gilcelia photography

time flies!

2010-09-24T14:41:00.002-04:00

april 2009

...september 2010

kate and david are cuteness overload
:)

life

2010-09-19T22:22:00.005-04:00

i'm just so happy lately :)

(deise took this picture of me in nyc last year)

((i call it "my attempt to make it to the sartorialist"))

the warehouse

2010-09-13T12:33:00.001-04:00

new friends bring a new perspective

moment

2010-07-19T10:29:00.000-04:00

ivy ready to see danny

2010-04-15T14:13:00.002-04:00

b&w

2010-03-11T12:20:00.007-05:00

i've been taking black and white film classes since january which has made me fall in love with photography in a whole new way.
these are a few film files from kathy and alex's wedding at deering state.

now if i can just convince my husband to turn the half bathroom into a dark room we'll be all set!

have i mentioned lately i love my job?

2010-02-10T00:20:00.000-05:00

raiza + edwardo

2010-02-02T11:13:00.005-05:00

art + music + creativity + love = raiza & edwardo

*VERY interesting note about this picture* the camera you see on the right of the frame was raiza's grandfather's camera, he was fidel castro's photographer in the 1950s

i heart this picture so much:

so excited to be shooting their wedding with deise in a few weeks.
raiza and edwardo's wedding was chosen to be featured on TLC's four weddings.
holla back if you see me on tv! :)

the campos family

2010-01-28T10:02:00.003-05:00

while in brazil last year, i had the priviledge to shoot my cousin ellen's cute family. ellen is so dear to my heart, we've been "best cousins" since we were 4 or 5 years old. when we were kids, we would write each other letters all year long in anticipation for our summer vacation. i spent every summer of my childhood at my grandfather's farm with my cousins. needless to say, these are the best memories i have of growing up, and ellen is a huge part of them.

every time i go to brazil i stay at ellen's house, she treats me like a queen, takes me around, and fills my cavities for free (she's a dentist) :)
she had felipe in 2008 and he's the sweetest boy ever! i also love her husband lindolpho, he's so chill and laid back.
here are my favorites from the shoot...

and this is her sister evelyn... i'll post pictures of evelyn and her husband soon :)

i love you lenlen, see you in may :)

2010 wishes

2010-01-05T13:43:00.003-05:00

when i see people in love, in a gorgeous background and a perfect light, the moment i press the shutter i feel something wonderful, something hard to describe in words...

i wish i can take many, many pictures like this in 2010

and i wish you can feel what i feel many, many times in 2010

happy new decade!

i keep falling in love...

2009-12-02T17:28:00.002-05:00

... with my client's kids!
i can't help it, they are so cute!

more to come soon :)

bike race

2009-11-16T15:17:00.004-05:00

my husband eddie has been in love with sports since he was a chubby kid and his dad forced him to play soccer to lose weight. he loves the outdoors like no one i've ever met and has a passion for all things nature.
him and his friends are always doing races, from marathons and iron mans to mountain bike and adventure races like desafio de los volcanes, ecomotion, and XPD (also known as 10 days lost in the australian outback), etc.
they are always pushing their limits to find out how much more pain they can endure and how much more miserable they can feel.
well, to each his own, and if it keeps him happy (and it does!) i try to be there as often as i can to support and register his craziness.
this race was a small mountain bike race they did in northern florida a few months back... deise was there with me because her husband also raced (we took a nice walk and talked photography while they killed themselves).
here are a few shots from the day:

eddie:

our funniest friend, jim:

his lovely wife heather:

notice the energy gel strategically placed for a mid-race snack

eddie's jersey says paradofobia, which is a team he created with his buddies in brazil. paradofobia means "fear of staying still" in portuguese (but don't look it up because technically the word doesn't exist :)

the whole crew:

eddie, his bff pablo, and deise's husband herly:

jim and heather crossing the finish line (notice the mixture of happiness/pain in heather's face):

i'll try to post some of their adventures more often :)

the good family :)

2009-11-05T10:18:00.002-05:00

yes! that is really their last name, and it couldn't fit them better, they are really good people.
todd is also a wedding photographer in south florida, check out his beautiful work here
i've heard that it can be a little nerve wrecking to shoot another photographer and i didn't think it was true until todd hired me to take pictures of his family.
i didn't exactly feel nervous, i just wanted to make sure todd would love the pictures, so yeah... no pressure! ha!
it was a good thing that todd, his wife kristy, and their a-dorable son brody were a delight to shoot.
here are some faves:

todd, thank you so much for thinking of me! happy first birthday baby brody!!!!!

richard

2009-11-04T00:02:00.001-05:00

rich is a model and aspiring actor. he's so cute and such a sweetheart. i was thrilled when he hired me to take some portfolio shots of him.
by the way single boys, he's available :)

good luck with your career richard! and thank you for breakfast on the day of the shoot! :)

the portfolio + workshop

2009-11-03T09:31:00.004-05:00

a few weeks ago deise and i attended ray santana's workshop in miami. deise was one of the models and we had a great time learning from ray, kenny kim, becker, lawrence, and the rest of the gang.
julien diaz put together this video of the day. you can see deise (along with her husband herly) all over the video... and you can spot me at 1:32 hehehe

Portfolio + Workshop from JULIEN for MERGE STUDIOS on Vimeo.

i will post the pictures i took as well as my review of the whole experience soon.

pri & vinny (day after)

2009-11-02T17:28:00.003-05:00

this "day after" session actually happened a month or so after priscila and vinicius got married.
they were great models as usual and deise and i got a few cool shots despite a very strange south florida weather

elissa & tj

2009-10-27T19:36:00.003-04:00

when deise and i went to dallas to shoot andrea's wedding with paula, we stayed at elissa and tj's house.
of course we didn't waste the opportunity and took a few portraits of them...

paula, the dog lover that she is, went crazy over elissa and tj's puppies:

elissa and tj, thank you so much for your hospitality, come visit us in florida now :)

aidan is 1

2009-10-26T14:52:00.006-04:00

yes, i am still alive.
life keeps getting crazier and crazier, but i know it's no excuse.
don't give up on me just yet, you faithful reader you, the reward shall be yours in the end.

so, aidan, our delicious godson (he's technically only eddie's godson but i don't care) turned one. it seems like only yesterday he was born and baptized.

i love this series of aidan and his mom, he's such a momma's boy...

ahhh, the first taste of birthday cake...

and of course, don't forget to stop by aidan's mom blog where she continues to narrate her life as a wife/mom/teacher/intellectual/fashionista/makeup expert in a fun and entertaining way.

monica & pedro (wedding)

2009-09-24T20:03:00.004-04:00

monica and pedro got married on the jersey shore. deise and i had a great time at this wedding... they treated us like family :)
here are a few favorites.

i love when couples dance the night away...

pedro and monica, you guys are amazing. i wish you a lifetime of hapiness and hope you call me when you come down to miami so i can take you to a decent club! all my love :)

monica & pedro

2009-09-01T11:38:00.005-04:00

last month, deise and i flew to new york to shoot monica and pedro's wedding. two days before the wedding we shot their engagement session on central park. needless to say, a great time was had by all :)

their wedding on the jersey shore was beautiful! here is a sneak peek:

monica and pedro, thank you so much for your hospitality and for treating us like family :)
deise, thank you for an unforgettable trip to nyc.

featured on mywedding.com blog!!!!

2009-08-27T11:36:00.004-04:00

i am so excited to announce andrea and richard's wedding was featured on the mywedding.com blog!

CHECK IT OUT!!!!

this part of the blog features real weddings and interviews with the couple. andrea answered some questions to help other brides plan their big day =)

although only my images appear on the blog, paula and deise were also there and took beautiful pictures as well.

so exciting!

my weekend in 9 squares

2009-08-19T17:13:00.002-04:00

(shot with b&w film)

;)

andrea & richard

2009-07-29T14:38:00.002-04:00

last month, deise and i flew to dallas to shoot andrea and richard's wedding along with paula leme.
the three of us had a great time and i only wish paula didn't live in chicago so we could work together more often.
andrea was the calmest bride i have ever seen and i loved the marie antoinette color scheme she chose!
here are some of my favorite images... (don't forget to watch the slideshow at the end)

andrea and her dad:

right after the pastor proclaimed they were married:

they got married at the fort worth water gardens

the couple and the three photographers:

nikolas is here

2009-07-19T11:41:00.002-04:00

remember the riveron family? i thought it was impossible for that family to get any cuter, but i was wrong... annette had nikolas a few weeks after our shoot.
he is SO cute and tiny!

little ed is one proud big brother

isn't nikolas delicious?!

love this family shot:

priscila & vinicius (wedding)

2009-07-16T13:49:00.003-04:00

deise and i shot pri and vinny's wedding a few weeks ago.
everything was flawless because it was coordinated by larissa from l&m events (my_weddingplanner@hotmail.com).

priscila looked radiant...

vinny was a very happy man that day...

pri and vinny planned all the little details of the party, i personally loved these:

deise and i are shooting a "day after" with them this sunday... so more pictures of this sweet couple coming soon!
:)

catharine & anthony (slideshow)

2009-07-13T12:41:00.000-04:00

andrea & bobby (slideshow)

2009-07-10T11:26:00.001-04:00

coming soon

2009-07-09T10:05:00.003-04:00

you know when you come back from vacation but you can't focus back on real life? my vacation ended weeks ago yet i feel like i'm still on vacation mode!
slowly but surely i am coming back. so here is a preview of what's to come:

priscila and vinny got married and i will be posting their wedding soon...
priscila was a beautiful bride:

and then deise and i went to dallas to shoot a wedding with super talented paula leme (!!!!)
andrea was the calmest bride i have ever seen. i took this picture minutes before she walked down the aisle with her father, and it is probably one my favorite images ever!

i will be posting everything soon, along with the real reason i went to brazil :)

tracy & aldmar

2009-07-06T10:44:00.004-04:00

tracy and aldmar got married on a beach in clearwater. it was a beautiful ceremony filled with love and emotion.
here is the slideshow with my favorite images (some of these pictures were taken by deise)

my uber fabulous and amazing friend deise came out to help me that day. i am so lucky to have her as my business partner and friend. check out her wonderful work and leave some love on her blog too: deisedobelin
thanks for everything deisulove! nyc here we come! :)

andrea & bobby (wedding)

2009-07-03T10:18:00.005-04:00

andrea and bobby got married at the ocean reef club in key largo.
the wedding was cool and relaxed, just like andrea wanted.
as usual, deise and i had fun shooting the wedding with our new assistant sarah =)

the flower girl was so cute!

andrea looking hot

andrea and her dad right before the walk down the aisle

married!

first dance

pretty bling!

slideshow coming soon!

catharine & anthony (wedding)

2009-07-02T12:44:00.003-04:00

catharine and tony's wedding was fun to shoot... everything was beautiful and deise and i had a great time.
catharine got ready at the atlantic fort lauderdale, this was the view from her penthouse:

they got married at the beautiful lauderdale yacht club. if you like this place, i highly recommend you contact bridget (catering@lyc.org), she is wonderful and will help you plan your event there...

anthony just minutes before the i dos

dad giving catharine away:

the first dance

time to get down!

some final portraits at the end of the night...

slideshow coming soon! :)

off to brazil

2009-06-18T09:01:00.004-04:00

i am going to brazil tomorrow to attend my grandfather's 90th birthday :)
i will try to reply to emails as much as i can.
we will resume our regular scheduled programming on july 1st.
here are the two towns i will be visiting while in brazil:

i have 5 weddings to post, among other things... so stay tuned!

