Not much time to write now, but I just had to post a couple from this morning's sunrise engagement session with Holly and Ryan in Washington, DC. We were supposed to shoot yesterday afternoon, but the rainy weather prompted us to reschedule for today....at sunrise!  I'll admit it was a little painful waking up at 4:15am, but once we got out there, I was soooo excited, I didn't want to stop shooting!  I think our adventure around the city lasted almost four hours.  Whew! Holly and Ryan were absolutely amazing, and I can't wait to get back to Tampa so I can sort through all their photographs and post some more.  :)

After we finished shooting, I spent the afternoon at the National Zoo (pandas!!!), and now I'm super tired and ready for a good dinner.  My good friend Dervon is taking me and another friend, Rich (the Belize crew!) out to Oya.  She says it's pretty amazing, and I can't wait! 

Here are a couple of Holly and Ryan....you guys are amazing!!!  I'll be posting more soon! 

 

WOW!! I'm so excited about this, I hardly know where to start!  So....

Akenia e-mailed me several weeks ago wanting to do a Trash the Dress session, and she was ready to go all out!  Around the same time, Virginia Johnson from Tampa Bay on Demand contacted me to see if I had any upcoming Trash the Dress shoots that she could tag along on...they are running a series on wedding vendors, ideas for your wedding, and how to get the biggest bang for your buck when planning your wedding.  I feel so honored they wanted to hang out with me for the afternoon!  The timing was just right, and we planned an amazing session!

We started out at a little airport in downtown St Pete.  I'd been wanting to do an airport shoot for a while, but just hadn't had the opportunity.  I was so excited to be there!

 

Next we made a quick stop by some abandoned storefronts to get some good color and texture...Akenia brought along bright green Chucks, and they were perfect for this setting!  How cute is she!?  (She also made all of her own accessories, btw, just have to brag on her creative skills.)  You can also see CJ, the Tampa Bay on Demand photographer, shooting for the story.  I'm just bummed I didn't get any of Virginia!  (I'm sorry!!)

 

Next we headed over to the beach for some real fun!  Brandon was hesitant about getting in the water, but did an awesome job despite his reservations.  :)  Akenia was more like, "When do I get to go in the water?!?"  Heehee.  They were both fantastic! 

(On the inner lining of her dress, Akenia wrote all the words that came to her mind when she thinks of marriage, how cool is that!!  I told ya, she's a creative one!)

 

While we were shooting, we had kind of a little storyline that we were following: Young couple, in love, meeting at the airport to head out to some romantic and exotic destination....then their plane crashes on a deserted island, where there's nothing but the sand, the sea, the sky and themselves.  Er...the photos by the storefronts don't exactly go with that storyline.  Maybe our young couple touched down somewhere to grab a snack?  You never know!  LOL  In the end it was a completely awesome day!  Here are some pics that Virginia took on her camera phone during the shoot.  Thank you, Virginia!!  :)

 

Everyone was so great on this shoot, and I send many thanks to them all:  Virginia, CJ, Jen and Roger, the fabulous Tampa Bay on Demand team who put this piece together, Jori, who rocked it as my assistant again, and of course Akenia and Brandon, who were complete rock stars on and off camera.  (And extra thanks to you two for allowing all of Tampa Bay to see your photos and watch you do crazy things on TV!)

 

SO FINALLY, here's the finished piece on Tampa Bay on Demand. ENJOY!! :)

Trash the Dress with Akenia, Brandon, and Tampa Bay on Demand! from Zekeshem Parsons on Vimeo.

I'm so excited, my little sister just gave birth to her first child, a gorgeous baby girl named Adelyn Elizabeth.  I'm so very proud of Akarion, and how gracefully she handled her entire pregnancy, and especially delivery.  I LOVE YOU, AKARION!! 

Adelyn was born around 4:30 this morning, weighs 6 lbs 14 oz, and is absolutely beautiful, gorgeous, and amazing.  Just look for yourself! 

Adelyn's first bath!  She was so good, I love how it looks like she has a little smile on her face.  :)

 

The nurse combed a little mohawk into her hair, so flippin' cute!!

