LIFE | Clara's Senior Prom

She wanted to be a princess for Prom this year…and she absolutely was.

From her ivory and vintage gold ball gown prom dress to the flowers in her hair…

She was...

completely captivating. (And I'm allowed to say that because I'm her mom, of course).

The rain began Friday and was expected to last the entire day on Saturday…the evening of Prom.

Hopes for being able to photograph Clara were seriously slim to none.

I was already making plans for her to have to dress up all over again on a different day just to be able

to get some shots of her in all of her "princess glory".

And then a miracle happened...

At precisely an hour before we left home to take Clara to Mission Inn...the rain started to dissipate.

It was still sprinkling but there was at least a glimmer of hope that perhaps there would be a small window to quickly snap a few photos.

We intentionally arrived 45 minutes early and by that time, the rain was a minimal drizzle. There was now a distinct chill in the air we hadn't prepared for and I kept wishing Clara had something to wrap around her. I kept my fingers crossed that we wouldn't get caught in a downpour as Ema and I walked with Clara to a secluded bridge on the Mission Inn property. We walked with purpose and Ema helped hold up Clara's dress as we avoided rain puddles and muddied sandbanks as if they were land mines.

The sky was a complete blanket of clouds but at least the light rain drizzle at this point was not a threat to my camera…or to Clara's hair. *wink*

I started shooting pictures and hoped with all of my heart we would get a few good ones.
I am so happy with the results.

When Clara's friends started to arrive her phone began blowing up so I took advantage of the opportunity as she chatted and strategized. I was able to get a few more good candids and then whisked Clara away to meet them all for some group shots.

I had to take some photos of Ema and Clara together too!

I was so grateful to have Ema with me to see her sister off and to help carry my camera bag as we took photos of Clara…and then even more photos with Clara and her group of friends.

I was also grateful to have actually been able to snap some blog-worthy pictures to share with all of you.

Sending a special thank you to a few people who helped make Clara's Senior Prom memorable:
Bre...for helping with Clara's hair. #promise *wink*
Joy…for the beautiful wrist corsage that matched Clara's dress perfectly.
Ema…for all of your help and for the memorable dinner with me afterwards.
And for Grandma and Grandpa A…for hooking us up with a chariot fit for a princess. *wink*

My little girl is growing up.
She'll be 18 in just a couple of weeks…
and then she graduates one week later.

Today I'm feeling so blessed to have so many happy memories and moments to look back on with Clara. And although, as a mom, I've always been cognizant of how quickly time would pass between her birth and adulthood…18 years has still somehow snuck up on me. I blinked…and it just happened.

I love you Clara…

KEEPiNG iT REAL
It was a stressful day leading up to prom and the photos…trust me.
Nothing quite went as expected and Clara was even in tears at one point.
But things managed to work themselves out and although we ended up being
late to meet her friends for photos in our original photo-taking spot…
we ended up beating them to Mission Inn and still had plenty of time for group photos! Yay!!