whitney & al

2009-06-11T01:02:00.005-04:00

if cuteness and precious had a daughter, they would have whitney. she is the sweetest girl i've ever met and i loved shooting her, her fiance alvaro, and their 5 dogs. that's right, FIVE. it got a little chaotic at times, but we managed to get a few good shots even when strangled by leashes.

whitney and al, can't wait for september 6!

catharine & tony

2009-05-20T20:19:00.002-04:00

catharine and anthony live in chicago, so deise and i only got to do their engagement pictures 5 days before the big day!
here are my favorites from the session...

wedding images coming soon!
wait until you see them all dressed up and prettyfied...

the duffy family

2009-05-15T12:27:00.005-04:00

this family is simply a-dorable! get ready for some serious cuteness coming your way...

i'm in love with this picture:

cate has a thing for flowers:

before cate sat down for this picture she said: i love my family! :)

little david thinks his dad is pretty hilarious:

then off to the park we went

i think this is probably my favorite family shot ever!

told you...

cuteness!

amy, i loved loved loved taking pictures of you guys, let me know when little david is ready for the beach!
:)

priscila & vinicius

2009-05-13T22:50:00.004-04:00

pri and vinny hired deise and i almost a year ago to shoot their upcoming wedding and we are so excited the day is finally getting here!
this couple is beyond awesome... we love hanging out with them so much we went to dinner after the shoot.

check out super hot priscila

some pda at starbucks

i totally copied deise d. on this shot... oh well, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"

they were actually singing here, so pretty!

whoa!

my very favorite:

and i know she will hate me for posting this but this is deise (her name is pronounced daisy). she is the flowerbomb and i'm so lucky i get to work with her :)

pri and vinny, we'll see you guys soon!

john casablancas

2009-05-12T14:33:00.003-04:00

a few days ago deise and i had the opportunity to shoot a few portraits of john casablancas.
his wife aline and his kids are super sweet, and we felt at home the whole time.

these are fernando and johnny, his adorable kids

thank you silvia for thinking of us.
thank you deise d. for being the best partner anyone could ask for.

eva

2009-05-08T23:53:00.003-04:00

eva is my friend beth's daughter. she is the cutest thing, her eyes are so gorgeous and piercing!
she's contracted with ford models so i went to get some shots for her portfolio...
check out the cuteness

eva is at that age when they won't sit still for five seconds. beth and i looked like two crazy ladies running after the child... hehehe

and then the inevitable happened... i made her cry :(

but i thought she was beautiful even crying so i didn't stop shooting!

and this is her rock star mama beth lobos. beth is a friend of my friend liz, and we became friends the minute we met.
she has a pretty interesting life story, check out her blog

it's midnight so i'm going to bed... key largo wedding tomorrow with deised... can't wait!

critters

2009-05-07T10:51:00.004-04:00

for the longest time i wanted a dog, but chance had it that we found a cat wandering the streets of downtown hollywood one day... we fell in love with him and brought him home.
and so mojito has authoritarianly reined the house for the past two years...

...until two months ago a friend called and asked if i wanted to adopt her dogs because she could no longer care for them.

when i first brought coco and gracie home mojito was not thrilled... but they've become friends and even play together now.

this is gracie, she's a maltese

and this is coco, she's a morkie (maltese/yorkie mix)

we are still adjusting to having 3 pets, but at the end of the day we love our mini zoo...

and that's how we became one big family :)

andrea & bobby

2009-04-29T19:54:00.007-04:00

deise and i had so much fun with andrea and bobby the other day... it didn't feel like work at all!

their house is almost ready for them to move in

don't they look gorgeous together?

more pics on their boat...

bobby and andrea, see you guys in key largo soon!

rose + leo = anthony

2009-04-23T20:46:00.003-04:00

rose and leo are expecting little anthony this saturday!
here are some of my favorites from our photoshoot.

thank you daisy for allowing me to register this important moment in rose's life.
good luck on saturday rose!

robson & leticia

2009-04-22T12:52:00.004-04:00

robson and leticia married a few weeks ago at the deering estate in miami. deise tagged me along for a day of fun.
a few favorites:

robson and the guys. boy-band style

they turned their engagement pictures into a guest sign in book:

how many people does it take to convince a flower girl to walk down the isle? :)

these two had a very sweet way of looking at each other

married!

the gorgeous cake by vanessa. can you guess robson's profession?

robson & leticia, hope you're still looking at each other the same way 20 years from now.

...but then i had kids

2009-03-16T10:55:00.007-04:00

no, it wasn't me who had kids. it was my friend liz.

liz is, as i love to proudly announce, my published writer friend.
she's the epitome of the perfect woman: intelligent, stylish, profound, beautiful, athletic, organized, fun, and a little wild.
i can always count on her (due partly to her extreme type a personality) and she is the main reason why i have this blog and the website (i'll tell that story someday).
anyway, i'm telling you all this because she recently started a blog.
it's a blog about parenting... well, sort of.
see, liz has a very interesting perspective on the whole motherhood thing, which i find very amuzing. her writing is brilliant (did i mention she's a published writer?) and you MUST check it out and add it to your favorites:

but-then-i-had-kids

i'll keep a permanent link here on my favorite blogs list.
go on there now and leave her some love.

aidan's baptism

2009-03-09T10:52:00.003-04:00

aidan is getting cuter by the minute. he was baptized a few weeks ago and eddie was the godfather (or "papa de dios" as i dubbed him).

ben and his buddy mark:

:)

the riveron family is growing

2009-03-06T21:45:00.002-05:00

i had the privilege to shoot annette and her boys a few weeks ago.
annette is a lucky girl because pretty soon there will be one more man in her life to take care of her.
how adorable are they...

annette looks gorgeous pregnant, i love the short hair!

this is little ed, he had a lot of cute faces for me

this was by far my favorite! i love his expression

ed and annette make such a cute couple!

i really liked these...

