As I am sure you noticed, our new blog is up! Here is a link for all you RSSers...www.blog.markbrooke.com) Mark and I have been working on it for some time now, so that fact that it is actually up and live feels like we birthed another little child called THE BLOG. Its super important to us to constantly put our best foot forward for our brides and have a strong passion with every thing we do. To be honest I wanted to have this blog up months ago... but between Pat Brumfield and Mark, they knew everything had to be PERFECT!... even the font is custom made! Thank you to everyone that encouraged us, and showed so much love yesterday when we launched it! You are all so awesome!

Sabrina and Matt got married two weeks ago, and we could not be more thrilled to be apart of their wedding. They are our clients that came up with theawesome engagement session concept, and they are such RAD people to be around. Their wedding was so unique! All the details and the time they put into their wedding really paid off ( love the grass centerpieces!!). Sabrina and Matt met over a tennis match, which later lead to Matt scrambling to find her myspace profile to send her a message. They dated three years before the proposal...

We love them and their wedding, here are just a few of our favorite images!

Almost every single engagement session Mark and I shoot we get a chat thread of emails from the clients with questions about the shoot: locations, outfits, themes, etc... We love it when our clients are willing to do something a little different! When Mark and I got engaged we didn't think outside the box. We showed up to our e-session in jeans and normal T-shirts. The photos where great, but we were "just normal" in them. Because of this we do our best to help clients pick a fun location that fits them as a couple, outfit ideas, and any theme they want to accomplish. Now that you know this about Mark and I, I'm sure you realize how much we love Matthew and Sabrinas shoot!

Matt and Sabrina are seriously so cute and such a perfect couple! They had a vision for their E-session and they RAN with it!  In our first emails back and forth, they wanted an "old school surf shoot/ beach shoot"... We immediately fell in love with the idea and were so excited for them! Matt and Sabrina were so cute on their shoot. They have such a passion for life and such a great energy. We feel honored to have them as clients, and we can't wait for their wedding!!! Here are just a few of our favorite images :)

.... here are some more 2010 clients that rocked our socks off.....

You know when you walk into an ice-cream store and there are over 50 different flavors that are calling your name? For me its super hard to choose which one I want. And I cant lie there are times when I walk in and "sample" way to many flavors, to the point were I dont even need to purchase an ice-cream cone (embarrassing truth)..... Well, that is what this blog post is! There were sooooooooo many awesome Mark Brooke clients this year I only got through 1/4 of our clients weddings. And choosing "a favorite" from 2010 was seriously near impossible. So, I must pre-warn you that this blog post might be a little "all over the place". But, enjoy!

Tonight Mark and I are leaving for a SUPER QUICK trip to Utah..... Every time we go on a long driving trip, Mark and I love to listen to a book on CD. Since we are both not natural readers that enjoy just snuggling up with a  good book, we have to get our "read on" in other ways. I am really curious if anyone has any suggestions. I know Mark is probably desperate for suggestions since last time I made him sit through a 6 hour drive with the book "twilight" playing in the background (yes, "that" Vampire movie/book). I was hoping to listen to a great biz book or something that inspires me.  Much appreciated!!!

Bernalyn and Ed got married last weekend in San Diego! Bern and Ed are awesome in so many ways! They love the Dogers... I actually think Bern even said, "if you cut us,  we will bleed Doger blue (and a little Eagle green)", lol.... they are funny, and such nice people! They met many years ago and just knew they had something special, AND THEY DO! Their wedding was amazing and such an honor to be apart of. She had a team of amazing bridesmaids and a group of awesome groomsmen, all who really helped them celebrate their day properly. There were so many fun photos from the day, but here are just a few of our favorite!

Mark and I know that there are alot of photographers, brides, and just "awesome" people that read our blog. Because of that we have tried to keep our blog more about our RAD Mark Brooke clients, and our photographer newsletter for all those great photographers out there. So, if you are a photographer, please feel free to sign up for our photographer newsletters. A new one is going out today/tomorrow :)

Sean and Nicole are AMAZING in every way! Im dead serious, I have never met nicer people than Nicole and Sean! They walked into our studio last year and we immediately fell in love with them! They are so sweet, and truly perfect for each other. There is something really special about couples that have "grown up" together. As did Mark and I, they met Sophomore year in high school. And since that time they have been dating and calling each other their best friend! Their wedding was truly amazing, and we feel so honored that we got to be apart of it! Here are just a few of our favorite images :)

Cake: www.dessertier.com
Florist: www.hollyhillfloral.com
invitations: www.typologieandco.com
DJ: www.tntmobiledj.com
Classical Guitarist: www.hillmusicentertainment.com
makeup artist: www.nicoledeanne.net
venue: www.thecrossingsatcarlsbad.com
reception: www.thecrossingsatcarlsbad.com
Resort: www.lacosta.com
Photographer: Mark brooke Photography

Yesterday Mark, my sister, and my soon to be brother-in-law, went on a long hike. At the beginning of the hike we were all smiles, talking about my sisters wedding plans and laughing about how my sister lost her shoe on the last hike she went on (how the heck does someone just "lose" their shoe? lol". By the end of the hike my legs were shaking, my knees hurt (from a previous car accident), and we were all silent. When we got in the car and headed home we immediately fell asleep. So this morning when we woke up we all had forgotten our pain and had big smiles on our faces again.....Hiking is one of my favorite things to do while we are in upstate New York. You get to experience another part of the world that is so foreign to us in Orange County. We "tweeted"  (Candicebrooke and Markbrooke) a few fun photos from the hike, so check them out if you have not seen them yet :)

