Links - Columbus MS Photographer

(I love Kimberly and Tim and I love their wedding!)

Since this week is going to be so busy, I thought Id go ahead and share some links to some of the stuff Im loving lately!


Im a HUGE art fan, and I came across these and cant believe they arent 3D or painted - some people are so talented... :)


Love these paper vases for a spring wedding, and I think they would be pretty easy and cheap to make if you were willing.


Looking for a cheap, easy way to have a fun after-wedding party for all your friends... this tip might just be the way to go.


Looking for a cheap, easy way to decorate a reception, shower or even a little girls room... then this tip might be the way to go (love how I worked that in twice, right?!).... I love it!


Im thinking about making this homemade dishwasher detergent... anyone want to try it with me?


Its a little late to be making Valentines, but there are so many uses for this - rewards for your kids, home made contests and coupons, lunchbox notes, etc....


Someone please register for this china... talk about being in love! Wow!


Will you be my bridesmaid? - I am so in love with this idea!


I talked about Lent last week, if you are interested, this post has a lot of good books for Lent - I love the idea of doing them as a family, and overall its just a good blog.


I need to make these cookies (and I need some rectangular cookie cutters too!)- they look amazing and would be perfect for showers or wedding receptions (or just eating at home all by yourself in front of a good movie) - all your guests would be totally amazed!


I LOVE huge canvas pictures. They make such a great statement and talk about a sweet piece of artwork thats super personal... these are what I personally have in my house.... email me and lets get you your own. I promise you will LOVE it too!


I am so, so in love with this super-colorful wedding... amazing... and that parasol arch - oh my, my - that is killing me! If any bride reading this is thinking about doing something similar, please hire me!


Like I said, I love art... and this exploding mirror is blowing my mind... at first glance, it doesnt look like much, but then really concentrate on the ceiling and the mirrored effect... wow!

So yep, its still a hugely, insanely crazy week... but we are making it! I am at Coopers Closet all this week in Columbus - its in the shopping center behind the Grill - and there is a ton of space (which means a ton of stuff!) this time, so its easy to browse and find what you are looking for - I love it! It was super crowded yesterday at the pre-sale which can only mean that the bargains are plenty this time so I wouldnt wait too long to get in here - tomorrow is 25% off day and Saturday is 50% off day, but its opening day for the public today (10-6) and like I said it was super crowded yesterday, so you dont want to miss all the good stuff! And while you are there, please come by and see me - Id love to say hey and chat for a minute... :)

Email me at talleyimages@yahoo.com

Crazy Week - Columbus MS Photographer

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So did anyone/everyone see the bridal insert in the Columbus and Starkville papers this past Sunday? Did you catch my ad? What did you think? I was advised by quite a few people not to use this particular ad because it wasnt very traditional, but I had to stay true to myself. And I love it. No reason why my alternative brides out there cant have a place and wedding photographer willing to see their dreams come to life as well... :)

If anyone has an extra copy, Id love to have it... I always try to give a copy to my brides who are featured and I am one short.... can anyone help a girl out? Email me at talleyimages@yahoo.com

I dont know who decided to make this week so crazy, but they did a good job. I have coopers closet all this week - including Saturday... also Sunday, I have the big Premiere Bridal show in Tupelo ($3 discount on tickets if you go to the website)- which includes set up on Saturday.... not sure if youre not involved, if you ever really realize how much prep work, set up, booth work and take down there really is - for both shows... so Sunday will be busy, busy... so no break this weekend for me... I guess its a good thing I love what I do... and I cant wait to meet all my new brides!

Yall come out to the show on Sunday - Im giving away a big discount and alot of fun prizes so it would be worth your while to come see me.... plus, they are giving out a prize for best booth so everyone at the show needs to vote, vote, vote for me!

Im going to try to keep posting all this week, but I appreciate everyone understanding that it really is a busy week... Im doing my best! I love all of yall!

Email me at talleyimages@yahoo.com - March is filling up really quickly - all my Saturdays are already gone, but I do have a few Sundays left and some weekday afternoons... Id love to hear from you!

Personal Friday - Columbus MS Photographer

Its Friday again, which means I share one of my own personal pics... this is me and Gabe in 2007 - he was not quite a year old yet.... we went to Sea World with some of my family. It was fun. Wasnt he the prettiest baby? We heard two things consistently with Gabe 1. "He is too pretty to be a boy", and 2. "he should be a baby model" - it got comical because we heard the first one so, so often... poor thing didnt have hair until he was about 2, and when it did finally come in, it was a beautiful, white blonde so it still didnt look like he had any hair.

He's still my boy today... he is a copy-cat of his mother... goodness gracious, I love that boy.

Happy weekend!

The Gustine Family - Columbus MS Photographer

See, I told you this session was coming up... and it was definitely worth the wait! How cute is this family?!!! Im like the luckiest person in the world in that I get to do what I love and my clients are the best - ever. And how amazing has this weather been lately - the Japanese Magnolias are in bloom and they are gorgeous!How cute is this face?!!! I cant get enough of it.Sweet dad moment.Sweet mom moment.Ive heard rumors that Rivers doesnt usually like strangers or really anyone for that matter... but I didnt really see any evidence of it - we were eating each other up. I think it goes without saying that I love kids (I guess you have to in this business, right?)... I just loved this little boy and could eat him right up.

Now that the weather is getting nicer, my calendar is starting to fill up... dont wait - the flowers are already starting to bloom - you dont want to miss it! Email me at talleyimages@yahoo.com with any questions - Id love to hear from you!

Ash Wednesday - Columbus MS Photographer

Today is Ash Wednesday.

