I’m excited to announce the launch of my new blog at http://www.jenniferstoneblog.com.

It’s absolutely gorgeous and will showcase my images and your weddings with huge pictures. I really wanted to import this blog into the new one but was having too many technical difficulties. So turning lemons into lemonade, I thought what better way to start off the 2008 wedding season except with a new blog and look!

Right now the new blog is just waiting to be filled with beautiful images from weddings, portraits and my life! So for those of you just getting to know me and my work, please feel free to browse through this blog and then check out my new blog.

If you use an RSS reader to keep track of all the blogs you follow (I just know you’re a blog stalker like me) make sure to update your RSS subscription to my blog — I highly recommend Google Reader.

I’d also like to announce that my wedding website Jennifer Stone Weddings is now located at http://www.jenniferstoneweddings.com. My old site is still up and running and the wedding link will take you to my new site. Guess what will be coming next…Jennifer Stone Portraits!

for big changes to the blog!  Just a little teaser to drive everyone a little crazy

Yesterday our awesome group of Maine Women Wedding Photographers got together to chat, catch-up, and share ideas before the wedding seasons kicks into high gear.  Emilie Sommer does such a great job organizing this for all of us and we all had such a great time!  Thanks Emilie!

The Knot is have a Real Wedding Awards. The weddings with the most votes goes on to the finals. You can even enter your own wedding pictures in the contest. The grand prize for the bride and groom is a Safari Adventure!

I’ve selected two weddings to enter and the pictures below have links to each of their weddings. I’d love it if you would take a few moments to rate/vote for your favorites.

I’m back in the office after a wonderful trip to Bucharest.

We didn’t have an easy time getting back once our Bucharest flight landed at JFK airport.  The snow storm on Friday forced the cancellation of my flight to Boston and Brendan’s flight to Chicago so we had to spend the night at the Ramada Plaza Hotel at the JFK airport, which was a terrible hotel and I would avoid staying there if at all possible.  We felt like we were staying in a Motel 6.  On Saturday my flight to Boston went off without a hitch, but Brendan had 3 flights to Chicago canceled before he finally left at 4:30 pm…needless to say he had a really long day.

OK, after months of having this Wordpress blog and never being able to figure out the settings so that people don’t have to log in to leave comments, I finally figured it out:) Of course, if was just one little box that needed to be checked!

So please feel free to leave a comment. Just click on the comment link at the end of each post. You can also use the Chat Box to the right.  I love to hear from everyone!

I’m excited to announce that I will be integrating a new studio management software program, ShootQ, into my wedding photography business. Emilie Sommer of Emilie, Inc. first turned me on to this amazing piece of software and I have been patiently waiting for ShootQ to invite new members, which happened today! This is not only going to help me tremendously, but it also is going to help my clients as well as make the booking process more efficient. Everyone’s lives are so busy these days, anything that is a time saver is a plus! Some of the cool features you’ll be able to take advantage of:

• Booking your wedding photography with me directly online, from completing the contract to paying your retainer fee
• Clients will be able to log in and change/update information about their wedding day
• Email notifications of when payments are due and the ability to make payments online.

Current clients will be able to take advantage of updating their wedding day information online with me and making their final payments online (if you wish) and I’ll be contacting all of you in the coming months.

Wow, I just received the most amazing thank you letter from Kate & Kyle I just had to share it with you. It’s one of the most unique thank you letters I’ve ever received and really made me glow inside and out. Thanks Kate and Kyle, I love you guys…you’re the best! And I want to thank YOU for choosing me as your wedding photographer.

Dear Jen,

Thank you so much for being our wedding photographer. We had a wonderful experience working with you and are thrilled with the results. In lieu of a more traditional note, we’ve decided instead to list the Top Ten Reasons Why We’re Happy We Chose You:

10. We were able to see proofs online days after the weddings, and not long after that all of the prints arrived in a hand-picked album and matching photo box along with a DVD with every set - in color and in black-and-white - to boot.

9. You got every shot we talked about prior to the event and managed to get a myriad of shots we hadn’t even thought about - but would have been sorry if they’d been missed.

8. Your “open door policy” was so helpful to us. We had lots of questions and ideas throughout the entire process, yet you were always able and happy to get back to us quickly.

7. We knew we didn’t want a traditional posed format of commemorating our special day, and your photojournalistic style captured the true spirit of our wedding perfectly.

6. You arrived on the day well prepared, with plenty of equipment and a well defined schedule and plan of attack.

5. In spite of best laid plans, not everything went as we anticipated, and you ability to be flexible in the moment and adjust for location and time changes ensured that we still ended up with everything we had hoped for…

4. …including large group shots in less than ideal places. Your creative use of our surroundings made impromptu arrangements into unique and memorable moments.

3. Going through all of our prints, we were surprised by the number of shots that we had no idea you were taking. Your ability to be discrete and blend into the melee that was our wedding while still getting beautiful photos is an amazing skill.

2. Your policy of covering the entire wedding day not only relieved the worry of missing all of the moments we wanted to remember, but also reassured us of your commitment to capturing our whole wedding rather than just the “Kodak moments.”

And the #1 reason why We’re Happy We Chose You:

1. Your awesome personality. Your easy-going, positive attitude and constant smile made it an absolute pleasure to work with you from the intimate engagement shoot right through to the raucous last dance.

Thanks again for doing such a fabulous job. We look forward to another opportunity to work with you in the future.

All the best to you and your family,

Kate & Kyle

It doesn’t matter to me:) No matter where you’re getting married I’d love to be your wedding photographer! This year I’m excited to expand my coverage to anywhere in the US and beyond. I’ll be photographing Kelly & Bryan’s wedding in Stone Harbor, New Jersey which I am so excited about!!

Right now I’m concentrating my marketing in Florida where I have family, so I recently started advertising with an online ad on Brides.com. I look forward to hearing from you no matter where you’re getting married.

It’s always good to come home!  We had a great time at the Grand Canyon, and getting away is a great way to relax, recharge and get excited for the new year!  But there’s nothing better to coming home.  I’m so excited for this year’s weddings and all the great changes for this year!!