Joe and Christy's beautiful Barn Wedding

Remember that weekend where Florida experienced the coldest temperatures in the matter of 12 hours. We literally went from 80 degrees warm and sunny to windy rain and freezing cold 50 degrees by evening time. It was absolutely crazy. I have lived here my whole life so this rarely happens. Which is good for the wedding industry. While we have to always worry about the rain, seldom do we worry about being cold on the wedding day. Well fortunately the venue Cielo Blu Barn in Fellsmere, Florida was prepared with blankets for guest to snuggle with!

Joe and Christy planned a beautiful barn wedding and while mother nature tried to steal her dream of walking though those big barn doors, the skies miraculously cleared about 45 minutes before the ceremony time. Everything went according to plan and it was an amazing wedding.

Here's the recipe of vendors who helped make this wedding possible:

Venue: Cielo Blue Barn
Entertainment: DJ Master Key Events
Catering: 14 Bones BBQ Catering
Flowers: Violets in Bloom
Photographer: Trisha Harris Photography
Wedding Dress: Aurora Unique Bridal Boutique 
Officiant: Pastor Tim Allen

Scroll through to see this beautiful venue, gorgeous set up and one amazing couple with a lifetime of happiness ahead of them. Congrats Joe and Christy!!1

Time to update your family photo?

The New Year has officially kicked off. By now your Christmas decorations have been put away. You found a new home for all the stuff you and your family received for gifts and you finally feel like you are back in the swing of things. Sigh of relief...at least for me it is.

The last half of the year for me was super busy. Between chasing after Calvin who has officially learned to crawl and settling in from the move, it was also "photography season". What does that even mean? Well every profession tends to have a busy time. Tax preparers are just entering their busy season. This past year was a great season for me....thanks to all of my wonderful clients new and old. Without you and your referrals I wouldn't have had the success I had. So why then would my post be called time to update your family photo if I just had a busy season?

Well the truth of the matter is many book a session during this time just to get their Christmas cards done. (this is great trust me, I do it too). So now you have these really good images but they scream Christmas. Let's face it you are not leaving your Christmas tree up all year long so putting these images around the home might look weird too.

So after talking with other ladies and just listening to others, I have come up with 5 reasons you need to update your family photo.

1. Your Hairstyle in your last Family Photos is from a different decade! Let's face it. We take tons of pictures in our time. We have iphones and digital cameras which allow for the convenience of snapping a photo seamless. But to actually print the images and display them in our home doesn't happen as often. In fact, many times we only display the good quality image that was professionally taken and well that was over 10 years ago so your hair style has changed and now you have outdated photos hanging on the wall.

2. You are missing kids in the photo! YIKES. I cannot tell you how many times I hear: "the last time we had photos, so and so was a baby and now we have baby number 3." Ouch. I wonder what that child thinks to see family photos on display in your home and they are not in them! Studies have proven that images displayed of your family members in the home will actually boost self confidence levels. So that means we need to include all the family members! (yes four legged ones are welcome too)

3. Your kids have kids....Have your kids grown up and started families of their own? Generational photos are timeless. They show your family members who they belong to and the people that mold them and shape them. I have grandparents that have passed away before the age of technology and before I had my own children. I would give anything to have a huge family photo with all my family members. You never know when someone will no longer be around to have their photo taken.

4. You have redecorated your home. Let's face it...Joanna and Chip Gaines have taken over the decor world and "vintage" "rustic" and "farmhouse" are now terms you hear to promote home decor. Chances are you have incorporated these terms into your home as you've decorated it. I know I had a "themed" kitchen in my first home. John Deere everywhere.....canisters, curtains, plates, silverware and a toothpick holder...no joke. Now that is not the case. My style has changed and now photos from that time don't necessarily match my home decor. This is important. If you are a beach and sand loving family and your images hanging in your home are in the woods...they don't compliment one another and chances are your are not fond of them either. In fact I heard some say to me that they haven't hung any pictures because they redecorated and they don't like those frames etc. So plan the session around your style so you will love the images.

5. You have changed your lifestyle! What does that even mean. Well today is the age of being healthy and living a lifestyle versus dieting. More families are getting healthy together and staying active. They have changed the way the view food and fitness and chances are there has been a change to their appearance. You've lost some weight and you look and feel great. Why not update that family photo to show off your hard work and have images that show you at the happiest!

There are probably a dozen other reasons as to why you need an updated family photo. This year I want to partner with you to not only update your family photo but to update your walls. If you are saying yes to each of these or just one of them, then please contact me to set up a session to change your family photos. Families are the precious jewels we have been given, make sure you are preserving those you love most.

2017...Print your photos goal

This year I want to help you print your photos. Many times my clients ask me what do you do with all your pictures? I am going to share exactly what I do and why this works for me. I think printing photos is extremely important. When you are cleaning out stuff and you come across an old box, there's something special about finding an old photo that was printed. It can bring back a flood of memories. You pause for a moment and reminisce.You may even be shocked if the person has changed a lot. Regardless, when you find it an old picture is sparks emotions. When you find an old CD of pictures you are left wondering...hmm what pictures are these? Doesn't quite have the same effect.

 Like these photos above. If they were stuck on a CD or in a digital format, I could never see them. But they are not. They are printed images that I can touch and hold. 

So here's what I do and when I tell people they love the idea. So I am going to help you this year do the SAME thing. Each year (ok really the past 3 years) I make a yearbook....YES a yearbook. I know you are thinking I don't have time for that. But let me talk for a second. Last year my yearbook was over 209 pages and have over 900 photos!!! If I were to print that many photos and put them in a book or what I really like a scrapbook I would never get it done. I only have so many walls, so hanging all those photos would never work. My yearbook is bound, hardcover and custom to my story. And it takes me maybe 2 hrs a month to do!

The first week of every month, I upload all my images from my phone to my computer and transfer them to the site. Now I have chosen to use Mixbook because they offered the most pages. I think they can handle up to 400 pages. I know you are thinking that is a lot...BUT my 2014 yearbook (which was my first) was only 100 pages, my second one for 2015 was 209 and currently my 2016 yearbook is up to 259 pages. I still need to add the month of December. Another reason I love Mixbook is because they usually have  a sale where I can get the book for 50% off. So I wait for a good sale.

So once I upload the images I arrange them to the pages. I add some captions, a few digital stickers and ta-da. Done. I save it. Then do nothing until the next month. This takes me a total of a few hours. Sometimes I do it all at once (I have to get up before anyone else wakes up for this) or I do it over the course of a few days. Either way, there's no mess of papers getting cut into pieces. No gluing. No clutter. No printing 100's of photos and trying to figure out where to put them. No bulky photo albums. Just one album with my entire year in one spot.

Plus the other nice part is that is is electronically saved. So once you do print it, if you have children or pets, if something happened to it, you can reprint it. It's kind of like an insurance policy knowing you have the option to order it again. 

So how I am I going to help you??? Be sure to follow along my Facebook page. Every month the first week I will share a post reminding you to upload your photos and make your pages for the month. This will hopefully help you to make it a habit.
                                

Now, for special photos and ones I really love I print and hang on my walls. I believe that your family should decorate your walls. Studies have found that having pictures of your loved ones on the wall, especially your children, helps boost confidence. ;) So, every day cell phone pictures that I wouldn't want hanging on my walls goes right into the yearbook. Special images or ones from a photoshoot with a photographer (yes I use a professional photographer to capture special moments too) I print and hang them up.

I'd love to hear back from you. Will this help you out? Are you excited to commit to a new goal to print your photos? Do you like this idea? Send me a line or comment. I would love to hear your thoughts!

-Trisha

(Mixbook is not paying me to advocate their services or product. I just love them that much and want you to experience the same joy I have that I am sharing this info on my own free will.)