The wedding planning process has been a wild and crazy ride,  fascinating, so much fun, and pretty stressful all rolled into one. Phone hasn’t stopped ringing, inboxes are FULL. Believe me when I say, everything that could go wrong, has. If there is one thing I have learned about planning a wedding in 4 weeks is you must roll with the punches. Problem solving, compromise, and positive attitude will get you a long way with any project. Our motto for this entire process has been “NO RULES”. If the ceremony doesn’t happen in the order everyone expects, who cares, who wrote that rule anyhow. If the ring bearers don’t match, whatever… it’s more eclectic! Weddings can bring out the best and the worst in friends and family. For the most part it’s been relatively painless in that department(probably because of the short time frame). When ugliness has reared it’s head (because it does in every stressful situation) Billy and I turn to each other and just smile and giggle, we know the secret….. shhhh…. none of this drama really matters because in the end, it’s only about ONE THING, WE’RE GETTING MARRIED!

I wish I had more time to share all of the juicy details with you, my days have been packed full of appointments, errands, and shoots… yes among all of this I’ve been shooting weddings, engagements, seniors, and planning stock shoots. I’m so thankful to all of my amazing clients who have given me the flexibility to focus on getting this wedding done. They are so important to me, and haven’t blinked an eye at having to wait on their images.

You can learn more about the wedding planning process we’ve been going through on the Junebug wedding blog here, here, here, and on the CreativeLIVE website. They’ve been following us along with every decision, and doing these awesome wedding planning sessions live online!

The next I’m here internet, I’ll be a MRS!

xo,
Laura

Here is the deal. Our new wedding date is August 27th, 2010! Hooray! We get an almost entirely free wedding, the only catch is… Jasmine Star HAS to be our photographer (which we are really really upset about…. insert sarcasm here :-) And our wedding will be broadcast LIVE through the CreativeLIVE website as a workshop for photographers who want to learn more about how to shoot weddings from Jasmine. We’ll be out there for the world to see, or not see. Tune in if you can’t make it or we didn’t invite you! Ha!

We really only had ideas in place for our former wedding,  we’re starting fresh. CreativeLIVE is working with the lovely and ever so talented Daniela Fagét of Bella Signature Design to create a wedding that is uniquely us. She really understands our aesthetic and what we’re going for with our wedding celebration. It is a major point of emphasis from everyone, that this process be about Billy and I. That our wedding remain in our taste and style, which is SO amazing. We feel so taken care of in this process. We genuinely connect with everyone on this team in a way that it makes it very easy for us to call them friends.

Here are just some of the things we’re working on this week!

Venue, Invites/Paper, Wedding dress, Wedding bands, Bridesmaid dresses, Cake, Decor color palette, and rentals… I’m sure more to come!

Friday we went dress shopping to a couple of stores here in Seattle, and the CreativeLIVE team followed me around at La Belle Elaines! BILLY DO NOT CLICK ON THIS VIDEO ;-)

We also checked out some wedding bands at E.E. Robbins, a really really great jewelry store here in Seattle that is very customer service focused. We have some great prospects there.

Honest concerns about this process: getting everything done in between, My clients, my family, my tan, they all deserve the attention they are used to getting. I’m only one person, one person who generally speaking is already stretched too thin. Hoping this doesn’t put me over the edge. Not sure what we are going to do about our bridesmaid dresses, and my girls call me every day to remind me that it’s important that they have clothes on at the wedding. Oy. My general disdain for Friday weddings, which I’m pretty outspoken about… and here I am, having a Friday wedding.

Concessions we’ve had to make: Bridal shower? Not sure when that will happen or if it will happen, bachelor/bachelorette, same deal. Some family won’t be able to make the event, which is good for the guest list, but bad for the heart.

So there it is! Thank you for tolerating my stream-of-consciousness ramblings. We don’t know much so far, but I know it will come together just fine.

Hope you’ll follow along with us during this process, and if you’re curious about more join us on Mondays at 12:00PST every week on CreativeLIVE for a live conversation about the wedding and where we are with everything!

xo,
Laura

We’re so excited to show you this video…. DON’T JUDGE ME after you see it, because NO, that’s not a body double (although for some scenes I wish it was) Hahahahaha. One thing is for sure, we don’t take life too seriously! Wish us luck in winning this amazing opportunity!

A HUGE HUGE HUGE thank you to TJ and Olivia with LUX Collective who spent countless hours helping us make this movie, and to Mandie for filming the car wash scene and probably blinding herself with my white skin. You are a brave soul.

PS> My awesome earrings are from Brooklyn Grace on Etsy ;-)

Laura and Billy want to win a free wedding with Jasmine Star from Laura Marchbanks on Vimeo.

