Wedding Packages

We have been having issues with couples not receiving the emails with our two wedding coverage options on it. I am posting them here so that they can be easily retrieved. When looking at these coverage options keep in mind that they are fully customizable. Will also be offering for the 2008 season, an hourly rate for weekday wedding. There is a minimum of 4 hours, but it is a nice option for those who may be on a more condensed budget yet still want something special for their wedding images. We will keep you posted on the details of that.
Anyway the first link is to our intimate wedding coverage . This coverage option is for the more intimate weddings. It is designed to give the essentials to our couples who are planning a more simple affair.
Our main coverage option is the Jones Wedding coverage. This option is our standard, complete wedding coverage. It has most everything a discerning couple would need to really document the first few hours as a new family.
Again, these are customizable and can be designed to fit the needs of your wedding.
please call us with any questions regarding either of these options or our availability.
To download the links to your computer to print, right mouse click on link and click "save link as".

The destination wedding trend

Every year more and more brides ask us to travel with them to a destination wedding. The desire for this, according to The Conde Nast Bridal Group, has seen a 400% increase in the last 15 years. With a national average wedding budget climbing to over $27,000.00, couples are starting to hold back a bit and keep the party to the closest friends and family and making it a real party to remember. From the Mayan Riviera, to a villa in the mountains there are numerous destination sites that fit the need and the budget of every bride.
Santa Fe is a very popular location for destination weddings for couples from all over the country. We have photographed couples from NY, PA, IL, FL, all coming here to get married. Couples from here are going places like Florida, NY, the Caribbean, Las Vegas, Hawaii, and Europe. Generally for a destination wedding the cost of travel is the responsibility of the guests.
If you are concerned about the wedding budget or the guest list getting out of hand. Or if you are just wanting something different, something that everyone will remember, consider a destination wedding. Even having local vendors travel with you to the wedding is not much more, many do it for the cost of travel alone.
Our destination couples are asked to pay for air, hotel, and car. The only requests are that the car be an standard or above and that the hotel be a 4 star or above. There are two reasons for this. First and formost is the security of our equipment. Generally 4 star hotels are in a location with less crime and we are less worried about something happening to our equipment. Secondly is our comfort. Generally on destination weddings we are working for up two three days and can get very exhausted. We need to have a place that we are able to completely relax in. We need this in order to be at our best when we are working with you and your family.
Our couples have the choice of adding us to their current travel arrangements or letting us book our own arrangements and then billing them. We are pretty easy as far as that goes.
If you are considering a location for this next year and you would like to talk with us about some options. just give us a call and we can have you come down to the studio!!

Wedding design - First for the '08 season

Yesterday was the first of two bridal show that we do for each season. We had a great opportunity to sit down and talk with many people from the area planning weddings. There were brides who came alone, brides who came with their grooms and still others who came with their entourage. Regardless of how they came it was a pleasure for us to be able to share what we do with them.
We were also able to talk with friends and meet new people. I met with Bryan of Bryan's Photography for the first time, though we have been in the same field together for many years we just crossed paths for the first time yesterday. It was a very pleasant conversation. We also were able to talk with Terry at Blue Rose and see his beautiful little baby girl. We visited with Rick and Kevin from Kevins Photography, Rick and his wife Deanna are planning a couple of fine art exhibits over the next few months and are working hard to get ready for these shows.
We are in an area with many wedding photographers and photography studios. Everyone has their way of doing shooting, displaying and doing business. It is great to see the differences in these styles and it shows how broad the job description for photographers is. We are also glad to be in a position to not have to call other photographers in our area "competition." we call them photographers, some we call friends. They are all in the business of providing people with visual documents of life. Their own interpretation of what they see and photograph is generally different from another. It is that difference that people need to look at when they choose someone to work with.
We have yet to book weddings and sign contracts while at a bridal show. Bridal shows offer a quick overview of who a studio is and what they do. We want people to study the work of the studio, study their personalities, their business practices. Meet with them and see if you even connect on a personal level. Really take the time to find out who will be able to give you the work you will love and treasure for the rest of your life. Don't look for the cheapest of the one with the most 8x10s. Just because McDs has $ .49 burgers doesn't stop people from paying $8.00 somewhere else. McDs may satisfy the initial hunger but you likely will not remember the experience you had eating that burger.
Look for a person that you enjoy being around that you connect with and whose work you love.
Anyway, back from the digression, we did enjoy the show, even though we have been considering stepping back from doing the bridal shows, we had a great time talking with all of you who took the time to stop by.
Thanks and happy planning!

