We are so happy to announce the winner of our 2010 Valentine’s Day Boudoir Contest. This year’s winner is Bianca! Her story connected with everyone who visited the blog. We can’t wait to show her how beautiful she still is and has always been. She will enjoy the day of pampering along with a beautiful boudoir album. Please read the kind comments Bianca received from the voters below.

The contest was really close and the runner-ups received a lot of votes too. All of these stories are so touching and we appreciate the contestants for sharing them. Each finalist received many nice comments from the voters and we have posted some of those under their photos. Because of all the kind comments we received from the voters, we have decided to also award the two other finalists with a free sitting at one of our upcoming boudoir marathons!

Thank you to everyone for your participation and support for these amazing women.

Be sure watch out for our upcoming 1st Annual Mother’s Day Boudoir Contest! This contest will be held in April and is for all moms and moms-to-be. Be sure to check back in April for details on entering as a mom or you can enter your own mom!

Comments from Bianca’s friends and family:

“Bianca is so deserving of winning this photo contest. I have known her since 1993, she and her husband are a great couple and they truly cherish each other and their family. She is a remarkable person which is reflected in her family.” ~ Nicole

“Please pick my mom she is the best” ~ Jake

“I love my mommy and really want her to win! Please let her win!” ~ Alexis

“No one deserves this more and would appreciate this more than her. Over my 18 years she has always been there and guided me – she is a wonderful person and a great aunt. It would be nice to see her have something done for her instead of her doing for everyone else. ” ~ Michael (Bianca’s godson)

“My vote would be for the one person I truly admire my sister Bianca. She is genuine, beautiful, caring inside and out, she is a selfless person that does all and everything for her family and friends and puts her needs and wants aside. She would truly appreciate winning more then words could be expressed – it would build up her self esteem after three kids and give her a positive body, mind and spirit outlook.” ~ Renee

“Lets Go Bianca I Love You” ~ Loren

Bianca’s original story is at the 2010 VALENTINE’S BOUDOIR PHOTO CONTEST FINALISTS blog post.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY FROM TAIT BOUDOIR PHOTOGRAPHY

We received many wonderful entries. So many touching stories, about relationships, divorces, new brides, weight challenges, young moms, and it was hard to narrow it down to our finalists.

If you entered this year but were not a finalist, we would love for you to submit your special story again next year. If you didn’t enter this year, but are moved by the stories then we encourage you to submit your own story next year.

The finalists for this year are:

1) Bianca
2) Carolyn
3) Christine

To Vote:

Send an email to contest@taitboudoir.com with just the name of the person you are voting for in the subject line. Feel free to include comments with your vote, comments may be posted to the blog. Also leave a comment below!

Voting ends on Sunday, February 14th at noon PST. The winner will be announced later on Valentine’s Day.

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Bianca’s Entry

I am writing to share my story for my reason to complete a boudoir session. I have been wanting to do a session for a long time, however I always found some reason not to schedule — too busy with my children, my husband always gone both with a full-time job and being part of the D.C. National Guard. Then it was my idea that I had to be perfect — loose more weight, have hair/nails done, use our finances on me instead of my family.  It was always easier to make an excuse then schedule a session.  Last year, I made the decision to finally do it for me, and after going to Disney World where my daughter took part in the Christmas Parade.  We came home with an unexpected blessing — so there went my session again.  I was not going to try to get a sexy boudior with a pregnany belly. I figured I would wait.  Now my new little man is 6 months. I am trying to once again avoid reasons why not to take the time to get some pictures where I can look and feel like a woman again.  The reason in front of me now are; have I lost enough of my pregnancy weight? should I wait til I look better? After nursing my 3rd child how flattering could I look with 2 different sized breasts??? I see so much negative reason that I afraid I might put it off again until who knows when.  I would really enjoy a session where I could have my hair/make up done and have a great professional photographer show my best qualities to make a  homemaker mother of 3 look fantastic and beautiful.  I have given up alot to be the best wife and mother that I can be.   I hold 3 college degrees, but chose to be at home and sacrifice my finances and time on myself to take care of those around me.  I would love to look forward to a day devoted to making me feel sexy and what a great gift to my husband. I just realized trying to find a picture to attach I really dont have any I like of me. The one attached is on me about 6 weeks before I had my son, I did my own hair and make up. The other is at home and the last of my beautiful daughter and I at disney with the ultimate beauty Cinderella, before she danced.

