1. STUDIO CLOSURE FOR VACATION: This is an important one – my husband Jim and I will be taking a MUCH needed vacation and will be out of the country from March 4th through March 11th. I have a wedding on Saturday, March 3rd – so, I will not be reachable via phone from the evening of Friday, March 2nd until Monday, March 12th. My phone will not be on during the time I am out of the country (um, cha-ching!). Please, during this time, email me instead at sarah@sarahdickersonphoto.com. I will be checking emails and responding – but be patient, as this is vacation I will not be checking daily and it may take me a bit to get back with you!

2. PORTRAIT SCHEDULE: Winter is waning! Which means my weekend availability for portrait sessions goes from plentiful to nearly nil. A reminder that the studio is open 6 days per week, I am closed (and take my single day off) on Sundays so that I can spend time with my family and wonderfully tolerant husband . If you want a Saturday spot, my last available session slots for quite some time occur on Saturday, March 17th, as wedding season kicks into high gear starting March 24th. Otherwise, we are getting daylight savings back at that time and I can easily accommodate you on a weekday evening (during the best light of the day)! I am booked full until after my return from vacation, so I am now accepting sessions beginning the week of Monday, March 12th.

3. WEDDING SCHEDULE: 2012 filled beyond my WILDEST dreams! I am accepting only two more weddings for 2012, then will close the books on the year and look ahead to 2013 – and I’m starting to book for 2013 with a handful already on the books! I’m so excited for this wedding season and all of the AWESOME COUPLES I get to work with! My best advice for those considering booking: get on the books for a consultation sooner rather than later if you have a peak season date. I could not believe how quickly 2012 filled!

4. BOUDOIR MARATHON: The February 11th boudoir marathon with CaraSue Hall of Dalla Cima Salon (located right across the hall from my studio!) was a success and is already behind us, and I’ve been shooting a lot of private boudoir sessions as well! The next (and last, until late in the year) marathon is set for Saturday, March 31st. There are only a couple of slots left so if you want one, snag it up! I’ll continue to offer full private sessions at the studio as well as mini sessions (Mondays only) and boudoir parties (for groups of 3 or more) throughout the year. For more information on my boudoir work, visit the boudoir guide here. The studio is a wonderfully vintage, elegant setting for these sessions and I’m so excited to have such a great place to shoot boudoir now!

5. FAMILY MINI SESSION DAYS: I’m offering one, *possibly* two family mini session days on a select Sunday or two this spring. These will be held in Liberty (starting out at the studio and venturing around the quaint square). I’ll have dates set before I leave for vacation. There will only be a limited amount of sessions offered – so if you want a coveted weekend slot, look for those dates (announced here and on my Facebook page). Remember, I’m otherwise closed on Sundays!

6. AND FINALLY…A CONTEST! This is a different one, though, not one you have to enter! I will be shooting my 100th wedding this spring! (that’s a LOT of weddings, folks!) The lucky 100th couple to be in front of my lens on their wedding day will win a VERY special prize. The fun part? I already know who it is! Stay tuned for this one

That’s it for the updates! I hope to soon move to a newsletter format to keep clients abreast of happenings at SDP, but in the meantime, I’ll continue to keep you posted right here on the blog! All weddings and sessions shot as of today’s date will be fully edited and delivered to clients prior to my vacation. I have two album drafts left to deliver out of my HUGE list this winter – and those will be in clients’ hands by the end of this Sunday! Because a blog post from a photographer is worthless without a photo, here’s another gem from Meghan and Scott’s engagement session last week!

Have a great week and weekend!
-Sarah

Why did we shoot in this weather you say? Well, their originally scheduled date was rained out, and these two were moving to Colorado for school for the next few months the very next morning! I’m glad they stuck it out and I’m glad we sought refuge in the JEM as I love how candid and fun and DIFFERENT the session turned out. (and to those of you still planning your engagement sessions: there are a LOT of different and fun/unique ideas for sessions – and neat locations that are off the beaten path and usual list of popular engagement spots…be different! ) You’ll see these two back on the blog in September when they get married!

I’ll get right to the photos (just TRY and resist flower girl Amaya’s cuteness!) – because I’m running way behind on getting this one blogged (have been down with a super nasty cold the past two days) and bed is calling for this sick girl to come inhabit it!

Ceremony: Most Pure Heart of Mary
Reception: Heritage Hall
Flowers: Simply Stunning, Lori Zirkle
Hair/Makeup: Posh Artistry
Planner: Lyn Scardina, Events!
Catering: Aboud’s Catering
DJ: Minuteman Music

Here’s a sneak peek at this wonderful family.

We’ve already booked a few sessions for each date but we have plenty of room for YOU! Please
email me for available times and a contract to book your spot. You’ll receive a disc of edited images from the session, or for a small up-charge, you can swap the disc for a 6×6 album. These are SUPER fun sessions and CaraSue and I are only able to offer 2 to 3 of these per year due to our wedding schedules, so be sure to take advantage now! I’m so excited to now have my studio in which to shoot boudoir, the vintage vibe and cool old furniture is just perfect for these sessions. And with CaraSue’s Dalla Cima Salon located RIGHT ACROSS THE HALLWAY (same building!), well, how can you go wrong?

Hope to see you in February or March! (if those dates don’t work for you, I offer private sessions including mini sessions every Monday! see my full boudoir guide here!)

I’m including a couple of (cell phone, so please excuse the quality – yes the photographer FORGOT TO PACK HER CAMERA) images of my booth, so those who weren’t in attendance can see the setup and those who were there and are stopping by will think “oh, yes, I remember that awesome couch!” A BIG THANKS to friend and fellow photographer Kelly Knetter for helping me out at the booth during the show – sometimes the traffic is just too much for me to be able to talk to all of the people lined up to take a look at my work!

A couple of quick notes for those that met with me at the show as well as those who are considering booking: 2012 is nearly full, and I anticipate it will be full in as few as a couple of weeks. There are a handful of remaining dates that have multiple couples interested; just a reminder that your date is not considered booked until I have your signed contract and retainer fee in my hands. Not one or the other, but both Then you are golden! Also, since I do have a couple of dates open that proved to be pretty popular at the show, an unfortunate part of this business is that sometimes I have more than one couple that wants to book the same date at literally the same time. I can’t “hold” a date for anyone (see signed contract and retainer requirement) – the absolute ONLY way I can be fair to all parties is to treat booking on a first-come, first-served basis. Honestly, I wish I could book you ALL and if for some reason I do not have your date available, I would be more than willing to help you find a fabulous photographer with a similar style that is still available!

Again, thank you to ALL for stopping by and saying hi. It was fantastic to see some familiar faces, even previous clients, and meet all of the new ones and hear about your wedding stories in-the-making. Here’s to a fabulous 2012 wedding season, and if KC Weddings was any indication, 2013 as well!

-Sarah

first look time!

Ceremony + reception venue: Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art
Floral: Sidelines
DJ: Music Masters
Cake: McLain’s Bakery