We were so excited to finally see Stevi & Josh for their wedding day! The last time we had spent some time with them was for their engagement session last year and then they headed back to their home in Alabama. They are such a fun and outgoing couple, we could seriously hang out with them every day. We can see why they had so much love and support from their friends and family on their special day. Although it is difficult to pick a favorite part of their beautiful wedding, I’d have to say that their first look is right there at the top and I’m sure you will agree too! The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we are absolutely in love with their venue. Stevi and Josh’s ceremony took place in the lovely Hollis Garden in Lakeland and their officiant, Grant Barber, is Josh’s great uncle, who was also the officiant for Josh’s parents when they were married, isn’t that the sweetest?

And Stevi’s bridesmaids? These pretty gals should train all future bridesmaids! They were so sweet, helpful, and so much fun! We could go on and on about Stevi and Josh’s lovely wedding, but I will let the stunning images fill you in on the rest! Except, that I must add, the cake(s), yes, as in more than one, were scrumptiously delicious! Unfortunately, now I feel compelled to try a slice of cake at all future weddings just to make sure they are of equal yumminess!

To view more images, preview their slideshow here: http://bit.ly/khtBps

Ceremony: Hollis Garden
Reception Venue: Magnolia Building
Bridal Dress Shop: Olga’s Bridal Boutique
Bridal Designer: Anjolique
Bride’s Shoes: Kelly & Katie
Make up/Hair: Darla Stafford
Groomsmen Suits: Calvin Klein from Men’s Warehouse
Florals: The Bridal Florist
Cake: Fresco’s Bakery and Bistro
DJ: Felix the DJ
Cello Player: Jonathan Anglin of MBM Talents
Caterer: Creative Catering By Design
Save-The-Date: Wedding Paper Divas
Invitations were designed by bride’s sister, Summer Moya.
Linens: Kate Ryan Linens
Cinematography: Bryan and Tracey Coward of Tampa Wonderworks
Chair rental: Fun Factory Entertainment

“How did you come up with your business name?”

It’s a question we get asked almost daily and we’ve been meaning to blog about it for a while.

“Mom, can I please write a blog post for you, please…please, PLEASE?!”

Is also a question that we get asked daily! So being that it’s Spring Break and all, we thought it would be a fun idea to let our 11 yr old daughter, Karina, help us answer it in her humorous writing style!

Here is Karina’s take on how it went down. Enjoy!

December ’09. Khaled and Mariana have just discovered that they have some serious photography talent (how they discovered it is a whole other story). Their next step: find a unique, yet catchy business name. Khaled and Mariana are wracking their brains for ideas. After a long while of coming up with nothing, Mariana starts to doodle on a piece of scratch paper. What was she doodling? Kisses. Not the chocolate kind, the mwa kind. She looks at the paper covered with smooches and nearly jump out of her chair, which makes Khaled freak out a little. “I have it!” she shouts. “I have found the name!” She does a little dance, sort of a mix between belly dancing and hip-hop. Her children watch with wide open eyes. “Mariana?” Khaled asks cautiously. “Kismis!” Understanding finally dawns in Khaled’s eyes. Ohhhhh. Mariana isn’t crazy. She’s not having a spasm. She has generated another mind-blowing, fantastic idea! She has found the name! This is what she thinks he’s thinking. But, no. He thinks Kismis is a nonsense word. Pffff. Anyway, since she has to prove her genius, we Google it. Turns out it means raisin in Idonesian. “You want to name our business a raisin?” Khaled asks incredulously. Mariana can see why he would feel that way. But no matter! It is unique. (And it reminds her of pink bubble gum.) Now we need to make it catchy. Since Khaled does a lot of designing, he thinks we should insert in Ink. Kismis Ink Photography. Beautiful, isn’t it?

I think I may hire Karina to blog full-time, what do you think? ; )

I think the title ‘professional wedding photographer’ should be changed to ‘miracle worker just in the nick of time while being hit with every obstacle imaginable!’ Most of the time, I feel more like the latter! I read a very thought-provoking article last week on the “new wedding guest” and it truly helped me appreciate our individual creativity and uniqueness even more. Reading the article actually made me want to work harder! The knowledge (or challenge) that we offer our bride and groom (and their guests, family and friends) something that 50+ guests’ cameras can’t provide, brought me much excitement! Instead of seeing obstacles during a wedding as a burden, embracing these obstacles to develop our skills, experience, and to demonstrate our professionalism is one of the most rewarding choices.

Here’s a sneak peek of our gorgeous bride and groom this past weekend at the Marriott on Sand Key. Completely obstacle-free. The sneak peek, that is. You don’t see the not-so-perfect hotel lighting conditions, the busy and crowded elevators to the left and right of the couple, the hotel guests all around, staring and offering their sweet advice on how to capture the moment, the limited time we have to put the camera in the right settings for this creative shot and the time to take the shot because the groom is hungry, the bride is a bit uncomfortable in front of all these people, and people are impatiently waiting to pass by.

What you do see is that loving moment between the wedding couple, captured perfectly within seconds, despite any and all obstacles. I love being a wedding photographer, ahem, I mean, a ’miracle worker just in the nick of time while being hit with every obstacle imaginable!’ : )