CLIENT INTERVIEW - THE REASON

I have the pleasure of working with some of the most amazing people. Chris & Allie Bartelski of The Reason are no exception to that, so I'm so glad to be able to feature them on my blog again as part of my client interview series. The timing of this feature could not be more perfect, either. Tomorrow, I'm flying down to Atlanta to shoot a wedding with Chris on Saturday.. Look for my favorites from the session next week!

On with the questions!

(1) What is your brand all about?

the reason is all about being professional, current, and fun. We are big fans of Apple and the way they run their business. There is no computer company out there that does their job better, and no computer company that takes as much joy in pleasing their customers.

Professional - With our brand we want to reach a level of professionalism where it seems that what we do comes naturally and that we take great pleasure doing it.

Current - We want to stay current, and one of the most recognizable icons from a any time period is its music. Allie and I both love music, and had a career either playing in a band or following around the lead singer (allie). We wanted a photography brand that we could market as a band, and hopefully gain some life long groupies.

Fun - We wanted a brand and logo that reflected the kind of fun people have while dancing in the iPod commercials. We want people to know they can have fun and cut loose, being confident that we will capture everything with the eye of a seasoned professional and the respect of a trusted friend.


(2) How do you see your logo working into your whole brand?

We believe it's iconic and easy to recognize. Something that's easy to slather over telephone poles and grungy venue bathroom stalls... It does work just like a band logo. It's also simple and slick, and that really reflects our love for Apple.

(3) What was your favorite part of the branding process?

I loved the brainstorming, but "the reason" was the very first name Allie and I came up with, so that didn't take very long. Once we had the idea everything else just came pouring through the flood gates. Our favorite part of the branding process was getting to talk and chat with Cailyn all the time. With her amazing skills, we were able to go from brainstorming an idea to completed website over a weekend. Yeah... She's got mad skills.


(4) What was your least favorite part of the branding process?

I guess it would have to be the fact that we waited 4 weeks to launch our brand. Cailyn's awesome logo was burning a hole our pocket.


(5) Do you have any advice for people who are just beginning to brand their businesses?

Get a big huge whiteboard or paper and really draw, write and sculpt your ideas. Oh, yeah... Be yourself, you're good at that... People will appreciate that.

I am so lucky to know such awesome photographers and friends. Chris & Allie: Thanks for answering the questions, and for being so awesome to work with! I can't wait to see you both this weekend.

LAUREN & JOHN-MORGAN - PART TWO, THE WEDDING

Oh, wow. I'm not even sure where to start. Lauren and John-Morgan had one of the most amazing wedding days I have ever seen. They had their touch on absolutely everything. They had me in tears during the ceremony, and they were just the most relaxed and wonderful couple.

I started the day with the girls while they had their hair and make-up done. This is Lauren, and you'll see the hands of Chris, their hair stylist. He was absolutely amazing.

I love best friends. This is Lauren with her maid of honor, Meaghan.

Lauren getting her make-up done at Posh Salon & Spa in Lexington.

More laughter.

Meaghan reviewing her maid of honor speech. Girl, you did a fabulous job.

You might not believe me when I tell you this, but Lauren was so relaxed that she was actually balancing her checkbook before the wedding. Crazy, right? I knew you wouldn't believe me, so I took a picture.

I took this next picture in a really selfish moment. I'm absolutely in love with Project Runway, and I could have spotted this bag from Mood from a mile away. Lauren and John-Morgan are moving to New York City later this summer, and I'm so jealous that they will be closer to Mood!

Could these girls BE any more gorgeous?! How lucky am I?

Lauren's g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s dress.

The shoes. Lauren is a girl after my own heart.

The bling.

The bouquet.

Lauren insisted on helping each of the girls with their dresses as a way to have a quiet, meaningful moment with each of them. Quiet? Maybe not. Meaningful, definitely. This is one of my favorites.

Here's Lauren getting into her dress with the help of her mom.

The Carrick House was an absolutely wonderful backdrop for the day. Lauren and John-Morgan had a clear vision for their wedding, and it was just so wonderful to see it all come together. Here's a portrait of Lauren in one of the many awesome areas of the house.

Lauren... You are drop dead gorgeous, girl.

While I was hanging out with the girls, Kevin was kind enough to catch a few of John-Morgan getting ready. In this first one, he's putting on cufflinks from Lauren with his initials and a picture of the two of them inside.

Downtown for some portraits.

