The happy couple was fantastic to work with and the bride was so thrilled to be married at her parent’s home, who did a really nice make-over in the yard throughout the summer.  The weather was perfect and warm, family and friends were abundant, and love was in the air – what more can you ask for on your wedding day?  Congratulations, Kendra & Brandon!

Below are some of my favorites from the wedding…

We’ve got a new product to tell you about! This presentation box + easel is perfect for storing and displaying your favorite images from your wedding or portrait session. Each custom presentation box is made to order and holds 10 – 20 images. Choose from several silk or linen cover materials offered in a variety of colors. You can also choose a ribbon color to match or coordinate with your wedding or home colors.

This presentation box is a great alternative to albums, because you can house many images at one time and it includes an easel to showcase your different images. Enjoy all your images by rotating the images on the easel and storing the rest in the box! This box can be housed up-right to fit in your bookcase, or flat to display on a coffee table or shelf.

A presentation box can also be used for portrait sessions, such as baby, family, or senior sessions.

This box comes in three sizes (size indicates largest image size, box is bigger in dimensions) > small (4×6), medium (6×9), or large (8×12). For example, the outside dimensions of a medium box is 9.5″ x 12.5″, but it can house prints of different sizes including 2 – 4×6 prints or 1 – 6×9 print.

Here’s some detail photos of the box…

There is no doubt that the state of the economy has created a downturn that has forced many of us to tighten our purse-strings. In turn, this has caused many, many, local and small businesses to have to close-up shop, particularly in Portland. Just taking a drive down NW 23rd St (a popular shopping destination here in Portland that houses 100′s of locally-owned brick and mortar boutiques, restaurants, salons, and more), I am floored by the amount of EMPTY storefronts with “For Lease” signs out front.

This is where The 3/50 Project comes into play…a project built on the premise, that if only 50% of the employed population spent at total of $50 a month in independent shops… together we would be generating a monthly revenue for our country of over 42.6 billion dollars! We all benefit when we support the small businesses that are an intrinsic part of our communities.

So what do you say…will you be a part of this awesome effort to effect real change for our world?! I will be…I hope you will too.

Join the movement and find more information on how you can help on The 3/50 Project website.

Almost exactly a month ago, Tristan (my 3 month old) and I went down to Powell’s Book Store to attend a book signing and get two cookbooks, one for me and one for his Aunt Stacie (who was away in Antarctica at the time – she’s a chef).  The book signing was from the ever-entertaining blogger, Ree Drummond, of “Pioneer Woman”.  You should check out her blog and read about her time here in Portland.  Ree writes about her life on her family’s ranch in Oklahoma – cooking, ranch life, being a mom to 4 kiddos, homeschooling, gardening, and admiring her husband’s forearms and the backside of his wrangler jeans.  She’s funny, has lot’s of nice things to say about the people in her life and those she meets… overall, she seems like a stand-up sort of gal and I’m sure she is!  For the brief moment I got to speak with her at her book signing, she loved on my little one and signed her name with a flourish at the same time.

Imagine my surprise to see our photo made it on to her blog and entry about her time in Portland!  Thanks, Ree!  (And I must apologize for the amount of time it took me to notice… that’s how behind I am with my pleasure reading of favorite blogs).

‘Til next time…

This is a great age to photograph because they are so different from when they were tiny newborns – they have turned into tiny chubby babies!  This is usually the age where they can push up on their hands and lift their head off the ground, while also smiling at the same time.  Quite an accomplishment!  This milestone usually happens for most babies at the 3-4 month old time period.

“E”‘s mom and dad were naturals in front of the camera, snuggling their son and trying to make him smile.  We had a great time hanging out with his grandma as well, I think she may be his second favorite lady-friend (after Mom, of course!).

