Dear fellow awesome photographers,

It is that time again! We are launching our Mark Brooke Classes.... and they are even better than before! We are launching three classes: Rad photos 101, Reception and off Camera Lighting, and Booking Out Your Year. We love teaching our classes!

We have been full time wedding photographers for many years now and we put a lot of love, time, energy, brain power, and thought into our business. Every decision that we make is thoroughly thought through and we spend a lot of time chatting about what direction we want to go in. We have fought hard to make our business a strong, artsy, fun, happy, colorful, photojournalistic brand. We love what we do, and we honestly love all of our clients! So where we are today in our business has not been based on "luck", and we would love to share why we believe that. We also love teaching our Mark Brooke Classes. Workshops for photographers have become very popular over the years, but we have chosen to stick to teaching topic specific classes that can help photographers grow in areas that need attention. At our classes we laugh, we learn, and we have a lot of fun. Because they are only two hours you won’t leave with information overload. We have taught these classes several times and we are thrilled to be launching them again. You can take one class or you can take them all.

The number of photographers for each class is limited to keep the learning community small. We want you to be able to ask questions and truly LEARN! If you book 2 classes we are giving the 3rd half off! If you are a husband and wife team you must buy two "seats", but we will discount the 2nd seat by 50% (email if you have questions on this).

We hope to see you soon! Please click the link to find out more about the details!

http://markbrooke.com/classes/

IF YOU’RE A BRIDE PLEASE ENJOY THE AWESOME IMAGES BELOW, IF YOU ARE  A PHOTOGRAPHER PLEASE READ THE LEFT COLUMN!

OR CLICK HERE: http://markbrooke.com/classes/

Mark and I are headed to palm springs right now, and I could not be more excited! My mother has the kids for the day so we can fully enjoy the weather and pool.  I can only imagine bringing Wyatt and having to sit in the shade all day with an ice cream cone in fear that a melt down is right around the corner.... So leaving our little monkeys at home will be nice :)  We are meeting up with our good friend the Kaisers for Nates 30th B-day. I have been looking forward to this little trip for over a month now... so Palm Springs here I come to get my tan on :)

Mary and Nik are two awesome clients of ours that really know how to throw an amazing Wedding! They got married at the Marvimon in LA, which is one of our favorite locations (we love the smog shoppee too). They are both from London, and really know how to bring the party! Mary is honestly the nicest and happiest person I have ever met, and Nik is super duper fun to be around. They just glow with love for each other and to all the people around them. Here are just a few of our favorite images.

Photographer tip: capturing details is super important for a bride and groom. Make sure you set aside time in your day to capture everything. We shoot the details either right before the ceremony, or right before the guests are allowed over to the reception area (during cocktail hour).

Thoughts and suggestions from our Bride Mary!

Food: heirloom la (everyone was amazed by the food)

Coordinator: Beverly Murphy (a life saver!)

Hair: Laura d of Fred segal Santa Monica (super lovely and amazingly talented)

Make-up: steve Rodriguez (great fun and a fantastic artist)

DJ: simon and Leah petty (got the party started!!)

Flowers: mary white (really sweet and completely got what I wanted)

Cake: hotcakes bakes (the cake was gorgeous and yummy…and Gina was

great and made it all v easy)

Dress: Nicole miller (fabulous and lovely sales people and alterations

Marie at west coast couture….who was amazing and fantastic)

Pianist: Richard Green (who can play anything that you request)

Shoes: Jimmy choo (which were actually really comfy and besides

chocking on our first dance I could dance the night away!!!)

Nik’s suit: Paul smith (which is always a winner) his shoes John

varvatos (he didn’t didn’t choke, but had dreadful dance partner!!)

