Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.  ~Seneca

Truer words were never spoken. We have BIG plans for the summer.  Hint, hint, the above photo (taken by Keith in 2004) might have something to do with it. Stay tuned.

“Drybar is a brand new “blow dry bar” concept created around a very simple idea: No cuts. No color. Just blowouts for only $35. You see, we believe that almost everyone (even us pros) prefers having someone else blow out their hair. Why? It just looks better! We also believe there has to be a better option than paying $60+ at a traditional salon, or going to a less-than-desirable discount chain. But there’s not. So, we decided to make one.” (taken from www.drybar.com)

A blow out…who doesn’t just love someone else doing their hair?  You know it never looks the same when you try and do it yourself.  Such a great concept!

Rhonda Rush of Impact Events was the super coordinator behind the opening events held at drybar scottsdale at the Scottsdale Quarter. The parties were a huge success. Lots of beautiful women with lots of potential hair that needs to be coifed on a regular basis, lots of mouth watering food from Fabulous Foods, delicious drinks, and lots of rumors of the Real Housewives of Scottsdale making an appearance.

Check out the gorgeous space on their website (nice job Keith!) or even better, visit them in person – right in the heart of Scottsdale Quarter!

OK, OK – I keep getting asked why there haven’t been any blog posts lately – I’ve even heard it from my mother! Well without making any excuses, we have been a bit busy.  We have been out there documenting some really cool stuff, great families, lovely weddings and all sorts of other fun stuff.

{Side Bar} We would like to thank Arizona Bride Magazine and all the fabulous voters out there who voted for us in the BEST OF 2011.  We are finalists in not one, but two categories:  Best Photographer AND Best Photo Booth.  How exciting. And we didn’t even know about it until another photographer brought it to our attention.  Had I known that we were in the running, I would have shamelessly begged you blog readers for some votes!  I think the winners are announced in July when the next issue hits the newstand.  Cross your fingers.

Last year, Keith Pitts Photography was commissioned to photograph the children for the permanent museum installations at the Halle Heart Children’s Museum in Phoenix.  Andrew Gartner of Gartner Design and Terry Duffy of Glyphics Design were the very talented designers behind the complete remodel of the American Heart Association’s museum. Keith enjoyed being part of such a fun, kid friendly project from inception to completion.

Over the course of this past year, lots and lots of children were photographed for a variety of installations within the museum.  It was just amazing to see the project begin with the idea (heart health with a kid friendly message) and then see the sketches turn into actual photographs and installations and eventually a completely renovated museum.  All I can say is that it came out GREAT! Congrats to all those involved. A job very well done.

About The Halle Heart Children’s Museum
The Halle Heart Children’s Museum is a nonprofit educational facility solely dedicated to empowering children and families to live heart-healthy lives free from cardiovascular diseases. The museum is committed to creating extraordinary child and family learning experiences that have the power to transform lives. Visitors can explore the human heart, animals, dangers of smoking, eating healthy, and the importance of 911 in a cardiovascular emergency, healthy cooking demonstrations, a market to learn about food labels and heart smart shopping, along with a 10-foot large human heart model. For more information about the Halle Heart Children’s Museum please visit http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Affiliate/Halle-Heart-Childrens-Museum, www.PhoenixHeartBall.org – or call (602) 414-2800.

The last week has been a whirl wind of gorgeous photo assignments – making us so happy to be in this business!  We love our jobs and we hope it shows!

Time just gets away. It is hard to believe first of all that it is October. It is also hard to believe that the much anticipated Garden Wedding on 10.10.10 at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens is behind us! Cara and Brett are married – and now we have lots of pretty pictures to share with everyone. It is fun to see all the details that were voted on come to life – simply stunning!

Congrats to the Botanical Gardens and Victoria Canada Weddings & Events for putting on one spectacular wedding! (and all the other wonderful vendors who worked so hard to make the event such a success – which we will feature with lots of great photos in future posts!)

