Trash the Dress (Part 1)

One thing that has become very popular with brides who want to do something a little unconventional with their wedding gown is trash the dress sessions. Instead of having their dress preserved or stuck in the back of a closet, putting the dress on after the wedding day seems to be a choice brides are making and having fun in the process.

Linda Long, a fellow photographer and good friend, is home for the week and we decided to organize a trash the dress session. It wasn't hard at all for me to find willing volunteers - Julie and Allison were excited to help us out and take part in the session yesterday.

We started out at Dr. Campbell's farm in Blue Ridge. He has a beautiful place and we greatly appreciate him allowing us to shot the girls there.

We started with Julie first... I love the swing!
Then it was Alli's turn!
Alli looked great dancing around in the barn with her dress on!
After the farm, we headed up to Red Turner where the girls wanted to take their four wheelers and ride. I was a site to see two girls in wedding gowns riding in the red mud!

Alli decided she needed a flower!
I was afraid there would not be any water with the lack of rain we've had, but that wasn't the case!
Julie and Alli were a little hot in those dresses so we thought it would be a good idea to help them cool off some!We appreciate everyone who helped us out for this session. We had a great time and Julie and Allison were GREAT! They were willing to do ANYTHING we asked them to do!

And yes, Marty was there to shoot with us too so I have to post some of his shots too!He really pays attention to detail!

Alli showing a little leg for the camera!

You can also see some of Linda's work on her blog http://www.longsphotography.com/blog.htm

And the winner is....

Congratulations to Tara Littlefield - winner of our free child portrait session. Tara has two girls ages 2 and 6. We received several great entries but the judge was impressed by Tara's entry and reasons that she should be chosen for the session.

Thank you to everyone who entered the contest!

Free Child Portrait Session!!

Yep…that’s right, FREE! What’s the catch? Well, for starters, you have to email me by 4:00pm Monday August 13th and tell me in 5 sentences or less why I should pick you and your child/children. Also, the session MUST be scheduled for the evening of Thursday August 16th or the evening of Saturday August 18th only!

Here are the rules:
* You must have at least one child between the ages of 2 and 5 years old
* You must have no more than 5 children total
* Session will take place at an outdoor location selected by me
* Your child must NOT already know me personally!

The winner will be notified via email and a blog post on Tuesday August 14th.

Please email your entry to mandy@mayfieldphotography.net.

Martin Family

I met the Martin family at the Rock Quarry this evening. I was a little worried when the temperature reached triple digits today...I think the highest it got on my car thermometer was 109. It was insanely hot for their session, but none of the Martin family members seemed to mind! Lance, Allison, and Sydney looked great - I loved their pink shirts!
After helping take a shot of her mom and dad, Sydney joined in on this one!
I really enjoy getting to work with kids a lot, but sometimes you have to be a little creative to get them to do what you want them to. I asked Sydney to hold on to her dad's arm to make sure the didn't try to get up. She did a great job!With all of the dry weather we're having I am not sure why the ground was wet (I didn't see any sprinkler heads) but it was. Allison and Lance didn't complain when I asked if they minded sitting down for me. They were great troopers!
Sydney brought along her dog with her so we had to get him in some shots too!Her mom brought along the prettiest dress for her to change into.
Definitely one of my favorites.
I didn't think she would let me take her dog away from her at first, but she did. He didn't go far!
Okay, I know I'm posting a lot on here for one session, but these last two are my most favorite shots of Sydney and I couldn't pick one over the other so here's both of them! I love the laughter on her face in the first one.
And her smile is so sweet!!!!
It was great to meet Allison and her family today! I hope it didn't take them too long to get cooled back off - it was hot out there!

BI-LO Charity Classic

This evening I traveled to the Mellow Mushroom in downtown Greenville for the BI-LO Charity Classic Thank You Dinner. This past June marked the 24th year of this great event whose purpose is to support charitable organizations within the communities BI-LO Supermarkets serve in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. Funds raised through the tournament are distributed through a grant application process, and priority is given to education, children’s charities and agencies addressing the needs of the hungry. This year the tournament raised a total of 5.5 million dollars.

