But… really, it didn’t matter… because everything was “right” in the world when Jessie & Michael were with each other.  These two love each other.  Like… they really really love each other.  He’s into her.  She’s into him.  Sparks just fly when these two get within 50 feet of each other.   You couldn’t help but smile when you watch them together.  Heck – you really can’t help but smile when you look at Jessie.  Have I mentioned that she’s like the happiest go lucky person I’ve ever met!?

She’s a natural beauty, she doesn’t need makeup or anything fancy on to be a knock out beauty.  Natural curls.  A natural crinkle in her nose when she giggles (which is often)!  And just a really cool calm demeanor.  Which explains why no matter how much chaos (or rain) happened, you just felt this big refreshing “ahhhhhhh” when you get around her.  She’s cool like that.  :)

So – here she is – Jessie and Michael.  With all her crinkly nosed, curly haired, natural beauty… and Michael’s just downright good looks and puppy dog eyes for Jessie!

]]> http://bellavitaphotos.com/blog/2010/08/florida-destination-wedding-photographer/feed/ 0 http://bellavitaphotos.com/blog/2010/07/new-world-landing-pensacola-wedding-photographer/ http://bellavitaphotos.com/blog/2010/07/new-world-landing-pensacola-wedding-photographer/#comments Thu, 22 Jul 2010 05:12:58 +0000 admin http://bellavitaphotos.com/blog/?p=966 So this wedding was a loooong time coming… much like this blog post! LOL  When things get busy, unfortunately the blog is what falls by the wayside.  But, no worries… it is here and in full effect now  Stephanie & Daniel found me sometime shortly after getting engaged, and we had the most awesome time shooting their engagement pictures. It was then that we hit it off and then over dinner at my favorite place, Stinky’s Fish Camp, Stephanie & I realized we are like little long lost hippy sisters.   And of course, we’ve been Facebook friends every since! haha!

Seriously, you know when you just hit it off with someone?  Well, I’m pretty certain that there isn’t a soul alive that couldn’t hit it off with Stephanie, which probably explains why Daniel loves her so much, but she is just super fun & goofy at all the right times

Which is how I knew from the very beginning that it really didn’t matter what happened the day of the wedding – it was going to be a blast!  And luckily, everything went perfectly anyways… the rain paused with perfect timing for pictures, nobody was late, everything was gorgeous, and we all had a great time!

So here it is – the long awaited & much anticipated sneak peek at her long-planned big day!

Oh and I just had to include this so I could say KUDOS to Daniel – one of the best wedding day presents I’ve seen yet  Haha!

Loove these next few

This was one FANTASTICALLY fun bunch!

And of course…. drumroll…. the Mario cake!!!!

Whew!  Loved reliving it  Congrats to Stephanie & Daniel… I cannot wait to do a post-session

]]> http://bellavitaphotos.com/blog/2010/07/new-world-landing-pensacola-wedding-photographer/feed/ 0 http://bellavitaphotos.com/blog/2010/02/tiger-point-wedding/ http://bellavitaphotos.com/blog/2010/02/tiger-point-wedding/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:12:43 +0000 admin http://bellavitaphotos.com/blog/?p=932 This wedding at Tiger Point Country Club was a wonderful way to start my New Year off.  I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful wedding with a more fabulous couple than Kim & Christian!  Kimberly owns a little coffee shop in Niceville, Cafe Liquid, that I absolutely LOVE!  I was lucky enough to meet her there through some friends, and her warm inviting nature is so obvious in everything she does!

And I will warn you, this is likely going to be my longest blog post EVER!   I found it impossible to include every picture I initially wanted to blog, and impossible to really portray all the important details.  Kimberly clearly poured her heart & soul into this wedding because absolutely everything was meaningful!  In fact, I’ve had to save most of it for the video because that’s the only way I’ll be able to show everything I want

Tiger Point was the perfect setting for this “Winter Wonderland” wedding – and I will be sure to update this with a list of the vendors because they did an amazing job!

Christian’s Groom’s Cake was so impressive, the detail was amazing!

Check out these flowers, they fit so perfectly with her Winter Wonderland Wedding!

