April 12, 2016
I was contact by Sheri of Love Always, Carolina to photograph a styled shoot she was putting together at The Farm at Brusharbor. I was honored to be asked! Most of the styled shoots I’ve photographed, I’ve also put together… which is exhausting! Thanks Sheri for putting this wonderful shoot together! Venue | Brusharbor Coordination | Love Always, Carolina Hair & Makeup | Erin Ashley Floral | Keliabee Flower Company Dress | Jillian’s Bridal Loft Rentals | Classic Event & Tent Rental
April 5, 2016
We seemed to have finally rounded a corner towards the master suite and laundry room completion! There’s even a rumor that our washer and dryer will be reinstalled this week…. you guys, it’s been TEN weeks since we’ve had laundry…. TEN! The last update I shared, everything was framed… which was a milestone, but now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. They got everything dry-walled and painted by early last week and began to tile. The floor tile went down with ease, but then we the contractor & tile installer ran into all kinds of issues installing wall tile. I came home to find they had done the decorative mosaic in a square, which I’d supplied them a very specific drawing with a rectangle (to mimic the wall shape). This snowballed into, ripping tile down that couldn’t be reused, that led me to make THREE trips to get more tile…. in GREENSBORO. I wasn’t happy…. but I came home yesterday to it all corrected and it looks wonderful! They also got the vanity moved in place and out of our dining room… which meant I finally felt like I could clean for the first time in 2 months! Our dining room has been the logical holding place for all the items that we supplied (it’s right next to the reno location), that would be needed for the reno (tile, faucets, mirrors, lights and vanity)… so that meant our dining room as looked like this for months…. ugh! There was no reason to shuffle and clean… until Friday. I spent like 3 hours cleaning…. which basically sent me into an allergy attack most of the weekend. So.Much.Dust. Thankfully, the dusty time seems to be ending and we will be moving in soon! All the walls are painted Benjamin Moore Strong White. The door hardware was installed (we are having all the doors in the house replaced so they will all match these and this hardware) Above is standing in the new hall looking into the bedroom. Below left: looking into hall (and existing kitchen) from the bedroom, right: looking into laundry room from master doorway. Below: standing at the bathroom door looking back at the hall (left door) and closet (right door). After living with our tiny pink and blue bath, we are SO excited to have a proper master bath. It’s coming together and we love it! A major trend in bathroom renos is to include a niche for your soap and shampoo… but I HATE when you can see them from outside the shower… my bright orange shampoo and conditioner bottles are not pretty… so we hid our niche in the knee wall so that you cannot see it from the bathroom. (example) You can see the toilet drain in the corner and the tub drain under the window. I think they may be installing both today. They;re also grouting today. The Carrara marble and sinks were also installed yesterday, they look beautiful! Next time I share an update…. we’ll be moved in!!!
March 22, 2016
We all photograph with the same camera bodies, same lenses, film shooters send to the same labs, we follow the same trends, we submit to the same blogs and magazines for publications. Ultimately, we all produce the same thing… so what makes me different? It’s really easy to get bogged down as a wedding photographer and feel like you are just fading into the fog of “competition”. We often compare our worst against everyone’s best…. Ultimately, we all have to work hard to be different in some way. I’ve chosen for my service experience to be different, and not rely on my skill. After-all, anyone can master a skill… but no one else can be me. How do I do this? I’m a self-proclaimed, lightning-fast email responder. Nothing is worse than wanting/needing information fast and you can’t get it. When Jeremy and I got married, if you couldn’t communicate with me via email, I didn’t work with you. Plain and simple. As a creative, we are often not associated with left-brain people… we are free flowing, free spirited and heaven forbid we be tied to a device returning emails! You won’t get far with brides (or their mamma’s!) if you are not responsive. I know if I can get back to you faster than anyone else when you inquire about a service, I probably have a better chance of being hired. I’m also showing you that I am here for you, and I won’t leave you hanging. While I do try to keep work separated from personal time (emailing and calling) only between 10AM-7PM, I do make every effort to personally respond to emails within an hour during my 10-7 schedule. If I receive it outside those hours, expect a response by 10AM the next morning. Scheduling. At some point during the wedding process, you have to work on your schedule… either figuring it out on your own, with your venue or your planner. I don’t want to get 2 months from the wedding day to find out you’ve left 20 minutes between the ceremony and being introduced at the reception… all while the sun has gone down or me to do all your portraits (family, groups and just you two). Ultimately, you’ll be disappointed with me and the lack of photos you receive. It’s my job to educate you on how much time it takes to get the photos you want to receive. I decided on my contact form, I would ask you specific questions about your wedding day when you inquire about wedding photography services. Based on the information you provide me, when I meet with you or chat over the phone/skype I make you a timeline that works well for me to complete all the photos you want… this way we are all on the same page from the get-go. I go over it with you and even include a list of items that can impact your timeline. Planning assistance Something I’d wanted to do for a while., finally came to light last year when a fellow photographer did it first… it kicked my butt into gear to get it done! I’ve created a huge magazine that you’ll receive once your retainer and contract are in, full of planning tips to make your wedding day less stressful and my job easier! It’s a beast of a document, that I am incredibly proud to offer my clients! I stick to the contract. I see over and over people post on social media about the length of time it takes to get their images. Your contract might say 8 weeks, and you just hit week 9 with nothing delivered. This is unacceptable! You WILL get images from me well before my cut-off time of 6 weeks. Period! No chasing me down for images, I promise! Now…. a mini house update! Last time we were still looking at studs…. Drywall is complete, brick was done on Friday… microwave is back up in the kitchen, door hardware arrived (I’m in love!). They are starting tile today, completing the bathroom floor first before an inspection of the shower floor. Hopefully the inspection will go well, and they can finish tiling the shower this week. I’ll be doing a full reno updated next Tuesday, hopefully lots will be different! We are so close to getting moved in the new bedroom!