I grew up in a house where my mom always seemed to be doing a craft. Im not going to lie sometimes she got a little out of hand by making my sister and I matching outfits for EVERY occasion.... Once we were able to pick up a glue stick, crafts started coming our way. You would think I would be over the "art" of crafting, but Im not! Today I am meeting up with my good friend Lindye to get our craft on for a baby shower I am throwing next week. Today the goal is to turn 9 tennis balls into an owl baby mobile to hang over the food table. With a little felt, hot glue, and some cute string, I think it will be a success. Wish me luck :)

Last week we were able to be apart of Sara and Adams Day after session! We love when clients book Day After Sessions! It gives us the opportunity to get photos that we would NEVER be able to get on the wedding day... mostly because the bridesmaids would kill us if we ever suggested getting ankle deep in the ocean 30 minutes before the bride walks down the aisle. Sara and Adam are honestly perfect for each other! Adam is one of the greatest guys I have ever met, and I honestly think Sara is the prettiest girl I have ever seen!!! They are so fun and we were thrilled to be apart of their engagement, wedding, and Day After Session.

Here are just a few of our favorites!

For those of you who read our blog on a regular basis, you know I was attempting a very lofty goal of becoming a vegetarian for a month. It sucks!!! There I said it, I got that out of the way. But.... continue to read on.... but, I have never felt healthier in my life! And on top of that I have lost a few pounds, and its only been two weeks.  I never feel that "gross full" feeling anymore. And my stomach never feels heavy or bloated. But on the other hand my energy level has been a little lower then normal. Which to my friends its probably a blessing that Im not bouncing off the walls. I have two more full weeks to go, so I will keep you posted. Side note: how on earth do people rock being a "vegan"? Serious question.

David and Melisa are two rad people that tied the knot a few months ago. We immediately knew we were going to be good friends with them when we hung out ALL night after their e-session. We drank beer, got swap meet food, and shopped until 11:30 at night. It was the most random night, and sooooo much fun! Melisa is such a beautiful girl, both inside and out. And David is so funny, you cant help but smile when you see him walk into a room. His older sister is one of the owners of HOWE clothing! Howe hooked up some custom suits for the boys! We were thrilled to be apart of their wedding... Here are just a few of our favorite photos from their wedding.

David snuck in a huge pair of xxxxxl panties for the garter toss it was amazing!

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Update on vegas: last week we shot a wedding in vegas (soon to come on the blog). The gambling situation did not go so well. I guess I am all talk. I dont know why the last few times I have lost in vegas, I use to always win. Maybe I am  being taught a lesson :: dont gamble!

This past week I have realized that Mark and I have a happy baby when Wyatt is on a schedule. Since I have figured this out every night I give wyatt a bath, read a book, sing a song, give him a bottle, and put him in bed by 6:00. The routine takes about 30 minutes. What's awesome is he will sleep from 6:00pm -12:00pm. So it gives me 6 hours to have friends over, clean, spend time with mark, answer emails, go to the gym etc... with out having to worry about the little guy. Then he sleeps from 12:00-4:00am and 4:00am - 6:00am. We have not really figured out a day schedule yet, but I am just so happy that we have finally figured out the night routine. While figuring this out I started to have faint memories of when I was a baby. Let me preface that statement by sharing, I have a very, very, very, good memory of past events. Most of my family will give me a call when they need to recall a past memory from 15+ years ago. I remember kindergarden, preschool, and being pushed in the stroller by my nanny at the age of 2 (im weird). When I rock Wyatt to sleep I vaguely remember my mom rocking me to sleep. I am not sure if I remember the rocking or the humming more. Its a weird feeling to be going through the motions with Wyatt every night and then for a split second remembering my mom doing the same thing with me. Every time I have a memory It reminds me that being a good mom is one of my top priorities. With that being said, enjoy this Christmas holiday and enjoy the memories!

Ryan and Tonyas E-session!!! About a month ago we met an awesome couple that was from Upstate New York. Mark and I go to upstate New York every year,  so when ever we find someone else from that area we instantly click. Check out our last trip to NYC and Upstate NY!!! Ryan and Tonya are so full of life and energy it rocks our world. We shot this awesome E-session of them when it was super duper windy. Some might not want to shoot in the wind because they need that "perfect hair photo". Well when we shoot in the wind we consider every photo the "the perfect hair photo" because its real, and fun. It was so awesome to see them interact and really enjoy each other during the shoot. They are so perfect for one another,  and we could not be more happy that they chose Mark Brooke Photographers to be apart of their E-session! Check out a FEW of our favs.

