carpe vita blog - carpe vita photography

Monday was the official back-to-school day for Grapevine Colleyville schools.  But a whole lot of Colleyville Heritage High School students, faculty, and parents turned out on Saturday evening for CHHS Panther Pride Night.  Everyone gathered in the Panther Den where each CHHS Football Team, the CHHS Band, the CHHS Panteras, and all the CHHS Cheerleaders and Pep Boys were introduced. (Did I leave anyone out?)

On my way in, I enjoyed the artwork in the parking lot where many Seniors have painted and decorated their reserved parking spaces for the year.

And, of course, a slide show…

Thursday night pals Adrienne and Danielle celebrated their 16th birthdays together with a little soiree at The Mustang Cafe at Willowbend Mall, Plano. We’ll be uploading photos from the party, but while you wait, you might register to be notified when all the photos are posted online at Pictage, our online lab. Just click here and you will be taken to Pictage where you will need to give your email address (so they can let you know the photos are online) and create a password for your own privacy.

Check out some of Anna’s senior photos from her The 60 Session with Carpe Vita Photography.

The 60 is a studio session (great for some of the hot days we have been having) that allows for a variety of clothing changes.
Here you see the three outfits Anna brought with her.   We actually had time for more outfits which is why there are a lot of photos
with the last outfit.

Everyone loves the lovesac.  And yes, we do have other cover options.

We are lovin this little video from Anna’s session that shows off some of her other photos. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Elizabeth is a music teacher and talented pianist who is about to release her first CD of recorded music. Kim Cooley of Carpe Vita Photography met Elizabeth and her husband the night of the NACE 50th Anniversary Celebration and bounced around the idea of pairing some of Elizabeth’s music with Carpe Vita Photography work.

Earlier in July, we all got together to photograph Elizabeth around Dallas and here are some of the fun photos that came from that session.

A quick change into something a little cooler.

And then another change for a more casual look. We really enjoy photographing in downtown Dallas - you never know what you might find.

Utilizing graphics on location that complimented Elizabeth’s outfit was all part of the fun and makes this quick little mock-up of an album cover super easy.

Of course there is a slide show. Too bad we didn’t yet have any of Elizabeth’s music to pair up with her photos.

I had to include this little outtake or behind the scenes shot of Elizabeth’s hubsand directing traffic away from his lovely wife. Men you take care of their girls are by far the best!

July 19th, Carolyn said “I do” to Nathan and Carpe Vita Photography was there to document their celebration through artistic photography.

Team Carpe Vita consisted of Kim and Steve Cooley and Richard Sharum for this wedding. We started with hair and make-up at Carolyn’s parents’ home and then we were off to the church.

Carolyn’s dancing boots for later in the evening and the guys arriving…

After a quick ceremony and formal photographs, we are off for the fun part of the celebration.

The reception was held at Bill Bates Cowboy Ranch in Celina, Texas. We love the staff there - especially Trina Harris, cause she is one of our past brides! Seriously, they took great care of the guests and is definitely a facility we count as one of our faves.

The stunning florals were taken care of by The Wildflower and the linens and chairs are from Ducky Bob’s, the ranch’s preferred vendor and one of our faves too.

The first dance - don’t you just love the hanging candles and ribbons. Time for Carolyn’s boots so she can really dance.

Nathan’s groom’s cake.

A last dance for Carolyn and Nathan before the head off on their honeymoon.

The get-away mobile was a first for us. We were really bummed that we couldn’t fly away with them.

Of course, there is a video with more fun photographs.

And to see all the photos, go to Pictage. You’ll need the Event Key which Carolyn or Nathan can pass along to you.

Friday, July 18th, Carolyn and Nathan prepared for their wedding the next day with a rehearsal at the church. Crosspoint Church in McKinney is a sweet church and their staff was incredibly helpful and excited to have the wedding there.

Carolyn and her dad practice the walk, while Nathan is trying to get the hands just right.

Carolyn’s big sister Elizabeth is one of our past brides. Elizabeth and Jeff were married last August so will be celebrating their first anniversary soon.
It was terrific to see a lot of Jeff’s family at the wedding.

