This past Saturday I got to photograph my nephew’s senior session and I must say it was such a surreal moment.  Jason and I met when my sister was pregnant with him, so we’ll always know how long we’ve known each other by how old he is.  He’s 18.  Jason & I have known each other over half our lives.  Amazing!

I also started my first photography class in high school that year and I took the first picture of him after he was born.  I processed and developed it in our high school dark room.  I can honestly say at that time I never would have imagined I’d make a career out of photography, but here I am 18 years later photographing him yet again.

xoxo,

Jessie

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The Emerics | Las Vegas Wedding Photographers. We're a husband and wife photography duo. We love documenting fun modern weddings and couples in love. las vegas wedding photographers -

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary for Rachel & Jeremy and we are so happy to be wishing them a Happy Anniversary today!  We just loved these two’s down to earth and super fun personalities from the moment we met them! We had so much fun with them at their The Legacy Golf Club wedding last year.

You can see more from their wedding HERE and HERE.  Congratulations, R&J! We wish you a lifetime of happiness together!!

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The Emerics | Las Vegas Wedding Photographers. We're a husband and wife photography duo. We love documenting fun modern weddings and couples in love. las vegas wedding photographers -

Jason and I have both lost loved ones to heart attack and strokes. I know we are not alone. Have you lost a loved one or have a loved one battling heart disease?  Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States. February is Heart Awareness Month and we want to help.  How about you?

We are so excited to introduce {Heart} portrait sessions during the month of February! We will be donating 25% of the proceeds from every {Heart} session and all additional product orders to The American Heart Association to help fight heart disease and increase awareness. We’ll be providing fun heart props for every session and we’ll work on fun heart themes for you, too! So, Come ready to have fun and help a good cause! Together we can make a difference.

$50 retainer will be due at time of booking and remainder due on the day of your session.

Online gallery will be available one week after your session.  You can choose your 5 favorite images to keep.  Prints, Canvas, Standouts and full session discs will also be available for a la carte purchase.

Just email jessie@theemerics.com or call 702.481.2944 and schedule your {heart} session today!  Get great photos, have fun, and help a great cause!!

The Emerics | Las Vegas Wedding Photographers. We're a husband and wife photography duo. We love documenting fun modern weddings and couples in love. las vegas wedding photographers -

This past Saturday I had the privilege of photographing good friend and fellow photographer, Emily Ku!  I know Emily was a little nervous to be in front of the camera and I don’t blame her.  I get absolutely terrified of being in front of the camera.  I’m much more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it. But, when it comes to photographing another photographer, well, I was a bit nervous about that.  I’m sure dentists get nervous when having to do a fellow dentist’s cleaning, right?!? Well, as it turns out, we had no reason to feel nervous.  We had a fun time together chatting, acting silly, and just being us while I got some new shots for her the new website she’s working on!  I love Emily’s easy going personality and I just love her honesty and how she keeps it real.

A big thanks and shout out to Megan from Makeup in the 702 for Emily’s hair & makeup! Thanks, Emily, for stepping in front of my camera!  You rocked it!

xoxo,

Jessie

The Emerics | Las Vegas Wedding Photographers. We're a husband and wife photography duo. We love documenting fun modern weddings and couples in love. las vegas wedding photographers -

Every couple is different.  Every love story is unique.  Your engagement session should be about telling that love story.  Your engagement session is about the two of you and showing off that love you have for each other.  We offer an engagement session as part of our wedding day photography because we want to get to know your story.  We want to capture that love story from the beginning.

Besides the wedding day, shooting engagement sessions are are absolute favorite!  The engagement session is a great time to have fun, with no pressure for time.  It’s also one of the best ways for us to get to know each other and for you guys to get comfortable in front of the camera.  Here are a few tips we put together to help make your engagement session a ton of fun and reflect who you are as a couple!

