What a delightful afternoon for these two toddlers.  Bella is the daughter of Kerri, the owner of Dilly Dale’s Delights. This business is new to our community and such a wonderful addition!

Our girls had a little cupcake party and photo shoot in honor of Bella’s second birthday.  It wasn’t long though and these girls were eating the frosting off all of the cupcakes and dancing around with sugar overload!

Stop by the french inspired shop and enjoy a visit with these delightful ladies while eating your cupcake. Also available for take-out. Each day offers a variety of unique flavors such as chocolate raspberry, coffee, smores and basic flavors with sprinkles for our kiddos!

 Monday-Thursday, 11-4pm at: 330 South Cascade, Montrose, CO.

They also cater cupcakes for weddings and special events!

I often work with brides planning destination weddings. I love the excitement and anticipation while they plan their big event. Destination weddings are often intimate and special in so many ways. The couple may have visited their destination and gotten engaged there, grown up nearby or even vacationed there at some point.

Ouray, Colorado is one of those very special destination spots. I have photographed several weddings of couples who have their special spot chosen to “tie the knot”. One such wedding was featured in Colorado Weddings Magazine called “Dandelion I-Do’s”.

What makes a destination wedding so fabulous:

• Choosing the time of year when the wildflowers are vibrant (end of June/July)
• Giving your guests a unique experience such as “jeeping” to the wedding location. I have heard guests express just how fabulous this experience was for them!
• Doing something memorable for you as a couple: such as blowing dandelions once you are pronounced “Mr & Mrs.”
• Making the experience an “intimate” one.  Those smaller weddings seem to always be the most fun because you get to truly experience your day with each and every person involved!
• Have live musicians in the great outdoors.  Guests love it!

For a list of resources to plan your big day please see my feature in “Colorado Weddings Magazine” Click on link below.

Dandelion “I-Do-Ouray, CO”

If you are interested in participating in a Start Out Right Workshop please click on this link for more information.

Start Out Right Workshop Information

For any of you who have a toddler, you may be able to relate. They never stay still for photographs! This is usually what I get when trying to photograph my own three year old. Just a blurr..

Here are some tips and tricks..

• Photograph the child in their natural environment, playing and having fun!
• If you are going to talk to them while photographing, make it engaging, funny or a game.
• Involve some kind of reward like a balloon or lollipop in the photo, it keeps them engaged!  If you choose a food item, be sure to bring those wipes!
• Choose a park or something fun, like a merry-go-round that keeps the child mobilized.  For action shots, trampolines work too!
• If you get stressed out, then the child will too.  When it stops being fun, it’s time for a break or to call it quits.
• Hire a professional and let them do a great job!

Here is a photo shoot I did with my three year old, using a lollipop as a prop and a bribe!  First, I started in a neutral location with two changes of clothes, then I used the lollipop last!

(Light can constantly change. Here I was playing peek-a-boo and she popped out into the bright light even though she was sitting in the shade. It’s a bit washed out, but I still like the shot. Lighting and positioning are important!) 

Active and curious to here comes the lollipop!

Such cuteness!

This last fall I had the privilege of working with the wonderful Kelly at Manna Floral. She provided the most amazing floral arrangements, hair pieces and so much more for the wedding of Jesse & Jillian at Red Cliffs Lodge in Moab, Utah. See my post here: http://photographybyjulie.net/blog/?p=1520

I loved how effortlessly and quickly Kelly was able to set up all the floral arrangements and get everything to its appropriate destination in time for photos! While I photographed the bridal party and family after the ceremony she patiently waited in the wings until we were done before moving arrangements to the reception.  Thank you Kelly, we appreciate your professionalism and words of wisdom!

Here are some quick tips from Kelly:

Color scheme:

Quite often brides have decided on a color scheme but do not know what flowers fit into this scheme.  I begin by showing the bride photos of flowers within their color palette to see what shapes, textures and petal structures they are drawn to.

{Quick tip: If you know what you like, bring some photos along with you to your floral consult!}

Price:

The price of flowers is a question I receive at the initial consultation.  There is no clear cut answer regarding price because I design specifically for every bride.  If a flower budget is not in place, I suggest reserving 10% of the total wedding cost for flowers.  I pride myself on my ability to work within a given budget and can do this by using less expensive, seasonal flowers.

{Quick tip: Plan on reserving 10% of overall wedding cost for flowers}

Style {What’s in, what’s not!}

There is a pull toward classic and vintage this season.  I have a lot of requests for monochromatic bridal bouquets with soft tones of white and green.  Succulents are a popular focal for couples marrying in Moab, and are often balanced with softer flowers such as peonies and garden roses.
Gone are the cascades and cradled bouquets.  This season is all about gentle, round, symmetry or small, compact posies.  The stems are exposed and wrapped in an array of bridal satins, secured with pearl headed pins.

{Quick tip: Choose a style that you like or allow the florist to guide your choices}

Contact information:

Kelly Vagts

email. kelly@mannafloraldesign.com

phone. 435-259-0192

web. www.mannafloraldesign.com

Meeting with  photographer friends at Wolf Gang Puck’s in MGM Grand

Thank you Tamarie Photography for these contributing photos of friends at WPPI!

http://tamariephotography.com/

About every two years I get the opportunity to attend what would be considered the best photographers convention out there, WPPI! Held yearly at the MGM Grand, we all embark in mass to learn from the very best in the industry (and stand in long lines at Starbucks!). I call some of these photographers like Jasmine Star, Elizabeth Messina(Reverie), Mike Colon,  and Melissa & Jerry Ghionis ROCK STARS! One may think, party time with 16,000 convention attendees, (there is some truth t o that!), but it’s one of the best learning opportunities in my trade. We have to stay fresh in the photography world, because lets face it, too many people are just picking up their digital cameras, creating a website and calling themselves photographers. There is so much more to creating a business, building trust and relationships with clients, shooting a wedding, posing, lighting, really knowing your equipment, etcetera. For me, I never want to stop learning!

This year I was chosen along with thirty other photographers to attend a special dinner with BluDomain, Jerry & Melissa Ghionis and Jesh De Rox at Scarpetto’s in the Cosmopolitan Hotel.  I felt like I hit the lottery of dinners with friends! I sat right acrossed from two rock stars from Australia, Jerry & Melissa Ghionis.  Mind you, I couldn’t get through the doors to Jerry’s platform class because it was full to capacity.  Instead I got the front row seat at dinner! I asked as many questions as I possibly could without sounding too eager.  One thing Melissa said was that this  year there was an album submission that was completely taken with the Apple I-Phone.  Well, I thought I would take the challenge and use my I-Phone to take photos around Vegas.  So here you go, here were some I took throughout the week. It was an amazing week learning from “rock star” photographers and meeting new photographers and old friends alike!

(By the way, I host with BluDomain, it was nice to meet with vendors I actually use for my business! Just another great benefit of WPPI, the trade show is incredible!)

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

{Julie – Owner, Photography by Julie}

{Julie & husband Dean, contributing photographer}

My family and I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! We want you to know how grateful we are for each and every one of you; my new clients and my loyal clients whom I consider friends! We have loved being a part of all of your special days and moments in 2011! We hope your holidays and the New Year are filled with joy and happiness!

Love, Julie, Dean and Abby Grace {Age 2 years, 11 months}

{Thank you to my friend,  Marissa Miller,  for these contributing photographs}

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