LOVE is in the air! Did you recently get engaged and are beaming with pride over the shiny rock on your finger? Want to flaunt it some more? In honor of all the love going around Ashley Turner Photography is holding a contest for you engaged love birds to show off your new bling!

What do you get for flaunting that shiny new rock? The winner will receive a free engagement session! PLUS the winners of each local Flaunt Your Ring contests will be placed in a national contest to win a grand prize worth $450+. The grand prize includes custom invites from Paper & Ink Studio, a wedding cake topper from Custom Cake Toppers, a custom clutch from Clutch That and a wedding accessory from Little White Chapel Accessories!

The Details:

• Submit 1 photograph of your ring & 1 photograph of yourselves (please do not submit images taken by another professional photographer).

• Encourage all of your friends and family to vote for you. The ring with the most votes wins!

• Engaged couples only.

• Email entries to ashley@aturnerphotography.com

All submissions must be received by midnight March 5th, 2010.

Entries will be judged by a panel of photographers who will narrow down the selection to 3 rings. The finalists will be posted on Ashley Turner Photography’s blog and the winner will be chosen via a public voting poll. Voting will occur between March 7-March 13, 2010. There are specific rules around voting that will be clarified during the voting round of the contest.

Winners will be announced on March 15th, 2010. Winning session must take place between March 22-May 1st. Winners must sign a release to allow Ashley Turner Photography to display images on blog, website, Facebook Business Page and any other print or web materials as deemed appropriate.

Don’t live in the Mid Misouri area? Have friends across the country? Check out these photographers who have Flaunt Your Rock contests running in other cities!

UNITED STATES

Boise, Idaho: Lucid Design & Photography: www.luciddesignandphoto.com/blog

Boston, Massachusetts: Helen Makadia Photography
Denver, Colorado: Keri Doolittle Photography
Seattle, Washington: Susan Berman of Whimsical Photo Design
Philadelphia and Main Line, Pennsylvania: April Ziegler Photography
Grand Rapids, Michigan: K. Holly Photography
Spokane, Washington: Cameron Glass Photography
Phoenix, Arizona: Jeanette LeBlanc Photography
Ft. Smith, Arkansas: Beaty Photography
San Jose, California: V&J Photography
Tampa/St. Petersburg: Stephanie A. Smith Photography

CANADA

Edmonton/Vancouver Canada: Jen Williams Photographer
Fort McMurray/Northern Alberta: Leslie Brown Photography
Powell River BC/Vancouver Island: Jennifer Kennedy
Central Interior, BC: Andrea Blair
Langley, BC: Cathy Empey

The Fine Print:

This is our contest, we make the rules. We have researched many different ways of voting and there are pros and cons and hanging chads in just about every method out there. This is how we have decided to run our contest. if it’s not a fit for you, we respectfully accept your decision to decline participation. We also know there are ways to work around the system, so we will actively monitor IP addresses and research anything that appears to be fishy. We reserve the right to disqualify any entry that appears to be suspicious.

All participants must agree to sign a model release allowing images to be displayed on Ashley Turner Photography’s blog. Winning participants must sign a release allowing images taken by Ashley Turner Photography to be displayed on web site, blog, Facebook and print advertising sources. Participants must also agree to standard Terms & Conditions of Ashley Turner Photography.

Regular session terms and conditions apply.

Sophia & Matthew’s Connecticut Wedding

Sophia and Matthew called me just a couple of months before their January wedding. Sophia’s sister in law is on a online photography forum with me. We had never met in real life until the wedding but she suggested to Sophia that she should check out my website. They did, and they liked it! So, they flew Susan and I out to shoot their wedding. What an amazing experience it was! At the last minute we were invited to the rehearsal dinner where a Ancient Korean Ceremony (Paebaek Ceremony) was held. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. Sophia has several aunts that flew in from Korea for the wedding and helped with the ceremony.

Susan grabbed this photo of all of the women helping Sophia with her ceremonial clothing

The wedding day itself was so very special. Sophia got ready at Matthew’s parents home. I don’t know that I have ever met anyone that was so filled with joy. I felt like Sophia could burst at any moment she was so happy. Just spending the day and listening to her stories and her incredible faith was such a blessing to me. On top of just hanging out, I got to photograph it too. I’m a lucky girl =)

This is my friend Kelly. Isn’t she pretty ?

So thankful…

See what I mean? JOY!!

