Sunday, December 27, 2009

Happy Holidays!

Ok, so all of our Holiday cards didn't quite make it out. If you didn't happen to get one in the mail, here's one of our pictures. Although I sometimes complain that my own children do not cooperate when I'm taking their pictures at all, those are really some of the best moments that I will always cherish. Forget about looking at the camera and smiling... those pictures are totally over-rated. Never delete the pictures you have of your kids just being themselves. We plan to show this one to Sydney and Max when they are teenagers and probably not getting along as well as they do now.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Jennifer Mayo Studios!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

The Wait is Over - Silver Beach Carousel & Ballroom


That's right, it's finally here... the Shadowland Ballroom and Carousel at Silver Beach are finally here. Tonight, I had the honor of attending the dedication ceremonies and even got to ride the Carousel myself. It's been a long time coming and was really breathtaking to see everything up and running in person. The Carousel is magnificent, the Ballroom is beautiful and the Curious Kids Discovery Zone will be a real treat for all of the local children (and their parents) in the area. The St. Joseph, Michigan facility will be open to the general public starting January 2. Carousel tokens are available as stocking stuffers at a discount (I bought 24!). I think you can get them at the Curious Kids Museum if you're interested.

We're looking forward to our 2010 weddings at the Shadowland Ballroom and to having even more fun riding the Carousel and visiting the Curious Kids Discovery Zone... even more reasons to visit St. Joseph.

More to come... we'll be at the New Year's Eve gala at the Ballroom.... I'm sure it will be a New Year to remember.





Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Silly Hats!



Many thanks to the families who participated in our Limited Edition Silly Hats Sessions on Saturday. Here's a few from one family's session. We'll be doing a handful more this week and next, so call the studio if you would still like to schedule a Silly Hat Session. Happy Holidays!












Sunday, November 22, 2009

December 5th : Silly Hats

Call for your session appointment today. We'll be doing our Limited Edition Silly Hats sessions on Saturday, December 5th. Appointment are required. Silly Hats sessions are perfect for newborns through school age kids or even the whole family. Don't have any silly hats, give us a call and we'll let you know our favorite places to find them. Sessions will be scheduled at our studio just north of St. Joseph, Michigan. It's a convenient drive from South Bend and Niles as well as Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Welcome Baby Lorelei!

Welcome to the world Baby Lorelei! Some of you may remember big sister Adelaide's one-year pictures from last spring. Adelaide's baby sister, Lorelei, has arrived and she is just precious. We were so happy to have her in the studio today. We photographed mom and dad's wedding several years ago at the Blue Dress Barn in Millburg just outside of St. Joseph, Michigan a few years ago and have been along for the journey with each new addition to the family. What a treat it is to watch the little ones grow. Thanks again to the whole family for a fun newborn and family session and for making the trip from the Grand Rapids area.









Friday, November 13, 2009

Perfect Christmas Gifts

Coming in December, we'll be starting our Limited Edition Silly Hats sessions. Sessions will be scheduled over several days at the beginning of the month and prints will be available in time for Christmas gifts. The Silly Hats sessions are great for newborns to school age kids, but we can even do them with the whole family. Don't hesitate to call for suggestions if you don't have any silly hats, we know some great places to get them. The $79 session also includes 1 8x10, 2 5x7s, and 8 wallets from the proof of your choice. We'll also be offering some great promotions on larger prints and products too. Call or email us today to reserve your session.

(269) 468.8454 or jennifer@jmstudios.com

State Street Window Display


If you've happened to take a stroll down State Street in St. Joseph, Michigan during the last 5 days, you may have noticed that Jennifer Mayo Studios has a fabulous new window display right between Kilwins and Sherwin Williams (ok, I guess I'm a little biased). We're still putting some finishing touches on it, but I must say it turned out very nice. Hugs and kisses for my hubby for building the wall and platform, and painting them, and installing them, and hanging the LCD display... ok, I guess you get the idea. Be sure to swing by periodically as we'll be updating the LCD presentation with new images including some from our upcoming Silly Hats sessions next month not to mention some gorgeous beach weddings we photographed right in St. Joe this summer.

Be sure to stop by Kilwins while you're downtown for some excellent icecream. It's never too cold for icecream, but they have fantastic fudge and candies too.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Congratulations Danielle & Aaron

Congratulations to Danielle and Aaron who tied the knot in Lansing, Michigan on May 30th!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Veils & Vows Cover

Be sure to pick up a copy of the summer issue of Veils and Vows if you live in the Michiana area or review it online here. The cover features a beautiful image of Alissa and Louis in front of the Amway Grand in Grand Rapids. The bride and groom will be celebrating their second wedding anniversary this August along with their new baby!

