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Alison Bynum is a professional photographer from Smyrna, Tennessee. Her work focuses largely on capturing warm family moments and special-occasion events.
In her spare time, Alison and her husband, Brad, have kept a heart-wrenching and now joyous blog called "Our Adoption Story."
The blog tracks the arduous 1 1/2-year journey that led to the adoption of their beautiful daughter, Norah, and the family's life together now.
Always on the lookout for stylish celebrations, we found Alison and Brad's blog and saw photos of the lovely party they threw—for almost 200 people—to celebrate their daughter's adoption.
Alison wrote that she relied on the talents of local vendors to bring her vision to life. She chose a delightful color scheme—a combination of red, pink, and lime green for the décor. Even some of the food was pink—lemonade, cupcakes, and cookies.
Knowing children would be there, Alison was sure to make the event kid-friendly. She wrote, "We set up kids' tables with toys and necklaces, a kids' buffet with fun food like chicken tenders and mac and cheese, and some craft stations to help keep them busy."
We loved the exuberance of her colors, the clever way she integrated stuffed animals into the kids' table décor, and the bright, festive atmosphere Alison created for this wonderful celebration.
Alison wrote: "[This] is something I have been dreaming up since we entered the adoption process."
About the happy family
In June 2006, Alison and Brad Bynum began their blog about the exhilarating highs and devastating lows of trying to adopt a baby. Throughout the process their faith, their family, and their friends kept them strong.
Today, Alison and Brad are deliriously happy parents--who undoubtedly have thousands of photos of their daughter!
Norah is blessed to have such wonderful and loving parents. After reading most of their blog posts, we concluded that the world would be a much better place if everyone shared the Bynums' convictions. Here's an excerpt from Alison's post of October 24, 2007:
"....A special thing about our family is that we are white and Norah is black. As she grows, we will not be downplaying this because in the "real world," her race will be part of who she is, the friends she makes, the dreams she dreams, the issues she faces...and to minimize it or say "we don't see color" would be unhelpful and untrue.
We do see color, and we love that our family will be made of many colors, because that is how God created the world..."
To read about Alison and Brad's wonderful celebration, see the adoption blog. Also, Alison's photography blog showcases some of her favorite warm and intimate photos.
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