Sophia picked these rosary bracelets up when she was visiting the Vatican. They were her gifts to her bride’s maids.

Sophia, you are stunning.

Reading a note that Matthew wrote her moments before the ceremony.

I think Matthew told me this is the 2nd oldest church in Connecticut. Absolutely gorgeous.

We had a few moments outside of the reception to do some shots. I LOVED the light we had. Perfect.

Seriously, who ever would have thought that we could shoot outside in Connecticut in January?!

If you would like to see a lot more, CLICK HERE to see the SLIDE SHOW!!!

Matthew and Sophia,  It was such a pleasure.  Thank you for everything!

Sarah and Jason were married on January 2nd in St. Charles, MO. It was sooooo COLD! But, that didn’t matter. The day was incredibly beautiful and warm. Not to mention the place they were married (The Conservatory) looked like a we were in a beautiful garden in the middle of the summer. I have known Sarah since she was in Jr High so this was extra special for me to be able to document the beginning of her new life with Jason. So happy for them both!

See, icy cold outside, warm and cozy inside.

Lots of tears and lots of laughs

And then we braved the cold for a few portraits. I am so glad we did!

I can’t believe it is already 2010. 2009 was truly an amazing year for me and my business. I feel so blessed to be able to do photography as my full time job and I just want to thank all of my amazing brides and grooms. You guys make my job so much fun and I LOVE that I get to share your wedding day with you. I have put together some of my personal favorite shots of the year and wanted share them with you all. So, here they are (in no particular order)

I may have gotten a little carried away but I LOVE what I do and I LOVE my couples. I wish you all a wonderful new year as you start your lives together and thank you for letting me be a part of your beginning. I can’t wait to see what 2010 has to bring. I have already shot my first wedding this year so stay tuned for lots more.

Wedding of a Friend

Kami and I go waaaaayyyy back. Okay, not that far but we were roommates in college and a couple of years after college. When she told me she was getting married, I could not have been happier for her. I was not officially the photographer but she had a super small wedding at her mother’s house with NO photographer so, I just couldn’t let that happen!

Isn’t she gorgeous?!

Kami’s niece’s insisted on her wearing their Princess Jewelry. I just love these two photos…

Emotional toasts.

Mom, grandma & sister

I love shooting in Downtown Columbia on Sundays.  It is usually quiet, only a few people mingling around and hardly any cars.  Except for THIS Sunday.  There was a Christmas Parade!  Oops.  So, we shot a few and then relocated ourselves.  I guess I will check from now on.  Why are they doing a Christmas parade before Thanksgiving anyway?

Here are some of my favorites from the day.

I really love this one.

I LOVE the fall and Hannah and Jason had the perfect fall day for their beautiful wedding. The sun was shining and making the trees just glow with amazing color.

I love it when the bride and groom see each other before the wedding because we get to capture cute moments like these:

Look at all of these pretty girls! I think they picked the perfect colors for their fall wedding.

Susan grabbed this gorgeous shot right before the wedding started.

Hannah and Jason-  I am so happy for you guys and your wedding day was perfect!  Enjoy your SLIDE SHOW

Ellen and Tyler were married on the 10th of October in downtown Columbia. It was a gorgeous day and a gorgeous wedding. They are a super sweet couple and it was such a joy spending their special day with them.

Some details at the church

Getting ready

Ellen was a BEAUTIFUL bride.

I LOVE this moment.

It was really cold!

The reception was at Old Hawthorne

The sun decided to come out during the cocktail hour so we slipped out for a few more photos in the really good light.

Reception details. She used apples as the place cards. So cute.

The cake was done by Edith Hall, Cakes with a Personal Touch

The Flowers were done by Christy and Company in Booneville

One of the groomsmen had Tyler’s favorite beer from Colorado delivered for the reception. What a great surprise!

Ellen’s niece sang for their first dance. How sweet is that?

If you want to see more, click here for the slide show. Ellen and Tyler, Thank you for everything. Susan and I enjoyed your day so much!

Maureen and Matt are getting married next year.  Maureen is living in Chicago right now while Matt is finishing up Med school in Columbia.  They met their Freshman year in College in a class at Mizzou.  We headed over to campus for some photos.

Little Roan just turned one.  His mom has been trying to set up photos with me for some time and it finally worked out for us.  We didn’t have the prettiest day of the year but it wasn’t raining!   I have known Megan and Grant for years and it is so great to see their little family grow.  Here are some of my favorite shots: