jilliankay's photo-journal

Blog is Moving!

2009-07-06T22:35:00.001-07:00

Jillian Kay Photography Blog is Moving!! (or rather...has already moved)

http://jilliankay.com/blog

I'm excited to announce that my blogging hiatus has finally ended, and I'm getting caught up on all the posts I haven't made in the past 10 MONTHS!!! Please add the new blog to your RSS feed, and keep on the lookout for a flurry of fun new posts!

Wedding! - John & Kate

2008-09-18T07:44:00.000-07:00

John and Kate had the most magical day at Nestldown in Los Gatos! I can't imagine a more idyllic setting, with it's beautiful koi pond surrounded by flowers, trees, dragonflies, butterflies, and birds! It also had a train, whimsical sculptures, a play house, and a gorgeous seculded ceremony area that you walk down a long stone staircase to get to...WOW!

The catering by Thomas John Events was incredibly delicious (not to mention almost too pretty to eat), the floral design was Passiflora Designs was unique and amazing, the Photoworks Interactive photobooth was a blast, and I had so much fun hanging out with the videographers from Razor Byrne Productions! There was a train, bocce ball, lawn furniture, salsa dancing, a photobooth, smores....have I mentioned it was an incredible day?!

Kate & John looked like they stepped right out of a fairytale...I was blown away. Here is their sneak-peak slideshow (which of course they received a while back...I'm just behind on blogging!)

And a few (or more) of my favorites!:

Published!! Your Wedding Day Magazine

2008-08-18T00:29:00.001-07:00

And for my final blog of the blog marathon.....I got published!!! I spent a few minutes jumping up and down when I got my copy. :)

It's in the Fall 2008 issue of Your Wedding Day, a beautiful wedding magazine available nationally at Barnes & Noble. The three page spread features images from Eric & Kylene's wedding last year! I love the layout they did with the images...really beautiful design!

Of course, big thanks go to Natasha of Water Lily Ponds Floral Design for being the driving force behind getting the images submitted. She's an amazing floral designer, and the photographs simply wouldn't have been as stunning without her work!

So congrats to Kylene and Eric on their national article, and much thanks to Natasha of Water Lily Pond!

Wedding: Elizabeth & Marcello!

2008-08-17T23:56:00.001-07:00

Elizabeth and Marcello had a picture perfect wedding day in Tiburon... from the tiny hilltop chapel to the beautiful yacht club reception to the Unauthorized Rolling Stones band! The entire wedding was themed around their cat Tattinger (a cutie, who respectfully declined to attend). A prayer for animals was given at the ceremony, the invitations, cake, and favors featured tiny kitty outlines, and for favors a donation was made to PAWS (http://www.pawssf.org/). It was a truly classy but very personal event!

What a stunning day! Take a peak at the photos below, and then view the beautiful slideshow!

Wedding: Michael & Jill!

2008-08-17T23:32:00.000-07:00

Michael and Jill had the cutest pink & green wedding ever! The whole day was filled with laughter and hugs, and just reflected their bubbly friendly personalities perfectly! The floral work was by Erin Tait Floral Design (http://erintait.com, who also did Matt & Ligaya's wedding), and it was stunning!

I loved the green and pink lanterns in the trees...I think the must be sick of all the photos I took of the laterns...but they were just so cute!! This was just an adorable day for a truly genuine and adorable couple. :)

Now...on to the photos....wet your taste-buds with these, and then check out the slideshow!

Blogging Blitz!!

2008-08-17T22:41:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for it?.....Because I'm about to catch up on blogging very fast!! In an effort to get back on track, I'm just going to blog all the wonderful events and news I have to share...right now!

In other news, today has been my first headache free day in over two weeks, and I am ecstatic! I had a small run-in with a door...and the door won. :) I've had a mild concussion with some really splitting headaches for the last couple weeks...and the doctors response was "Yep, you hit your head, that's what happens. We have no idea when it will stop hurting." (Ok, I'm paraphrasing.) I think we're finally getting back to normal now.

Anyway, sorry for any delays that you noticed in the past two weeks, but I spent all weekend getting caught up. Guess what's the last thing on my to-do list?

Exactly....blogging. :)

And for fun, here's a photo from my best friend TJ's bridal shower a few weeks ago. It was a co-ed (aka, Jack-n-Jill) shower, and for the traditional "dress made of toilet paper" game we made it guys verses girls. The girls dressed the bride and the guys dressed the groom! Paul is going to kill me for putting up this photo....but it's too funny! You can't see it in the photo...but he had 3 toilet paper rolls in his shirt. Three!

Chris & Ariana - Engagement

2008-07-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

I had such a great time with Chris & Ariana in San Francisco for their engagement session! We decided to do a two-part session (day & night) with dinner in the middle....YUM. :) I don't get to do nearly enough shooting at night, so this was a real treat for me!! (Especially since they were brave enough to wander a couple dark alleyways...)

Ok, I tried embedding a slideshow....but to no use...soooooo you'll have to CLICK HERE till I get a new blog!! (Blogger is frustrating to me!)

And some eye candy.... ;)

I've Moved!

2008-07-17T08:03:00.000-07:00

Summer seems to have been a whirlwind for me so far! I've got several weddings and an engagement in the queue to blog for you, but I wanted to take a moment to let everyone know that I've moved!

Actually, I first moved in March. I now have a cozy little office in downtown San Jose (too messy for guests right now, but maybe later this year). I also have a permanent mailing address, and if you have anything to send to me, please send it to:

Jillian Kay Photography
88 S 3rd St #175
San Jose, CA 95113

In March I also moved into an apartment downtown with a roommate and her adorable cat. Unfortunately, the situation turned out to be less than perfect, and at the first of the month I found myself needing to move out quick! It took me less than 5 days find & sign a lease on a place downtown (that I absolutely LOVE), and I've spent the past two weeks moving like a mad-woman. Hopefully I'll be here for several years!

I also found out during that week that one of my best friends is moving at the end of the month to Virginia, and I'll admit, I'm heartbroken! As her wedding is coming up quick, and I am the maid of honor, I realized I only had a few weeks to plan a local bridal shower! Yikes! Luckily I had a wonderful planning partner who has been amazing and I am really looking forward to the shower this afternoon. I just hope I don't cry!

So, I apologize for any delays that may have occurred during the past few weeks, and I'm working feverishly to get caught up. If there is something you expected to receive, but have not, please send me an email!

Andrew & Caroline Wed!

2008-07-10T09:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a little over a month since Andrew & Caroline's amazing wedding, and I can't believe I haven't blogged it yet! (I'll post another blog about my crazy life at some point.)

Andrew and Caroline wed at the beautiful Stewart Chapel at the San Francisco Theological Seminary (http://web.sfts.edu/about/facility_weddings.asp), and had an intimate reception at a venue that I have grown to love, the Mill Valley Outdoor Arts Club (http://www.outdoorartclub.org/rental.html).

See this beautiful slideshow to see just how stunning Caroline looked on her wedding day, and even a cute photo of the Andrew doing the Macarana!

Wedding: Mandy & Seth!

2008-06-22T19:17:00.000-07:00

So for my first real post after my break, I am incredibly excited to show the photographs from Mandy & Seth's amazing wedding!! Mandy and Seth wed in Santa Cruz and had an extremely personal and fun day. Mandy made her dress (how do I get such talented brides?) which was absolutely perfect....it fit their personality and looked incredible. So unique!!

Mandy and her bridesmaids made all of the table centerpeices by hand, and each was just a work of art...beautifully crafted and incredibly unique. The bridesmaids wore vintage dresses and had these incredible umbrellas. Each bridesmaid wore a different headpiece....also handmade by Mandy. Really I could go on and on, but instead I'll let you get a taste from the photographs!

For the full show, see this slideshow!!

Or just take a peek here (sorry for the overload!):

Welcome Back!

2008-06-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! Miss me? I've missed you dearly.

I apologize for the unexpected blogging break...it was a short "downtime" that turned into several months! I promise that in the past months I've been just as passionate about photography...I just needed a little internet break. :) I've been working on many side projects in photography, as well as quite a few personal trips, a move, and a lot of fun.

Of course, now that wedding season is in full swing, I want to share all that photo goodness with you! I've got one wedding in the queue to show you, and another should be released this week. I'll got a couple more weddings to share with you in the next few weeks, along with an engagement shoot, and maybe even some personal projects along the way.

I'm going to try to commit myself to blogging each week, and someone needs to hold me accountable to that....and that someone is you! Feel free to email or leave a comment if you haven't seen your weekly bloggy love from me to you.

Welcome back to my blog!

Comedy Addiction!!

2008-02-28T01:27:00.000-08:00

Have I ever mentioned I love shooting comedians? (I know, only a few dozen times.) Well, this past shoot was awesome because instead of one comedian...I got four!! Karin, Mark (marklundholm.com), Jesse (jessejoyce.com), and Kurtis (sfcomedycollege.com) have teamed up for the Comedy Addiction Tour (http://www.comedyaddictiontour.com)!

"The Comedy Addiction Tour is a unique performance that combines groundbreaking theater with stand-up comedy. The result is a hilarious and enlightening event, whether you are in recovery or know someone that should be."

They are currently touring nationally, and I just lucked out getting them here in the Bay Area! They'll be in Washington next month, and Nashville in April so if you'll be in those areas definitely check them out! (They also promise they'll be back in the Bay Area eventually!)

Check out the website, and this slideshow!!

Mandy & Seth Engaged!

2008-02-15T10:10:00.000-08:00

Yet another engagement session on a soggy weekend! Luckily it just drizzled for Mandy & Seth's engagement session at History Park in San Jose. Mandy and Seth found me through a post on a blog (I think Brooklyn Bride)about Kenn & Sarai's wedding....I love blogs!!

I love that they got dressed up for the session (but weren't afraid to get a little dirty) it adds so much spunk to the photos! This is yet another session where my mind was stuck on the word "awesome" which it does from time to time. I think every tenth word I said was "awesome." In my defense, it was an awesome session!

So check out the AWESOME slideshow! :)

Jill & Michael Engaged!

2008-02-15T09:58:00.000-08:00

Jill,Michael and I headed out to Muir woods on a particularly soggy day and as soon as we got there it started to rain! Luckily we just waited it out, and once the rain was over the forest seemed more green and lush than I thought possible!

I'm a bit under the weather, so I'll just let the pictures do all the talking this time. How cute is this couple??!

See all the cuteness in the slideshow!

Nicole & Curtis

2008-01-08T02:11:00.000-08:00

Nicole was one of my best friends in college. She and I used to spend hours and hours talking, decoupaging, making t-shirts, laughing, designing mischief, carrying-out said designed mischief....and of course, chatting about cute guys.

Shortly after I moved away (*sniff sniff*) she started dating Curtis. :) I actually screamed out loud when I got the message that they were engaged!! When she asked if I would photograph her wedding, how could I refuse?!

Everything was beautiful, and Nicki put her personal decorating touch into everything! It was also very much a family affair: her grandmother helped put the final touches on her wedding gown, her mother and sisters baked and put together the beautiful bouquets, both families helped decorate, and her grandfather was their minister.

