Daria and I met last year at another event, and I remember being struck by her poise, so when she invited me to photograph her event, I knew it would be a well planned, seamless event.  What I didn’t expect was that I would walk away from the event being inspired and enlightened to more effectively position myself as a leader.

The keynote speaker of the event was Robbin Mitchell, the COO of Club Monaco.  Before joining the Ralph Lauren Corporation , she was the Senior Vice President, Chief of Staff at Ralph Lauren, reporting directly to Roger Farah.  Robbin began her career at Ralph Lauren in 2001 as Vice President, Wholesale Replenishment for the Polo Brands Wholesale Division.  She also spent 10 years as a management consultant and investment banker at McKinsey & Company, The Boston Consulting Group and Lehman Brothers, and has a BA from Stanford University and a Harvard MBA.  Overall, Robbin knows what it takes to lead, manage and get to the top and she very candidly shared her thoughts over dinner at the 21 Club.

Although I’m no longer working in corporate, Robbin’s advice was still very relevant.  She told the small group about her journey to the position of Senior Vice President, Chief of staff at Ralph Lauren, reporting directly to Roger Farah and eventually the COO of Club Monaco.  Most importantly she spoke about owning who you are and showing up 100% every time physically, mentally and emotionally so other’s can take note of you, your gifts and talents.

I loved how Robbin sat down at each table for dinner and made herself accessible and open to everyone’s thoughts and questions.  It was a wonderful evening in New York, and I especially enjoyed capturing Robbin sharing her knowledge and the the “aha” lightbulb moments going for each lady.

I have a morning ritual, which includes a hot cup of fruity tea in my Henri Bendel cup together with some fruit jelly spread on a freshly baked Portuguese roll from down the street.

This morning, a few weeks, back was no different, except I was fired up to make things happen personally and professionally.  My Powersheets from the Lara Casey Shop had arrived, and I was ready to start the process of formally writing out my goals with purposeful intention.

You see, my office wall is filled with sticky Post-it notes of small and big goals that sporadically pop into my head (I have a very busy mind).  Even with all these goals in front of me, I was stuck because seeing them made me overwhelmed and excited at the same time, so I wasn’t quickly taking action on them.

Fast forward to now, when I saw Lara Casey’s Powersheets via Instagram, and then I read her post about them, I knew that her system of goal setting, which is grounded in understanding what fires you up and building goals that support what matters most to you, would work well for me.  My Post-it notes were good goals, but they weren’t getting done because the “why” it matters to me was missing.   Yup, the Powersheets set came with a little note with Lara Casey, a nice touch.

So a few weeks back, I sat down and began the process of rewriting my goals.  Yes more than a third of the year has gone by, but May is my New Year.   So over the next month or so, I’ll continue journaling through my Powersheets pack because my mission of inspiring people to celebrate who they are matters to me.  Let’s do this!

Details:

• Goal Setting Powersheets: Lara Casey Shop
• Tablecloth: African print
• Cup: Henri Bendel
• Tea: Harney and Sons mango tea
• Bread: Portuguese roll
• Jam: Strawberry and Rhubarb Scandinavian Delights

I love seeing how he or she brings out a bride’s inner glow and radiance.  It’s truly a work of art.

Shout out to all makeup artists including:

• Jenn and Jenn of Makeup for Your Day
• Victoria of 3DLooks
• Three Custom Color Specialists
• Astrid Hernandez of Juicy Makeup
• Lisa of Fae’s Beauty and Art
• Crystal Leon
• Lori Hamilin
• Chi Peeoples MUA

I miss my nephew Tendo, which means “precious” in Luganda.

I miss his chunky cheeks.  Drooly giggles.  Playing Superman.

My sister shares frequent updates, but it’s not the same as seeing him and having plain old silly auntie P and Tendo time.   Looking forward to seeing him very soon when I head to Los Angeles for a visit.

Until then, at least I have these pictures of him from the past Christmas in Los Angeles to keep me satisfied.