 

I can't wait to kiss those cheeks!!

 

One of my favorite things about babies...those precious little hands and feet.  So sweet.

 

And that's all I have time for right now!  I was at the hospital all night awaiting Adelyn's arrival, and I'm completely exhausted.  (Although nothing compared to what Akarion must be feeling right now!!)  I'm gonna crash for a few hours and get some sleep. 

CONGRATS to Akarion and Joe on the birth of their gorgeous baby daughter! I'm SO EXCITED to be an aunt!!!!  :D

I realize it's been quite a while since I've posted a good blog, but it's certainly not because there's nothing to post!  I've been so busy lately that time just keeps escaping me!  I have a whole backlog of things I want to post, but I have a small handful of photos from this weekend's weddings that I wanted to post tonight.  Part of me is saying I should wait until I've posted past shoots first, so that everything goes in order.  But the part of me that's winning is just telling me to post 'em right now!  And so here they are, a li'l preview of the goodness to come.  :)

As a sidenote, this was my first 3-wedding weekend ever!!  I'm pretty tired now, but wow, what an amazing weekend, and such beautiful couples inside and out. I feel so blessed to have met and worked with all of them!

Friday was Kara and Brian's wedding.  I shot their engagement photos just last month and we had a blast!  They are really such a sweet and fun couple to be around, and I was super excited to be a part of their wedding day.  The ceremony was held at Andrews Memorial Chapel in Dunedin, which has got to be one of the quaintest churches I've ever seen.  Built in 1888, it has so much character and history...I just loved it! 

 

 

Saturday evening I met Melissa and Todd over by Madeira Beach for their wedding.  Theirs was a very small, intimate ceremony with only family and a few friends in attendance.  We were lucky to avoid the huge storm we saw rolling in, lightning and all!  The evening turned out to be perfect, and we had so much fun with the photos afterwards!  I love how spontaneous they were!

 

This morning I headed over to the Don Cesar Beach Resort for an even MORE intimate wedding.  Rachel and Jesus booked me just a couple days ago to shoot their beach wedding, with only their dog Sheba in attendance!  I cannot express how sweet this ceremony was to witness.  Their original plan was to get married this evening around 6pm, but because of the crazy storms we've been having lately, they moved it to 10am.  (Which is no big deal when you don't have 200 wedding guests to worry about!)  ;)  It was such an enjoyable morning, with two of the most beautiful people, inside and out.  Enjoy the preview, there's more to come!!

 

And while I'm at it, here's a little peek at last weekend's session with Maria and Ryan in St. Pete.  What a fun couple, and definitely up for a little adventure!  We actually chartered a boat to take us to Egmont Key for some fun beach shots!  We didn't have much time before sunset once we got there, but the images we captured were definitely worth the ride.  :)

 

That's it for now, have a fantastic night everyone!!  :)

 

I found out this morning that someone stole my bank debit card number and made a bunch of crazy online charges to my account!  This has never happened to me before, and I'm feeling pretty violated at the moment.  I like to believe that most people out there are good, but there are some mean people runnin' loose out there.  :(  I'm glad my bank is being so helpful about it all...I'll have this worked out in just a few weeks I think. 

So how does this kind of thing happen?  What can I do to help prevent it from happening again?  Advice?  Thanks!!

WHEW!!  I can't believe I made it through!  It was quite a weekend, and LOTS of work, but I'm so glad I did it.  I was quite proud of my li'l booth!  The whole drama with the CD hubs ended well...I ended up getting removable glue dots and sticking my CDs inside the cards.  Not what I had in mind originally, but at least I got the job done!  :)

My good friend, Rachelle, came over early (7:30am) and we headed to the Double Tree Westshore before any other vendors arrived so we could put together my wall.  I had SO wanted to take pix of that whole process, but we were in such a frantic hurry to finish it and get out of the way of the other vendors, that I completely forgot!  Here are a few pix of the finished booth, which I think turned out pretty awesome for my first try! 

I just love my bench, pillows, and furry rug!  They make me happy.  :)

I ended the day with way fewer pens than I started with...hmmmmm.

