Carly & Chip | Engaged
Did you know that Chip is a really good name for a baby? Even if it’s a girl? At least this is what I’m told. In other news these two are getting married tomorrow!!! We have been looking forward to this wedding for so long it seems. We are working with our favorite vendors, and of course this awesome couple :) Aside from their awesome baby name suggestions these two are so much fun to hang out with and I love their little doggy Stella. We shot their engagement session around the Straub & Vinoy park areas of downtown St. Pete and we had gorgeous weather. Thankfully it has also been beautiful all this week which should make for an amazing wedding day!
Love the little props and aren’t Carly’s outfits just perfect? There will be amazing details at the wedding tomorrow so stay tuned and check our facebook page for some sneaks on Sunday!!
Published! | Featured on Occasions Magazine wedding blog
We are so excited every time we get published- it’s the best thing to wake up in the morning and get an email from an editor with a link to our feature! Megan and Adam had a beautiful garden wedding and one of the sweetest first looks we’ve ever shot. Filled me with joy to get to read their love story over again this morning! See the whole editorial feature here!
Traci & Kyle | Beach Engagement Session on Treasure Island
These two cuties are tying the knot on New Year’s Eve at the Davis Island Garden club and we are so excited! Kyle is in the military and currently stationed in Illinois. We got to hang out with them a little while ago at Sunset Beach on Treasure Island when he was in town. They were both so natural in front of the camera and easy going. I love Traci’s dress and earrings and know she will be a gorgeous bride! We cannot wait to spend NYE eve with them and capture some amazing fireworks portraits.
Angela & Martin | A Peacock Inspired Wedding in St. Petersburg
This is a wedding we were looking forward to for a very long time. We immediately loved Angela & Martin the moment we met them. They are so down to earth and head over heels for each other and they’ve also been together since high school- something that resonates greatly with us. It also happens that Angela’s mom, Kim, is the pastor at Lakewood UCC where Evan and I sometimes attend. Not only did we get to see the whole Lakewood family, but this wedding also had some very special guests- the 50+ peacocks that reside at Sacred Lands where the coupe had their reception. Along with their amazing colors, peacocks also make some really funny noises and we had so much fun capturing the details throughout the day. One of my favorite moments was the bride’s younger brother surprised everyone with dozens of Chinese lanterns for the bridal party and guests to send off. We’ve been wanting to capture this ceremony for a long time with several couples over the years trying to send them off (one wedding was during Tropical Storm Debbie last year which was a no-go) luckily this night was absolutely perfect and we caught some great moments.
I love bridals but we can’t leave out Martin because Evan is so good at making our grooms look amazing too!
Vendors | Venue: Sacred Lands | Decor, Rentals, Cake & Florals : Rent-All-City | Band: Urban Gypsies | Florist: Beneva Flowers| Cake : Cakes By Carolyn | Bridal Gown, Shoes & Jewelry: CC’s Boutique | Hair & Makeup : Mission Aveda
Kat & Aaron and One Really Hot Car | Engaged
It’s been almost a year since we met Kat & Aaron and we still have to wait until December for their awesome Museum of Fine Arts wedding! These two love downtown St. Pete and after starting their engagement session by taking a few shots with their fur-baby we also took some shots with Aaron’s baby- his car. It’s kind of like the ultimate male version of an engagement ring. It’s really quite a gorgeous car, but nothing could steal the show from Kat because she is just utterly gorgeous. We really just keep lucking out with these beautiful and laid-back couples.
2013 Editor’s Choice Award!
Back to our roots | Film Wedding Photography
So this wedding season has been busy to say the least. We are currently on our way to Miami, where we are then heading to Nassau in The Bahamas for our first destination wedding. Along with the rest of our gear I’m bringing along my new film camera- a Rolleicord twin lens reflex from the 1950′s. I’ve been getting the itch to pick up film again which is what I first learned on 15 years ago. This camera is kind if like my new baby. like I think all cameras are beautiful but mine is the most beautiful :) 
Instead of 35mm I chose to get a medium format camera that shoots 120, and a camera that has no internal light meter. Always keep learning right? I wasn’t en positive his camera worked when I bought it. I had to look up a manual online to figure out how I even load the film. It is so different from what I used to shoot. I figured if I could get one decent exposure on a roll then I definitely know what I’m doing. Well my first roll was gorgeous! Not only were the shots great technically, but the tone of the film (I shot these on Fuji Pro 160) is to die for. Here are a few shots from Alison & Nick’s wedding.
These were pretty much the only tack sharp ones as I am still getting used to the finder- but these are not edited at all. All straight out of camera. Boom.
This weekend I’m bringing 5 rolls of various film types I hope to shoot when the schedule is more relaxed. I definitely plan on shooting at some more weddings and maybe even have a film package add on in the near future.
When we get back I promise i will blog all our October weddings and hopefully a few shots from this weekend! Hope everyone has a great weekend & enjoys the cold front- we are much more at home in the sand where we’re headed.
