Posts Tagged ‘ohio’

Do you remember when you were a little girl? Think back. You used to spend hours with your dolls and stuffed animals, talking to them, dreaming with them, creating wonderful childhood memories. You would dress Barbie and Ken in their wedding clothes. Barbie had the dress of your dreams, adorned in beads and lace. Bear was the preacher and when you placed him in front of the couple, all of the dolls and stuffed animals became quiet. The wedding was just as perfect as Ken and Barbie were.

Reality is that you were already planning your own perfect wedding, all you had to do was find your ‘Ken’. Years later, and a few adjustments to your dream, you are finally there, planning the wedding for real. You have finally found your ‘Ken’.

Everything is going great. The plans are coming together nicely. You are having your ceremony in the church you grew up in and your favorite minister will be performing the nuptials. The reception hall is booked and you have decided on a sit down dinner with the choice of either chicken or beef. You have found your photographer and have had your engagement pictures taken. You have decided to display your favorite image at the reception. You and ‘Ken’ look so blissful in the pictures. The guests are going to be so happy for you.

Or maybe you aren’t a traditional girl. Instead of the church and reception hall, your dream is white sand and tropical breezes with your family and some close friends.

Now that everything is in place, all the contracts signed, travel booked, dress chosen and you have your favorite songs gathered for the DJ, you can settle back and enjoy the rest of your engagement. You can continue to blissfully daydream about what the future holds for you and your ‘Ken’. You can prepare for spending forever together. Right?

As photographers, we have had the pleasure of photographing memories in both of the above situations. The bride’s dreams were realized and everything went pretty much as they had planned. Both ‘Barbie’ and ‘Ken’ were able to enjoy their day with the utmost joy and happiness.

Sometimes, though, dreams can take a wrong turn and become nightmares.

What would happen if a few months or even weeks before the wedding date, something has seemed to change between you and ‘Ken’? All of a sudden he begins bickering about the details that had long since been looked after. Maybe he just isn’t around as often as he once was.

Then he goes and does it! He calls off the wedding. He is telling you that he found someone else and just doesn’t think it would work between the two of you.

What is there for ‘Barbie’ to do? You have just been crushed by the man that you had been planning your forever with, and of course you are miserable. All of the plans you have been making are shattered. Everything that you have hoped for is gone, in an instant.

After the initial shock wears off, you suddenly realize something: you had signed all of the contracts for your wedding day and now you are the one who will be responsible for them. The amounts you owe are all varying, because of the cancellation clauses in those contracts. Therefore, you may still be owing hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to these businesses through no fault of your own, or theirs.

I know a situation like this sounds like someone’s worst nightmare, and thank goodness that it is rare. It does happen though. As a professional, I have seen it happen to a few clients of mine over the last seven years. It is a horrible feeling for us because we have usually had the opportunity to get to know the couples fairly well, and also come to know their story to some degree.

I decided to write this article now because it is currently happening to one of my clients. It was a very abrupt circumstance, and she didn’t see it coming. The couple in question had been together for quite a number of years, and this sudden change came as quite the shock.

I began to wonder if there was any way to help prevent the financial burden that is left in the wake of a terrible situation such as this, and also what information I would want to know if I were to find myself with the need to plan a wedding again. So I got on line and went to Google. I searched for “wedding insurance and cold feet” and found out, surprisingly enough,that there are at least four companies that now offer this type of insurance. It’s purpose is to help protect couples ‘just in case.’ There are also many plans out there that will cover almost any other conceivable reason for canceling or postponing the wedding. The cost for these plans begins at $150 and goes up, depending on the amount and size of the wedding.

I know many may be reading this and rolling your eyes thinking, “I have already spent so much money. Why should I raise my expenses even more?’. While I understand your reservations, I respond to them by saying: because unexpected things happen in life. It is always better to protect yourself than to be left thousands of dollars in debt because of something that is above and beyond control.

Think about it this way, if it makes more sense to you. We have to buy car insurance when we purchase a car, although you may never need it. However, one day, your car may be innocently parked in a driveway when disaster strikes, say, in the form of a tree falling on it. That very insurance that you’ve paid is there to write the damage off.. How would you feel if you instead had to choose between absorbing the cost of repair work on the vehicle, or having to send it off to the junk yard and getting a new car, while strapped with the responsibility of paying loans on both?

As anyone who has ever had a car accident can tell you, insurance can often be the only support that truly gets you through a difficult time. And as a car is an investment, so is your wedding day. So why not do your best to protect it, as well as to protect the money you’ve put into it? As professionals, we are not looking to take advantage of our clients, as many may assume. By providing you with a little information, we hope to assist you in guaranteeing that you protect your investment in professional wedding services, be they caterers, reception halls, or photographers. After all, not every fairy tale can end with a “happily ever after.

Contact us and we can help you attain the dream wedding that you deserve.

