of my favs from 2009!!

Gina – “I met Terra Dawn as I was interviewing photographers for my wedding. We had corresponded online prior to meeting in person and I was able to view some of her work. I was amazed and couldn’t wait to meet her in person. Terra is very outgoing and friendly and just has a very comforting nature. She is very confident in her abilities and it shows. I would recommend her to anyone looking for a fantastic wedding photographer.”

Melissa – “Terra Dawn is a wonderful! She is unobtrusive during the ceremony and reception. She has an amazing eye for detail. She also has wonderful ideas and suggestions for photos. Her final images are amazing. The color photos pop with such vibrancy, and the black and whites are very dramatic. Terra Dawn is definitely worth the price you pay for her!”

MichaelAnn – “Terra did an outstanding job! One thing that I really liked about working with Terra is that we hardly knew that she was there! We still can’t figure out how she took some of the shots that she was able to get! She was great!”

Nki – Terra was amazing! Very professional, creative, and our photos are beautiful. She went above and beyond, and really CARED about what we were looking for. I recommend her to anyone looking for a photographer for their event.

Stephanie – Oh my God Terra!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the pictures and the video!!!!!!!!! I keep watching it over and over and over!!!! Thank you so much. I can’t wait to see the rest!!! You are AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!

You ladies are so fantastic and such pleasures to work with!! I still love thinking about each one of your days!! You were just beautiful.

Aaaand….b/c I need to add a picture or it doesn’t look right….

TerraDawnPhotography
TerraDawnBlog
Skype Name: TerraDawnPhotog
terradawnphotography@gmail.com

Don’t forget to check out the FREE Etsy Wedding Book download!!

I ordered this album no later than THREE weeks before I needed it!! Crazy, right? I know!! I asked them to get it to me in time for the show.

So….move ahead three weeks, two days before the big show. I get a call from a Crystal, letting me know that the album is scheduled to be in my hands THE NEXT DAY!! woo-hoo!!!!

So Saturday is spent putting the booth together and fighting the snow drifts.

*sigh* Snow drifts.

By about 5, I checked the UPS site to see what the hold up was. The hold, my friends, was a blizzard in Memphis.

Sooooo….long story short, my album did not make it in time for the show. BUT…FINAO, you are awesome. You did your best to get it here, and nothing short of a blizzard could have stopped it.

So thank you for your FAB customer service and AMAZING work!!! HOLY HELL I LURVE THIS ALBUM!!

Acrylic top, baby!!!

And look at that hinging!!! Oooo-eeeeeee…….

Happy happy photographer.

If you would like to see this in person..you just let me know, my friends.

And check out Jill and Andy’s wedding, here!!

TerraDawn.com
TerraDawnBlog.com
Skype Name : TerraDawnPhotog

Brides!! Don’t forget to download out the FREE Etsy Book pdf!!

From Left to Right: Invitations by “RachelJasperDesign” , Aqua/Cream Daffodils by “TheGildedBee” , Skyla Romantique Necklace by “RachelleD” , Isadora Feather Headband by “BethanyLorelle” , Retro Inspired Wedding Dresses by “BridalBlissDesigns” , Love Grows Gift Tags by “LittlePumpkinPapers” , Custom Ring Bearer’s Pillow (Made on Request) by “AddiePearl”

To see more of my favorite Etsy Wedding Vendors check out the FREE downloadably pdf here!!

Terra Dawn
www.terradawn.com
www.terradawnblog.com
Skype Name: TerraDawnPhotog

sHOOT me any questions you might have!!

(Don’t judge….I couldn’t help the pun….)

Terra Dawn
www.terradawn.com
terradawnphotography@gmail.com
SkypeName: TerraDawnPhotog

A gift from me to you!! Boy has this been a long time in the making!!

It’s a collection of some of my favorite Etsy Wedding Vendors. Find your favorites, visit their shops, and do your best not to spend your entire wedding budget in one store….

Yeah….good luck with that.

Also included are some fun lists like “Favorite Blogs” and “10 Love Songs You May Not Know”. (No…there are no monster ballads on there…)

Click the link below to get your free download!!

2010 Etsy Wedding Book Download!

Feel free to pass this book along to anyone and happy planning!!

Terra Dawn
terradawn.com

Oh yeah…I wanna say one more thing….Big Bird. O_O I will leave it at that.