You should have seen me and Rachelle trying to hang these canvases, I'm sure it was hilarious to watch!

I'm so happy with my fun li'l giveaway notepads!  I think they were a huge hit with the brides, too...yay!

I gave away 4 free engagement sessions during the show, too!  I'm pretty excited about that, and can't wait to meet the lucky couples.  (The winners' names are at the bottom of this posting!)

My wonderful friend, Rachelle! She helped me sooooo much!  (And her dress even matched my booth!!  Totally unplanned, she's that awesome.)  :)

I snuck away for a quick second to take this pic...I was pretty much talking to brides the entire afternoon!  The place was packed!

The crowd was entertained with a fun and upbeat fashion show.  Hair and makeup by Kyle Lynn Weddings, they did a fantastic job!

The models threw their bouquets into the crowd at the end of the show, and the brides went crazy!

 

Rachelle took some pix for me on her camera, too!  I was so excited when I saw my parents walking up to visit me and see my booth...they are the best!  Thanks, Mom and Dad!!  :)

Aren't we a colorful bunch?  :)

My awesome parents and Rachelle...thanks for being there, guys!! 

The only person I don't have a picture of is my good friend, Linda.  She stayed with Rachelle and me and helped break everything down...an ENORMOUS task!!  Thank you SO MUCH, Linda!! She also let me use her van for the whole transporting-the-wall fiasco.  Again, thank you!!  :)

And now....here are the winners of the drawings for a free engagement session!

Elizabeth Higgins - Fall 2009

Melissa Hanahan - July 10th, 2009

Samantha Benn - October 31st, 2009

Kristen Dacey - April 2010

Congratulations, ladies!!  I can't wait to meet with you and your fiancee's for some fabulous photo sessions!  I just know we'll have a blast.  :)  Please call to schedule your session at your earliest convenience.

Overall I would say my first bridal show was a huge success!  Thanks to everyone who stopped by my booth and said hi, it meant a lot to me.  I hope to see some of you again soon! 

G'night!

 

 

Wow, first I just want to say thank you to everyone who poured out their love, best wishes, and condolences for the passing of my grandmother.  That really meant so much to me to hear from so many of you.  I know my mom has been touched, as well, by so many people that she doesn't even know sending her their best.  Thank you all so very much.  I miss Mom Mom terribly, but feel peace knowing that this was God's plan for her.

And now, I just want to invite everyone out to visit my booth at the first bridal show I've ever done!  I only decided a couple weeks ago that I was going to do this, so it's been quite a ride pulling everything together so quickly.  I spent the entire day today shopping for my finishing touches, and I can't wait to put it all together!!  I think it's gonna look awesome. 

My biggest problem right now is that I was planning on handing out CDs inside a folded 5x5 card with my pricing and info...I bought and printed 200 CDs, designed and printed 200 cards, and ordered 200 adhesive CD hubs so I could stick the CDs in myself.  Only the hubs never came.  Well, as I found out tonight when I looked up the tracking number on the order, they WERE delivered last Saturday, but I never got them.  Which leads me to wonder, did someone steal them from off my porch while I was out shooting a wedding?  Or did UPS just make a mistake and mark them as delivered when they weren't?  Or does some old lady across the street have a box of plastic doo-hickeys that she has no idea what to do with?  If someone stole them, they were mighty disappointed, I'll guarantee that much.  And now I have 200 cards, 200 CDs, and no way to attach them.  *sigh*  I'm completely exhausted and am shooting a wedding all day tomorrow, with the bridal show load-in starting Sunday morning. 

Yes, these are the kinds of trials in life that help us "develop character," as my dad would say.  I can't let it get me down, I just have to come up with a solution...or just deal with the fact that it might not be the perfect bridal show debut I'd dreamed of.  (HA!)  My current idea is to get removeable glue dots and just stick the CD inside the card.  While Office Depot doesn't have the hubs, I'm hoping they have the glue dots.  We'll see!

I wish I could post a photo of the mess inside my garage right now...but I'm just too tired to even pick up my camera.  I have everything spread out all over the place...  A friend helped me build a wall that I'll use as my booth backdrop, and I love it!  My challenge will be assembling that monstrosity at the show, and getting all my canvases hung without hurting anyone, LOL.  I'll try to take pix of the whole process on Sunday.  Should be interesting! 

