Oh my beautiful brides, so many of you have asked and I now have your answer… Who would I recommend for hair and make up around Boston? Well, I’ll tell you who turned me into a glam rockstar in just under 2 hours… Sara Faella, Artist, Designer, Stylist! This little blonde bombshell knows her $h!t and knows how to use a make up brush like nobody’s business.

Let me tell you a little story… since changing my wedding date I went into a slight dismay, “who’s going to do my hair and make up now, Sara is all the way in Rhode Island and my wedding is now in Cohasset! It’s the dead of winter, what if there is a snow storm?” Ok, I talked to a few other hair and make up ladies and they sounded “eh” over the phone. You know me and know that I will not tolerate bad customer service so I was not sold at all. I thought to myself… Ok I’m going to call and just see what Sara says.

Ring Ring
Sara: Hello! Sara Faella Hair (whatever her opening phone line is)
Me: Hey Sara my name is April Krueger and I recently changed my wedding date from September 2012 to January 28th and was wondering, if you still did my hair, since you’re not local, if there is a snowstorm what would happen?
Sara: Oh no big deal, I’ve done hair and make up with no power, we have generators I can bring just in case and I have an SUV to get my Glam Squad and I to the Red Lion Inn with no problems, don’t worry about snow. Trust me, my brides do not go without and I will be there to make you look fabulous!!!
Me: Ok then, let’s schedule a trial!

(**please note I did not take the bottom and right hand picture so they’re a little blurry, no biggie, just a side note)

When I met with Sara today she was not only as cute as a button, the girl clearly has style and spunk. I’m sorry, but as a bride I do not want some haggardly hair dresser/make up stylist working on me on the biggest day of my life! I want someone who I respect and appreciate and Sara is certainly that person. As a savvy business woman and fellow creative entrepreneur, she’s started her own line of make-up and bridal hair accessories. I highly recommend her to any of my brides, talk about Vogue baby!

I know, I’ve been missing lately on the blog… I’m sorry, I will never leave you again!

As many of you know, Justin and I decided to switch our date for a 2nd time from September 24th to January 28th, go go gadget planner! See, I’m a girl who lives life with intent and it just didn’t make sense to me why I was waiting for a specific season or even sillier, a specific type of weather to show the world how much I love my man! {Thanks for the pep talk JTizz}.

So instead of ignoring my little Bloggies while I plan my own wedding, I’ve decided to invite you along my crazy speed wedding planning journey!

…Sit back, put your feet up and make yourself cozy…

It all started on a beautiful afternoon, bright, sunny, perfect temps (50 degrees) and my love by my side.

We stormed down Boylston street with Starbucks in hand, waltzed through the doors of Crate & Barrel and Bam, before you know it we were the real life Supermarket Sweep!

Ok, now obviously this is the first time I’ve ever registered but my goodness, talk about having choices. We found ourselves debating over what shape wine carafe is best… what? To any brides who haven’t registered yet, I would suggest doing some research about how many place settings to get and what essentials you need. Also, take inventory on what you already have before you go, no one likes clutter. Even if you don’t get it all in one visit to the store you can easily go to the online store and add whatever you missed. It’s so simple and quick.

Make an afternoon out of it, enjoy the journey and just know that while you’re walking around with your scanner, it’s perfectly OK to express a little PDA. There’s nothing worse than a couple who is registering and look miserable together, this world could use a little more love!

Also, it’s perfectly OK to lounge and relax in the furniture section… that’s what it’s there for! hehe

Peace, Love & Photography

{Background}

My mother always tells me the story of how the first parent teacher conference she went to for me she was told, “Well…April certainly marches to the beat of her own drummer”. That statement has followed me through my years, ringing true the more and more I grow.

I was never a very good student, this may or may not have been a good thing, but it’s my reality. I never liked cookie cutter classes that I couldn’t relate to, I didn’t like my teachers a lot of the times because they would treat me weird for being “unique” or “too creative”. To me, school was totally boring; my notebooks were filled with pictures and doodles because I was trying to keep myself awake. In 8th grade History, I taught myself to say my alphabet backwards. In 10th grade History I taught myself to write with my left hand, while I took all my notes that way. I was always the girl who was getting into trouble and it was because I was so bored. Art class was my escape, it’s what I’m best at and was the only way I stayed interested in high school and college.

