Laura & Dain | Wisconsin Dells Wedding

I liked using some of the various album pages last week so much that I'm going to do it again this week. This is not the whole album, but it gives you a chance to see more images from the day and tells more of their story.

Laura and Dain had the proverbial "good luck rain" on their wedding day. And it happened in the cutest way.

The wedding took place at Trapper's Turn Country Club, part of the Kalahari Resort. The ladies got ready at the club while the guys prepared for the day at Dain's parents' house. Check out the cute details with the love note on the bottom of the shoe and the family mementos sewn into the dress.

Shortly before the tented ceremony began, the rain came. Luckily, not a severe storm- just a regular summer rain shower. Guests were shuttled to the ceremony site, just off the green, by golf carts and hurried under the large white tent. When the bridal party waited to head down the aisle, the "last-minute purchase" of matching umbrellas protected them- as much as possible. Personally, I thought the images of the couples lined up in the rain were very cute (though I was dry under the tent). Laura coming from the golf cart, escorted by her father who held the umbrella, was just perfect. Really, the rain was light enough at that point that Laura stayed pretty dry and still looked absolutely perfect.




During the ceremony, the rain ended. The mingling after the ceremony and the family photo session carried on as planned, as did all the other photographs. The rest of the day was lovely, and the sun even popped out before photographs of Laura and Dain were done.

Flowers were by Wild Apples, cupcakes were by Bloom Bake Shop, the dress was from Edith's Bridal, hair was done at the Kalahari salon and music was by Jukebox Bandstand.

Chelsey & Erik | Janesville Wedding

I loved everything about Chelsey and Erik's wedding. I loved the colors, the details, the weather, the couple!

The wedding was an outdoor ceremony and indoor reception at the Janesville County Club. The colors were the fun and trendy "yellow and gray", with a modern vintage theme. For example, while Chelsey used mason jars for candle holders, the clean, modern floral patterns on the ribbons were definitely not "country." Floral Expressions did the gorgeous flowers and the beautiful cake was done by Craig's Cakes.

We are using Chelsey and Erik's wedding to display our coverage of a full wedding and to highlight one of our Artistic Albums. Below are several of the album spreads. Visit with us to see the whole album!

Family Albums

I enjoy photographing families with young children. Actually, if I am going to photograph a large family, I would prefer there to be young children. (That sounds crazy, I know!)

Planning a family session: getting everyone together, having everyone coordinate, hoping everyone is healthy and in a good mood- it takes a LOT of work and effort on Mom and Dad's part. And, since families may not update their portraits every year, it's nice to take advantage of the opportunity when we can.

When I photograph a family, we will do the family all together, but then we will often do other groupings. When I can, I like to photograph just the kids, mom with the kids, dad with the kids, and even each child separately. I'm not able to do this with every session, since children tire out quickly, depending on their ages and attention span, but it's the goal.

With so many favorites from a session, I am frequently asked, "What can I do with all of these images that I love?"

My answer: A family album!

I love albums because they show off the very favorites from a session, plus they are easy to carry with you to share with family and friends when you are not at home to show off your wall portraits. And it's fun to have the album of images to look back through as the kids grow.

Erin & Marty | Madison Wedding

Erin and Marty had a beautiful wedding at Midvale Community Lutheran Church, on Madison's west side. The whole day felt easy because Erin was so laid back. She was relaxed and really enjoyed the wedding day with Marty.

With a downtown reception only a block away, a stop at the Capitol for photographs is almost a "must." Erin's shoes were cute gold flats that we had to show off.

 The reception was at the Madison Concourse Hotel, in downtown Madison. The service and attention to detail is always wonderful! The seating chart (bottom left) listed guests by name with their table number. Hair was done by Rejuvenation Spa. Flowers were by Blooms. The cupcakes were by the Concourse. 

Boutique Means Personal Service

bou·tique  

/bo͞oˈtēk/

Noun A small store that offers highly specialized or fashionable services or products. A business that serves a sophisticated or specialized clientele: "a small gift boutique"; "a boutique photography studio".

Appleby Photography is a boutique photography studio. What does that mean for our clients? Personalized service to fit their needs.

No two clients are the same, so their photography needs are not the same. We work to fulfill each clients individual needs, from session scheduling to final order delivery.

Sessions are available in our studio, at your home, or at any location of your choice. We schedule sessions around your toddler’s nap time or your work hours, making the experience easy for everyone. Evenings and weekends are certainly available.

Newborn session in client's home, with pull back of "studio" set-up

We understand that taking a newborn out for a session can be challenging, so being able to stay home and have Appleby Photography come to you can make the process stress-free. But, if you prefer to get out of the house, we can make the session easy and relaxing at our studio. Family sessions are fun when done on location. Local parks and downtown urban architecture are especially popular spots.

Family session done in client's home, using the features of the home

Appleby Photography specializes in wall portraits. We want you to show off your beautiful family. Ordering appointments done at our studio show your images projected actual-size, meaning the real size you plan to order. Not sure how a 24x30 wall portrait would look? Let us show you.

Alternately, we can come to your home for your ordering appointment. This is perfect when you would like help measuring your walls to ensure the perfect size portrait arrangements or if you need help deciding where to display your portraits.

Do you need help hanging your portraits? We do that too! We can also offer tips on how to make hanging easy if you are still deciding on the display locations.

We take care to guarantee you are getting exactly what you need. It’s important to us that you are completely delighted with your portraits and enjoy showing them off for years to come.

Do You Love Me? Could You Count The Ways?

Valentine’s Day- the holiday everyone loves to hate. 

Why? Pressure.

It’s the one day out of an entire year that you feel like your love is being quantified. And no one likes to feel like they don’t measure up.

There is a certain level of expectation on Valentine’s Day. You feel like you are being judged. You feel like you are being watched and compared, to see how well, how much, you love someone. 

But also, in turn, how much you are loved.

Which brings me to the reason why people love Valentine’s Day. 

Everyone wants to feel like they are worthy of being loved. 

Everyone wants to feel special and appreciated. 

When you look at it that way, giving in to the hype of Valentine’s Day is actually a small gesture that you can do for your honey that has big impact. 

The whole rest of the year can get crazy-busy, and the romantic gestures can get forgotten when you are pressed to deal with schedules and to-do lists. This could be the one day that someone feeling a bit unappreciated is hoping that their significant other will slow down and remember all the tender, mushy reasons they love each other.

So, how do you show it? Easy:

(he/she/him/her used interchangeably)

Open her car door

Hand over the remote and let him choose the show - or better yet, turn off the TV

Write her a letter - Don’t know what to write? Try listing the reasons she makes you feel good or what you love about her. Mail it. Or hide it in a place she’ll find it.

Flirt

Make him a scavenger hunt

Bake her dessert - even if it comes from a mix

Make him breakfast in bed - or if your schedules are different, have the coffee ready when he wakes up

Do a chore that is usually done by the other

Play a board game together

Have a movie night - at a theater or on the sofa

Cook dinner together

Stargaze

Play together- play pool or minigolf, go bowling or ice skating

Change your routine

Turn out the lights and spend the evening in firelight or candlelight

Say “I love you and I appreciate all that you do, even if I forget to tell you the rest of the year.”

See Keep The Romance Fires Burning post for more ideas.