1. location.  Choose a spot that you love and have a connection with for the shoot.  Don’t worry so much about how pretty it is, but more about how it makes you feel.  It could be your favorite place to go for a walk, the spot where he proposed, or even where you met.   If you enjoy playing sports together, a photo shoot on the soccer field or basket ball court would be perfect.  If your idea of a good time is to get all dressed up for a night on the town, then a glam shoot is more for you.  Wherever you choose, it should be a location that works for your style and personalities. 
2. what to wear.  I always say, wear what you’re comfortable in.  If your soon-to-be-hubby is a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy, don’t ask him to wear a suit and tie for the engagement session.  Likewise, if you’re favorite outfit consists of a cute dress and Toms, don’t overdo it with 3 inch heels.  But if dressing up is your thing, go for it all the way!  You want your engagement session to reflect who you are right now.  Wearing outfits that you love and are comfortable in are going to make you feel confident and that will show through in your photos!
3. professional hair & makeup.  This one goes along with tip #2.  Having a professional do your hair and makeup just makes you feel good!  You know you’re looking awesome and that’s going to make you feel confident and that confidence is definitely going to show in your photos!  You are gonna rock it!
4. props.  We believe that the most important part of a photograph is you and your love!  That being said, adding some personal touches to your photo session can be fun and will make your photos special and unique to you.  If you enjoy going for romantic picnic in the park together or going on horseback rides is your thing, we can totally incorporate that your session.  It could be as simple as your favorite blanket  to cuddle up together or even the instrument you play!  It’s all about showing off your unique personalities and quirks!
5. have fun.  This is by far the most important thing to remember.  Just have fun and enjoy being together.  Your engagement session is a great time to relax and remember why you are getting married in the first place. Because you are in love, you have fun together, you laugh together, you dream together, and you’re ready to tell the world you just can’t live without each other!

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The Emerics | Las Vegas Wedding Photographers. We're a husband and wife photography duo. We love documenting fun modern weddings and couples in love. las vegas wedding photographers -

Happy Friday blog world!  We are feeling good and loving life right now.  If you would have asked me how I was a few days ago, though, I (jessie) was pretty down.  I was feeling sick with a cold & allergies, but it was more than that too.  I was just plain feeling bad and moping.  It was pretty pathetic and Jason was losing his patience with me.  So, what changed?  Nothing really, there was no huge miracle or amazing news to change my mood.  I just had to stop feeling sorry for myself and focus on the positive.  It’s hard to do.  It’s so much easier to curl up in bed and pretend nothing else exists. But, then you start missing out on life.  A good life.  Your life.  My life.  The life we’re building and creating everyday.  I realized that I shouldn’t worry about the future so much because then I start missing out on the present.  I started to think about all the good in my life and realized it definitely outweighs the bad.  I want to live my life to the fullest.  I want to be a great mother to my kiddos, a good wife to my hubby, and a great photographer to our clients.  So, I snapped out of it….literally.

So, in keeping focused on the positive,  we wanted to share a bit of blog love we received this month.  We’re thrilled to have been a part of Done Brilliantly blog and Storkie Express Wedding of the Week.

Done Brilliantly is a blog that focuses on showcasing real weddings & engagements to give it’s readers lots of ideas and inspiration!  Earlier this week they featured Monica & David’s elegant Las Vegas wedding and how they made Vegas their own!  Click on the image for the full blog feature.

Earlier this month Shawna & Mike’s lovely wedding at the beautiful Paiute Golf Club was the wedding of the week over at Storkie Express blog.  Storkie Express is a great place to go to look for wedding & party invitations, but their blog is full of real weddings and ideas for wedding & party planning. Click the image for the full blog post.

Lastly, we want to thank all the brides who took the time to give us such amazing reviews on Wedding Wire this past year!  Because of you, we received the Brides Choice Award for a second year in a row!  Thank you so much.  We love what we do and love all the amazing couples we get to meet and document their wedding day!

Here’s to staying positive, focusing on the good, and enjoying life!

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The Emerics | Las Vegas Wedding Photographers. We're a husband and wife photography duo. We love documenting fun modern weddings and couples in love. las vegas wedding photographers -

About 2 weeks ago I put out a casting call on our facebook page asking for a couple to help model for a project we were working on.  We chose Tiffany & Mike and had a great time with them shooting the images for our February Heart Promotion flyer.  We got so many great shots that we thought we’d share some from our session on the blog today.

Click HERE for details on our February Heart Sessions!  Heart sessions are for everyone, not just couples!  So, if you’ve been wanting some fun and creative portraits of your little ones or family, this would be a great time to get them and you’d be helping a good cause too!  25% of the proceeds will be going to the American Heat Association!

