Joriana and I are thrilled to announce that we received the 2012 Two Bright Lights Editors’ Choice Award. This award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the Two Bright Lights Network who demonstrate hard work and talent required to be featured repeatedly in our top magazines and blogs.

Among the thousands of photographers competing for this publication the Editor’s Choice represent the best-of-the-best.

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

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Here’s what they said:

“Let me preface this by stating the obvious: We got married in September 2011, and it’s now February 2012. I wrote a review for everyone single one of my vendors within a month of our wedding but every time I’ve thought about writing this one, I don’t even know where to start, and I’m a talker. They’re THAT good!
I first came across Mindy and Joriana’s work from a random picture one of my girlfriends sent me of one of her high school friends. It was a close up of a bride and it took my breath away. I googled Ever After Visuals and I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I spent the rest of my workday watching their slideshows and reading their stories – I even wiped away a few tears watching pictures of people I didn’t even know flash across my screen. I decided that day that when Jim and I got married, they’d be the only ones I wanted photographing our wedding. That was six months before we got engaged.
Jim and were engaged on a summer vacation and on the Monday morning after our return, I called Mindy and left a message with this information: My name is Jen, I just got engaged, I love your pictures, please call me back. She did within 10 minutes and we spent the next half an hour or so talking about how he had proposed and what we wanted our wedding to look like. She was genuinely excited to hear about us and what my thoughts were and shared a number of tips and ideas on venues in the area, other vendors she’s worked with, and other helpful advice. We just clicked, and I loved that she was so willing to help me out before we even discussed contracts, price, and booking information.
We met Mindy and Joriana at their house a few weeks later and our one hour appointment lasted at least two. Jim and I shared our ideas of what was important to us in our wedding pictures. We wanted images that captured emotion and feeling, that were beautiful for not just what we were wearing or where we were, but for what we were there for. We wanted a few staged formal shots to appease our parents, but more than anything we wanted the candid moments to reflect back on, and pictures of the two of us that embodied who we are as a couple – and we’re definitely not the traditional “prom pose” type! We flew ideas back and forth with each other, talked about family, and by the end of the meeting, we left knowing that we had made the right choice.
We scheduled our engagement session in their outdoor studio in October and when we saw the images a few weeks later we were almost bummed because we felt like there was no way our wedding pictures could beat them! They were beautiful. Over the next year I was in constant contact with Mindy and Joriana. They helped me make decisions on other vendors, gave advice when I was stumped on certain things, shared in the joy when I sent them pictures of my dress, and shared in the frustration when our venue decided to renovate and we were told it might not be done in time for our wedding. Bottom line: they were an amazing support system for us and so much more than just people who took our pictures. The best part of it all was that they would call or e-mail every once in a while to follow up and ask for the updates. They WANTED to hear about it all so that by the time the wedding rolled around, I felt like they knew almost every aspect of our day, knew my family, knew what was most important, and were so prepared to capture everything that we had talked about in our planning meetings. I won’t spoil it for future brides, but Mindy and Joriana also make sure to take care of you and your bridesmaids. They know just the right thing to send at just the right time; it goes beyond encouraging words!
The day of our wedding Mindy and Joriana showed up early with two assistants! They did a fantastic job of keeping us on schedule and really had a fun time interacting with our bridal party. Overall, we just hung out and had fun and the pictures really show how comfortable they made everyone feel. There are no stuffy pictures in the almost 1,600 images taken that day, and they really blended into the event rather than stepping in and intruding like I’ve seen so many other photographers do. They snuck us away for some night shots at the end of the night and I’m so glad they did! They are some of our favorite pictures and it gave us some time to catch up and hear how they thought everything had gone.
Our wedding pictures are priceless. I have gotten so many comments from friends and family about how amazing they are and are seriously worth every penny of the investment we made in these images. They so far passed our expectations; I am at a loss to describe how happy I am that we chose Mindy and Joriana of Ever After Visuals to photograph our day. When Jim and I saw our wedding slideshow, we laughed, cried, and sang along with both Mindy and Joriana right by our side doing the same thing. There is a reason why so many of their brides come back to have them photograph their growing families. They become a part of your memories of such a wonderful day and the wedding album they put in our hands is truly something we will cherish forever. Their talent is unsurpassed and the genuine care they possess for their clients make them the best decision we made for our wedding!”

 

Are you crying!?!  Because I am!  Ah, thank you sooo much!  I feel like I just won an award.  :D

Joriana and I are thrilled to let you know that we received a Bride’s Choice award.  This award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service and professionalism.

