We Now Sell Pettiskirts!

We are very excited to announce that we now sell pettiskirts! These are the adorable fluffy, fluffy skirts that little girls LOVE! When they put these skirts on, there is no way they can resist spinning around! :) We also offer matching tees and tanks, as well as bloomers and dresses. These are custom-made with super-soft chiffon in fun colors.

To celebrate, we will be offering special Limited Edition Pettiskirt sessions on select dates in July. These will be sessions that focus on the fun that these skirts inspire. We will be offering special packages, with a deposit required to reserve your time. We will have a few pettiskirts on hand, size newborn up to girls' size 12. If you want your color choice however, you will want to order your very own pettiskirt by the end of May, as these are custom made. Sizes are available in newborn up to teen/women's small. E-mail me for color options and images. Stay tuned for more session details to come. 

Madison's First Farmers' Market

Saturday marked the return of the Farmers' Market to the Madison Capitol square. The weather was perfect: sunny and in the 70's. Since there are not much for fresh vegetables yet aside from some salad greens, the crowd could buy meat, cheese, flowers, fresh bakery and enjoy the weather. 

Baby Display is Up!

We are very excited to share our newest display- and it's all about newborns! These are some images from when it was finished last night. I'd love to share images from the day, but the glare on the windows would make seeing the photographs inside difficult. So, instead of waiting for the perfect cloudy day (we've already had enough of those!), you get to enjoy the warm glow of tungsten. Please stop by and see it in person, too! We would like to give a special thank you to Sam, Noah, Eden, Hayden, Cadence and Mackynzie.

Sad to See Brava Go

It makes me feel sad to see local Madison magazine brava go away. When they called to tell me, it made my heart ache a bit for them. You can read the scoop here (link to WKOW 27 news) and here (link to Wisconsin State Journal). The magazine always cheered the working professional women of Wisconsin, and the void left will be hard to fill. The future is uncertain for the annual Woman's Expo, but I hope someone will step up and carry this event on. It was great for the community. 

Thanks brava for the great years of reading you provided!

That "New Baby" Smell....

The new window display will be up next week! Thank you to all the parents of newborns that came in, and thanks to everyone for getting the word out. I know what a big deal it can be to just leave the house with a new little one, so I really appreciate the effort! We are excited to showcase the babies and hope you enjoy the images! Here is a sneak peek at what we will be showing. Please take a look the next time you are downtown!

Facebook Fan Page & Twitter

We are happy to announce that we finally have a Facebook Fan Page! Come visit us and sign up to be a fan. The idea is for us to share information about what is going on at the studio and with us. Also, we plan on sharing images from sessions, hopefully tagging our fans, so they can share them, too. We just ask that you do NOT remove our tag. :) So, starting in April, watch for images of YOU! (Yes, please feel free to bug us if you don't see your images!)

Also, we are all a-twitter here at Appleby Photography. You can now follow Becky and Chris on Twitter. Find out what we are up to, right now! Follow us to get the updates right in your own update feed.

We are still new at all of this, so please bear with us as we try to figure the technology out. It makes me feel old-school to say that I prefer my 'paper and pen' planner, and that I type really slow. At least our kids can remind us how true that is: Madalyn, age 8, wanted us to explain what a typewriter was ("It's like a computer, but there is no screen and you can only make one copy...") and Lydia, age 3, told us she *needs* an iPod touch (not a regular iPod- she needs the screen on her iPod), and Henry, age 1, is sure he can take photos with his play cell phone....

Newborn Needed for Studio Display

I am getting ready to do a new window display at our studio that will feature a newborn. If you or someone you know has a new baby, age 0-14 days old as of right now, please contact us! The shoot needs to be scheduled for the week of March 30th or April 6th.

Participants will be photographed at the studio for no charge. Your child's image will be used for studio display, samples and marketing material. Please call Becky at the studio for details, 608-280-8845.

Please pass the word!
Thanks so much!

Is Winter Done Yet?

The fact that we have several inches of snow in the forecast for the weekend says that winter is still here. That's sad news since the last of the snow just melted from our yard last weekend. At least everyone at our house is healthy for the moment. It feels like the kids, mainly Henry, have been battling one cold or flu bug after another for weeks. I'm convinced that if we could just get outside more, we would all be good!

We were quite excited tonight to get a sentence out of Henry, who is 16 months old. Henry took his sweet time with gracing us with his gift of gab. We knew he could speak, he just chose not to share it with us. At a little over a year, Henry would get coached by big sister Lydia: "Henry say 'goo goo ga ga.'" Henry: "Goo goo goo ga." Lydia: "Henry say 'ta-da.'" Henry: "Ta-da." Lydia: "Henry say  'uh-oh.'" Henry: "Uh-oh." Lydia: "Henry say 'mama.'" Henry: [silence] It was no surprise after months of the whole family begging for 'mama' that he first proclaimed 'Lydia.' 

Then, tonight, after we scolded Lydia for sliding out of her chair repeatedly at dinner, Henry declared to us, "Lydia good girl."

So, there you have it. In Henry's eyes, big sister Lydia does no wrong.

(Of course, Lydia also says that Henry wants to share, as she swipes food off his plate, and he doesn't seem to mind. Yet.)

2009 Wedding Specials

We have a few dates left for the 2009 Wedding Season, and for a limited time, we are extending a special offer to couples that book their date now!