I stayed with Nicole the night before, and had to fight the urge to start taking pictures then (you know, here's the bride sleeping) but I managed to wait until the next morning. We woke up to the sound of my phone alarm...set to "large herd of sheep." It was so awesome just to get to hang out again, and it's funny how with some friends it never seems like time has passed. ;)

Not long after we got to the salon, Curtis sent Nicole a text message: "We're going to the chapel and we're...." It was so cute. I just nearly lost it right then. But I held it together through most of the day. We had a gorgeous day for photos, and I'm so glad they were up to my suggest to just hope in the truck (Curtis loves his truck) and go down the dirt road for photographs. I loooove the romantic way they turned out. When we started doing the portraits (after the ceremony), Curtis kissed Nicole and said sweetly "You're mine forever now." I nearly lost it again....

Anyway, I guess I could write a novel, but I'll go on to the photos. Nicki & Curtis, I just love you both to death, and I'm so happy for you!!

******Here's the beautiful slideshow!********

And some image overload:

At Home / No Email?

2007-12-22T18:32:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I'm cozy at home with my family in Texas. :) It looks like the server for my website may be experiencing some downtime, and I am not yet sure what the impact will be on email. So *please* just give me a call if you have any questions or need anything! I'll be happy to hear from you. 408-206-8684

Happy Holidays!
Jillian

Mike And Colleen - Slideshow!

2007-12-22T00:44:00.001-08:00

And another slideshow! So happy to share this with you. :)

(PS - I apologize for the quick posts, but I'm rushing to get these online before I leave for Texas! My shuttle comes for me at 3AM....ouch! But as always, I was too excited to wait. )

A few to tempt you...

Andrew & Caroline - Slideshow!

2007-12-22T00:40:00.000-08:00

Here's what we've been waiting for! :) Check out the beautiful slideshow!

And a few to wet your palette:

Mike And Colleen Engaged!

2007-12-14T02:39:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I had a second wonderful engagement shoot that I'd like to share some images from! Again, these are pre-sneak preview...kind of like getting to watch a leaked version of a clipping of a movie trailer....people get very excited about it! I'm excited about these too.

Colleen and Mike took me to Middle Harbor Park, and it was fascinating! You can see all the cargo ships go by, and look out on the bay, and it's just the cutest little park in the middle of all the huge industrial equipment...very cool. We also got to catch a beautiful sunset! I can't wait until the rest are done so I can share them with you!

Caroline & Andrew Engagement Pre-Sneak Peak!

2007-12-11T00:28:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! I'm doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work lately. That's what we wedding photographers do in the off season...we start messing with the system. :) We think about what worked great and what could have worked better. We analyze what we could do to make our clients' lives easier. :) I've been doing a lot of that, and I'll have a post on upcoming changes sometime this month I hope!

But the first change I want to introduce is the "pre-sneak peak"! In order to continue to create the highest quality images and present the bes-of-the-best in the slideshow, I've decided to make the slideshow once the images are all done editing. :) But I don't want anyone to wait long! So I'll be releasing a "pre-sneak peak", which will be a handful of images with minor edits. (Some images come out of the camera ready for the world, others I shoot with an artistic purpose in mind, and they take a little more time.) Of course, the exact form the final images will take may be different, but this will hold you over till it's all ready!

Caroline & Andrew!

Saturday afternoon I had the extreme pleasure of meeting Andrew and Caroline in the city (San Francisco for the non-locals) and we had a blast just wandering the neighborhoods around Grace Cathedral! I swear, it doesn't really matter where you go in San Francisco, it's all just amazing. :) Thanks so much Caroline & Andrew, and I can't wait to get your slideshow up! (I already know what song I want to use, and I keep humming it!)

Kate & John Engagement Photos!

2007-11-27T21:17:00.000-08:00

It's so exciting to be shooting engagement sessions for next year! Right as this year's wedding season is coming to an end (which is depressing...I'm going to miss everyone so much!)...a new group of wonderful couples is popping up. :)

John & Kate were so much fun to shoot! We met at San Francisco's Fort Mason last Saturday and explored all the different fun places to photograph. The were up for anything...including wall walking and tree climbing!! I love all the color that we found, and how the overcast sky did wonderful things with the light...gorgeous!

Don't you just adore Kate's red hair?!!

Check out my favorites in the slideshow!

Leslie on Bourbon Street

2007-11-20T01:27:00.000-08:00

So one of the really fun activities of the New Orleans trip was a funky night bridal shoot! We split into groups, and I was delighted to be in the group with Leslie as our model! Leslie's not a real model....she could be...but she's actually in law school. She was married a couple years back, and donned the dress for us for some really fun images!

She was such a great sport, I know it's not easy when there is a full set of paparazzi following you around! A bleach-blonde wearing a pink barbie dress and a "Miss Planet Beach" sash walked by, and I overheard one of her friends say "They should photograph you!". But no one even turned around! We were much too glued to Leslie! Part way through the session, a fire truck came (not for fire, for a medical emergency) and for about 90 seconds we had Leslie stand in front of it. :) Then we got out of the way!

This was a great learning experience for me and I think I'm going to ask for some fun lighting for Christmas. :) (Even though most were just taken with available light, there were a couple where a small video light took the image in a whole new direction!)

Super Fun Slideshow!

My fav's:

Gregg & Suzi's Sunset Wedding!

2007-11-15T00:19:00.000-08:00

This post is loooooong overdue! Don't worry, I didn't make Suzi & Gregg (or their guests) wait this long, I just hadn't gotten around to putting it down in the blog for the rest of the world...but it's worth the wait!

I arrived at the Mark Hopkin's hotel just a wee bit early and ended up having some time with Suzi before her make-up artists arrived. It was so much fun! I love when I get to have that kind of one-on-one time, and I really believe that I connected with Gregg and Suzi better throughout the day because of it! Photography is really an emotional art and connecting is so important. Not to mention it was just fun to hang out...I love my job!

Schedules don't always go as planned but this one seemed to have a mind of it's own...a mind that said "please let the ceremony happen in front of the most gorgeous sunset ever!!" So while we were running a little late it couldn't have been more perfect timing! Cliff House is a beautiful , intimate venue overlooking the bay and the views from the terrace are just stunning.

At the moment when the winding introduction of "Bittersweet Symphony" reached it's peak and the opening verse was sung, Suzi stepped through the curtain and into the ceremony and I just caught my breath, almost forgetting where I was. Luckily, I kept photographing. :)

Well...I suppose I ought to let the pictures describe how stunning it was.

View the beautiful SLIDESHOW.

And see my favorites:

My "New Orleans Experience"

2007-11-10T20:17:00.000-08:00

A week ago Saturday I photographed a wonderful wedding! I'm excited to share Suzi & Gregg's images, but since I'm still in Texas, that will have to wait a couple of days. I left on Sunday to go to New Orleans for one of my many photography conferences, which was just wonderful!

It was so awesome to meet a few of my good friends (who I'd spoken to by phone and email, but never gotten to hug)! It was also a lot of fun to make new friends and get to spend time with friends I'd made earlier in the year. The conferences are always a great mix of hanging out, learning, and fun photoshoots. Hopefully I'll have some images up from the photoshoot I attended soon. :)

This past week was also my first ever trip to New Orleans, and I loved it! That's my kind of place...so much color, people everywhere, just a total celebration of life and friendship! I hope to get to go back sometime soon. We drank on Bourbon St, ate hot wings, had a couple amazing night time photoshoots, and listened to really inspiring presentations...but my favorite "New Orleans Experience" happened Wednesday night.

It was late afternoon, and I had just decided to cut my time in Nola short so that I could swing by Texas to visit my family, who I hadn't seen since Christmas. After springing the news on my parents I started to get a little emotional, so I decided to take a walk. I walked to an internet cafe a few blocks off, and just got all of the teariness out of my system along the way. The people I met on the streets were so kind and available to help with anything. I spent some time catching up on my email, printing directions for my drive to Texas, and finally looked up and realized I'd allowed the city to grow dark.

Walking back to the hotel, I took a path a few blocks off the main strip to avoid the crowd. The people I passed weren't tourists, they were locals hanging out at lesser known cafes and bars. I walked a few blocks and began to come up on a corner where a man and a woman were singning. This was the first live music I'd heard on the streets, and it really hit me that in a town so known for it's music, I'd really not heard any.

The woman was likely in her 30s, the man in his 50s. The were singing some old blues song that I didn't recognize, and I glanced at a totally empty tip box as I walked by. Having just come from the ATM, I had knew I had 20s, but I stopped and searched till I found a single dollar bill to toss in.

She said thank you, and I escaped a few steps before he reached forward and said "wait a minute, we oughta sing you a special song....what do you want to hear?" he listed blues and jazz musicians I was embarrasingly unfamiliar with, so I asked him to pick his favorite. Even hidden behind huge dark sunglasses, I could tell his eyes were looking more in my general direction than at me.

I didn't recognize the first song, but they were incredible. I danced along as best I could... just me dancing to the music of a couple of street performers on a corner. And I thought "this is the New Orleans experience I want to have".

That song finished and they immediately moved in to "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" by the Temptations. The man began to show me how to clap, and gently asked for my hands and started swinging me around so gracefully. I'm not a very good follower, because I never trust the lead dancer enough....but I was twirled in and out and moved side to side, just like a grandfather would teach a granddaughter how to dance. It was so much fun!

The whole time I began to notice the little things you couldn't easily tell in the dim light. How tattered their clothes were, but clean and pressed. When he'd re-adjust his glasses, you could faintly see the damage to his eyes, the white that had overcome them. The wear on their shoes. I was reminded of how incredibly difficult the previous years must have been for these two, and how so many people would have stopped singing. And I squeezed this man's hands tight in mine, and felt so humbled and amazed to have been in the very spot I was dancing.

When they started the next song, I regrettably had to make an apologetic exit. I couldn't stay and dance all night, alone on a dark street corner. I hastily pulled a 20 out of my purse, handed it to the lady, gave a hug to the man, and turned away...feeling a slight sense of satisfaction in my donation.

Then I heard, ever so faintly, the woman say to the blind man "it's a 20". It was the sound of quiet relief in her voice that struck me. I thought of the song "King of New Orleans" and the line "probably make 20 dollars 'fore the weekends over", and I was overcome by how rediculously small that was to me, and how incredibly important it was to them.

And I wept the rest of the way back.

Of all the things I'll remember about New Orleans...that was the most powerful, that was the most perspective changing.

The next day I hopped in a rental and made my way home to see my family! It's been a really wonderful visit over the past couple of days, and I can't wait to be back at Christmas. I'll be flying back to California tomorrow night, and everything should be back to normal by Monday. If you're waiting to hear back from me, just hang in for another day!

Eco - Friendly Wedding Tips!

2007-10-26T14:59:00.000-07:00

As the wedding season winds down entirely, and I become more occupied with the holidays, I'll have fewer and fewer lovely photos to show you! So I want to start introducing you to some of the thousands and thousands of awesome ideas I encounter through the blogs and websites I follow. I thought this was a perfect one to start with.

Preston Bailey,whose event designs are incredibly lush and glamorous, has recently started his own blog: http://www.prestonbailey.blogspot.com/ ! This is so very exciting for me. :)

He recently posted tips on how to have an ecco-friendly wedding, my favorites are:

- Have your ceremony and reception at the same site so your guests do not have to drive from place to place.
- Choose a botanical garden or greenhouse as your venue. Not only are you surrounded by lush natural beauty, but the site fee goes to support the garden.
- By serving local wines, you incorporate your setting, and also cut down on carbon costs.
- Most food banks do not except perishable food, but organizations like Second Harvest (http://www.secondharvest.org/how_to_help/donate_food/) will collect the food from the reception and use it to feed the hungry.

