Darice Michelle Photography

Category Archives: Inspirational

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2010 New Year’s Surprise

December 31, 2009 – 11:19 am

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What other nice way is there to bring in the New Year than to be voted as one of Florida’s Best Wedding Photographers for 2010! It is an honor to have been selected and want to thank all my amazing bride’s and groom’s for your votes and support. All of the weddings I have photographed has impressed upon me a sense of appreciation and value in relationships.

I have been photographing weddings here in Jacksonville for 5 years and am so grateful for all the wonderful people I have met along the way. So many of you have become dear friends of mine and I am so thankful for the opportunities I have been given to make your special moments last a lifetime.

Here’s to another New Year, may we all embark upon more great memories and press on to your goals, hopes and dreams for 2010.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

By admin | Also posted in Weddings | Comments (2)

The Holiday Tent

November 24, 2009 – 10:23 am

Back in April of 2007 I posted in my OLD BLOG about how after watching the movie, The Holiday Tent, I was inspired to make a tent for my own children. So many of you STILL send me emails asking how I made it, I can’t believe it! I never knew my copy-cat tent making would be so contagious to other moms. ; )

Here is my old post but this time, as best as I could remember, I talk about HOW I made it! I hope some of you parents out there get a chance to try this out at home, it was VERY special to my kids and every once in a while they still mention how much they loved it when I made this for them!

The Holiday “Tent”:

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The Tent I Made For My Kids:

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The tricky part to getting the tent to work is you have to put together two wooden squares. I don’t remember the dimensions anymore, but I created a small as you can see below then make a larger one so that the blankets and sheets would spread out leaving plenty of space for the kids to stand and play inside. Drilling holes into each side of the square I tied rope (as you can see in the photo) in order to connect the smaller top wooden square to the bottom wooden square. Now what you can see here is that the rope actually continues from the top small square through the top of the actual tent which I brought all four pieces of rope together and secured/tied it to a plant hook that was screwed into the ceiling. We then draped blankets and sheets over and used one chair to the left to keep our tent longer. We did safety pin the blankets together so that there weren’t any unwelcomed “doors” : )

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We even made similar stars that the movie tent had hanging from inside. We cut out stars from card board paper, painted, glittered and decorated them. We safety pinned them to the top of the sheets and blankets while suspending them down using ribbons so they would hang.

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We brought in a small lamp for light and, pillows and blankets to snuggle up with while we camped inside our home-made tent.

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Miranda’s friend came over to get in on the phone. Our tent became quite the hang out spot for two weeks!!

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My daughter misses having this fish tank. I can remember all the hard work it took to maintain this thing! We use to change the backgrounds to the tank and alternate between different fishes and plants, eventually we ended up with real plants and exotic fish, it was quite impressive and soothing to just watch the fish aimlessly around the tank.

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Well there you have it. For all of those that send me emails STILL about this tent, here it is. I hope my ideas will build upon your own. Good luck in your tent making projects!

Darice

By admin | Also posted in Helpful Tips, Just For Fun, My Personal Life | Comments (0)

The Kopp Family

October 18, 2009 – 4:48 pm

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(Photo of Romeo Seahawk Helicopter was taken from the web)

Two month ago, I attended a military “Hail and Farewell” party…. well actually it was more like a “hail and hail” party since no one in the squadron was leaving for deployment rather the squadron was welcoming in some new members to its team.

I had the joy of meeting Ken & Daisy Kopp who hosted the party. Ken is the XO (second officer in command) for the Navy HSM-70 Spartans Squadron here in Jacksonville, FL. Ken, along with the other pilots have truly inspired me. I will be the first to admit how ignorant I am when it comes to the military and all they do for our country, but I know enough to say that I am very grateful for the sacrifices they make in order to keep us safe and protected.