When you choose Levels 1, 2 or 3, you may choose to add an additional hour of wedding day coverage OR receive a $200 credit to use for photographs after the wedding, FREE!

Baby Expo Was Great!

Thank you to everyone that stopped by our booth at the Baby Expo this weekend! 

We were happily surprised by the great turnout on Saturday, even with the snow advisory and the 6+ inches of snow that Madison received. It was nice that so many people braved the cold and bad roads to come. Sunday was even more busy, with lots of babies participating in the Diaper Derby. The crawling race for babies was fun to watch, with the results being quite unpredictable. The baby that could crawl the quickest was not always the baby to finish first!

We will be announcing our drawing winner in the next E-mail Newsletter. (If you don't receive it, let us know your e-mail address to get on the list!) Also, we have a special Thank You gift that we are mailing to everyone that signed up at our booth, so keep an eye out for that.

Mark your calendar for next year's event- Feb 21 & 22! Plans are already in the works and it will be bigger and better!

Baby Expo This Weekend

Please come visit us at the Baby & Toddler Expo this weekend! We have some great exclusive offers for everyone who stops by: We will be giving a special gift to the first 100 visitors to our booth, #309. Also, we will be giving away a $500 gift certificate. Plus, gift certificates purchased at the expo will receive a bonus gift.

The Expo is at the Alliant Energy Center this Saturday, February 21, 10am-4pm and Sunday, February 22, 11am-4pm. Admission to the Expo is free, and there will be events, prizes, a special speaker on Saturday and lots of local vendors.

We would love to see you, so stop by and say "hi"!

So Stinkin' CUTE!

Lydia is almost three, so we did her birthday session a little early. She is just SO cute in this petticoat!

Jewelry and Accessories

We now offer a complete line of custom photo jewelry and accessories. My favorite piece is one of the necklaces (shown above), which I wear to show off my son.
There are a lot of fun ideas for these: a ring would be a fun way to preserve a bridal bouquet long after the flowers have died. The keychain (shown) would be cute with your puppy's face. Bracelets allow you to show a whole series of your child's expressions. Baby feet are perfectly precious on a necklace. Men will be able to show off their loved ones with business card holders and money clips, in addition to the jewelry we offer.
Each piece is solid sterling silver and the photograph is sealed to be completely waterproof. These are special pieces that you will cherish forever, and fun enough that you'll want to wear them everyday!

Hair We Go!

Today was an exciting day for us, and a bit emotional! Madalyn, age 8, has wanted to donate her golden curls to an organization that makes wigs for cancer patients since she heard about it in kindergarten. We choose to donate to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, which creates and distributes wigs for free to woman through the American Cancer Society. She has been growing her hair out, and it finally was long enough to donate. Madalyn was nervous, as this was the first time she had her hair cut short, only having "trims" in the past, but she absolutely loves her new shoulder-length hair style! 

On another note, Becky was sad to have today mark the first haircuts for both Lydia, age 2, and Henry, age 1. It was especially hard to see Henry's little curls go! 

New Bags

Have you seen the cute new bags that we offer? We have totes, leather purses and cosmetic bags. These are a great way to show off your favorite photograph. They also make great gifts! Plan now for Mother's Day with a bag for mom. Bridesmaids love getting the cosmetic bag! 

Bridal Show

The bridal show was this weekend at the Alliant Energy Center. Thank you to everyone that stopped by our booth! It was a great weekend and we had a lot of fun. If you didn't have a chance to make it to the show, please call or e-mail to set up a time to come into the studio to see our new albums! 

Bridal Show and 2008 Wedding Highlights

Enjoy the highlights from our 2008 weddings. Please feel free to share this with your family and friends. 

Also, this weekend, January 10th and 11th, is the annual Wedding Planner & Guide bridal show at the Alliant Energy Center. Stop by our booth, #1606- by the fashion show, to see our new albums and say "hi"!

Did you get our newsletter?

Did you know that our images are being showcased at the March of Dimes event on Friday? Did you know that we have new albums and cool new images boxes? Did you know that we even have jewelry and totes? Did you know that you will get a bonus $25 gift card when you buy $150 in gift cards at the Madison Women's Expo? Did you know that newsletter readers get special offers and incentives? 

Well, if you got our newsletter, you already knew all that!

If you haven't gotten our newsletter yet, please let us know! We want to keep all of our faithful readers up to date!

We want to hear from You! - Testimonials

Did you love your experience with Appleby Photography? Love your photographs? We want to hear from you! We love to get feedback from our clients. And if you are willing to let us share your comments, let us know!

Here's a note from a recent wedding couple:
Hello Chris and Becky,

Adam and I wanted to thank you both so much for your professional, organized and discreet way of capturing our day. You were both so relaxed that the whole picture taking portion of the day (which I was not very excited about) was perfect and easy. Everyone was very comfortable and you made the experience fun.

Adam and I also really appreciated never feeling like a camera was in our faces; you captured the day without us even noticing it....THANK YOU.

We will definitely be recommending Appleby to anyone we can and please let us know if we could ever be of assistance as a reference.

Cant wait to see the pictures!

Melanie and Adam

Checking In

I can't believe summer is over. It was bitter-sweet today as we sent our oldest off to school. It's amazing how fast the summer flew by! Here is a peek at what we have been doing- lots of weddings! By the way, Madalyn is feeling better, though she is still healing. Also, we got our own family portraits taken this summer- check out our About Us page to see the new images, which now include Henry. Thanks Merrilee!