How exciting, Cara & Brett’s wedding was featured today in the Arizona Living section of the Arizona Republic! Thank you everyone for making this day such a pleasure to photograph! Special thanks to Mikael, Keith’s second shooter, Brad and Kristen – who helped in so many ways to make a very busy weekend that much more enjoyable!

Don’t miss the slideshow on AZ Central!

Here’s a roundup of all the details for the Desert Botanical Garden’s wedding contest.  Readers of the Arizona Republic picked all the details for the 10-10-10 wedding. Cara Carboni and Brett Dusek won the contest, beating more than 250 other couples to win a wedding valued at more than $85,000.

Below are the poll results, with all but a few of the pictures taken by non other than Keith Pitts! Hard to believe the wedding is a little over a week away! The wedding is next Sunday, and Keith’s photographs of the wedding will be featured in the Arizona Republic on Tuesday, October 12th.  Stay tuned. I can’t wait to see how all these choices play out in pictures. It is going to be gorgeous!

THE WINNING COUPLE

Cara & Brett

HAIR, MAKEUP & JEWELRY

Winner: Whimsically Romantic

Hair: Up and swept to the side, accented with a flower.

Make-Up: More bronzing on the face with mauve tones on eyes with liner and berry lips.

Jewelry:

Bride: Pearls and Swarovski crystals wire wrapped together make these earrings delicately classy.

Bridesmaids: These Swarovski crystal triangle drops are the perfect, simple accent to the bride’s earrings.

THE CAKE

THE BOUQUET

The Winner: Sophisticated Elegance

Victorian decadence describes this octagon shaped cake topped with an ivory globe. Each tier is adorned with fondant swag, gum paste cameos and royal icing filigree.

The base is bordered with lustrous string pearls and rolled fondant roses. The orb is nestled in a bed of pink and peach colored fondant roses and purple violets and decorated with strips of fondant ribbon and royal icing vines. The cake is topped with a pearl dusted fondant bow.

THE TABLE SETTING

The winner: Natural Elegance

Classic boutonniere with hydrangea foliage and white gardenias, wrapped in ivory satin ribbon.

Rounded, lush bouquet designed with white hydrangea, fragrant gardenias and cream English garden roses, lightly adorned with vintage pearls wrapped in ivory satin ribbon. Accented with a silver and pearl vintage brooch.

Winner: Classical Romance

This more traditional option has echoes of romance! The Gold Beaded Charger will nestle the hand painted menu from Celebrations in Paper.

Tri-Rentals will set the table with Gold Flatware and a simple Opus Stemware creating a harmonious table setting for our round table. A punch of color through the Coral Underlay adds drama.

The Overlay and Chair Caps in an Autumn Tara Sheer from Southwick Linens create visual interest while maintaining the antique touch that our couple loves! A classic gold Chiavari Chair pulls the elements together.

Petal Pusher’s floral footed glass vase lushly filled with hydrangea, english garden roses in cream, pinks and coral with touches of jasmine and scented geranium will bring a refined floral feel to the Garden in October.

THE FEAST

Winner:  Grazing Action Station Dinner

Served to Each Guest
Caesar Salad Enclosed in a Garlic Tuille Collar with Chipotle Caesar Dressing

Station One – New England

Station Two – Texas

Station Three – Arizona Pasta Station

Dessert
Wedding Cake Served to Each Guest
Topped with Warm Margarita Sabayon, Prepared in View

Table Side Coffee Service
Regular and Decaffeinated Coffee
Hot Tea Selection

THE DETAILS

The winner: Botanical Chic

These on-of-a-kind, hand-painted watercolor pieces capture the vibrancy of the desert for this chic affair. These unique and artistics hand-lettered invitations set the tone for the dream wedding. Each piece showcases botanical desert elements.

THE ATTIRE

Cara’s Bridal Gown

The winner: Modern Elegance

Ivory Tissue Taffeta princess bridal gown, sleeveless jewel neckline, natural gathered waist with floral detail, open back, sweep train.