To learn more about the Navy HSM-70 Spartans check out their website. Maybe next time you see a Romeo Helicopter fly above you, you’ll know “who” they are : )

The song used for the Kopp Family slideshow was hand picked by them and therefore very meaningful to the family. Soon, Ken will be leaving on ship for several months and their oldest son will be going off to college. The song, “I Will Remember You” depicts their common feeling of absence and the emotional realities that will strike them during this departed time. Yet, I can only imagine the excitement and long overdo reunions that will be celebrated when this family returns to each other and their familiar haven.

Watching their slideshow and listening to their song touches and grabs at my heart! I think about what they all must give up as a family for our country.

For all you military families out there, I am sure you will appreciate this slideshow and fully understand the scope of what it’s like to be on the other side of the “civilian” lifestyle. I think we can easily take for granted those that are with us on a daily basis…. maybe the Kopp family will grant us a new perspective and come to cherish and devout our time to our families whenever we have the chance to. Thank you to the Kopp family and anyone else who serves in the military!

The Kopp Family:

The Kopp Family from Darice Michelle on Vimeo.

Also…. something I did on my own for Daisy who not only loves her husband very dearly but I felt it appropriate to make a whole separate slideshow for just the two of them. Daisy is one of the sweetest, compassionate and most giving woman I know. With Ken’s big heart to save & protect our country and Daisy’s generous soul, it’s no wonder these two are together. I felt that creating a slideshow of just the two of them with a song I picked out for them felt very fitting for not just how Ken is as a husband and father, but who he is as a person too.

Ken and Daisy, may you both only grow closer when you are apart!

Ken and Daisy Kopp from Darice Michelle on Vimeo.

By admin | Also posted in Portraits | Comments (0)

Uplifting Consultation Meeting

July 14, 2009 – 11:40 pm

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Part of my job as a photographer is meeting with brides and grooms who are researching and interviewing many photographers to see who will be their “perfect” photographer for their wedding. Most consultation meetings start out with me finding out who the couple is, how they met, what their wedding details are and then the couple looks through my selection of wedding albums they can choose from when designing their own photography package.

I really like to “get to know” the couples because although “I” am being interviewed, what they don’t know, is that I am interviewing “them” too. I think it’s so important that we’re a great match for each other because we will spend so much time together…everything from the engagement session, before the wedding, at the wedding and all the time we will spend together after the wedding regarding their photos and designing their album to their preference. It matters greatly to me that we have a great relationship from start to finish because I love what I do and I want to be their source of joy during this very precious part of their lives.

Well today, I had a consultation appointment in Fernandina Beach and I left so filled with life and joy upon hearing her love story! Listening to Lindsay’s story for how she and Justin, her fiance, met was a great story, one that I just have to share! I think their story can build so many people’s faith in the power of “what is meant to be will be” regardless of what you do or don’t do!

Lindsay was not looking to have a relationship with anyone for she truly enjoyed being single; however, there was something in store for her that would change her outlook on relationships.

Lindsay met Justin at the Brix, a dance club here in Jacksonville Beach. She noticed him right away and knew right away he was something special. She knew she just had to meet him, there was something about him that caught her attention so after getting into conversation with his friends, she was able to speak with him. After Lindsay and her friend were done talking with Justin and his friends, she just left. Didn’t ask for his phone number nor did Justin ask for hers. She left not knowing if she would ever see him again.

The following day, she and her girlfriend had plans to spend a relaxing day basking under the sun on Jacksonville’s beaches. But when they arrived, moments later, an approaching dark cloud filled them with disappointment. Reluctantly, they had to leave and decided to spend some time at the Lemon Bar, an outside bar located right on the beach. As soon as she walked in, right away she noticed JUSTIN was there too! Their paths crossed again, JUST A DAY later after they initially met!

Justin and Lindsay fell in love and now they are getting married on December 19, 2009!

They have an adorable website that tells their wonderful love story that you can check out on their personal wedding website. I hope their story uplifts you as much as it did me.

By admin | Also posted in Brides | Comments (1)