We Have a New Look (in more ways than one)!!

Well? Look around, what do you think? Pretty spiffy, huh? I've been hard at work all week getting some much needed updates done to our website and giving our awesometastic (new word) blog a facelift. Among the blog changes are the single column layout so we can show you BIGGER images and a cool rotating header (of course, bigger photos and the center column mean all the old posts are going to look a little funky. Anyone want to volunteer to go through all the posts from last year and fix them?).

And I finally have our website updated with a bunch of our best images from 2008. If you haven't checked it out, scoot on over there right now (well after you read this post) and check it out! The site is also going to get a much needed facelift and some layout changes over the next week or two. I also have a couple slideshows to add to our featured weddings section too. So the work isn't done yet! Here's what it looks like right now:

www.hope-photo.com


And in other news, Sunday was the day our new advertisement debuted in Premier Bride magazine. I think I'll show it to you first and then explain our thoughts behind it after. So buckle up...






Prepare yourself...






This is easily going to be the funniest/most shocking thing you'll see this week...





(I still can't believe I did this).









Alright. Breath. Wipe your coffee off your keyboard. And read about why yours truly is in a wedding gown.

Most of you know we've been in the wedding business for 8 years now. Up until 2 years ago, we had relied solely on word-of-mouth referrals. But as we made the decision to transition from a part-time business to a full-time business we felt we needed to advertise with everyone else in the local bridal magazine, Premier Bride. It seemed like the logical thing to do. You advertise, spread the word, business grows. And it did. Somewhat.

Earlier in the year I was brainstorming about what we could do to make our ad more effective. I had noticed that when you flip through the magazine, all the ads had a tendency to run together. It was beautiful bride in a field, beautiful bride next to a fence, beautiful bride with her flowers, beautiful bride on a wall, etc. We needed something to make us stand out from the ever-growing pack. Something that really let brides know that we're not your average photographer. We're fun. And we like to have fun.

So that led me to reflect on one of the funniest running gags in comedy... dudes in dresses. Milton Berle, the boys of Monty Python, Kids in the Hall, Saturday Night Live. I thought it was brilliant. I thought it was insane. I thought it would be hilarious and a page stopper. I thought Danielle would shoot the idea down faster than my dress could be zipped.

She didn't. She loved it. And that's when I got scared. I was going to actually have to wear a wedding dress. What was I thinking?

And then fate stepped in. Or stumbled down some steps. We were all set up to do the shoot in May (for the August edition of the magazine). Dress lined up. Bouquet arranged. Friend's studio borrowed. And then in a split-second blur I fractured both of my elbows (sad story really... if you haven't heard the tale, check it here). I thought I was off the hook! But my lovely little wife wouldn't let me get off that easy. So when the deadline approached for the January edition, she started making calls. And the dude in a dress was back on.

Before I go on, we do have to give a big thanks to Lisa Foster for the bouquet and the boutonnière, to the girls at Wedding Wonderland for loaning me the dress (I'm a size 28 apparently. Who knew?), and to our buddy Jason Davis for loaning us his garage to shoot in. You all rock!

Now does this mean that we don't take weddings seriously? Please! Of course we do. Look at our work. I think it speaks for itself. But weddings are also supposed to be fun. And we're fun people (or so we've been told). So why not have a little fun with our ad? And you know what I have an even greater appreciation for what our brides go through... those dresses are not easy to get in to and they weigh a bloody ton!

I hope you like it and I hope you like the new look of the blog. Please drop us a line and let us know if a) the blog looks good b) the blog looks like crap or it looks weird in your browser c) you think I've committed career suicide by donning a wedding gown (no presidential campaigns in my future, that's for sure) or d) you want to tell me how hard you laughed thus drawing strange looks from your coworkers and family. Just click on "comments" below and you can tell us all about it.

Check back soon... I'll keep you updated on the website makeover this week. And I still have a few sessions to get online from 2008! I am super excited about 2009... we've got some big things planned that I can't wait to share with you all!!

-Wes