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February 28, 2008 - new Graphi
Album!
I was so excited to get TWO Graphi
boxes from the courier today!
I teamed up with the lovely Jodi and I
ordered a studio sample at the same time she ordered an
8x12 album and some pocket books. They're all awesome!!
I'm so happy with the quality, look and feel of these
books. There's a reason why Graphi sets the industry
standard for this type of album! It also took only 28 days
to get these books printed and back from Italy and into my
hands. Terrific turnaround time!
This is Jodi's 8x12 album, her 12.5x18
calendar, 10 4x5 pocket books - plus some 4x6 photo cards
and a bookmark I made out of a MOO card.
My studio sample 9.5x13 50 page book
with classic leather cover.
This metallic paper is awesome!
Reflects a little oddly when photographed - so ignore the
weird reflections from random stuff in my office.
The briefcase my sample book lives in.
These 4x5 pocket books are so cute!
(Excuse my dust)
And when you order something from
Jennifer Jacula Photography, it comes beautifully wrapped
and presented!
February 27, 2008 - more Carmen &
Brody
I can't get enough of these two! I had
such a hard time narrowing it down that I ended up showing
them 68 proofs - check out the full gallery
here.
Carmen and Brody have a cute story
behind how they finally got together - but I'll save it
for when I write about their wedding!
A few more favorites that stood out -
to me, at least!
I think they were having a moment here
... he's gazing at her intently and she's looking at his
lips. So cute!
That's the old Vermilion train station
in the background.
February 25, 2008 - Carmen & Brody's
engagement session
So. Freaking. Fun.
I had a blast with Carmen and Brody
today! We took over Vermilion Provincial Park and went
nuts, did a lot of laughing and a little bit of posing.
I'm so looking forward to their wedding in June!
Just a sneak preview of the shots I
could *not* resist playing with tonight! More to come
tomorrow!
(It was at this point that Brody
stepped into Wrangler Model territory)
February 22, 2008 - random animals
It's a GORGEOUS day outside - finally!
- so I took advantage of the sunshine to go outside and
snap a few pictures of our resident critters. We have five
outdoor dogs - no indoor dogs - plus random wild and
half-wild cats. And some cattle and horses.
George - the pretty one
This is Chee Chee, our "pet" squirrel.
Can you spot him?
He's coming closer!
Cheeky little bugger!
Isn't he cute? He's distinctive because
he's smaller than the other squirrels and he's quite
friendly. He's been around for several years now and
spends his falls hording apples from our apple trees and
stuffing them into nooks and crannies all over the yard.
Then all winter, he raids our bird feeders.
He's got a little nook farther up the
branch there, he pulled something out of it and started
nibbling as I was taking his picture.
Anna, our Maremma - a livestock
guardian dog. She's a giant goober.
February 22, 2008 - mommy's little
muse
My daughter, who will be two next
month, has a bad case of PCS - Photographer's Child
Syndrome - and doesn't like formal photo shoots. Mostly,
she just refuses to look at the camera! I swear, other
people's children like me better than my own does. Little
stinker.
My little girl was the reason I got
into human photography; she's supposed to be my muse. But
can your muse still be your muse if she's unwilling?
That's the question.
I get a lot of this: not looking at
mommy!
Or goofy, extreme close-ups.
Occasionally there's a hand reaching up to cover the lens,
too.
Or goofy faces!
Or, pretending to be a rabbit.
More looking away with a mischievous
smile - she knows what I want, she's just not having
anything to do with it!
Forget photos, mommy, let's read this
book.
Oh, so tired. Can't be in photos, busy
sleeping. (For the record, she'd been up from her nap for
a whole hour or something at this point. Definitely not
tired.)
February 21, 2008 - little miss Lexi
I had a short-notice shoot today with
lovely little Lexi. She is a ham and a half! Three years
old and so much fun!
February 20, 2008 - STILL
recovering!
It turns out moving a living room's
worth of stuff twice in two days isn't so kind to the ol'
bod. Despite what my muscles are telling me, I still think
it was worth it! The booth rocked! But next year, I'll be
recruiting some strong young men to move things for me -
like my football-playing nephew who grows six inches every
time I see him.
When I wrote my last blog post, I
didn't mention all the lovelies that came to see us - the
lovelies being the brides, of course!
Marla, Wendy, Carmen and Ange - all of
whom are already booked in for weddings later this year -
stopped by the booth to check out albums, meet their
friendly neighbourhood photographer and ask some
questions. They're all SO beautiful - I can't wait to
photograph their weddings!