Check out all his wonderful tips here: http://prestonbailey.blogspot.com/2007/10/eco-chic-weddings.html

Thanks Preston!

Matt & Ligaya Wed!

2007-10-24T00:20:00.000-07:00

When I first met with Ligaya to discuss her wedding, we sat down at a booth in Green's Restaurant where the reception would be held. She asked cautiously about having the bride & groom meet before the wedding, and I don't quite remember what I said, but it made her cry.

On Sunday, Ligaya made me cry when the "first meting" actually happened. It's hard to keep photographing when you're all choked up! It was just the most powerful moment, I was totally in awe of how awesome it was.

I have so many photos to share, please enjoy the slideshow!

The girls had Ligaya put tissue paper over her head so she wouldn't get makeup on the dress...

....once the tissue paper was off, she was really stunning:

Matt had Erin (the florist, http://erintait.com) make a "bouquet" of roses made out of spinach, prosciutto, and cheese as part of an inside joke...and he brought them to her for the first meeting. I think the funniest part is that in the photos, they look really pretty! Almost like they aren't made of meat! :)

The first meeting:

A few portraits:

A quick one from the ceremony:

Ligaya is also a florist (http://florantedesign.com), so I knew that all the floral arrangements would be amazing! These are by her florist, Erin Tait (http://erintait.com)

Matt & Ligaya planned for their reception to start at sunset, so that their guests could view this gorgeous sunset over the bay:

They didn't plan on having a first dance....but when they started dancing no one could stop watching them long enough to join:

I heard everyone laugh, but didn't know why until I scanned the photos in my camera...if you look closely, you can see him eating her nose. :)

Thank you for a gorgeous evening!! Can't wait for you to see these when you get back from your honeymoon!

Sarai & Kenn Getting Kudos!

2007-10-22T22:49:00.000-07:00

I follow a blog (one of like 240 right now...but I'm trying to cut down I promise!) called "Offbeat Bride" (http://offbeatbride.com/) that's all about being different and having your own radical style on your wedding day! It's pretty awesome.

I thought the lack of sleep after my wedding yesterday was starting to get to me, when I saw a post about Kenn & Sarai! It had a link to another blog "Brooklyn Brides" (which just became #241 in my bloglines feeder)

Check it out here: http://bklynbride.blogspot.com/2007/10/real-wedding-inspiration-sarai-kenn.html

Basically they posted to give Sarai and Kenn major kudos for all the personal hand-crafted touches on their wedding day! (Ie, hand silk-screened invitations, handmade wedding gown, table runners, table numbers, floral arrangments, gorgeous bird cage veil, etc etc etc) I know I've mentioned it all before...but seriously, I am still in awe too!

Part of what I love about these blogs is that they exist purely to help inspire and inform other brides. Really, if you're a bride and you're not reading blogs you are missing out on such wonderful information! Be inspired, heed cautions, take time saving tips, and just share your experience! If you start a blog, please let me know...I'd love to make you #242...#243....#251...:)

Aaron's Headshots!

2007-10-10T00:45:00.000-07:00

Aaron Rodriguez was a blast to shoot last Saturday! He was originally signed up for a mini-session, but due to a crazy acting related accident, had a broken nose at that time! Ouch! So we moved our session to October, and luckily the nose looked great!

Aaron is starting a new career in acting, and needed a few headshots and general portraits just to get a portfolio started. My job is pretty easy, don't you think? ;-)

Here are a few of my favorites! (If "a few" equals "a lot.")

Elizabeth & Marcello Engagement Session!

2007-09-23T01:39:00.001-07:00

I drove up to Tiburon last Sunday to meet Elizabeth and Marcello for a beautiful engagement session! (Yay! I've started engagement sessions for the 2008 season!) We viewed their church and reception location, ate a really awesome pizza, I met their cat Tattinger, and we even made Marcello put his fingers in his ears so Elizabeth could tell me about her dress!

Oh, and we took photos too! It was such a lovely afternoon, and Tiburon is an adorable community. We drove along the water front, and took pictures in a wonderful variety of locations. Since I've never been there before, it was really an adventure for me.

Elizabeth & Marcello were really great in front of the camera, and chose splendid locations. Thank you both so very much!

Here's the beautiful slideshow!

And my highlights:

Kenn And Sarai

2007-09-21T00:41:00.001-07:00

Last Friday Kenn and Sarai exchanged vows in the beautiful Brazil building at Tilden Park. I just melted into the delicious details of this wedding! Everything was so personal and vibrant! Sarai silk screened her invitations, made her dress, decorated, did the floral arrangements....everything, and it was incredible!

The guests were asked to wear hats "because hats are festive", and Kenn and Sarai looked like they had just stepped out of an old romantic movie. I'm still stunned! I can't possibly describe how wonderful everything was...

...so watch the slideshow!

Mini-Sessions!

2007-09-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

These were SO MUCH FUN! A little hectic, cause I've never done so many back-to-back shoots, but I loved it! I think I need to do this again...well...maybe once I've slept more. ;)

I had four incredible mini-shoots... Here's the slideshow of all my sneak peaks!

Arielle was every bit of a 4 year old little girl. She had all her own ideas for posing and locations, and pretty much ran the show (and did a great job)! She even insisted on carrying the chair everywhere, even though it was as big as she was. Too cute!!

Micah was all boy! He's three, and loves trains, horses, and making silly faces. :) I don't know much about horses or trains, but I sure love silly faces! We trotted his little horse all around the buildings and up the trees and down the sidewalk. He had so much energy! Wow!

Darcy is 9, and she's already a model, actress, and soccer star! She's got these amaaaazing blue sparkly eyes that just pop right out of no where! And shoes...check out those shoes! I want those! I think Darcy's legs are already longer than mine, so I have to say I was a little jealous. ;)

After all the kids, it was kind of fun to end the day with Stephanie, who is all grown up. :) She's embarking on a new career in voice-overs, and I'm so excited for her! Stephanie is incredible, sweet, and talented! And I know what you look like doesn't matter so much with voice-overs...but she's gorgeous!

Thanks everyone, the day went so smoothly and I had so much fun!!

Sandy

2007-09-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

So by now, I think you probably recognize awesome comedienne Sandy! We had a couple photoshoots last year...(Evidence A and Evidence B)....and since she changed her hair again, it was time for another! :) Sandy's been a client of mine since I very first picked up on this photography thing, so it's been so much fun to get to shoot with her again and again, cause I get to use new skills each time, and she's always a blast!

This time we even got to sneak into her studio where she's a DJ for Mix 106.5, and I got to see how a radio station works! Yay! Anyway, hope you love her new hair as much as I do, I think she's gorgeous!

Here's the Show....

And my fav's:

Jeff & Josh

2007-09-15T20:03:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I had an incredible marathon of portrait shoots, and I had so much fun! Instead of ten mini-shoots, I ended up with 2 full sessions and 4 mini sessions (which adds up to about the same amount of time). So I'll blog about each of the full sessions and then do a blog about the mini sessions. Be prepared! It's a flood of awesome images!!

First off! Jeff Applebaum is a very funny man! So funny, he's even a comedian. :) Throughout the whole shoot he did impersonations and voices and just really pulled out all the stops! His son, Josh, also joins his act sometimes, so he joined the photo shoot too. Josh is awesome. He only did one impersonation though....of his dad! Ha!

Thanks guys for such a fun morning! You got the day off to a great start!

Here's the slideshow:

And my favs:

Up up and away!

2007-09-11T15:27:00.000-07:00

Up again....but I am now researching more reliable hosting. Thanks again for your continued patience, I am terribly sorry for any inconvenience.

Jillian

Website Down

2007-09-11T10:13:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that once again I seem to be having host/server issues. My website is currently down, and I am investigating the issue.

Email seems to be working, however, the most reliable way to contact me today will be by phone 408-206-8684.

Thanks again for your patience, and check back in a couple of days for some AWESOME fun photos from my photo-shoot marathon this past weekend!!

We're Back!

2007-09-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

Looks like the email and website are backup, but I'm afraid that any emails sent on 9/2 or 9/3 may have been lost. I am so incredibly sorry for the inconvenience, but if you think I should have responded to an email you sent, please either resend, or give me a call...or both! (I'd love to hear from you anyway!)

Thank you! - Jillian

ps - Denial of Service hackers are mean!

Email/Site is Down

2007-09-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! I'm so sorry to say, but I just found out my website host is down for a bit. I don't know how long, but I dont have email or a website right now. Please just give me a direct call if you have any questions or just to chat. :)

408-206-8684

Thanks everyone for your patience!!
Jillian

8 things

2007-08-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged. :) It's a big game of "tag" that our community of photographers is playing right now. Katy Regnier tagged me, so I need to share with you 8 weird things about myself.

1. I can write backwards! I used to practice when I was bored in class during college. mostly cursive, some print. If only I knew Italian and were a genious, I'd be just like da Vinci!

2. My favorite toys were always stationery and office supplies. I hoarded stickers, notepads, and pencils from a young age. For my 12th birthday, I got this huge box with office supplies like pencils and paper clips and a stapler and pencil sharpener and hole punch...I LOVED it.

3. When I was little (maybe 8?) I wrote a song about a rutabaga. Unfortunately, I didn't know what a rutabaga was, so I didn't want to sing it to anyone just in case it was a dirty word. I still know this song.

4. There was a time in my life when I had a real dislike for circles. Just didn't want anything to do with them. They made me uneasy, and I have no idea why. We're on speaking terms again, but I still prefer squares and rectangles.

5. My 4th grade (?) science teacher asked my parents if we were from England. (They are from the Midwest, and I grew up in Texas.) Evidently I was very proper.

6. I have three goldfish, and I call them "my little piggies." I try to spend a little time each day saying hi to them, and they like to come up to the glass and make faces at me when I do.

7. I am afraid of very little, but I have an unnatural fear of falling off a cliff in a moving vehicle. It's horrible! The last time I went white-water rafting, the bus driver was going really fast up those tiny mountain-side roads...I was so terrified I was sobbing and shaking uncontrollably, and my friend TJ had to hold me.

8. I can't do basic math. Yes, I'm an Engineer. But I nearly failed my Cal III course because we weren't allowed calculators on tests, and I got many of the addition and multiplication steps wrong, so my answers were always off. I had good math teachers...but for some reason addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division just never stuck with me. I still try to practice though, such as trying to figure out how much change I should get back, or adding random two digit numbers in my head while driving. There's always hope. :)

Ok, now I get to tag 8 people!

Lisa Dawn
Jason Tench
Nichanh Petersen
Melissa Ochoa
Laura Siivola
Juliet Nicole
Carey Schumacher
Manus Chau

Nate & Kristi Married!

2007-08-23T00:16:00.000-07:00

Up a tiny little winding road near Santa Cruz, through twisty little turns lined with redwoods, there is a beautiful B&B named "Redwood Croft", where Nate and Kristi were married this past Saturday. What a beautiful location!!

Kristi was an absolutely stunning bride, and Nate was of course his incredibly entertaining self. I had so much fun just watching them interact! The wedding was beautiful and simple with a country elegance. Kristi wore this amazing necklace that was a gift from her Grandfather to her Grandmother ....on their high school prom night!

A friend performed the ceremony and it was wonderfully touching, I think he got more choked up than anyone. Kristi's brother was her "Man of Honor", and he was just too sweet! He didn't wear a dress (evidently it was discussed), but stood by the ladies with pride. :) The entire party was just filled with genuinely nice wonderful people, which makes my job so incredible. Thank you everyone!

