courtney jade’s blog

What would cake be without the icing? Well, it would still be quite delicious, however it wouldn’t be quite as beautiful.

I’ve been working really hard the past few months to completely re-brand my entire business. With that, I’ve upgraded my blog, revised my logo, defined my colors better, designed client materials and had them printed, and ordered all new packaging for my prints and digital images. I’m hoping that this will make my brand more cohesive and recognizable, let’s hope all of the little details pay off, and my clients love the look and upgrades!

First of all, I’ve switched from putting my digital images on CDs and DVDs, and now clients will get their images on a USB Flash drive. I’ve decided to do this for a few reasons, 1) Most importantly, the images will be safer for a longer period of time. As time goes by, DVD’s and CD’s can lose data due to deterioration. 2) USB Drives can be re-used, recycled. If a client prefers, they can back up their USB Drive, and use it for other things. 3) They look nicer It may be my personal preference, but USB Drives are compact, sleek, and sexy! Here’s a peek at what you’ll get when you purchase digital images from me-

Print orders will come in luscious chocolate boxes adorn with pretty pink bows!

And inside, your precious prints are wrapped in matching pink tissue!

Another new thing I’ll be doing for clients, is creating “referral cards”. This is a complimentary gift with any print order. Most of my clients are referrals, so what better way to get my name out there, than to give my clients miniature photos from their session with my contact information on it?! Everyone loves a wallet-sized photo to hand out to friends and family, so far my clients love this!!

I’ve also been working on updating all of my client materials. I’m not quite finished yet, but I have a feeling that in this field, there will always be more that I want to create! Here is a taste of materials that I’ve had printed to hand out to my clients and possible clients.

There are a few more items that are still out at the printer, but these are the most used materials. Let me know what you think! Branding is always a work in progress, ever-evolving, but I feel like I now have a solid foundation on which to grow and expand. This is seriously so exciting for me, and a huge step towards building my business!

I hope you all had a wonderful New Years weekend! What are your resolutions/goals for the new year?

<3

I am happy to be able to post the long-awaited photos from Melissa & Mark’s vintage themed wedding!

Melissa + Mark = A romantic love of the ages

Melissa and Mark are two of the sweetest people I have ever met. Their wedding was beautiful and a perfect reflection of their love for one another. Every last detail was thought out, planned, and executed with grace.

Melissa’s hair was done at The Parlour in St. Johns, OR. A very trendy shabby/chic/funky spot that also doubles as a tattoo parlour. There are fun paintings and decor all over, as well as a retro flare!
Their ceremony and reception was held at beautiful the North Star Ballroom in Portland, OR.  The location was perfect for them!!

I shot their engagement photos earlier this year, and looked forward to their wedding ever since! Melissa has got to be the most organized bride, and truly a joy to work with- sooo photogenic also!. Mark was relaxed, confident, and just plain happy on their wedding day. I can tell they were both ecstatic to be married, and start their life together as husband and wife. I wish you both the best, and I hope you enjoy your photos!

Also- A big thanks to my dear friend Elena!! She was my second shooter and saving grace for this wedding I’m glad that she was able to help me, and capture some stellar shots!!!

Getting ready for the big day….

Mark got her this beautiful bracelet as her wedding gift. It’s so beautiful, she just loved it!!!

And for Mark, Melissa got him this awesome pocket-watch! How fitting

Their first look…

Some lovely pics of the bride and groom

She had the most beautiful bouquet!!! I must have had like 30 shots of it!

The beautiful bride

The stunning groom

Details….

It was sooo cute, they had old wedding photos of all of their family set up on this dresser for everyone to see It was a great addition to their decor! They also made shrinky-dink drink tags for every guest’s glass, customized candy buttons for each guest, and the most adorable guest book I have ever seen!

The little boys’ and their outfits were to die for!!!

Melissa and Mark each have one daughter. They are both so beautiful!

and who needs cake, when you can have decadent cream puffs, drizzled with yummy blueberries!!

Some of my favorite moments from the ceremony…

They are really just too cute for words!!! Melissa and her mom totally made this photo wall for guests to pose behind for their guest book photos! Talk about original/AMAZING!!! We had so much fun! They also brought in a bunch of fun props for people to pose with

wouldn’t be a wedding without the dances <3

Congratulations Melissa & Mark!!! I wish you only the best! Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your most special day!

the momentary pause in postings….

i am working on finishing up one of the most beautiful weddings ever, and I cannot wait to share it with you!!

post again soon….

I am very fortunate to have so many talented friends! I would like to introduce you all to the lovely, Khrisma!!!

She recently started her own tutu making business, and let me tell you, these tutus are to die for!!
The colors are whimsical, vibrant, and sure to make any little girl feel like she is a princess. We had so much fun on this shoot! (and I have never in my life worked with a child who took direction as well.) At the adorable age of just 3 years old, she was happy and excited to be in front of the camera, modeling this beautiful tutu.

If you’re thinking about Halloween costumes, Khrisma has you covered! She is currently offering the tutu costumes: faeries, witches, pumpkins, and black cats. I’m sure if you have any special requests, she would do her best to create anything you can dream up! If you’d like to order one of these beautiful creations, contact her via email: Khrisma@hotmail.com

Prices
$30-35 for basic tutu up to 3 colors
$40-45 for tutus with embellishments
$50+ for tutu dresses

*Shipping not included

You can also view more of her work via her facebook

[*All images are copyright 2009 courtney jade photography and may not be used without permission. Any unauthorized use is punishable by court of law.]

Enjoy!

And last, but not least…

<3

As many of you know, I recently lost one of my most coveted possessions- the bracelet that Mark gave me for our one-year anniversary. It was a bracelet from Tiffany’s with a toggle clasp and heart charm that he had engraved with a cluster of little stars on one side, and the words “…and the moon” on the other.

(He always tells me “I love you all the stars in the sky, and the moon”, so this was the perfect little message for my bracelet.)

I was completely devastated when I realized that at some point the beautiful reminder had fallen off of my wrist, and was nowhere to be found. I had just received it back from the jeweler, as it was being fixed due to a broken link right next to the clasp (this was the second time it had to be fixed for this same issue). I wasn’t upset, however about the broken clasp, as I wore this bracelet every day (with the exception of the days it was away at the jeweler’s) since the day he gave it to me. There was bound to be some wear and tear on it. However when I lost it, so soon even, after I had just gotten it back, my heart was broken. I wanted to keep that bracelet FOREVER. Mark is the first serious relationship I’ve ever had, and the one-year mark was incredibly special to me. The bracelet wasn’t just a pretty ornament on my wrist, it was a symbol of “us”.

Today at work, while the power went out and the server was down, I was telling my co-worker about my bracelet, and she suggested something incredible… I cannot believe I never thought of it myself, I guess I was just so devastated about losing it altogether that there was no other solution than to buy a new one. Even that wouldn’t have been the same, and the price has gone up considerably, so it almost seemed a waste. But she is a very smart girl, and knows how to get what she wants. She suggested I call and see if they’d replace my bracelet. Genius!!! Why hadn’t I thought of that??? After all, the link to the clasp DID have to be repaired twice already, and it very well could have just snapped and fallen off my wrist!

I, being the wary wimp that I am, asked if she’d call for me. I’m not very good at getting things out of people, especially over the phone. I tend to just cower at the first “no” I hear (unless I’m really worked up), and I can never grab the right words when it comes to things like that. She called for me, and in just less than 5 minutes, they told her (me) that I could come in and pick up a new bracelet, a gratis.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!” I said. “That is INSANE! I can’t believe it!!!”
And then I proceeded to tell her how amazing she is, and how I owe her and all of that. (She really is awesome!!!)

So today, after waiting out the power outage for about 2 1/2 hours, I drove down to the beautiful store, walked in and asked for the lady who “I” talked on the phone with earlier. She knew exactly who I was, and exactly what it was I needed. We walked over to the bracelet, and she told me (and had told “me” earlier on the phone) that they no longer carried the EXACT bracelet in the store, but they had one very similar. (The only difference was that mine was a plain silver heart charm, and the new one had the “Please return to Tiffany’s…” engraving on it.) I told her it was of course no problem, and thanked her profusely for what she was doing for me. I told her how much that bracelet meant to me, and how incredibly happy I was that they were being so accommodating. She had me try on the new bracelet, and then reached in the drawer, and what do you know… they still had my EXACT bracelet!!! She was almost as excited as I was She then offered to clean my matching necklace that I was wearing, after I commented on how shiny the bracelet was, and how I needed to get my necklace cleaned!

I couldn’t be happier with Tiffany & Co. They really went above and beyond to make sure that I was happy and satisfied. The manager who was helping me even thanked ME for being so nice! I could hardly believe the service I received. I finally felt like I was getting the service that I had so often provided to others when I was in the service industry, and man, what a breath of fresh air!!! I will definitely be going back for more special events and purchases in the future (or Mark will, hehe), as I couldn’t be more satisfied with my experience. Thank you Tiffany’s, thank you Emily, and thank you Juliann!!! You made my year

You thought I had forgotten about you, didn’t you?!

Well that couldn’t be further from the truth! I could never forget my trusty faithful blog!

Ok, enough with the silliness, lets get down to business.

My friend Tonja has started her very own lingerie line called “Knickers”. She is just starting out, but already her pieces are making me drool. The deep purples and soft creams in her collection go together so romantically it’s to die for!  Almost like a rich chocolate devil’s food cake with just the right amount of light, fluffy whipped cream. Add in some fresh raspberries and you’ve got yourself one sexy dessert!!!

She’s being featured this month at a local salon & spa called La Muse in Portland, OR. This dreamy little day spa is everything you could hope for in a salon/spa- sans the corporate mess. There will be a “Designer Meet & Greet” where you can meet the fabulous Tonja, and oogle over her yummy lingerie designs on Saturday, September 27th- live music, refreshments, and more! I encourage you ladies (and gentlemen doing some early Christmas shopping [wink, wink]) to stop by and have some fun with us!

Here are some photos from a quick shoot she threw together, and I shot in the secret field…

Aren’t they gorgeous!?!?!

<3 courtney

I love autumn!!! It’s my most favorite time of the year!

With that said, the Holidays are right around the corner, and that means it’s time for your annual family photo session! Photos are a wonderful, timeless gift that everyone on your “Give List” will enjoy! So lets set a date, and we can have some fun capturing your family and all of your holiday spirit!
Or if you just want some beautiful photos in the fall leaves, we can do that too!

Take advantage of this special offer! Get in touch with me: courtneyjade@courtneyjade.com

I did a shoot a while back (and I’m FINALLY getting to these photos… so sorry Lisa!!), for my good friend Lisa You may know her as the adorable baby Violet‘s mom. She is a fabulous woman with great style, and just the right touch of perfectionism. I adore her!

She’s started her very own baby accessory line, with things like blankets, burp towels, bibs, wipe totes, and many more adorable, functional items. Her print choice is diverse and fun, making every item irresistibly cute! These are accessories I’d feel excited about carrying around!
Check out some of her products here, and also feel free to hop over to her website: http://minnielola.com

And of course we need to have one of the beautiful Violet. She is such a doll

More of this beautiful baby girl to come soon