So…with that resolution being so quickly taken care of, I think I need to replace it with another!! My new resolution? To book a wedding in Italy! I love that country. The people, the lifestyle…the style. I can just imagine the photos I would come back with. SO….if anyone hears of a friend getting married in Italy, you just send them my way. I will totally hook ‘em up.

Soooo….what are my other New Year’s resolutions, you ask? Let me share!

1. Book a wedding in Italy.
2. Work with some of the local magazines (Washingtonian being my top pick).
3. GET ORGANIZED!!! My office was flooded twice this month!! And I’m not talking with calls! (Although I WAS pleased when that happened a few times as well.) ARGH!!! SO…I currently have a coffee table on top of my desk, and boxes of kitchen stuff in my desk chair.

Those are the three biggies! I do have a few more minor goals…but really, goals aren’t resolutions, just things on my To-Do list.

Well…this may be the shortest full length post…without images….oh, that’s sad. I’ll add an image. Hold on….

This is my “please take me to Italy” look. I think it will work!!!

Terra Dawn
http://www.terradawn.com
terradawnphotography@gmail.com
Skype: TerraDawnPhotog

P.S. Oh!! And I also want to lose 10 pounds.

This image was featured in the Bridal Tweet’s slideshow of the week!! Check it out here!!

Ok….so the fudge wasn’t really for me (although I must say it tasted divine). It was for you!! So head over to her blog and see what this wild woman has in store for her readers….

TerraDawn
terradawnphotography@gmail.com
Skype: TerraDawnPhotog

No seriously!!! I thought about you….dreamt about you….and even debated about stalking you and photographing you from the bushes across from your house!! (Don’t worry…that last one never came to fruition (as far as you know).

I’ve been super busy, though!! Even without the stalking!! I have three weddings and two shoots to put up on the blog. I’m soooo excited. One in a blizzard, one on a farm….and one on NEW YEARS!!!! So, that being said….we shall start backwards with New Years (and try to cut down on the exclamation marks….).

I…..LOVE….THIS….COUPLE!! (Never mind about the exclamation marks….cutting down is OBVIOUSLY not going to work.)

Mike and I photographed these two back in June (I believe) at their lake house at Lake Anna. A piece of advice…..when you take photographer out in a speed boat for an engagement shoot, PLEASE make sure they are actually focused on you and not the awesomeness of being in a boat. We are an easily distracted lot, I tell you!

Moving onto the gorgeous wedding!! What better way to end the year than to hang out with these two in Fredericksburg? We met up with the girls around noon at the New Heights Salon where everyone was gettin’ purdified. I LOVED that the bride’s parents were hangin’ out too…just watching everything go down.

I KNOW!! They were sooo cute!! They were dancing all night….just the happiest parents EVER.

After chillin’ with the girls for a bit, we discovered covertly (NO…not stalking. We actually just called the groom.) that the guys were getting ready to spend the morning driving those little race car things…what are they called? Hold on…I have to google it…Right!! Go karts!!! They were going to ride Go Karts!! So we got in the Mike Mobile and headed over to them to get some fun shots.

It looked like fun but man, that room was cold!!! I had to wear my gloves and sweater and scarf so I wouldn’t freeze to death!!

Weeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

After we had enough fun and freezing our butts off, we figured it was probably time head back to The Hospitality House to meet up with the gals. We also had a third photographer join us for the day!! A fun fellah by the name of Leo Druker! If you haven’t seen his AMAZING scenics…..you should. Go here ———–> Leo’s Gallery

When we got to the hotel, the girls were already in full swing with their New Years Celebratory Fandango’s! I have no idea what a fandango is, but it seems to be the appropriate word for this group.

Yes…there was line dancing in the hotel room.

This is the daughter of the groom! So gorgeous!! Her hair was very, very red….and i was very, very jealous.

One of the bride’s maids does make-up, so that made things super easy!! And she did an excellent job, I might add!!

Anyone who knows me, knows that portraits are my FAV to photograph….but details run a REALLY close second!! I loved these flowers!! (And the couch they were sitting on…but let’s not get into my love of couches here….). Roses and Daisies!! Who’da thunk it! When the flowers arrived, Stephanie walked around carrying her bouquet singing “I loooove Daisies…..I loooooove Daisies. Daaaaaaisies are my faaaaavorite.” It was a very Grammy moment.

