We wanted to send you off into the weekend with a little something different! As you know, we have the pleasure of working with my husband Jeremy of Jeremy Mitchell Cinema at a lot of our weddings. It’s obviously a big win win for everyone involved and we get so excited when we find out another couple has booked Jeremy and Nick! And because we inevitably end up tearing up at our client’s wedding films anyway, we figured we would start sharing them throughout the season with you in our new “Friday Films” series!

First up, Christina +  Josh’s GORGEOUS Kingsmill Resort Wedding!

Next up is the film that Jen and I shot for Lauren + Chris! We shot this one as associate shooter’s under Jeremy’s company and it was SO MUCH FUN! We had a blast getting to be on the video side of things and are excited to help out the JMC boys more in the future!!

To see more: http://jenandashley.pass.us/joannandroccoengagement

To see their plus site: http://joannandrocco.jenandashley.com

We asked Gannon where his baby brother is and he tried to lift up mommy’s shirt haha!!!

TOO CUTE!

Seriously Allison?  You are GORGEOUSSSSSS!!!

And then, as quickly as it came, it moved away. Sun filtered through the trees and bathed the entire site in a warm afternoon glow. Knowing, I have no doubt, that it was time for Kim and Blair to see each other. Knowing, I have no doubt, that Kim and Blair deserved their day to be perfect. As she stood at the top of the hill and tapped him gently on the shoulder, the fingers uncrossed and new prayers were sent up. Ones of thanks, for their life together, for their marriage, for all of their amazing friends and family, and yes, for sunny days.

Kim and Blair – we are SO excited for both of you and so thankful we were a part of your wedding. Blair’s father joked that he “had no more sons!” for us to photograph weddings for, and although that may be true, we couldn’t have been more honored to be a part of your family over the past year. We LOVED your wedding. We loved that it was unequivocally a representation of who you are as people, of your fun spirit and relaxed nature, and of that sense of fun that you will no doubt carry into your marriage. We love you guys! – A

To see more: http://jenandashley.pass.us/kimandblairwedding

Their plus site: http://kimandblair.jenandashley.com

Photography | Jen + Ashley

Ceremony Venue | Libby Hill Park

Reception Venue | The Old City Bar 

Catering | White House Catering

Dress | Rue La La

Cakes + Desserts | Frostings Bake Shop

Florals | Flowers by Zoie 

Invitations | Wedding Paper Divas

Hair | Abby at Wyldology 

Men’s Wear | Jos. A. Bank

Kim + Blair chose to do a First Look and we are SO happy they did! The skies parted right as they made their way to see each other and the entire day was so relaxed and SPECIAL!

We have started incorporating our one light setup into detail shots and I can’t tell you how much of a difference it makes! The Old City Bar is an AMAZING venue with this really cool, 1920′s, speakeasy vibe. It was the perfect place for Kim + Blair to get married, but because of it’s awesome interior design, the lighting is super dark and red tinged – having the one light setup gives us so many more options to get all the fabulous details Kim had pulled together!

After the ceremony and before cocktail hour, we had a few more minutes to explore Downtown Richmond with Kim + Blair. Their First Look allowed us so much extra time to get family formals done, portraits in two different locations for Kim and Blair, AND…they got to enjoy their cocktail hour with their guests!

Being an only child, it’s easy for people to say “Oh, you must have been so spoiled!” or assume that because I was an only child that I had everything handed to me and never had to learn the value of hard work. Yes, I am an only child, and yes, my parents didn’t have any other kids to spend money on (you may call it spoiled I call it luckkkyyyyy hahaha!), but everything else couldn’t be further from the truth. My mom has taught me how to DREAM. How to dream and fight for it and that when you have a dream, you have to do everything within your power to chase it down and make it a reality. And that it’s okay, when that dream isn’t quite realized in the way you expected, to have sorrow but to be PROUD and happy of what you did achieve. She taught me the value of hard work, and the value of being a kind person. My mother has the kindest, most gentle heart of anyone I know and she inspires me in that way. To be more thoughtful, to be more giving, to look at every opportunity as a way to serve and help someone else. I am SO PROUD of my mom for the woman that she is, and I’m so thankful for the values she has instilled in me that are shaping the woman I am becoming. I love you SO MUCH momma, you are my hero! Happy Momma’s Day! xoxo! – A

Yay! One of my favorite Styled Sessions ever! As soon as I saw this skirt online I knew I had to have it. It’s so cute, so versatile and I’m excited to see how many ways I can wear it. One of the first ways I knew I wanted tow wear it was mixing it with another pattern. The key here is since the patterns are in the same color palette, it looks pretty seamless and doesn’t clash. Keeping the accessories neutral sans for the statement necklace and a fun red lip keeps the whole look pulled together while still having a little edge. To keep the look from looking TOO monochromatic, I threw on my favorite mustard yellow cardigan to balance everything out.

I’m super excited to also wear this with a white tee, cute flats and a fun colored bag too! And once falls rolls back around, it’s the perfect length to wear with boots and tights! This is one of those great investment pieces that will never go out of style.

Skirt, J.Crew. Tank, Forever 21. Cardigan, Ann Taylor Loft. Wedges, Target. Necklace, J.Crew. Bracelet, J.Crew. Clutch, Target. Earrings, Kate Spade. Belt, Forever 21 (off a different dress). Nails, OPI “Russian Navy”. Lips, Revlon.

But here’s the thing. It’s really, really easy to write from that place. To write from the place with that thought in the back of your mind. How can I make this inspiring? How can I take whatever it is I have to say today, and make it so that it can help and serve others?

What’s harder? Telling it like it is. So this my friends, is my “Sorry I’m not sorry” post. And in a weird twist of events, I truly DO hope it helps someone else. I hope it helps someone feel more normal, more REAL. Or maybe I am the only person on earth who does these things or feels this way…then I say, Lord help me!!! – A

Sorry I’m not sorry that sometimes I stay in my pajamas…all.day.

Sorry I’m not sorry that my “office” is my bed at least two days a week.

Sorry I’m not sorry that I take engagement sessions on weekends, even when everyone else tells me not to.

Sorry I’m not sorry that I am not a morning person and usually wake up and get into the groove around 9:45am.

Sorry I’m not sorry that I love beer. And I love wine. Okay I just love drinks.

Sorry I’m not sorry that I email at 9:30 at night…and sometimes on weekends. GASP! I LIKE doing it, so there.

Sorry I’m not sorry that my bed doesn’t get made every day…and my closet looks like a small child threw a temper tantrum in it. (Wait, maybe that was me…)

Sorry I’m not sorry that I take three hours off in the middle of the week for a beach day with friends. This is WHY I wanted my own business.

Sorry I’m not sorry that I have a lot of people hidden from my Facebook news feed. I love you people, but the comparison monster doesn’t look good on me. I’d rather just not know and love you all the same.

Sorry I’m not sorry that I edit on a laptop. Can anyone tell? No? Great, carry on then.

Sorry I’m not sorry that I brag about our couples all the time. They’re amazing.

Sorry I’m not sorry that sometimes, our pricing changes. Anyone who tells you they never bend their pricing is a liar.

Finally, sorry I’m not sorry that I am absolutely, 100% impatient when it comes to my life and my business. I’ve tried very hard to not be that person, but I am realizing more and more just how grateful I am that I AM. My impatience means that I own my own business, that it continues to grow and thrive, that I have an amazing life, and that I am never, ever bored, complacent, or content with being ordinary. Patience gets us nowhere fast.

*The line “Patience Gets Us Nowhere Fast” is from a song by one of my favorite bands right now, Capital Cities….check it out HERE!

Since then, we have actively made it a point to get as many weddings as we can featured for our clients and have had 16 total features! Sure, it’s a bit of extra work, but with the tips below, it can become just another part of your workflow. The reward is TOTALLY worth the investment! Truthfully, I don’t know that we’ve ever booked a wedding based off a feature. But that’s okay! For us, the point is to show off our clients hard work, inspire other brides, and yes, of course, it feels great to see your images on a wedding blog- there’s no denying that! Below are our top tips for getting featured! – A

1). Two Bright Lights. This has been said a million times, but it bears repeating! Two Bright Lights is an amazing editorial platform that allows photographers to upload images and then submit to a variety of blogs! Not every wedding blog is on TBL though, and many blogs still accept submissions outside of TBL. For us though, TBL has been a great tool in getting us featured more often! You can upload an album from a wedding, add the vendor credits, and then submit to the blog of your choice. You’ll receive acceptance or denial of publication right there within the same platform. The great thing about TBL is that if a blog doesn’t pick up a feature, all you have to do is resubmit to a different blog if you choose. You don’t have to then re-upload an entire new album! One thing of note with TBL though….

