message in a bottle

Meet Megan and Chris!

Fun loving and fun and loving. 

I met Megan & Chris at The Charity Shoot Out hosted by Jen O'Sullivan at the Castle Green in Pasadena. It was a fun and crazy day meeting newly engaged couples looking for photographers to document their weddings. We had 15 minute portrait sessions with the couples that were interested in our work and then there was an auction to raise money for a local charity. It guess it was kinda like speed dating. Couples get photos, photographers, planners, and vendors meet couples, and the charity wins :) 

It's a brilliant idea and much more intimate than a giant wedding convention.

Check out the photos on my facebook photo page

I donated an engagement session to the auction thinking that perhaps an event planner might bid on it for a client or someone might gift it to a friend. I guess Megan & Chris must have had fun in out 15 minute session because they bid on me and won :) They were so excited because they wanted to do their engagement session at Disneyland wich is one of their most favorite places to be. I was totally game :)

We had a blast. They knew all the nooks and crannies to shoot in and had so much information on the history of the rides and the park and about Walt Disney. I had so much fun there running around the park with them making photographs.  In addiction to capturing their affection and playfulness with each other I enjoyed making some images of the park that they can hang as artwork on their walls. There were so many images from our shoot, but here are my favorites. To see more photos click here.

Megan & Chris are extremely thoughtful and creative. I love that they put my images to good use in a signing book, photos for their walls and in their wedding invitation.

They are getting married in Hawaii and what better way to invite their guests along for the adventure than with a wedding message in a bottle! 

ceremony is in the heart

Ceremony is in the heart

This is my Grandma Anna and Grandpa Salvatore D'Amore's wedding photo. This is only photo that I have from their wedding. It has great meaning to me, but leaves a great mystery of what their celebration and ceremony was like.

A wedding day is such an important marker in our lives and it's a gift to be able to reflect on the day with photographs. It's important to be reminded of the love and intention that was set forth between two people. 

My grandfather passed away before I was born and my Grandma Anna passed away in September 7th, 2006. She lived to be 90 and a day which I feel was a complete circle for her long life. We were very close, I photographed her often. She was an incredibly good sport about it and I miss her dearly. There are so many things I wish I had asked her. Especially now that I am a wedding photographer, I wish that I had thought to ask her about her wedding day. Who was there, what did you eat, did you dance, what music was playing, were you excited, were you nervous, what was grandpa like....? There is only this one studio portrait, so I have to leave the rest up to my own imagination. 

I believe that getting married is an act of honoring that you have found someone you love enough to commit to and share the adventure of life with. Life as we all know can be challenging at times. We are continually tested, and I believe in reasons to celebrate. I believe in ceremony. I believe in love. 

Whether a couple has a ceremony in a church, a court house, an lavish estate, thier own back yard, or a ballroom filled with amazing decorations, with or without religion...at the root of it all, I believe that true ceremony takes place in the heart. 

I feel honored to capture the love couples have for each other and document the story of their day.. their beginning of a journey together. I imagine that their grandchildren and future generations will be excited to hear their stories and revel in the joy, tears, and the laughter that they see in the photographs.

http://aureliadamore.com/

Aid Still Required: New Orleans

http://www.aidstillrequired.org

I'm proud to have documented this event. 

Aid Still Required is a great organization dedicated "to bring awareness to forgotten issues and support sustainable projects in the field to restore lives in those regions."

This particular event is raising money to help better the lives and the natural habitat of New Orleans.

Spread the word.... :)

http://stores.ebay.com/Auction-Cause-Charity-Auctions/Aid-Still-Required.html

New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward has not seen the recovery since Hurricane Katrina that other, more affluent areas have. It's now seven years since the disaster and there's almost no infrastructure in place - even the closest grocery is a long bus ride away, causing residents to buy their food at the local liquor store.

ASR is proud to be partnering with Common Ground Relief and the Dr. King Charter School to give the kids of the Lower Ninth Ward an alternative to their food and health choices through the Garden of Eatin' organic gardening and nutrition program. This school year the program will expand to include all grades, K-12.

Decades of dredging in the Gulf waters off the Louisiana coast, coupled with the construction of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO), have caused severe degradation of the coastal wetlands in and around New Orleans. Not only are these wetlands home to 25% of the total domestic marine catch, including shrimp, crabs, and crawfish, they have traditionally provided natural protection against surging hurricane floodwaters. Every 2.7 miles of wetlands can reduce a storm surge by one foot.

MRGO, often referred to as "the hurricane highway," is a direct outlet from the Gulf of Mexico to the inner harbor of New Orleans. According to Louisiana State University reports, MRGO may have made the storm surge 20% higher and two or three times faster as it crashed into the city. Due to erosion since its construction in the 1960s, the outlet is now three times wider than originally built and has developed shoals, which make it impassable to bigger ships - a major part of its original purpose. The Army Corps of Engineers has recommended that MRGO be closed, but the plan has yet to be approved.

ASR is researching various means of restoring the wetlands around New Orleans to serve as a natural barrier to future storms and to re-establish the region's native wildlife habitat.

ASR plans to support various means of restoring the wetlands around New Orleans to serve as a natural barrier to future storms and to re-establish the region's native wildlife habitat.

With its exposure to the BP oil spill, it has become even more imperative to save this refuge.

Photos from last nights event! Courtesy of Aurelia D'Amore Photography

http://www.damore.biz/

http://www.aureliadmore.com/

Please share these photos with the watermark included. Thank you.

also to download..... visit

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mmruvfeno2uddwi/01GOFLhmQE

Facebook Sharing...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.456772681034051.112828.158270390884283&type=3

Location: http://www.bugatta.com/

Band: https://www.facebook.com/TheOverstreetsJazzBand

ASR Board of Directors: http://aidstillrequired.org/board

Sponsor: http://www.lovatea.com/

Host Committee

Maroon 5, Randy Newman, Tim McGraw, Chris Noth and Alcon Entertainment

http://www.alconent.com/