Melissa and Slava’s St. Augustine Wedding

Romantic. Fun. Elegant. Three words that describe Melissa and Slava’s wedding on Easter Sunday. The bride had a gorgeous room at the Casa Monica to get dressed in and enjoy a glass of wine with her bridesmaids before the day’s events. After some photos at the hotel, we headed over to the Oldest House for a picture perfect ceremony that was attended by many guests from out of town and even out of the country. The reception was back at the Casa Monica and it was probably one of the liveliest receptions I have attended. There was so much joy and passion in the room! Carlton McGee was the awesome DJ and kept everyone dancing until the clock struck 12.

Flowers: 57 Treasury
Cake: Sweet Weddings
DJ: McGee Entertainment

Bold, Beautiful Bridal Bouquets

Every once in a while, a bride will ask me about trends in bridal bouquets. Is color popular? Is white still classic? What are some ways to make it special? So, just for fun, I pulled together a few images of my favorite bridal bouquets from recent weddings. I love that so many brides are opting for bold florals. A new trend is the addition of a little “bling-bling” jewelry pinned to the ribbon around the stem. I love to incorporate the flowers into my wedding images. I think the flowers are so important in adding color and character to the day. So, go for it when you are picking out a bouquet! Think bold, think “bling”, think beautiful!

Lindsey and Clay’s Beach Engagement Session

Lindsey and Clay are in the final planning stages of their St. Augustine wedding next month and took some time out for their engagement session at the beach this week. Here are a few of my favorites from the session. Congratulations to Lindsey and Clay!

Mandy and Ebin’s Wedding

I really love it when couples personalize their wedding with objects, themes and details that are meaningful to them. Mandy and Ebin did an awesome job of this! They were married yesterday at Ortega Presbyterian church. The florist, Kelley’s Bloom Room, decorated the wedding with branches, white flowers and pear trees. Mandy even had pear and chocolate jelly beans as a gift to her guests in little, brown monogramed bags. Their guest book was the engagement photo signature book full of images from their unique engagement session with me. The pear theme was carried throughout the reception at Bella Sera, one of the hot new locations for wedding receptions in Riverside. The table linens, cake and even champagne signature drink was infused with pear color or flavor! Great job Mandy and Ebin!

Jennifer and Tom’s Beach Engagement Session

Last week, I had the pleasure of photographing Jennifer and Tom for their beach engagement session. Jennifer and Tom are getting married in two weeks and are a happy and fun couple to work with. Congratulations to you both. I will see you again very soon!

A Day in the Life

Have you ever wondered what a wedding photographer does during the week? Most people think that I “only work one day a week” (namely Saturday) and sit around watching soap operas all day. Well, this could not be further from the truth! Being a wedding photographer includes a lot more than showing up at a wedding, taking pictures and sending files to a lab for printing. I am a small business owner with all of the responsibilities of an entire company: website design and maintenance, marketing and sales, human relations (finding and training assistants), accounting and financial planning, customer relations (you should see the number of emails I answer each day) as well as operations (photography, framing, album design).

So, I thought it would be interesting to post a few “Day in the Life” blog entries so you can see what I do during the day.

Wednesday, March 10, 2008

8:00pm- woke up and let the dog out
8:15pm- check emails in my pj’s
8:30pm- eat breakfast (I munched some Cheerios & watch a taped episode of Real Housewives)
9:00pm- get dressed (no, I don’t stay in my pj’s all day)
9:30pm- unpack new shipment of frames and frame 2 engagement images, assemble an engagement album
10:30a-12:30pm-attend a training workshop at the Mac store on new version of Aperture (editing software)
1pm- meet with representative from Jacksonville Association of Firefighters about sponsoring their charity softball game against the Jaguars
1:30pm- answer more emails and return phone calls
1:45pm- prepare and email information to my accountant
2:00pm- design and send ad for JAFF program
2:30pm- pay sales tax for January
2:45pm- pick up the house and get ready for a consultation with a new bride to be and her fiancé
3:15pm- 4:15pm- meeting with prospective bride and her fiancé
4:30pm- talk on the phone to my friend and fellow photographer Tennia
5:45pm- leave for yoga
7:15pm- return home from yoga, eat dinner (Thai food—yummy!)
8:00pm- watch Big Brother
9:00pm- get the idea for this blog post and feel compelled to write it tonight
9:20pm- upload this blog post
9:30pm- watch American Idol and say goodnight!

The Wedding Dance Studio

I always highly encourage couples that book me to photograph their wedding to take dance lessons. It adds an elegance and grace to the first dance photos and really makes the images extra great when the bride and groom are twirling, dipping and waltzing across the dance floor.

So, I’ve been searching all over Jacksonville for a dance studio that I could recommend to my couples for wedding dance lessons. I found it! Today I was invited by the owners of The Wedding Dance Studio to come by and check out their studio space. Elaine and Eddie are very sweet and excellent dancers! They were displaying their moves at the Dillard’s bridal fair this weekend and I was really impressed with their enthusiasm and skill. They also have a great location right off of Southside. It is located at 3827 Southside Blvd. Suite 2. (From Butler Blvd., head North and it’s on the right hand side.) They have a website for more information- www.theweddingdancestudio.com. Check it out! The phone number is 998-3939.

Amy and Rob’s Engagement Session

Jacksonville Beach was the location of Saturday night’s engagement session. We were so happy to have clear weather since we were rained out on Friday night! We even had 35 mph winds on the day of the photo session! You can’t tell from the images though! Amy and Rob are planning a May wedding. I look forward to it!

Theresa and Shay’s wedding

Congratulations to Theresa and Shay for a beautiful ceremony and reception on Saturday! The vows were exchanged at Riverside Avenue Christian Church which was special to the couple since they actually met at this church where Shay is a deacon and sings in the choir. Theresa and her bridesmaids got ready at the church with the help of stylist Casey of Casey Does Hair.After the ceremony, guests headed over to the Florida Yacht Club for dinner and dancing. On the way to the reception, we got stuck on the drawbridge! Since we were following behind Theresa and Shay in our car, my assistant Stephanie and I grabbed our cameras and asked Theresa and Shay to jump out of their car to capture a few quick moments on the bridge as the sun was setting. That was a blast! We made it to the reception and everyone had a great time dancing to The Mystery Band! The evening ended as the happy couple exited the yacht club under an arch of sparklers!

Bridal Fair at St. Johns Town Center Dillard’s on Sunday

This Sunday, March 9, the Dillard’s at St. Johns Town Center is hosting an intimate Bridal Fair in store from 1pm to 4pm. I have been invited to join them as a vendor. If you are out shopping this weekend, please stop by and say hello! Admission is free!