I’m lucky enough to be marrying into a family full of incredible women. Every year these women gather for a girls weekend. For 3 full days we  fill each other up with hugging, pee-your-pants-laughter, long walks on the beach, cooking amazing food (OH THE FOOD!), American Idol worthy singing, and lots of other activities that are so sacred – if I told you I’d have to off you. This year we had a couple of special projects in the works, and I want to share with you a few quick  portraits I took of some of the incredible women in my life, and a few words that come to mind about them.

Mama Mel. Generosity and wisdom.

Auntie Amy. Light.

Auntie Jo. Strength.

Aunt Lolly. Humor and laughter.

Aunt Aleta. Fearlessness.

My Sisters. Rachel and Leah.

Radiant Rachel.

Amy Lynn. Talent and Laughter.

Heidi. Beauty and Grace.

Leah. Warmth.

Hayley. Passion.

Brooke. Ease.

Olivia. Inspiration.

I’m incredibly blessed. I think you’ll agree!

Get in touch or View more work.

Reasons number 533 and 534 why Anthropologie is a detail oriented girls best friend.

This little diddy showed up in the mail yesterday from my BFF in California, Ari. She knows I love Anthropologie about as much as I love my own mother ( i kid mom, i kid). I opened the box and HOLY COW, check out their attention to detail. Their packaging is so thoughtful, and look! they even hand wrote her note to me. I. AM. IN. LOVE.

Another surprise from Anthropologie this month was a coupon that came in the mail like this:

Wishing yours truly a happy birthday ;-) So clever, and detail oriented. They really take the time to put craftsmanship first for their customers. This card also doubles as a necklace! CUTE!

I bet you’re dying to know what was wrapped up in that pretty little box? A brand new gorgeous pair of freelance pants, which I happen to be sporting at this moment. I love Ari, she just gets me!

Hope you had an awesome week too.

xoxo,

Laura

1. GIVE something.

2. BUY something.

3. LEARN something.

Parts one and two were accomplished in the first two days, PHotoshoot, check!, new boxes (for a top secret project) at the trade show, check! Parts 3 and 4 were the ones I needed to focus on. Because I shifted my priorities this year from trying to do EVERYTHING to trying to do 4 things, I actually had a really wonderful week. I had lots of coffee dates with new friends, looooooooong dinners, shot a maternity session for two very good friends, and even had a mentor session with a photographer I love.

I met with Emilie Sommer of Emilie Inc. on Wednesday. She is a Maine based photographer, who’s work I’ve been following for years. I tried to win this mentor session on Ebay through the Thirst Relief auction. I stink at Ebay. I really do. I must not click enough, my strategy is always off. This time, I lost by 2 dollars in the last minute. I was devastated so I tweeted about it, not expecting a response at all. She tweeted back and asked me if I wanted to meet up for coffee anyway! Simply THE BEST. We talked about business, goals, life, and success. One thing I learned? I have a ton of work to do. We talked mostly about my web presence.

Emilie took a look at my website and confirmed what I secretly knew to be true but wasn’t ready to deal with. IT was HORRIBLE. Hard to navigate, limiting and not at all a representation of my brand. We talked strategy and exactly what direction to go! I can’t thank her enough for meeting with me. I know WPPI is a very busy time for most and I just think the world of her. I walked away from our meeting like I was floating on a cloud. I have a great new friend and I learned so much!

So here is the BIG news! BIGGEST news of the year! It’s a brand spanking NEW website!!!! I’m so excited about the launch, and because it is new there are still a few bugs to be worked out, but please take a look and let me know what you think. I used a revolutionary software called SHOWIT to make this site. It’s more than words. It’s my new best friend. I’m so in love with it.

Thank you for taking a look, I can’t wait to hear what you think!

www.lauramarchbanksweddings.com

I set a goal this year to do more for others with my business, last month I gave away a free portrait session (actually three) and this month I’m doing something even crazier!

I learned about Portrait House briefly last year at WPPI because the A-listers in photography were participating in the kick off of promoting it (yes, for all of you confused civillians…. in our community, there are celebrity photographers). I contacted Justin and Mary Marantz with my idea for this shoot and BANG, here we are. I’m producing a photo shoot to raise money and awareness for Portrait House. Portrait House is essentially a thoroughfare for us to participate in giving back. They have an active project list, project one: build a house for Habitat! They are still working on getting their non-profit status set up, so aren’t in the full swing of accomplishing their goals, but when they do! Look out! It’s going to be huge! With my mad production skills, and their cause combined we have an amazing portfolio building shoot set up to raise money for Portrait House in Vegas during WPPI.

In 3 short weeks, 25 photographers, 7 beautiful subjects,  one amazing goal! Win win win win.

I could go on and on about what I’ve set up for us to do, but that would spoil the surprise! The shoot has unfortunately sold out, so if you didn’t get a seat I do feel bad for you, it’s going to be pretty unreal.

Don’t worry though, next year we’ll be doing it again…. and maybe twice!

You can learn more about this PHotoshoot PHor PHamily here. AND on another note: If you are a couple interested in being photographed for the shoot (or know someone who might be) and will be in Vegas on March 7th, Please contact me!

