strike a pose

I have this friend, Bec, who designs and sews amazing couture wedding dresses. She just launched her first line, Rebecca Cairelli, and it’s absolutely beautiful. Her designs are fresh, flirty and romantic with a little bit of sass that the modern bride is looking for. Her craftsmanship is amazing and the fabrics are to die for. Did I mention she’s been working on all of this while being a mama to 2 little girls, one that’s Isla’s age?

Bec was shooting photos for her website just before Christmas and she asked me if I would help model some of the dresses along with our friend Imani and a “real” model, Ari. It was such an honor to help her out. I had so much fun playing dress up, wearing fake eyelashes and a double-decker top knot. It made me want to get married all over again- and I think I’d choose to wear the Anisa.

You can check out her website for more photos of our shoot. (Thanks to Sergio Mottola for being such an awesome photographer!)

If you’re getting married, I highly recommend checking out her line, Rebecca Cairelli. She only has a few dresses so far, but she will take on a custom design if you don’t see exactly what you’re looking for.

And, of course, congratulations Bec, I’m so proud of you!

Featured: On to Baby

We’re so lucky to have our maternity shoot featured at On to Baby today. I have loved On to Baby ever since it started. It’s a great source for inspiration for events, photo shoots and anything baby related. Thanks, On to Baby, for featuring us and Jen, thanks for making us look so good.

Here’s the link to our feature.

newborn photos

Just wanted to mention Jen Fox featured Isla’s newborn photos on her blog yesterday. I would highly recommend using Jen for any of your photo needs. Jen’s laid back personality made our photo shoot so much fun. I love her style and that we got more than sleepy baby shots. She made sure we got photos of everything we wanted even taking photos of Isla’s nursery. The only thing I regret is having BJ participate in this second shoot; I didn’t even think of it until after it happened but it would have been nice to have a family picture.

Here is the link to our photo shoot on Jen’s blog. I would recommend checking out her other posts and especially the photos of her own adorable offspring Walker.

Thanks, Jen!

PS: I can’t wait to share Isla’s baby announcement with you all, Jen played a major part in the creation of that as well.

she’s here!

This post is long overdue, I realize that. It’s just so hard to tear myself away from this adorable little lady…

Isla (pronounced eye-la) Marie Louws was born on April 12th at 1:42 pm. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 3 oz. and 20 inches long. Our birthing experience was absolutely perfect and amazing. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. It’s amazing how quickly this little life enters your world and completely captures your heart.

We are doing great adjusting to our family of 3. One of my favorite things is watching BJ with Isla, he’s already the best dad to our little girl. I’m so thankful to have such a helpful and loving husband.

The photos above are by Images by Kristin and Pavlina Ortiz Photography. These ladies needed a newborn model for a practice photo shoot so I volunteered Isla. I think she’s pretty cute, but I might be a little bias.

maternity photos

I am happy to say our little girl has arrived! I will definitely share a few photos of her in a post in the next day or so, but before I did that I just had to show off our maternity photos done by the amazing Jen Fox. She featured us on her blog today so I only thought it fitting to feature her work on mine too. Her full post is here.

These are a few of my faves…

Jen went above and beyond and spent way more time than she should have with us- it was so much fun.

Jen was over yesterday doing the little lady’s newborn photos and I know they’re going to be amazing, I can’t wait to share them with you!