Coming Soon: Boone Bride Guide | Wedding Planning Resource | Boone NC Photographer

"I have learned how complex and overwhelming it can be to plan a wedding! It's not easy that's for sure!"

I've heard on numerous occasions how overwhelming it is to plan a wedding from my brides. They share nearly the same sentiment every time I check in with them as we get closer to their big day.

Another confided, “Honestly, I'm overwhelmed at this time trying to pull the wedding together, find a job, and take care of a sick pet and mother.”

The planning process is really stressful because there are so many different elements that need to come together in order to make it happen. It’s difficult and time consuming to search for vendors and ideas to make your big day special. And that’s all supposed to happen while you’re living your "normal" everyday life!

I mean, that's what wedding planners are for and why it's a brilliant idea to hire one to help you but sometimes being on a budget makes that impossible so you have to do it yourself.

SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE

As a newlywed myself that just got married 2-months ago, I know how mind-boggling it can be to bring everything together, especially since our wedding was planned in less than 3 weeks! It was no easy feat but I made it happen, and with minimal stress, if you can believe that! 

You can read about it in last week's blog post:

Focusing on the Marriage and Not the Wedding

People thought I was nuts. Frankly, you have to be a little crazy to do something like that anyway. But I embraced the challenge and overcame obstacles like a champ! 

What I'm hoping to do is provide a useful resource to assist my couples with wedding planning instead of allowing them to get swallowed by stress that can be created as a result of organizing such a special day. 

Basically, I want to make wedding planning less painful and a lot more awesome for my brides! 

A NEW NORMAL

Your wedding day is a reflection of your distinct personalities as a couple, so it’s important to do things YOUR WAY instead of how people think you should be doing things. 

What I love about being a wedding photographer is that no two weddings are alike because they are all unique to the couples I have the pleasure of working with.

Some brides plan a year in advance for their weddings, which seems to be the standard these days, and then there are folks that procrastinate while others just choose not to devote unnecessary time and energy to making it all happen.

Whether you are ready to begin, in the middle, or near the end, the Boone Bride Guide will help no matter how far along you are in the wedding planning process!

Simple sounds so much better than complicated, right?! 

CUSTOMER CARE MATTERS TO ME

I set out to create this wedding planning resource because once a couple books me as their wedding photographer, I like to keep the communication lines wide open! Yes, that may mean additional emails, but I’m interested in starting a dialogue with my brides to find out more about them and where they are in the planning process.

I try to be as helpful as I possibly can in the months leading up to their wedding day. I welcome them to ask me questions via email, text, or a good ol' fashioned phone chat  if they need any assistance with anything, especially if they’re planning from afar, which the majority of my brides are. 

So, with the various questions that I answer on a regular basis, I figured why not create an online resource that I can send them that has all of the information they need in one place! The wedding magazine I designed and send out to my couples is filled with lots of good stuff but the website will be JAM PACKED with goodness that I will be adding to on a regular basis!

SHARING THE LOVE

In the Boone Bride Guide, I plan to use the new space to showcase local wedding vendors and business owners that I really enjoy working with and highly recommend.

I’m also hoping to share interviews and stories behind why they do what they do because behind-the-scenes sneak peeks are awesome, and so are people's stories!

When I got married at the end of June, I didn't want just any vendors contributing to my big day, I wanted people who share similar values and were kindred spirits because it makes planning a whole lot more fun when you like the folks you’re working so closely with!

LOGO DESIGN PROCESS SNEAK PEEK

It’s been great to have this personal project to work on to keep me inspired even though I’m nowhere near being finished with everything at this point and I’m supposed to launch at the end of August. Hopefully, I'll be able to knock out some pretty big chunks of work over the next week to meet my deadline. 

What I've done so far is created two different mood boards for the Boone Bride Guide which helped me to develop concepts for the logo designs. One was whimsical and flowery while the other one had more of a tribal vibe. 

After the moodboards were completed, I then did some sketches to flesh out the logo ideas that I had as a result of the inspiration. Once I was done doodling, I then tackled creating digital mock-ups on the computer. I designed a total of 8 logo mock-ups based on my sketches for the Boone Bride Guide. 

I’m really pleased with some of the early concepts that were formed and I’m looking forward to refining a few further so that I can choose a FINAL logo design because the next step is starting on the website that I hope to complete in a week! Is it just me or do I love these tight deadlines?! haha

Since this is something that I don’t typically do, I thought it would be fun to give you a behind-the-scenes look at why I decided to build the Boone Bride Guide and how I take concepts and create designs digitally.

Please keep in mind that these are just preliminary concepts and that they all need refining before they can be used as a logo. Variations will be created for each design if I choose to use that concept and refine it further. These are just to give me an idea of what direction I might like to go in based on the vision I have for the Boone Bride Guide! I'd love to get your input.

Which three are your favorites? Please vote in the comments because I would love to hear your thoughts!

