mommy | monday. strengthen your marriage.

I just came across this blog that may be of interest to you. It's all about ways to strengthen your marriage. You will find everything from creative date nights to daddy/daughter dates to crafts to book reviews... all written by 11 happily married wives and moms. Check it out for yourself! and since it's the "month of love" and Valentine's Day is next week...

wedding | wednesday. DIY boutonnieres.

I found this great tutorial for making your own boutonnieres. They are super cute and completely customizable. Just be careful, because I burnt my finger badly last week with a hot glue gun. ;) I think you could easily find these items at any craft store... it's just a matter of how you put them together. CLICK HERE for the full tutorial. You could do the same thing will real flowers... but, if you do it like this, you won't have to worry about them wilting on the wedding day... AND you get to keep them! :)

mommy | monday. make a snow globe.

So- the kids are home from school this week, and you may even be snowed in. :) This is such a fun craft that you can enjoy making and displaying the rest of the winter! Click HERE to learn how to make these.

wedding | wednesday. inspiration.

Just a little inspiration for the setting of an outdoor wedding. This particular look was created using burlap. For something a bit more formal, one could use patterned fabric or satin material. The possibilities are endless. :) But, it would sure look lovely in the photos!

results are in... here are your FINALISTS!

Thank you so much to all of you who entered our contest to win a Love Shoot photographed and styled by Heather Cherie Photography. We had amazing entries. Our team loved reading your stories of love, how you met, and how you imagined your story told. It was super hard to narrow down to finalists. Last week, we emailed 10 of you and asked you to take a stab at an inspiration photo for your session. Thanks for doing that - it will help give readers a better visual and hopefully got the finalists excited about the possibility. And to all you readers, please do consider the inspiration boards, but remember that Heather Cherie Photography is here to make the story really come to life - even better than the couple imagined. :)

And now - congrats to our 3 finalists! Please take some time and read their stories and vote for which one you would like to see come to life. Voting will end on Friday, March 19 at 11:59pm Central Time. Good luck to everyone!

Kevin + Jenny.

STORY.

Kevin and I have been together for 2 1/2 years. When we first started dating, I was struggling with endometriosis and going through the process of accepting that I would need to have a hysterectomy. Kevin immediately stole my heart because he was so caring. He came to visit me once and found me lying in bed in tears because of the pain; when he saw this he started crying too. That's when I knew he was the one for me. Two weeks after my surgery, he gave me an engagement ring, and four months later we were married. He has been my biggest support and inspiration through what I thought would be the most difficult time of my life ... every day with him is better than the one before! Now we are approaching our second wedding anniversary, and both of us will be finished with nursing school, and we are going to start the process of adoption! Life could not be any better! I thank God for my husband every day.

DREAM SHOOT.

One of our favorite movies is Pearl Harbor, and I love the clothing, everything from that era... I would like to experiment with that for our theme. It doesn't necessarily have to be shot in black and white, but I do like the quiet mood of this photograph.

INSPIRATION PHOTO.

Mark + Kim.

Submitted by their daughter.

STORY.

I have the sweetest parents IN THE WORLD!

Their names are Mark and Kim, and they'll be married 19 years in March of this year. Four kids later, they're still crazy in love :) They really are precious. I love my parents and I really look up to them. My dad has taught me what a Godly man, husband, and father really looks like, and my mother has taught me what it looks like to selflessly take care of your family and pour your heart into everything you do. These love-birds have shown my siblings and I what it looks like to put God first in a relationship, and how loving God first helps you love your spouse even more.

DREAM SHOOT.

My parents haven't had professional pictures of themselves taken in a LONG time, and I think it'd be a perfect gift for them... I haven't told them ;) I thought I could surprise them if they win. But I'm thinking they'd like a daytime shoot... maybe some outside (if weather permits) and some inside. Their style is pretty traditional. They'd look precious simply sitting next to each other holding hands :) So you could totally just have fun with it and they'd love it. My dad plays guitar, and even wrote my mom a song for their anniversary. I found this picture of a couple sitting together, and thought it would be cute if my dad could be playing his guitar to my mom in some of the pictures.

INSPIRATION PHOTO.

Nathaniel + Shelby

STORY.

Nathaniel and I were best friends for a long time - the kind of friends that always made each other's day a little brighter. After two years of sharing our break ups, family struggles, frustrations and those secret things you can only tell those special people, Nathaniel took me to a secluded place on our college campus and shared one more thing with me - a song. He grabbed his guitar and played "Dream On", a song he wrote about his feelings toward me. Years later, Nathaniel added another verse to "Dream On", a verse about the changes in our lives as we moved on toward marriage. That song was played on our wedding day to remind us where we started and how wonderful a journey our relationship has been. We always smile, thinking about those next verses to that sweet song - having children, watching them grow, living and loving each other through it all. Every season in our lives seems to be a song. And thanks to that song, I don't just have to "dream on" anymore - I get to live a dream every day with Nathaniel. My dream come true.

DREAM SHOOT.

I would love to have a photo shoot that represents our love and our personalities. We both enjoy the little things in life, so I could see our photo shoot outside with Nathaniel's guitar. Since we love living out in the country, I could see a few pictures of us hanging out on the grass or possibly in the bed of Nathaniel's truck, sitting on colorful quilts, laughing and talking - maybe drinking Sonic slushies like we did on our first date! I would like early morning light most, but early evening would work, too. I envision a lot of green all around us and beautiful, bright colors- love the flowers in this picture!. I'd love just an intimate picnic setting with Nathaniel's guitar. Nate and I know how to have a great time, but I'd also love to get a few really romantic pictures - just how we would be in the middle of no where when no one is looking.

INSPIRATION PHOTO.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

dream love shoot contest.

Dream Love Shoot Contest.

Here is your chance to win a stylized photo session, photographed and stylized by Heather Cherie. This contest is open to any engaged or married couples. The photo shoot included will take place in the Springfield, MO area. Tell your friends!

To enter, please email the following information to heathercheriephotography@gmail.com

Names

Tell us about you two & your relationship

Describe your dream shoot. How would you want your love story told? (setting, props, time of day, etc.)

Attach a recent photo of you two

Deadline is 11:59pm on February 26, 2010.

The couples who inspire us the most will then be posted here – our wonderful fans will then get to vote for which dream photo session they want to see become a reality!

| cannot be applied to already scheduled sessions. good for the session fee and style consultation. cost of stylization may be a joint effort. images will be available for online proofing/purchasing. |