thanks annette! i can't wait to meet and take pictures of the little guy :)

deb | jack | sam

2009-02-22T10:22:00.002-05:00

deb called me to schedule a photo shoot with her sons, she wanted to surprise her husband with the pictures on his birthday.
i had so much fun shooting them! jack and sam are typical boys and they would not sit still for any longer than 2 or 3 seconds.
i got tired just by watching them!
deb is australian which means i immediately loved her. how can you not love a people when the words they say the most are "no worries" and "cheers"? impossible.
deb and the boys are absolutely gorgeous, which made my job so much easier! i ended up loving almost every single picture i took, but i had to narrow it down to these:

this is deb

jack

and sam

and there's also gus, their adorable dog!

thanks deb! hope i get to shoot the whole family next time. :)

gabriela's sweet 16

2009-02-13T14:37:00.008-05:00

two weeks ago i shot gabriela's sweet 16 party. i seriously felt like i was on an episode of mtv's my super sweet 16.
let me tell you something about gabriela's party... gabriela's party was HOT!

here she is getting ready...

she looked drop dead gorgeous!

jacaranda country club looked like a night club!

gabriela had a grand entrance

lighting the candles

with mom and dad

the dj alex marc was beyond awesome! the lights, decor, video, and music was incredible! check out his website spin fantastic

thank you kathy! you did an outstanding job for 5 weeksof planing!
and thank you jackie! i had a blast shooting with you :)

rafa & carol

2009-02-02T09:31:00.001-05:00

rafa and carol came to visit us from brazil and we took them on our little adventure.
we shared great moments and countless laughs...

i used them as my models, obviously.

loved spending time with you guys... miss you already!

i'm alive

2009-01-29T10:04:00.006-05:00

sorry folks.
my life has taken some strange turns lately and i haven't been able to keep up the speed.
all is well though.
thank you for still coming by, sorry if i let you down.

i went away at the end of the year for some much needed away time...
i fell in love with the state of vermont and placed it under the same category that california and colorado are in my heart.
we stayed at our friends shari and mary's house.
just a few shots...

first we stayed 4 days in nyc. having breakfast at dean and deluca everyday and walking around soho never hurts.

vermont...

shari and mary have 3 dogs and 5 cats... they are the godmothers of all rescue animals...
this is mickey:

this is shari, we chased kangaroos in australia together 2 years ago :)

eddie walking with idgy in the morning

shari and mary, thank you so much for showing us vermont and sharing your house and pets with us.
it was great having real syrup in the morning and homemade pizza with beer every night with you guys...

oh yeah... and i learned to snowboard! thanks kevin =)

ok, back to reality now.

2009

2009-01-05T22:13:00.002-05:00

i'm away on vacation this week, but i just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year...
hopefully 2009 will have great things in storage for all of us...

our regular programming will resume on january 12th.

recent picture of me

2008-12-23T11:03:00.001-05:00

need i say more?

annemarie & gary (slideshow)

2008-12-10T10:25:00.000-05:00

give and take

2008-12-09T11:48:00.006-05:00

i just want to say something that's on my mind today.
lately i've had a few client inquiries from brides around the country and a common concern seems to be that everyone is on a tight budget.
i know the economy is not in its best shape right now and trust me, we are all suffering from it. i also know i'm totally biased but let me just say how important your wedding pictures are.
your wedding pictures are the only thing that will stay with you to remind you of those moments for the rest of your life.

when i got married, getting a great photographer was my #1 priority, not just because i love pictures, but mostly because i knew what those images would represent. i hired rafaela the moment i met her because she reflected our personal style and was exactly what i was looking for. she probably cost more than everything else that night except the buffet but hey, it was only 3 years ago and i don't even remember what the main course was! my wedding album however sits on my coffee table now.

i could go on and on about this, but who cares.
yes designer gowns and jimmy choos are fabulous, but honestly, if your photographer is not outstanding, they are not even going to look that great on pictures...
i'm not telling you to hire me, i'm just saying, realize the importance of this decision because everything else will be gone the next day, but your pictures will last for generations to come.
find a photographer that fits your style, even if it's traditional, find the best traditional photographer you can afford.
do not compromise on the most important aspect of your day. you will regret it.

just a thought...

prop 8 the musical

2008-12-04T09:05:00.006-05:00

i found this video online yesterday and loved it!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

it's 2009, equal rights already.

jenn and debbie

2008-11-28T11:50:00.004-05:00

jenn lives here in south florida. her sister debbie lives in new york but came down to visit a few weeks ago.
jenn, the smart girl that she is, took advantage of the occasion to do a sister photo shoot.
seeing them together reminded me of how wonderful it is to have a sister and share that special bond...
i miss my sisters terribly.
here are some of my favorites from the shoot...

this is jenn

this is debbie

the two of them have completely different personal styles, their outfits might give you a clue :)

but they are both beautiful...

time to feed the duckies:

jenn and debbie, hope you guys are having fun with the family this thanksgiving weekend :)

angelina

2008-11-22T16:12:00.003-05:00

angelina was born a week ago, i met her yesterday and she is so cute and tiny! i took some pictures of her while she was still in her mom's belly...
sayonara was glowing like most pregnant women do. on the day of the shoot there was this annoying cloud following us everywhere but we managed to finish the photoshoot without getting completely soaked.

thank you sayonara and elio, enjoy baby angelina! :)

days with my father

2008-11-16T10:30:00.005-05:00

i love sundays.
i just went outside and noticed it's cold today. it made my heart happy.
eddie went to a mountain bike race and i stayed home to work on pictures and write 3 papers for school.
but of course i'm not writing.

i did come across this beautiful website today on anna's blog:
please check out days with my father

i think i'm gonna go for a run.
=)

victoria

2008-11-14T17:41:00.003-05:00

i met juliana and pablo for the first time on the day of their shoot. they are first time parents and couldn't wait for victoria to arrive. it was a good thing we did the shoot as soon as possible because four days after we took these pictures victoria was born!
pablo is extremely devoted to his girls and anyone can see they will be amazing parents.
here are a few favorites from the shoot:

glowing

everything is ready for baby victoria:

daddy already picked up her favorite soccer team:

thank you juliana and pablo! can't wait to meet victoria!