Bernalyn and Edward are two of our clients who are getting married in just a few weeks. We love them and their fun attitudes about life. They giggled all during their engagement sessions and enjoyed every minute together.  We were originally suppose to shot their e-session at the Balboa Park in San Diego, but a huge parade was going on..... most people would have been a little upset, but Bernalyn and Edward have such positive attitudes that we found a new awesome location quickly, and had a fun time rocking it out together. We feel so blessed to have Bernalyn and Edward as some of our awesome clients. They are so in love, and are counting down the days until they tie the knott, and we cant wait to be there! Here are just a few of our favorite photos of them :)

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Mark and I are in NYC right now, having alot of fun.  :) Yes, we are madly in love with this city, but what is their problem? How on earth are you suppose to reproduce (aka have children)  in a city that does everything it can to make it difficult to travel with a baby? I have grown up going to NYC every summer, winter break, and sometimes Easter. Its amazing how you dont realize it is not "kid friendly" until you are stuck 3 stories underground with 9 (!) pieces of luggage, a baby crying in a stroller, with no elevators or escalators in sight? My once good friend, the stairs, has now become my worst enemy! ..... not to mention last night at 11:00pm, I was carrying so much baby stuff (and a baby), that I was sweating in places I did not even know you could sweat from..... OK, Im done ranting. let me end this paragraph by saying WE LOVE NYC, but what is their problem, invest in some elevators! :)

Kelsey!!!!!! Kevin!!!!! We love you guys!!!!! I met Kelsey 2 years ago when she emailed me about doing an internship with Mark Brooke Photography. We met her, and immediately knew she would be a perfect fit to our company..... then we got to meet Kevin. My first impressions was; "wow, he is so sweet, and man, they are sooooo perfect for each other"! Kesey and Kevin met at Biola University and immediately started dating. Soon after that, he proposed to Kelsey on the beach. There was a heart shaped outline of candles, and he dropped to his knee. I remember the day kelsey came in to our studio beaming because Kevin had just proposed. Mark and I feel honored to be apart of their wedding, and we are so happy for them! Here are just a FEW of our favorite images.

Lauren and Jordan are Married, wahoooo!!!! Lauren and Jordan are two amazing people that have rocked our socks off since the minute we met them! And yet, while I was shooting their wedding I grew to love them even more as a couple! They are the type of people that walk into a room and everyone lights up. They bring an energy that makes everyone happy. Lauren and Jordan's wedding was amazing... because of their wedding experience they have decided to start their own husband and wife wedding coordinating company! I am so pumped for them, and know they will be amazing at it! I am so excited to share this wedding with all our blog readers :)

Here are just a few of our favorite photos, enjoy :)

Today we are announcing the other three people who have inspired us, by “given back” to our community…. Here is the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, winner we chose Thanks guys for being so inspiring (email us for your shoot details Mark@markbrooke.com).

Winner #2 Nominated by Sara Ward:: “i would like to nominate my sister, becky. she always has a soft spot, but one thing that she always does is give to a homeless guy by her work. she is always buying bagels for lunch so she usually buys a gift card and hands it to the gentleman. she is always helping others and always offering to help in any way she can. she is always thinking of others and i hope that this time, she can have someone think of her!”.

Winner#3 Nominated by Tricia :: “I would love to nominate my mom. She spends all of her time taking care of other people, working, and giving back to her church while taking no time for herself. Recently, I was having trouble finding a place to live and she offered up her living room (she doesn’t have any free bedrooms) for me and my dogs to stay in, even though it would have been incredibly inconvenient. She is a single mom of four daughters, takes care of her mom and of her uncle who is mentally challenged. Last year, she really wanted to have family pictures taken and I can’t think of a better Mother’s Day present than to have amazing pictures taken of the 5 of us. Thank you so much for the chance to win this!”

Winner#4 Nominated by Diandra :: “My boyfriend is a youth pastor. He works hard week after week not only with the youth but also the Spanish ministry and the church as a whole. When he started doing ministry, he quit his full time job with benefits and came to work for only a sandwich a week  He is still underpaid (as are most people in ministry), but NEVER complains. He joined the army reserves in hopes of supplementing his income and not being forced to get another job that would take time away from his ministry. He is about to be deployed to Iraq for a year, but hasn’t complained once. He is always doing little nice things for people he doesn’t know… as funny as this is that you mentioned in your blog… the other day he bought 2 people that he didn’t know coffee… and sat and talked with them. It’s just who he is.

Right now my little Man (wyatt) is sitting at my feet playing with all his toys. And Mark is editing a few great E-sessions that will be on the blog in a few days. I am HAPPY! I cant pin point why, but it could have something to do with last night. Last night Mark and I hosted a photographer get together at the Starbucks in Ladera Ranch. It was so great! I get so pumped every time I meet new photographers and get to just hang with people that share our common interests. For those of you who could not meet up, we missed you. Some great topic were brought up , and both Mark and I were happy to share some examples of business moves we have made over the years. I hope we can see everyone next time.

Two Mondays ago I shot this wedding. Yes I said Monday! It was an amazing wedding at Javiers in crystal cove. I am absolutely in love with Erik and Tiffany's personalities and wedding! They are two clients I will never forget. I think one of the reasons is because of their family and friends that were involved in the wedding. Their bridesmaids and groomsmen were so supportive (and super funny). Since it was at Javiers, a smaller wedding location, everyone felt so close and comfortable. The wedding had a relaxed feel. Tiffany and Erik are such amazing people and we could not be more blessed to be apart of their wedding story. Here are just a few of our favorite shots!