Saturday, January 30, 2010

Oakhurst Bridal Show


We had an awesome time meeting a lot of great brides on January 24th at the Oakhurst Bridal Show in West Point, GA. It was a busy day, but we had fun! Please be sure to say hello if you're stopping by our page because you met us at the show!

Weddings of Georgia January Extravaganza


January 10th was one of our favorite days of the year...the Weddings of Georgia Wedding Extravaganza downtown at the Trade Center. Once again, we had the biggest display with FOUR BOOTHS! We met a lot of great brides and had a ton of fun! If you're stopping by because you met us at the show, please be sure to leave us a comment and let us know! :)

MAKE ME CRY WHY DON'T YA?

Hey Friends... this is Julie reporting in. I always appreciate all the kind words and gestures my clients give. For instance, for Christmas, Tori Floyd Marcus, made me some of the most delicious Monster Cookies! They were Heaven! Then for my birthday, she made some of the sweetest and most irresitable Chocolate Chip cookies I've ever tasted! I had to fight my family for them! LOL! She and her family are so sweet and I enjoyed every minute of their Engagement, Bridal, and Wedding portrait Sessions.

This past week I received two emails that brought me to tears. Most of the kind words I receive do make me cry because they mean so much, but these two emails made me cry like "Extreme Home Makeover Cry"... know what I'm saying? One is from Dawn Dorrill. She is the mother of April Dorrill. The other is from April Dorrill and Matt Sawyer. The couple was married on October 10th, 2009. Just like my bride Tori and her family, I have become so close to the Dorrills and have enjoyed every minute I spend with them. My "Raves" are always posted under the "Raves" tab on my website, but I thought I would post these two to my blog as well because they were just so touching:

From Dawn Dorrill - Mother of the Bride
"I remember the excitement of the day my daughter, April, got engaged. I then remember as the panic set in the very next day. I wanted her wedding to be all she wanted and all I didn't have. I didn't know where to start and what to do, so out shopping I went for "Mother of the Bride" books. The book guided me in many directions and decisions. That book couldn't tell me about JE Hedges Photography though. We chose three photographers to interview. One, we ended up cancelling before meeting, then we were to see Julie and one other. We walked in Julie's studio with her selling us first with these words "I don't want to be your wedding photographer, but your family photographer". Even though we [April's mother & father] were paying for the wedding, this was April's wedding and it would be hers and Matt's decision on who they chose. Julie is very humble and honest and takes you in just as if you are family. She assured me that I wouldn't have anything to worry about as far as the wedding day. She doesn't just photograph the wedding and reception....she takes other tasks on as well. She wants your special day to be as special as you do. She offers any help even when it doesn't apply to photography and tells you to call her if you have any questions or needs about anything. She means it! That very day April and Matt agreed that they should go with her and we cancelled the final appointment we were to go to. When Julie says she will take care of things...she does just that! I had no worries. When we needed to have an idea of how the wedding day would go... she gave us an estimated time sheet for us to go by. When the reception place needed an idea of the reception times... she supplied us with that. Julie wore many hats. When my daughter suddenly began losing her hair prior to the wedding, Julie was there offering her concern, prayers and help in anyway we may need it. She is a genuine, loving person. The wedding day was great. We had a wedding coordinator at our church, but had it not been for Julie....I would have been on my own at the reception making sure things were on schedule. She told me she wanted me to enjoy my daughters wedding/reception and I did. Her photography skills speak for themselves. We were impressed by the pictures we saw in her studio, but when we got our daughter's engagement, bridal, then wedding photo's we again were so thankful we chose her. She gets as excited over beautiful shots as we do and if you are reading this trying to decide who your photographer should be...Julie Hedges is your girl. As a once Mother of the Bride, I couldn't thank her and her crew enough for all they did for us. We look forward to future endeavors for Julie to photograph. She is family to us now. (Julie, I could never thank you enough for all you have done and still do. I hope we can be of help to you in some way. We feel as if you all are our family too. We love ya!!)"

From April Dorrill & Matt Sawyer - Wedding 10/10/2009
"Years ago I remember reading all of Julie's (and staff's) raves on her website. I thought, "Wow, she seems to have some happy clients." And now, here I sit, trying to conjure up the right words to describe Julie, her staff, and her work. It is hard to find the words to truly describe what Julie does, what she did for me, and who she is as a photographer. I feel blessed beyond words that God put me, my husband, family, and wedding in her path. Julie wasn't just my photographer, Julie was a friend, and as busy as her schedule was, she was always willing to lend an ear, or prayer. Julie has a special way with her brides. She invests her time, money, emotions, and talent into everything that she does. When we booked Julie as our photographer, we also booked her as a life-long family member. Julie went completely out of her way to make our wedding perfect. She always seemed to have something special up her sleeve. I will never forget taking my bridal portraits in the heat with her brother/staff member, Keith, fanning me with the calibration thing... that's love! Most of all, I will forever treasure the memories with Julie. I love my pictures more than I ever dreamed. My wedding photographs and wedding experience was perfect and I can only thank God for giving me Julie. Julie, I love you so much. I hope you know how much we appreciate you and all you have done for us. Until I can't run my mouth anymore, I will continue spreading my experience to all brides and future brides. Every bride deserves to have the perfect wedding like I had, and without you, that would not have been possible. Thanks for being you. I am forever grateful for your mad skills :) ... but most importantly, I am grateful for your friendship. You are wonderful and I hope that other brides turn out like me... Reading my rave, and one day writing their own. Love you!"



