Martha, Martha, Martha! (and a fabulous announcement)

As some of you know, I am a huge Martha Stewart Fan. I subscribe to "Living" and "Everyday Food" magazine, I have her station programmed into my Sirius radio presets, I have many of her cookbooks, I receive the "Cookie of the Day" in my inbox daily, and I created my entire 2007 Thanksgiving menu based on her recipes. Yes, I am a fan.

In the wedding industry and especially in our Northern Ohio area, Wendy Kromer is a bit of a celebrity. Wendy owns a Sandusky based bakery and is also the co-author with Martha Stewart on her new book, "Martha Stewart Wedding Cakes." Wendy's work is exquisite and we are so lucky to have her available to us in the area.

The great news is that in partnership with Z Media, Wendy will be offering for a limited time, a 5% discount to all Z Media brides who book their cake with her. If you are interested in a tasting, you can reach Wendy via her website listed in the link section.

Here is an image of a Wendy Kromer design that I photographed. How beautiful is that!

For the Love of the Car

Facebook is such an amazing tool. Yesterday, I received a friend request from an old friend dating back to my high school days. I got such a kick out of hearing from her. One of my fondest memories of our time together was cruising the streets of Wadsworth, Ohio in her orange VW bug. Those memores got me thinking about the many cars different types of cars couples choose for transportation on their wedding days.

A lot of couples opt for the standard limo or party bus, however, it's always to nice to see some different options when couples get creative in this area. There are companies that specialize in these types of rentals and they run the spectrum of tastes from environmentally friendly models, to classic automobiles. Although they make for beautiful images for your wedding books, a word of caution; since some of these choices do a max of 35 on the freeway, make sure you allow for travel time into your itinerary. It can take up the double the time to travel to your reception location as it normally would and you don't want your guests to worry about what happened to you.

Speaking of happened, I wonder whatever happened to that VW bug......

Asuka

Due to the magic of the world wide web, today I was able to attend a live "webinar" hosted by Asuka. Asuka is one of the coffee table book manufacturers that we work with at Z Media and the purpose of the seminar was to unveil some new product changes that will take effect March of this year. Some of the new Asuka developments are:

• an introduction to both varnished and laminated pages



• the addition of leather cover options



• embossing



• the option of square, vertical, and horizontal layouts

Of course, these new offerings are just a small sampling of what's available for your coffee table book so don't forget to ask us to see our promotional books. We work with many manufactuers, so you are bound to find the perfect book to match your perfect day!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Here in Northeast Ohio today, we have vitually screeched to a halt with the snow storm that left us buried under inches, if not a foot of snow. Although it is beautiful; after several passes with the snow blower, it still tends to leave a lot of us longing for sun, sand, and sea.

On a day like today, I thought it might be fitting to showcase an image that reminds us of what's waiting for us in the months to come. This is an image we shot last summer at the wedding of Brooke and Tony. Brooke and Tony celebrated their wedding on the shores of Lake Erie at the beautiful Shoreby Club. You can take a virtual tour of the Shoreby Club at the link provided.

In the meantime, bundle up for now; summer is just right around the corner!

Best In Show

The past year has been a banner one for us at Z Media. A couple of months ago, we received Cleveland's top honor by being selected the number one photography company in Northern Ohio via the Fox8/Hey Butler Hot List. This award was determined through an online voter system, where the general public could log onto the Fox 8 website and vote for their favorite candidate.

Yesterday, we were honored again by popular vote as we were selected the "Best Booth" at the Today's Bride Show which took place at the Cleveland IX Center on January 18th. Since announcing this and the Hey Butler Hot List award, I have received an outpouring of congratulations from both my past couples and my 2009 couples and I want to sincerely thank all of you for both your vote and your kind thoughts. I cannot express my gratitude at your support. A special xx00 from me to you!

Here are just a couple of images from that show showing our booth along with an image of me next to our infamous "Z". If you need some inspiration for wedding ideas, log onto the Today's Bride site ( see link) - it is amazing!

A Winter Wonderland

Here are a couple of images from the wedding of Lucinda and Brian, a wedding that I shot on Saturday. Although it was super cold outside, the staff at the Homestead House in Willoughby, Ohio; along with her wedding planner, Allison Miller, from A.R. Miller Wedding Designs worked diligently to create a cozy, intimate event. (See link)

Here's wishing a happy and healthly life for Lucinda and Brian who are on there honeymoon at an unnamed location. You see, Brian kept the honeymoon location a secret from Lucinda, and teased her with riddles and cryptic hints- so cool and uber romantic!

Westeban- El Presidente

Today is Wes's birthday. Not only is he my husband, but also my shooting partner and President of our corporation, Creekside Multimedia, Inc. We have been shooting together almost as long as we have been married which is 22 years- it looks like he is holding up o.k. nonetheless. I selected this photo for today's blog with a chuckle as I am thinking about how many of you have seen this exact image staring back at you on your wedding day.

Happy Birthday Wes, and thank you for all that you do-

Tomorrow's post will be a sneak peak at Lucinda's and Brian's wedding; an event that I just shot on Saturday. See you then!