Lauren & John-Morgan opted to see each other for pictures before the ceremony, but they had to exchange some gifts first. You may remember from a few posts ago that Lauren gave John-Morgan an album of boudoir photos as a present. She also got him a new briefcase.

Lauren received some custom designed earrings, and, to her delight, a clock. A clock that will measure all of their years together... I almost cried.

Here's John-Morgan waiting for Lauren for their first look.

A sweet moment under the Carrick House's porthole window.

And then it was time for Lauren to put her veil on. I absolutely love bridecage veils. This is another favorite of mine.

The grounds of the Carrick House are absolutely stunning. Lauren and John-Morgan chose to decorate their ceremony site with magnolia cut directly from John-Morgan's family farm, and it could not have been more perfect.

The programs were hung over the decorations on the ceremony chairs.

I love that you can see the late afternoon moon in this shot. I'm pretty sure I was crying during this shot. Their vows were ridiculously emotional, and some of the best I've ever heard.

The first kiss!

After the wedding, I hopped into a horse-drawn carriage with Lauren and John-Morgan to take some portraits after the wedding. I have WAY too many favorites, so I had to narrow it down.

Ah! They are SO happy, I can hardly stand it. I'm pretty sure I asked for serious faces during this shot, guys.

Holy cow. I'm in love with this shot.

Can you say canvas? Big, big, big canvas? I can!

Last, but not least... A sweet kiss on the way back to the Carrick House. I love it.

Lauren & John-Morgan, thank you so much for letting me be a part of such a wonderful day. Your wedding was exactly what a wedding should be.. Relaxed, fun, meaningful, and filled with people that you love.

Finally, when I sent the proofs to them, I got an e-mail back from Lauren containing some of the most wonderful things I've heard about my photography. She said this:

I can only say one thing. If I were you, I would be pissed that I couldn't do my own wedding photos. You will be famous one day and I'm thankful that we were able to get you while we could afford you. I think you are wonderful. You make the mundane seem magical. Thank you so much! Lauren

Lauren, you are so sweet. Thank you, again.

VANESSA & GREG - ONE YEAR!

Vanessa and Greg were married one year ago today, in a wonderful ceremony here in Lexington, KY. This is the first in a series of posts in which I'm going to ask some of my clients to answer a couple questions about their photography sessions or graphic design projects I've done for them. I'm so glad that Vanessa and Greg get to be the first!

(1) What was your favorite thing about your wedding?
Vanessa: Wow, this is a tough question. We had to go back and watch our video. Probably my favorite thing about the ceremony is that all the prelude tunes were Disney love songs, and our unity candle-lighting music was also Disney: "[I'll Be Your] Candle On the Water" from Pete's Dragon (a childhood favorite for both of us). We didn't make programs for the ceremony, so only people familiar with the movie would understand the meaning behind the song at the lighting of the unity candle. I consider it my subtle little touch that is meaningful to us, whether anyone else recognized it or not. My other favorite thing about our wedding is that our reception was at an art gallery. I loved that.

Greg: My favorite part of the wedding was during the reception, when we cut our cake together and drank champagne. It was the first time after the wedding when we actually got to relax a little and start taking it all in. And, the cake was really good!


(2) What is your favorite wedding photo? Why is it your favorite?

Vanessa: I love everything about this photo; it was posed, but it was one of those "reality" moments as well, where you can see the passion (especially his) in the kiss. I especially love the way my dress curves outward and you get to see the profile of some of the buttons that lined the back of my dress and my train.

Greg: I feel that this image captures us as a couple. No cheesy smiles or "will she push the shutter button already?" faces. We're both content and happy: we're married!!! The best part of the picture is, of course, Vanessa. Her eyes, her smile, her features,everything about her comes together into this "WOW!", which I think you can see on my face.


3) How are you celebrating your first year of married bliss?
Well, I'll be honest: sticking within our budget has been one of our biggest priorities since we got married; we have a lot of debt from putting ourselves through college and paying for our own wedding. Our goal is to get out of debt for good! So, to celebrate our 1 year anniversary, we'll be going on a "stay-cation." Greg, who currently works 7 days a week, has the entire weekend of our anniversary off. We'll be taking advantage of all that time together to get out and explore, taste, and experience parts of the bluegrass we haven't experienced before. We've learned that life isn't about the money we spend or the grand places we go (though we both love to travel!) -- it's about cherishing and relishing every moment we have together.