THIS CHOCOLATE

I’m not a huge candy junkie, I much prefer my cake. However, I bought these for my clients for Valentines Day, and should never have let them cross the threshold of my home. I found out that I could eat my weight in Fran’s Gray Sea Salt and DARK chocolate caramels.

HANGING LAUNDRY ON THE LINE

Ok I’m a closet environmentalist, Billy calls me “recycle nazi”. I have a serious affection with hanging my laundry on the line, it feeds my soul! The sun, my toes in the grass, the smell of the clean laundry…. Yummm. The last few days it has been so beautiful and ::::GASP:::: sunny here in Seattle! I’m simply giddy! I can’t wait for the summer to start so I can hang my laundry outside.

I have plenty of friends who are photographers. Dozens, hundreds probably. I’m hiring a professional wedding photographer, paying them, signing a contract. Why? Certainly not because I’m rolling in dough…. I am the ultimate bargain hunter… trust me. I am doing this because there is a big difference between the mentality of a paid contract and a friend. Friends can turn into enemies quickly when it’s over something as precious as your wedding photos. Friends can take their time on editing your images, or not edit them at all. Friends can relax and have a great time at your wedding, and not capture those critical moments. Friends can leave earlier than you thought they would because you didn’t have it in a contract. Not to mention every single technical aspect that is ignored by a non-professional. I’m telling my photographer and friend when I sign their contract, that I respect them, what they do, and expect their respect of my day in return.

There is a HUGE difference between the mentality of “casual friend” and “client friend” from my perspective as a photographer. I don’t take “casual friends” wedding photos anymore. Everyone gets the same client experience, we’re the best of friends but business is business.

Sunday I was a guest at a wedding where said situation took place. Thank goodness I was there. Nothing hurts my heart more than a bride with tears of sadness in her eyes. And thank goodness all of my gear was conveniently in my car fully charged. The bride pulled me aside and told me her “photographer” just told her she had to leave early. Bride in tears + angry = not a good scenario. So I put my photographer cape on, and saved the day. This is why you shouldn’t trust a friend with a camera on your wedding day. It’s always going to end in heartache. I get why you do it, but trust me, DON’T. Maybe you don’t have a $100,000 wedding budget, maybe you don’t even have $5000.00, find a professional that is willing to work with you in some capacity. Make sure you sign a contract. Know what the outcome will be. There is no duplicating of this day, of all of the hard work you’ve devoted to it for the last 12 months. Place the responsibility of your memories in capable hands, PLEASE.

If you do, you’ll look like this your entire wedding day. Happy bride, not sad bride.

Love always,
Laura

PS> More photos of this wedding to come, deservedly in it’s own post!

Hi my name is Laura, and I’m a work-a-holic.

It’s been 4 years (or more) since I took a real vacation, and most days I know more about what my twitter friends have done than my fiance. I have a really hard time detaching from my work. My business is me, and I am my business. I am under this illusion that if I work hard now I can enjoy life later, which is true! To a degree, HOWEVER, all this hard work is for what? Loving the resentment I feel when I get phone calls at 8 at night to do something that must be done immediately? Realizing that I was so busy over the summer I didn’t take the time to pick the tomatoes in my garden? Or hang my laundry on the line? Taking time for ME, my life, the things that feed my soul? no, no, no.

I digress.

Yesterday started out like many others, but the afternoon ended quite differently…. Am I building suspense yet? A few weeks ago I signed up for a workshop put on by my new BFF’s Justin and Mary Marantz called Spread the Love. Ok maybe we’re not BFF’s yet, but I know… I can feel it. We’re destined for BFFdom. I can really relate to them as a couple, their dreams, their values, their blogging. Signing up for Spread the Love wasn’t about the workshop, I knew it would be awesome, but had very few expectations about how it would impact ME, my business. I’m so incredibly thankful to them for putting this tour together. Their message is a simple one, love the life you live, and if you don’t – take the necessary steps to make that happen. We spent the entire evening talking about goals, dreams, financial freedom, career and life success. Yesterday was exactly what I needed in this immediate moment. I knew that going into 2010 I had all these changes I wanted to make in my life, but deciding exactly how they should be executed is quite a different matter.

This year is all about taking charge of my life, and my business in a whole new way. I have PLANS people! Thanks for tuning in, and if you’d like to get coffee with me and talk about life and love, let’s do it!

****And because everything is better with a picture, here is a little diddy of my Ladybug (who I am insanely missing this week because her grandparents decided it would be a good week for a visit at their house).

I couldn’t decide on one, and Billy was no help either. SO I chose 3. Christiana, Kaycie, and Justine check your email. Details are coming your way! Congrats!

If you’re entry didn’t win, don’t worry I have something for you too so check your email.

Much love to you all!

XOXO,
Laura photo courtesty of the lovely Amy McMullen.