Monday, June 8, 2009

Congratulations Kate & Fred!

Congratulations to Kate and Fred who tied the knot on Saturday in beautiful downtown Grand Rapids! The First Park Congregational Church ceremony was followed by a fabulous reception at the JW Marriot. Kudos to whoever picked out desert. Check back soon for a featured gallery on our website as soon as the proofs are finished.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Back-up Baby!

If anyone talks to Bill Gates this week, please let him know he can have his Vista back. For any of you who have talked or emailed with me in the past week-and-half, you probably already know that my computer crashed for no terribly good reason. Back in February, in need of either buying new systems or seriously upgrading our existing ones, we opted to buy brand new Windows machines, and it seems that most come installed with Windows Vista... my advice if you're thinking of making the leap from XP to Vista anytime soon is don't! We decided to purchase new computers 2 months before wedding season really took off in order to hopefully have everything up and running very smoothly in time for the rush, but I apparently get to start over now.

That's all for my rant on Microsoft for now, but this does lead me to a very important related subject that I am rarely asked about by couples getting ready to tie the knot and that is data back-ups. The number one, most important thing we do at the studio, and I will admit it is probably the most tedious, boring part of our jobs, is backing up data. And when we're done backing up the data, we back it up again. And when we're done backing up the back-ups, we check all the back-ups to make sure they backed up correctly. It's time consuming, and it's expensive, but it is THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF MY JOB. I suppose with portrait photography, it may not be as critical, but I cannot ask someone to redo their wedding should something go wrong and we lose their image files. Well, I guess I could, but I'm guessing they might ask me to foot the bill for throwing another expensive party. Consequently, I consider our back-up procedure to be a worthwhile investment.

So when you're considering which wedding photographer to hire to document your once-in-a-lifetime event, remember to ask if and how your photographer backs up your images. Keep in mind when considering cost, too, that back-ups when done thoroughly, can be a time-intensive operation that is likely figured into your package cost.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Wedding Day Magazine Feature : Lissa & Clayton


No detail was spared for Lissa and Clay Bill's fabulous wedding in downtown South Bend, Indiana. The reception was set at the historic Palais Royale, and while we've photographed events there on a number of occasions, the attention to detail for this particular wedding was spectacular. The flowers, the cake, the lighting design... everything was perfect. Kudos to Lissa's mother Gwen and event planner Anne Landis for helping Lissa to make this July 2008 evening one she'll never forget.

To read the full Wedding Day Magazine story, click here.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Only the Best Will Do


Well, it's official, our gear made the coveted Professional Photographer "Hot One" 2009 list. Translation: the pros at Professional Photographer Magazine think our camera, the Canon 5D Mark II, is as cool as we do. We've even been shooting with it since December when Canon first started shipping it. To say the least, it's a pretty awesome camera. Here's some of what Professional Photographer had to say about it:

"Professional Photographer’s annual competition to determine the hottest products on the market has always been fierce, and its tenth installment was no different. Canon's EOS 5D Mark II, with its groundbreaking full-frame HD video capability, was the most highly anticipated camera model to be released this year, and it impressed the judges enough to secure Professional Photographer’s 2009 Hot One Award..."

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Happy Birthday Madilyn!



Baby Madilyn turned 1 in December, but it took us until late February to get her into the studio for her one year tutu session. Everytime we scheduled her sitting, previously, there seemed to be a blizzard. But we finally got her in and it was well worth it. She's such a cutie. Happy birthday Madilyn!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009


Happy 6 month birthday Max! As many of you know, we had our second baby last fall and boy or boy how time flies. Baby Max is already 6 months old. He's such a joy and his big sister, Sydney, thinks he's pretty cool too. Stay tuned for more pictures... his mom likes to take a lot.

Twin Cities Camera Club


I'd like to thank the Twin Cities Camera Club in St. Joseph, Michigan for inviting me to be a guest judge at their March 9th meeting. The club has a lot of great members with good eyes for photography.

The image above is titled "Reflections" and was taken by Jeff Binder. It was one of my favorites from the evening. Not only is it a fantastic image but provides a much different perspective of the St. Joseph Lighthouse than what I'm used to seeing. Kudos to Jeff and all the other photographers in the club. Keep up the good work and never be afraid to try something new.