Photo Booth!

Looks like squooshy fun!  Jason, Wil Walker and Jen Fariello had a little photo booth action time at Greg and Ginger’s wedding this past Saturday at Edge Hill.

-tam

CYFS Benefit at MMA Institute Charlottesville

CYFS, or Children Youth Family Services is a private, non profit agency that is all about the kids.  They have been serving the area for over 87 years providing programs for over 3,500 children from low income or at risk families.  These programs work to create healthier environments at home, in child care, school, and the community by addressing issues of poverty, child abuse and neglect, child care quality, and parenting. 

On Saturday, February 21st, a benefit hosted by the MMA Institute brought together a generous body of volunteers and businesses to help raise awareness, funding, and fun for the kids.   Many of the volunteers included the Albemarle County police and fire rescue, H & H Security, Tumblebus, Dominoes Pizza, Gold’s Gym and members of the MMA Institute.

Visit the proof gallery for more pics from this event.

Premo Auto Body

Jason has published a shiny new website for Charlottesville body shop, Premo Auto Body. 

Brides Choice Award 2009

THANK YOU to all of our wonderful clients.  We feel honored to have been selected to receive the Wedding Wire’s 2009 Bride’s Choice Award.

Thank you so much.

Featured in The Hook

We are happy to be featured in our local paper The Hook’s wedding issue.  A big  thank you to our brides and grooms and to The Hook!

Wedded Bliss: The To Do’s of Recent I Do’s

Charlie Anne Norton & Andre Luiz Xavier

Friday, October 3, 2008

Location: King Family Vineyard in Crozet

Guests: 100

Engagement: 10 months

Budget: $17,000

Splurged on: Venue, photography, food and beverage

Scrimped on: We chose not to have a wedding planner to save money, but now my husband and I wish we would have thought that decision through a little more. Friends and family helped me to make my own invitation, save-the-dates, and wedding programs. I used photos from the wedding to create a very charming postcard-style thank you note. Real flowers were only used for the wedding party. My mother prepared all inside decorations including the centerpieces. We were always looking for great deals on decorative items including votive candles, ribbon, glass vases, etc. I scrimped on the dress because you don’t need to spend a thousand dollars to look great! My mother is very talented, so she made the jewelry for my bridesmaids and me. She also made my two veils, which were embellished with beautiful beading and swarovski crystals.

Weather: Sunny and 70 degrees

Music: We chose Montebello string quartet for the ceremony and DJ Derek Tobler for our reception.

First dance song: “Fade into you” by Mazzy Star

Best: The party! Sharing our wedding with our family and friends was the best part. We truly had one of the best venues which made my dream of a beautiful outdoor wedding ceremony perfect.

Worst: Price Tag! There’s still a lot of cost associated with planning a wedding, no matter how much money you have or how much money save.

Unexpected: The ceremony was delayed by a half an hour because no one could find my father to walk me down the aisle. Later, I found out that an hour and a half before the ceremony, the already decorated Arbor blew over and broke. My Dad searched all of Charlottesville, found one, and put it together at the last moment.

Advice: Be sure to hire a wedding planner so you can enjoy the wedding instead of worrying about everything that happens. No matter what, your wedding day will be perfect, so don’t sweat the small stuff!

Lori Nam, Jonathan Rhee

May 31, 2008

Location: Ceremony held at Global Mission Church of Greater Washington in Silver Spring, Maryland; Cocktail hour and reception held at Marriott Gaithersburg Washingtonian Center in Gaithersburg, Maryland

Guests: 650

Engagement: 13 months

Budget: N/A

Splurged on: Food and alcohol (reception dinner & cocktail hour, upgraded open bar, personalized candy bar), music (live jazz band), photographer, videographer, wedding gown.

Scrimped on: wedding cake

Weather: Two hours of rain in the late morning, clear and sunny in the afternoon.

Music: DJ (80’s, hip-hop, R&B), cocktail hour (live jazz band)

First dance song: “The Way You Look Tonight” by Matt Dusk

Best: Beautiful flower arrangements, amazing photography, special song during the ceremony; the candy bar was a major hit at our wedding!

Worst: The time crunch with two receptions back-to-back; not enough time to spend with family and friends who attended our wedding.

Anything unexpected? Rain in the morning meant we were unable to take pictures with bridesmaids outdoors.

Advice: Plan in advance! If you’re having a large event, it always helps to hire a wedding planner to keep yourself organized. And don’t forget to enjoy the events.

Behind the Shots: Weird, Wild, Wonderful Wedding Moments

Jason Keefer, Jason Keefer Photography

A stately walk turned silly when this bride and groom got in the groove and started “struttin’ their stuff,” says Keefer.

Wedding Websites

Today I thought it would be neat to post a few wedding websites from some of our happy couples, yay!  I love perusing through wedding websites; each one has its own touch of personality.  They are such a wonderful way for everyone to get to know more about the couple and learn how they met and fell in love!  These websites are are also a handy resource for guests and vendors.  Each website normally has information and directions to rehearsal, ceremony and reception locations as well as links to their bridal registries.  For me and Jason, a wedding website is something that we recommend to all of our clients who are getting married. 

 

Jamin and Katie

 

Mac and Ashley

 

Georgi and Michelle

 

Steve and Amanda

 

Here are a few resources for free wedding websites:

weddingwire.com

mywedding.com

ewedding.com

momentville.com

theweddingvendor.com

weddingannouncer.com

Our Austin Trip

Jay and I got to visit our good friends Todd and Sara and stay at their coolio crib in Austin in early November.   Sara had just found out that she had passed her BAR exam when we arrived, so celebration levels were a go.  We tried to pack in as much fun that we could possibly have in five days… shopping, food, music, and spending time with our good friends, their kitties Midge and Bella, and their new French Bulldog Lola! 

I would just like to take a moment and mention the power of French Bulldogs.  These dogs are chick magnets.  Sara and I left Todd and Jason alone outside with Lola while we went inside a clothing boutique.  We came out five minutes later, and the guys were surrounded by women oohing and aahing at Lola.  And who could blame them?  Lola is a cutie patootie.  She is so cute and cuddly, that you can’t even get angry with her for anything.  Lola peed on my lap during a car ride and all I could do was laugh and hug her.

 Austin is a magical place with the hottest chili and best ribs that I have ever had.  We got to see DJ Z-trip (Jason’s favorite DJ) perform at the Fun Fun Fun Fest and then experience the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema the day after.  I highly recommend the fried pickles.  Overall, our Austin trip was fantastic, and we can’t wait to return for another visit!

My bags are packed and I'm ready to go!

The famous Texas Chili Parlor!

Sara calling her folks to give them the news that she passed the BAR

Future Austin City Limits

This is Miss Lola

This was where our shopping adventure started

Jason was so overwhelmed that he couldn't decide on any boots

What is this? I don't know what it is, but it's cool.

Todd is a Wii hoola hooping master.

Sara looking glamourous

Chillin' with Bella and Midge

Brought our friends a little momento from home

Utter cuteness

Beer and Bocce

Farewell Austin!

PHAR Celebration – Charlottesville, VA

On November 14th Friday evening, the Public Housing Association of Residents honored graduates of the Resident Leader Internship Program, and helped celebrate 10 years of service.  The celebration was held at the Legal Aid and Justice Center on Preston Ave.  In attendance were graduates, their families, PHAR members and supporters.  It was a festive and impactful occasion as graduates took the stage to share their success stories.   Jason and I were there to document the festivities. 

 PHAR is a nationally-recognized non-profit organization, founded in 1998 to build grassroots leadership among public housing residents in Charlottesville, Virginia. PHAR’s mission is “to empower low-income residents to protect and improve our own communities through collective action.”

 

New Website!

Well friends and neighbors, after a few ‘all nighters’ of working on this project, our new website is up and kicking.  We were going for a cleaner look and easier navigation.  Thanks to Jason for all of his hard work and design talent.  Another thank you to David Jay for introducing us to Show It Sites, which is what this new website is based from.  I want all of our fellow colleagues who share a link exchange with us to know that your links are going to be added very soon!  Thank you for your support and open networks!  Oh, one more thank you… to everyone who has given us their feedback and opinions of the site.  We really, really appreciate your time of going through the whole site and offering your observations and suggestions… you guys rock!!

Charlottesville Wedding Photographers Representin’ at David Jay ‘Succeed’ Tour

From left to right:  Sarah Cramer, Aaron Watson, Jason Keefer, David Jay, Tammy Keefer, Billy Hunt, and Jen Fariello.

David Jay’s ‘Free to Succeed’ tour in Alexandria, VA on Thursday, August 28th was both inspiring and educational.  Here, a great group of talented Charlottesville wedding photographers got to cheese with DJ after the seminar.  What fun guys!

xoxo,

Tammy