The Bride’s Choice Awards™ are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds (brides and grooms) through extensive surveys and reviews, which means your past clients have spoken on our behalf and selected you to receive this honor.

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

We couldn’t be more thrilled!

Check it out here!

As you can see below, we placed 13th in the venue/location genre.  This image was taken at Donald and Tarsha’s Wedding.  We love motorcycles and wanted to do something cool and unique!

The next image placed 8th in the Wedding details genre.  This image was taken at Ryan and Kara’s Wedding.  We thought it was so cool that Ryan’s ring had been passed down from generation to generation — it had his father, grandfather and (I think) great grandfather’s signatures engraved on the inside.  Completely unique.  We loved it!

The last image placed 5th in the movement and motion category.  This was also from Donald and Tarsha’s Wedding.  We are always looking for cool new ways to photograph the groomsmen and so this is what we came up with!

We hope you all enjoy!  And thank you so much to everyone that’s supported us and, of course, to our amazing clients.  We would not be able to have any of this without your creative understanding

Noelle and Van’s wedding at Airlie Center was one of our favorites! We are so excited to announce that today, it’s being published in Borrowed and Bleu!

Please be sure to check it out here!

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

Justin and Melissa’s Wedding was recently published — take a peek at it here!

Check out the post here:

Or you can just take a peek at the images below.

Joriana and I are thrilled to let you know that we received a Bride’s Choice award.  This award recognizes the top 5 percent of local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service and professionalism.

The Bride’s Choice Awards™ are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds (brides and grooms) through extensive surveys and reviews, which means your past clients have spoken on our behalf and selected you to receive this honor.

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

Nikki and Mike

I think I have started this review at least a hundred times and always fail to capture the impact Mindy and Joriana had on my wedding experience. Not just the photography- the experience was and the images are amazing- but the overall start to finish and beyond impact. Our immediate impression of M&J was one of comfort and ease. They are relaxed and approachable, like old friends. We instantly clicked which is so important when selecting a photographer; their purpose is to capture your experience, emotion and event so that you have it for your “ever after”. They are all about you and what is important to you. Having a good personal connection lets them really get to know you so they can capture the images that will generate an emotional reaction 5, 15, 30 years later when you look back at your photos/album/images.

Weddings in general are overwhelming. Mindy and Jori know their profession and the wedding “business” which is important when YOU need a sanity check! On several occasions, Mindy helped me break it down, sort it out and make it manageable when faced with challenges, big and small.

Their work is amazing. I was looking for “traditional with a twist”- I didn’t know that at the time but looking back that is exactly what I wanted! I wanted interesting, fun and unique images from a rather traditional wedding. They did not disappoint!! The “first look” concept is brilliant. The technical skills M&J bring to your images make you say “WOW, I didn’t know I could look like that!!” or, “How did you do that??” Mindy just smiles with a little wink- she’s got you covered.

Weddings are a one-time deal, there are no do-overs or take backs. Doing it right and capturing the experience the first time and forever is of utmost importance. Mindy and Jori just get “it” they instinctively know what is important, they listen, provide stellar guidance and are truly good people, amazingly talented and professional. They were simply the best choice for our wedding… and after shoot… and girl’s session… and boudoir session (they haven’t quite talked me into that yet )… and whatever we may need in the future, they will be our choice.

I can’t thank them enough for their talent, guidance, and friendship OH!! and the most amazing wedding images EVER!!! You can’t go wrong with these ladies, they are top notch professionals and good people. Best of Luck!!!

Nicole and Michael Rhodes

ISPWP — it’s an organization we are proud to be a member of! So imagine our surprise and honor to have one of our images featured on the home page — right across from the words “The Best Wedding Photographers in the World”!

The ISPWP has a monthly photo assignment given to the members. Entries are posted on the ISPWP Forum, and all members get to vote on the winner. That means the best photographers all over the world voted on all the entries — there is nothing like having your peers vote your work part of “the Best Photography in the world.”

The May assignment was “Surprise.” Congratulations to Mindy Belcher of Ever After Visuals for winning the May Photo of the Month.

Here’s our notes about the image:

“Carly and Jonathan were married at the Hartwood House, in Hartwood, Virginia. These childhood sweethearts had a lovely wedding filled with the love of family and friends. This image was taken at Carly and Jonathan’s wedding during the speeches. Carly’s father was giving the toast and said something that brought this look to the bride’s face – as you can surmise, she was surprised that he shared this bit of info during his toast.”