Wedding Eve

My brother Matt was an Eagle Scout- Their motto, "Be Prepared". It seemed to work for him so who am I to question. Within that spirit, there is a lot of preparation that goes into preparing to photograph a wedding. The day before is spent completing tasks such as cleaning lenses, packing equipment, reviewing the questionaire, entering addresses into the GPS, gathering cards, charging batteries, filling up the gas tank, etc. Since I am a little prep obsessive, I also usually wash my car, get my nails done, pick up the dry cleaning- you get the picture. (Matt would be so proud!)

For our couples, the anticipation felt can be a bit overwhelming, but in such a good way. It's excitement that you wish you could bottle; but it's wonderful to cherish these moments through memories and photographs.

No post tomorrow- I'm off to photograph a wedding- Happy Wedding Eve Lucinda and Brian!

Move Over Imelda; There's a New Kid In Town

As with any self-respecting fashionista, if there is one thing that rocks my world, it's shoes. The only thing better than shoes is a great surprise. (or a Tiffany's box, or cake) Anyway, last August we shot the wedding of Lynne and Matt. Lynne is a fashion accessories designer (for Fossil, I believe) and when I heard this bit of news, my ears perked up. I had great expectations for the accessories at Lynne's wedding and she did not disappoint. Just look at these amazing shoes!! They have it all; great peep tow slingback, Tiffany blue, the element of surprise; you girls understand. In my book where fashion reins supreme, it just doesn't get better than this. You rocked it, Lynne!

The Real Army Wives

Yesterday's political festivities has me thinking about our military couples today. Planning a wedding has it's difficulties, but sometimes, military couples face obsticles that are particularly challenging.

This summer, Wes and I shot a wedding for Melanie and Nate. Nate is an Army Captain and Melanie is a teacher. I first met Melanie and Nate during a consultation about a year ago. At that time, Nate was scheduled to be deployed to Iraq a couple of days following our meeting. It was not the first time he had been deployed and they shared with me that their wedding date had been already altered a couple of times due to his military service.

Nate indeed left for Iraq and Melanie remained in the US. I received several e-mails from Melanie during the time he was in Iraq and although her notes were always upbeat and excited about her wedding plans, there was always an underlying concern as of course, she missed him terribly. I was truly elated for both of them when I finally received the note that Nate was scheduled to come home.

Melanie and Nate had an amazing June wedding and they exchanged vows at John Carroll University, where Melanie is an alumni. Here they are taking their photos on the campus. They are now planning a move from an Oklahoma Army base, to one in Texas. It meant so much to me when Melanie e-mailed me at Thanksgiving looking for receipes; the portrait of a real army wife!

New Beginnings with a Sugar & Spice Twist

Today, as we welcome a new President, most people have new beginnings on their mind. A wedding is the ultimate in new beginnings since it's very essence signifies the start of a new life as two become one. In 2007, Wes and I shot the wedding of Tracey and Scott; and in their life as a married couple, two just became three! Yes, Tracey and Scott are pregnant and are expecting a baby girl!

Both Tracey and Scott are veterinarians, which endeared them to me from the start. (Wes and I have 3 pets; Leo, our King of the Castle French Bull Dog, Lilly, our Princess Diva Lhasa, and Coco, our Panther Man-Cat) Not only has Tracey devoted her career to the well-being and care of animals, but she also found time to walk in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure 3-Day this summer. She truly is an extrodinary person.

Here are a couple of images to enjoy from their wedding. Wes and I wish Tracey and Scott all the best with their new beginning.

Speaking of BFFs

Here is a photo of Julie First and I at the Today's Bridal Show at the Cleveland IX Center yesterday. I am the short one of the left and Julie is the one with the fabulous high cheekbones on the right. Julie is the owner of Z Media with her husband Chris and a long time BFF of mine. We can be often be found, sometimes daily, sometimes several times daily, chatting on the phone while we work on our respective events. (Just ask our husbands!) Don't forget to check out the Z Media website at http://www.zphotomedia.com/ for the latest images and news on Julie. Happy Viewing!

BFFs

This morning I picked up messages from three friends; Lisa, Paul, and Christina and I am feeling a familiar pang of guilt. My BFFs are painfully aware that work tends to rule my world yet they continue to check in with me from time to time. Thanks guys, for putting up with me- I vow in the new year to be a better BFF.

It has reminded me of two friends that I had the priveledge of shooting this season, Molly and Carrie. Each had a beautiful wedding and I watched as they both caringly attended to the needs of each other on their seperate wedding days. Here are images that I shot at each of their weddings.

Thanks Molly and Carrie, for not only inviting me to capture your weddings but for reminding me of the important things in life! Viva la BFF!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

This week, I worked on a wedding book for Morgan and Nick. It's actually one of my favorite things to do- I get to relive the day and get all nostalgic about each couples' story. For Morgan and Nick, it poured cats and dogs on their wedding day. Of course, everyone had umbrellas with them- all different colors and shapes and they made great props for the photos! We all ended up having a great time; especially the guy who got stuck with the pink umbrella. As with anything in life, sometimes you just have to go with it.

Here are a couple of pages from their wedding book that I designed.

A Bogie Kind of Love

The day after Christmas, I had the honor of shooting an engagement session for Emily and Eric. Both Emily and Eric are Army enlistees who had met in Germany (so Humphrey Bogart!!), and were here in the Cleveland area for the holidays. The shoot venues were the Rainforest at the Cleveland Zoo, where Emily had worked prior to enlisting in the military and an Irish bar called "The Harp", a tribute to both of their Irish Heritages.

Don't they both look fabulous?!