2). Be Deliberate. Take the time to browse TBL’s editor pages and really choose a blog that best fits the style, look, imagery style, and vibe of the wedding you are submitting. Don’t get caught up in wanting to submit or get featured on this blog or that blog. You will better serve the editors, the clients, and yourself by submitting to a blog that has the best fit. Editors do remember names, and if they know that you take the time to make sure the submission is a great fit for their blog, they are happy to see your name pop up on a submission. On the flip side, if you continually send items that don’t fit their look, they’ll remember your name in that way as well.

3). Image Selection. Along with being deliberate in where you want to submit, WHAT you submit makes a huge difference as well! Choose your images purposefully. Look at the images as a whole set, not individually. Do the images tell a great color story? Do you see where images could naturally be paired up together? Is there a heavy focus on details and overall aesthetic? Editors want to see mostly details, portraits and the overall story of the day. They are less interested in reception photos and family formals. Making sure to “cut the fat” and keep only the best images (while staying within the blog’s submission guidelines), ensures that the editors can get a great feel for the wedding and make an easy decision to feature!

4). Follow the Guidelines. As mentioned above, each blog has a different set of guidelines and ways that they want images. Some want 100 images, sized to 600px. Some want 50 images, pre-paired together. Almost all want a full vendor list as well as a little blurb or story about the day. Make sure to read the guidelines and follow them! Editors are super busy, and they don’t have time to keep chasing down information or come back to you and ask you to resubmit according to their guidelines…make it easy on them to say YES and follow the guidelines they’ve set out! Also, some blogs are exclusive, meaning they don’t want the wedding to have been featured anywhere else (your personal blog is USUALLY okay, but again, each blog is different!). Make sure you’re checking whether the blog is exclusive or not before submitting!

5). Don’t be afraid to ask. If you get turned down for a specific feature (and believe me, WE ALL GET TURNED DOWN!), don’t be afraid to email the editor and ask what you can improve on for next time! We did this with one of our first ever weddings we tried to submit, and honestly, the feedback was that they just had too many weddings with the same style and look as the one we were submitting. Instead of wallowing and feeling like our work was awful, I found out that it just wasn’t a good fit at the time due to something totally out of my hands. It never hurts to ask WHY you were turned down so that you can make improvements for next time. You may not always get a response, but the ones you will get are invaluable!

6). Shoot with the feature in mind. One of the big things I took away from my CreativeLIVE experience was to always have the feature in the back of your mind and shoot for the “invisible editor” while at a wedding. Now, don’t get me wrong. The first person you should ALWAYS be shooting for is the client. No questions asked. But if you’re actively trying to get featured, there are ways to shoot a wedding with that final vision in mind. For instance, making sure that the images tell a great color story from beginning to end is a HUGE deal for editors. If you’re shooting details at the beginning of the day, make sure those details are being shot in a way and with a background that makes sense for the rest of the wedding. If it’s a beachy, laid back wedding, look to shoot the details somewhere in a way that showcases that. Think about the colors of the entire day, and shoot in a way that complements and enhances that, not clashes. This will also help when it comes time for album design, as everything makes sense and flows really well.

7). One at a time. Don’t submit the same wedding to two places at once. It’s disrespectful to the editors who have taken time out of their day to review your submission. They want to believe that you were their first choice for publication, and if they know that you are shopping around, it leaves a bad taste in their mouth. Choose deliberately, and wait for a response before submitting somewhere else. Editors DO talk, and they are friends!!

8). Share share share! Once you get that feature (WAHOO!) SHARE IT! Post it to your client’s walls, make sure to leave a comment on the blog and encourage the clients and vendors to do the same. Editors love getting love and traffic to their site, and it can only be a good thing if they notice a fun spike in traffic on a day that you were featured!

9). Don’t be afraid to style. This goes back to shooting with the feature in mind on the wedding day, but it also just makes for better photos! If you’re shooting the reception room and there is that butter tray or salt and pepper shakers and sugar holders – move them! If the table has a TON of details but you really want to focus in on one key piece (editors love this!), gently move it and make sure to put everything back exactly as you found it. Take a photo of the table before you move anything so you know exactly where it goes when putting it back. In the getting ready room, don’t be afraid to move things around to get the best light and look that you want to tell that great color story. Use parts of the environment in with the detail shots, and make sure to get each detail in an unexpected way (one big thing editors always mention is lack of bridesmaids and groomsmen shots! Isolate a couple bridesmaids and groomsmen and really focus on their fashion and accessories).

10.) Accept rejection gracefully. As I mentioned above, everyone gets turned down. Seriously, EVERYONE! Sometimes, the wedding just isn’t a good fit at that time, or the wedding took place in a season that editors currently aren’t looking to feature. That’s okay! Accept the rejection at face value, learn form it and move forward!

Her father told the story of when she was 12, and asked if she could go hunting with her dad for the first time. Her daddy knew then, that she wasn’t like other girls. And when Shannon went off to Virginia Tech and joined the Forestry Club, her friends knew then that she wasn’t like other girls. And when James met Shannon and found out she loved these things just as much as he did, he knew….she wasn’t like any other girl. She was the perfect girl.

James + Shannon – we had been looking forward to your wedding SO much. Getting to know you both over the past year has been an incredible honor. We are so thankful to have you as clients, but definitely most importantly friends. We loved every minute of celebrating with you both! We hope Jamaica is incredible and we know you’re trying to find wi-fi to get a peek! – A

To see more, make sure to check out their PASS gallery: http://jenandashley.pass.us/shannonandjameswedding

And their Plus Site: http://shannonandjames.jenandashley.com 

Photography: Jen + Ashley

Ceremony Venue: St. Bede’s Catholic Church

Reception Venue: Great Wolf Lodge (coordination by Brittany)

Entertainment: Howard with Colonial DJs

Cake: Cakealicious 

Florals: Hilton Flower Shop 

Make-up + Hair: Jenni + Jess from Kristal Lane

Dress: From Bridal Elegance

Following the ceremony, right before family formals, we noticed that someone was a little tuckered out and had slept through half the ceremony – SO CUTE!

We absolutely loved this bridal party! They kept asking us what WE needed and if they could get us anything all day – they were all so thoughtful and truly there to make sure their best friends had the best.day.ever.

We loved these girls and we’re so excited that we get to photograph Nicole’s (that’s her on the far right!) wedding this November!!

These portraits were all taken in the span of about five minutes in a space of about a 10x10ft square. Just goes to show that with great light, a few poses that you can shoot from different angles, two shooters and AMAZING clients, you can get a lot done when time is crunched!

GAH! Favorite!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

Shannon and James met while in the Forestry Club at VT, so their entire wedding theme was woodsy/natural based. Great Wolf was the PERFECT venue for this, and James’ incredible woodworking skills were apparent through all aspects of the wedding. The guestbook, centerpieces, card box..all handmade by James!

Tell me these are not the most incredible cakes you’ve ever seen. The groom’s cake was SO COOL! James freaked out when he saw it! The “dirt” for the main cake was oreo cookie crumbles and the entire thing smelled divine!

Shannon + Jame’s Father Daughter dance had everyone in tears.

Later during the reception, we took Shannon and James for a second fun round of portraits. Using OCF in our portraits is something totally new to us, but we had fun playing and going for something outside of our norm!

We had an amazing wedding on Saturday (we’ll be showing that off tomorrow on the blog!), but yesterday I took some time off to play with friends, do some wine tasting and see a fabulous concert. It’s days like yesterday that remind me how thankful I am to have a job that I love so much that it never actually feels like work, but we do work a lot of weekends and sometimes we don’t have weekends off or even one weekend DAY off for weeks and weeks in a row. May and June are like that for us, so I took advantage of a free Sunday by spending it with some of my favorite people in the world.

I have really been struggling with the idea of “rest” recently. I am the type of person who if I’m not doing something or working on something for the business, or just WORKING in general I feel very idle hands and I get very restless and uneasy. I truly don’t know how to be STILL and to relax and do nothing. We have been working through seasons of Mad Men on Netflix, and I can’t even sit still for an entire episode without feeling like I need to be doing something else. I’m truly so passionate about this business that I ENJOY the work that I do, but I also know that rest and recharging is JUST as important as working, and I’m working towards finding more of a balance between the two in my life. Yesterday was a good start!

Below is a quick snapshot of my weekend! Instax’s from the wine fest, a quick peek at tomorrow’s wedding, and Capital Cities, one of the BEST bands I’ve ever seen! Have a fabulous Monday friends! – A