{Fast forward through high school and college}

It was May 2005, I was fresh out of college and FINALLY on my own. Finally, I was no longer a prisoner to $500 textbooks I never read, late night cram sessions, trying to understand math and being a poor college student. This was it, my time to shine, and my time to change the world with an amazing career as a television journalist {that’s what I wanted to be at that point in my life}.

That colorful feeling lasted about a month until I soon realized getting a job was a lot harder than it sounded. My heart just wasn’t into television anymore and I was simply lost. Hundreds of miles from home with no family around me, completely on my own financially with no job, wonderful… I panicked and took the first job I could find, Account Executive at Clear Channel Radio in Syracuse, NY. Whoopie. Now my bright and cheery outlook on life was grimly entertained by sitting behind a desk surrounded by grey tweed walls, a computer screen, excel spreadsheets and a sales quota trying to figure out how I was going to pay my rent, car payment and student loans while making peanuts. That was the brutal reality of graduating college and setting out into the ‘real world’.

I’m often times not very good at hiding my emotions when I’m unhappy so I don’t know if it was the look on my face or the tone in my voice that sent a clear signal to a co-worker at the time that I was just NOT having it anymore. I was fed up, this isn’t what I wanted and I wasn’t going to just “deal” with it. What was my new plan?
As she walked passed my desk she handed me this article and told me to stop spending my life doing something that didn’t make me happy.

{Enter, Steve Jobs}

I read this article approx. 75 times across the next week and really thought long and hard about what I was going to do. One morning I didn’t think about it anymore, I was done, I knew what I needed to do. When I arrived at work I walked into my managers office and put in my 2 weeks notice. “I’m sorry Ron but this just isn’t my bag” Ron of course tried to convince me to stay with promises of better training and one on one attention. With this article ringing in my head I declined, packed up my belongings and never returned.

While I was a lost and struggling graduate I held onto this article and read it many times when the going got tough.

Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

Still searching and still looking, I knew my passion would be something that exercised my creativity and I knew it would be working with my hands. After I thought long and hard about what was stirring inside of me a light bulb went off. Aha!

{Enter, Photography}

Trust the dots will connect down the road, this will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well worn path, and that will make all the difference.

I had no money for a camera, shit; I could hardly pay my rent! So what did I do to start on the path towards this wonderful journey of photography? What any normal 22 year old would do, I googled. I soon became an assistant for Tom Wall, who was kind enough to lend me his extra camera to learn on and teach me the basics of the biz.

{Fast forward through 2 more corporate jobs, which led me to Boston}

Now with a website and a few years of wedding photography under my belt my most recent corporate job brought me to Boston where I currently reside. In a fresh new city with a great promotion I was living the high life and photography took a mini hiatus. Though, it wasn’t long before I started getting the ‘caged songbird fever’. I pulled out this article and read it a few times while deciding whether I was going to take the ultimate plunge… going full time with my photography business.

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

I finally smartened up and with the support of my family and friends I decided, what did I have to lose? Yes I wouldn’t be getting that steady fat paycheck and bonuses anymore and I wouldn’t have healthcare… Those 2 things alone did not weigh enough to put my mind at ease. I had struggled before and could certainly live frugal until I got back on my feet again. But how was I going to tell James? James was my manager at the time, the guy who believed in me and gave me so much opportunity in the corporate world. James knew me and knew that photography was my passion, he understood and with no hesitation said that I needed to do what made me happy.

June 1st I finally took this business full time and because of all of your love and support {you, the one reading this} my business has been growing at an alarmingly rapid pace!

Just like Steve Jobs said in his speech I can say now with a giant smile from ear to ear. “Deciding to ‘start over’ was the best decision I’ve ever made. I am now in the most creative period of my life” and I am the happiest I’ve ever been. I may work significantly more hours and make significantly less money for the time being. But I would not trade today for anything in the world.

Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

To all of my bloggies far and wide… Please know that if you have passion stirring inside of you DON’T IGNORE IT. Act now; find a way to make your dreams come true, you have nothing to lose. Don’t listen to the critics or the negative nancies that will tell you you’re crazy and give you a hundred reasons why it will never work.

Know that your dreams will come true if you let them!

“We’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time”

Rest In Peace, Steve.

Adam and Lizzy were the most chill bride and groom I’ve ever experienced. Throwing tradition to the wind, they hung out together before they exchanged nuptials at the Codman Estate in Lincoln, MA. With a calm atmosphere and good vibes all around, Adam helped Lizzy slip into her dress, Lizzy picked out Adam’s tie while ordering her pre-ceremony glass of wine!