And by the way, I could go on and on about what an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day it was!  Yes, it was cold (and they were jealous I had on a jacket!), but it was insanely gorgeous that day.  A definite sign of good things for these two!

And if you think this is amazing… wait till you see the sunset later!

This ceremony was so amazing.  Christian’s father officiated the wedding ceremony, outside on the covered area at Tiger Point.  We had the gorgeous sun beaming in on one side, and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place.

This family was absolutely amazing.  Every one of them.  It was an absolutely moving moment.

Immediately after the ceremony, we spent just a few FREEZING MOMENTS out on the Tiger Point Golf Course under an absolutely amazing sunset, that seemed to last forever… just for us.

What’s absolutely amazing is that not only did this sunset give us a beautiful glow the entire time at the end of the wedding ceremony, the entire time for our pictures outside, but it also spilled into the reception area in an amazing way for all the first dances.  Here, Kimberly is with her oldest son, who also walked her down the aisle.  This is a moment that would make any mamma’s heart melt

Finally!  The slideshow update!  Also – I have to give the story behind the music selection for their wedding slideshow!  Remember that video that was posted EVERYWHERE about the bridal party & couple that came dancing down the aisle for the wedding?  (This one)  Well, I’ve been waiting all year for one of my couples to do something like this!  Well, let me tell you – Kimberly & Christian didn’t do exactly this – but it was a very awesome spin on it!  After a remarkably emotional, personal ceremony filled with many many tears of happiness & joy, they kissed & exited down the aisle dancing to “Say Hey – I love you”!  Even Christian’s dad, who officiated the ceremony, gave a pretty good performance.  It was such an awesome way to end a beautiful ceremony!  And hey, I loooove that song, so it was really exciting!  So I thought it was not only appropriate, but darn near necessary to set their slideshow to that song!  And I have to tell you, I will forever think of Kimberly & Christian & this wedding every single time I hear this song (which is at least 3 times a week now that I go to Zumba class! hahaha)

So here it is… in all it’s glory, and I apologize for not having a video of the actual dance down the aisle

Kimberly & Christian – Married! from Bella Vita Photography on Vimeo.

And finally – if you’re considering having your wedding at Tiger Point, it’s absolutely beautiful.  Check it out – even if you’re just in the area & want to do a little golfing.  It’s just a hop & a skip away from Pensacola, so it’s pretty convenient

Tiger Point Golf Club

1255 Country Club Road
Gulf Breeze, FL 32563-3499
(850) 932-4222

The wedding took place at a quaint little church out in Pensacola Beach, with the reception also taking place on Pensacola Beach.  The rain was raising pretty high, and the waves crashing onto the road, but that didn’t stop us!  In fact, it was really important that it not stop us, since it was practically a destination wedding and they’d travelled MANY hours to get here!

So here’s a little teaser… stay tuned for more!  We’ll start with a really awesome one showcasing the stormy weather & beach in the background.

Mr. & Mrs. Parker leaving the ceremony, heading to the reception at The Cabana Club:

Pensacola Beach is a fabulous location, with so much to offer.  It’s hustling & bustling during the summer months, but if you want to see it in all it’s glory while it’s a little more calm – the off season months are the time to do it.  Pensacola Beach has just about everything you can imagine though, with shopping & dining & tourist attractions abound!  Check it out next time you’re in town!

So… I thought since we are approaching one of my busiest times of year – wonderful fall wedding season – that I would quote a wonderful article by a group of photographers, Shawn, Pamela & Gavin Richter, about WHY professional photographers cost so much.  It’s been quoted and referenced by numerous wedding & portrait photographers, and in the world of portrait photographers is widely known & seen in wedding photographers forums & in circles of professional photographers.  It’s nothing new – we can recognize the face of sticker shock when we see it – and it’s not unusual for the very next bride to hear the same price & breathe a sigh of relief that it isn’t *quite* as high as she’d feared.  What a contrast!

So for your reading pleasure… WHY are professional photographers (especially wedding photographers) so expensive?