ben's first race

2008-11-11T12:59:00.003-05:00

the big boys had a race last week, but before they raced, the little kids got to play...
ben did his first official mountain bike race :)

this is not ben:

;)

sarah

2008-11-09T13:58:00.003-05:00

sarah is deise's friend. besides gorgeous, she's intelligent, witty, and hilarious... and, she listens to debussy!!!
we had fun doing this shoot, and deise's sister denise was a great production assistant ;)
sarah looks like an urban outfitters model...
(production by deise d. + makeup by me:)

gary + annemarie

2008-11-05T00:33:00.006-05:00

gary and annemarie's wedding was simply beautiful... a happy, sincere celebration of their love for each other.
with close friends and family they vowed to grow old and build a life together. their ceremony made me laugh and cry (thank god i have a camera in front of my face!) and i am so happy to have been there.
everyone made deise and i feel right at home... it was a day filled with love and fun which made our work that much easier.

the gorgeous dress by demetrios

the bridesmaids were so fun! they all got ready together at the fort lauderdale grande

annemarie putting the veil on:

annemarie has a beautiful connection with her dad. he made her an itunes wedding day playlist for her to listen to while getting ready. how perfect is that?!

even though they were both smiling through most of the ceremony, i think the way gary is looking at his soon to be wife in this image is priceless:

married!

don't they look gorgeous together?

tear-jerker of the night: the father/daughter dance

cheers!

the dj sean paul was awesome!! he kept everyone on their feet and played a selection that made it hard for me to be still :)

so sweet...

i think this image sums up the night... these two just danced the night away...

deise and i had a serious sugar rush thanks to these...

rings with the lauderdale yacht club seal!

gary and annemarie, you guys are truly amazing. thank you for making me feel like a friend from the moment i met you. i know you two will have a beautiful life together and your kids will be so lucky to have such cool, fun, down to earth parents.
i wish you all the happiness you deserve... hope to meet you for happy hour one of these days.
thank you katie for thinking of me! you're beautiful inside and out. i loved meeting your whole family.
thank you deise for always being fabulous. you have the best eye.

yes, we can.

2008-11-04T23:28:00.004-05:00

i have goosebumps right now.
i'm so proud of the country i call home.
i'm also honored to be alive today and be able to witness such a historic moment in american history.
to every african american, hispanic or asian boy or girl. yes you can.
barack obama is our new president.

barbara

2008-10-31T14:17:00.003-04:00

barbara will be here in january... maisa and simei will be the most loving and proud parents.
they live in orlando and drove all the way down for a photo shoot :)
(how lucky is barbara, really... with parents like these and living next door to disney world!)
some favorites...

maisa looks so cute pregnant:

as we took pictures of maisa, simei would not stop looking at her...

thank you so much for coming down guys! it meant a lot to us.
can't wait to meet barbara!

alanis

2008-10-21T12:47:00.006-04:00

i went to the alanis morissette concert last night with my darling friend liz.
thanks to her super connections we got to sit on the fifth row!!!!
i went to the jagged little pill acoustic concert a few years ago and it was quite different... i have to say i prefer angry alanis from last night.
liz and i are suckers for her lyrics and we sang along loudly with our annoying squeaky voices. we rock.
here's one of my favorite songs from her last album, which she wrote after breaking off her engagement... you can't help but feel her pain.

the princesses

2008-10-10T20:13:00.006-04:00

diana and grace are sisters, they are both beautiful and sweet.
hanging out with them reminded me of how wonderful it is to have sisters and to be able to share such a strong bond...
at one point in the shoot i realized that they were both named after princesses, and i think their names fit... they couldn't be more gracious.
(make up by me, production by mrs. fabulousity, deise d)

this is the oldest, diana

this is grace

and let's not forget one of the greatest advantages of having a sister... sharing fun stuff like clothes and makeup!

grace, good luck in brazil... come back soon to visit.
:)

isabella

2008-10-03T10:16:00.003-04:00

belinha is the cutest little girl you ever saw in your life. she is beyond adorable and i seriously considered taking her home with me after the shoot. she was a little shy at first but later in the shoot she became our little gisele.

little hands and feet :)

then she told deise to be quiet ;)

a little car trouble...

told you, little gisele:

so cute!

bella bella boutique

2008-10-01T09:52:00.008-04:00

my friend aline has an online boutique with the most luxurious and fabulous lingerie you've ever seen...
bella bella boutique is for a girl who knows what she wants and is not afraid to get it!
besides lingerie, they have body fragances, candles, acessories, jewelry and everything a girl could possibly need to look sexy 24/7.
check out the website now! you'll die with the gorgeous lingerie they have from europe... it makes victorias secret look like crap! (really, what would you rather have, manolo blahniks or payless shoes?)
there's also a bella bella blog, where you can keep up with the new collections and promotions that are going on...

please, if you are one of my brides or have a boudoir shoot scheduled with me, you MUST click here right now and get something absolutely fabulous!!!!

annemarie & gary

2008-09-28T09:31:00.005-04:00

a week ago deise and i shot gary and annemarie's engagement session. i took a photography course with annemarie's sister katie last year (she was my favorite model) and i'm thrilled to be shooting their upcoming wedding in 3 weeks!
this couple is beyond fun, gary is hilarious and he cracked jokes the entire shoot, annemarie is sweet and funny as well... by the end of the shoot i felt like i wanted to be their friend and hang out with them on a regular basis... hehe
we went to the lauderdale yacht club for pictures... that's where annemarie's dad keeps his boat.
they were a little uncomfortable in front of the camera at first (really, who isn't?) but by the end of the shoot they were pros and gary actually stopped talking :)

gary played some indigo girls for us (just kidding)

some p.d.a.

i don't need to say annemarie will make a beautiful bride, it's kind of obvious...