A sweet slideshow!

And my favorites of the day:

Wedding Budgets!

2007-08-22T11:52:00.000-07:00

So now that I'm done with school, one thing I hope add to my weekly routine is more posting in my blog! I read 265 blogs a day (yes, each day, through my Bloglines feeder), and I come across a million ideas, tons of articles, and really great advice.

Of course, I'm not a bride, so they aren't helping me (though I do get excited about it as if I were a bride). I'd love to pass some of the information along to you! Here's the first installment.

Today I found a link to Ramit Sethi's financial blog "I Will Teach You To Be Rich". This is not a wedding based blog, and this was my first time to visit, so it was quite a coincidence that the latest post was about wedding financials!

Why Are We All Hypocrites About Weddings?

The article is about saving, budgeting, prioritizing, etc. I love that, even as a financial expert, he doesn't condemn spending your money on your wedding, but he does firmly advocate really planning and sticking to your plan, so that it doesn't become a financial hardship.

I'm adding Ramit to by blogroll (so make that 266 daily blogs), and looking forward to more great advice!

I'll have images and a slideshow up from Nate & Kristi's wedding very soon! Stay tuned...

Tess' Bat Mitzvah Party!

2007-08-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

So why did I fly to LA this weekend? To shoot the most fabulous incredible party of course! Now I've been to a lot of birthday parties, but I was just blown away by Tess's Bat Mitzvah party. With 200+ of her closest friends and family, Tess celebrated at the fabulous Writer's Bootcamp facility in Santa Monica, nestled in an impressive little artists' community. The location could not have been more perfect!

And of course, Tess' mom pulled out all stops to make this the most memorable party ever! It was like the "My Sweet 16" show on TV, except Tess is much too sweet to be on that show (and a few years younger)! Seriously though, that was the candy buffet to end all candy buffets. WOW.

Some of you may recognize Tess and her family since Kylene is her older sister and one of my brides from earlier this year. It was just a blast to get to see everyone again, and I think we need to invent another event so that I have the opportunity to visit again!

Here is the fun fun slideshow!

Isn't she gorgeous?

I think Tess is already better in heels than I am. :)

The party was decorated in a Marie Antoinette Candy Shop them, and was called "Tess' Candy Revolution"...it featured the most incredible candy buffet you've ever seen, along with a coffee bar, ice cream bar, sushi bar, Jewish fortune teller, caricature artist, photo booth, perfumery, and of course dancing!

Younger guests were served a very special (non-alcoholic) "Tess-tini"!

The highlight of the evening was Tess' performance!! She wrote and choreographed her own song, and showed the music video then came out and performed! She's got an incredible voice, and amazing stage presence and energy. You will be seeing her again...

I'm Alive!!!

2007-08-10T12:08:00.001-07:00

Oh my goodness, I am so sorry that it has been so long since I've posted! Things have been more than a little crazy here.

1. I AM A MASTER. A master of *what* is quite debatable, but very soon I will receive a piece of paper stating that I have completed the requirements for my Masters degree. I am excited. Really excited to have that 20-25 hours back each week! So yay for me!

2. I AM DEMONSTRATED. Finally, after a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and shooting each other with foam disc guns....our team at work finished the integration successfully, and we gave the demo....to ourselves at 9pm at night...but still, mission accomplished.

3. I AM BECOMING AN ULTIMATE FIGHTER. Ok, not really, but I have started personal training twice a week. Boot camp left me injured all the time, so I realized I needed more personalized attention. Once my body gets used to the routine, I'll amp it up and go more often. My biggest personal challenge?: Balance. Not kidding. I can do pretty much anything...except stand on one foot or the other. This is seriously something we work on every time, and I fail miserably. I'm supposed to practice a lot at home. Hey, I broke bones in both my feet in college (at different times), so I blame it on that. I'm a little sore today but I like my trainer, Tai, so I'm not too mad at him.

4. I AM EDITING LIKE CRAZY. Seriously. I am trying to get everything out the door as fast as possible, and I hope to be fully caught up by the end of next week. Hey, a girl has to have goals!

5. I AM LEAVING YOU. But just for a day. I'll be going to Los Angeles on Sunday morning and returning Monday morning. I've got a fabulous party to shoot, and I'll tell you a little more about it when I get back. :)

Sorry for the blog neglect, but I assure you I am alive, well, and happily occupied. How is summer going for everyone?!

Mini-Session Marathon: Sunday, September 9th

2007-07-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love shooting portraits, and after last week's family session, I realized how few I've gotten to do lately! That's because I love weddings even more....and I've had to schedule so very few portraits in order to make the most time for my wedding clients. With my normal sessions (1-2 hours at sunset), I can only do one a day! Well, with only a few evenings left available this year, I wanted to do something special to fit in more portraits.

So I thought I'd set up a day do to "mini-sessions": Half-hour sessions with individuals in a single location (downtown San Jose) . So this September 9th I have 10 slots lined up! I'm hoping that the price and timing will make these sessions available to people who have been putting it off until now.

These sessions would be great for anyone needing to start a basic headshot portfolio or make a quick update to one. They would also be great for anyone wanting to put their best face forward on a dating site or myspace! Need to finally send mom a photo to replace your Senior photo from a decade ago? What about that personal or professional website that still has that photo of you in your grey cube? There are a million reasons to need a professional portrait. Mostly, though, it's just fun!!

Please go HERE for more information!! Registration is first come/first serve: http://jilliankay.com/jkmini.html

The Izatt Family!

2007-07-21T16:16:00.001-07:00

Well, it's always a little nerve-wrecking to photograph someone who's photography you greatly admire!! Dustin Izatt, of Digital Izatt Photography and his family (wife Tiffany, daughters Kyleigh & Madison, and new baby boy Cameron) are on a California vacation from Utah and allowed me to take some family portraits.

Of course, I was tickled pink to see Tiffany and Dustin again and finally get to meet the kiddos! We photographed a little in the city, and then headed out to Baker's Beach for the sunset.

Thanks so much for sharing your family with me, I had so much fun!! Oh, and thank you for the delicious (and entertaining) dinner afterwards...I think I was too distracted talking to the girls to really say it last night. You have a really delightful family, and I hope to see you in January!

Here are all my favorites in a slideshow!

What's going on?!

2007-07-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

Many of you may have realized by now it's taking just a tad longer to answer email and get things in the mail than normal. :) Please accept my sincerest apologies! Nothing big is going on, it's just all the little things that add up...

1. Tuesday I graduated from my company's leadership development program! It is a 3 year program, which involves 3 leadership conferences, community service, technical curriculum, rotational assignments, etc. For graduation we had a luncheon (that lasted 3 hours!)...so now I'm a little behind at work. (I think that's borderline irony.)

2. At work, we have a demonstration coming up soon, and our team keeps shrinking which means that I'm doing more and more work...I've been working a bit later than normal to keep up, but I think we're going to make it!

3. My master's degree will be done in less than 20 days! Wow! I'm so excited. I won't be going to graduation. I think that's part of my celebration....having the choice NOT to go to campus! LOL. Unfortunately that also means it's crunch time, and I'm frantically putting together my final individual presentation in addition to finishing up the team activities for my outsourcing class. (I'm team lead right now, so I can't slack off.)

4. Wedding season just peaked!! Most of my weddings this year were from late May through early July...so those are all shot now. (*sigh*, it was so much fun, I'm a little sad the rush is over!) Now the real work begins, as I definitely put more time in after each wedding to get the images edited & album created. So I've got a lot of editing to do! I'll also be working with couples on their albums, sending out DVDs, and even booking couples for 2008!

On top of all of that, I had a little stomach bug (or something) over the weekend so I lost a little bit of time while lying on the floor moaning. :) I'm all better now, though. I've been coping by keeping my instant messenger off, making copious to-do lists, adjusting my sleep schedule, avoiding the social scene, and taking a walk when I can to help keep me relaxed and focused. :)

So, it's a very exciting time for me right now with so very many of my dreams coming to fruition. Please accept my sincerest apologies for any delay, and know that my clients are still my very top priority. Tonight is "dvd night"...and I'll be making as many as I can to put in the mail tomorrow morning. I might even watch a dvd while I do it. :)

Off to class now! :)

Kim & Ben!

2007-07-18T04:14:00.000-07:00

Ben is a coworker and friend of mine, and it's been wonderful to get to know Kim over the past year. I was ever so excited to get to photograph their wedding on Saturday!

It's way late (4am), so I'll keep my normal chatter short, but I think the images speak volumes anyway.

Thank you both soooo much for an incredible day, it was an awesome honor to witness your marriage, both as a photographer and as a friend. Kim, your dress was indeed prettier than any other bride that day. :) Ben, I don't think you really need to worry about the competition from the muscle man...

Slideshow here!

OK, so you guys know me well enough by now to know that when I'm tired...I'm terrible at picking favorites...so here are a ton! I hope it's not to many for your internet connection to handle. (oh, and funny story about the muscle man all the way at the bottom!)

Congratulations!

So we're walking in the park doing a few portraits....and we all stop to look and wonder..."Why on earth is that man orange?!" We determine that he is one of many body builders in the park doing amateur body building portfolio shots, and I jokingly mention "hey you could go take a photograph with him!" To my surprise, Kim said "Sure!".

Not really knowing what to say, and being a bit tired, I just went up to the man and said (not kidding, I actually said this!) "We like your body, can my bride take a photo with you?"

He looked at me stunned for a minute, and then his friend said "yeah!", and he said "awesome!" and we spent about 90 seconds with him doing different poses. It was hilarious, but I still do not know what possessed me to say "We like your body." I guess that's a compliment to a body builder though, so I'm not ashamed.

07/07/07

2007-07-11T00:56:00.000-07:00

Robert & Elizabeth were married this past Saturday...the hottest wedding day of the century! The "luckiest" day was shared by 38,000 couples around the world...but I got to photograph the best one!

Here's the incredible (if a tad long) slideshow!

And my favorites...

Champagne! The guys were hilarious as they tried to open a bottle that wasn't cooperating...

Elizabeth was, of course, absolutely stunning:

St. Ambrose Church is INCREDIBLE:

As you can see, Rob & Elizabeth don't actually need any luck. :)

6 hours left in the blog-a-thon!

2007-07-10T12:26:00.000-07:00

And they are givin away a Whale watching trip! Go here for more details: http://throughtheireyesafrica.typepad.com/blog/

(Confused? See the previous entry. )

Post 100 - For a Good Cause

2007-07-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

Yay! So this is my 100th blog post! I couldn't be happier than to use it for a wonderful cause: the Through Their Eyes project.

A fellow photographer is holding a special blogathon today for his "Through Their Eyes" Africa project. This project benefits areas of Africa where it seems most or all adults have died (generally of aids and malaria) and the children are left with little aid. His team of influencial photographers will be partnering with Global Hope Network International (GHNI) in their aid trips, and will be working to give people in these areas a voice.

The photographers will provide members of the villages with equipment and training so that they may photograph their lives, and give them a global voice to tell the world about their community, and the conditions they face. The photographs will be collected and exhibited around the world, in order to bring awareness and relief on a scale that could not be accomplished with one organization.

Through photography, the people will have a way to communicate their lives, their needs, their culture, and their joys...without the need for a translator.

