Brittany and Elliot are a very special couple who will be featured on this blog a few times over the next few months. I know many of you have read their story on my previous post about their wedding and what myself and local vendors had teamed up for. If you want to read more of their story head on over here….

And a slideshow of the full session….

This session was really special to me because it was the family that I nominated for the Giving is Awesome campaign. Sandi had been saving money to have a session with Sweet Serendipity Photography adn then learned that her mother was diagnosed with cancer. She planned to instead purchase a session with her siblings and her mother so that her mom could have professional pictures of her family before she began radiation and chemotherapy. We met earlier this week (on one of the coldest days I can remember!) for their session at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. It was so cold, in fact, that the gardens had all of their plants covered to protect them from the freeze. We found a few pretty spots for these pictures.

Thank you for allowing me to have this session with you guys and I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!
The sisters.

Sandi and her twin sister Brandi.

And with mom who is so healthy and beautiful looking here.

The girls…

Love this one of mom by herself….

I just love being able to give back to the community in any way I possibly can- so when Allison from Eventures by Allison contacted me about donating a session for the silent auction at a local Pit Bull Awareness Day I was thrilled. Claire and her hubby Joe were the lucky winners of the silent auction, so yesterday I met with them and their three adorable dogs for our session.

We had a great time, and with three very excited dogs I was sure to get lots of puppy love and kisses. Here are a few favorites from their session.

The stars of the show:

Mama and her baby Shea who is 13 years old.

And these two might be one of the most adorable couples of all time.

It was great to meet you guys and I am so excited that such a nice family was the winner of my gift certificate! I hope you guys enjoy the sneak peek!

You know someone. You know someone who’s experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can’t afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family’s spirit, love, and beauty.

You know someone. I guarantee it.

I want to know who they are, and I want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography — $1200 worth, to be exact. Whether it’s wall art or digital files, prints for Grandma, or a slideshow to watch over and over, it’s in your power to give them the artwork they deserve this holiday season.

Oh, and the best part? The person who nominates the winner receives a complimentary session, a $100 value. What better reason to show some love could there possibly be?

The rules:

* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing my services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)

* The nominee must reside in within 30 miles of Alachua County, Fl.

* Tell me who you know, what they’re experiencing, and why they deserve my artwork. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.

* You must e-mail me the full story : jaime@sweetserendipityphotography.com by December 23, 2009.

* The winner will receive a complimentary on location photography session, a slideshow of their session, the Gallery print collection, and all of their digital files on CD with print release. That is a $1200 gift!

The winner will be announced on Christmas Day — what a wonderful present for this deserving family! Get nominating! I can’t wait to read all of your entries!

Open your heart to someone this holiday season — and thanks for giving me the opportunity to open mine.

With love and many many blessings,

Jaime

A few days I got asked by my new friend Shandon Smith of Lifeprints Photography if I would like to join her in a top secret venture. Top secret as it is perhaps one of the MOST exciting opportunities to come along for Sweet Serendipity Photography, but yet we had to keep it under wraps. Needless to say I was bursting at the seams! But today I finally got the go ahead to make the big announcement.

ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition (Yes, the show with Ty Pennington! Yes, the show that does amazing things for amazing people! Yes, the show that I can’t get through the first 5 minutes of without tearing up!!) is coming to Gainesville to help out a local family. And of course every minute of this event deserves to be immortalized- and Shandon and I will be the ones photographing the event. It is a huge undertaking but I knew when she asked me that there was absolutely no way I could NOT be involved in this.

For now, TV 20 will be announcing lots of helpful information about Extreme Makeover Home Edition and their visit to Gainesville. Ark Remodeling is taking on the project and has lots of information on their site, as well as a place where you can sign up to volunteer to help out.

Shandon and I will both be posting pics and sharing updates via our Facebook Fan Pages. So now is the time to become a fan to be able to see all of this fantastic journey as it starts to take place! So head on over to Sweet Serendipity Photography and Lifeprints Photography on Facebook.

Travis is a Rescue Lieutenant with the Alachua County Department of Public Safetly. When he hasn’t been busy saving lives, he has been training for the Mr. Gainesville Bodybuilding Competition that took place this past weekend. Travis placed second in his weight class, quite an accomplishment for his first time competing. I met Travis in Jonesville at the new Station 17 for his photo shoot today. Since it is right before Labor Day weekend, and firefighters around the country are asking you to FILL THE BOOT, we will celebrate with an extra long sneak peek!

First we started in the weight room, a place Travis clearly felt at home.

Quite possibly my favorite from this session.

Then we headed out into the bay to use the backdrop of Tanker 17 for some photos.

Travis proudly showing off his trophy.

And then we headed outside for a few shots as well.

Travis posing with my two lovely assistants for the day. Here is the fabulous Kristina Patten, also a firefighter and the Union’s MDA representative for 2009. Kristina will also be posing for the calendar!

And my other “assistant”- my own darling daughter who loved posing with her Uncle Travis.

Hope you enjoyed this sneak peek and look for another one in ten days when we resume shooting! Tell your friends about the FRPAC calendar- presale info will be announced here at the end of the month!

Let me just say to start this whole thing off- I LOVE MY JOB. How lucky can you be then to be asked to collaborate with Alachua County’s fire department’s union to put together a calendar to benefit the MDA. It was so fitting to kick off Labor Day weekend with our first session because this weekend you will be asked to FILL THE BOOT and support the fire department, MDA, and Jerry’s Kids. So when you pass the firefighters standing in the intersections this weekend, make sure to drop some money into the boot for them. And if you still want to help out the MDA put some money aside to purchase the 2010 Fire Rescue Professionals of Alachua County calendar when it comes out in early November. The calendars will be available for presale as well in mid October. And guess what- you, my LUCKY blog followers, will be given a chance to vote for your favorite picture for the cover of the calendar. Votes will be $1.00 each and proceeds will go to the MDA as well.

We have two more full days of photo shoots scheduled, and sneak peeks will be posted on the blog from each session. Simply stated there will be lots of eye candy as the guys and gals of the Local 3852 strut their stuff. Look for the first sneak peek in the next post!