If you can make it, stop on by!  The show is the Your Wedding TV Bridal Show, held at the Double Tree Westshore in Tampa, 4500 West Cypress.  The show is from 1-5pm, with the fashion show starting at 3:30pm.  I'll be at booth #305, which I believe is the first one on the left when you enter the room. (FYI, I believe the show is $10 at the door, $7 if you preregister.)

And because I think my postings look lonely without a photo to accompany them, here's a preview of the 5x5 card my CDs are supposed to go into...we'll see how the drama unfolds!  (Hopefully with a happy ending!)

Oh yeah, and this is the design for the li'l notepads I had made for giveaways!  I love 'em, they came yesterday, yay!  :)

And now I'm off to bed...hope to see you on Sunday!

 

On Monday night my grandmother (we call her Mom Mom) came to visit us from Pennsylvania.  She normally stays with us around this time of year for a few months, but didn't make it down this year.  But she did make a special week-long trip down so she could attend my sister's baby shower on Saturday. 

So exciting!

On Tuesday, my mom and Mom Mom went shopping...they picked up a present for my sister, looked at cute li'l baby clothes, stopped by the gym Mom Mom attends when she's here so she could sign up and say hi to her friends, and they had a good time laughing and enjoying the day. 

Good times.

Tuesday night I was slammed with work, but instead of taking my meal to my computer to work, I took the time to sit down and eat dinner with my dad and Mom Mom.  We chatted, I showed her my recent maternity photos of Akarion, we did dishes together, and she helped me fold some laundry.  She always helps with the dishes and laundry, no matter now much you insist she sit down and relax.

She's stubborn!

I went upstairs to work a bit, and when I came down she was in bed.  My brother called from Virginia to say hi, but even though I could tell her lamp was on in her room I didn't want to disturb her in case she'd fallen asleep.  He agreed not to disturb her, and decided to call back the next day.

Goodnight.

Yesterday morning my mom called me from the hospital.  Mom Mom had awakened with severe abdominal cramping and ended up being admitted to the hostpital yesterday afternoon.  I was completely surprised.  Mom Mom is 85 years old, and in the best shape I've ever seen anyone her age.  She goes to the gym several times a week, has a very healthy diet, meets friends regularly at a senior center near her home, has a very active social life, and travels quite often.  I often say I hope I'm in as good a shape as she is at her age.  I was concerned, of course, but knew she would be fine and pull through whatever was happening to her physically.

She didn't.

This morning my dad called me around 6:30am.  She'd taken a turn for the worse, and wouldn't have long to live.  I rushed to the hospital, fearing I'd be too late.  I feel completely honored and blessed to have able to be at her bedside for her last few hours on this earth.  I was able to see her, tell her I loved her, and hold her precious hand one last time.  She'd just had her nails done before coming down to visit...they were so pretty.  I don't know how much she could hear, or if she knew we were there at all, but we all surrounded her with our love and prayers, and through our sadness were filled with peace when we knew she'd gone on to her new beautful home with the Lord. 

Rest now.

Today has been emotionally and physically draining.  I just needed to get some of my feelings out.  Everything still feels so surreal.  I can't believe she's gone.  She was FINE on Tuesday.  I wish I could write out all the wonderful memories I have of Mom Mom and tell the world what a wonderful, giving, loving, selfless, Godly and precious woman she was.  And TINY!  She was only 4 ft 11 in.  So cute!  It's true that big things come in small packages.  I couldn't write a book long enough to tell of what she meant to me.  For now, I just want to share some images I took last year on her birthday (Feb 11th) when she was visiting us.  I had wanted to take some more this week, especially of her with my sister at the baby shower.  I won't be doing that now.  But we'll certainly be thinking of her and missing her.  Always.

Goodbye.

I love you.

I can't believe my little sister is about to have her baby at the end of next month!  I'm scrambling around this week pulling together the last little details of a baby shower for her.  I've never hosted one before, these things are a lot of work!  I'm so grateful for the help of good friends and family, otherwise I don't think I'd be able to pull it off, I've been so busy lately!  (Well, after that whole vacation deal, LOL.) 