If you’re interested in learning more details about the Boone Bride Guide as they are announced, I invite you to sign up for the Weekly Wander where I will be releasing information about this new wedding website to subscribers first!

Hi! My name is Jessica a.k.a. Wayfaring Wanderer and I reside in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains here in Boone, NC. I'm a free-spirited wedding, engagement, and lifestyle photographer who loves working with couples, families, and individuals who are committed to travel, adventure, and laid-back lifestyles. If you think we might be kindreds, I invite you to join the WW tribe by signing up [ HERE ] for weekly updates & get connected to the [ WW Facebook page ] to join the conversation! | Website www.wayfaringwanderer.com

{ Featured VENDORS }

Dresses
South's Specialty Clothiers

1180 Blowing Rock Road

Boone, NC 28607
Phone: (828)264-8977

Make-up
Beautiful Bride on Location
(Marion Edwards)

NC Wedding Venue

Smithmore Castle
Spruce Pine, NC 28777
Phone: 904-509-5095

{ Featured LINKS }
» Focusing on the Marriage and Not the Wedding
» DIY Down-Home Backyard Wedding: Emma + Alex
» Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | Wedding Styled Shoot @ Camp Sky Ranch
» Wedding Dresses from South's Specialty Clothiers at Smithmore Castle
» FREE Wedding Magazine When You Subscribe for the Weekly Wander

A Secret I Can No Longer Keep! | Boone, NC Photographer & Graphic Designer

There is a secret that I've been hiding from you. It's a BIG one, too. One that is positively life changing in so many different ways. I'm excited and terrified all at the same time as I head in this new direction. But it's time that I made this leap. It's time that I have faith in my abilities and believe that I have the power to achieve what I truly want most.

It wasn't until recently, maybe the last 2 years or so, that I even knew what I wanted to do with my life. What I did know is that I wasn't happy with what I was currently doing. After a lot of deliberation, I finally decided to make a change. Although I consciously decided to do the things that I had been dreaming about, I still hadn't mustered the courage to take the plunge and be completely on my own. I needed a nudge which came about in the form of a lay-off from my office job. That was over a year and a half ago.

It was that push that caused me to realize exactly what it was I wanted to do with my life. And that's what I have set out to accomplish during these months of unemployment. This past summer, I finished up a degree in Graphic Design with the Art Institute, which I'm really ecstatic about. It was an amazing learning experience that I gained a great deal from. I wanted to add Graphic Design to my skill set because I've always appreciated aesthetics, and I genuinely wanted to know more about creating compelling designs. Meshing Graphic Design with my love of Photography seemed like a no-brainer to me. I feel as though the two outlets go hand-in-hand and that having both would give me an advantage in the world of working for myself.

Photography has been in my life since the age of 10 when my Dad gave me my first 35mm camera. I remember thinking how awesome it was because it had a time/date stamp, talk about old school. Anyhow, it's that one thing that has always stuck with me in varying degrees. Some points in my life I'd be doing it more than others. However, my camera hardly leaves my hands for very long. It's what I absolutely love to do more than anything. So, there's no doubt that this would be something that I would be doing for years to come. It was only natural that it would eventually become part of what I do as a way to generate income.

The problem with knowing what you love to do and turning that into a way to create money is that there is a great deal of uncertainty involved in working for yourself. For me, though, there is no other way because I am not going back to what made me unhappy. Not gonna happen! I won't lie to you. I've struggled with a lot of demons this past year that have tried to prevent me from embarking on this new journey, but I somehow managed to clear the hurdles put before me with as much grace and humility as I possibly could. Now, here I am, ready to reveal what has materialized from all my hard work.

Behind the scenes, I have built and designed a new website for my photography/graphic design business. Instead of using my name, I decided to go another route. The name of my business and website is Discovery Photography & Design. This new path has been one filled with discoveries and realizations about myself and my dreams. It seemed so fitting for me to give it this name.

My focus will be on portrait photography because I have learned that I absolutely love to shoot people. I'm a sucker for capturing the love that families share for one another. As far as the design part of it goes, my goal is to work with small businesses to develop designs to suit their specific needs. I excel at concept development and bringing those visions to life through graphic design. I have come to love it as much as my photography.

Like I said in the beginning of this post, I'm excited and terrified all at the same time to (finally) share with you what I have been working toward for the last year and a half. The process has been slow going, but I know that it's happening at just the right time. I'm as ready as I'll ever be! Are you ready to see? Because I'm finally ready to let go...

To visit my new website, follow this link: 

http://www.discoveryphotographyanddesign.com

I welcome any and all feedback that you have to offer. And I truly appreciate the support you are willing to give (and have given thus far). If you know of anyone who could benefit from my photography or graphic design services, please share my information with them! I also invite you to “LIKE” the new fan page I have set up where I plan to share sneak peeks of recent photosessions, as well as other great photography & design related things that happen to catch my eye.

“LIKE” Discovery Photography & Design on Facebook:  

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