In the midst of my own wedding planning craziness, Adam & Lizzy really brought my feet back down to earth. This day wasn’t about fancy centerpieces or the most creative place cards you’ve ever seen. It was about simplicity. It was about the true meaning of exchanging vows…

The focus of their day was on, LOVE!

Venue: Codman Estate
Caterer: Tastings

I often get asked the question “what are you like at a wedding?” Besides the fact that you can’t wipe the smile off my face and that I LOVE my job, I’m vivacious, jubilant and love to capture your energy and spirit.

My theory is, you can never look bad when you’re having fun and I can pretty much always make you look good!

Here is a little home video Justin took while I was shooting Aaron & Alycia’s wedding.

As a photographer of love, my main goal is to capture the spirit of a couple and the love they that they share.

With Al & Sarin this was no challenge at all, they are such warm hearted people {clearly}. They are light spirited and within one conversation with them I could tell they enjoy life as much as each other (note: yes they are actually rolling around in the grass in their fancy clothes = LOVE!).

{Passionate. Happy. Fun. Classy. Chill.} These are the immediate words that come to mind when I think of Al & Sarin.

I always make sure my clients are happy and having fun when I’m documenting their moments together, but this time was different… I didn’t need to entertain or loosen them up. I asked them before hand to pretend they are on a date and to ignore me as much as they could! Clearly this was no problem for them and I captured some truly beautiful moments.

…one more, sealed with a kiss!

I love how much fun they have together!

Taking it all in

And they WILL live happily ever after…

Beautiful smiles, sunshine and fresh air… That’s what was in store for Labor Day 2011. I had such a great time hiking and hanging out with the Papadopoulos family.

You know…kids always fascinate me, Theo {love his name} was so engrossed in exploring this new territory that he hardly noticed I was following him around with a giant camera!  Here are a few moments I captured from our time together.

Whenever we get hit with an ice storm, snow storm or even a tropical storm I feel like it’s god’s way of saying “slow down”. When we lose power, we lose internet and the world as we currently know it… facebook, google, skype, TMZ.com… are no longer at our fingertips.

No more computer in front of your face, no more watching TV… it’s just you, your friends/family and your imagination.

I believe It’s good for the soul.

Maybe storms aren’t such a curse (if you get out safe) but more of a blessing in disguise. Sometimes I feel we all just need to stop and smell the roses, take a look around and enjoy the little moments we rarely stop to notice.

During the hurricane Justin and I finally got a day together alone. Rarely does that happen these days so when it does, we REALLY soak it up.

So what did we do you ask?

Well, we did what any sugar-licious people would do and baked chocolate chip cookies!

We weathered the storm and drove to Whole Foods in our rain jackets and swim shorts. We grazed the aisles as we were the only 2 in the store!

After we got home, we put on music and had a cookie party

Well, really Justin baked the cookies while I practiced shooting in low light! Something I am determined to nail.

Finally, we got to chat about nonsense, have a staring contest and eat amazing food until our belly’s hurt!

I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes “THE TIME YOU ENJOY WASTING IS NOT WASTED TIME”.

Sometimes we feel rushed, stressed and overwhelmed just trying to pack in work, social life and staying healthy and active. How do you balance it all and still sneak in a day of “wasting”?

I suppose if you are productive in the time you’re “wasting” it’s ok… especially if it’s a yummy treat you’re cookin’ up!!!

After the storm was all said and done, we lost power only sporadically, luckily not during the baking portion of our day. No one in our neighborhood was harmed and we escaped with a few branches in the front lawn, thank you god!

The day after the storm was as calm and beautiful as can be… as if the storm washed away all the stress.

This personal post, if  you chose to read it, is a visual reminder to enjoy a moment of love, a dream, a laugh, a kiss and cookies

Soak up the last days of bikini, beach and BBQ weather SLOWLY and with intention…

How many times have you sat and pondered what to get the friend who has everything? {uhhh, countless times for me!} Or how many of you never know what to get Mom & Dad for Christmas? Why not give something  you know they DEFINITELY don’t have – custom fine art photography!

{Queue the Music}

Ta-Da! Give them an April K photoshoot. Such a unique gift to give at Engagement Parties, Wedding Showers, Baby Showers and simply “just because custom photography rocks”!!!

{This 5×5 gift certificate is printed on high end pearl paper & comes with envelope}