The rehearsal dinner was at Shady Oaks BBQ and boy is their bbq yummy!

The first introduction to Carolyn and Nathan’s monogram - on the slide show orchestrated by Carolyn’s dad. Wayne is known for his slide shows so this was a special treat.

Nathan’s parents enjoy the evening - they were wonderful hosts.

Got to have a video…

Now that Carolyn has walked down the aisle, we can share some of the photos from her bridal session.

We (Steve and Kim Cooley of Carpe Vita Photography) started with Carolyn at a field in Grapevine not too far from our studio. Kudos to Carolyn’s mom and dad for doing a little four wheeling for us - it was worth the extra effort.

Then we were off to find an antique fire truck to honor Nathan’s fire fighting career - we love that Carolyn really wanted something different and personal for the two of them.

Last stop, the Las Colinas Canals for a little architecture.
This photo of Carolyn spinning is fun - there was a little breeze and chill for this early May session.

What pleasure photographing Carolyn was plus the whole family including big sis Elizabeth and grandmom from Alabama were in tow so we got to catchup with everyone before the celebration.

Here’s the slideshow with even more photos…

Well, it is simply gorgeous! The Grand Opening Party was three weeks ago today and Carpe Vita Photography was there documenting the festivities for The Stoneleigh Hotel  It has just taken us this long to get the blog entry up. For Wednesday evening, Team Carpe Vita consisted of Steve Cooley, Heather Gildroy and Richard Sharum and for Thursday night, Steve and Heather were the photographers on hand.

It was so great to see the hotel open and welcoming guests to her sumptuous halls. I love this entry - three of my fave colors!

To see lots more of the hotel rooms and decor, check out this little video:

Some of the outdoor fun included a band playing out front of the hotel and the hand-rolled cigars were very popular.

I have to share a “this was then and this is now” photo comparison to demonstrate just how much the view from the Penthouse has changed.
This is Steve and me attending a wedding back in 1996 at The Stoneleigh - yes, we have aged and are both a little thicker but the big deal is the difference in the Dallas skyline.

Here are Billie Delarosa, Chef Curtis Cooke and Sarah Fischer. And this is Gretchen Stofer Darby, Director of Sales & Marketing for the hotel and one of our 2007 brides (on the right) with a friend. All that you see in these photographs should be accredited to these very talented and dedicated movers and shakers for this great venue.

To see more of the amazing food served up those two nights and the decadent displays of yummies, check out this vid.:

For a view of how much fun the guests had, you are just a click away:

Back to trying to catch up on the blog posting.

You might remember Felicia and Danny’s wedding back in April. Well, because they are such busy peeps, we didn’t have a chance to do their engagement session before the wedding so we did a little celebration session in June.

Here’s a little slideshow to show more photos - they are so much fun to photograph and hang out with!

To see the rest of the photos on Pictage, click here - Felicia and/or Danny can let you know the event key - it is actually the same event key from the wedding. Enjoy!

Time flies when you are having an amazing summer and we have been remiss in getting some all important blogging done.

Andrée and Mark were married back at the end of May in an lovely morning ceremony outdoors with a brunch following at Texas Star Golf Course in Euless.

Steve and new addition to Team Carpe Vita, photographer Heather Gildroy, were on hand to document Andrée and Mark’s special moments from the day.

The glances that were exchanged between Andrée and Mark were so heart felt and touching.

A group photo of everyone who attended the wedding - this is when we really wish we had a cherry picker available to us.

A private moment between the newlyweds below the Virginia state flag that Mark brought with him and was flown during their ceremony.

Time to toss the bouquet! And don’t bubbles make the world just a little better?!

What a sweet photograph of Mr. and Mrs. Griffin saying their goodbyes before being whisked away.

A perfect ending to a perfect day!

Have to have a slideshow…

To see the rest of the photos, please visit Pictage. You will need the Event Key from either Andrée or Mark.

Best wishes Andrée and Mark.