Mark and I are headed to Vegas tomorrow to shoot our last wedding of 2009. We have had an awesome year being apart of over 50 weddings. We really feel like we have become great friends with all our clients, and we can not wait for all the rad couples we are going to meet in 2010. Complete side note but I have to talk about it... vegas... I love it. Most of our friends are big poker players, well I am a roulette player. Roulette is my game (Jeff norwood please dont bring up the last time I was in vegas, I was rusty, get over it :).... There have been very few times in my life that I have lost to the game of roulette. There is just something about putting alot of $ on red and waiting in anticipation to see if I lost it all or doubled my mullah. Ahhhh Im so excited. Last time I tried to get into craps, but I just couldn't fully grasped the concept. Well any who, I will keep everyone posted through twitter on how we do this trip.

A few weeks ago Mark Brooke Photography was able to be apart of an awesome wedding. Nate and Kristen are great friends of Mark. Mark met Nate back when he use to play in a band at Hume Lake Christian camp. Its always fun when we get to be apart of weddings where we know almost half the guest list. Nate and Kristen are seriously perfect for each other. We met with them over frozen yogurt to talk about packages. When we left both Mark and I could not stop talking about how great they were as a couple. They are seriously such amazing people, and we could not be more lucky to be apart of their wedding. Here are just a few of our favorite shots.

Part of our job is to make sure that all the photos we take on the wedding day represent the couples individual personalities!  We also have to know how to work well in any situation, and capture the bride and groom in an artsy, funky, fresh way, no matter what the venue looks like. We have shoot pretty much at every popular venue in Southern California, and at this moment we have a favorite! The Smog Shoppe wedding venue is literally an old smog shop that they transformed into a hip, shic, and super rad wedding venue. Its small and not overwhelming... and the colors and atmosphere the Smog Shoppe provides is seriously rad! When choosing a venue a bride should keep a couple of things in mind... 1. your wedding day colors (does the place have old brown carpet and your wedding day colors are red and black?), 2. your personalities (do you want elegant or hip?), 3. how does the space fit with your wedding and the amount of guests (did you invite 50 people,  but you booked a 400 person venue?). Mark and I got married on a boat in Newport beach. At the time we thought it would be perfect. It fit 400 people, we wanted people to be trapped (which they obviously were), and we wanted something different. The only problem about our venue was that we only got "Boat" pictures. It would have been nice to get married at the smog shoppe so we could have lots of color, fun decor, and rad places to walk around the venue for photos. So with that being said, we are so excited for our upcoming weddings at the smog shoppe!

Kelsie and Jason! Have you ever met someone that makes you smile the minute he or she starts to talk? A few weeks before Jason and Kelsies wedding I got a phone call from Kelsie regarding wedding photography. For some reason all I could do was smile during the conversation. She made me laugh, and get excited about her upcoming wedding, and her relationship with Jason.  I knew immediately that they were a perfect fit for Mark Brooke Photography! Kelsie and Jason knew each other for about four months before they started dating. They exchanged the "your cute", yeah "your cute too" conversation and then the rest is history. Through out their wedding you could tell they were madly in love and a perfect couple. We were so excited to be apart of their wedding. Here are just a few of our favorite photos from  the day!

p.s. they got married at the smog shoppe!

Jason’s Marc By Marc Jacobs  suit was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!