Ivonne & Victor | One Year Later | Romantic Encore Session
Ivonne & Victor just celebrated their first wedding anniversary! They live and got married in Tennessee but came down to Florida, where they honeymooned, to do an anniversary/ trash the dress session with us! Along with beautiful & fun portraits we wanted to capture some of the details that were not captured on the wedding day (like the rings and shoes). This session was so much fun, and such a great way to get photographs like they wish they had on their wedding day. This ended up being such a romantic encore session and we loved working with this sweet couple who just adore one another.
That last series is definitely my favorite! Even after being the water and getting all wet & sandy, Ivonne looked absolutely stunning so we had to snag some extra portraits of them each individually looking all sexy :)
Say Hello to Fall | Our Summer Wrap Up
Though the weather hasn’t quite cooled down yet Summer is technically over. It was a wonderful combination of crazy and relaxing- we actually got to do a lot of stuff we wanted and finish quite a few projects & there was also a lot of celebrating to be had. We went sailing for our 5th wedding anniversary, made it to the beach a bunch & of course had weekly picnics (many of which involved Chipotle).
On the business side of things we got published in The Knot Florida (and lots more blogs) moved out of our office space & re-did our office at home. We also spruced up our packaging and got lots of other client goodies.
We finally had our anniversary shoot (something I’ve wanted to do for about 3 anniversaries now) completed my anniversary project for our home, created an Instagram wall (photos are meant to be printed and not left in our phones) and had HUGE canvases printed of us for our living room and bedroom (see previous comment :)
We traveled up to Massachusetts and Connecticut for Evan’s brother’s wedding and got to see lots of family.
We even got to relax a bit this summer and try out lots of new recipes while cooking at home & I got my first tattoo!!!
So welcome, Fall! October and November are our busiest months and we know that the weddings we have the rest of the year are going to be our favorites to date for sure. I even have a side project that I hope to launch by my birthday at the end of this month. We are hoping we can even fit in a little vacation by the end of the year. I am so excited that I have accomplished many of my goals that I set for 2012, both in the business and personally, & I can’t wait to create some goals for next year. 2013 will be here soon enough! (Assuming we all survive the coming Apocalypse of course).
Here are a few of my favorite things in preparation of Fall: changing leaves up North, pumpkins & Pumpkin Spice Lattes @ Starbucks.
The Finishing Touch | Client Packaging & a growing obsession with paper products
So it’s no secret that I love paper. Like really love it. And not so great paper products can make photos look too dull or dark, so it’s so important that we pick paper products that compliment our photography and our brand. At least that’s what I try to explain to Evan when he wonders why I’m spending hours again looking at paper samples. Paper & packaging has been an area that I have put a little extra effort into for our company so that our photography always looks great, our marketing pieces always look & feel high end, and most important- I want our clients to get as giddy as I do when their gorgeous packaging arrives in the mail with their photos!
The first marketing piece people see is usually either our business card or postcard if we are meeting you at a networking event, or our magazine and info packet if it is a consultation. Our business cards come from Moo (www.us.moo.com) We spend a little extra here and get the Luxe kind- they have an extra substrate in between with colored edge (that came in our exact blue!) These cards have the feel of letterpress but aren’t so pricey. Our postcards came from Overnight prints and our info magazines are ordered in batches from Mag Cloud. These puppies aren’t cheap (about $4 each) but have been an amazing resource for brides and fellow vendors wanting to learn more about us.
Next among our welcome packet we have some fun cards- a little intro and also a social media card with links to all the different ways to connect with us. I use these at networking events as well sometimes because they are so much fun. I also just got in some sweet little note card for checking in with couples and saying hi to fellow vendors. I print all of these on press products through Miller’s Lab. Depending on the card I usually use either the recycled paper or cotton paper for the cards I write on. They are simply amazing. I switched to Miller’s earlier this year as our sole lab and have been so thrilled with them.
I am also huge about thank you cards. I send them out for everything. When a client books, when I send final dvd’s- everything. Our amazing designer, Robyn of Meant To Be Sent, did these for us and the envelopes are from Paper Source.
Then after the session or wedding, it’s time to send out the dvd! We do the custom labels on these ourselves and all the envelopes and boxes are from Paper Source. These packages also have a ton of cards including album information, portrait care tips, a print release, and then some kind of goodie- usually an edible treat or something with photos on it :) We try to switch this up a little to keep our clients guessing.
And then last and my new favorite printable is our anniversary cards that Robyn also designed for us. They are so creative and fun and I am so excited about sending out our first batch! We love keeping in touch with our couples after the wedding day. Not only is it great for referrals but we’ve made so many friends along this journey and it brings me so much joy to photograph newborns for our former brides & grooms!
Hope you all enjoyed this little behind the scenes and preview of all our brand new packaging! I plan on writing a lot more about the operations of our studio. Happy weekend!