Dylon, not yet a week old

It was just a few weeks ago that we posted Mom-e-2-b. And now Stephanie and Derek have little baby Dylon to hold in their hands, love on, kiss on, change diapers, feed, lose sleep over, and all the other great things that come with a new baby!
He was 7lbs 8oz, and looks like mom did when she was a baby. He has the smallest little features and is a very handsome little man. We got to look at some of the pictures that they have taken of him over the past few days and Desiree and i cracked up over some of them. Though often it can seem like the toughest time in life, there is no greater blessing for such a great couple than to be given the gift of this beautiful little boy.
And don't worry, after a few more weeks you'll get the hang of it. You'll be able to change him, type email, and feed him with one hand, without lookin'. It's always a bit awkward for the first few days!!
congratulations.

Tradition

Tevia fought with something throughout the great musical "Fiddler on the Roof"- TRADITION. The wedding of Adam and Sarah was wrought with tradition and there was no struggle with it at all. From the full mass with Mariachi and the Lasso ceremony, to the reception with bizcochitos and La Marcha it was a true embrace of tradition. Though New Mexico is a culturally diverse state, It has such strong Hispanic traditions that have endured centuries and are still a part of our current culture. With so many reality shows on TV about crazy weddings and overly extravagant weddings, it is a comfort to see that there are still couples like the Arrossa Family who embrace their culture, its history, and use that in there lives to carry on the legacy of their family.
This last weekend we had a great opportunity to be apart of the joining of these two families to create one beautiful little family. Sarah and Adam were married at St Joseph's on the Rio Grande Parish in ABQ, NM.
It was an early ceremony, Desiree met Sarah At 8:30am to photograph her and her girls getting ready. The beautiful full mass ceremony was performed at 10:00and accompanied by mariachi.
The lasso ceremony and then communion ended the ceremony and the mariachi escorted the guest from the church.
The reception was later that evening at the Double Tree hotel. And, as often happens, there were a few hangups. Overall , however, the reception went off very well and everyone had a great time. Even after the lights came on and at 12:30 am when we left, the party kept going.
We had a great time with Sarah and Adam.

Firefox Plugin

In order to view our slide shows with Firefox, you may have to go to http://www.photodex.com/products/presenter/
and download the plug in. Or click link below for immediate download.
http://www.photodex.com/files/presenter/pxsetup.exe

Website images being updated

I am in the process of updating the images on our website.(since there are little to none from this year).
Anyhow, if you get a chance, check out the website again over the next few weeks as the changes are being made!! I am also getting more slideshows online. Click the slideshow link on the www.jonesphotoart.com website and check them out. (should be up in the next few days)

HS Senior Ambassadors

We are looking for HS Senior ambassadors who can help us promote our senior portrait program within certain High Schools. If you are interested in changing the way seniors still think about their senior photos, and think a few extra bucks in your pocket sounds nice, call us for more information on our senior ambassador program. We are still looking for a few more students from a number of High Schools in the area!

