Laurel McConnell Photography » Announcements, Products, & Chat

I just want to take a quick second to thank everyone who donated, bid, and came to the “We Heart Sharlane” event last week. It was a wonderful evening filled with so much excitement and love, not to mention all the GREAT items that were donated for auction. MAN there were some great ones!!!

If you’d like to read about the results of the event and see some of the wonderful images that Bill & Erin from Mode Weddings captured, click HERE.

If you wanted to help but couldn’t attend, you can still make a little donation HERE.

But wait, there’s more… if you’re getting married, and would love to help out a great woman and still need wedding photography, Bill and Erin are donating their wedding photography services, with proceeds going right back to We Heart Sharlane!!! Bidding ends on VALENTINE’S DAY, so don’t do like you do on Ebay and wait til the last second. Check it out now! Click HERE for details!

This Thursday (that’s right, in 3 days!) a bunch of really lovely people are all pitching in to raise some big bucks for one of our favorite friends. Along with a Special Edition Cupcake Thursday, we’ve also donated a Lifestyle Session to the cause!

If you’re thinking about doing some swanktastic boudoir for your man, want some lovely family portraits come the spring, are looking for some fun engagement pics, or want to refresh your marketing efforts with a brand spankin’ new headshot, come on down and bid on yours truly! (and yes, you can use your item as credit toward anything else, like a One On One mentor/consulting session, you photographer-blog-readers!!)

Note- while auction items go to the highest bidder, the highest bid is usually at a fraction of the street value of the actual item, so you’re bound to find  some GREAT deals.

Here are the details:

• WHAT: a fundraising event to raise money for one of our favorite photographers and friends so that she can pay for her cancer surgeries
• WHERE: Herban Feast at Sodo Park
• WHEN: THIS THURSDAY Feb 4th at 7pm
• HOW: a silent auction of arts and services, along with an ongoing donation collection
• WHY: because cancer sucks and we heart Sharlane.

More info: http://weheartsharlane.showitsite.com

Be there or be square!!

“Sharlane is a mother, a photographer, and our friend.  This year began like a fairy tale, complete with a magical proposal from the man she loves.  Like so many fairy tales, this one turned dark as Sharlane was diagnosed with cancer even before the wedding planning could begin.  The diagnosis itself is scary enough, but so are the crushing costs associated.  This is our attempt to help our friend, who has helped so many herself.”

Shar is one of our own. Not only is she a celebrated artist and a beloved photographer in many social circles across at LEAST two countries, but she has brought together some of the industry’s top vendors for groundbreaking wedding planning sites and exquisite wedding planning events. We just can’t help but to be drawn in by her compassion, generosity, spirit, humor, and endless wit. Cancer has reared it’s ugly head, but there’s hope. Unfortunately in the US hope costs A LOT of money.

http://weheartsharlane.showitsite.com

If you’re in the wedding industry here in Seattle, you’ve brushed elbows with this phenomenal woman. Even if you don’t know her but are planning your wedding, you HAVE crossed her path even if you didn’t know it.

Here are the details:

• WHAT: fundraising event for Sharlane
• WHERE: Herban Feast at Sodo Park (thanks SoDo for your generosity and support!!!)
• WHEN: Feb 4th at 7pm
• HOW: a silent auction of arts and services, along with an ongoing donation collection
• WHY: because cancer sucks and we heart Sharlane.

This is me, pleading you because this time it’s personal, as Shar is a close friend and business partner of sorts. Donate a couple of bucks via the Paypal link on the website below, or better yet, come to the fundraiser. I’d really, truly, love to see you there.

More info: http://weheartsharlane.showitsite.com

Thank you, Me Ra Koh, for such a gorgeous image of Shar and her Bean :)

At this year’s Get Hitched, Give Hope, we were lucky enough to snag Flipped Out Productions as one of our generous sponsors.  If you haven’t heard of these guys, or experienced their product, checking out their services is a MUST when planning your wedding or next event. Their product is unique, fresh, and quite the little souvenir!

Here’s how it goes: similar to a traditional photo booth, they come and set up a white backdrop, big light, video camera, printing station, and touch screen. Josh (the owner) brought a bunch of silly fun props to set the mood: oversized glasses, guitars, boas, hats, signs, and microphones, and I’m sure you could bring your own if you were throwing a themed party. What makes it NOT like your traditional photobooth: he takes a 7 second video of you and your pals jumping, singing, fighting, staring, etc, and within just a couple of minutes (seriously, like TWO), a sweet little book is printed, hot off the press, for you to take home as a favor!!

Check out the silly little video I made and edited (I’m SO going to be a videographer now…. jokes!) with just a FEW of the books I walked away with (yes, sorry… I spent the whole night there, they all have my goofy face in them. I think I ended up with a purse full of 9 books or so…. thanks Josh!!).

Cheers! And happy wedding planning!!