This project can't move forward without funding. To learn more & to donate, please visit:

www.throughtheireyesafrica.typepad.com
Through Their Eyes Website

Keep an eye out on the Through Their Eyes blog, they'll be posting once an hour every hour for the next 24 hours. There will be some special surprises & giveaways, so check back often!

Matt & Ligaya E-Session!

2007-07-04T15:52:00.001-07:00

I love engagement sessions! Unfortunately, this was my last e-session with 2007 couples, so I was a little sad. But luckily I'm starting to book for 2008, so it shouldn't be too long!

Ligaya & Matt wanted engagement photos that really reflected who they are and what they love to do, and I think they came up with some great ways to show it! I love all the ideas they had!

See all the fun in the slideshow....

First we took a few photos at Fort Mason, which has awesome red doors everywhere!

Then we headed up to the park with this oh-so-cute (but sporty) bike for two!! I've never seen one of those in real life, so it was really awesome. They went pretty fast!

After the bike ride, they relaxed with a little wine...

Then down to Aquatic Park, where Matt loves to swim.

Finally headed to Buena Vista Cafe for Irish Coffee!

These are two of my favorite images ever...

Smished Up - The Aftermath...

2007-06-27T23:47:00.000-07:00

So I blogged on Saturday about how I smished up my car. It's really not bad, I've been driving it around. Tomorrow I take it into the shop to start repairs, so I thought I'd take some photos. But it was already dark outside.

Could I just be like any normal person and put my point & shoot in flash mode? Of course not! I'm too much of a dork for that! I pulled out the Zack Arias method and used a flash, a light stand, a bounce umbrella, two pocket wizards, and my best camera equipment.

Yes, I had two people stop on the sidewalk to watch me, and several cars drove by very slowly. I'm sure they were like "how can you shoot a hot model on the hood of a car...if there's no hot model? we are waiting for a hot model!"

It took about 10 minutes shooting plus 10 minutes processing (including the time it took to decide on a new license plate)...and that's probably waaaay too long. :)

So, here's my smished up car, prior to taking her into the shop. (Sorry honey! No more figgies while driving you!)

It's been kind of a long stressful week, so this was the kind of humor I needed. :)

Balmy Alley-Cats

2007-06-26T00:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday afternoon I drove up to San Francisco to meet Kenn & Sarai for their engagement session! They chose Balmy Alley, a famous alley in the Mission district known for it's vivid murals on almost every garage and fence (or other paintable surface). I love color and funk, so Balmy is my cup of tea.

I did run into one problem. About half way through I realized I'd said the word "awesome" about 6 million times, and could not stop. I was stuck. I tried to fight it....but failed. Sarai and Kenn must have thought I was a little nuts. (I am, but that's hardly why.) So I guess I just have to say this was an overall "awesome" engagement shoot!

Here is the awesome slideshow, and below are a few of my awesome favorites!

(This one is not their fault...they indulged me in a little "Where the Wild Things Are" humor!)

Mr & Mrs!

2007-06-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

William and Tiana were married this past Saturday in San Jose with style! I had so much fun with their friends and family...like I said in my last post...I just danced all night! (Yes, I'm the dancing photographer, it's just too much fun not to! Besides, it helps me keep beat...and people do interesting things on the beat!)

Anyway, here are my favorite images from the day, and you can find more in the beautiful slideshow!

Beautiful Tiana getting ready...

They had this beautiful cool old car (with a fun driver) for the day, and they couldn't resist some fun photos with it!

At the hotel, we found some beautiful light in the VIP lounge on the top floor!

Everyone danced and danced and danced at the reception...and when they looked like they needed a little camera break...I photographed the shadows!

The couple danced the last dance surrounded by all their friends and family....and the night ended with a huge group hug!

Congratulations!!

Smished-Up

2007-06-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

I'm just going to put this little announcement here, since most of my friends and family read my blog, and to let everyone from the wedding know that it's all okay!

Yesterday on the way from a ceremony to a reception....I was trying to get open a box of fig newtons and read directions, and *crunch*....I rear ended the pick-up truck in front of me. I felt sooo bad! Luckily no one appeared to be hurt (it was a rather slow speed accident), and the truck didn't appear to sustain damage.

My car's hood is smished up, and the front part of the body seems to be a bit cracked...but it works! The car seems to run just fine, no one is hurt, and I made it to the reception on time. Seriously, the first thing that occurred to me when I hit the truck was "oh, no, now I'm going to be late to the reception." This was followed very shortly with "oh dear, I hope no one was hurt!"

One of the bridesmaids spotted me on the side of the road and very sweetly pulled over to make sure I was okay. I think she was more worried than I was! Of course, the word got around, and all the moms were so sweet to ask me if I was ok, and if I needed anything. I just kept telling them, "It's okay, no one was hurt, and it's just a car." And I mean it....it's just a car. Being at the reception was far more important to me than worrying about a silly vehicle.

I danced my cares away & had a great time at the reception! The only aches and pains I have today are those I can directly relate to carrying equipment (and I have those every week), so everything is fine. I am now driving very carefully. Very very.

Thanks so much to everyone at the wedding for looking out for me, it was so sweet of you! I'll have your sneak-peak slide-show out very soon!

Free the Dress!

2007-06-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

I'll admit, I'm in love with the Trash-the-Dress fad that sweeping the nation. It's so artistic and passionate and sexy! I was lucky enough to have a bride request this last year, and we had so much fun in the pond outside of the Palace of Fine Arts...she looked so graceful, just like a swan! The juxtaposition of such a beatiful gown, in such irreverent and unexpected conditions has a very high-art/high-fashion vibe...a photographer's dream!

I love the idea of breathing new life into the dress, using it to it's fullest, and having incredible photos to remember it. No, not really to remember the dress....to remember how the bride looked and felt in the dress, how she held herself, how she glowed! After all, it's really not about the dress.

But I also realize that many brides simply don't like the idea of purposefully getting their dress icky. That's okay! Unfortunately, I think the popularity of the "trash the dress" phrase has left a bad impression. You can always do a post-wedding session....without trashing the dress! I'd like to call this a "Free the Dress" photography session. Here's an example of a "Trash the Dress" session a group of us did for fun...but never really got the dress dirty!

Now, the more willing you are to just have fun, the more amazing the photos will be. However, we certainly don't need to seek out mud or stains. A normal amount of dirt (which you probably got on the wedding day) can be fixed at the cleaners. So, I just want to remind all the brides that post-wedding photos don't have to be "trashy" to be stunning!

Here's another idea on how not to let your dress become moth-food in the closet:

1. After the wedding have a "Free the Dress" photo session.*
2. Get it cleaned.
3. Donate your dress to Brides Against Breast Cancer or another qualified charitable gown organization.
4. Show me the receipt!
5. Choose your complimentary gift: a 20 page coffee-table style (non-flush mount) album, or a gallery style 11x14 canvas print!
6. Receive my heartfelt thanks for helping another bride feel just as beautiful as you did on your wedding day!

(*Tell me your intentions at the shoot, so I can be careful not to suggest anything that would rip or otherwise permanently damage the gown.)

Andrew and Bianca Married!

2007-06-17T18:16:00.001-07:00

I had such a wonderful time yesterday with Andrew and Bianca! Their wedding was so...Andrew & Bianca. It's hard to describe, but it really was intimate, personal, and just naturally beautiful.

The wedding was in a tiny cozy old church in Sunol, and it was just such a quaint romantic spot! The reception was held at Ardenwood Farms, and as soon as you walked around the path, through the archway, and into a clearing in the trees....you knew you were someplace magical!

The beautiful slideshow is set to a song that one of their friends sang during the ceremony. (Andrew and Bianca's friends have incredible talent, the music throughout the ceremony was inspiring!)

Beautiful Boquet:

Awesome bridesmaids:

Right after the ceremony, they rung the church bell 7 times for good luck!

And then snuck off for a second...

Isn't she stunning?!

We tried to do a few more formal portraits with no smiles, but we couldn't because Bianca literally could NOT stop smiling!

Pretty cake! (Incredibly delicious, too!)

How cute are they?!

Just like Fred and Ginger...

I love how elegant she looked when she tossed her bouquet, and how the light caught the flower petals falling down like a shower of stars...

They exited in a sea of bubbles!

Congratulations!!

Happy Father's Day!

2007-06-17T15:28:00.000-07:00

My dad is an avid reader of my blog (probably one of the few reasons he gets on the internet), so I thought I'd introduce him to everyone! He's the minister at the First Christian Church in Carthage, TX and has been for about 23 years (most of my life). He's also a family/marriage therapist, teaches anger management, is a professor of psychology at the local college, plays golf regularly, and is a great singer & guitarist in a band called "Blessed Country Praise."

So no one should question where I got my "I can do 2 careers, school, a couple of hobbies, and a social life all at once" attitude from. ;) Of course there are many many other wonderful traits and qualities he's passed along to me, and I couldn't be more grateful.

Happy Father's Day! Love you!!

Inflatable Church

2007-06-07T13:34:00.000-07:00

Ok, I think I would have to give a sweeeeeeet deal to any couple who told me they were getting married in the inflatable church. Any takers?

http://inflatablechurch.com/

Lots more awesome photos here: http://inflatablechurch.com/InflatableChurchPictures.htm

(All photos are credited to inflatablechurch.com - definitely something to see!)

"One of the world's VERY FIRST inflatable churches is here to allow couples to get married wherever their hearts desire. The complete structure will comprise of two sections; The house, 5m in width (external) with frontal facade, 7m highand 6.5m wide (Approx). The tower will be 5x5m base and 12m in height (Approx) Walls are to be 0.6m thick. (Approx.) The attention to detail is heavenly complete with plastic "stained glass" windows and airbrush artwork which replicates the traditional church. Inside it has an inflatable organ, altar, pulpit, pews, candles and a gold cross. Even the doors are flanked by air-filled angels. The church can be built in 2 hours and

dis-assembled in less than one.
Marry anywhere !!! even renewing your vows if you're already married.

Now we can bring the church to the bride rather than the other way around. It can be set up anywhere, from your garden to Malibu beach, it's up to you. No problem with "high heels."

The Inflatable Church is Registered in the Guinness World Records 2004 for being the world's largest Inflatable church in the world."

Paula And Ron Wed!

2007-05-30T23:47:00.001-07:00

When Paula and Ron first got married, it was a small quiet ceremony. Last Sunday, they finally got to have the big, fun, and beautiful wedding that every bride dreams of! It was so much fun to see how in love they still were, as if this truly was the first day of their married life. I wish that for all my couples...that each day feel like the first wonderful, magical day of their married life together.

I have to say, I have never in my life seen so many little girls in one place. And they all LOVED Paula, and wanted to see her dress and hold her flowers and talk about when they will get married. And many of them hadn't even made it to Kindergarten yet! It was too sweet. :)

EDIT: Oh dear, I was so excited I forgot to put a link to the slideshow! Enjoy!

All of the floral arrangements were created by Paula's friend and fabulous florist Regina of Blossoms in San Mateo!

Handsome groom:

Their daughter was one of the four cutie pie flower girls! She needed just a little help down the aisle:

Yay! Finally married!

First dance:

Fun and bright table decor:

I snuck the couple away for some romantic portraits at a nearby waterfall...(huge thanks to the maintenance guy who told me about it!!) What an incredible setting!! And how brave and adventurous are they for actually wading across the creek?!

Thanks Paula and Ron, I had an incredible time!!

Mission Accomplished.