In this digital age where everyone has digital cameras, scanners and home “photo printers”, when people upload their photos to a local drug store website and pick them up a few hours later, we hear this all the time – How in the world do Professional Photographers charge $55 for an 8×10 when they cost just $1.50 at the drug store?

Here’s why.Simply put, you’re not just paying for the actual photograph, you’re paying for time and expertise.

First, let’s look at the actual time involved. If you don’t read this entire page, at least read this first part.

For a two hour portrait session:- one hour of travel to and from the session
- two hours of shooting- 30 minutes of setup, preparation, talking to the client etc.
- 30 minutes to load the photos onto a computer (2 – 4 Gb of data)
- 30 minutes to back up the files on an external drive- 3 – 4 hours of Photoshop time including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, saving a copy for print and a copy for the internet and backing up the edited photographs- 2
- 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive their order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment and drop package off at Fed Ex.
- For local customers, we also print a set of all of their photos, and meet them at our studio to review the photos and place their order. Meeting and travel time averages 2 hours.You can see how one two hour session easily turns into more than ten hours of work from start to finish. So when you see a Photographer charging a $200 session fee for a two hour photo shoot, you are not paying them $100 / hour.For an eight hour wedding:

- I won’t bore you with the details, but an eight hour wedding typically amounts to at least two to three full 40 hour work weeks worth of time. Again, if they are charging you $4,000 for an eight hour wedding, you are not paying them $500 / hour.Now for the expertise.Shooting professional photography is a skill, acquired through years of experience. Even though a quality camera now costs under $2,000 taking professional portraits involves much more than a nice camera.

Most Professional Photographers take years to go from buying their first decent camera to making money with their photography. In addition to learning how to use the camera itself, there is a mountain of other equipment involved, as well as numerous software programs used to edit and print photographs, run a website etc.

And let’s not forget that you actually have to have people skills, be able to communicate, make people comfortable in front of the camera – and posing people to make them look their best in a photograph is a skill all by itself.

Think of it this way – the next time you pay $X to get your hair done, a pair of scissors only costs $1.50. But you gladly pay a lot more to hire a Professional.What about the cheap studios at the mall? Please don’t compare us to the chain store studios. But if you must, consider all of the time and work that we put into our photographs, compared to what they do. Good luck getting a two hour photo shoot at a chain store. Not to mention they won’t come to the beach! And of course, look at our work compared to theirs. You get what you pay for.

The truth is, most of the mall and chain store studios lose money. In fact, in 2007 Wal-Mart closed 500 of their portrait studios because of the financial drain they were putting on the company. What the chain stores bet on is that you’ll come in for some quick and cheap photos, and while you’re there, you’ll also spend $200 on other things. They don’t have to make money, they are just there to get you in the door.

Conclusion
We hope that those who have taken the time to read this page will have a better understanding of why professional photographs cost so much more than the ones that you get from your local drug store.

And soon… I’ll be blogging a little about what the *real* differences are in professionally printed images vs. your local lab like at Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, etc… with hard core proof!
Angela

Santa Rosa Mall
300 Mary Esther Blvd., Suite 112
Mary Esther, FL 32569
850-244-2172

http://www.santarosamall.com

Whether you’re planning a wedding & live here locally, you’re in town on vacation visiting our beautiful white sandy beaches, or you’re planning a destination wedding somewhere else, come on out – we’ll be there with wedding albums, a wonderful array of wedding pictures to look over, and we’ll be discussing all of our wedding photography packages.  There will be a lot of other vendors as well, including a wonderful local bridal shop, Amore Bridal of Destin, FL., and DJ’s, cake designers, etc.

Also – if you didn’t get signed up on our mailing list – shoot me an email. Nows the time! I’m offering a free “Trash The Dress” Session following the wedding so you can have some fun in that dress & romp around at the beach or trash your dress as you see fit! Make art, show your commitment, and get dirty!  Our beaches are a beautiful place to get some awesome pictures in your wedding dress after your beach ceremony!

So – stay tuned for updates, info, pics, and more!

Also keep an eye out for us in Destin, Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach, and along the Emerald Coast.  We are also offering our photography at Destination weddings beyond the Emerald Coast of Florida!