Allison Marie Photography Blog by Allison Roen, Des Moines area wedding photographer »

Get ready for an over-abundance of photos! I did a vintage photo shoot with my dear friend Kimberly and her friend, Alicia. Kimber loves anything vintage, so we thought it would be fun to incorporate some vintage themes in our shoot! She was given a sweet record player for Christmas, and recently bought a bright yellow schwinn bike! After the shoot, we told some people about how much fun we had, and learned that the term “vintage” is unfamiliar to some people. So I did a little research on dictionary.com to provide an accurate definition:

Vintage:  (noun or adjective)  -the class of a dated object with reference to era of production or use: a hat of last year’s vintage.

-representing the high quality of a past time: vintage cars; vintage movies.

-old-fashioned or obsolete: vintage jokes.

-being the best of its kind

I found it interesting that the first 5 definitions have to do with producing a crop of wine! I learned something new today!

Since I couldn’t narrow down the photos to just a few of my favorites, leave me a comment and let me know which one is your favorite! Also, leave a comment if you own a favorite vintage item!

I love the beautiful contrast of these two women!Kim’s suitcase may look like just a cool suitcase…but look what’s inside! How fun is that?! I learned that I love the sound of music from a record player!Check out this beautiful lady!Stunning.

So, which one is your favorite and why?!

What is your loved vintage possession?!

I am so thankful for a day to catch-up on work while the sun is streaming in through the windows! That’s a rare sight these days!

I want to share with you my favorite photos taken at the hospital with Bella Baby Photography this past month.  Looking back over the few months since I began this job, I had no idea how much creativity could really happen in a hospital room! I LOVE it when parents are eager to get in the photos; capturing the relationship between the parents and their new little baby is priceless! Enjoy these photos!

Read more about Bella on my blog here and here.

This next one is so fun; the mom’s friend made her this really neat knitted bag to put the baby in! What a great baby accessory! =)Here is a sample of one of the popular birth announcements (names and info changed for protection of the baby):And the final image I’ll share with you is a WINNER! Each month, all Bella Baby Photographers enter one photo into a contest, and first and second place winners are chosen. I had the honor of winning first place for January with this beautiful photo! To see the write-up as well as past month winners, go to the Bella Baby Photography blog here.

I’ve been attending the Professional Photographers of Iowa Winter Convention all weekend, and it’s been incredible! I”ve taken more notes than I ever thought I could in only a few days, and have learned so many great ideas and inspiration! I will share more specific things after I go through my notes again, but for now I’ll show you what I’ve been playing around with tonight: textures. They are way fun..but they’re not really my style. I think I’ll always prefer the natural, classy and clean look!  But, these will be a really fun to add to senior photos & senior albums.

What do you think?

See more of Allison’s work at www.allison-mariephotography.com |  Friend Allison on Facebook |  Follow Allison on Twitter

I’ve been working on an exciting project today, and here’s a sneak peak photo for you. Full update to come!

It’s been way too long since I’ve posted on checking off a goal on my 101 list! There are quite a  few that I have accomplished, but haven’t yet blogged about, so I’ll start by catching up with this one!

#38: spend a week-long retreat at my parents’ condo in Colorado

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I spent the summer of 2006 at one of the most beautiful places in the US - at Snow Mountain Ranch, YMCA of the Rockies. I was a team leader for the Navigator’s Summer training program. (Check out the promo video here.) It was an intense summer of discipleship, working at the Ranch, building relationships,  and learning how to authentically follow Jesus. It was a life-changing summer for me in many ways…and it was for my parents as well! When they came to visit me, they fell in love with that area of Colorado (near Winter Park), and a few months later, they decided to purchase a condo in Granby (small town nearby) as a get-away home. I love that they have a place there, and it’s sad I’m not able to spend time there more often! In November, my parents and I spent a week at the condo, and I loved every minute of it! It was the perfect mix of sight-seeing, going to concerts, exploring, snow-shoeing, shopping, and also reading, resting, and relaxing!

Here are my parents as we waited…and waited…and waited for our train. For some reason, they always seem to run a few hours behind!