2007-05-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

As of this morning, I completed my first month-long fitness bootcamp. Wow! Now I can't really say I love it, or that I'm in such better shape, or anything like that. This a long-haul kind of process, and I'm coming to grips with that.

But I can't help but be excited for myself. For 4 weeks straight, I worked out for an hour 3 days a week. At 6:30am. (Which implies that 12 times this month, I actually woke up before 7am...whoa!)

My whole goal is to go home from a 12 hour wedding without feeling dead! The adrenaline (and dancing) keeps me going during the day, I have no energy problems while the excitement is happening! But the next day.....dead. Can't move, don't want to do anything, and I wish someone would shoot me so I never have to walk again. I'd like to fix that. :)

I'm going to go ahead and sign up for next month and keep going with the exercise. My new goal for next month (I'm phasing in healthy habits) is to drink enough water and no more soda past noon! (I'm a diet coke fanatic...this could be tough!)

Wish me more luck & will-power and I'll keep you updated.

Stunning Wedding: Eric & Kye

2007-05-22T18:22:00.001-07:00

On Sunday I had the immense pleasure of photographing Eric & Kylene's absolutely stunning Mill Valley wedding. I have never seen such detail, design, color, and style! Eric and Kylene are both amazing, friendly, down to earth people so I knew the wedding would be relaxed and fun, but I was not fully prepared for how absolutely perfect everything would be!!

Because of the technical difficulties (see last post), I'm a little behind on my editing. I couldn't wait to share, though, so I decided to go ahead and just pull a few of the photos that have only been through very basic editing....but a few turned into waaaaaaaaaay too many. I couldn't stop myself. I used the song they had for their first dance, and it's nice and long, so that worked well! Please be patient while the slide-show loads....it's worth every second!

SLIDESHOW

Here are a few ultimate favorites while you wait:

The jaw-dropping engagement ring:

Eyelash curlers aren't Kylene's idea of fun, so her youngest sister was very supportive and held her hand. :) Lisa did a really fabulous job on Kylene's hair & makeup!

The floral arrangements by Natasha of Water Lily Pond were incredible...you'll have to watch the slideshow to see more of what I mean. Absolutely breathtaking and original! Here's the beautiful bouquet:

They look so happy!!

Then I snuck off with them for a few portraits...

I've never had anyone order a 4'x6' (yes, that's feet) print before! But I have to admit, it looked really awesome above the cake table...

In addition to everything else a mother-of-the-bride does, Kylene's mom catered the entire affair. The food was absolutely to die for...the menu was impeccable and delicious! How on earth she was there for her daughter, coordinated, was a gourmet chef AND looked fabulous the whole time...it's beyond me.

Tess sang a really beautiful song for the couple. When I say "sang" I mean "blew everyone away with her incredible voice"!

The guests dance like there was no tomorrow! DJ Dave Tutton kept everyone on their feet (including me!)...

Technical Difficulties!

2007-05-22T11:10:00.001-07:00

Last night I was hoping to get a lot of work done, but when I came home I found my laptop in a bad state! Blue screen of death!! I had a panic session for 10 minutes, called a couple of people who didn't know what to do, called a couple of data recovery companies who needed 5 days and $3K to get the data....yikes!

I finally calmed down enough to realize that all was not lost. Especially my client's photos! All of those are triple backed-up, and I don't keep them on the laptop anyway. The software can all be installed again. My business notes and spreadsheets are backed up (though maybe not fully up to date). The only big hole was email! I've had a lot of new emails & received several new contacts since the email was last backed up, and I didn't want to have to find everyone's address and beg for you to resend!

Luckily I received my brand new, super fast, custom built desktop about 4 days ago. It wasn't fully set up yet, and is missing a wireless card & a sound card (oops!), but I wasn't stopped dead! I was able to get on the internet and look up the solution....using an adapter to transfer files from my laptop hardrive to my new computer via USB.

So the day is saved...and I did it all by myself! Unfortunately, I lost a day of work, but I'll catch up tonight. :) If you sent an email that I haven't responded to....or think I should have sent you an email by now, please speak up! Email or call me to confirm that the email wasn't lost.

We'll be back to normal very soon, and I'm really glad for that. :)

Schuyler's Wilderness Adventure!

2007-05-19T23:54:00.000-07:00

Schuyler and I have been friends for a few years now; we work at the same company, took the same leadership class together, and have had a lot of conversations about our respective passions...mine of course being photography...and his being his long pursuit of rockstar-dom!!

On a sad note, Schuyler will be taking off to the east coast soon to pursue a career opportunity there, so we decided we needed to take the time we had left to do the promo shots we keep talking about. Couldn't be better timing, as we shot on Friday...and then on Saturday he went into the studio to begin recording his first single! So the shots will come in handy for the forthcoming album. ;)

Good luck with everything Schuyler...thanks for hanging out on Friday!

(this slidesh ow is a big one...)

PS - I have now fixed the errors in the paragraphs above. My computer keeps trying to help me with my "creative" writing...by spontaneously putting portions ofwhat I type in totally random spots. Not sure why, but I normally catch it. Now the paragraph should read better!

equestrian-sourcing

2007-05-15T06:02:00.000-07:00

In my final semester of grad school, I'm taking a course in managing outsourced development; and of course lately, my photography business has been a top priority. I'm just not sure where the horses came from.

I just woke up from a dream about equestrian-sourcing: outsourcing portions of my photo business to horses.

Seriously. in my dream, I felt i needed to get the equestrian community involved somehow, and promised them that at the very least I'd blog about it. It was an extremely sensitive issue, because you don't want to offend the horse community. Of course, in my dream "blog about it" equaled "not get up and walk across the room to turn off the alarm." Oversleeping for half an hour is the least I could do for a community that has done so much for my business.

I thought I'd honor that just a bit and blog about it. But now I need to go to bootcamp, and exercise. ;)

Edit: Now that I'm back from bootcamp, I just have to say that the funniest part has to be that when I first woke up enough to turn off the alarm, I actually said aloud "dude, i can't blog through the radio, it isn't hooked up to the internet." about 30 second later I realized the radio wasn't an input device.

after another couple minutes, I finally realized (sadly) that there were no horses, and if there were, they couldn't read.

My Mother! (And her FABULOUS cards!)

2007-05-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

Well any of my clients know that I LOVE to send these beautiful handmade cards that my mom makes. I've got baskets and baskets and baskets of them. :)

Well, my sister also has baskets and baskets, so she decided to start an Etsy store just for Mom's cards so that we can share them with the world! She'll be posting up new ones every so often, so definitely add her to your favorites and keep checking in!!

Here's her store!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!! LOVE YOU!

This Is What Photographers Do For Fun

2007-05-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

Photographers are such nerds. :) When we decide to get together and have fun, guess what we choose to do? Group trash the dress sessions!! One of my friends, Nichanh, organized yesterday's fun. She convinced a friend and former bride, Stephanie, to be our lovely model, got the dress, did her hair, and even made her bouquet! Nichanh is multi-talented!

About ten photographers showed up in downtown San Jose, and we didnt have to go very far to find really fun locations to shoot. Even though this was a "trash the dress" session, we didn't get all that dirty, and didn't even get in any water!

But at one point, we were behind a building with a really cool staircase, and a guy came out and offered to let us use his restaurant! It was sooooo cool! So I haven't eaten here, but please check out Eulipia, which looks like a really nice & delicious restaurant in downtown San Jose, across from the California Theatre (where they do the operas).

(PS - Stephanie isn't a model...but she should be! Thanks so much for coming out, you were awesome!)

Slideshows R Fun!

A Bootcamp Update

2007-05-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

So a couple entries back I mentioned that I joined a 4wk women's fitness bootcamp....3 days a week from 6:30am to 7:30am. Ouch!

Well, today marked the end of the second week and I'm excited to report that I've actually made it to all classes, and I'm not dead!! Sure, six classes aren't going to make a big difference physically, but mentally it was a huge i-cant-do-this obstacle to get over. :) I've been getting over a lot of those lately.

So I'm at the half-way point of bootcamp #1. Ideally, I'll keep signing up for bootcamp each month, so "half-way" is a misnomer, but it makes it sound like I'm accomplishing something so I am going keep calling it that!

This past week I've been working on all kinds of little catch-up things. Wedding season starts in full blast mode next week, so be on the lookout for more photos and stories!

Slow Email

2007-05-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I just got word from my web host that email today is going to be very slow (or non-existent) while they upgrade their servers and restore information from a failed disk. No worries, any email you send I will eventually get, it just might not be today.

Bottom line is if you need to contact me today, phone is the way. :) 408-206-8684. Please leave a message and I'll return your call when I can.

This past and coming weekends have been deemed "Jillian catches up on normal life" weekends, which means no scheduled photoshoots. I've been doing chores (yay, clothes to wear!) finishing projects (yay, painted furniture!) and catching up on personal photos that I've been needing to edit!

I've also been working on Steve & Chrissie's beautiful album with my wonderful album designer, Katie, putting the finishing touches on last weekend's shoots, and ordering a very special canvas print for Eric and Kylene!

Expect to see photos of Eric & Kylene's wedding and Paula and Ron's wedding in the next month, as I am very much looking forward to being a part of their amazing days. I love weddings!!!

Cheers,
Jillian

Kandice's Headshots!

2007-05-03T02:59:00.000-07:00

Kandice's company (a wonderful child wellness center) is working on new website, and Kandice wanted some natural, beautiful headshots to go along! To give it a more "personal" feel, she also wanted to include her cute doggies & adorable husband, Scott! (Well, we thought of the doggies first, but don't tell Scott that!)

Here's the colorful slideshow!

And a few of my favorite shots before I go to bed!

I've been up for nearly 24 hours now...my body still isn't used to getting up early on work-out days, and I just can't seem to stop doing stuff until the wee hours of the morning! Oh well, it's good for me. ;)

Bridgit's Awesome Hair Design

2007-04-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

You may remember Bridgit as one of my awesome brides from last year, but did you know she's an awesome hair stylist as well? She is!! Bridgit Louie works out of Spoil Me! Spa & Salon* in Mountain View, and wanted some fabulous examples of her work for an upcoming website. So she gathered up friends and clients to be her amazing models and make up artist, and made a day of it!

____________________________________________
*UPDATE! :) Bridgit now has her very own fabulous studio:
Bridgits Hair Boutique
650-826-4429
www.bridgitshairboutique.com
____________________________________________

I got there just in time to see the final touches being added, and then we headed out for a few portraits of the gorgeous ladies. :) Don't they look fabulous?

Here is the fun fun slideshow!

Doris:

Dee Dee:

Bonnie (You've seen her before too... I shot her and James's Engagement photos!)

The fab make-up artist, Skye:

Of course, I grabbed some shots of the beautiful Bridgit too!

Thank you ladies for an awesome photoshoot, and for inviting me out for margaritas afterwards!! You are all just too much fun. ;)

oh dear.

2007-04-30T07:47:00.000-07:00

Oh, I am soooo sore! Yikes! I'm still moving and ok right now, but I'm guessing I won't be able to in about 6 hours. Luckily all my appointments for next weekend were cancelled, and I can just rest (or catch up on school work....in a chair.)

As I walked in the front door...lamenting my poor muscles....I remembered that I get to go pick up my new camera today! Yay! The UPS man won't leave anything on our doorstep, doesn't deliver on weekends, and shows up anywhere between 10:30am and 4:00pm. Evidently UPS thinks every home has a stay-at-home mom or something. But I go to work! So, I have to have packages delivered to the centeral shipping hub, and I go pick it up myself.