Thanks for Carly and Jonathan for not only being such a lovely couple to work with, but for allowing us to document your day with images like these!

2011 SURPRISE ISPWP Contest Win

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

Marilyn and Micah’s wedding on  October 17, 2008 at Treasure Island, Florida  was one of our favorites! We are so excitied to announce that today, it’s being published in Weekly Wedding!

Please be sure to check it out here!



Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

Be sure to check it out!

What do you think? Be sure to give Joriana some feedback with your comments below.

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

“I have always been shy and felt very uneasy in front of the camera and I am always the first one to flee if some over-enthusiastic friends point their cameras in my general direction. But like all other brides out there, I would love to have professional photographers in my wedding who can capture all the emotions and all the important people in my life on my big day and I have also been secretly drooling over other people’s pretty wedding pictures. After interviewing 8+ photographers and plenty of budgeting exercises, I hired Mindy & Joriana. To be honest, professional wedding photography can be pricey but it’s really worth it. Mindy & Joriana are down-to-earth, very helpful, very genuine and extremely professional and responsive in their communications. Their package includes an engagement session which we did at our undergrad college (where we first met). I was really nervous beforehand but the two quickly eased my worries and before we knew it, my hubby and I were enjoying a nice date out (and we got tons of pretty pictures out of it).

Mindy was also very helpful when it comes to wedding planning. I did not have a wedding planner and was pretty much clueless when it came to wedding planning. But Mindy gave me more than enough information (a big planner) right after I hired them as our photographers. Throughout the planning process, I consulted with Mindy whenever I had questions or whenever I felt stuck or felt stressed out, and she has gone over and beyond to help me numerous times, especially when it comes to nailing down the final schedule & details of the big day.

When it comes to my big day, they went over everything in great details beforehand and they scouted my wedding site to get familiarized with the place and to come up with cool ideas for shooting. I had my dream wedding, with the perfect man and perfect people in my ceremony and reception, and Mindy & joriana’s photojournalistic approach and skills allow them to capture the mood and emotions of the day accurately. Everytime I look at my wedding pictures, I find myself going through all the emotions of my big day again and I simply can’t help crying some happy tears — really, all the nice things I could say about Mindy & Joriana can fill up pages. I just want to say that I feel really blessed to have them there on my big day.

The last thing I wanted to mention is that even though Joriana is very young, her photography skill is top-notched and she has some of the coolest ideas and is responsible for some of my favorite images. She is not only a great photographer but with time, I can see her evolving into a true artist =)”

To Katherine and Yukwan, thank you so much for your wonderful review! We truly loved photographing you two on one of the most important days of your lives. We were so happy to provide you with images that make you feel those emotions all over again. And we know that as time goes on, each year, you will only draw closer, and your love will continue to blossom.

Anyways, here’s my point . . . getting to be there for the first day of a couple’s lives is a really amazing thing.  Mindy and I love our jobs, and we’d like to think it shows through in our images.

Well . . . we just got a rave review from one of our awesome couples — Tim and Rebecca.  Here’s what they said:

“I originally contacted Mindy and Joriana because they were a team of two, and I really liked that idea. Turns out – I was spot on. They were a joy to work with, and the images from our engagement shoot and our wedding were simply amazing. I’ve never seen photos like these before, and everyone that has seen them has raved about how wonderful they are. They are, quite frankly, artists who love what they do, and it shows through in their work.

Besides giving us stunning images, they were so wonderful to be around. I’d been in a bunch of weddings before where the photographers had been a little bossy, or a little too in-your-face, or even barking orders at the wedding party. Mindy and Joriana were the opposite. They still got every shot that I really wanted to have, but all the wedding party and guests had only good things to say about them.

Our wedding album is beautiful, and very “us”. M and J had about 800 different types of albums that we could have chosen from, and everyone has commented on how the album just fits us – it’s in our wedding colors, and it’s really fun to flip through.

Our family and friends have raved about the album – it was the first time I’d ever seen BOYS from a wedding flipping through the album and giving compliments on the pictures! Everyone agrees that the cover is exactly “us” and that the pictures are simply stunning!

The nice things I could say about them could fill pages. Bottom line – they are worth every penny and will give you images that you can’t stop looking at!”

Thank you!!  Thank you!!  Thank you!!  So the bottom line for us is: Thank you to all of our clients who have picked us to photograph their beautiful wedding!