and if you can get gary to stop joking and making funny faces you can notice how handsome he is:

like i always say.... LIVE LOVE LAUGH

annemarie is also a huge fan of nate and jaclyn from the image is found, i could never compare my skills and images to the king and queen of awesomeness but i aimed for a kaiser vibe on this one:

i know this wedding will be the most fun i've ever had working... i cannot wait!

my anniversary shoot

2008-09-27T23:07:00.003-04:00

my dear friend and partner in crime deise did a photoshoot of me and eddie to celebrate our 3rd anniversary.
she did an amazing job and the pictures came out outstanding!

check it out:
http://deisedobelin.blogspot.com/

www.gilcelia.com

2008-09-25T11:50:00.003-04:00

it's ready!!!!!!
i'm thrilled to announce that my website is finally ready...
i'm still making a few changes here and there but you can see it already :)
now my clients will be able to see their proofs online and purchase additional prints through the site.
bludomain rocks!
check it out:
www.gilcelia.com

cruising

2008-09-22T09:37:00.004-04:00

life is good when your friends pay you to go on a cruise with them to take a few pictures... hehehe
we had a blast (and i ate way more than i should have).

this is samuel and claudit, my friend anne's parents and possibly the sweetest people on the planet... they adopted me as a daughter from the moment they saw me...

this is anne and her little sister denise, they have an older sister patricia that unfortunately couldn't come on the trip

this is mikhael and denise, denise is deise's sister

anne and her husband serginho

paradise island

the ship

catch of the day:

anne's mom in all her cuteness:

mikhael is a pilot, so he gave us a few lessons on clouds one day... i can predict rain now!

denise dancing with her dad at sunset

denise and i stayed in the same room, she's such a cool gal, independent and a free thinker... she definitely dances to the beat of her own drum...

the girls!

i love me some golden light...

thank you anne for the fun job =)

the martinez family

2008-09-21T14:18:00.004-04:00

my friends leo and andressa and their boys just moved from miami to north carolina this month.
eddie and i are are happy because now we have a place to stay when we go up there in the winter =)
i love them and they will be terribly missed.

don't they make a beautiful family:

their boys are the cutest! this is nicholas hugging his brother:

this is felipe and his natural charm:

andressa is stunning and leo resembles ricky martin (at least he thinks so) hehehe...

nicholas' expression cracks me up in this picture...

i love this shot:

love you guys... good luck in raleigh...
we'll have another shoot when i come up to visit.

renan & camylla

2008-09-20T00:52:00.005-04:00

deise and i shot renan and camylla's engagement session a few weeks ago...
these crazy kids are getting married in december.
half of these shots are deise's because we kept switching cameras...

this is a typical deise d. shot... notice the reflection... brilliant!

by the way the makeup was done by moi, and the production was deise's...
yeah, we got skills... hehe

carla & cassia

2008-09-19T15:35:00.003-04:00

my friends carla e cassia are identical twins. they are funny when they are apart and simply hilarious when they are together. they have a beautiful bond only twins can share. i had fun spending time with them at the photo shoot and couldn't stop laughing behind the camera.

it's almost impossible to tell them apart, but this is carla:

and this is cassia:

mirror images:

funny skit

2008-09-16T09:45:00.002-04:00

i saw this on beckers blog today and laughed out loud.
tina fey looks exactly like palin! i love it when palin says "i believe global warming is just god hugging us closer" and "i'm just one heartbeat away from being president of the united states" hahaha

3 years later

2008-09-08T18:59:00.005-04:00

today is my 3rd wedding anniversary...
i love waking up next to eddie every day. he truly makes me a better, happier person.
i am lucky to have found such a wonderful person to live and be in love with.

these are some of my (many) favorite pictures of our wedding day.
i was so blessed to find the best photographer in brazil to shoot our wedding... rafaela azevedo continues to inspire me and move me with her beautiful images... she's the main reason i'm doing this now.

check out more of her work here or here

life

2008-09-04T17:09:00.003-04:00

many times you look back in your life and realize you were happy, you just didn' know it then...
better yet are moments like this... when you are fully aware of your happiness as the present unfolds

eddie jumping at the saint clair vineyard on the marlborough region, new zealand
august 2007

claudia & winston (slideshow)

2008-08-27T09:30:00.001-04:00

caroline

2008-08-25T11:04:00.003-04:00

once in a while you meet somebody that just "clicks" with you.
this was the case with caroline.
she sat next to me 3 1/2 years ago at a bcc world geography class and when she introduced herself i knew she was brazilian...
we immediately started talking and haven't stopped since!
she became one of my best friends, a frequent traveling partner, somebody i can count on and trust.

when i count my blessings, i count her twice.

back in 4th grade

2008-08-21T11:49:00.003-04:00

when i was a kid, i used to love answering questionnaires about my life and personal preferences... needless to say i was so excited when liz sent me this by email the other day!
i figured i post it here :)

1. What time did you get up this morning? Reluctantly at 7:45

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds

3. What was the last film you saw at the movies? Mamma Mia

4. What is your favorite TV show? Friends (forever)

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? A smashed banana with oatmeal, wheat germ, flax seeds, and milk all mixed together. (I grew up eating that and still love it)

6. What is your middle name? My mother's maiden name Mendonça (it's a Brazilian thing)

7. What food do you dislike? Red meat and dead animals in general (Except the ones that live in the sea)

8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? My sister triggered a classical phase and I have the Brandenburg Concertos on the car player right now

9. What kind of car do you drive? An X Terra (not really by choice, more by compromise, I love my car but if I could choose I'd drive a Mini Cooper convertible)

10. Favorite sandwich? Fresh mozzarella and tomato with balsamic vinegar (not the one they sell at the airport though)

11. What characteristics do you despise? Hypocrisy, cockiness, rude people, wannabes

12. Favorite item of clothing? A dress

13. If you could go anywhere on vacation where you would go? Bangkok

14. What color is your bathroom? Boring beige

15. Favorite brand of clothing? Free people, Nannette Lepore, Betsy Johnson, Marc Jacobs, etc... it changes frequently

16. Where would you retire? New Zealand

17. Most memorable birthday? My birthdays are usually blah.

18. Favorite Sport to watch? Tennis

19. Furthest place you are sending this? Brazil

20. Who do you expect to send this back to you? Andressa

21. Person you expect to send it back first? Andressa

22. When is your birthday? January 21st, 1979

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? Definitely night

24. What is your shoe size? 7

25. Pet? I adore my cat and would love to have a small dog

26. What did you want to be when you were little? Famous! I wanted to be a dancer or a singer or an actress... desires completely oppressed by my parents

27. What are you doing today? Working, staring at the rain outside and wishing I were home (it’s Monday, what else is new)

28. What is your favorite candy? Any Brazilian chocolate or sweets I used to eat as a kid.

29. What is your favorite flower? Gosh, I don't think I have one. Peonies come to mind

30. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? The wedding I’ll be shooting on October 18th (I’m a sucker for weddings, even if I'm working)

31. What church/temple do you attend? None

32. What are you listening to right now? Mozart!

33. What did you eat last? Bowl of cereal this morning

34. Do you believe in Angels? No

35. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? I couldn't be just one color; there are so many sides of me! I like to think I’m a box of 36 different colors

36. What is your pet peeve? My friend Liz wrote "People who can not do their jobs properly or choose not to; people who are unreliable" I think I’ll agree with her on this one

38. Favorite soft drink? Fresh squeezed OJ (or any fresh fruit juice)

39. Favorite restaurant? Geez, I don't think I have one! The seared tuna salad from Houstons’ comes to mind though

40. Hair Color? Brown

41. Favorite day of the week? Friday

42. Hugs or kisses? Nothing beats a good hug

43. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate

44. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Sure

45. When was the last time you cried? I saw this old man selling flowers at a traffic light, he could barely walk, that always makes me cry

46. What is under your bed? Nothing, I don't have a bed right now

47. Who is the friend you've had longest? Silvia, we’ve been friends since we were 12

48. What did you do last night? Watched 4 episodes of Dexter back to back

49. Favorite smell? Fig leaves

50. What are you afraid of? Unexpected tragedy

51. How many keys on your key ring? 2 car keys, house, office, and my mother in law's house key (which I have to throw away because she just moved back to Brazil :(

52 How many years at your current job? 4

53 How many towns have you lived in? 5 while growing up in Brazil and God knows how many since I moved to Florida... I've live all over Broward County! (and Boca, and Delray Beach)

54. Do you make friends easily? I don't think so.

55. How many folks will you send this to? 8

before there was baby there was belly

2008-08-19T15:05:00.004-04:00

this is liz prego with aidan...
we also did a family shoot which i'll post later.

becky and sergio

2008-08-16T10:59:00.003-04:00

deise and i shot their intimate and sweet wedding.
their son matthew (cutie pie) was a big part of the celebration.

this is matthew... love those baby blues:

through the glass:

becky and sergio, may your life together be as full of smiles and happy tears as your wedding day was.
be happy.

aidan kai aguerre

2008-08-15T13:12:00.003-04:00

ben's little brother was born on 8/8/08!!!

what do you do to kill time in the hospital when your little brother is born?
watch dora!

gotta love a newborn face:

big brother and daddy:

the proud grandparents:

liz and her baby:

welcome to the world baby aidan!

pick your favorite

2008-08-14T10:48:00.006-04:00

these are my friends anne and serginho. they are such a cool, smart, and funny couple, i love hanging out with them...
we did a "just for fun" session a while back and this is my favorite picture from their shoot.
i've been playing around with textures and wanna know what you think.
which one of the 3?

eat pray love

2008-08-13T09:47:00.005-04:00

this is the book i am currently reading and i can't recommend it enough (especially for women).
it's about a woman trying to find herself while traveling through italy, india, and indonesia.
what a great read... i'm only a third through it but i can't put it down!
pick up a copy if you get a chance.

aidan & me

2008-08-11T14:40:00.002-04:00

it's love at first sight...

an open letter to my blog readers (all 5 of you)

2008-08-11T14:26:00.002-04:00

ok, so this is the deal.
i suck at keeping up with this blog, it’s a fact.
i know some of you waste your time checking back often and end up frustrated that there’s rarely anything new.
i would love to have a great excuse why i haven’t been blogging but in reality no matter how busy i am, i can always make time for writing here, and i simply don’t.
i like to think it has to do with my perfectionism and the fact that i want to post either something brilliant, or nothing… ironically it usually ends up being nothing.

so.

from now on things will be a little different…
i made a vow to start posting more… but in order to ward off laziness i will simply post less text and more pictures, how about that?
this is a photography blog after all.
i will also try to post more about my personal life… it’s not usually that exciting but sometimes a thing or another might be worth telling you.
i hope i can keep up with my word. please continue to leave comments because that will make me post more :)
thank you for your patience and for taking your time to come here, you make my day… i’ll do my best to make your time worthwhile.

lazily yours,

gilcélia
p.s. i have a super exciting project i am currently working on and will announce it here once it’s ready…

Renan & Camylla

2008-08-07T16:18:00.006-04:00

little preview...

the lawlors

2008-07-15T10:00:00.010-04:00

i absolutely LOVE the lawlors... i've known them for about 6 years or so, and they are just about the most wonderful and perfect family i've ever met. deise came with me to the shoot and she took some of the pictures below (can't remember which ones because we kept swapping cameras)...

john is from boston, i think he is hilarious (and i only understand 50% of the stuff he says, imagine if i got it all)... hehehe

lisa is simply the kindest, most easy going person in the whole universe, i (and anybody who meets her) love her:

they have 3 kids (although i personally think they should have had like 2 dozen kids because nice, reasonable people should procreate more, that way maybe there's hope for this planet...)anyway, their kids are the best, i simply adore them.