The observation car:

The Condo:

I’ve decided that when I buy a house someday, I will build myself a wood fence! I love these!A cool bride in Grand Lake: My two favorite spots at Snow Mountain Ranch: 1) Columbine Point. Absolutely incredible view. Somehow, the presence of God feels so much stronger here than any other place I’ve been. Each time I’m here, I can’t help but worship the God who made these enormous, beautiful mountains.

and 2) this rock,  on the top of a mountain. I spent hours here during my summer at SMR,  wrestling with God about different things, and reflecting on life. A setting like this seems to put life in perspective for me!This sky show was incredible! I was sitting in the lodge, with my back to the window and when I saw sun streaming in from behind me, I turned around and saw this spectacular sight! Half the sky was absolutely dark, and half of it had blue skies with the sun peeking out! Wow!

It finally snowed the night before we traveled back to Iowa. Perfect timing! During our week there, we got to enjoy unusually warm, sunny weather, and also  fresh snow to snow shoe in!And lastly, here are my parents and I!

Posted by Allison Marie, Des Moines Iowa wedding and portrait photographer

I have an exciting new product I am offering…it’s called the Mini Kiss Album! It’s bound with beautiful, classy leather and has thick flushmount pages, just like my large wedding albums. It’s a 4 inch square, and perfect to toss in a purse to show off to friends and family! Here are some photos of the album, complete with my one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted packaging:

Brendan and Ashley were married on Saturday, August 22nd, and it was a most beautiful day for a wedding! Ashley had “put in a special request with God” as she said, for 78 degrees with a light breeze…and that’s almost exactly what it was! Their wedding took place at Toad Valley Golf Course in Pleasant Hill, Iowa.

Here are the other vendors that made the day so beautiful:

DJ: Chris Parmalee from Parm’s Porta Party 

Cake: Linda Rozendaal from Pella, IA

Flowers: HyVee Grocery

Hair: Ultra Salon in Altoona, IA

We began the day at Ultra Salon, which was a really neat, unique hair salon! There were bright colors all over the salon, and these cool mirrors on the pillars, which made for some fun shots!

A sweet moment between Mom and Bride:

Here is Ashley, showing off her beautiful make-up to her sister!

Ashley’s bouquet was absolutely gorgeous!!This is their “first look”! I love how all the bridesmaids and groomsmen are watching from behind!

What a good lookin’ couple!

Just perfect weather for an outdoor wedding!

I love what the light created in this spontaneous shot, right after the ceremony!

Brendan told me such a sweet story. The first time he went over to Ashley’s house while they were dating, her parents had music playing and were dancing together in the kitchen! Knowing that makes this photo so sweet:

Thank you, Ashley and Brendan for the treat of photographing your wedding!

I had the delightful opportunity to photograph Miss Spenser’s Tea Room a couple months ago. The tea room is operated by Spenser and Donna Hardin, a sweet mother-and-daughter duo from Indianola. They had me come out during a morning tea to take photos in order to submit them to the Country Woman Magazine. What a great opportunity for their business! Country Woman loved my photos, and Spenser and Donna are in the process of being interviewed for an article in the magazine. It’s so exciting that you could soon see my photos in the magazine!

Miss Spenser’s Tea Room is no ordinary tea room. They have created it to have the ambiance of being on grandma’s farm, with Country-Victorian style decor. It is a quaint, peaceful getaway from the hustle of every-day life. Not only are the guests served an exquisite meal, they are also treated with a special drama performance by Spenser, to go along with the month’s theme.  Spenser is such a talented young woman, and I encourage you to check out their Tea Room sometime!

Goodbye blogspot blog! Blogspot is great for so many things, but I was ready for a blog that I could fully customize and look like “me”! The old blog will still exist, and you are more than welcome to read my old posts if you were not one of my readers back then! Here’s the link: www.allureweddingphotography.blogspot.com  

Isn’t this guy just a bundle of cute-ness?! This is a photo from a wedding I second-shot at with Ginger Murray Photography. Precious!