Now let me explain the seemingly teenage hysteria. Cake and Pictures is a website — www.Cakeandpictures.com — and we, Ever After Visuals (Mindy and Joriana Belcher), just got accepted to join this highly prestigious site, making us number 8 in the list of Virginia photographers accepted!  Exciting!!!

The explanation is as follows:
“Cake and Pictures is the only website exclusively dedicated to bringing brides and wedding planners a comprehensive selection of just the very best wedding photographers from around the world. We’re highly selective about the photographers we show, and while we list our photographers according to where they live (in 50 cities in the U.S. and several countries around the world), all of our photographers are accustomed to traveling for weddings, and can shoot yours, wherever it might be.”

So, why should you hire us to photograph your wedding?? Because we said so! Lol. Just kidding. But really, Cake and Pictures says we’re good so maybe you should check us out.

So this morning, when the winners of the International Society of Portrait and Wedding Photographer’s Spring contest were announced there was even more screaming, and happy dancing — Ever After Visuals placed 3 images!  Truly,  I’m amazed at the talented finalists from all over the world who entered amazing images.  Still pinching myself because  I am so honored to have placed among such amazing international talent and the thousands of images that are submitted to each contest.   All three of the images are from Sunee and Spencer’s wedding!  Thank you Sunee and Spencer for letting us be our creative selves at your wedding because you allowed us to create work that we are proud of.

This one placed 7th in the Bridal Party category –

be sure to check out the other winners at http://www.ispwp.com/contests/ispwp-wedding-photography-contest-gallery-spring-2010-bridal-party-portrait

Bridal Party Contest Winner - 7th place

This one placed 11th in the same category –

Bridal Party Contest Winner - 11th place

This image placed 16th in the Movement and Motion category

ISPWP Movement and Motion Contest Winner - 16th place

We are just in love with WPJA!  Mindy became a member in 2007.  When I met the age requirement of 18,  I applied for membership and was accepted upon my first application.  I cannot express how thrilled both of us are to be a part of this international organization.  Now to add to the joy, both Mindy and myself are outrageously happy to have placed THREE images in the latest WPJA international contest!  For me, this is the first time I’ve won, so I’m thrilled beyond words.

For Mindy, this image placed #19 in the category of: Ring Details

If you know us, you know we love doing cool unique detail shots — such as this image of Marty and Sharon’s rings!

For me (Joriana) this image placed 15th in the category: Groom Getting Ready:

The judges liked Ryan’s “enigmatic expression”

And 16th place in the category: Bride Getting Ready:

We loved Mila’s dress!  You can tell in the image that both her Mom and brother liked it too!

Here’s why you want to make sure to hire an ISPWP photographer:

“The International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers is an organization of the best wedding photographers in the world. It was created by professional photographers to raise the standards of the wedding photography profession.

We are a resource for wedding clients who know they want to hire the best and the brightest for their wedding. We provide assurance and peace of mind that they are hiring the most respected, most ethical, most professional and most talented wedding photographers in the industry.

There are a lot of new wedding photographers flooding the market, and the number is growing steadily. However, wedding photography is a demanding profession and provides a host of challenges even for experienced photographers. Wedding photography requires adapting quickly to uncontrolled lighting situations, and dealing with unexpected equipment failures in a situation with no second chances.

You have to get it right the first time, every time. You have to be a master of the craft and know your gear so well that you can make adjustments on the fly, without thinking or hesitating. And you have to do it for 8, 10, or 12 hours in close quarters with clients who have put their trust in you to get it right. In this kind of work environment, experience is essential to delivering beautiful images on a consistent basis, week after week.

So how do you know your photographer has enough experience? How do you know they operate their business according to professional business practices?

That’s where the ISPWP comes in.  They  screen and review every member before their application is accepted. When you hire an ISPWP photographer, you can be confident that they have years of experience, they have shot a LOT weddings in a wide variety of situations, and they subscribe to a professional code of conduct. They truly are the best in the world and each one of them has dedicated their professional lives to their craft. In short, we’ve done the searching and screening for you.”

We are truly honored to be part of such a wonderful organization that places such high importance on wedding photographers with experience and talent.

So without further adu . . . here . . . are the winners.  Drum-roll please . . .

#14 in the Bridal Party Portraits category:

#14 in the category of The Decisive Moment:

And #19 in All About the Light:

We couldn’t be more thrilled to have placed three images in the top 20 out of an INTERNATIONAL society!

So . . . which one do YOU like the best?

Be sure and leave us a few comments to let us know!

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |