Summer is so close, I can taste it…
School is on it’s way out! Looking forward to relaxing in the yard, spending time with my kids, and, of course… the Reds! They are in first place! Go, Reds! And all the games have been some pretty awesome nailbiters, too! You’ll note the Cincinnati Reds themed colors I have going on here.
I went to a game with Shawna, Mother’s Day weekend, and an even with the girls and Shawna on Fountain Square this past Saturday. We look forward to a lot more over the summer, with Daddy!
Finally… an update!
I’ve been super busy this fall! Weddings, Seniors, babies, and moving! We finally got moved into our new house! And I had nearly two weeks without internet access! Our new house is an old house, so we had to have the cable, phone, and internet all re-wired! With that, all of our email addresses have changed. If you have been corresponding with me via rebeccapettigrew@fuse.net, make note that that email address will no longer work. The new email address is info@rebeccapettigrew.com, as reflected on my website.
My most recent shoot was right after I moved with Alyssa!
David + Natale
On Friday, I had the pleasure to shoot on of the most beautiful couples, at one of the coolest venues in town! David and Natale Riley were married at The Verdin Bell and Clock Museum. It was absolutely stunning!
CJ, class of ’09
I’m nearly finished editing CJ’s senior pictures, and should have her proofs up and ready to order by mid week! These are some of the preliminary edits. I still have a little more cleaning up to do.
Also, Sharon Woods has definitely replaced Eden Park as one of my favorite locations! It is chock full of beautiful landscapes and stone architecture! So many wonderful places to take photos! 
We got some great shots around the boathouse. We even borrowed a boat for a few minutes! I absolutely loved the stone bridge! It makes for a great background!
It was a lot of fun, and she’ll have a few to choose from!
I had forgotten how much I adore doing senior pictures. I’m actually pretty excited and can’t wait to get the prints, myself! A BIG thanks to CJ, and her mom, Linda, for giving me the awesome opportunity!
Thumbs up for Madison Avenue Bridal!
My sister is getting married next September, so I, being the old hat that I am, have been designated her “Matron of Honor”. Which means, I get to help with all of the grunt work (yay, me)… So… taking my duties rather seriously, I accompanied her to Madison Avenue Bridal to choose her dress. Now I’ve been meaning to go in there since they opened to check them out, and drop off a few business cards… But with Summer here, my kids are home ALL DAY… and the only break I get is when Daddy gets home… So, I hadn’t gotten the chance to go, sans children, for business purposes. Needless to say, the girls accompanied my sister and I for this excursion.
Long story short, she picked out her dress… but… I have to say that the girls at Madison Avenue Bridal were incredibly helpful, and went above and beyond. They even allowed my daughters to play dress up with the flower girl dresses and tiaras for a bit. This was awesome for two reasons. One, it kept the girls occupied (while we played dress up too), and we were also able to pick out the flower girl dresses, too!
Back to normal
We just returned from vacation at Myrtle Beach. What a great week! I am so going to miss waking up to a sunrise over the ocean every morning!
We stayed at Windy Shores II, a low rise, ocean front, condo resort. It was great! Nicely decorated, clean, and right there on the beach. It also had a pool (which my children liked better than the ocean, much to my chagrin).
We booked through Condo World. A company that I will highly recommend for booking your vacation. They really took care of us, and were very affordable. And staying in the condo was soo much better than a hotel. We had two bedrooms, a living/dining room, and a kitchen (which saved money, since we didn’t have to go to a restaurant every night).
The kids had a great time, too. They loved our morning walks on the beach. They found a TON of shells, and even a few crabs and jelly fish!
We also hit a few of the attractions. One of our favorites was Medieval Times. Dinner in a castle, while watching a rennaisance style jousting tournament! Even my husband had fun!
Another one we loved was T.I.G.E.R.S Preservation Station, at Barefoot Landing. We got to pet and hold a baby White Bengal Tiger, and got hugs from a Monkey! And get our picture taken with them too!
Vacation!
I am off to Myrtle Beach for a week. I’ll have limited access to my email, so if you get no response, I swear, I’m not ignoring you! (and I’ll have tons of pretty pictures when I return!
Then, a week after we return, I get to shoot Rachel and Lane’s wedding on the 21st.
A shoot with my favorite family! My own!
This weekend I got to have a session with my aunt Deb (who helped to raise me) and her family. We Chose to shoot at the park at Newport’s River Boat Row. Despite the wind, we were able to get some great shots! We also shot some at my cousin Ronda’s historic home in Covington.
(I think I need to photoshop out the lightswitch). As I was editing them and all that I really wished I had brought along my red background!
So not only did I get to do what I love, I also got time to spend with the people that I love. It was so much fun!
I’ll be getting with them, again, soon to shoot Arthur’s graduation pictures. Which should be loads of fun, since Arthur is one of the silliest, most adventurous people I know!
Win a “Fearless Bridal” Session!
My new favorite kind of Bridal portraits are the Trash the Dress/ Fearless Bridal Sessions! I’ve also more recently heard them called “Rock the Frock”, which sounds like even more fun!
From my first trash the dress/Fearless Bridal session. We went to Peter’s Cartridge Company in Kings Mills, Ohio. It’s an mostly abandoned Bullet Factory (it’s still used for storage, by local business, and is sadly looking more and more like a junkyard, each time I visit). It was such an interesting place, that for a time, we both forgot why were there! How funny we must’ve looked! “Why is that girl wearing a wedding dress?”
We had a lot of fun, both, indoors and out!
And don’t forget about the contest!! If you would like to win a FREE trash the dress session, just email me a picture of you wearing the dress you want to trash. Winners will be drawn randomly on May 31st. Those who have already booked me as their wedding photographer, are automatically entered! (Don’t worry, unless you want to, your dress will not be completely trashed, just a little dirty.)
The contest is also not only open to brides! If you have an old prom or bridesmaid’s dress taking up space in your closet, we can do an Extreme Prom Queen or Fearless Bridesmaid Session, too!
I have a few ideas for other locations, but this was by far my favorite. I am certainly planning to go back there to do Rachel and Bryan’s engagement session!
I am still looking for some cool places in Kentucky. I’d like to find something near the airport, so I can get some great shots of the low flying planes in the background!
I’ve been getting all geared up for Kym and Tony’s Wedding on Friday! I’m so excited!
What exactly is a "trash the dress" session?
It sounds pretty scary, doesn’t it? I mean why would you want to “trash” something that you most likely spent more on than your first car? I’ve also heard this called “Fearless Bridals” and I, much, prefer that moniker.
Basically, the “Trash the Dress” phenomenon started for high school girls. Go out after prom and get the wildest pictures taken. Because now that you’ve worn that dress chances are, you won’t wear it again, so why not get a little crazy, and climb that tree in your back yard. In the last few years, this trend has spread to the Bridal communities.
So, by waiting until after the wedding, you can try for something other that the plain, standard poses. You can get a little more creative and fun with your Bridal portraits, because you don’t have to worry about getting your dress dirty.
Rebecca Pettigrew 
leave a comment