"You're breathing, but are you alive!" I saw this quote on a building in Vegas and it hit home with me! Life really slows down when you have a small baby in the house! It takes you 3 hours of prep to go anywhere, even if its just to the market! For the first few months of Maxx's life we were bumming it at home a lot! So much that the walls started closing in on me! But now that he's getting a little bit bigger we're starting to spread our wings and have mini adventures! Yes market trips are included in those adventures! I didn't say all of them were fun! I felt bad for Lil Jack because all his activities came to a halt for a few months, but we're back in action! He just started swimming lessons this week and he has it EVERYDAY, which is so nice to get out of the house! It gives us a reason to get out of the good ol pjs! We have a few little trips planned for the summer and just started adventure Sundays!!! Woo hoo! Life is supposed to be lived!!! Here's a few goofy pics with my little twinsie at the Angels game last night! Had sooo much fun with this little goof troop!! I want to live a happy and healthy life! I'm trying to incorporate exercise and healthy eating, but its soo HARD!! It had been a few weeks since I last worked out and I made the horrible decision to work out the day before photographing a wedding! My legs were so sore I couldn't bend down for the life of me! Just walking up the stairs to the venue and sitting during dinner was soooo painful!!!
Bad idea, I say! Bad idea! Even though I was in pain the whole day it was soooo nice to get out shooting again! I LOVE my job and I couldn't wait to shoot another wedding! The atmosphere is always so positive and full of love, its so addicting! At first I felt guilty for wanting to work... I felt like should be appreciating the time at home with my baby, which i totally do! But then I realized its healthy to have some "me" time. Some people spend their "me" time getting their nails done or pampering themselves but I actually like to spend mine working lol strange I know! But that's how much I love what I do! It makes me feel alive! Can't wait to share the photos from the wedding with you!
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Who would’ve thought that you could meet the love of your life at someone else’s wedding! Well my sister in law Chelsie and Robert met at a mutual friends wedding 5 years ago. He knew she was the one, the moment he laid eyes on her! She knew he was the one, the moment the name Michael Jackson came out of his mouth! So of course they had to have a Michael Jackson themed wedding at the Viva Las Vegas Chapel! Yes, I said MICHAEL JACKSON!!! He He! Michael Jackson brought them together and Michael Jackson was there to seal the deal… well his impersonator. They got married at a cute little Chapel with an amazing performance by their idol. He was a great impersonator too, he looked and sounded exactly like him!! The coolest part of the ceremony was when Michael Jackson asked Robert if he took Chelsie to be his wife, and he responded with a slick dance move while singing “You know it! You know it!” Totally awesome, and had the whole room laughing! Unfortunately the chapel had their own photographer so I didn’t get to capture any of the ceremony :( But I got to capture a few moments of the gorgeous bride and groom before their ceremony and during their reception. So without further ado heres Mr. & Mrs. Darden!!!! A sweet moment between Chelsie and Robert’s daughter :) How adorable are the bride and flower girls glittery shoes! Love this Lace glove that Chels bedazzled to add a touch a MJ to her wardrobe Chelsie made a stunning bride and her dress was gorgeous!!! Below is the only photo that I got of my gorgeous niece Miss Ava Marie while she was still in a good mood :) Robert was as handsome as ever as he excitedly awaited his leading lady! They had a sweet “first look” (explained in detail here) in front of their close family and friends. He was so nervous!! After the amazing ceremony, we headed to the Mandalay Bay where they had their Reception... and it began with their first dances as husband and wife... …followed by the hilarious toasts!!! Robert had a few words for his new wife which left everyone in tears! Sooo Sweet!!! The special father/daughter dance… And the emotional mother/son dance… gets me every time! :( Special thanks to the videographers Alexander Hoggard & Greg for providing the beautiful backlight :) Retro Bakery created this beautiful cake... Thank you Chels & Rob for allowing me to capture the special moments of your big day! And welcome Rob to the family!! :) I love you both!!! Cant wait to take your portraits! XOX!!! Im adding a little something to all my wedding posts… A GUESTBOOK!!! So now all of your special guests can see the how great they looked at your wedding! ;) Feel free to say hi in the comment box, to let me know you were here!
This week has been UBER crazy with recovering from my sister in laws wedding weekend in vegas (which just so happened to be my first destination wedding gig), unpacking and trying to catch up on laundry (Im not gonna lie there are a few bags that are shoved in the corner of my room untouched), and editing a clients engagement shoot to finish before the deadline! Look… I’ll even sacrifice laundry for my clients lol! Can you say SACRIFICE! –haha a lil Kat Williams moment! I love him before he turned crazayyy! Its probably a good thing I didn’t fully unpack because we’re off to another weekend trip for my ma-n-laws bday! Packing + me = No Bueno! Anywhoo before I get even more off track I’m going to leave you with a little blog post that I had in my draft box for awhile, since I promised to have a blog post at least once a week and I like to keep my promises… When we found out that we were having a boy I was super pumped for so many reasons! One of those reasons was because it would be easier to have Jack share a room with a boy than a girl. Im so glad that I didn’t have to split Jacks room in half and have a girl side and a boy side… cuz that’s how it would’ve went down! Before the nursery was added to his room, he didn’t really have a theme. He had a cool race car bed, with a gas station locker and a bunch of super hero decorations! Oh I cant forget about the toy story posters! It was very random! I called it the Scrapbook room because anything and everything was in it and people just kept adding to the madness! I didn’t want to make it too baby-ish so I stuck with the sports theme and deeper colors. Let me just say that I love to paint rooms! But the doggone owner doesn’t allow it so I had to work with white walls :( So here it is… our nursery/big boy room :) I purchased most of the décor at Hobby Lobby and Living Spaces. Dont forget your coupons!!! I love these little guys! My father-n-law bought us them from the Salvation Army. So there it is… my boys room! Ill probably never see it this clean again lol! Now I gotta get these little nuggets in the bath… so ta ta for now! :) Have an awesome weekend!!!
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I'M JANELLE MARINA
Wife, Mama Shark, + Photographer. Most days, you'll find me in mismatched socks and a top knot, working behind my computer with a smile on my face, listening to Zac Brown Band and R&B --or, dancing in the kitchen with my 3 littles and hunka husband, seeing who could come up with the coolest dance moves. I'm a wedding photographer, West Elm lover, aspiring advocate for our buddies with special needs, and a Certified Dreamer since 1986. We live in a cozy city in Southern California and are always up for a good adventure. I enjoy telling stories with my camera, grubbing on spicy food, and solving the latest Dateline case.
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December 2019
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