My roots come from the Midwest. Grew up in Nebraska, went to school in Iowa AND Kansas. KU that is!!! Rock Chalk Jayhawk baby! I was very excited to be the photographer of a couple from my old stomping grounds and who went to KU. The beautiful couple just graduated from dental school and ready to take on the world. They had a ceremony right here on Anna Maria Island and are then traveling back Kansas to have a BIG one!

Everything looked beautiful. The flowers were done by Silvia’s Flower Corner, who is the best on the Island. Very creative and unique arrangements. The Ceremony was held at Tropical Isle Inn and the reception was set up in their court yard. The catering was done by Harry’s Continental kitchen and was beautiful and delicious!! Harry’s always does such a great job. Everyone had such a great time. The bride and groom were so cute together and you could just see the excitement beaming from their eyes. I had a chance to talk with them after we shot some wonderful images on the beach of the two of them. She is most excited about starting their careers together and he is most excited about babies! They are very cute.

Their guests traveled from all over, but mostly from Kansas. Some had never been to the island and fell in love with it. They will for sure be back. I warned them that there is magic in these sand dunes. They will hypnotise you into coming back for generations. Be careful! I wish them and all of their family and friends a prosporus life. Thank you for letting me be a part of your day!

billi

To see all of the Jackson’s images go to: http://www.mymemoriesbybilli.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallery=1265

The majority of the Beach Portraits that I shoot here on Anna Maria Island are shot around sunset. Most people think that sunset is THE time to take pictures. Which, they are correct. Sunset here in paradise is amazing. The sky glows all the colors of the rainbow in different shades and values. The pictures always turn out amazing. The one thing that seems to be a secret is the morning sun and it’s beauty to use as your back drop for your beach portrait. The water reflects the sun and turns it into this incredible blue that sometimes even matches the sky. It looks like the most beautiful Indian tourqouise you could imagine. It is amazing. This great family from the midwest took the morning sun and had a blast.

They were staying in Bradenton Beach in a beautiful home through Anna Maria Island Accommodations as they always do and enjoyed the shops of Bridge Street, the Beach House Restaurant and the beautiful beaches that our island has to offer. It was great to meet them and hope to see them again. To see more great Beach Portraits taken on Anna Maria Island, take a look at MemoriesbyBilli.com. Have a wonderful Fall.

I’m not sure how many miles of beaches there are that stretch from tip to tip in Florida, but Long Boat Key, Siesta Key and Anna Maria Island must have some the most beautiful ones. I’ve seen many a beach in my life and these rank way up on the scale. They are so beautiful. I’m not alone in my opinion either. The Wynn’s came to the island and have been in love for a long time with the sandy sugar beaches of Long Boat Key. One of the things they love to do is bring their girls to the beach and just let them play. It seems to be one of the only free babysitters in the world. The water and the sand simply hypnotize them. They love it.

This year, they wanted a family memory to take home with them. What better way to do just that than a beach portrait on their favorite beaches. We went down to the very southern tip of Bradenton Beach on Anna Maria Island. Just above the bridge going onto Long Boat Key. I love that spot. There is so much to choose from as far as back drops. The bridge, the dunes, the old pier and of course the Gulf of Mexico. The girls were having a blast and I think the parents were having just as much fun. We shot for an hour and got some great stuff. I’m looking forward to seeing them again next year. They are are excited to take a portrait every year and watch how the family grows.

The times are definitely changing! Another amazing couple come to Anna Maria Island who’s bliss all started because of a little website called Match.com. I love it. This is the 6th wedding I’ve had the pleasure of shooting between Anna Maria and Long Boat Key who have met via a dating website. All of which, I might add, were incredibly happy and full of love. I’m sure the stats of how many people are getting married in our world because of sites like that are stagering.

However they met and by whatever means, I haven’t met many families so full of love and respect for eachother. They came to the table with children of their own and blended them all together for a perfect match. All participants in the event were so excited and so happy for not just their mom and dad, but for themselves and new siblings as well.

The ceremony was beautiful and full of meaning and readings from all of the children to their parents. The ceremony was performed by Reverend Charlie, the best officiant in a tristate area. I’ve working with Reverend Charlie tons of times and I could hear him perform that ceremony a million more. They exchanged gifts and combined sand. Everyone looked great and all of the blues matched the sky perfectly.

The rain came in for the very end of the ceremony and then passed so we could get a few pics of the blissful couple on the beach afterward. It was as if the sky cleared the beach for them to have a moment just for them all alone.

It was performed just behind The Beach House Restaurant down in Bradenton Beach. The southern part of Anna Maria Island. They got hitched and then we took some great shots of everyone and then they went up to the restaurant for dinner.

