This is something I’ve wanted to do for a couple years now, is offer a free wedding photography package to a  couple to anywhere in the world. I’m very thankful of how lucky and blessed I am, that I feel the need to give back!

The Wedding Photography Giveaway includes the following:

8 hours coverage

DVD of high resolution images

Wedding Story online gallery

Engagement Session

How to Enter:

• Email to: heidi@heidihuberphotography.com Subject: Giveaway
• Contact information
• Wedding Date
• Wedding Location
• A photograph you and your fiancé (e)
• The Story of the couple (how you met, when you fell in love, why you deserve to win the contest, your life passions, etc)
• Make me fall in love with you!!!

Submissions must be received by: February 28th, 2010 with the winner announced on the blog Thursday, March 4th, 2010

The Fine Print:

• Couples currently booked with Heidi Huber Photography are not eligible.
• Wedding must take place in 2010
• Availability is subject to Heidi Huber Photography available dates
• Your story and photos will be shared on my blog
• Engagement session must take place in Reno/Tahoe (online proofing)
• The wedding can be anywhere in the World, however, if the wedding is outside of the Reno/Carson/Tahoe area, travel expenses must by paid by couple within 2 months of your wedding.

My last wedding of 2009 was mind-blowing. I had the opportunity to photograph Monica and Alex’s engagement session back in August in Oakland, and I never thought I would have as much as I could ever possibly imagine with Monica’s smile. She is radiant and the best part of her smile? The way Alex is all consumed with love for her. (I can hope to be as lucky as these two are!) Their reception was at the Claremont Resort and Spa in Berkeley with the ceremony at the Newman Center, also in Berkeley.  Their wedding planner was Jean Marks, and she and her crew were definitely the most helpful ladies for Monica and Alex’s wedding. Right when the daylight savings time ended, Monica and I were on the same page with the same thought. “Oh my gosh, there won’t be any daylight left for photos of Monica and Alex after their wedding.” After the ceremony we made it work, with a tiny bit of sunlight peeping through on the Newman Center that Alex noticed, I was able to get a few very very nice photos of the newlyweds. Monica and Alex’s suite was in the tower of the Claremont, and Monica’s bridal ladies decorated it for their first night as husband and wife. I wish I could photograph their wedding all over again. Thank you so much Monica and Alex! (Thank you! Thank you! Thank You! Thank You!! You are so freaking awesome!) Now come visit me and bring Jenny and let’s go play in the snow!

I met Danielle when I first moved to the San Francisco Bay back in 2005….if I am remembering correctly. She came up to me and said, “I’m going to have you photograph my wedding.” I was a little taken aback, not knowing at the time she was secretly stalking me, knowing all the weddings I photographed. I worked quite a bit with Danielle this year, and she still knows all the couples’ names of the weddings I photograph. It’s very very eerie. Danielle loves my work, and I love brides who love my work as I love couples that are so incredibly in love. I was very appreciative to photograph Danielle’s wedding. She told me that I was going to love Michael when I met him. I did. He’s so awesome. They are so lucky to have found each other. Danielle’s so chill and easy to hang with, I felt instantly close with her since she already knew how I worked, photographed and interacted with my photographic subjects. Michael was great, cause he wanted me to do whatever I wanted in regards of positioning. Thus I put the guys in the bathroom when I began photographing with them. Their ceremony and reception were at the Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley, amazingly beautiful location. I am so incredibly thankful to have photographed their wedding and to consider them friends.

This week has been very interesting to me as I wish I could’ve gone to visit my brother and his family near Seattle for Christmas, but I have to work Saturday morning at 8am. I’ve spent quite a bit of time being contemplative, as being a human, there is always something to wish for or desire of what I don’t already have. I am very thankful I can sanely spend time alone. I’m thankful for my family and friends who have their own dreams and desires to support me in my own. I’m very thankful I jogged 4 miles today and burnt almost 500 calories and that I have the lung capacity to do so. I am thankful I have two ski jobs this winter working at two different resorts teaching snowboarding, alpine and cross country skiing. I am thankful I have the time to go play (although sometimes I wish I could be working while playing). Yesterday, with nothing on the agenda or nothing that needed to be completely immediately, I took the day to visit Fort Churchill to try my hand at architecture photography. In hindsight, I wish I had gone when the weather was inclimate instead of blue skies, but alas, trying my hand similar to Ansel Adams (only in Nevada). I drove through Virginia City on my way back home, and I definitely figure when there is inclimate weather and when I’m not teaching, I will definitely be spending some serious quality time there. Here’s a few frames I found worthy of my travels yesterday. (and if you want to join me on an vintage excursion come spring, thinking the route along the US 93 - drop me a line)

