Helena and Gabe’s story is the kind of story we hate hearing! Helena and Gabe have been married for over 14 years without a wedding photo on their wall to show for it! *gasp* Apparently, the wedding photos their photographer took are so bad that they didn’t want to put them up.

Fast forward 14 years to our contest in September. Helena and Gab saw our anniversary shoot contest as a great oppurtunity to get the great photos of their love that they never had. Here is what Helena said about why they wanted to win,

For us, the best part of being married is always having our best friend right by our side. We have grown up together both mentally and spiritually which we think is just amazing! We deserve this special treat because we didn’t have our dream wedding. On a limited budget, we had to hire the cheapest photographer around, and needless to say, it showed. We have never displayed any wedding photos in our home With that said, I sure hope we have a shot at this as it would be a huge blessing!

Over 300 of Helena and Gabe’s friends and family voted for them and they won the anniversary contest and planning began!

A closest fashion diva, Helena wanted the shoot to express something edgy but sweet. Her dream was to really step out of her box! Inspiration for the shoot came from Tim Burton, Alice in Wonderland, Disney and high-fashion! The amazing Collette Budd from Brier Rose Design worked her magic and created this “Queen of Hearts” themed shoot.

The anniversary shoot was an absolute blast and we truly couldn’t have asked for a better couple. One thing that really stuck out to us about Helena and Gabe was Gabe’s sincere love for his wife and his selfless desire to see her happy. He kept saying to us…”I’m so glad she is getting to do this! She will love this! Gosh! She looks so happy and beautiful!”

Helena and Gabe,
Thank you for blessings us with your sweet love story! We are so so glad that we are able to give you the photos you always wanted, but never had. Fourteen years is a long time to wait, but we pray it was worth it! Happy Valentine’s Day!
xoxo,
Kristin and Dustin Smetona

Vendors

Photography: Smetona Photo
Styling: Brier Rose Design
Make-up: Riley Hagel
Florist: Merryl Jensen
Cake: Itty Bitty Sweets
Rentals: Smoketree Junction Antiques

Today (of all days) leave some love for Helena and Gabe below!

We had such a great time hanging out with Manny and Bibiana! They have such a sweet relationship together and our shoot with them at Irvine Regional Park was a breeze! We are so excited for their wedding in a few months!

Leave some love for the bride and groom-to-be!

Love that photo on the right! So sexy!

Here’s a teaser for little Ms. Ashley! Be on the lookout for more photos from Ashley and Jordan’s Session.
I just love the black and white one. Don’t you?

Rob and Holly are getting married on the beach in Laguna Beach TODAY! So, we thought we would put a little teaser of them up from our mini shoot with them and their family last night. Are they so sweet together?

We know that everyone seems to think that Smetona Photo is mainly Kristin. That is not altogether true. The following sweet shots are all by Dustin! Woop! Woop!

Well, our marriage is. August 26th is our one year anniversary!!! And a great first year it has been!!! We absolutely love spending time together, whether it be watching Lord of the Rings, cuddling, drinking hot chocolate, or hanging out with clients. Dustin, I love you so much and think you are stinkin’ hot! *hugs and kisses*

Enough of the mushy stuff…

In honor of our love, we have decided to give away a styled anniversary shoot to one lucky couple! This is perfect for couples who have been married for a long time, want to rock their wedding garb again, got bad wedding photos, or just want a great excuse to have lovely photos taken!

Who can enter?: Married couples in Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside County, or San Diego.

What do I have to do to enter?: Send in a photo of you with your love to  info@smetonaphoto.com. Wedding photos are preferable, but not necessary. You then have your friends “like” the Smetona Photo page and “like” or comment on YOUR photo to vote for you! Our out of town friends can also vote on whose story and/or photo they like best!!  That easy!! The couple with the most votes by the end of the contest wins the photo shoot with us!

So what do you win?: A whole bunch of amazing PHOTOS, FLOWERS, STYLING, MAKE-UP and HAIR, & yes even CAKE valued at well over $700! 

YOU WIN:
A two-hour anniversary, trash the dress, or love photo session with Kristin and Dustin Smetona! ($200)

A disk of all the photos ($100)

One 11×14 canvas of your favorite photo for your home  ($100)

One 8×10 and two 5×7 prints 
A Custom bouquet and boutonnière to use in your shoot from our wedding florist, Merryl Jensen!

Shoot styling by the the super lovely and talented Collette Budd of Brier Rose Design
Photos below by Jeray and Kim Weddings

Hair and Make-up for the lady by professional make-up artist, Riley Hagel.
A custom 6″ cake from Itty Bitty Sweets!

ALL ENTRIES must be in by this Monday, August 15th and the contest starts Monday morning and runs until the end of August! To enter please send your information to info@smetonaphoto.com!!!

Send:
Photo, names, your anniversary, best thing about being married, and why you deserve to win this prize!! Then on August 15th, prepare your friends to vote!!! Please, only one entry per family!

Good luck!!!