But really, it's like Christmas here, I'm so excited. It almost makes me forget about bootcamp. ;)

It's 5:30am, and I'm Awake!

2007-04-30T05:26:00.000-07:00

Well ladies and gentlemen, it's 5:30am, and it's my first day of class. I'm not talking about school though, I'm talking about the women's fitness bootcamp I spontaneously joined last week. It's a 4 week program, and I go 3 days a week at 6:30am. That just so happens to be the last little sliver of my schedule that was available (though my sleepy head right now keeps saying "no! it wasn't available! I used that time to sleep!"...).

When I know I want to accomplish something, and I'm likely to give up, I try to tell as many people as possible. Why? So that I feel too embarrassed to quit of course! So that when people ask me "how's that going?" I need to have an answer. And I want to get in shape! And I'm soooooo likely to not get up this early every morning! So I'm telling all of you, just to get me out of bed in the mornings.

I have a couple of GREAT sessions in the editing phase that I can't wait to show you. But right now, I'm going to go get in shape!

Elizabeth & Rob E-Session!

2007-04-18T05:17:00.000-07:00

So it's nearly 5:30am, so I most likely won't have anything clever to write. Except for that I was so excited to work on these and make a slideshow to show you I stayed up till 5:30am!! I just couldn't pull myself away. ;)

Rob & Elizabeth are just a gorgeous and super fun couple. You know, normally my grooms just don't like cameras, but I think Rob didn't mind at all! Elizabeth teased and said they'd have to schedule another one, just for him. (Hey, I love more photoshoots!) I can already tell that they are going to have one heck of a party at their wedding, and I can't wait!

Check out the fab slideshow!

(I normally try to pick fewer photos for blog entries, but I'm too tired to pick favorites! I love them all!)

Lets Have a Little Fun!

2007-04-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

[image from http://takemydress.com]

Today I saw a post on one of the blogs I read about a bride who started the website Take My Dress to help give away her unworn, unseen wedding dress!! It arrived to her, still needing alterations, 3 DAYS before her wedding. She found another dress for the wedding, but was too upset with the first one to even open up the crushed box holding her unused dream dress.

If you want to enter a contest to win her dream dress (and bring some closure for her) go to: http://www.takemydress.com/

This got me thinking, what wedding tragedies are *you* dealing with? Time to vent ladies!

I'll start off, with a tale from the day my little sister got married. We were totally on time, and things were going really really well. Until.....we went to the stylist. We found out later he may have been, um, under an influence of some sort. He did and redid and redid her hair like 5 times! Right about the time we'd say "it's perfect!"...he'd start pulling out all the pins! Then it was time to do my hair....and after several tries he decided I had too much hair. I agreed to let him cut it (chop chop chop) just to get out of the salon on time!

Luckily the rest of the day went beautifully!!

(Here's one of my snap shots of the day...I have a photo where you can see how agitated she was, but she'd KILL me, lol. She was, by no means, a bridezilla; this was just an extreme situation.)

Anyone (current or former bride, photographers, friends, anyone) have a funny-now-but-not-at-the-time story to share? :)

Robert's Got Style

2007-04-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know Robert was joking when he asked to have photos next to the "Style Consultations" window sign, but seriously, he looked pretty sharp in suit and tie! Robert is another awesome comedian in the Bay Area, looking for new fun headshots.

I had never been to downtown Campbell, so I was rediculously excited about all the cool backdrops we found. :) If I get permission from Robert, I'll come back and post a link to his website so you know where to go check out his comedy routine!

check out the full slideshow!

Ben & Kim's Tea Ceremony!

2007-04-10T23:17:00.000-07:00

I spent Easter morning with Ben & Kim and their families celebrating their Tea Ceremony! According to Ben, the Tea Ceremony in a way marks their official engagement, and is really a time for the families to come together. I'm so glad they didn't choose to have this ceremony on the same day as the wedding (as many do) because I can tell there were so many wonderful emotional moments that just wouldn't have happened had they been rushed!

Although I didn't understand a word of the ceremony, it was easy to tell they were talking about how much they loved Ben and Kim, and how happy they were for them. I don't think there was a dry eye in the place by the end!!

View the very sweet slideshow!

Kim getting ready for a very special day.

Ben directing traffic just before all the gifts were brought to Kim's family.

Kim's gorgeous new ring!

I just adored both grandmothers, they were so incredibly sweet:

Ben caught an eyelash and made a wish. ;-)

Steve & Chrissie Get Married!

2007-04-10T01:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had the emmense pleasure of shooting two events, the first of which was my first wedding of the year! Steve and Chrissie were married in Newark, CA in front of a close group of family and friends. Chrissie's daughter was the fun dj of the evening and the whole crowd danced and laughed till the place shut down. ;)

Check out the fun slideshow!

Chrissie, the beautiful bride!

What a sweet couple!

Sometimes I fall in love with the strangest photos....and for some reason I like the fairy lights in this blurry abstract one. :)

It's easy to cross a street when you've got a bride to stop traffic!

I love a pretty bouquet!

Soooooo many delicious cakes!! What's a girl to do! (Eat one of course!)

If there are any grooms-to-be reading this blog, remember this: girls (at least me) think it is sooooo sweet when a groom reaches out to hold the bride's hand during an emotional part of a ceremony (bonus points if he kisses her on the forehead):

Dancing like they were the only two people in the world...

Charming Parisian Apartment

2007-04-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

Hello! No, I didn't disappear in Vegas, I'm alive and well! Sorry I haven't written in two weeks, life has been super super craaaaaazy! I had such an amazing time in Las Vegas, I met a million people (feels like it anyway), attended some great classes, picked up some new photography skills and tips, and relaxed a little bit too! I had really great food, spent a lot of time in a fun piano bar, and spent a lot of money on a new pair of shoes which I LOVE. What I didn't do a lot of was....photography! Goodness, I couldn't believe it when I got home, but I had been so busy with everything else, I hadn't stopped to smell (I mean photograph) the roses! What I did take, I haven't edited yet, but I'll post a few when I get them done.

One thing I've been super busy with is putting the final touches on the photographs of the LOVELY apartment we stayed at in Paris! I'm so excited to show you this slideshow. The apartment was so....Parisian!! It had all the old world charm and antiques and coziness that you could possibly want. Since we stayed in an actual apartment (instead of a hotel), Paris just felt so much more like home. It was absolutely wonderful!

Now I can't take credit for all of these photos. The other photographers who traveled with me were INCREDIBLE, and they got really amazing shots of the apartment as well. So I've just mixed them all together, and I want you all to be amazed at the work of my friends:

Tim Co http://whatistimco.com & Ashley http://ashleybartoletti.com/

(I'm sure Lori: http://evelynstudios.com has awesome photos too, but due to circumstances totally out of her control we haven't gotten around to exchanging them yet. Lori, get to feeling better!!)

Here's the beautiful slideshow, set to fun Parisian style music ;)

This clawed-foot bathtub upstairs is huge! I stressed out a bit one day, luckily a hot soak in this beautiful tub completely relaxed me!

I've always loved old faucets.

They've done such a wonderful job of filling the apartment with beautiful antiques, you really feel like you've gone back in time!

It's so neat to stay in an apartment instead of a hotel, especially since you have all the comforts of home! This is a very nice stove, I even was inspired to make eggs one day! Of course, I then realized I can't cook, and would rather enjoy the tastes of Paris. :)

As a photographer, this front window was simply incredible. With the shades pulled back, it let through the most beautiful light! The enormous antique mirror panels that cover the wall above the day bed spread the light through the living room and kitchen.

Las Vegas Baby

2007-03-22T23:38:00.000-07:00

Honestly, I promise I normally don't travel this much! Everything just seemed to happen all at once, and even though I'm still tired from my trip to Paris, it's now time for my trip to Vegas!

In Vegas I'll be attending the Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) Convention. I get to meet up with hundreds of fabulous photographers that I talk to online, but rarely have the opportunity to meet or hang out! I am so excited, and I am certain to come back with fun ideas, new skills, and (if possible) an even bigger excitement for all of the splendid weddings I have this year!

My shuttle comes to pick me up in 4 hours (at 3:50am...yikes!), but I'm so excited I just might not sleep. I will still have access to my cell phone and email during the week. My responses might be slightly delayed, but please contact me for any reason!

Have a great weekend. :)

Twitterpated

2007-03-22T01:50:00.000-07:00

Remember watching the old Bambi movie with the cute deer and the little rabbit Thumper? Remember the explination about love...it meant you were "Twitterpated!" Well Bianca and Andrew are so very cutely twitterpated. :)

We had a fun time on Sunday afternoon, walking up the Filter Street Garden stairs to Coit tower. It was cold, and yes, Bianca wore a thin (but oh so pretty) skirt in the cold wind, and HEELS for all those steps!! We went up through the gardens, around Coit Tower (which was unfortunately surrounded by fog), and then back through the city. It was a fun time, and I always love seeing parts of San Francisco I haven't explored yet!

All my favorites are in the slideshow!!

It's a Blog Life!

2007-03-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

So, I am going to try to blog more, so that you not only get a sneak peak at the fun photography work I've been doing but also a little bit about my fabulous life! Of course, a big part of my life right now is reading blogs. :) I love blogs! I am watching 55 blogs using bloglines, a free service that updates you whenever a new entry is added to someone's blog. You just go to one website, and view all the latest news on blogs to which you have subscribed! Most of the blogs I watch are from my fellow photograhers, but several are wedding planning blogs.

Why wedding planning blogs? Nooooooo, your's truly isn't planning her own (haha!). I just love being able to peak inside the world of my brides. I want to know all the questions you're asking and the decisions you're making. I want to know trends and tips and really share in the excitement!

So it occurred to me that many of you might not know all this helpful information is out there! Allow me to get you started.

1. Go to http://bloglines.com & set up an account. (free!)
2. Add my blog:
- Go to "Feeds" and then "Add"
- Enter: http:jilliankayphotography.blogspot.com
- Voila!
(Now any time I have a new entry, you'll see it in your bloglines account!)

3. Next, add these FABULOUS blogs:
- From I-Will to I-Do:
(fun stuff, practical advice)
http://from-i-will-to-i-do.blogspot.com
- Offbeat Bride
(very different but not for the faint of heart!)
http://offbeatbride.com/
- Something Old, Something New
(Wonderful Ideas!!)
http://kenziekate.blogspot.com/index.html
- Style Me Pretty
(My FAVORITE, AMAZING LOVELY STUNNING!!!)
http://abbyjean.typepad.com/style_me_pretty/
- Wedding Bee!
(follow a dozen or so bride-to-be stories & help them along the way!)
http://www.weddingbee.com/

If you have a blog, let me know, I'd love to add you to my Bloglines list! I'd also love to hear what wedding blogs you can't live without!

25 To Watch

2007-03-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

So I've got a lot of photography friends. I mean a LOT. Hundreds, from all over the country & world. We hang out in a forum and sometimes chat, and I really truly would not be the photographer I am today (or any photographer at all) without the support of this community. I love them!!

We're doing a fun blog link exchange right now, so I thought I'd share the blogs of some really incredible photographers. Enjoy!