On Sunday afternoon Akarion came over so we could get some photos of her baby belly...my first try at maternity photography!  I'll admit I felt a little nervous at first.  How to pose?  What to wear?  How to light?  Ah, yes, and we did it all on a white background, which I don't normally do.  So there wasn't any environment to interact with, either.  But Akarion is SUCH a natural, she made it completely easy for me.  (Thank you!!) 

And so here she is, my baby sister with her li'l baby Adelyn just waiting to come out and greet the world.  I can't wait to meet her!!

No peeking!!

A couple of weeks ago Katie, her mom, her sister and I headed out to get some fun high school senior photos...and we had a blast! Here's the slideshow from our trip out to downtown St. Petersburg and Fort DeSoto. Enjoy!

Katie ~ Class of 2010 from Zekeshem Parsons on Vimeo.

Okay, okay, yes, I know....but I just can't help it!  I couldn't stop myself from replacing the word "believe" with "Belize" the whole time I was on vacation.  Heehee. 

It was such an AWESOME trip!  I went down to Belize last week with three other friends to spend a week in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye.  We stayed in a cute, little place called the Conch Shell Inn.

My room is right in the middle on the ground floor.

This is the view from our inn!

I had to send a post card to my parents right away on our second day there... That was 10 days ago and they still haven't gotten it! 

I started the day with the BEST mango smoothie ever!

We all went fishing and I caught this awesome yellowtail snapper!!  Yes, just the one.  (Although I DID catch a huge eel (bigger than my fish anyway) that snapped my line and got away just as I was reeling him in!)  He's small, I know...but isn't he pretty!?  Heehee.  He was tasty, too!

After the fishing I went snorkeling for the first time!  No pix of that, but probably better that way...no one needs to see what I look like with the goofy goggles and crazy hair.  ;)  But it was just an amazing experience!

The most awesome playground EVER at Central Park.

This little kid saw me with my camera and came running up to me.  He asked to see the picture I took of him, and then he KISSED it!!  SO CUUUUTE!!! 

During the months leading up to the trip, my daydreaming of what the vacation would be like included me in a cute sundress, riding a bike around the island, completely carefree.  That became a total reality!  :D

Nothin' like cheap street food after a long hard of day of riding bikes...oh wait, I think we only went about 1.5 mi before stopping and spending an hour in a wine bar.  Oops.  This lady is making us the best pork, bean and cheese pupusas on the island.  That's what I'm led to believe, at least, haha.  But they WERE super yummy!

I love how colorful all the buldiings on the island are.  And just about everyone drives golf carts or rides bikes to get around.  It was very peaceful...well, except for the smell of golf cart exhaust.  Eww.

The sunsets were gorgeous...

And so were the sunrises.  (This is right outside of my room at the inn.)  It only takes a few minutes to walk from the East side of the island to the West.

Finally a photo of our whole group! (Kinda) We played Euchre on our little porch just about every night.  It's now tradition!  :P

More bike ride time!  I loved my pink bike with the basket and broken bell!  (I couldn't ring it on purpose, but every time I'd go over a bump it would ring out on it's own...made me laugh every time!)

Our adventurous spirits led us on a quest to find a good place to swim...this time we actually rode out about 6 miles before turning back!

My friend Dervon is the one that invited me on the trip in the first place...thanks, D! 

Ah, the whole group again! From the left: Rich, Dervon, me, and Paul.  This restaurant (pefect for a mid-ride mojito break) was right over the water.

We saw some cool lizards along the way!  (Iguanas? Not sure what they're officially called, haha.)

The road was rough...

But our destination was worth it!

We just "borrowed" this resort's lounging area...it was perfect!

Not a bad view, eh?

The next day we headed out to see the Mayan ruins at Lamanai...I've never seen anything so ancient in person.

This temple is the second-tallest structure in Belize...

...and I climbed to the top of it! 

The view was breathtaking...we were so high up there!  There's actually a rope there to help people climb up and down the temple. It was BAKING hot on the stones, too.