Its such a beautiful tradition that is full of pain and hunger and longing... but it brings closeness and intimacy with something bigger than ourselves. It reminds us that we are but one.... but we can still do big things.

It all feels so existential.

Its too bad most people only consider it a Catholic thing.

It truly is a time of personal journey to find out where your allegiences lie - how much do you love yourself and how much are you willing to sacrifice.

Do we even know what sacrifice means anymore?

Lent. A time of preparation. A time of commitment. A time of healing.

Are you willing to step out of the box of what youve been told to do? Are you willing to go deeper? Are you willing to let go?

10 Years! - Columbus MS Photographer

So Im moving "Personal Friday" up to Thursday today... because its my website and I can... ha ha. But no really, today is my tenth wedding anniversary - 10 years ago, I was getting dressed in my wedding dress and fixing my hair and makeup... in about an hour, I would walk down an aisle to face the man that I loved. And I still love him - more than anything else in this world (except for maybe my kids, which are kind of an extension of both of us, right?)... Im not sure anyone would have naturally put us together or saw us making it this long, but we did... we did - we are still best friends, still in love, and he can still give me goosebumps with his kisses... and hint hint: today would be a good day for you to finally leave that comment.. :)

This was a pic taken when we first started dating - probably about 12 1/2 years ago... two crazy kids who thought they knew everything... :)And here we are today... not much has changed except for the hair And thanks to Daniel (and God above), I have three of the most wonderful treasures on this earth... I am greatly, greatly blessed.*Thanks to my awesome friend, Kent, for taking the latest pictures for me!

And let this serve as my notice... I will be "out of the office" starting today at 2:30 all the way until Tuesday morning. So if you dont hear from me or anything, that is why. If you really do need something, though, call mine or Daniel's cell phone.

Happy weekend... and dont forget about those comments... :)

Sneak Peek - Columbus Ms Photographer

Just a sneak peek of an upcoming session... :) Want to book your own session? Email me at talleyimages@yahoo.com

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Happy Valentines Day! - Columbus MS Photographer

A Happy Valentines to You!

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Personal Friday - Columbus MS Photographer

Since the theme of this week is all about Wallace and Emma's birthdays, for this Personal Friday post, I thought Id share what we actually did that birthday weekend - like I said, their birthdays are 2 days apart which is a bit stressful for this mama to even think about. Because I REFUSE to combine parties - its not fair to either and I wont do it, but thinking about having 2 parties in one weekend was giving me anxiety attacks... so I told Daniel that we were loading up and spending the weekend in Gatlinburg on a fun trip - and since its the middle of November, you can get a room for cheap-o, which I love... :) We all had an amazing, mostly stress-free time and Emma has already asked if we can go back again this year....

bonus: its still fall in November in Gatlinburg, so the leaves are still beautiful!Here is how we spent most of our days.... :)
Taken at a roadside park on the way home.... always a photographer... :)
If you read the other 2 posts, then you know this week did not start off well - actually it felt like a major disaster, but slowly things have been converting back to normal, and as of today, things are good... Im so thankful for so many things and my heart is just full on this Friday... :)

I cant believe no one wants to do a contest and win free stuff? When did this happen and arent we living in America... :)

Happy Friday and weekend.... email me at talleyimages@yahoo.com

Thank you - Columbus Ms Photographer

Can someone tell me who has been linking to my website and/or blog? Ive been getting alot of hits from there and I wanted to say thank you personally... but Im not sure who it is. So if its you or someone you know, please leave a comment or email me at talleyimages@yahoo.com - you have know idea how much it means for someone to support my vision.

Speaking of... Id love to do some vendor spotlights and giveaway - if you are interested, email me!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.... and tomorrow is Friday!

Emma - 5 year pics - Columbus Ms Photographer.

As I said in the previous post, I always make time for at least one photo session a year for each of my kids... and this was Emma's. Emma turned 5 just two days after Wallace turned 7 - it was a crazy weekend, so both of their pictures got pushed back a little. Emma is on the blog pretty often because she is my muse and I love working with her - I think the pictures will be easy to see why.
I couldnt decide between color or sepia - she has the most beautiful face.
Probably one of my all time favorite pictures... she looks so heavy metal, right?
Things are going a little crazy in our lives right now - so many ups and downs and bumps and bruises... but we are hanging in there - we wouldnt be Talleys if we werent stubborn to the core... I am doing my best to keep the blog updated, so thanks for being so understanding... :)

I want to have a contest - email me some ideas at talleyimages@yahoo.com :)

Wallace - Columbus MS Photographer

As Ive said, Im usually busy, busy, busy... and that leaves little time to take real pictures of my kids - sure I have snapshots aplenty, but not a ton of good pictures of them individually. So once a year, around their birthday, I take them out and get some good shots - to remember each year in there lives. These are Wallace's 7 year pictures.This is such a Wallace-face... :)Let me just go ahead and answer a few questions that you were probably wondering. Our adoption of Wallace took a total of 18 months - we first "found" him when he was 4 - and he was cute! We got to him right after he turned 6 - missing his birthday by 2 weeks (and that hurt my mama-heart), so this was the first real session that I had with Wallace, and if you cant tell he is a total ham... :) Wallace does have down syndrome, but dont let that fool you -he is one of the smartest kids that I know and definitely knows how to get what he wants. He is still cute, and funny and amazing.... and just as stubborn as the rest of us Talleys so he fits right in. He is 7 now and we are loving having him with us. If you have any questions - about adoption especially, Id love to answer or just talk or offer some support... email me at talleyimages@yahoo.com and lets talk.... :)