T+M: thanks so much for being our “models” and hanging out with us for a bit! It was fun

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The Emerics | Las Vegas Wedding Photographers. We're a husband and wife photography duo. We love documenting fun modern weddings and couples in love. las vegas wedding photographers -

You asked the big question and she said yes! Now what?  It’s a common misconception to think that the groom’s job is done here and all he has to do now is show up to the ceremony on time.  Maybe it used to be like that, but we’ve noticed that our grooms are more involved in the wedding day planning than ever before.  So, if you’d like to be more involved or your bride-to-be would like you to be a bit more involved but you have no clue what to do, here are a few ideas to get you started!

• Show off your personal style on your wedding day!  From classic black bow tie tuxedos, a more casual-elegant khaki suit & tie or honoring your family heritage by wearing a kilt, whatever you choose make sure it’s fun and represents who you are.  If you are comfortable in what you’re wearing, you’ll feel confident, and that confidence will come through in your photographs.

• Arrive in style!  Most likely you, your bride, and some of your guests and family will need transportation to and from the ceremony and reception.  Taking care of this will be one less thing on your fiance’s to-do list and you might even get the opportunity to ride in your dream car!

• Choose a best man and groomsmen.  These will be your go-to guys on the wedding day, so make sure they’ll be there for you to take care of things like, toast and speeches, sign the marriage license, hold on to the rings, field your phone calls, etc.

• It’s time to dance!  Work together with your DJ/Band and your fiance to come up with a great playlist for your reception!

• Plan the honeymoon!  The possibilities are endless, but keep in mind that the time leading up to the wedding day will be busy and at times even stressful, so think of locations that will be relaxing and romantic for you both.  This will be your first getaway as Mr. & Mrs. so be ready to enjoy your time together alone, make beautiful memories, and don’t forget your camera to help capture it all because, well, we won’t be there for that

However you decide to help out in the wedding plans, make sure it’s something will enjoy doing and you’ll do great at it!  It’s important not to lose sight of the big picture, marrying the love of your life.  She’ll appreciate all the help you’re willing to give and show your support.

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The Emerics | Las Vegas Wedding Photographers. We're a husband and wife photography duo. We love documenting fun modern weddings and couples in love. las vegas wedding photographers -

I met Rissa & Jacqueline from Scheme Events around the time they were just getting their company started together with Traci and Tara.  Soon after meeting, we got together to shoot a few promotional shots for their brand new website.  I was thrilled to offer my time and services to them because we know what it’s like to start a new business, plus we got along so well!

We’ve kept in touch with them through various networking events and we’ve seen their business grow in the past year and a half and we just know that they are going to continue to blow up! They are super professional, yet friendly and amazingly talented at what they do.

Jason and I had the privilege of working with Traci & Jacqueline for Minde & Jon’s wedding this past November, and I must say that they are amazing at what they do.  Everything ran so smoothly on the wedding day and they really took care of bride and groom and their guests.  It’s a huge job to plan a wedding, especially a destination wedding like we have so many of here in Las Vegas, that having a team of experts help with coordinating your day is such a great benefit.  I highly suggest checking them out for your wedding day!

Now get to know the ladies of Scheme Events a bit more through this fun Q&A!

• Q. How long have you been in business and what made you get started in it?

  A. Scheme Events has been in business for a year and a half and we could not be more excited for the future! Each of the girls brings a different background to the company and has had experience in the events industry for a number of years combined. Scheme is founded on great design, personal relationships and phenomenal events. We met in an intense certification course for Wedding Coordination and Design, started talking about how we wanted to bring fresh and up and coming trends to the Las Vegas area in weddings and to be able to design weddings and events. We are constantly searching and learning for new trends and being there for our clients to make their day truly special.

• Q. What’s one thing that everyone should know about you?

  A. We are super fun! Check out our promo video on our About Us page. We love to eat and hang out together. We became business partners first… then friends and it is definitely a great feeling being able to go into work every day to see your friends.

• Q. What’s your favorite thing about owning your own business?

  A. Being able to do what we love! We each love different parts of the wedding day and making it special for our clients. Every client gets an owner of the business working with them, not an employee. We feel that this makes us who we are and love our job that much more!

• Q. Where do you go to find inspiration?

  A. Where do we not go for inspiration? We are constantly searching for new inspiration and finding new things that we love. We try to take one day out of the month to sit down and talk about what we are loving and going to find new places here in the valley that we find inspiring. However, we do L-O-V-E Anthropologie and we bring a little Anthro to our studio with the scent of their amazing candles.