It’s not everyday that you get to learn and work alongside two celebrity wedding vendors: Jacqueline Weppner of Merci New York, Manhattan-based bridal, fashion and prop styling company and celebrity photographer Mike Colón in the gorgeous destination venue Now Jade in Riviera Cancun, Mexico!

Yup, it happened.  One dream checked off my list thanks to Stacie Francombe, founder of the Inspire Smart Success, which inspires wedding professionals to think smart on their journey to success, for bringing us all together in Mexico and inspiring us to collaborate in ways that this little Ugandan girl could only imagine in her wildest dreams.  I took oodles and oodles of photos, so get ready for some major loveliness from this awesome team below!

Isn’t our bridal model Claudia Lozano Dominguez gorgeous?!?

I met Mike Colón a few years ago when I attended his photography workshop and left a changed person.  He is a man of God, humble, kind and his philosophy of giving information freely has inspired me to change how I do business by encouraging and helping other photographers who are starting out in this industry.

Here are some behind the scene shots of Mike Colón doing his thing.

GASP!!  The details.  Jackie never ceases to amaze me with her effortless chic designs and style and out of the box ideas.  And, Jackie is super sweet!  I seriously died when she said remembered me from Mike Colón‘s workshop back when I had just started my photography business.  For this destination styled bridal shoot, she incorporated soft gold tones to play up the tropical environment.  Yes, she even suggested taking the tabletop designs out into the middle of the ocean… and I was up for it, but logistically, it wasn’t possible THIS time, but maybe next time!

In love with the gold sparkly “Cheers” coasters, invite and escort cards from Gourmet Invitations.

Yup, she even brought gold Jimmy Choos!

Special thanks and a shout out to everyone for a gorgeously planned, styled shoot including:

And of course, this post wouldn’t be complete with some behind the scenes fun shots!

Hanging out with the talented videographer Eduardo Gomez.  I hope I get to work with him again on a real wedding in Mexico.

Jackie following us to the white sandy beaches to make sure all the wedding details look perfect throughout the entire shoot.

So I had to go big for her gift which included this Barbie pink Betsey Johnson bag.  It was hard to let go of this quilted pink hearts bag (eek! with a gold thunderbolt zipper and big patent leather edged bow…

but then I realized how much more joy it would bring my sister, who works on the Barbie brand!  and that made me so much happier than keeping it for myself.  She’ll definitely cherish it so much more than I would.

But before I gifted it to her, I managed to get this one scrumptious photo…

Happy Mother’s Day!  xoxo to all mothers and mothers to be.  We love you immensely!

Many years ago just before I left for college, I had the opportunity to swim with a dolphin in Miami but very quickly ruled it out.  At the time, the price seemed unreasonable for the amount of time, and the experience was not pragmatic, BUT watching my sister swim with the dolphins, I regretted it because I love animals and deep down, I knew I didn’t take a risk because I was afraid I didn’t deserve such an exorbitant experience.

Fast forward to NOW.  I now know no day, nothing is promised.  Live in the now.

So this year when I was in Bermuda at Dolphin Quest, and I found out I could swim with the dolphins, I didn’t hesitate.  Life is too short to hide, play small, not risk more for what matters.

It was a very cold day with impending thunderstorms, so I couldn’t go swimming with the dolphins but leaning over the edge, feeding, talking and playing with the dolphins was the next best thing.

First I was scared to touch the dolphins…. but I got over that quickly.  They feel like nothing you’ve ever touched before… closest I can describe them as is a rubbery eggshell.

Life is too short not to swim with the dolphins.

Or maybe I was the one staring.

Looking at her, I saw myself, quiet, shy, reserved but always observing the life around her.  I wanted to tell her so many things: that she looked absolutely beautiful in her red gomesi, midnight flower headband and her creamy dark brown skin was to be celebrated.  I wanted to tell her to dream big and never stop dreaming, to risk when it was hard or scary, to respect your parents and spend time understanding who they are and were as children, to dance uninhibited every. single. time because life is worth celebrating, to know God and listen for His whispers and to cherish her friendships.

Instead, I took this photo of her right before she ran off to be with her friends.

She looks like a Little Ugandan Mona Lisa in a red gomesi.