Brooke Turner Photography

Today is a no-wedding Saturday for me! I've had such an amazing day so far….slept in, long workout, some reading, we're going to Bonefish (my fave) for dinner and then to the hospital to see Katie and baby Abel. I am so excited about Bonefish. I am one of those weird people that LOVES a good salad and their Florida Cobb Salad is to die for! So what am I doing on the computer right now on my day off? Well my husband is downstairs right now, totally sacked out from an 80+ mile bike ride this morning (crazy, I know)- so I snuck upstairs to upload the images from Beth and Trevor's engagement session last night. I had so much fun with these two at Wofford where they went to school. I couldn't help but post one quick one, but just one - you're going to have to wait for a few more :) 

Here's one of the last ones from last night - I think Trevor got inspiration from Carlee & Parker's engagement session back in December..

Happy Saturday everyone!

My silly Izzy….

I remember the first time meeting Tracy's mom.  She was a guest at Sandy and Stark's wedding last July in North Augusta - she admired my camera and I admired hers.  She was using the camera that I learned on and it was a nice one!  I could tell from that brief interaction that she was a 'picture lady' and that photographs meant the world to her.  That's why it was such an honor when she called me a few months later when her daughter Tracy got engaged, and then booked me to shoot their wedding.   I'm running out the door to go eat breakfast with my dad - but here are just a few sneak peek images…this is just part 1. Part 2 coming later today  

Congratulations Tracy and Joey!!  

Oh, and my email and website seem to be back to normal now

My email has been down all morning - no emails have come in since 2:34am, and I also noticed my website is down as well.  Must be something going on with the server.  Hopefully this will be back up soon, but in the meantime, if you don't hear back from me, you'll know why!  My yahoo email is working fine:  brooketurnerphotography@yahoo.com  if you'd like to email me there.  Thanks!

In just a little bit, I'm heading down to North Augusta to shoot Tracy and Joey's rehearsal dinner tonight, and wedding tomorrow.  So FUN!  I love this couple!  here's one of their engagement pictures we shot in November-

Woke up extra early yesterday to start the week off right, a big cup of coffee, some time with the Lord, a walk around the neighborhood in the sunshine instead of the gym, a TON of sessions editied and to-do's checked off..and actually cooked dinner for a change.  Best of all, a walk down to our neighborhood ice-cream shop with Justin and Izzy after my homecooked dinner.   I am blessed.

Happy Friday!!

Last week I photographed Kelly & Derek’s engagement session. These two could not be ANY cuter!! I was tempted through the whole session to grab Kelly’s sweater and run with it. Then she told me she got it at JCrew and i decided it would just be a better idea to just go and buy one myself instead of stealing hers ha!
They were also both so natural in front of the camera, even in the candids where I have to get the couple to ‘just cuddle and be cute together’ and I snap away We started out at the Gervais St bridge and ended up in the Vista. I’m so pumped for their wedding in November!! Enjoy the sneak peek:

This is just a friendly post to inform all of y’all  of some changes here at Brooke Turner Photography.   Both of these changes have been made after much soul searching and prayer about the direction my business and life is going. 

I’ve been needing to set some boundaries for a while in order to keep my work/life balance in check.  The most important thing in my life is my faith in God so I must allow plenty of time to build my relationship with Him and share it with others, then comes my family.  These two things have unfortunately sometimes taken a back burner to the business.  I’m finding it so hard to cut it off sometimes - partly because I DO love what I do so much!  All of my wonderful clients make this job so much fun so please don’t think I’m complaining!  I just think this beast of a thing called Brooke Turner Photography could just grow and grow until it consumed  me!  :)  LOL - I just got a hillarious image in my mind after writing that! 

SO - all that to say - here are a few decisions I’ve made…

1) No more Sunday sessions or weddings….for a couple reasons.  First of all to recognize a true weekly Sabbath to rest, recharge my batteries, and to remember the focus of my life and dreams.  So often times I lose focus on the important things in life and for me I need a day dedicated to getting things back in check :)  Also many times this is the only weekend day I get to hang with my hubby!  The second more practical reason is because after shooting a wedding on Saturday I’m just too darn tired to shoot again on Sunday!  On Sundays after a wedding I literally wake up sore! Have y’all SEEN my lenses? 

(note to add - there are a few sessions that have been scheduled on Sunday prior to this decision - those will not be changed, don’t worry…this is just on a go-forward basis)

2)  In 2009 I will be shooting significantly fewer weddings than I shot in 2007 and will shoot in 2008.  I’ve got a target number of weddings I’d like to book for 2009 and once I hit that number that’s it!  SOOOO-make sure to spread the word to get in on the Brooke Turner Photography action quick, before my dates are sold out! (I’ve already got 6 confirmed and 2 pending contracts for 2009).   This will allow me to better serve my clients, and also pursue other areas of my business that I’ve put on the back burner.

That’s it for now!  Sorry for the no-fun post without pictures :)  Lots more picture blogging to come soon! Thank you all for being so wonderful and understanding.  I absolutely love every single one of my clients and it is such a blessing to be your photographer and friend!  I love you all!!! 

PS - I’ve been loving the comment love I’ve been getting recently! keep it coming! To leave a comment for me just click on the "comments" link below.

Saturday I photographed Julianne & Jon’s wedding in Gilbert. We started out at Pond Branch Methodist Church and the reception was held at her parent’s historic home. It was a sweet day filled with lots of love and laughter! Click here for their slideshow

Flowergirl, Blair. TOO cute!!

"Blair, give me five!"

Julianne included lots of meaningful touches - such as a handkerchief from each grandmother she held in her bouqet

Y’all know I love these walking back down the aisle pics!

The rings! I love the simplicity of Julianne’s solitaire.

As a way to honor her deceased grandfather, she presented her sweet grandmother a flower in his honor.

Julianne’s parent’s home. This house belonged to a confederate general back in the day! The history of this house is amazing - and Julianne’s mom was so nice to show me around! Very cool!

They rode up in a horse and carriage… (I felt like I was in Gone with the Wind…)

And finally - a quick shot of the newlyweds after the cake cutting!