(4) What's the biggest piece of advice you can give a future bride?
Enjoy your wedding. Go with your heart; don't be afraid to bend the rules a little to do things the way you want to. Don't forget to look into his eyes and remember what it's all about :)


(5) How has life changed since you've been married?
The biggest thing we've discovered is that things often don't go the way we plan, even when we think we've got it figured out! But, our relationship is always growing and deepening; our communication with and understanding of each other is always reaching for the next level. It's good. We recently moved to a larger, nicer apartment in a quiet, beautiful community where we really feel like it's HOME. New friends have come into our life and old friends have become more special. We're looking forward to the changes the next year of our marriage has in store for us!

Vanessa and Greg: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer a couple questions. I hope that you are having a wonderful anniversary, and I can't wait to hear more about the ways your lives are progressing together in the future. You two were simply wonderful wedding clients from beginning to end.

I can't leave this post without giving you my favorite image from their wedding, can I? Most of you know this, but I absolutely love this image of Vanessa getting her make-up done before the ceremony. Also: I absolutely love that they got married on 06.07.08.. Cute and easy to remember!

LAUREN & JOHN-MORGAN - PART ONE

You may have seen the post before this with Lauren's boudoir session. That was pretty much all about her. This post is about the day before their wedding. Kevin and I love to go to the rehearsal to introduce ourselves and feel out the crowd. Their rehearsal was in the morning, and it went so well. Lauren and John-Morgan didn't take their eyes off of each other, and they were both wearing huge grins all day.

Lauren asked if we could grab a few shots of them before their rehearsal dinner at Dudley's in Lexington. We said yes, and met them on Mill Street for a few quiet moments before their families arrived at the restaurant. Dudley's is located on the corner of Mill & Maxwell in Lexington, and if you've ever been to Lexington you'll know that this is one of the most quaint streets in the city. Somehow, though it's right next to downtown Lexington, it's quiet. We were so happy to give Lauren and John-Morgan their only "alone time" that day.

I'm pretty sure they're laughing at Kevin. When they kissed, Kevin called out, "Gross!" from across the street.. He's so good at breaking the ice.

I love this tree. I love this kiss. I love this Love.

And then we found a ladybug.. They're considered good luck, you know. Even better luck the day before your wedding, of course.

Oh. My. Gosh. Her expression.. His expression.. It's almost too much.

Lauren and John-Morgan were great sports about this entire short session before dinner. They acted completely nature the whole time, and they were hardly even aware of our shutters clicking happily to catch all of their wonderful expressions. They are so in love.

Just wait until you see the wedding photos. Just. Wait.

LAUREN - BOUDOIR

This weekend, we had the pleasure of photographing a wonderful wedding. Before I start posting pictures from the wedding, however, I wanted to post a few from Lauren's boudoir session.

After booking their wedding with us, Lauren contacted me about doing a boudoir shoot as a present for her fiance, John-Morgan. I could not have been more excited. Lauren is gorgeous, and I think that boudoir photos are one of the most perfect wedding presents ever for a groom. I can not even tell you how hard it was to keep these boudoir photos a secret until this weekend.

If it was hard for me to keep them a secret, I can't even imagine what Lauren was going through. She told me that she had hidden the album away in her desk at work, and that she had wanted to talk about it so many times with John-Morgan. (Lauren, I can't believe we both kept it a secret!)

If John-Morgan only knew.. We were super sneaky, and used their apartment one Saturday afternoon while John-Morgan was working. These pictures are the result.

This is my favorite. Lauren said, "I'm feeling adventurous.. Let's go to the balcony." I have never seen Lexington look so Connecticut-in-the-country-on-a-Sunday-afternoon before. And Lauren.. Call Tyra. You are too gorgeous.

John-Morgan opened his album this past Sunday, and he was blown away. He gave me one of the biggest compliments ever when he said, "You captured what I see every single day, but you took the 'everyday' out of it. She's beautiful." Here's a look at him opening the album on the wedding day...

Lauren: Thank you for being such a great model. You worked it all afternoon! I can't wait for you to see your wedding photos.

John-Morgan: Your reaction to Lauren's boudoir photos was exactly why I love this job. I'm so happy that my photography can bring such amazing expressions to the face of my clients.

Be on the lookout for their wedding photos later this week. I told them this on Sunday, but I think that their wedding is so epic that it might need more than one blog post! It was just such a beautiful display of the love they have for each other.. I'm so excited to blog about it!!