Bethany is crazy. In a good way. Much like myself. She was willing to do just about anything for some cool photos. She wore white 8 hole Doc Martens on her wedding day.  Aaron couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Best of all, they gave little bottles of alcohol as guest favors. They were married at the Martinelli Event Center in Livermore, California on a warm November day and cool November night. I don’t think I took my jacket off at all once the ceremony started. Bethany, she’s hot blooded. She could handle it all. I don’t know about Aaron, he was wearing a tux all day. I think he was warm. They were so fun to photograph. Honest. I think I captured some really nice moments during their amazing wedding. Thank you for being so mind-blowing to photograph! Congratulations!

Carol and Steve married on a warm October Saturday at a family friend’s home in Carmel. They decided to do a first see at Carmel River State Beach and do some portraits before their wedding, so then after the ceremony they could go party with their friends and family. Carol and Steve are so carefree, while they walked and scrambled effortlessly barefoot on the rocks and my poor virgin feet were aching for my Dansko clogs after playing with them and their wedding party at the beach. On a side note, after photographing just about 200 weddings in my career thus far, Carol and Steve’s wedding was the first wedding I’ve photographed where the cake fell. The baker made a lopsided cake, which is definitely gorgeous, but some of Carol’s mother hens were very worried about the stability of the cake. I had taken some detail photos of it before the ceremony, but it was definitely interesting to hear a shocked gasp during dinner and immediately know that the cake fell. Carol was so cool about it, it didn’t bother her at all. I loved how relaxed of a bride she was. Thank you so much for having such a wonderful wedding and letting me be a part of it! Congratulations!

In October and November, I did quite a bit of contract work for a wedding photography company in the San Francisco Bay. I had this idea in my to create a collage, black and white on black backgrounds of all the couples I photographed. This is result of the four different day sessions on numerous couples. This project was so fun to create, especially with me learning and working with a makeshift studio and strobes. Hopefully I’ll come up with a cool spot on Lake Tahoe that I can take a photograph of each couple who I will be photographing their wedding, in all different seasons. (huh, Idea to add to my idea book). I have to give many thanks to the company (which I won’t name publicly, just because) for allowing me to photograph for them!

Last month Christie Mumm, Kelsey Rosser, Edem Thome, Raquel Sullivan, Courtney Wilson and Melissa Vossler and I ventured out to Nevada City to photograph friends of Christie’s, Isabelle and Olivia, and jewelry designer, Adrienne Cates Mineiro, who creates some freaking incredible pieces. I had such a great time primarily working with the 5D Mark II on video, shot very few stills, used a monopod as my tripod (instead of previously hand holding) but hey…I learn as I go. I found a day (today) to work on putting this together, and the first thing I always need is the music. In this case, after hours of listening to Radio Paradise and gathering suggestions from Adrienne, I decided on Goldfrapp’s Strict Machine for the music.

I really really enjoyed photographing Kristy and Chad at Half Moon Bay. They were perfect to completely interact with each other, and ignore me and let me do what I do best - capturing moments. Thanks again you two!

After digesting my Thanksgiving dinner Thursday I met up with Kristy and Chad who are getting married in Tahoe in August for their engagement session in Half Moon Bay on Friday. Friday was a pretty crazy day as driving down off the Donner Pass down to San Francisco was crazy weather, gorgeous light in Sacramento with clouds and rain in the East Bay, but luckily the coast had this late afternoon pocket of sunshine as the wind blew across the coast freezing us. Beautiful day with kite boarders and surfers along Half Moon Bay to Moss Beach. Kristy said she was up for anything, which is always what I like to hear as they played steps away from the high tide. Here’s a few of my favorites as a preview for the real deal to come later.