At the beginning of the year, I met up with Yadira & Johanna, the lovely ladies from One Sweet Party, to start planning a shoot inspired by the recent Little Red Riding Hood movie. However, since the movie is pretty scary, we wanted to take a spin on the woodsy, elegant imagery and create something light-hearted, fun, and delicious – the way a fairy-tale themed party SHOULD be!!

Our tablescape inspiration Birthday Party shoot includes lots of luscious florals by Cathy from Forget Me Not Flower Shop, a gorgeous cake designed by South Florida bakers Mike & Desiree at The Dream Cakery, fun printable table decor & treats by Yadira & Johanna at One Sweet Party, yummy custom-decorated sugar cookies by Anne at The Flour Box Bakery, and photography by me, Karen Lisa.

For a closer look at the printables by One Sweet Party, head on over to their blog site to view the Little Red Riding Hood collection.

We photographed over at Long Key Nature Center in Davie, which provided a gorgeous, woods-inspired backdrop for our shoot. I couldn’t help photographing some of the incredible trees and plants as a prelude for what was to come. :)

Moving on to the gorgeous table set up!

Note how the florals completed the design and really brought everything together. I think this is a great example of how important a great floral artist can be for enhancing your tables at your wedding or party. If you want unique florals that will enhance and bring vividness to your event, get in touch with Ft. Lauderdale floral designer Cathy from Forget Me Not.

Johanna and Yadira did an incredible job putting all of the elements together. Not only are they amazing South Florida party and event designers but they are talented graphic artists too, as each of the printed elements of the table set-up was custom designed by their company, One Sweet Party.

South Florida cake designers The Dream Cakery put together a simple and elegant cake design that perfectly matched our needs. I love the red detailing and the way the texture has been added to the cake. The red detailed trim on the cake really helped to bring our theme together – from the florals to the treat bags and the cookies.

We can’t forget about the amazing custom-decorated sugar cookies that were created by Anne of The Flour Box Bakery! She created the small flower cookies for our flower tree as well as the red riding hood and tree cookies shown below. These were all customized designs based on Johanna & Yadira’s Little Red Riding Hood Collection. Wow – so much talent! They were delicious too. :)

Thanks for checking out our inspiration shoot – Little Red Riding Hood tablescape – and please be sure to visit all of the vendors for any of your party needs in South Florida & beyond!

Wedding & party photography by Karen Lisa
Event printables & design – One Sweet Party
Custom cakes and more – The Dream Cakery
Unique floral design by Forget Me Not Flower Shop
Custom designed sugar cookies by The Flour Box Bakery

A lot of my clients don’t know that I photograph small parties and events in addition to weddings… but I do! I enjoy them so much, and I feel great knowing that my clients can really enjoy themselves with their family & friends and NOT trying to photograph every little moment of their event themselves – because I’m capturing it for them!  If you’re having a birthday party, baby shower, engagement party, or anniversary party, get in touch with me so that we can set up your reservation!

I had such a good time photographing Mairim’s birthday party/baby shower! This child will be Mairim & David’s third baby girl, and Mairim told me that she never expected that she would be having a baby shower, but her incredibly thoughtful husband David decided to throw her a surprise party in honor of her birthday and their bundle of joy who will be born this fall! The party was lots of fun – many of Mairim and David’s friends and family members attended, and their children had such a great time playing at the pool with all of the other kids!

The event was coordinated by Mairim’s sweet sister in law, Roxy. The beautiful flowers were designed by Hialeah Flowers, the yummy food was catered by El Rey de la Paella, pool party lifeguards & games were provided by Torps Swim Academy , and musical entertainment was by DJ Elvis.

I recently photographed Nicole & Scott’s engagement session in Las Olas and Ft. Lauderdale Beach, and I also had the pleasure of taking pictures at their engagement party! I had a really great time hanging out with Nicole, Scott, and their family and friends! Now I am even more looking forward to their wedding this coming October!

Check out some of my favorite captures:

I recently had the pleasure of photographing Carly & Darren’s absolutely gorgeous engagement party here in Ft. Lauderdale! The theme of the party was Cupcakes & Cocktails and everything about the party was designed perfectly right down to the last detail! Carly wore the most stunning dress by Carlos Miele (found at the boutique in Merrick Park – Coral Gables). Like many of my clients, Carly found me on the web, but after chatting we discovered that we were both proud Florida Gators, were the same age, and even had a number of mutual friends! What a surprise that we hadn’t run into each other in college!

Carly and Darren are an amazing couple – SO passionate about each other, so fun loving, and so happy to be living life! Their families were so welcoming and I really had a great time photographing their special event and getting to know their loved ones. Carly, Darren and family — hope you enjoy your preview — there are many more great shots to come!! :)

Vendors: Floral Design by Field of Flowers | Catering by Silver Sac of Boca Raton, FL | Event Design & Coordination by Carly’s Aunt :)

Last Saturday, I attended a birthday party for my two adorable cousins, Rachel & Rebecca! Their mom and dad said I could take some photos, and here are some of my favorites:

My adorable cousins!

Hannah Montana Karaoke was a huuuuuge hit with these kids!

This three month old baby was beyond sweet and adorable! Look at those gorgeous eyes!

Here’s Rachel in front of the mountain of gifts.

And here’s Rebecca with her yummy birthday cake.

Rachel really loved that huge frosting flower!

After the cake was cut, the kids all ran around outside, playing and climbing trees! How fun!

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I last posted. Adrian and I have been so busy trying to get everything ready setting up our new office in Coral Springs.

I have some photos to share from a beautiful party that Adrian and I recently had the pleasure of photographing in honor of the lovely Cecilia on the occasion of her 90th birthday!

The party was held at the beautiful Grand Bay Club in Key Biscayne.

I could not believe Cecilia was turning 90! Doesn’t she look fantastic?

Cecilia’s daughter-in-law, Virginia, creates beautifully designed silk flower centerpieces. She worked very hard decorating the entire club and all the tables,and her work paid off because everything was absolutely gorgeous!

Such a beautiful family!

Everyone was having a great time.

Some friends look at the beautiful menus that Cecilia’s daughter Maria made up.

The food was top notch!

Cecilia’s grandson gave her a big hug after she blew out the candles on her gorgeous cake.

Maria arranged for a fantastic Mariachi band to come and play for her mother’s birthday. They were so talented!

Coffee and dessert were served to finish up a simply beautiful affair.

Adrian and I recently had the pleasure of taking photographs of Jordan’s Bat Mitzvah on Miami Beach. Jordan has two adorable younger sisters and fantastic parents who created an amazing party to celebrate this milestone in her life. Here are some highlights from the event.

Jordan’s dad can’t help but show how proud he is of her as she practices her Torah portion.

The party had a candy theme! It was fantastic. Each table had a mountain of candy at the center that guests could scoop into the take-out boxes to bring home, and everyone received a toothbrush to remind them who their next cavity came from!

Jordan and her two sisters getting ready for the party…

Jordan’s parents are very excited!

Jordan gets a chair ride during the Hora. How fun!

Jordan’s sister gives her a kiss during the candle lighting ceremony.

Jordan’s friends join her to light a candle together.

The rest of the party was spent dancing the night away and singing along to their favorite songs!

We had a great time! Thanks for allowing us to photograph your lovely celebration!

Luciana Tries to Cut the Cake by Adrian Ziemkowski.

I have to post this photo of Luciana and Jason (with Karen in the background), as it’s just to funny. Jason is a coworker and friend of mine.

This was at a wedding party in the states for friends and family who couldn’t make it to the wedding in Brazil.