Upstate NY Photographer: Wedding Visual Entree'

As we progress into 2013, I am going to be implementing more video segments. It's fun, it's playful and that's exactly how I like to be! I will be showcasing more rustic and chic weddings especially outdoor weddings as well as barn weddings. Just to let you in on my planning!! It's gonna be fabulous! For now, enjoy this little ditty showcasing a few of our weddings! Another video coming soon!

Upstate NY Photographer: Inspiration for writing wedding vows

There are more songs written about love, there are more quotes about love and there are more poems about love than any other subject.  I have had a few brides wanting to write their own vows and words can be a tricky thing.  How can you define feelings with words?  It's not easy and I feel that is why there can be difficulty in doing such a monumental task.
A few suggestions and a few inspirational quotes to jump start you.

1. Keep it simple. Take one moment you have shared an indulge in it's story. Your first date, your most embarrassing moments, the first time "I love you" was said. Expand on the simple moments.

2. Don't write for the ceremony, write for each other. 

3. Don't put pressure on yourself to make it perfect, you aren't perfect, neither is your partner.  Roll with it.

4. Write down random ideas as they come to mind.(just maybe not while you are driving). Make notes and then when you have some time, go through them, see what comes to mind over days and weeks. You may write your vows without even knowing it!

5. Enjoy this. This is a time to go back and see where your relationship has grown. Why do you trust and love this person more than any other? Why do you feel safe and secure in this person and where do you see yourself in years to come.

6. Don't write something you are not. If you are not a creative and witty writing genius, then don't be. Write down your thoughts as they are. Using words and phrasing that aren't yours...well just doesn't work. Be simple, be cute, be fun, be serious, be lighthearted...just be you. Please.

Here are some quotes I found, that I love.  Enjoy and good luck! (The third one is my favorite)

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

"You can talk with someone for years, everyday, and still, it won't mean as much as what you can have when you sit in front of someone, not saying a word, yet you feel that person with your heart, you feel like you have known the person for forever.... connections are made with the heart, not the tongue."

“You only need one man to love you. But him to love you free like a wildfire, crazy like the moon, always like tomorrow, sudden like an inhale and overcoming like the tides. Only one man and all of this.”

“If I am to be fallen into love, I will. And if as a result I will appear to be stupid, disillusioned, and of poor judgment, I will. And I would be damned if I cared what other people think. For I would rather be thought of as all of these things, than not love. If in loving, I become the naked woman on the horse, I will ride that horse with my head held high. This is my spirit. I am unbreakable.”

“A sacrifice to be real must cost, must hurt, and must empty ourselves. Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in his love than in your weakness.”

“Before, I wanted to say: "I found love!" But now, I want to say: "I found a person. And he belongs to me and I belong to him.”

Be inspired!

To Love Or Not To Love: This Has Nothing To Do With Photography

Valentine's Day invokes all sorts of reactions. The epic eye roll at the mushy sentiments being said between people, the bragging rights on gifts, the realization that you really don't like all those sorted chocolates, but don't want to admit it.  It also infuses sweet presents, poetry, cute messages and the sudden keen awareness that you want to love someone or that we are in love with love itself.

That sense of belonging is a powerful one.  To love or be loved,  to belong or not to belong.  I have a love/hate relationship with V-day, always have, but that is another blog post.  I think our need to belong to someone sometimes overpowers what love actually is, but irregardless love can take on many shapes and forms.  Whether you searching for love, finding love, letting go of love, the experience of it is what keeps us moving, admit it or not.

This week a student-athlete near us committed suicide.  A 17 year-old, handsome young man that was popular, talented, and ready to graduate in the spring.  No one seems to see any reasons this precious child felt the need to end his life last week.  He was loved, he was cherished, but why? 
I don't have the answer, but somewhere in this undulating life he felt he didn't belong here, he didn't feel loved.  I don't understand, but I do know this, it's our obligation to love.  To muster within us the will to love someone, to let someone belong to you, to reach out and find out who is right in front of you or travel the world and find love. Don't give up on it.

Today, if you are breathing in God's good air, feel loved. You belong.  A heavenly father looks down on us and just wants us to look back up at Him and allow love.  

Hug a child and feel loved
kiss a grandparent and unveil love
text a friend and < 3 some love
wink at a stranger and flirt love
whisper I love you and validate love
 write love and show the world
sing and give love harmony
say yes and give love a chance
walk away and give new love opportunity
love as you know it, not as our world defines it
Get down on your knees and simply accept love.

oh - and get a the red velvet latte - and TASTE love ;)

my grandma and grandpa on their wedding day. love :)

Looking for Rustic or Chic Barn Venues in Upstate NY?

So, I guess I can admit this. I LOVE weddings in rustic places featuring old farmhouses and barns. Perhaps it's because I grew up surrounded by these places when they were alive and fervent with a farmers way of life. 

Personally: Barn weddings have a certain entity to them that I have fallen for in a number of ways as a photographer or as a guest for that matter.  I did not grow up on a farm, but I spent a great deal of time on them as a child and a teenager. The nostalgia of the old farmhouses and the grandeur of the barns is something I have always been attracted to. It's somewhat sad to see some of those vivacious farms now quiet, but exciting to see them spring to life with a new purpose....weddings!

Professionally: There are a number of  Upstate NY rustic barn venues and I am on a mission to find some of the best.  These venues are in high demand by many brides and oh the possibilities with some of these beautiful places! You can be as rustic or as chic as you would like.  All that with a little bit of historic substance.

The Inn at West Settlement In Roxbury

Chic, vintage and all together lovely outdoor/rustic wedding

If you see or know of a venue I should feature, please message me ... especially if you have a contact name.
amberjphoto@gmail.com. 

Upstate NY Photographer: Review and Tears

I hope this doesn't seem self serving, but a bride wrote a review to me over the weekend and it brought me to tears reading it.  It has assured me, that just perhaps, this beautiful road I am traveling is where I belong.

Brides, let me tell you what it is like to work with Amber. Once you contact her and discuss dates and availability, you get this adorable and professional packet in the mail. This has your contract, a check list of shots that you want at your wedding, and other information that you will find helpful. She makes everything simple. Aside from being genuinely nice and bubbly, she is also so experienced that her process is seamless. At some point, you will have a conversation with her. (Mine took place a couple of weeks before the wedding, so you can imagine that I was a bit stressed about things.) Amber is so relaxed and knowledgeable. She has great ideas about how to use your venue, how to capture the essence of your wedding and makes sure to get an idea of her client's personalities so that she can reflect that in the photos. On the actual wedding day, Amber shows up, plays along with all of the bridal party as they get ready, takes photos, and just blends right into the whole process. You will likely feel as I did, like I had another friend along for the celebration! A few weeks after the wedding, you will get another gorgeous package with your photos and some extra little surprises. I can highly recommend working with Amber. Not only will you love your photos, but you will LOVE her energy, enthusiasm and expertise. I can't say enough about how great it was to work with her!

Upstate New York Photographer: October Baby and Kid President

Inspiration Friday (but posted on Saturday).  

I am sure most people have seen this video by now. But it's so adorable and so filled with truth that I had to re post here. Watch and smile!!

There are so many aspects of life that make it beautiful and I love digging through reality and finding the dreams that so many of us have.  If something or someone has inspired you, please email me! We can share some smiles. amberjphoto@gmail.com

In addition to the video: I watched the movie October Baby this week and fell in love with the sound track.  A faith based movie with some beautiful music.
One of my favorites:  Mandi Mapes, Enjoy! and BE INSPIRED!!!!