We also had the chance to meet all
sorts of beautiful brides-to-be from a wide area - way
into Saskatchewan, south to Irma and north to Cold Lake
and west to the Minburn area. A great turnout! 450 people
came through the doors on Saturday and we got to chat with
a good number of them. It was so fun to meet so many
people, and everyone was super nice and friendly. I wish I
could do it again this weekend!
If you stopped by our booth and picked
up a free gift - or 'box of goodness' as we called it,
remember that the print credit coupon expires March 31,
2008 - so be sure to book your 2008 wedding before then to
take advantage of this extra incentive. That $50 coupon
will get you two 8x10s and a 5x7 or two 8x12s or a 12x18
or ... the combinations and possibilities are endless!
On another note, 'tis the season for
your local paper to come out with their wedding section -
some have already run their wedding features, while others
still have them coming up in the next few weeks. Be sure
to find out when yours is coming out and check out all the
advertisers - you never know who you'll find in your local
paper! We took part in the St. Paul Journal's wedding
section a few weeks ago and we'll be in the Vermilion
Standard's wedding planner coming out March 11.
A new FINAO album came in the mail
today and we have some other goodies ordered, including
another GraphiStudio book and some more FINAO albums and
swatches, and we're eagerly awaiting their arrival! I am
so excited to be able to offer products from these two
companies - certainly, no other photographers in the
Lakeland region are offering books from Graphi or FINAO. I
care very deeply about quality, so you know when you
choose a book from a company that I have hand-picked to
offer to my clients, you're getting something awesome. I
don't mess around!
You know, of course, what new arrivals
mean - new pictures! More photos will be coming soon.
We have some exciting website upgrades
happening in the next few weeks, so be sure to keep
checking back to see what we have in store for our clients
this year!
February 17, 2008 - the bridal show
was awesome!!
We're still recovering from two days of
hard work and fun in Lloydminster, setting up and
exhibiting at the Weddings on the Border Bridal Showcase!
My long-time assistant and even longer-time best friend
Kendra Gale came up from Cochrane to help me out in my
booth. And we had so much fun!
BIG thanks go out to Rita at
Lakeland Country Florist for supplying the gorgeous
flowers for our booth! LCF is hands-down the best florist
I've ever come across, and they have a great selection of
art and giftware in store. They're located in the Lakeland
Mall in Vermilion.
Kaylie Franklin of
Happily Ever After did a terrific job of organizing
the show - can't wait to work with you on some weddings,
thank you for putting on such a great show!
We had such a great time meeting all of
the brides and the other vendors! We met the super nice
folks at
Noyce Photography who put the friendly in "friendly
competition" - Warne also sang a capella on stage during
the stage performance portion of the bridal show.
There was a big fashion show put on by
Ooh La La bridal shop and Cliff Rose for Clothes with some
beautiful and handsome models, including a few of the guys
from
The Goat! Penelope's did the hair for the models and
Fame Dance & Performing Arts put on a stage performance
and ballroom dancing sets including a senior couple, a
junior couple (just 6 and 10 years old!) and a couple
where the man had only had three lessons! He's a brave guy
to get up on stage, but he did great!
We saw the
Newcap
News camera guy wandering around and he filmed our
booth, but we didn't make the cut on the 6:00 news. Maybe
next year!
Serotonin Chocolates was giving out some delicious
samples! If you need some awesome wedding favors, give
Marcia a call!
The lovely and talented Melissa Hult,
an independent consultant from BeautiControl
(mhult@rife.com ),
who had a gorgeous booth across the aisle from us, came
over the chat and check out our albums.
We really enjoyed the music spun by
NightGlow DJ Services
(nightglowdjs@hotmail.com) - you guys did a great job!
Possibly the most professional dj's I've ever come across
- you guys looked awesome in your suits!
Next door to us was Dawn Bauer from
Dazzle By Dawn, who also helped out with the
decorating for the show. She had a gorgeous booth and made
a great neighbor! If you need a decorator for your wedding
or event, give her a shout!
Stephanie from
Creative
Expressions Greetings & Design came by our booth
multiple times and we had a great time chatting! Stephanie
is super awesome, and has a great smile! Stephanie said
she reads my blog, so, hi!!! Stephanie makes some gorgeous
cards!
Joye Scarf from
Pampered Chef came by to visit, too, and we had fun
watching the fashion show with her. I don't know anything
about Pampered Chef stuff, but Joye is awesome!
We sampled some delicious food prepared
by the
Lloydminster Exhibition catering people - the chicken
broccoli wraps were soooooo good! We also enjoyed cake
samples from the Lloydminster & District Co-op. Yum!
Angela Jeffrey from
Wilson Insurance Ltd. came to visit us a couple of
times and she was awesome!