• Q. How do you find balance between life and work?

  A. Having a studio where we work is the best thing that has happened to us! When you leave the house for the day, you go to work and when you leave work its your personal/family time. It is great to be able to distinguish the two and balance life and work.

• Q. If you were given $500 today, what would be the first thing you would do?

  A. Buy a TV for our studio! Well… maybe that wouldn’t be a good idea; we would be watching wedding shows all day long.

• Q. What advantages/benefits do couples receive when they choose you?

  A. Our clients get the privilege of working with actual owners of Scheme Events. All four of us are behind the scenes pulling ideas and helping each other out with every wedding. Plus, clients have a studio that they can come into and meet with vendors and work on their wedding.

• Q. We have a fun section on our blog site with a list of things we love, could you share a few of the things you love with our readers too?

  A. Apple computers (Rissa will fully convert to the world of Apple one day, she does have an iPhone and iPad)
  Pinterest– you can get lost in time when “pinning”
  Chips and Salsa
  Traci loves David Yurman and Southern Weddings Magazine.
  Rissa loves to decorate her house. You should see her stunning kitchen!
  Jacqueline- “I love to eat and not just because I am pregnant.”
  Tara loves Broadway show and gLee.

For more info check them out here:

website | facebook | twitter

phone: 702.287.9099
email: info@schemeevents.com

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The Emerics | Las Vegas Wedding Photographers. We're a husband and wife photography duo. We love documenting fun modern weddings and couples in love. las vegas wedding photographers -

Our biggest goal for this new year is to get organized.  Anyone else out there feel unorganized and afraid to look beyond what’s right in front of you for fear of being overwhelmed?  I’ll be honest, we’ve been very reactive in our business lately.  When something needed to get done, we scrammed around until it got done and sometimes things didn’t turn out exactly how we wanted.  We had ideas but didn’t put any systems in place to make them reality or to keep up with them.  It’s been exhausting.  We have slowly started implementing some very good organizational systems, such as ShootQ for our business management and Zenfolio for our online galleries and slideshows, but we still have lots more to accomplish.

This task of becoming more organized isn’t only work-related.  We also struggle with organizing our daily and home life.  It’s hard to separate the two when you work from home, let me tell ya! Who’s with me on that one?

We’ve been working on our 2012 goals since November and we now have a timeline to turn these these goals a reality.  I’m sure things will need to be tweaked and reevaluated as the months go by, but it’s a start!

Here are a few organizational tools that we’ve been using to help us clear the clutter and get moving.   ….

• Evernote  :  It’s kind of like a journal / notebook, but way cooler.  It works with nearly every computer, phone and mobile device out there and allows you to sync all of them so no matter where you are, you can update a note, create a new one, and remember everything!
• Google Calendar :  This is pretty self explanatory, but it really helps me to have our calender online and also be able to synch with my iphone and ipad.  It also integrates really nicely to my ShootQ calendar, which is great because I don’t have to keep to 2 separate calendars for work and home.  I use the same calendar and just color code our photo shoots, weddings, work appts, and home life.  It keeps me sane!
• Pinterest : ok, ok, you might think this one doesn’t really count as a tool but it does!  I’ve been able to create boards to help me organize recipes, ideas for activities with the kids, inspirational quotes, ideas for photo shoots, vacations, and home decor.  And, I must say that it really does work.  I have made some really great tasting meals and we’ve had some fun times with the kiddos with some of those pins I’ve found.  Plus, I’ve also found some really great tips on organizing

In the following weeks, I’d also like to share in more detail and give specific examples of what it is we are struggling with, some of our goals, and our timelines for achieving them.  This is partly because I think if I share it openly here with you on this blog then I’m also going to be held accountable.  I’ll be motivated to accomplish them.  Sharing is caring. But, just as importantly, I hope that by sharing a bit of our struggle we can also help you in your quest to become more organized.  I hope I’m not alone and we aren’t the only ones who haven’t mastered the art of organizing…..

Now, why don’t you share some of  your own organizational problems with us, or some tips on what’s helped you become better organized.  Heck, just a little “amen, I’m right there with ya!” would work too!

Thanks!

The Emerics | Las Vegas Wedding Photographers. We're a husband and wife photography duo. We love documenting fun modern weddings and couples in love. las vegas wedding photographers -