The winner: Classic Party

Satin strapless knee-length dress with diagonally draped bodice and full skirt with pockets. If this style is chosen, bridesmaid dresses will be in coral.

THE LOCATION

The winner: Botanical Beauty

Wedding Ceremony: Wildflower Pavilion

Join Cara and Brett as they say “I do” in the Wildflower Pavilion, an open air pavilion surrounded by wildflowers and twinkling rustic stars.

photo by Heather Kadar Photography

Cocktail Hour: Stardust Plaza

Their guests will enjoy bites to eat and cocktails in the unique Cactus and Succulent Galleries among the Garden’s most striking plants and cacti.

photo by Adam Rodriguez

Reception: Ullman Terrace

Dinner and dancing will take place on Ullman Terrace, where the Garden Butte features as a backdrop for a naturally stunning evening.

AZ Photos

After Party: Boppart Courtyard

The sun sets, twinkle-lit mesquite trees and spot-lighted saguaros highlight the beauty of the desert. The party will continue into the starry night with dancing, music, and laughter on Boppart Courtyard.

Desert Botanical Garden

Vendors participating in the Desert Botanical Garden’s wedding contest

The Arizona Republic / Channel 12 / azcentral.comCelebrations in Paper, celebrationsinpaper.com

Classic Party Rentals, classicpartyrentals.com

Desert Botanical Garden, dbg.org

Fabulous Food Fine Catering and Events,fabulousfood.net

Flipbook Memories, flipbookmemories.com

Garden Shop at the Desert Botanical Garden, dbg.org

Honey Moon Sweets, honeymoonsweets.com

Keith Pitts Photography, keithpitts.com

Latest Craze Productions, latestcrazeproductions.com

Liz Love Collections, lizlovecollections.com

Madison Avenue Salon & Day Spa, spamadison.com

Mancini Entertainment: Music Doctors DJ/MC, mancinientertainment.com

Miguel Rodriguez

Ollie the Trolley/Dunn Transportation, olliethetrolley.net

Petal Pusher, azpetalpusher.com

Pour Masters Bartending Service, pourmasters.com

P.S. Studios, Inc., psstudios.com

Simply Cinema, simply-cinema.com

String Serenade, stringserenade.com

The Swingtips, swingtips.com

Themers, themers.com

Twirl, Chandler and Scottsdale locations, twirlboutique.com

Southwick Linens, southwicklinens.com

Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, kierlandresort.com

Victoria Canada Weddings & Events, weddingsandevents.net

Well, we are really getting close now, The Desert Botanical Garden’s: The Garden Wedding is less than a month away, in fact it is only 2 1/2 weeks from now! We are getting down to the last few details. Here is the latest poll from the Arizona Republic:

Help the winners of the Desert Botanical Garden’s wedding contest pick all the details for their 10-10-10 wedding. Readers will help select everything from the ceremony spot to the wedding dress, flowers and appetizers.

Cara Carboni and Brett Dusek won the contest, beating more than 250 other couples to win a wedding valued at more than $85,000.

Vote now for a crucial part of the wedding – the bridal style! Cast your vote on Cara’s hair and makeup and her and her bridesmaids’ jewelry. Come back Sept. 28 to see the winning look.

As always, the lovely photos were taken by my handsome husband: Keith Pitts!

Hair and makeup provided by Madison Avenue Salon & Day Spa

Option 1: Whimsically Romantic

Option 2: Classic Glamour

Option 3: Softly Chic

Well the time has arrived for us to change our wedding photography website.  I think we used the site (and it’s updated versions) going on four years.  It is hard to let go, but the time has come.  We decided to merge both the wedding photography site with the children’s (and pet) portrait site.  While were were at it, we figured we would include The Live Photo Booth – a trifecta.  So as to not completely overwhelm our audience, we will keep our commercial photography and event photography sites independent!

Check out our  website – and please let us know what you think! Comments are greatly encouraged and appreciated.

Here are screen captures from the wedding, children’s portraits and the live photo booth gallery pages: