Ann's Photography Blog

Karey & Brad's Engagement, Bridal and Wedding images

2011-02-19T18:53:00.000-08:00

Karey and Brad met in High School, Karey was a Cheerleader and Brad was a football player. 5 years later they were married. Brad is now in the military and stationed in Oklahoma. These pictures are from their Engagement Session, Karey's Bridal Session and their wedding. They were married on New Years Eve.

Google Wedding Planning

2011-02-17T12:17:00.000-08:00

Google is offering a new tool for brides to be. A great tool to help organize yourself for your wedding day. I encourage everyone that is getting married to go check it out, just click on the title above "Google Wedding Planning" to go to the site.

Share and access your planning tools anywhere

Keep track of all the details and collaborate with your bridal party and family on invites, schedules, addresses, and more. Edit your wedding documents and spreadsheets from any computer or smartphone. Choose the all-in-one wedding planner or pick and choose exactly which features you need. Look for tips from the pros sprinkled throughout the templates on everything from selecting a cake to choosing a DJ.

Browse through the Google Docs Wedding tools

My Dad

2011-01-29T19:25:00.000-08:00

I had to place my Dad in Assisted Living the first week of January. He is a WWII and Korea Vet. He served in the Airforce for 29 years. He was originally drafted to the Army Aircore. After WWII he finished his Bachelor's Degree in Pharmacy. He was then called back into the services where he remained until 1968. He earned a Master's Degree in Oklahoma while in the Air Force to prepare him for his last station which was at the Air Force Academy as a Flight Instructor and Professor of Human Physiology.

Dad has Alzheimer's and it has been a difficult 5 years taking care of him. It was a hard decision, but he really is enjoying his new home and friends. He is much safer where he is now and I don't have to worry so much about him living alone. Dad is now 86 and is in that fading generation of Americans that were immigrants and had huge dreams and goals. His generation worked extremely hard to build the cities of America and Dad lived through the depression. He is a first generation Italian-American and extremely proud of his heritage. It must have taken great courage for my grandparents to make the decision to come over to America not knowing anyone and making a new life for themselves. My grandparent's came over from Italy when they were in their late teens.

My Father was an amateur photographer. In later blogs I will scan some of the pictures he took over the years and post them. Mostly they are of scenery as well as from the cockpit of his jet while he was flying but many are of me and my brother's and sister growing up. He did all of our family portraits. I remember the first time I looked through the view finder of his Leica, the thrill of taking a picture and seeing it after it was developed. It opened my eyes to a new way of looking at my world. I looked at everything differently even at 6 because of that camera. My world became alive with the idea of what I could photograph, how I could capture images and make them unique. Make them mine. Thank you Dad for everything but especially for putting that camera in my had at a young age! I love you.

2011-01-26T13:05:00.000-08:00

Charlotte, NC – January 26, 2011 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, is thrilled to announce Ann's Photography has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 for Wedding Photography!

Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation.

Ann's Photography stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud Ann's Photography for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.”

We are happy to announce that Ann's Photography is among the very best Wedding Photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for nominating us to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/anns-photography-llc-fort-mill/59f69b952402d896.html

For more information on the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire.com, the nation's leading technology company serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 local wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers to wedding cakes. WeddingWire also offers an online community and a suite of cutting-edge planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire provides free online management tools creating the only market opportunity that gives local businesses control over their clients, reviews, leads and performance. Businesses that join the WeddingWire Network appear on WeddingWire.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), ProjectWedding.com and Weddingbee.com (both part of eHarmony), and Celebrations.com (part of the 1-800-Flowers family of brands, NASDAQ: FLWS).

Walking my Dog the day after Christmas

2010-12-26T15:02:00.000-08:00

I am going to do something different. My blog always focuses on what I do with other people, never what I do with my family or my day to day activities so I though I would share a few things. Yesterday evening it snowed for the first time on Christmas day in the Charlotte NC area since 1947. By this morning, it had snowed enough to actually stick and cover the ground. We got a few inches. For a girl who grew up in Golden Colorado, this is a treat! It has been many years since I have experienced snow on Christmas day! I decided to take the dog for a walk today and photograph our adventure in the snow.