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Carolyn’s Entry

I am honored to be considered for this fantastic offer.  I feel I qualify for this gift as it something that I would love to give my husband of twenty-five years of marriage.  Then, I was a naive bride that slid into a size 6 wedding dress and to him I was the “best thing since sliced bread.”  What followed I am not proud of and have promised myself never to return there.  We had 2 great children, a daughter and a son. Together we have endured many hardships of miscarriages, failed business ventures, arson destroying our business, bankruptcy etc.  I’m not making excuses, but during this time I did not make myself a priority and so told myself I didn’t care and soon I believed I didn’t care.  Through all of this I ate, didn’t workout and frankly didn’t do anything to enhance myself at all. My husband stood by me, loved me, supported me and made me his top priority through this whole period of time.  He never talked to me or others about my size, he always stated he was proud of me and genuinely cared for and about me. In March of 2007, after a medical scare,(high blood pressure and a diagnoses of Osteoarthritis) I was a size 26 at the time. I joined Weight Watchers and made myself the same priority that my husband had always made me.  Through this weight loss adventure of almost 3 years, my husband”s love and support increased immeasurably! I have now lost 107 pounds and I’m sure that he’s prouder of me than I am of myself! I am back into size 6 and am not embarrassed to say that I have made myself that priority and I do care about myself. These photos would be for my husband’s eyes.  He has put up with an overweight spouse and now has one that he is proud of not only on the inside but the outside too!

*UPDATED WITH VOTER COMMENTS:

“I truly hope Carolyn is your winner.  Her commitment and dedication to pursuing and achieving her weight loss goals have been second to none.  She has worked hard to get back to her former size and she looks amazing.  So much to be proud of with this girl! I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this prize. Carolyn, you’ve come a long way, baby!  You’re a terrific person and friend, and now your outsides truly match your insides.” ~ Paulette

“I am voting for Carolyn. She is awesome!” ~ Karla

“Awesome story….very inspiring for me!” ~ Sonya

“In addition to her inspiring weight loss story, Carolyn is just a wonderful person.  I have a special needs son and she was his teacher’s assistant for one year…and was the best teacher’s aid he’s ever had!!” ~ Teresa

“Carolyn is an inspiration to all women struggling with weight issues. Well done” ~ Sheila

“Fabulous lady and an inspiration to myself and a lot of us @ Weight Watchers Cochrane.  Good luck.” ~ Kelly

“I vote for Carolyn, as per her story, she is a worthy recipient. I have known Carolyn for almost thirty years and I would love to see her win this. She is truly an example to others.” ~ M. Walker

“My vote is for Carolyn.  She has won a long, hard and well deserved battle and is an inspiration to all her Weight Watchers co-workers.  Great work, Carolyn!” ~ Nancy

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Christine’s Entry

Like many women, I’ve been trying to lose those last 5 pounds. Well actually, it’s more like 8, if we’re being honest. Maybe even 10 on a bad day.

For the last 12 years.

Oh, there have been a few times when I got to that mythical “perfect weight,” but they never lasted very long, and I would rebound back with a vengeance. My weight wasn’t always an issue. In fact, until I hit university, I was, if anything, on the thinner side. I ate healthily, I didn’t have issues with food, and I didn’t think too much about my body at all. I gained a few pounds in freshman year, but who doesn’t? And then somewhere along the line, I learned to use food as a crutch. Feeling sad? I ate. Feeling happy? I ate. Feeling stressed? You got it. Along the way, I entered medical school. See above, rinse, and repeat. My weight ballooned over 20 pounds, which on a 5’2” frame is not insignificant. I shed most of it, but the stubborn last several pounds seemed irresistibly drawn to me like a magnet: I could pry them away by sheer dint of hard work and dieting, but then they would snap back as soon as I lowered my guard. I spent countless hours mourning the fact that my skinny clothes no longer fit, and gazed longingly at the cute outfits I wished I could pull off. I spent even longer gazing at myself in the mirror, cataloguing my imperfections, hating the way I looked: thighs too big, belly pudge, chipmunk cheeks, back fat, flabby arms. The squishy bits, the jiggly bits, the pudgy bits—it was all I could see of myself. While I was busy hating my body, I graduated from medical school (with a 6-figure debt), did my residency in Emergency Medicine, played violin, did my first ever 10K run, learned to tango, and began to cook. The body that I so despised got me through 32-hour stints of in-hospital call, allowed me to perform music, let me sprint 200 metres and up 5 flights of stairs in response to a Code Blue, and never uttered a word of reproach. I finished my training, moved to Vancouver, and started my new life as a full-fledged attending physician. And I’ve been thinking lately that maybe I haven’t been quite fair towards my body. My body—my imperfect, not-skinny, jelly-bellied body—has let me reset broken bones, provide comfort, love with abandon, and experience unalloyed pleasure. I’ve started to treat it a little better now. And I think it’s high time that I started learning to love my body, appreciate it for all its hard work. Instead of seeing flabby, squishy, and too big, I want to see sensual, curvy, and strong. I wasted my twenties hating what I saw; now that I’m in my thirties, I want to see my body in a new light. I want to see it through another’s lens, and see it as beautiful. And that’s why I would love to win a boudoir photography experience.