Schmalz Photography was kitty corner across from us,
nice to meet you Joyce!
We met lots of other terrific vendors,
too, but I didn't collect business cards from everybody,
so I can't name names - but it was awesome to meet you
all!
In case you didn't make it to the show,
here's what our booth looked like ...
February 13, 2008 - TAP album
The last of the shipped-in goodies
arrived today - a TAP traditional mount album!
This is a 20 side album with black
leather cover. Sells for $305 including images and design.
February 12, 2008 - bridal show is
coming up fast!
Just a quick reminder that Jennifer Jacula Photography
will be at the Weddings on the Border Bridal Showcase in
Lloydminster at the Stockade building
on Saturday, February 16 from 12 to 8 p.m. I hope to see
you there!
Listen to The Goat to win tickets and to have a chance to
win a limo ride to and from the show for you and five of
your friends, including complimentary champagne. This
prize package is rovided By Diamond Limo Service.
You can also listen to Lloyd FM to win tickets!
If you don't win tickets, admission at the door is just $5
with all proceeds going to the Canadian Breast Cancer
Foundation.
The first 250 brides through the door will receive a gift
bag! You'll also have the chance to win great door prizes,
including a free engagement session with Jennifer Jacula
Photography!
Even better, the first 200 brides to visit Jennifer Jacula
Photography's booth will receive a free gift! You will
also have another chance to enter to win a free engagement
session with Jennifer Jacula Photography.
Also at the show, a fashion show by Ooh La La and Cliff
Rose! The fashion show starts at 6:00 pm and continues
through to 8:00pm and includes a stage performance By Fame
Studio.
Please come by and check out my booth - it is located in
the center aisle on a corner, look for the red couch! I
have all sorts of AWESOME stuff for you to check out,
including GraphiStudio albums from Italy, FINAO albums,
TAP albums, custom guestbooks, frames and other goodies
custom made for Jennifer Jacula Photography by Against the
Grain and a whole lot more!
I'll see you there!
February 8, 2008 - it's just like
Christmas around here!
It's an exciting time at Jennifer
Jacula Photography - everytime we check the mail, there's
new goodies in there as our vendors come through for us in
time for the bridal show next weekend!
Today's goodies are an album from FINAO
and a canvas-on-masonite from Technicare!
First, the canvas on masonite. I think
this product will work really well with the frames from
Against the Grain/My Friend Pete because they don't need
glass in front or a backing - just pop them into the
frames and clip them in!
This particular canvas is a 7x14 and
sells for $102. The texture is really beautiful! This one
is a metallic print, mounted on the canvas and then
finished with a diamond lustre. Super cool! It took 20
days to get it back from Technicare.
Now, the Finao album! Finao is a new
company on the market, and they offer some fun and funky
covers! Check them out at
www.finaoonline.com and see all their cool cover
options!
This album is an 8x8 Lady Luck brocade
self-mount album, 20 pages. This sells for $465 including
album, prints and design. Awesome quality, it weighs
nearly a kilogram when finished! It took about a month to
receive the album from Finao, so if you're planning on
ordering one, keep that in mind!
The pretty packaging ... with bonus
soccer game.
Before mounting the prints ...
And now, with prints inserted ...
And finally, because people really seem
to be loving Pete's wee boxes, a closer look at the three
I have here. These sell for $40, plus shipping:
#1
Inside look
#2
#3
February 8, 2008 - got stuff framed,
look how awesome it looks!
8x12s, plus an 8x10 frame I've had for
a couple of years, and one of the wee boxes.
20x30 frame, cabernet stain.
February 7, 2008 - goodies for the
bridal show from my friend Pete!
My go-to frame guy, Pete Kirk of
Against the Grain, came through for me big time with stuff
for the bridal show! (In case you missed it, the Weddings
on the Border Bridal Showcase takes place February 16 from
12 to 8 p.m. at the Stockade building at the Lloydminster
Exhibition Grounds - come see me!)
Pete is my hero. Seriously. He does
amazing things with gorgeous wood that he's recovered from
grain elevators that have been demolished all across the
prairies. The wood has these amazing textures and
qualities and no two pieces are ever the same! It's
win-win for everyone, really - it's "green" to recycle the
wood and the stuff looks AWESOME anywhere you put it!
To get Pete to make you your own
awesome stuff, or to see his selection, give him a call at
780.592.2179!
Here are a few sneak previews ...
This is an oiled frame I believe - look
at the beautiful texture of the wood!
Another oiled one - I think I'm keeping
this one!
This is a weathered, silvery kind of
frame. Really neat!