Another great day on Anna Maria Island for an incredible couple to share their love and join their families as one. I hope the rest of their vacation is amazing and they enjoy all there is to do and see in this little slice of heaven we have here in Florida.

All the best to them all and thank you for letting me share in their big day and all of their positive energy.

To see their entire gallery, go to: http://www.mymemoriesbybilli.com/photocart/

Sincerely,

billi

The babies first Photo Shoot!

The blessed day is fast approaching. Svenia and Martin are expecting their first child the very end of August and they are super excited. As they should be. At 36 weeks pregnant, Svenia looks amazing. I’m sure all women are super conscious of their bodies, escpecially during pregnancy, so she thinks she looks not quite so nice, but she looks amazing. Lean, healthy and big belly. Martin agreed with me too.

They were so cute together. Both so loving, both so excited, both so anxious. This event has been a long time coming and they just couldn’t be happier. I’m thrilled for them. I can’t wiat to meet the little man.

Take a look at their entire gallery: http://www.mymemoriesbybilli.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallery=1305

We went up to the North end of Anna Maria Island and took some change of outfits and shot for a couple hours. We fought off the rain. Got a few sprinkles, but nothing to kill the night.

I love taking pictures of expectant moms. They have so much love and emotion coming out. They make it so easy to take great pictures. It’s even better when Dad is there too. They are always so cute. So careful with their partners and they can’t keep their hands off the belly. I love it. They will be amazing parents to their littel boy.

I cant’ wait to take their first family beach portrait. We can come to the same spot where he was inside mommy’s belly, let him get all sandy and take some pics of his smiling little face and his little toes.

It was a birthday celebration. Diana and all 6 of their children decided to surprise their father John and throw a bash for his 70th! They have a beautiful home on the North end of Anna Maria Island and decided to use that stretch of the beach as the back drop for their family portrait. And what a back drop mother nature provided that night. We thought we may get rained out, but the buckets held off and the sky was spectacular.

Diana and John have 6 wonderful kids. All of them were there along with their spouses, fiance`s and kids. All of them were a pleasure to work with, not to mention kind and helpful. When you are 8 months pregnant and trapsing around the beach, it’s nice to have a little bit of help. There were so many moments where the sky was beautiful. We had moments of blues and purples, moments of dramatic light and a period of time where sky looked as if it were made of gold. I think my favorite shot though was of all the girls. Not a boring look on one of them. They are all so beautiful and their mom, Diana was setting the bar.

Pleasure to meet them all and I wish them all the very best. I hope to shoot John’s 80th birthday family photo.

When you live on Anna Maria Island, you seem to get a lot of visitors! More so than if you lived in other parts of the country. Not to say that there aren’t other beautiful and amazing places in the USA, but there is something magical about the beaches here. You’ll have family and friends come out of the woodwork. It’s a great thing. I love to show off this place and so does Tammy. She had all of her kids here for her birthday from all over the country. Pretty much from coast to coast. They stayed for a week and ate like they had two stomaches. They did take some time out to record this reunion.

The clouds were incredible that night and the rain held off for us. Just as we were ready to head in, the rain came down in buckets. They, and when I say they, I mean the Mom, would have loved to have stayed and played in the rain to get some great shots, but unfortunately, the equipment isn’t water proof.

They all plan on coming back next year and I hope we get to do the same thing. It’s such a great idea to take a great time home with you. The old saying it true, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. They will all have the chance to look back at these shots and remember their time here in paradise.

They all had a blast during the shoot and I had a blast taking the pics. Good travels to them all and we’ll see you next year. Bili 941-545-8877, www.MemoriesbyBilli.com

It’s summer time in Florida and the first day of summer brought lots of raindrops to the island. Kim, her daughter Ashlee and her friend Amanda come to the beach to capture some memoreis. it’s their 7th time to the island in about 6 years and they decided to take a piece home with them this time. They came to the island because they love it, but they also are celebrating the girls graduation from high school. They are staying in a cute little cottage in Holmes Beach and decided to take pictures where they also got the beach; the north end. They like this spot because the sand feels like sugar.

There mother daughter relationship is so refreshing to see. They are super close and love eachother dearly. There is no tension and I’ve seen these two together for 4 of the 6 years they have beeen coming to the island. Every mother daughter should be so close. It was wonderful to capture a few of those moments for them and help them document their uniquness before Ash goes off to college.

Just as we were wrapping things up, the sky opened up and the raindrops were coming down. It was perfect timing. Good luck with shcool Ashlee and Amanda. I hope you and your mom stay close and all of you succeed in all you do. See you all next year.

billi