*UPDATED WITH VOTER COMMENTS:

“Hooray for a woman taking pride in who she is and how she looks!” ~ Douglas

“Christine Choi Rocks this contest. She should win!” ~ Shelly

“I would like to nominate Christine as the winner of your competition. I read Christine`s entry blog and I was really touched by what she shared.  This is someone that has given so much to others unconditionally and deserves to have beautiful pictures taken of her by TAIT for the beautiful person that she is inside.” ~CP

To enter the contest:
Please email your story of why you deserve a free session along with a photo of yourself to
info@taitboudoir.com with the subject line FREE VALENTINES BOUDOIR 2010

If you are a finalist then your story, first name, and images will be posted on our blog on February 12th and voting will begin. Feel free to nominate a deserving friend just please have their permission first and send us their contact info so that we can confirm. We will post the top 3 entries on this blog and then the winner will be chosen by readers! There will be runner up prizes as well.

*** We will be accepting entries until February 10th. The finalists will be announced and voting will begin on the 11th. Please visit the blog between February 12th & 13th to vote for your favorite story. The winner will be announced on Valentine’s Day. ***

GOOD LUCK!

P.S. If you are interested in looking at the previous contests, please check out the V Day Contest category.

P.P.S. If you sign up for an upcoming boudoir marathon and you win the contest, your payment will be credited.

I am Misty, a wife, mother, nurse, friend, and oh yeah, a 2 ½ year breast cancer survivor.

At 30 I had beautiful baby girl, toddler son, loving husband, great job… and a lump. It couldn’t possibly be cancer; I was too young and too healthy. But cancer does not discriminate against anyone and suddenly my body became my enemy and a battlefield. I underwent a mastectomy. Recovery was hard; I couldn’t lift my children and I couldn’t get used to the hard expander in my chest, holding the tissue in place so that I could have reconstructive surgery. My right arm was stiff and swollen. Then I had six months of chemotherapy. I was tired, nauseous and bald. Bald EVERYWHERE! No one tells you that you will lose your hair first in your pubic area…no more bikini razor burn! Also, no eyelashes or eyebrows. My face was swollen from steroids and covered in acne. The chemo left my finger and toes numb and I dropped things and tripped and fell. Then, to add insult to injury, it was time for radiation. I was given tattoos (black dots) on my chest to make sure I was lined up in the exact same position every day. My scarred, exposed chest was draped in a wet towel and a beam of radiation was directed at my chest daily for a month. My skin became hard and blackened.

But here is the magic. My husband. Through all of this, he loved me. He loved my body. He told me how beautiful I was. He was never turned off or afraid to touch me. I hated my body, but he never did. He even shaved his head while I was bald! I had been very comfortable in my skin before, and was getting my va-va-voom back after 4 years of pregnancy and breast feeding and then cancer took not only my breast, but also that sense of security that my body was my friend.

My skin has healed and the scars are fading, but I still struggle to embrace my new body and a changed sense of beauty. Chemo changed my hair, and while I like my new curly hair, it is still a reminder of all that has changed. I would like to see myself the way my husband sees me: beautiful and sexy. I want to see my body not as a reminder of a battle against cancer. Most importantly, I want to give my husband the gift of knowing that I am again comfortable in my skin and to show everyone show that survivors are powerful!

TAIT Photography will be holding a contest during the month of October for cancer survivors. If you or someone you know has been affected by any kind cancer that affects women, please consider entering our contest to win a FREE Boudoir Photo Shoot Package. Entering the contest is easy, simply send us your survival story along with one or two photos of you and we will post the entries on our blog. Then you, the readers, will choose the contest winner based on the person receiving the most number of votes. The winner will receive a deluxe boudoir package with a day of pampering including full makeup & hair, a photo shoot with Erica, plus an album of beautiful images that will help you further realize your true beauty! Anyone who has a cancer survival story is a true winner, and so the finalists will also receive a discount toward a future boudoir marathon session, even if you do not receive the most votes. And because all cancers are tragic, not only breast cancer, this contest will be open to all women who are survivors of any type of cancer. In addition to providing our contest, TAIT Photography will also be contributing a portion of each photoshoot in October toward breast cancer research. Please join us in our support of breast cancer research by donating to this important cause.

