DIY Haven

Wedding planning took up quite a lot of my time this year.  Many nights I perused the web, often landing on Etsy.  I inspected many beautiful handmade crafts.  One item in particular caught my fancy early on.  I was looking for a floral wreath rather than a veil and found this one at the gardensofwhimsy shop.  It was beautiful, yet I felt I could make it myself.  From that point on I decided the majority of my decorations and stationary would be hand made.  One expense I had a hard time justifying was fresh flowers.  I opted for silk flowers in my center pieces and as filler in the bouquets.  The bouquet looked so lovely with fresh roses and silk hydrangeas.

Today I continue to watch for great ways for people like you to save while wedding planning.  Here is a tutorial for gorgeous paper roses you can make on a budget rather than spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars for silk or fresh ones.  Many thanks and a big shout out to Ellinee for posting the tutorial.  Also check out the flowers in action at the Adventures in Futility and Knitting blog.  Congratulations JessaMica!

Wedding Inspiration Without the Headache

I had the pleasure of planning my own wedding this year.  I took to the web to find inspiration and DIY ideas.  Finding great recipes and craft ideas is easy.  Keeping track of them in my bookmark list is as fun as calculating the probability my wedding will cost less than $10,000. 

I stumbled upon Pinterest during the early stages of wedding planning.  This digital cork board allows users to categorize bookmarks using images from the page as visual reference.  I now browse through the web and “Pin” my favorite pages on the appropriate board.

Check out my own wedding Pinboard.  What you see today is from my own wedding.  Check back every Friday for new inspiration.  Want help with your own wedding research?  Type up a comment or send me an email requesting my help.  Wedding planning is hard enough.  I’ll take on the pain and lost time of research for you!

Latest Family Addition

I am so lucky to have such adorable nieces and a nephew.  The newest lil lady in the family is Miss Jacquelyn Danaher.  I had the honor of being there when she was born.  Here is a sample of her 1 week session done in the comfort of her home with props and backdrops found in her room.  The logo on this image is my old logo, which is currently going through a major transformation.  Stay tuned for more images and branding updates!

A New Look for a New Outlook

As my 5 year business anniversary approaches I pause to reflect on my accomplishments and my missteps. I have created an amazing array of portfolio pieces.  I have had the pleasure of taking pictures for many families through milestones such as maternity, baby's arrival, the first birthday, the whole family, high school seniors, weddings, and anniversaries.  As other parts of my life have demanded more of my attention, I have fallen behind on some key factors that are severely limiting the growth of my business.  Please excuse the evolution of Jamie Read Photography through the rest of the year as I continue to fine tune my marketing mix, branding, product offering, and pricing.