They're really big on parades in San Pedro...this is the second one I saw while there.  (The first was celebrating Earth Hour.) I'm not sure what this one was for...

The kids were just so cute!

This restaurant, Estel's, became our standard place to eat breakfast, and was only a 5 min walk from "home."  Long story short, the craziest coincidence ever was that the man who owns the restaurant went to high school with my dad and uncles here in Tampa!!!!!  I couldn't believe it!  (Oh wait, I couldn't Belize it! Hahahaha!  *sigh*) 

The owner, Charlie, pulled out his high school yearbook and showed us photos while telling stories of high school and his days after as a drummer in a band before he met his wife and moved to Belize.  I'm still in awe of how small the world seems sometimes. That was one of the coolest parts of the trip for me. (I'm pointing to my dad in this pic!)

As our time drew to a close on the island, my funds also dwindled...this is the last of my money on our last day there!  It was good for one more breakfast at Estel's.  :)

Yep, and there I am, completely happy, relaxed, and actually ready to return home and dive into work after a thoroughly enjoyable and perfect vacation.  I knew I needed a break, but I had no idea how much!  I feel SO much more motivated and excited about my work now after having the chance to just clear my head and take some time away.  I'm so grateful for the opportunity to go, and for my wonderful friend Dervon and new friends Rich anad Paul!  I love you guys!!

P.S.  If anyone is interested in seeing all the pix I took on my vacation, you can check them out by clicking HERE.  And now...back to work!  :)

I can't believe it's finally here!  I'm heading out the door for the airport in about 20 min to start my journey to Belize!  The first stop will be in NYC where I'm meeting the rest of my group. (Four of us are going, coming in from different parts of the country.)  We're staying the night, then heading out for Belize on Wed morning.  I'm not even bringing my laptop!!!!  (*Gasp!*  I know, crazy!) 

I plan on wearing cute sundresses, going fishing, going cave tubing, lying about, reading, chatting it up with my good girlfriend, taking lots of pictures, and having the time of my life!!

I'll be returning on April 2nd, and I will promptly return messages and inquiries that weekend. 

See y'all when I get back!!  :D

Last weekend I was once again honored to go second shoot for Abby Liga, a fabulous photographer based in Orlando.  I always have such a great time shooting with her, and last weekend's wedding was no exception!

Matt and Jessica couldn't have picked a more perfect day for their wedding.  (Friday the 13th turned out to be good luck for them!)  We were slightly worried about rain earlier in the day, but the clouds rolled on by leaving a gorgeous afternoon, shining sun, and puffy li'l clouds dotting the sky.  They held the ceremony at Paradise Cove, on a private beach overlooking Lake Bryan.  There was a strong breeze coming off the lake, swirling Jessica's dress around her ankles and blowing the palm trees so the sun sparkled through the fronds.  Really, it was a PERFECT day.

Since I was second shooting this wedding, I was mostly looking for little details or moments happening off to the side of the main action.  I love doing this!!  These images tell the story between the story, in a way.  So I apologize ahead of time for this being such a long post, but there were just so many little moments that I loved and wanted to share with you all.  :)  I hope you enjoy...I know when I look at these images I'm brought back to that beautiful day with balmy weather, tropical breezes, string music floating across the air as the sun dipped gloriously behind the trees, and a party that rocked on for hours under the nearly full moon.  Congrats, Jessica and Matt!!!

How cute is this flower girl?!

Jessica looked absolutely stunning.

The guys making their way down the dock to the boat...Matt and his groomsmen made the coolest entrance ever as they rode in a boat from their hotel to the ceremony site on the opposite side of the lake.  (And I got to ride with them, yeah!)  What a cool idea!!

About this point Matt said he was starting to get nervous, but "If you're not nervous, then you're not ready!"

Cruisin' across the lake, lookin' good, so James Bond.

The Black Honkeys arriving to kick off the party...this band is AMAZING!! 

I absolutely love this light...

I told you this was a fun party!!

 

And that's it!  Just a gorgeous day that I was so happy to be a part of.  Thanks again, Abby, for having me along!!  :)