Here are a few pictures from tonight's event.
It is wonderful to work with such a great team of people who put this yearly event on to raise money for such worthy causes!

Noah's Birthday Party

Last night Noah celebrated his second birthday at Pump It Up in Greenville. I must say that I am not sure who had more fun - the kids or the adults.

Here's Noah and Alli going down the slide - I think it was definitely the most popular activity.
Aunt Julie enjoyed the slide too!Along with Clancy and Chasey - the adults let the kids slide too!
Now before you can go into the arena areas they make you watch a safety video. One of the rules is that only 4 people can be on the slide at any time - 3 on the steps and 1 on the slide. It seems that the adults are the ones who either didn't pay attention or didn't listen very well! Even Mike got to play!
Noah had fun playing air hockey.After the seond arena, we went into one of the party rooms for pizza, cake, and presents. Noah had a cool Cars cake!And as you can tell, Noah thought it was very good!Happy Birthday Noah! I hope you had fun at your party - I know all the "grown-ups" did!!!

Madeline and Will

Madeline and Will came by Saturday morning for a portrait session. I did pictures of Will last year for his first birthday and he has grown so much! Will got to bring along some of his favorite toys with him. His motorcycle is so cool - it plays music and everything! Will also brought along his tool box that his new little sister gave him.After we finished with Will, he wanted to have his picture made with Madeline. Will is going to be a great big brother!Madeline may not have known it, but she got a little kiss from Will.I love Will's expression in this one - he was checking out her belly button!Then it was Madeline's turn! She was only a week and one day old on Saturday and so tiny! Most of the time we are trying to get the babies to go to sleep for a few pics - Madeline was just the opposite! She slept almost the entire time and we were trying to wake her up to be able to get some pictures with her eyes open! She looked so peaceful sleeping that it was so hard to even try to make her wake up.Even after we moved her around a little, she was still sleeping.You guessed it - still asleep!Finally those little eyes opened up and took a look around.Last one, I promise!!!It was great to see Will again and meet his little sister for the first time! Madeline was so precious and I hope I get to see more of her in the future!

Bridget's Bridal Portrait

Later Friday evening I met Bridget out at Reedy River Falls Park for her bridal portrait. There was a crowd of people there to watch the play going on and Bridget was definitely turning some heads! I think everyone was watching us as we walked down the road through the park. Bridget looked gorgeous but I won't be able to show you my favorites until after the big day in September! Until then, here's a little peek! Bridget's neice came along for the portrait session. At the end although she was a little sleepy, she got in on the action too!
It was great meeting Bridget and her mom!! I'll see you next month!

Elizabeth's Bridal Portrait

Friday I met Elizabeth out at Furman for her bridal portrait. Unfortunately due to construction, we could not shoot at the lake and bell tower. However, we did get some great shots in some other locations - I guess having a beautiful bride helps some too! Elizabeth looked amazing and I will be able to show you my favorites soon - the wedding is coming up this Saturday. For now, this is the only peek you get!!!! This is Alex, her son - I think he's going to be a heartbreaker when he grows up!It was great working with you Liz! I hope you have a wonderful wedding day!

Hoffman Family

I met Jeanette and her family out at the Rock Quarry yesterday for a family session. The weather was a little hot and toward the end a few raindrops fell but overall I couldn't complain. I had the pleasure of meeting Janette last year when she needed a headshot for her business cards. She is a realtor with ERA Riverside in Greer, so if you are buying or selling a home I'm sure Jeanette would be willing to help you out! And although he wasn't present for the family portraits, I got to meet Beasley last year. Jeanette and the kids scheduled a session for Beasley to have his portrait made as a Christmas gift to Bob.

I have so many favorites from this session. First, the kids by themselves. Ladies first, so here's Shelby.And then Coy... The two of them together.
Of course we had to get some with just Jeanette and Bob.
And finally the whole family!
It was great to see Jeanette again and finally meet the rest of her family!!!