Pete calls these "wee boxes" - they're
really beautifully made, very tight!
This is a mirror which WILL NOT BE
LEAVING MY HOUSE. I love it!
Another mirror ...
Mirror with barbed wire detail
I think this is a pecan stain - it's
beautiful!
This is a frame with a cabernet-colored
stain to it - it's gorgeous!
I had Pete make me three 20x30 frames
for some big prints - again with the cabernet stain.
Another view of the big frames.
And another
A framed 12x18 piece
These are some wonderful-smelling soaps
I had hand-made for me by Danielle Emond of Au Paradis
soaps in Ontario - the first 200 brides to come visit my
booth will be getting a little box of goodies, including
these gorgeous soaps! (Packaging, of course, is by yours
truly.)
This is a wine bottle holder from Pete.
He sent me home with three of them, not sure I can use
them in the show, but they're cool anyway! These sell for
$15 if you're interested. Deceptively simple, a neat
little feat of engineering! Gorgeous wood on all three
that I have here.
February 5, 2008 - want a kick-ass
custom guestbook?
I did up a sample guestbook using some
photos from Eric & Ruth's engagement session and it turned
out pretty good!
This 30-page book is just right for use
as a guestbook - high enough quality that you'll want to
keep it forever as a memento from your wedding day, but
not so expensive that you don't actually want your guests
to sign it!
After your engagement session, I can
design one of these books for you and have it back from
the printers in about three weeks. For an 8x10 30 page
hardcover book, I'll be charging $120 plus shipping &
handling (about $25).
Some photos ...
Cover
How it's bound
The inside cover of the book - this is
a hardcover book
One page with a picture, the opposite
page blank for guests to sign!
I'd say the quality is comparable to
any book you'd see in a bookstore.
The top, looking down - shows the
dustcover well.
February 2, 2008 - which package is
right for you?
I offer three packages to engaged
couples:
Package One:
Ceremony-and-formals - pretty standard
wedding photography.
Package Two:
Pre-wedding shots of bride and her
attendants getting ready, ceremony and formals. I love
seeing the bride transform before her wedding, so this
package is one of my favorites! Also includes an
engagement session and a print credit.
Package Three:
All of the above, plus reception
coverage! This is for the couples who like to party and
want to remember it. Also includes a $100 credit towards a
GraphiStudio or traditional mount album.
So which package is the right one for
you?
Back when your parents got married, it
was standard for a photographer to shoot the ceremony and
formals, or even just the formals, then pack up their gear
and call it a day. For some couples, this is all they
want, need and expect from their photographer.
With the popularization of
photojournalism, it became the norm for photographers to
hang out with the bride and her attendants while they were
getting ready for the wedding. With the transformation of
the bride from jammies and bed head to glamour girl, this
allows photographers plenty of time and material for some
truly beautiful and creative photos, capturing all the
small details and all of the pre-wedding crazy emotions.
Since I spent three years as a working journalist, the
photojournalistic style photos of the pre-wedding
preparation are always some of my favorites!
For many couples, the wedding is not
just about the marriage - it's also about the party
afterwards! Couples who put a lot of effort and dollars
into planning a big party for their friends and families
will definitely want to remember it - Package Three is for
you!
One of my brides from last year - the
lovely and talented Carla, who is as beautiful inside as
she is outside - told me recently that I should
tell all of my clients that they should hire me for the
full day, including the reception. For their wedding, they
chose my Package Two, which gave them beautiful photos of
the bride and her attendants getting ready, the ceremony
and the formals afterwards.
Her reasoning behind recommending people get my full day
coverage was that yes, they received lots of photos of the
reception taken by family and friends, but they were all
dark, far away, out of focus or grainy - nothing she'd
want to put in an album or on the wall. Also, her cousin
had spent days making and decorating their wedding cake as
a wedding gift to them, and they didn't get a single photo
of the cake. That was something that was important to
their family, and a detail of their day that, had they
upgraded their package to include the reception, I would
have captured for them beautifully.
I'm not going for the hard sell - I'm really not a
high-pressure personality - I just
wanted to tell that story! I think it really shows
the difference between knowing a professional will be
capturing everything that matters, and relying on the
off-chance that a family member or friend *might* snap a
decent picture at the right moment.
*Might* being the key word there.
But wouldn't you rather know that a
professional - who has invested more money into their gear
than most people put into their vehicles and has invested
even more of their time into learning and perfecting their
craft - is reliably capturing all of the important moments
and details for you?
This post has been brought to you by
the celebration of my sixth wedding anniversary today, and
the truly awful photos of my ceremony-and-formals that I
got family members to take. I should have
hired a photographer!
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