I should be hauled off to jail by now for the amount of parking tickets Mark and I manage to get (please note my sarcasm if you are a new client checking us out :)! Just yesterday we got two and last week we I got one.... But in my defense this is what is happening. In our neighborhood the street sweeping sign states that the streets get cleaned every 1st and 3rd wednesday of the month between 8:00am and 12:00am. Well, they are big fat liars! Sometimes they come after 12:00, other times they come on the 2nd wednesday of the month, and every once in a while they do not come at all! Its so annoying and extremely frustrating when I start to pre-budget in an extra $100 a month for the parking tickets. I have told a few friends about this (the Boutwells) and they suggest we take each ticket to court. But in all honesty, we do not have an extra 5 hours a week to put together case after case to fight each ticket. So now I am forced to park in random spots every wednesday in fear that I might get a parking ticket. Its really lame and I needed someone to express my ongoing frustration with.

Now deep breath, ahhhhh..... here is a couple that is brings a smile to my face. Jamie and Jared contacted us last month. They were already married but wanted to rock a day after session (which we love when people do this). They are both so sweet and you can tell that their marriage is as solid as a rock. The emotion and laughter we were able to catch was so sweet and genuine. It makes my day every time Mark Brooke Photographers get to be apart of a rad couples life. Here are just a few of our favorite photos :)

A few months ago some great friends of mine (jasmine, Amelia, and Jaclyn) made our way up to Palm springs to celebrate my friend Jessicas Batchlorette party. For some reason I am still feeling guilty about one of our topics so I thought I would share.... Let me start by saying that there are four type of personalities out there; lion, beaver, otter, and golden retriever. I am for sure a beaver and Mark is no doubt an otter. But how we live our lives and run our business is much more like a beaver. We work, work, work, and some times we forget to play and enjoy life outside of our careers. So with that background on Mark and I, let me jump into why I am feeling guilty. Amelia and Jasmine were sitting in the back seat of the car with me and for some reason one of them asked me how many times Mark and I get the chance to go on a fun date. I answered very quickly "well its wedding season, I have not left the house in about three months". Immediately I became embarrassed and I realized I had a problem. I especially felt like a looser when they explained that they set aside one day a week for "date night" with their husbands. For some reason up until that car ride I just did not understand the true value of a "date". Even thought Mark is the BEST husband ever (he brings me flowers, sneaks out of the house and buys me morning coffees, and makes me dinner almost every night) I still feel it is important that I put a date night into affect! So while you are enjoying this blog post, we will be out on a date :)

Rex and Melinda got married a few weeks ago, and I have been gitty since their wedding because I could not wait to share these photos with everyone. Rex and Melinda are a little different then most our clients because they too are photographers and Videographers. It is always awesome to work with another talented couple and be apart of their wedding. Rex and Melinda are perfect for each other! When we met them we could tell they were really in love and could not wait to tie the knot. Rex might be the most sweet person ever... Melinda has been the HUGEST USC fan FOREVER and Rex secretly surprised her with...... THE USC marching band!!!! Both of them are so sensitive to each other, and you can tell they are a perfect fit. Here are just a few of our favorite shots!

Enjoy this post and go on a date!

This year between Mark and I,  we were able to be apart of over 50 amazing weddings! It all started last February with John and Staceys wedding, and our season will end with Tina and Chad radical wedding in vegas late december. We still have 5 more great weddings to be apart of before our last December wedding this season. But because I see our season coming to an end, I am starting to get some fun ideas rolling around in my head of things I want to do with our month off. Last winter season I was pregnant with Wyatt so I was not able go snowboarding like I had previous seasons, so Snowboarding is a MUST. Here are some more winter activities we have on the check list : a good solid road trip to Hearst Castle, Visiting family in Florida, Getting rid of my post prego weight, going to concerts, catching up with friends and family, and most important; resting for next wedding season!

Nikki and Chris have been on our blog a few times. They had their rad E-session done with us, their wedding, and their day after session. So I am sure you recognize their lovely faces! Well here is their long awaited wedding post that we have been so excited to post these last few weeks. Nikki and Chris are the type of clients that rock our world. From their personalites to their wedding, everything was outstanding! They are such a perfect couple, and we could not have been more happy to be apart of their wedding. Here are just a few of our favorite photos!