Cory found his Faith

It was at a wedding a few years ago that Cory and Faith met. Now in the old southwestern beauty of the Galisteo Inn, they are again together at another wedding. This one however is a wedding all their own. Cory and faith had all but a few of their closest friends and family with them for this intimate celebration.
The couple of hours before the wedding went well for Cory and the guys. While moms were taking care of last minute concerns and faith and her girls were trying to get ready in a room with NO A/C, the guys were putting the pool to it's full use. After a good hour or so of swimming, they got ready for the wedding in their small southwestern style, air conditioned room.
Meanwhile, back in the very warm room, faith and the girls were fighting back sweat and humidity to keep faiths hair and makeup, just perfect. All the effort worked, as faith walked out to the ceremony grounds and was the epitome of beauty.
The ceremony lasted just a short time and was a very personal ceremony, performed by a great friend. After the ceremony, we had a chance to walk around on the beautiful grounds of the inn and photograph Cory and Faith spending a their first few minutes alone together as husband and wife.
The dinner and rest of the reception went off without a problem. Aside from fighting with a few sets of twinkle lights who did not want to cooperate, everything was beautiful. We are very glad to be able to be a part of this wedding. Faith and Cory are to great people and it was a real privilege to work with them. Enjoy Cancun you two!!

Finally the Frushours!

We shot another family for our Legacy collection! We ran into the Frushours at the mall on crazy tax free weekend and they mentioned they haven't had pictures done of Hayden since he was born. We figured that since he's now two, it was time. We had a wonderful time shooting and playing, even though Hayden was more interested in eating cookies than doing pictures! It was a great opportunity for them to enjoy time together as a family and have great images to show for it. Thanks guys for coming in, and enjoy!

Jacqie & Travis slideshow

We are trying to get our slideshows online for our couples. We are starting with Jacqie and Travis. Take a peak and let us know what you think! Click here to view show!!

Senior portrait sessions

Our ( j ) senior sessions mailer went out this week. It's the first this school year. Because we only do custom work for our seniors, we have not been advertising and only work with a select few seniors on a referral basis only. Because of the demand among groups of kids who want that total personalization with their senior photos, we are dedicating more time to our senior sessions in order to accommodate a few more people. This has also allowed us to do a bit of advertising.
We are very lucky in that we are able to work with only a select group of kids. Not so lucky when we have to turn so many away. But it works out well for us and all those that we are able to work with.
We have the ability to give all of our seniors a completely personal session, shot on nearly any location that they can imagine, using anything they want in the picture to show their personality.
To give you an idea: We have shot in bedrooms, on the mesa, in the canyons, in the foothills, downtown, oldtown, bosque, backyard, in a tree, rock climbing, in clubs, in cars, on cars, in dance schools, building tops, back alleys, botanical garden and in the middle of the street between traffic. Yes, we also shoot in the studio. Those sessions are usually done when our senior has a very specific vision that can only be captured in the studio. We have also shot with all sorts of imaginable props: cars, camping equipment, motorcycles, umbrellas books, cellos, friends, couches, chairs, microphones, bubblegum.
One of the beauties of life is it's diversity. We are all individuals with our own needs, wants, personalities, and passions. There is no reason that we can't express those traits that make us who we are. We have great opportunity to work with people to do just that; express themselves and have it captured, to be enjoyed forever.
Please contact us to get your senior sessions scheduled. Or if you know of someone graduating this year and know that the standard/traditional yearbook picture and session just won't do them justice, please contact us.

Four generations of strong women

I had the opportunity today to photograph four generations of Moody women. I had a wonderful time watching Rebe and Ally play with their great grandma. We were told before hand that Grammy wasn't "photogenic" but it's amazing when you concentrate on the feelings that one generation has for another, it doesn't matter. Grammy was beautiful, all smiles and love for her great grand daughters. Thank you for sharing your legacy with us!
We are so privileged to be able to be a part of the lives of so many people. To see and know a family like this and be able to provide them with images of the family legacy is a great blessing.
There is always time in our lives that we can take away from the daily grind and spend with our families. Take some time with them and have it captured, to be remembered for generations - a testament of your family's love.
Thanks again for letting us be a part of your families.
Desiree