Luke and Myranda

2010-11-15T15:42:00.000-08:00

Luke and Myranda were married in May of 2007, they are the couple that my studio logo is designed around.

Terrass & Anne's Wedding

2010-11-15T07:43:00.000-08:00

Ann and Terrass were married November 6th in Huntersville, NC. at United House of Prayer. They held their reception at the Statesville Civic Center. They met in College at UNC while in marching band. Their wedding cake reflects their passion for music. Anne's garter belt reflects their passion for the University they graduated from. I wish them all the best on a happy new adventure together!

Anne's Bridal Session

2010-11-15T07:38:00.000-08:00

Anne brought her two best friends along to her Bridal session, we went to a beautiful park in Rock Hill called Glencairn Gardens where I captured some wonderful images of Anne with the fountains and bridges.

Brandy & Andrews Wedding Movie Release themed reception!

2010-10-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

"Meet the Brown's" I had the pleasure of photographing Andrew and Brandy's very unique movie release themed reception at The Hilton in the University area. The wedding took place at the lovely Parkwood Institutional CME church in Charlotte NC. The first picture is from their engagement session where we created a movie poster for the reception. I also want to give a shout out to my wonderful Assistant, Terri Smith who did a fantastic job helping me capture some great detail shots Enjoy!

Planning your wedding frugally versus planning it cheaply

2010-10-09T18:36:00.000-07:00

This is a great article from a blog called Lyssabeth's Wedding Officiant

Wedding ceremony ideas and tips from Maureen Thomson of Lyssabeth's Wedding Officiants. Serving Colorado, California and Oregon.http://memorableceremonies.blogspot.com/

Please go visit her blog click on the title and it will take you to her.Wedding ceremony ideas and tips from Maureen Thomson of Lyssabeth's Wedding Officiants. Serving Colorado, California and Oregon.

Planning your wedding frugally versus planning it cheaply

The Simple Dollar offers an excellent distinction between being frugal and being cheap. I'll paraphrase it: one who is frugal looks for the best value for their money. One who is cheap will consider paying only the rock-bottom price for anything, regardless of the quality.

Of course, I had to take this comparison and relate it to the wedding planning scenario. Ergo, here is my comparison between the Cheap and the Frugal Bride. Believe me, I see them both on a daily basis!

A cheap bride is everyone's worst nightmare. She will lower herself to commit unspeakable acts of mayhem all for the glory of bragging about the great deal she obtained. A frugal bride, on the other hand, is genuinely admired for her skill at determining what she wants and thoughtfully pursuing affordable and good-quality resources to bring her desires into reality.

Cheap brides enter the wedding planning process armed with an attitude of lack. "I don't have the money." "It's too expensive." "Wedding vendors only want to charge top dollar and rip you off." "I can't afford that." "I'm so jealous, So-and-so had so much more money to spend on her wedding."

Frugal brides take on the task of planning their wedding with an attitude of joy (and perhaps a bit of adventure). "How can I make this work?" "What are my priorities for my wedding day and how do I budget accordingly?" "How creative can I get?" "Can I do this myself or with the help of my friends and family?" "How did other brides do things creatively and frugally?"

Cheap brides begin every vendor contact with "How much is it?" Frugal brides ask more thoughtful questions, learn what the vendor offers and if the services are more than they can afford will say, "Your service sounds perfect for me, but my budget is $X.XX. Is there any way your package can be modified to accommodate me?"

Cheap brides tend to be...well...kinda victimy (there just isn't a tactful way to say it). "Poor me, I can't have the wedding day of my dreams because (fill in the blank) I don't make enough money, my parents can't afford it, wedding vendors are all in cahoots to scam me, I'm not creative, I'm too busy, yada, yada, yada..."

Cheap brides tend to perceive their wedding vendors (once they finally find the cheapest they can find and actually hire them) as their adversaries. The assume that the vendor is only out to take advantage of them by maximizing their profit. She has already browbeaten them down to their lowest possible fee, but then the cheap bride must also be hyper-vigilant to ensure that her vendors toe the line and do everything that she is paying for them to do (which quite frankly, probably isn't much).

The frugal bride realizes that reputable vendors truly want her to have the best wedding day experience possible. That is, after all, how they stay in business. She expresses her wishes and trusts their professional judgment and integrity knowing that her vendors are on her side.

Frugal brides tend to be more realistic. "I may have to cut back my guest list if I want to have a higher-end meal for the reception." "If we save money by making our own invitations, then I can splurge on the high-end photographer I love." "I'd like to be married in a romantic ceremony for just the two of us so we can use the money for something else."

For a cheap bride, getting something for a rock bottom price is the primary objective. She will opt for the vendor whose style doesn't suit her simply because they have the lowest price. She will ferret out the lowest price possible for every aspect of her wedding.

A frugal bride takes into account price, quality, and perhaps (in cases such as the officiant, the photographer or the wedding planner) the connection she has with the vendor. She is also realistic about her life situation, how much time she has, what her talents and resources are and she chooses vendors or DIY projects accordingly.

Trent of the Simple Dollar summarizes the difference between frugality and cheapness as being one of thought. I couldn't agree more. It's been my experience that frugal brides put much more thought into their wedding planning than cheap brides. This makes sense, for a frugal bride is guided by many criteria: budget, time, values, experience, research, resources and priorities. The cheap bride, on the other hand, has only one objective: to get it as cheaply as possible.

If you're a wedding vendor reading this, then share your stories of cheap verses frugal brides by leaving a comment. And if you are (or were) a frugal bride, please share a tip.

And for the cheap brides?? Well, they were probably only reading this blog for the free information and I'm willing to bet they didn't get past the second paragraph before moving on anyway, so no worries.

The staff of Lyssabeth's Wedding Officiants write and perform unique, joyful and memorable wedding ceremonies in Colorado, California and Oregon. Visit our regional websites for more info:

Lyssabeth's:

Colorado Wedding Officiants
Bay Area, CA Wedding Officiants
Colorado Springs Wedding Officiants
Western Slope Wedding Officiants
Monterey CA Wedding Officiants
Fort Collins Wedding Officiants (Northern CO)
Rocky Mountain Wedding Officiants (Colorado Mountains)
Oregon Wedding Officiants
Oregon Coast Wedding Officiants

Wedding Wire

2010-10-07T08:51:00.000-07:00

I encourage all of my potential Wedding Clients to visit http://www.weddigwire.com and sign up for a free website you design for your wedding. It is a wonderful thing. There are forums on Wedding Wire for the Brides, you can post pictures, comment on each others potential dress selections, shoes, decorations, color themes, hair and makeup, everything. It is a great source of information for you. You can connect with so many different vendors as well. They are all quality vendors with lots of customer recommendations. I highly recommend them! Congratulations on your Engagement, have fun with the whole experience. If it gets very overwhelming, hire a planner, so many of them let you run with what you want, they just help you organize. They have so many different types of packages out there for you now. You can choose a day of wedding where they take care of everything for you or a month out where they make sure everyone is contacted, time lines are synchronized with the different vendors, everyone is paid, nothing is overlooked. Of course they can take over completely with everything as well, whatever your needs, they are so flexible. It is a great way to take some pressure off of you for your very special day so you can enjoy it to the fullest! Please visit my website as well, I have a page for my favorite vendors that you can go visit that has links provided to their websites.

Roquel & Nathan's Maternity Session

2010-10-07T08:33:00.000-07:00

I had the Pleasure and honor of working with Roquel and Nathan to capture their maternity session. We did some very intimate but tasteful pictures which will not be posted here but if you are interested in this type of session, I come to your home to do it so that you are comfortable and it is more of a private feel. Thank you so much Roquel and Nathan for allowing me to capture some of the most beautiful images I have ever done from a maternity session!

Erin & Dale's Wedding

2010-09-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

Erin and Dale were married in Aiken SC the end of August at the Botanical Gardens. Such a beautiful venue!

Zoe & Marvin

2010-09-20T18:09:00.000-07:00

Zoe & Marvin were married in August at the Magnolia Room in Rock Hill SC

Rock the Prom Dress

2010-09-20T17:53:00.000-07:00

Went to Linville Falls In July to play in the water, here are some of my favorite images from that weekend.

Crystal's Bridal Session

2010-07-10T19:57:00.000-07:00

Crystal was married back in March, we did her Bridal session in early March. Trying to get all of my pictures updated on my blog and left this one out so here it is :)

Madison & Zack's maternity session

2010-07-10T18:43:00.000-07:00

Madison and Zack are expecting their first Child in August. These pictures were taken in Johnson City Tennessee.

Dee, Hannah & Lillie Family Session

2010-07-10T18:17:00.000-07:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to photograph these very unique and beautiful ladies. It was an amazing and creative session.

Nim's Family Session

2010-07-10T16:38:00.000-07:00

Nim's Family session was done the day before Father's day. What a great Father's Day gift!

Terrass & Anne's Engagement

2010-07-10T16:18:00.000-07:00

Terrass & Anne plan on marrying November 6, 2010 in Charlotte NC. Terrass chose a park in Charlotte to propose. I took pictures there then we rode the light rail into Charlotte NC.

Eric & Rebecca's Wedding

2010-07-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

Eric & Rebecca were married June 22, 2010 at Grace Presbyterian Church in Fort Mill, SC. Their reception followed at the Field Trial Barn part of the Springs property in Fort Mill SC.

Congratulations graduated Seniors 2010

2010-07-10T15:01:00.000-07:00

Congratulations graduated Seniors of 2010! I am glad I got to know you and work with all of you! Good Luck

Isabella

2010-07-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

Isabella was looking to have some new photo's of herself done but she wanted them to be casual as if she had been taking a walk in the park.. We went to a Park in Pineville North Carolina that had a small pond as well as a trail around it.

Rebecca's Bridal Session

2010-07-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

Rebecca is to be married on May 22, 2010 in Fort Mill SC. These were taken May 1st.

Brandy & Andrew's Engagement

2010-07-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

Brandy & Andrew plan to Wed on September 11th, 2010. The theme for their reception is Gold Carpet Movie Release, along the same lines as a Red Carpet. They had the idea to make a movie poster for the reception which was so much fun to make!

Brian & Lindsey's Wedding

2010-07-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

Brian & Lindsey were married on May 2, 2010 at Providence Country Club. Their reception followed the ceremony at the club.

Plan your Wedding Day with your Photographer

2010-04-29T11:21:00.001-07:00

The best advice I can give a potential Bride and Groom is to be ready early the day of your wedding in order to have time to get those very special pictures you are looking for. The earlier you are ready, the more time we have to get formals done before the ceremony as well as some individual pictures of the bride and groom, pictures of the bride and her party as well as the groom and his party before the wedding ceremony so that after the ceremony, all we need is the formal pictures with the bride and groom together. Then we can set some special time aside for the Bride and Groom with me to capture those photo's you want that take your breath away. This will also ensure we get you to your reception as quickly as possible. At the reception, we need another 15 minutes or so after you are done mingling with your guests to get a few more special photographs outside at the reception area. This can be done after the first dance, cutting of the cake and toasts. While your guests are dancing, we will sneak away for a few minutes. This would hold true for any photographer to capture the exceptional images you are looking for so please keep this in mind while planning your special day.

Chris & Crystal's Wedding

2010-04-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

Chris & Crystal were married in Rock Hill, SC on March 20, 2010 at The Oakland Baptist Church. They held their reception at Meadow Lakes 2 Clubhouse.

Desi & Steven's Engagement Session

2010-04-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

Desi & Steven are to be married January 8th, 2011 - I love a bride and groom that plans ahead by almost a year! Good Photographer's book quickly so do not wait until the last minute to book your photographer. I only have 4 available dates left this year and have already booked into 2011. Best advise I can give a potential bride and groom, plan early and book all of your vendor's so you do not have to stress out so much as your special day fast approaches. They booked me in February, 2010.

Beth & Jeff's Wedding

2010-04-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

Beth and Jeff were married on March 27, 2010 in Columbia, SC at Saint Andrews Presbyterian Church. They held their reception at the beautiful Saluda Shoals River Center. Wanted to share one of my favorite pictures from their special day.