Becker
Anne Ruthmann
Holritz Photography
Captivating Studios
Picture Infinity Studios
Jillian Kay
KMB Foto
Julie Walton Shaver
Jennifer Images
Lifespring Photography
Photo Forward
Lucky Red Hen
Frank Dimeo
Schaefer Photography
CU Photography
Blue Mountain Photo
Candy's Photography
April Rocha
Stevie's Cam
Polis Photography
Kari Douma
Kendall Price
Garrett Nudd Photography
Nataly Lemus
Jennifer Grigg

Paris Photos: Finally!

2007-03-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been working on these all weekend, and thought I'd show you some of what I got. Obviously the trip was a blast!

View the FABULOUS slideshow!

All About Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday!

2007-03-13T22:37:00.000-07:00

The trip was amazing! Of course, now that I'm back I have a million and one things to do and I'm just exhausted, but I'm still incredibly glad that I went! Here's the scoop on the rest of the trip...and I promise I'll get to the photos soon. :)

Sunday
After finishing up all the photographs of the apartment, the gang decided to take me to have lunch next to the Louvre (where they had explored the day before). We hopped on the metro and headed to Le Fumoir, a beautiful cafe where I had quite possibly one of the best lunches EVER! From there we got back on the Metro and headed to the Opera House, which was simply stunning, and we walked all the way around it.

For some reason, there was a small protest on one side of the building, and about 40 police cars and a fire truck hanging out on the other side of the building....so we decided we should probably hop a little red open-air bus and get out of there. :) The tour bus took us down Champs-Elysees and around the Arc de Triomphe. We saw the Eiffel Tower and several really beautiful buildings (and I'll have to look up what they were because the earpieces of my headset were too big for my ears). And finally got off at the Notre Dame because it was getting dark!

We watched the rollerblading street performers for a bit, and stoped every 10 feet to photograph something beautiful! After a long dinner, we went back to the apartment, and I finaly decided to go to bed at a reasonable time. :)

Monday
Monday I accidentally woke everyone up at 7:30am, thinking it was 8:30...but on the brightside we were all up and out pretty early! I wandered the neighborhood for a few morning photographs. We checked email at the internet cafe, ate brunch, walked around and inside Notre Dame, and got back on the open air bus to see the big sites! We were most excited to get out at a vista point for the Eiffel Tower, where we spent nearly 20 minutes trying to perfect a jumping-in-front-of-the-tower shot...that was hilarious!

We explored the grounds of the tower for a bit, but decided not to wait in the line to go up...too much to see! The tour was beautiful, and we did a little postcard and souvenier shopping along the river next to Notre Dame. After a little down time at the apartment, I of course got ready for an evening at The Beaver!

I know, it still sounds silly to spend time in Paris couped up in a smokey little bar. But Monday night was open mic night, and we heard some of the most amazing local musicians! We got to talk and rub elbows with the people who really live there and see their attitudes and personalities.....I love that! It was really a lot of fun, and it was so sad to walk back to the apartment and go to bed, since we knew it was our last experience in Paris.

Tuesday
In the morning we woke up (reluctantly) and said goodbye to the apartment and to Paris. It was tough, knowing everything we had to go back to. Paris was amazing! The full day of travel was rough, but luckily we didn't have any issues. I stayed up and talked on the first flight, but slept like a rock on the second.

I don't really feel jetlagged now, just have a little extra trouble getting up in the mornings. :) And there's so much to do! Well, I'll work on pictures tomorrow and hopefully have something fun to show you!

All about Friday and Saturday!

2007-03-11T11:05:00.001-07:00

So yesterday was supposed to be my day to shoot the apartment. I got up and bought flowers and fruit, but yesterday just wasn't set out to be my day. Aside from falling a couple of times and eating a bit of salmon that just didn't agree with me....I dropped a lens! Ouch! Well, we can replace it at home, but still not fun. So I decided not to finish the shooting in a bad mood.

After a little while I found my friends and things took a wonderful turn! We wandered around the city until we found a cute little place to eat dinner. (And the waiter was cute too!) We had a great bottle of merlot (and I don't normally like merlot), and AMAZING dessert. I had an upside down apple tart that was simply splendid!

The other 3 (who had walked all around during the day, and were quite tired) were ready to head back to the apartment, so we did. I of course had been in the apartment all day long, so I was ready to go out! I talked Tim into heading three doors down to a little hole-in-the-wall pub called "The Beaver". WOW!! I had so much fun.

The Beaver had live music, a really nice cool guy named Francais (sp?) , and quite a few fun people. I nearly melted into my chair when he sung Anna Begins by Counting Crows....one of my favorite songs of all time!! I was amazed, and he was really really good. We closed the place down, and had a great time talking to our new friends Francais, Elan, and Amy. :) That's my ideal way to experience a city, just to sit down in a local place, meet people from the city, and hear the music. As odd as it sounds, I think that will be my favorite part of the trip!

Well, since we stayed up so late, we kind of woke up late. Everyone pulled together and helped me finish shooting the apartmentquickly, which I really appreciated because as much as I love the apartment....Paris is right outside! Then we took the metro over to a wonderful little restaurant where I just the best meal of goat cheese, roast peppers, and sundried tomatoes on toast. MMMMM. Then we hopped on a tour bus and enjoyed the open air tour of the city.

We're now back at the internet cafe, hoping to make our way to dinner soon. I'm sure I'll check in with you later!

All about Thursday

2007-03-10T02:04:00.000-08:00

Bonjour! It's just past 11am here in Paris, and we are starting our day. I am sitting in a little internet cafe near to Notre Dame, and about a 10 minute walk from our apartment.

Yesterday Ashley and I arrived around 8am, got settled into the apartment. I took a little adventure and explored the neighborhood! Well, to be perfectly honest I just meant to go to the internet cafe, but I got lost 3 times. LOL! Oh well, I learned all about Ille St Louis, the neighborhood where we are staying. And I eventually found it!

I adjusted to the time change much better than I expected, and I was fully awake for most of yesterday. I explored the area, cooked some lunch, and basically we hung out at the apartment and in the neighborhood because we needed to be there when Lori arrived to let her in. Lori made it in and we went and explored the neighborhood a little more.

Poor Tim. Tim wasn't able to get on his original flight plan (which was the same as ours), so instead he caught a plane to London. He didn't really have a plan to get from London to Paris, so we had no idea when he would arrive. He decided to catch a plane from London to Paris, and we decided the best thing was to wait in the apartment for him.

So we took a nap, maybe 3 hours, that evening. We evidently never heard his cries for help or his knocking on the door. It seems Tim spent all afternoon (3-4 hours or so) in the cold. He spent a lot of time on our doorstep, and talked to a lot of the neighbors (who are very very nice). Eventually we woke up, and let him in. Sorry Tim!

Did I mention he didn't have a coat? Yikes! Luckily, his dad just so happened to be in Paris at the same time, and he dropped by to take us to dinner. We walked over to the Latin district and had a really wonderful meal. I tried escargot, and I LOVED it!! It was nearly midnight when we left the restaurant, but we were all quite awake by now (well, at least those of us who took a nap) so we walked with Tim's dad back towards the Eifel Tower.

The walk through Paris at night was wonderful! So many people just out enjoying life, and all the store windows were so posh and designer. We arrived at the Eifel Tower around 1am, and decided to wait around to see if it would light up on the hour. We expected it to do the light up pattern where it lights from top to bottom in tiers.

Instead it suddenly burst into bright twinkling sparking lights! The whole tower was flashing like one of those sparklers that children play with on the 4th of July. It was incredible! Of course, the longer we stood there, the faster it went, and we all became very dizzy. We took a quick cab back to the apartment, and stayed up till 3am just chatting and enjoying the thought of being in Paris!

Today I woke up late, and I'm about to go get flowers and pasteries and other notions to decorate the apartment for it's photographs. It is such a charming, cozy, rustic little home. I think the best part is that it really does feel like a home, not an impersonal hotel. It's just lovely!

Anyway, still no photographs, as I can't get the wireless to work on my laptop. I am sure I will have plenty when I return!

In Paris!

2007-03-09T02:49:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to check in from my internet cafe (across from Notre Dame) to let you know that Ashley and I made it to Paris just fine. I'm sure we'll find Lori and Tim eventually. :)

Paris is abosolutely beautiful, and I can't wait to share photos!

Update: We've got Lori, and Tim is en route! :)

Paris!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-03-07T23:58:00.000-08:00

Bonjour!

In just a few hours (aka 4:30am) a shuttle will be picking me up to go to the airport. So why am I still online? Because I just had to share the news! I've been so busy lately with all of your wonderful photographs, that I forgot to mention I'm going to Paris!

I'll be on travel from March 8th - March 13th. I will not be accessible by phone, but I will likely be checking email daily so please just email if you need anything. I'll be taking many many many photographs and hanging out with some wonderful photographers that I know! This is primarily a business trip (I'll be photographing a FABULOUS french apartment), but of course I left a ton of time to explore the city and absorb the beautiful culture.

Who knows....maybe I'll find a cute French guy? No matter what, I'm so excited, and I just know I'm not going to sleep a wink!

Bonsoir!
Jillian

Paula & Ron E Session!

2007-03-07T00:45:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I headed to Saratoga for a fun engagement session with Ron & Paula. I love enagement sessions; I think that's where the couple and I really break the ice and start having fun! Even though we had to make a last minute change of venue, the photos were awesome! I think that is a great reminder that it's not the location, it's the relationship that matters!

Check out the chemistry in the slideshow!

Or sneak a few here:

William & Tiana E-Session!

2007-03-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

I met William & Tiana last year at Chris & Bridgit's wedding, and had a wonderful time talking to them while I grabbed a bite of cake. So I was absolutely delighted when they asked me to photograph their wedding this year! Finally I got to hang out with them again yesterday, when we shot their engagement session. I didn't remember them being this much fun!

Check out all the smiles & laughter in the slideshow!

Tiana mentioned she wanted a lot of color, and I think we were able to deliver:

Rebecca's Photo Session

2007-02-28T02:33:00.000-08:00

Rebecca wanted a few fun and natural photos of herself...but she let her fiance Mark sneak into a couple! :) We had fun hanging out in Santana Row on Sunday despite the rain. Thanks for being so much fun to work with!

Check out the slideshow!

Nate and Kristi on a Farm!

2007-02-24T22:41:00.000-08:00

Nate and Kristi decided to do something a little different for their engagement session, so we headed to Wilder Ranch just north of Santa Cruz. It has lovely old buildings and the grass is so green this time of year. I wouldn't necessarily say that Nate and Kristi are the types you'd normally see on a farm, so it was extra fun!

As you'll be able to see in the slideshow, there was hardly a dull moment (at least for me)!

Steve and Chrissie Engagement

2007-02-23T02:14:00.000-08:00

On Sunday I had a fabulous time with Steve and Chrissie, who will be getting married in April! My favorite part of our session was talking about how they've decided to arrange their special day. I absolutely love it when a couple knows what's important, and isn't afraid to break tradition to make sure that the day is exactly what they want, and the celebration is perfect for their family and friends. It's going to be such a relaxing, special day!

See all the fun in the slideshow!

The kissy photos were my favorites, though I promise I got many that were not lip-locked...but seriously, how cute are these??!

Fabulous in Mountain View

2007-02-21T00:15:00.000-08:00

I think I must have a corner on the cute comedian market! Karen Smyth is in the process of updating her website, http://onefunnygirl.com, and asked me to capture some fun photos! How could you not capture fun photos when you're wandering the town with a comedian?

I love my job. :) And you'll love this slideshow!