I loved this dress!!! Need I say more?

Of course I do!!

It wasn’t over the top…or under the bottom (can I say that?). I loved the fabric draped over the front and beaded. It was super intricate. It was just perfect and was absolutely perfect for Stephanie!! You can see it here in a second after she puts it on.

Ok……are you ready for my favorite detail of the day?

No really….you have to be ready…because I don’t want this to be a dulled impact.

It’s really super awesome….are you braced?

TA-DA!!!!!!!!!!! *Does a magic hand wave in a VERY complex pattern that you can’t keep up with*

Magic Shoes!!

We hung them by their heals on the knobs of entertainment center…and they looked REALLY cool. THEN, I flipped my camera on it’s side and did the happy photographer’s dance when i saw that they looked like a mirror image!!! How cool (and magical) is THAT!!??

*sigh* It gives me heart palpitations just thinking about it.
I loved her something old too!! It was a photo charm of her grandparents tucked into her bouquet. How beautiful is that!! And one of the bridesmaids modeled the groom’s ring for me…I really loved it. It had styyyyle.

And then….it was time to put on the dress. Oh…..she was SO pretty!!

What were the guys doing, you ask? Well, they finally made it back from their race-car adventures and lunch so that Jim could get himself and two sons ready to go, assuming that his groomsmen could get themselves ready. I don’t know to many grooms who are that trusting. But….they all pulled it off.

The ceremony was a late one since the reception would be running easily until 1AM. So around 5:30 we headed downstairs so Stephanie and Jim could get hitched. It was a VERY sweet hitching.

After the ceremony, we headed into the Reception area where David, the DJ from M.M. Jamming Dave’s DJ Service was playing the clarinet!! At least…i think that’s what it was. What does Kenny G play?

Anyways, it was really pretty, and he soon retired to behind the booth so that the dance floor could start rockin’ and rollin’! The first dance was beautiful. They really danced as though no one were watching.

After that, the dance floor didn’t stop! The bride and her father went straight into a slow dance which VERY quickly turned into a combination of Kung Fu Fighting and Thriller. Yup…that is probably a good description of the rest of the night. Kids mingled on the dance floor with the adults, and lemme tell ya….when the DJ played Hannah Montana, I kinda thought she had come in the room.



There were a lot of fun moments from the reception, but wanna know my favorite? It was when the button on the bride’s bustle busted (w00t for accidental alliteration! twice!) and the mother of the groom sewed it back on….IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DANCE FLOOR!!! It was AWESOME!!

As the midnight hour approacheth-ed……it was finally time for some toasts, cutting the cake….and smashing it in each other’s faces.

Wait? Where is the cake smashing photo? Where’s the New Years photos??!!

Oh yeah!! TERRA DAWN PHOTOGRAPHY IS DOING SOMETHING BRAND SPANKIN’ NEW FOR 2010!!!!

I am, by no means a videographer, but growing up in the 80’s I certainly know how to take a decent home movie!! Check out my first stab at fusion video!! (A lot of the video was actually taken by the bride and groom’s daughter!)

Thanks Mike for having Leo and I along for the New Years wedding ride, and thank you both for helping out with this first experiment!!!

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On a side note!!

I want to thank each and every one of you who stop by my blog on a daily basis, give me tweet love, facebook love and face to face…..er…..love…… 2009 was a HUGE success and 2010 is looking even better. You ALL are my support, my family and my life….and this year wouldn’t have been a success without you.

Awwww!!! I’m tearing up…..hold on….I need a tissue.

I will be at the Dulles Expo on Jan 31st…(you can’t miss me…my booth is HUGE), so if you haven’t met me and want to…PLEASE STOP BY!!!! Goodness knows I luuuurve to talk and have tons of new products and ideas to show off!!

If you need any more info, just shoot me an email. I’ll hook ya up.

*wink*wink*

Terra Dawn
Contact Me Through:
Skype: TerraDawnPhotog
Email: terradawnphotography@gmail.com

Salon: New Heights Salon
Ceremony and Reception: Fredericksburg Hospitality House
DJ: David Canty from M.M. Jamming Dave’s DJ Service
First Shooter: Mike Lesnick Photography
Second Shooter and Fusion Video Producer(a) : Terra Dawn Photography
Second Shooter (b) : Leo Druker Photography