this is bob, he's super fun and smart... he beats my husband eddie at wii and he can read faster than i can! =)

bob was quite the model, deise captured a few of his many faces (freckle cuteness alert):

next there's lucy...
lucy just puts all kids on earth to shame, because i doubt there's another child so sweet, kind, good hearted, good helper, and as adorable as she is (she's like a mini lisa)... AND she's got the prettiest hair I've ever seen:

lucy is into gymnastics and she did a few of these for us:

then there's james, completely irresistible james...

he's gonna break some hearts, i can already see it...

james wasn't too thrilled about posing... but he did say cheese a few times:

i love this shot (it was deise's)

and finally there's mable, the cutest, sloppiest bulldog in the entire fort lauderdale:

here's a shot of everybody:

and some other favorites...

bob was kind enough to lend us a hand (he is good at it too!):

downside up lucy:

do not let this next picture fool you for a second... this is not who john and lisa really are:

now, this is more like them:

kiddos playing...
other moments...

and the last few of everybody...

thank you deise for always helping me out...
thank you john, lisa, bob, lucy, and james for allowing me to be a part of your lives...

samir + barbara

2008-06-18T11:44:00.013-04:00

sam and barbara got married late last month (i'm so behind blogging it's not even funny!).
when i think of this couple the word sweet comes to mind. they are both sweet people, their love is obviously sugary and their wedding was pure candy!
deise and i got some cool images of their day and here are my favorites...

barbara getting gorgeous:

sam was looking pretty sharp:

groomsmen:

sam and his boys...

few things are as cute as flower girls:

perhaps these adorable little guys:

the church looked spetacular! ana dias did an amazing job with the decor (as she always does). if you are interested in hiring her shoot me an email @ gilceliaphotography@yahoo.com or call her 754.235.3750

married!

you know he'll be a good husband when he worries about your dress getting dirty:

the bouquet was to die for, i loved the colors!

i told you: candy!

sam is also a photographer, so he had this great idea:

mafia couple:

sam is not too thrilled about heights, but he braved the balcony for this adorable final shot:

samir and barbara, i wish you nothing but happiness.
the way you look at each other is truly remarkable and i know you guys will have a long sweet life together.

delfina

2008-06-04T17:37:00.008-04:00

deise tagged me to do a maternity shoot with her a few weeks ago.
delfina is almost due and could not be glowing more. her baby girl is due any moment now.
dany and delfina make the most adorable couple. you can almost touch the love when they are together in a room.
her mother had just arrived from argentina that afternoon so of course we threw her in front of the camera too!
here's the gorgeous mom-to-be:

in the baby's room:

this is a picture her mom brought to show her.
delfina is the baby in the picture.

here they are now, waiting for another baby girl...

dany came home from work just in time to be part of the pictures too.
he played guitar for his girls... so sweet

they had beautiful art all over their house so i took advantage of it :)

they are such a gorgeous, hip couple!

congrats delfina and dany.
can't wait to meet bela.

deise

2008-06-03T10:03:00.004-04:00

before her february wedding we shot a boudoir session for her soon to be hubby to see it on their wedding day.
of course most of the pics won't make it here... sorry folks

the bernstein family video

2008-05-13T12:13:00.002-04:00

the bernstein family

2008-05-06T11:11:00.012-04:00

it was so great hanging out with the bernstein family last week... it didn't feel like work at all!
the boys are simply adorable and the four of them make the most sweet and loving family.

this is big brother ethan:

and this is cutie pie andrew:

mom & andrew:

everybody had a great time at the beach...

i love the way ethan is cracking up in this picture:

this picture just tells me so much about the kind of family they are...

love this shot!

boys are so cute!

andrew had so much fun on the sand...

can you tell?
his eyelashes are so long! (i'm a sucker for long eyelashes :)

love the cheek dimples ;)

the boys are really close to their dad...

i think andrew looks especially cute in this picture:

adys, thank you so much for letting me capture your beautiful loving family.

di&di

2008-04-11T12:06:00.007-04:00

deise invited me to shoot with her last weekend and I gladly accepted :)

diana and dienaro got married recently and just moved here from brazil.
they are so cute and in love…

diana is stunning:

thank you deiselinda for the opportunity...
i love shooting with you :)

the menton girls

2008-04-02T11:28:00.010-04:00

i had so much fun shooting leah and corrie last week!
kids are so much fun and so full of life, it's hard to keep up with them!

this is leah:

and this is corrie (right after a cartwheel):

they have bright and very different personalities... leah is into horses and corrie is a cheerleader...

corrie won't hesitate telling you she has won every competition they've ever entered, but as soon as she finishes that statement, leah will correct her: except one!

pillow fight!

this is probably my favorite picture from the shoot... i love corrie's expression and it feels as if she is looking right through you...

i loved hanging out with you girls!

i really miss my sisters :(

trash the dress

2008-03-28T13:50:00.013-04:00

ok, so deise didn't actually trash the dress... it's too pretty (and expensive) for that!

but we did get some great shots before she sends it to the cleaner...

i just had to post tons of images this time because i loved so many of them... so bear with me...

puppies make me smile

2008-03-18T12:01:00.004-04:00

look who i ran into at markham park the other day...
i love mojito but i wish i had one of these...
:)

punk rocker feline

2008-03-10T15:10:00.007-04:00

eddie shaved the cat.
it looks pretty bad.
but the cool part is mojito has a mohawk now.

the makeup show miami

2008-02-25T10:52:00.000-05:00

besides photography, my other big passion is makeup.
this weekend, my friend liz (makeup artist extraordinaire) took me to the miami show with her... it was an exciting experience and i learned a lot in one day.
the best part is that we signed up for a pro discount @ mac ;)
that's right my friends, 40% off!!!!!!!!!!!!!
don't be jealous.

thank you liz, love spending time with you (especially at mac;).