so for everyone out there wondering where the heck we’ve been for the last few weeks, let me tell you. it involves a trip to delaware, the sound of music, a sinus infection, 9 hours in the philadelphia airport, a stomach flu, the tossers, 24 packages of chicken ramen noodles, and lots of puppies and kitties. not necessarily in that order.

march was a crazy month of traveling, visiting family, and volunteering. at the beginning of the month we went out to delaware to see my little brother play capt. georg von trapp in the sound of music. the whole cast did a smashing job, and it was so fun to see our delaware friends.

in between bouts of illness, lots of ramen, and 2 trips to see the tossers perform live, we’ve been doing some volunteering at some local animal shelters. and this crosses off #50 off my list - “donate our services to a good cause.”

everyone that knows me, knows i love anything small, cuddly and furry. so in our slow season, we decided to pop by some local animal shelters and take photos of all their puppies and kitties up for adoption. here are some of our favorites.

we have met the cutest and cuddliest animals, and heard some sad, sad stories. if you’re in the market for a new dog or cat - please, please, please check out our friends at the du page county animal care and the naperville humane society. they are awesome at what they do! and if you’re looking for a good place to do some volunteer work, give them a call!

now that spring is in the air, we are back in full swing! so expect some awesome sessions and weddings coming your way soon!

now i’m off to sit in the sunshine and have some iced coffee. enjoy the green.

-gina

gina&tony

 
 

Date Posted: March 29, 2010
Filed under: Personal by gina&tony
Tags: animal adoption, chicago engagement photographers, chicago pet photographers, chicago portrait photographers, chicago wedding photographers, dupage county animal care and control, just for fun, kitties, naperville humane society, puppies, volunteer
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i know i’m way behind the times with this list, but i thought it would be fun to post something totally personal up here. 101 in 1001 is a list of 101 goals that you hope to complete in the next 1001 days. that’s a little less than three years. it’s kind of a fun alternative to new year’s resolutions.

here’s probably WAY too much information on what i hope to accomplish in the next three years. i wrote things that i can prove i accomplished (for the most part), so expect lots of fun updates on what actually gets done!

so without further ado:

101 in 1001

1. return my library books. (seriously, i’ve had them for an embarrassingly long time. they’ve sent me very threatening letters.)
2. get a dog.
3. start playing piano again.
4. double the number of people that i have listed in my family tree.
5. lose 10 pounds.
6. host a christmas party for our friends.
7. visit asia.
8. find a church we love.
9. join a book club.
10. do something completely spontaneous.
11. go to a midnight showing of a movie, and actually STAY AWAKE.
12. go to a wine tasting.
13. design and order our wedding album.
14. cook tony a dinner all by myself.
15. drive a stick shift by myself.
16. become fluent in italian.
17. get an illinois driver’s license.
18. go to a bears/eagles football game.
19. go on a road trip with my mom and sisters.
20. have a photo session with all my siblings and cousins for my grandparents.
21. double our website traffic.
22. have a portrait session for tony and i with a photographer who inspires us.
23. reconnect with someone i was good friends with in high school.
24. write someone a letter.
25. volunteer.
26. buy a pair of shoes that are entirely too expensive.
27. interview all of our grandparents and videotape it.
28. drive down the pacific coast highway.
29. get published in a photography magazine.
30. get published in a wedding magazine.
31. ride a horse.
32. spend a day being a tourist in chicago.
33. spend a night stargazing.
34. wear a bathing suit in front of more people than my family.
35. read a book someone recommended that i wouldn’t normally read.
36. buy tony a present for no apparent reason.
37. spend a week with extended family in puerto rico.
38. find the greatest oatmeal raisin cookie recipe of all time.
39. double our income from 2009.
40. bake a birthday cake for a friend.
41. visit mexico.
42. buy furniture from a respectable furniture store and not ikea.
43. join the wpja.
44. go to comicon in san diego.
45. pay off a credit card.
46. invent my own signature cocktail.
47. have a girl’s vacation with my two best buds from college.
48. take my parents on a cruise.
49. do something nice for a total stranger.
50. donate our services to a good cause.
51. learn how to use our espresso machine.
52. visit 5 states i haven’t been to before.
53. visit canada.
54. play in a real poker tournament.
55. get two spanking new d700’s.
56. host a sold-out boudoir marathon.
57. get a huge canvas print of one of our photos to hang in our house.
58. go to a cubs game at wrigley field.
59. take a yoga class.
60. visit the caribbean.
61. read a book in a foreign language.
62. buy something from etsy.
63. finish a crossword puzzle without cheating.
64. spend a whole weekend unplugged - no phone, internet, or tv.
65. plant an herb garden.
66. go apple picking.
67. buy a wine rack and fill it.
68. brew our own beer.
69. watch 26 movies, each starting with a different letter.
70. have a snowball fight.
71. read all of jane austen’s novels.
72. buy a star.
73. see wicked.
74. visit washington d.c.
75. completely rebrand our business.
76. go to cedar point and ride the biggest rollercoaster there.
77. play in the rain.
78. have a picnic.
79. go to a concert.
80. watch the sunrise.
81. solve a rubik’s cube in under 2 minutes.
82. have an un-birthday party.
83. take pictures of me and tony in a photobooth.
84. complete a jigsaw puzzle.
85. visit all the major chicago museums.
86. eat at a traditional middle eastern restaurant.
87. learn to make pasta sauce from scratch.
88. be accepted to modern photographers.
89. shoot a wedding for free for a deserving couple.
90. buy an ipad.
91. write a thank you note to everyone that has helped us in the past year.
92. buy a point and shoot so we can take photos of us!
93. do something crazy with my hair.
94. make a blog and/or site for hello gorgeous | boudoir.
95. foster kitties in need.
96. start submitting photos to stock sites.
97. start a retirement plan.
98. shoot more personal work.
99. overcome my fear of deep water enough to take pictures of PRETTY fish. no sharks. or lake monsters.
100. visit friends in new york city.
101. buy a house.