Here’s some of my favorites from the session…

Becoming a mother has been full of so many emotions – overwhelming, exhilarating, confusing, wonderfulness, challenging, joyful, extreme happiness, pleasure, hope, playfulness, humor, pride, and a tenderness mixed in with heaps of  love in our lives that before we could only imagine.  I’ve also experienced exhaustion, pain, confusion, fear, ignorance, and did I mention exhaustion? Oh baby, the lack of sleep can be quite mind-blowing at times.  It’s been a lesson in extremes, becoming a mother.  But oh have I savored and cherished each moment for the lesson it has taught me or the memory that has been given to me.  Overall, I am extremely BLESSED to have a happy & healthy baby. Tristan has already brought so many blessings into our lives – I think that is the ultimate gift a child brings to a family many times over.

The most surprising aspect of being a new mom has been actually two things… how instantly I fell completely in love with this little person and how hard breastfeeding can be.  Little did I know that some babies do not instinctually know how to suckle (or that they might have physical inhibitors) and combine that with lack of know-how from a first time mom (and I had prepared – read books, took a class, talked to other moms) made for a tough & painful many weeks in the beginning!  A friend of mine had told me; just when I couldn’t take it any longer, to hold on just a bit longer because that’s *exactly* when it gets better. She was very right! When Tristan was 7 weeks and I seriously thought how much harder can this really get, how much longer could I endure this pain… it just got better within days.  It was amazing!  All of a sudden it didn’t hurt any more, Tristan was such a better nurser, and I finally felt like a pro instead of a novice. Now it has become the wonderful & rewarding bonding experience I had hoped for.

My son is just starting to take a bottle now (full of his mama’s milk of course!) so that means it’s finally time to start booking sessions again. I have two baby sessions I will be blogging about this week, so that’s very exciting.

Welcome, darling boy, welcome!

Tristan & his mama

Hello dear readers, clients, and perspective clients…

We’ve got a new bundle soon to arrive at Blossom & Bee Photography this month and while things are *really* progressing, our littlest blessing hasn’t appeared yet.  However, all the fun side effects of the last month of pregnancy have!

I’ll be taking a lot of time off the month of January in anticipation of our little guy’s arrival – to get some much needed rest and to take care of myself health-wise so officially, this is the start of my maternity leave.

What does maternity leave mean for a small business owner?  My goals will be to continue to check my email + voicemail and responding to inquiries and client needs regularly, but it may take me a day or two to get back to you due to the demands of having a newborn.  I thank you in advance for your patience!  In regards to booking portrait sessions… I will be taking both January and February off from bookings, but would be happy to meet up with any perspective clients to begin planning a session come March – this includes baby sessions, families, individuals, and engagement sessions.  In regards to wedding bookings… if you are comfortable with doing an interview over the phone and I can send you samples of past weddings online, that would be ideal and I can do those any time during normal business hours or evening hours.  I know some couples really prefer to meet with their photographer in person before booking, so doing those during the evening hours will be best over the next few months so that I can cover baby needs.  I am presently booking weddings for 2010 season and will be available for bookings from March thru December, 2010.

If you have a upcoming wedding for 2010 and would like to inquire about packages and pricing, please call or use the inquiry form to submit your details and information (date of wedding, location, etc).  Please be sure to leave your phone number as well… sometimes those darn spam filters immediately throw our response emails to your junk box and if you don’t leave a phone number, there is no way for me to follow up with you to see if you received our response.

I can’t wait to share photos of our little guy as soon as he arrives, so stay posted over the next few weeks!

-Jena

Here’s a few of my favorites…

Enter BravoBride.

BravoBride brings together buyers and sellers of new and gently used designer dresses, jewelry, and other wedding items.

Just looking at the hair accessory section, I found some amazing pieces that ran the gamut of couture, handmade, and simply unique details for a fraction of the price you would find new.

I did a quick search under the dresses category for hard to find sizes and under the $800 pricepoint… wow. Tons of couture and designer brands, some new and some gently used – all gorgeous and at surprisingly low prices! Another search under handbags turned up vintage handbags for $45 that were one-of-a-kind and absolutely beautiful.

Even the BravoBride blog is full of inspiration and designer highlights, all with links back to where you can find the same items or similar on their site for sale. Love it! Check out the blog for yourself…