mandy carroll

I am really, really excited about this years holiday cards.  One of the things that I love about the holidays is that I get to open boxes of clients cards when they come back from my printer and drool over them.  These designs on linen paper never, ever disappoint:)  You can see all six new designs (along with last years which are still available) at my website under the galleries section.  Cards are priced at $125 for a set of 25, with additional sets $100.  So take a peek and be sure to get a set of your own to drool over this holiday season!

Also, just a reminder that Mini Sessions (see post below) are filling up fast, but I still have plenty of room available.  So please, sign up soon to get the best time and tell all of your friends!

It is hard to believe that I am actually writing this blog post.  The funny thing is that when I took these pictures(scroll below) back in August, I had fully intended to post them on the blog as part of a ‘farewell to summer/get ready for another Virginia winter’ post.  But I never knew that they would become part of a different kind of farewell.  I don’t mean to be melodramatic so let me just get to the point- as of this afternoon, my family and I will be moving out West at the end of November.  As much as we love living here in Virginia, we have been feeling the pull to be closer to our families, both of which are in Utah.  So my husband started applying for jobs out there recently and to our surprise we got a great job offer very quickly.  So here we are, packing bookshelves and contacting moving companies and feeling all the stressful/exciting/sad emotions that come along with getting ready to leave this place that we love so much, the place where we have, so far, raised our three small children.  And for me, a place where I have built so many amazing friendships and bonds with my great clients and their children.  My business, which in many ways I consider my fourth child, was born and raised here as well.  And the idea of abandoning it completely is just absurd to me.  So, if I have enough interest I am planning to make a weekend trip back here next year (and hopefully the years after that) for a series of mini sessions to photograph those of you who are interested.  It will likely be the third or fourth weekend in October.  Please let me know if you are interested so I can begin compiling a waiting list and I will contact you as the date gets closer:)

As for this year, I want to give as many people as possible a chance to get fall photos from me before I leave, so I am going to do a series of mini sessions.  Here are the dates and details:

FALL MINI SESSIONS

$300

Includes a 30 minute session

8-10 proofs in a private online gallery

and

1 set of custom holiday cards or equivalent print credit

(I have some great new designs this year and will post them on the sight soon!)

1- 8×10 print

4- 5×7 prints

or

3 of your favorite images on digital file for

unlimited printing for size 8×10 and under

DATES:

Saturday, October 22 at Pleasant Grove (20 minutes from Cville)

Friday, October 28 at Pleasant Grove

Saturday, October 29 at Ivy Natural park in Charlottesville

Session times will be available between 9am and 3pm, so book now to reserve your time slot.  And please tell your friends- I would love to see these fill up quickly:)  Also, if you would rather have a full session, I still have a few weekday openings so be sure to contact me soon to snatch them up.

I want to tell all of you that have been a part of Mandy Carroll Photography for these past 5 years a big thank you.  This business has been so much more than a business to me- it has been my creative outlet and source of sanity as I have attempted to raise my own family.  And the children and families that I have photographed have been so much more than just clients- they have each become a small part of what has made my life so great here in VA.  I feel very blessed to have been a part of their lives in a small way.  And just remember, this is not a goodbye:)  I will be back and hopefully have the chance to see you all again in another year!  Thank you all so very much!

And of course I will still keep up my pathetic attempts to blog 2000 miles away from Cville, so check in on me now and then!  Enjoy the Queen Anne’s Lace- one of the thousands of things I will miss very much:)

I grew up in a house full of girls.  My poor brother, sandwiched right in the middle of four sisters, had to endure constant drama, and Chirstmas mornings where his small pile of GI Joe and Skeletron action figures got lost in all the pink boxes of new barbie dolls, my little ponies and boondoggle  thread.  So you can imagine how surprised my mom must have been when, with the birth of my last baby, she welcomed her sixth grandson into the family.  There is an unspoken race to see which of us sisters will have the first baby girl.  No doubt she will have barbie dolls and boondoggle (or has that been replace by silly bands?) to her hearts content.

Luckily, my job allows me to see a lot of baby girls and looking at these sweet babies with their pretty pink baby carriers and cute nursery’s I get a small glimpse into what it would be like to have a baby girl.  Don’t get me wrong, I really love being a mom to three boys.  But I am also grateful that I occasionally have the opportunity to put a pink headband or purple hat on a baby:)

Enjoy the peek of this sweet baby girl!  She was such an angel!

There is nothing sweeter than a cute baby grin:)  Enjoy the peek!