Happy New Year!

Another year over. A year that has proven to be exciting and rewarding for us. We look towards 2009 with great anticipation - new clients, new experiences, new challenges and new relationships.

Just a few notes before we count down to the new year...

Giving is Awesome - we have received some really great nominees for this program. We are humbled by their stories and would love to hear more! We realize that it has been really busy with the holidays so we'd like to extend the deadline for the submission of nominees until January 30. We will announce the winner on our anniversary on February 1st.

Keep on giving - we believe in gifts that keep on giving. For the past 6 years, we have been purchasing holiday gifts via World Vision's Gift Catalog. For as little as $25, you can make somebody who is really in need look forward to a brighter New Year.

Happy GREEN New Year - even with planning a wedding, you can lessen your carbon footprint and ensure a bright green future for your family by going green. Here are a few tips: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/What_You_Can_Do/green_wedding_tips.asp
Furthermore, you can extend this towards daily living by going carbon neutral.

2009 Commissions - we're almost fully booked for 2009! Contact us for our availability or just to say hi! We would love to hear from you.

That's it. Have a happy new year, everyone! See you again in 2009!

-rico and gracci

'Tis the Season

*** UPDATE: The deadline has been extended to January 31st, our studio's anniversary, and the winner will be announced in February 6, our little girl's birthday!***

We cannot even begin to say how blessed we have been with our photography. Our clients are just super, the fellow photographers that we have met are incredibly generous and the experiences throughout this journey are rich! When we started clicking the shutters as Pelaez Photography, one of our mission has always been to give back to the community, the environment and to humanity, in our own little way. From the very start, we have already involved ourselves in organizations where we can fulfill this mission. We have donated our time for the Make-A-Wish foundation quite a few times (check out the Kaughman's who won the auction on one occassion) and we reach out on our own in any way we can as you can read in our last post on Jamie and Jessica's engagement session. We are always on the lookout on how else we can be true to our mission and we just found another opportunity to do so... read on.

Kristen Kalp, a fellow photographer from Pennsylvania, is challenging photographers from all over the globe to donate their time during these trying times. To date, over 330 photographers from all corners are donating over US$350,000 worth of portrait packages to worthy individuals via the program Giving is Awesome. And we're throwing ourselves in the mix.

The deets:
You know someone. You know someone who's experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. You know someone who can't afford custom photography, but who would cherish it this holiday season. You know someone who deserves a year-round reminder of their family's spirit, love, and beauty.

You know someone. We guarantee it.

We want to know who they are, and we want to give them the chance to experience complimentary custom photography -- $1500 worth, to be exact. Whether it's canvas or albums, prints for Grandma, or a slideshow to watch over and over, it's in your power to give them the artwork they deserve this holiday season.

Oh, and the best part? The person who nominates the winner receives a $250 print credit. What better reason to show some love could there possibly be, people?

The rules:

* You cannot nominate yourself, and the person nominated must sincerely be incapable of purchasing my services. (Being unable to make mortgage payments for a two-million-dollar-vacation-home in Paris does not qualify as sincere financial need.)

* The nominee must reside in the Lower Mainland. Tell me who you know, what they're experiencing, and why they deserve my artwork. Please include a way to contact both your nominee and yourself as well.

* You must e-mail us the full story : info@pelaezphotography.com

The winner will be announced on New Year's Eve -- get nominating! We can't wait to read all of your entries!

Open your heart to someone this holiday season -- and thanks for giving us the opportunity to open ours.

With love,
Rico and Gracci

Oh, here's another one from Jamie and Jessica's engagement session!

Jamie+Jessica Engaged!

Last July 9, 2008, an article that ran on Metro's front page told the story of Jamie and Jessica who were unfortunate victims of theft on their first day back from Cambodia. This would have just been any other story in Vancouver but it struck a chord with us when, upon further reading, we find out that Jamie and Jess had their cameras stolen, the cameras they used to make memories out of a great vacation and cameras they used to record the moment that Jamie proposed to Jess.

After talking briefly about it, we never thought twice about offering Jamie and Jessica a complimentary engagement session. While these photos will never replace that intimate moment on the lush beaches of Cambodia, we hope that it captures the essence of their love and relationship.

I LOVE Jessica's smile... so pretty!

This is SO cute!

Isn't Jessica gorgeous! I love her eyes!

Congratulations, Jamie and Jess! We hope that you have nothing but fantastic experiences throughout the wedding planning but most importantly, throughout the whole marriage.

lots of love,
rico and gracci

Jonathan + Rochelle Engaged!

Jonathan came to us through a referral from an old classmate from university. I was surprised and humbled at the same time that somebody all the way from Manila would graciously refer a client to us. It is indeed a small world that we live in, what with everybody getting more and more wired each day, it gets so easy to connect with anybody. To add to that, imagine my surprise when after meeting in person with Jonathan and his fiancee, Rochelle, I realized that I had actually already met Rochelle about 4 years ago at a networking event for a professional association of business analysts (my other geeky personality). Who would've thunk it?

While Jonathan and Rochelle are now both long-time residents of BC, they are actually getting married in a couple of weeks in the Philippines with 2 celebrations with the official church ceremony being held in Rochelle's native province of Davao and another reception in Manila a few days later. Nonetheless, they still wanted to have a few photos of them taken in what they have, in the last decade, called home - Vancouver. And we were more than happy to capture those images for them in our own humble style that we hope truly celebrates their engagement and their new life as Mr and Mrs. Here are a few faves!

We hope you're enjoying the awesome weather in Davao and Manila! Have fun with your family and friends as you celebrate your big day with them.

dreaming of mangoes from Manila,
gracci