To enter the contest:

This contest is for any woman who has survived cancer in any form.

Please email your story to info@taitboudoir.com with the subject line SURVIVOR CONTEST. Please send a pic of yourself and any other photos you would like to share.

If you are a finalist, your story, along with first name and submitted images will be posted on our blog.

Feel free to nominate a deserving friend – just please ask their permission first and send us their contact info so that we can confirm.

We will post the top 3 entries on this blog – And YOU, the readers, will choose the winner!

We will be accepting entries until October 20th

The top finalists will be announced and voting will begin on about October 25th. The winner will be announced on November 1st.

GOOD LUCK!

P.S. If you sign up for an upcoming boudoir marathon and you win the contest, your payment will be refunded.

Here are some of the comments we received on her behalf:

“I vote for Melissa. Commitment in the face of adversity. You have made the world and your family a better place.”

“I’ve only known Melissa for a very short time, and in that time she has endured a lot. She is a strong brave woman, she definitely deserves this.”

“I wish to vote for Melissa I know her personally and the story her future mother in-law wrote about her is OH SO TRUE!”

“My vote is for Melissa. I have known her for a number of years and find her story to be very inspirational. I feel that she definitely deserves to win this award. To me, she has demonstrated that she is the epitome of a military wife – strong and supportive and always there for her family no matter what. As my brother is also in the military, I can only pray that he will find someone as resilient as Melissa to be his wife someday. She is the kind of spouse that every man – either a man in the military or otherwise – should have. I wish her and her beautiful family nothing but the best.”

“I think that Melissa definitely deserves to win!!!! I knew Melissa in high school and she is such a caring and loving person who would do anything for her friends and family. Seeing what Melissa’s parents in law wrote brought tears to my eyes and shows everyone what type of person Melissa truly is. Even when things aren’t looking that bright she still puts a smile on her face and not once does she complain. I hope you vote Melissa to win because she deserves a day of pampering and to take the time for herself!!!”

“I would have to agree that Melissa is as beautiful inside as she is out and that everyone that knows her loves her. I had the sincere pleasure of working with Melissa and I simply adored her. Melissa was hired as my assistant and at the time had very little experience in the field in which she was hired to work. Melissa proved to be one of the best assistants I ever had. Melissa worked hard, was quick and eager to learn new things, was incredibly upbeat and always came to work with a smile on her face. Melissa never complained and was always a team player. Melissa is obviously strong (given what she has been through in the last few years) and most certainly resilient all the while being a beautiful, cheerful ray of sunshine in someone’s day. I can’t think of a more deserving person to be given a day of pampering.”

“I had my boudoir photos done by you in March 2008, and still follow your blog. When I saw the Women in the Military contest I immediately thought of Mel. Funny thing is, I don’t even know her personally. I work with her future mother-in-law Jane who nominated Melissa for the photo shoot after I told her how much fun my own experience was. Just from the few glimpses into her life that I have had from working with her future mom, it is so clear how much Melissa is loved and how much she gives to her family. She really deserves a treat like this. Without even knowing her, I just can’t help but root for her success!!!”

“I have had the opportunity to work with Melissa and agree she is very deserving of this. What a great gift to give not only Matt, but herself. Erica does great shots, as I had the privilege of being photographed by her, and Melissa should enjoy the pampering time for herself.”

“Melissa is a very kindhearted woman with a great sense of humor and very strong willed! Good luck Mel! you of all people deserve this!!!”

We had a lot of entries to go through and after some hard choices, we have narrowed it down to three finalists. Everyone had amazing and great stories, and it was very hard to decide among the entries. If you were not picked, please take heart that we appreciate you so much and hope you will enter again next year. We wish everyone a safe and peaceful finish to their duties and service.

Happy voting, the finalists (in no particular order) are:

1) Melissa
2) Heidi
3) Elisa

Their stories are below.

To Vote:

Send an email to contest@taitboudoir.com with just the name of the person you are voting for in the subject line. Feel free to include comments with your vote, comments may be posted to the blog.

Voting ends at midnight on August 15th. The winner will be announced shortly after.

GOOD LUCK!