I love your family so much! Thanks for allowing me the honor to be a part of your special day! I look forward to many more memories together!

Friday, January 29, 2010

SECRET WORD CONTEST

We held a Secret Word contest on my (Julie) birthday. We hid the word "carnation" on the JE Hedges Photography website within the Wedding FAQ's. We also hid the word "lollypop" in the FAQ's of our JE Hedges Photo Booths website. We announced the contest on Facebook. If you're not currently a fan of both our pages on Facebook, be sure to get in on the action. We plan on having many more fun contests in the future. Once fans found the hidden word, they submitted their answers to us by midnight, January 22nd. We then took the names of all the correct answers and conducted a drawing. Congratulations to Ashley Hilderbrand and Whitney Davis! They both won two Carmike Cinema movie passes.

Monday, January 25, 2010

JE Hedges Photography and MuscogeeMoms.com

JE Hedges is proud to be a new sponsor on MuscogeeMoms.com! Muscogee Moms is a family-friendly events calendar and resource for anyone with children.

"Our studio is excited to be a part of the Muscogee Moms network. Our area has long been
overdue for one resource that parents can go to gather all the information they need about events and news concerning their families. Hundreds of beautiful families utilize Muscogee Moms and our goal is to bring awareness of our studio so we may have the opportunity to photography each one of those smiles" --Julie

We are pleased to be involved with such a great resource for moms!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Lori Starling & Jan Greeff

Lori Starling & Jan Greeff
Engagement Session

LaToya Dix & Wesly Jacques

LaToya Dix & Wesly Jacques
Engagement Session

Friday, January 15, 2010

CAMERA GIVEAWAY!

We're giving away a Canon Powershot A480, 10 megapixel camera this Sunday, January 17th, at 5:00pm EST! The rules? The person who gets the most amount of friends to fan us wins! Simply suggest JE Hedges Photography and/or JE Hedges Photo Booths to everyone on your Facebook Friends list. Then, each time one of your friends becomes a NEW fan, you reply on our Facebook page their name. The individual must NOT already be a fan of ours. Additionally, no sneaky business. We've made a copy of all of our current friends... so no de-fanning and re-fanning. The person who refers the most people who become our fans will be named the winner!

UPDATE! Congratulations to Alexis Dudley and Sarah Spear! Both won brand new Canon Powershot cameras by referring their friends to Fan our photography and photo booth pages on Facebook!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Robert Papenfuss and Melissa Burt


We were so happy to be part of Robert and Melissa's big day. It was almost like we were photographing a family wedding, because Robert is the only child of one of our good friends, Fran Papenfuss--the Cake Lady! November 14th was a beautiful day for a wedding at the Trade Center in downtown Columbus.

Melissa was an absolutely stunning bride. She wore a very simple and elegant dress and carried a bouquet of fall colored wild flowers. Melissa opted to go without a veil, so she had a very cute simple up-do with a ribbon headband. Instead of going with plain white bridal shoes, Melissa jazzed it up with some great blue suede shoes! Her bridesmaids all wore different style dresses in the same great green color. They also carried bouquets of fall flowers, all designed by Annette Earnest, who was also their coordinator.

Some of Melissa and Robert's wedding party had been in other weddings we photographed this year. Also, many of their guests had been guests at other weddings we've done. It was a mini-reunion!

At the Trade Center on the same day, The Guy's Expo was going on. Of course we took the opportunity to go over with Robert and Melissa and get some great pictures of them having fun at the expo! They got to play pool, ride a four-wheeler, pose with an awesome car and watched a football game. They also had a great time jumping into the JE Hedges Photo Booth and getting some fun snapshots.

The reception was also held at the Trade Center. It was beautifully decorated by reception decor with some help from Robert, Melissa and Fran, who made the centerpieces and Annette topped them off with more beautiful flowers. Everyone had a great time at the reception, which had not one, but THREE cakes. Two of them were groom's cakes! One of Robert's cakes was an Auburn cake that matched Melissa's garter. Melissa and Robert broke with tradition and fed each other Oreos dunked in milk instead of cake. Then, they toasted with the milk! How unique! Also, instead of using regular cake platters, they used pieces of wood cut from a tree, which added to the fall feeling of the day!

At the end of the evening, Robert and Melissa were given a sparkler send off to their car. They got in to leave, and their parents jumped in front of the car! At the same time, a limosene came around the corner to get them. It was a surprise from their parents!

Congratulations Melissa and Robert! We wish you lots of love and happiness!

Columbus and the Valley Wedding Issue

The February 2010 issue of Columbus and the Valley Magazine is on shelves and we're in it! We have TWENTY ONE brides in the centerfold "Wedding Gallery"! Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million and other local grocery and book stores!

Once again, we'd like to thank all of our friends, family and clients for making 2009 a great year! Your love and support will make 2010 even better!