I attended several workshops last year to better educate myself in array of facets in regard to my work. I learned SO much and have been working really hard to really make a brand that reflects my beliefs/values/and mantras. One big thing I took away from a workshop with Jerry Ghionis was how important it is to offer a quality album in my wedding packages.
I have always shied away from this option due to the unknown and cost. I pride myself on being to offer affordable quality photography coverage to my brides. It may not be the best business model for my wallet, but it keeps me feeling good about my work, allows me to keep doing this, and keeps the relationship between me and my clients on a level that I enjoy.
When I saw these albums at the workshop I attended, and learned how affordable they could be, I knew they’d be a great addition to my packages–plus, they are made in Italy, and that is just awesome. I mean, c’mon, what screams romance like Italy?!?! All my packages now include this awesome, sleek, quality, beautiful 12×8 30 page wedding album. Don’t worry, you also still get a flash drive with all the images as well…but…
Imagine this: You sit down on your couch with your husband/wife after you first year of wedded bliss…you think about what a wonderful year it has been as you cut into your thawed out wedding cake topper, and as you clink your champagne glasses in celebration you reach into the drawer of your coffee table to retrieve your…..FLASH DRIVE! WOMP WOMP. I mean, how romantic right?
Now picture this: It’s been five years since your wedding, your 3 year old is dancing around the living room in her well loved white ‘wedding’ dress-up dress and plastic clickity high-heeled shoes. Your husband comes home from work and gives you that look; the one you fell in love with him from, the one of pride and compassion…and you say to your daughter, “I wore a pretty dress when I married your daddy, do you want to see?” She answers yes with excitement as you pull out your beautiful custom wedding album. You all sit down on the couch, go through the album and get tears in your eyes as you remember one of the happiest days of your life. And your daughter says “mommy, you’re beautiful!”
I got married nearly three years ago, and I’m a photographer. Would you believe I STILL don’t have my wedding album done? I had a brilliant idea to make a scrap book out of the thousands of images from our day (which was the best day of my life)…and I cannot tell you how many times I have said “I wish I would have just decided to do a digital album. I tell myself I will finish it EVERY YEAR, and I still only have a couple pages done.
I’m telling you–it is TOTALLY worth it to have someone else do it for you! So I’m proposing you let it be me 😉
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There’s a few things that will probably always hold true at the heart of me:
I love supporting small business.
I love crafting and creating.
I love entertaining/hosting get togethers…especially if it means mama’s can get out for a while.
I love decorating the space in where I live.
Really, I love them all. Those are things that I think any of my closest friends could tell you about me even an acquaintance that might have only known me for a short time. It’s a part of what makes me, me. So when I heard about The Crafty Project, I knew that I just had to host a party!
I invited a bunch of moms/friends that are a part of a playgroup I help organize here in Sun Prairie. It didn’t take long for a bunch of wonderful ladies to get on board and get excited about making an awesome board to hang in their homes.
Once my invite list was finalized, about a month before the party, Jenny (the owner of The Crafty Project) contacted everyone with all the information we needed to order our perfect board. My favorite thing about the process is that you could choose ANYTHING you wanted to put on the board and she’d make it happen. You get to choose the size of your board, the color of your board and the design. The day of, you get to choose all your paint colors too! I ended up seeing two ideas I liked and we merged them into one, and I love the way my board turned out! (Mine is “Home is where the heart is”)
On the day of the party, Jenny showed up to my house extremely organized and prepared in every way. She set up my dining room beautifully and as my guests arrived, they all commented on how wonderful the presentation was. Everything we needed to make our boards look amazing was provided–along with Jenny’s expertise!
It took us about 2 1/2 hours (and lots of snacks and treats 😉 ) to complete our boards. By the time I saw everyone back to their cars, Jenny had everything cleaned up and packed into the garbage bag she brought (like I said, totally prepared!) Everyone was really happy with how they turned out and I can’t wait to do it again!
I highly recommend The Crafty Project for anyone looking for a new and fun activity to do for any reason: bachelorette, shower, birthday, celebration, anything!
If you follow me on social media, (instagram, twitter, Facebook) you’ve likely seen some of my many posts about non-profits I am proud to be a part of. I find myself giving more and more of my time to these organizations willingly, and I feel they have become a huge part of my identity. So naturally, I want to talk about it.
If you would have asked me a few years ago if I could or would give my time to something that didn’t pay me I’d probably would have said “I wish I could but I have no time for that!” And then I started getting really involved in Box of Balloons and I could really see it going somewhere and being something and I LOVED the mission (seriously, I love throwing parties AND kids AND giving people stuff so it fits me perfectly) and I started realizing that the time I put in gave me so much back personally I began to want to make time for it.
I’ve always had dreams of donating money, and being super involved in homeless shelters and youth enrichment programs but never really had the opportunity given to me, nor the money to afford the kind of contributions I could feel good about; so when Box of Balloons fell on my lap I clenched on to that puppy as if it were my own! It is simply amazing how complete I feel knowing that the few hours a week I put into Box of Balloons is really helping make a difference in the lives of children not only in my community but now in other states as well!
In the midst of getting the ball rolling with BOB (Box of Balloons), I was accepted into several other non profits related to my more professional life. If you haven’t heard of The Tiny Footprints Project, you should check it out. It is a national non-profitcomprised of a group of photographers who are matched with local families to offer their services free of charge to parents of premature babies living in the NICU. The photographers capture the newborns earliest moments and are a part of the families precious beginnings.
Having lived through a NICU experience with my own daughter, this opportunity to give back couldn’t have fit any better into my life. I know how much I cherish looking back at those moments when we felt so scared, excited, happy, sad, confused and feel so good about giving that same experience to families who also know what it’s like to live through NICU life. If you ever know of anyone with a baby in the NICU, send them to The Tiny Footprints Project. They have photographers throughout the country ready to help!
The most challenging part of being involved in these organizations, running my own business, and being a stay-at-home mom has been balancing my time. Feeling like my priority was home and work and that charity was extra. And while it is, it has quickly become work to me as well. Over the winter months, I meditated on just this. And I decided that while home-life is always number 1, my work life can be balanced in many different directions. It may mean that a session will take a day longer to turn around, or I may be able to take one or two less sessions a month, but I have faith that you, my wonderful clients and fans, will understand. I value my relationship with everyone of my clients, and I 100% believe that a quick turn-around time is of utmost importance for your satisfaction, but at the same time, if someone for one of my non-profits needs me and it makes my turn around time 3 days instead of two you’ll get it right? Good. That’s why I love ya’ll!
Katie and Matt were made for each other. They totally work like ying and yang. Katie is soft and sweet, she has it all together. Gentle, kind and outwardly serious. But Matt..he makes her laugh. Really, they make each other laugh. Through the goofy moments and compassionate kisses however, everyone around them can see that their love is true.
Their wedding day was perfect. I met Katie at their home, where she got dressed and ready to go meet her groom and then we made our way over to the Stoughton Country Club where the wedding and reception would take place.
Matt and Katie chose to do a first look, and it was so fun! They each stood on opposite sides of a big oak tree and read letters they wrote to each other before turning to take their first look. SO sweet! It may be my favorite one yet. I love it when my clients choose to see each other before their ceremony so we can have plenty of time to get some awesome photos of them and their wedding party. In this case, it allowed Katie and Matt to enjoy almost their entire cocktail party before the reception. AWESOME.
It was such a fun day; belly laughs were had, tears were shed and memories were made. I am so glad you chose me to capture your day! I loved loved loved working with you two, Katie and Matt, and your family and friends were pretty awesome too!
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