Well, being the curious and very insightful person that she is, she quickly saw through my ruse, and not only did she accept me, but she was impressed by what I do. But the hard part was still yet to come. After we had only been on two dates, I had to leave for two months of training. But we talked on the phone every night, and she took care of my cat and my house after my house-sitter fell through halfway into the trip. And on top of that, she sent me several care packages with her wonderful baked goodies (biscotti being my personal favorite), which would become the norm for any of my long trips away from home. I had become accustomed to meeting someone, starting a relationship, and then having the Air Force send me someplace on a trip or deployment, only to find that my partners would leave me before I got back home. I knew Elisa was different after this first trip. I knew she was special.

Since then, she has stuck by me, through months apart when I was in Kuwait, Iraq, Korea, and Alaska. Before we were even married, she stuck with me through a 5 month deployment to the Middle East in which we only got to talk for 15 minutes on the phone, two times a week. I was never worried for a minute that anything would go wrong with my house while she was watching things. Reliability and dependability are two of her star qualities. Of course, the care packages came regularly and meant so much to me. Cookies were in them, of course, but silly things like artwork from her students, and my favorite brand of New Mexico green chili salsa really gave them an added special touch. I missed our 1 year anniversary during that deployment, as well as Halloween, which was our first big holiday date together, and will always be a special day for us. When I came back, even though it was January, Elisa organized a “Halloween” costume party to welcome me home.

She stuck with me through a move to Ohio, and then DC, as well as one of the biggest challenges of them all, when I was in graduate school, and due to my studies, I maybe got to see her for an hour a day, before I went back to the lab (including weekends). But not only did she support me, she supported my classmates spouses as well. As I was attending a military graduate school, I still had the position of class leader, and due to the challenging nature of the coursework many spouses were “grad school widows” for the duration of the program. I never asked Elisa to reach out to the other spouses, she just did so naturally, and fell into the role as supporter and confidant for many others, as she had for me. I ended up getting an award for my thesis (because of her support), and gave her all of my prize money for new clothes (she deserved it!).

It has not always been easy. She had made some serious sacrifices in her career for me and our relationship. When we met, she was in graduate school herself, and well on her way to a career in dance. The arts world is a very difficult one to break into in new communities, but she found a way to get a faculty position at a college in Ohio (which she had to leave after a year and a half when I moved her again), and after months of false starts, she has finally found a job that makes her happy teaching dance to young kids here in Virginia. Her sister has not been so lucky, having lost her job as an architect, as well as having her husband lose his job, less than a month after they had a new baby. So, Elisa found ways to trim our budget (mainly by trimming any spending on herself for hair, makeup, skin care, and any other pampering products) so she can send money to her sister to help care for her new baby.

Very recently, I had to go to a training up in New Jersey, and my car totally failed on me on the highway. To keep me from reporting late to the training, Elisa hopped into her car the minute she heard I was in trouble and saved the day by preventing me from being AWOL in a marathon driving session where she took me from DC to New Jersey and then drove herself all the way back home. I signed in on time, but just barely. I honestly do not know what I would have done without her. The following weekend, I had a single day off, but Elisa still made the trek of 4 hours up and 4 hours back again to spend the day with me. When I asked her if she really wanted to put herself through that long drive for such a short time together, she told me, “You are worth it.”

My wife is the epitome of “We’ll make it work,” and has always found a way to make surviving tough situations seem fun and adventurous. Finding a job here in Virginia was hard, but instead of sit back and get depressed, she re-dedicated herself to strengthen her mind and body, and lost almost 30 pounds by changing her diet and exercise patterns. She was always beautiful, but now she looks absolutely gorgeous, and I am so proud of her. She has proved to be flexible, and adaptable to all the aspects of my service in the military and makes what I do so much more meaningful, knowing that she is there to support me. Whether it is looking out for other military spouses, sending me mail and care packages, taking care of the homefront, or negotiating the labyrinthine military healthcare system, she has always come through, and I know she always will. I am the one who choose the military, but she choose me, and because of that choice that she continues to make to support me, I am better at everything that I do.

I’m getting sent on another trip by the Air Force soon, this time to Baghdad on July 27th, and I will be gone for another anniversary and another Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. And although Elisa is very sad about me having to go, she is already finding ways to make things work out for us again and even strengthen our relationship. I cannot believe I’ve only known her for 5 years. In some ways, it seems like we’ve been together forever, but in other ways, I still feel the same joy of our first dates.

Thank You,
Ryan, Maj, USAF