A Great Family Session

After the session that we were graced with on Saturday, May 7, we have no idea why people say that families are stressful. Nicol Photography was able to spend the morning photographing one of the most enjoyable, energetic families that we have had the pleasure of meeting. Even from our initial consultation with these people it was clear that they were going to be incredible to work with, and they definitely did not disappoint! We are always anxious for interesting and unique requests from our clients, and this family definitely offered us some fantastic ideas to make their images truly one of a kind.

Our newest family came to us with five children, ages ranging from 13 years to around 6 months.

During our seven person session it was clear that while they may be a big family, they have even bigger personality. Each member of the family had so many different mannerisms, yet managed to fully complement the others, and in the end this resulted in some truly exceptional images.

With images like these, it’s easy to see that the family that plays together stays together. This group was creative, energetic, innovative, and just all around fabulous! Upon seeing their finished images, the family’s excitement was contagious- nothing is better than satisfied customers. We are already anxiously awaiting their next session- and looking for more exceptional families like them!

If you’re looking for phenomenal, one of a kind images of your very own, schedule your family photo session today by scheduling online or by contacting us.

Last week we attended a benefit dinner in support of Lindsay Kieffer. She was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, underwent chemo treatment for several weeks. Friends and family members joined forces and came up with a benefit dinner to help the family with some of the upcoming bills.

To date they raised over $55,000 through auctions, raffles, 50/50 drawing. The winner of the 50/50 drawing donated 1/2 of her winnings back to Lindsay – so it was really a 75/25 drawing. During this 50/50 drawing, several ladies and plenty of firemen said they would get their head shaved if certain goals were reached. Lots of hair was removed that night, but everyone took it well and everyone came prepared with caps, hats of scarves to cover up in the cold weather.

We were there because we photograph the children of one of the “bald by the end of the night” ladies – Sarah. In the group picture she is the one to the far right – sporting a scarve.

Ladies – it took a lot of guts to have your air removed, but you did it for such a great cause.

To Lindsay and her family – we are praying for you, and wish you a speedy recovery from this illness.

To hear from Lindsay and her sister and close friends check out the story online at FOX8 News. Click here

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Brunner on their 60th Wedding Anniversary. It’s so nice to see a couple enjoy so many years together, and to see their family grow.

I was honored when they asked me to photograph their family group the day after Thanksgiving. Here are several portraits that were captured.

Family Portrait

Watch out – if you do something funny, and show us that you are having fun during your family portrait session – we will capture it and then post it on our blog. These are the moments that it make it so much fun to photograph families that are so close like the Brunners. Thank you for making your family portraits so enjoyable.

We just heard the weather forecast for this weekend and we are suppose to have a gorgeous Sunday. So to celebrate one of the last nice days of the year we decided to send out a quick last minute special to everyone.

Fall Family Portrait Special – portraits in Silver Park.

Send us an email, or call us at (330) 821-7714 to book your time.

It’s the Stark County Fair week – and we have a booth set up to display our portraits and to answer any questions that you may have about any type of photography.

Stop by our booth and purchase a gift certificate, and we will double the amount right on the spot. It’s like magic, except we tell the computer what to do.

Take a look at another special that we have going on. If you are a senior, need a family session or have some kiddos that need their school portraits done, we can help.

Both of these specials are good for the week of the Fair. August 30-September 6, 2010.

If you cannot make it to the Fair, then give us a call at our studio. Don’t worry if we do not answer our phones. Leave us a message and we will get back to you after the Fair is over, and we will honor this special – but you must call and leave us your information for us to call you back. OR you can send us an email and we will get back to you ASAP. Click Here for our contact form.

What happens when you have a family that comes in from California and will only be around for a few days? And you have not had a family portrait done in quite some time?

Get a family portrait done – what better time to capture a growing family.

We know that family portraits are important for you and your family, and we consider it a privilege to capture such moments like these. Having fun is always part of the equation when it comes to family portraits. The younger ones in the portrait are often wondering when it will be done, and when they can leave – we make sure that they are looked after, and that we capture a portrait of them having fun. Take a look at what we mean by having fun.

After photographing Shawn Doak’s senior portraits, it was time to take a family portrait (or a kid family portrait ) so that the parents could have an update image of the gang.

It was such a nice day out, that we decided to do a portrait in the park.

Here is what we captured.

It’s our first day at Carnation City Mall with the Easter Bunny, and she is chilling with our daughter.

Drop on by and have some portraits of your children done with the Easter Bunny. She dropped in to the local Bunny Salon to have her fur colored and had her ears straightened (instead of getting a perm), so she looks brand new. Now parents can als0 join their children to have a unique family portrait done. Don’t forget that all of our portraits are printed on site so that you can leave with them soon after we take the image.

Check out the mall’s website for location and hours. Click Here.

Well it’s that time of the year again. The Easter Bunny will be visiting the Carnation City Mall.

Hop on by the Carnation City Mall to see the Easter Bunny and to have some portraits with him.

Hours are:
Thursday 4PM-8PM (March 25, April 1)
Friday 4PM-8PM (March 26, April 2)
Saturday 11AM-7PM (March 20, March 27, April 3)
Sunday 12PM-5PM (March 21, March 28)