cosimo hasn’t made an appearance on the blog for awhile, so i thought it was due time!

hello little treat. i’m going to eat you now. k?

wasssssssuuuuuuuppppppp!

-gina

gina&tony

Date Posted: February 9, 2010
Filed under: Personal by gina&tony
Tags: 101 in 1001, chicago engagement photographers, chicago portrait photographers, chicago wedding photographers, cosimo, just for fun, kitties, total randomness
7 People Showed the Love - Leave a comment! »

1. people helping people

so first - natural disasters are very NOT awesome. but people helping people is very awesome.

unless you completely avoid the news, you’ve probably heard about the horrific earthquake that rocked haiti on tuesday. the devastation has been massive and the loss of life is heartbreaking. in spite of all the sadness, seeing the world band together to help a country in need is a silver lining.

if you haven’t already found a way to help, please consider making a donation, however small, to one of these relief organizations. every little bit helps.

american red cross
unicef
doctors without borders

2. boudoir, boudoir, boudoir!

ladies, if you’ve been looking for something special to do for your other half - we’ve got the answer! we’re super excited to announce our new boudoir sessions!! sessions are shot exclusively by me (gina), and begin at $300.

boudoir albums make perfect gifts for valentine’s day, your guy’s wedding present, or anniversary present! (the first anniversary is “paper” after all. :D) since we’re aiming to keep this blog PG, you can email us for more info at boudoir@gntphoto.com.

and because the only thing that could make this more awesome is a great deal - all gina&tony brides will get 10% off their chosen boudoir print package!

3. the bulls

anyone who knows tony, knows he comes from a pretty die-hard chicago sports fan family. so getting to go to a pro chicago game, no matter what the sport, is pretty freakin’ awesome. what’s even more awesome, is when one of our brides happens to work for the united center (home of the bulls and the blackhawks) and is able to hook us up with some really sweet seats! monday night we got to go to the bulls vs. pistons game, and it was so much fun. there’s nothing quite like sitting in a huge sea of people and cheering on your favorite team.

so here’s a big THANK YOU to elaine!! and here are a few fun photos we took:

the view from our amazing seats.






tony’s brother nick and our friend rachel representing the home team!








the matadors taking it all off.








the final score.

hope your week is awesome!

-gina

gina&tony

 
 

Date Posted: January 14, 2010
Filed under: Personal, Promos by gina&tony
Tags: american red cross, chicago boudoir photographers, chicago bulls, chicago engagement photographers, chicago portrait photographers, chicago wedding photographers, doctors without borders, haiti, just for fun, promotion, things that are awesome, unicef, united center chicago, yele haiti
6 People Showed the Love - Leave a comment! »

so i thought it would be fun to share a few of our favorite wedding planning blogs with you today. (and when i say ‘we,’ i really mean ‘i.’ haha.) i have the horrible habit of spending hours upon hours perusing blogs and imagining fun themes for weddings. sadly, i don’t have the patience to spend time actually putting it together! (reason #34 why we had our wedding in italy last year.)

so if you are planning a wedding, daydreaming about planning a wedding, or just plain like pretty things, check out these sites! i promise you they will not disappoint!**

happy friday everyone!

1.) wedding chicks

the wedding chicks are faaaabulous. their blog has everything from real weddings, inspiration boards, great diy projects and free giveaways! (pretty much all you can ask for in a planning blog, really.)

2.) offbeat bride

so we REALLY like weddings that are different. like REALLY different. so what better planning resource than one that specializes in things that are really funky? if you’re looking for a way to make your wedding stand out - this is the blog for you.

3.) snippet&ink

snippet & ink was actually the first wedding inspiration site i ever stumbled across, back when we were planning our wedding last year. they have phenomenal inspiration boards for every color scheme imaginable. i almost wish we could have a wedding for every board they post. too much?

4.) color me inspired

color me inspired is a brand new blog from the awesome collaboration of becka from studio 222 in orlando and graphic designer, trisha hay. it has lots of fun inspiration boards from real weddings and lots of great, free designs from trisha! (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t love free stuff?)

have a fun weekend everyone!

-gina

gina&tony

**disclaimer: we are not paid by any of these sites, nor do we pay any of them for advertising. we just genuinely like them and think they’re great resources.

 
 

Date Posted: October 2, 2009
Filed under: Personal by gina&tony
Tags: blogs, chicago engagement photographers, chicago portrait photographers, chicago wedding photographers, inspiration, just for fun, planning, wedding
2 People Showed the Love - Leave a comment! »