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Just an “aww” moment from Sebbie’s recent Portrait shoot….Isn’t JD just the cutest?

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So you’re probably wondering what in the world I’m talking about. Well, I’ll tell you. We got in! We got in! ACCEPTED!! YESSSSS!

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.

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This is a really hard post to write, because we loved James so. You see, our dear friend, James Boice, passed away last Saturday in a motorcycle accident in Leesburg. He was only 39. If you want to know more about what happened, visit the link here, But the bottom line is that through no fault of his own, James was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

James and Mandy’s wedding was a happy day…they eloped in the morning and then had a small reception in the afternoon, so the images you see below are from that day, June 2, almost four years ago. They’ve always been so much more than a bride and groom we photographed, they are some of our closest friends and we saw them often. Our guest room was always called “James’ Room” since he was always in and out of our home. After James and Mandy were married, it became “James and Mandy’s Room,” since they both worked in Sterling and we were frequently found trying to convince them to stay instead of making the trek back to West Virginia.

I met James at another wedding I was photographing. James was there as he frequently was, with a camera in his hand. Moments after we were introduced, he asked if I had any extra film he could borrow…quickly followed by a request for any extra batteries I could spare…That was James. I did and he proceeded to take some beautiful images that day. From that day forward, James always felt like family.

If you knew James, you knew that he was always laughing, always joking — in fact, in the images that I’ve seen of him on Facebook and at Mandy’s during the last week, it’s hard to find an image where he isn’t smiling. He wouldn’t want us to mourn his passing, but would encourage us to remember his smile and remind us that someday, hopefully soon, we will see that smile again.

Until that day, we thought we’d share these images of the James we knew and loved, and hope that remembering James and his smiling face will bring a smile to your face, too.

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Mindy has the fine privilege of being a member of ISPWP — the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers.  What a wonderful bonus to the  beginning of 2010 that she placed not one, not two, but THREE images in their most recent contest — a personal record!

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!

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Mindy and Joriana are located in Northern Virginia. They are wedding photographers who love to photograph in Washington DC and Northern Virginia. Being a Washington DC Wedding photographer, they also enjoy photographing in unique locations.

Joseph and Maria met on a sunny day as chaperons on a Northern Virginian apple picking trip. Volunteering with the Reston youth group was nothing new…just an unselfish habit they both had developed. Their common love of helping others drew them together. Shy smiles and romantic dinners soon grew into a beautiful love…Joseph and Maria attribute their beautiful relationship the love of the finer things in life…sharing the highlights of their day, a quiet dinner, and best of all, seeing the humor is any given situation. At the center of their relationship is their passion for God and they’ve built their lives around helping others, such as their work with the Reston Youth Group. Carlos is shy, but funny and sweet — he absolutely love to make Maria laugh….with her Greek heritage, it’s no surprise that Maria is gregarious, caring and has a love of great food!

I love to watch people in love…it makes them easy with each other. That love showed through one beautiful day . . . an absolutely perfect day to photograph Joseph and Maria. We were shocked to hear that this couple were new to being behind the camera seeing how both of them look like models and are so natural with each other expressing how much they love each other. We couldn’t have picked a more perfect backdrop — the leaves were just changing colors so all around Joseph and Maria you’ll see beautiful varieties of brown, gold, green and red. We really, really loved photographing them and we hope they enjoyed it just as much!

Washington, DC is a very popular location for engagement, wedding and Day After Sessions with Ever After Visuals. As part of our wedding photography collections, you not only hire two wedding photographers, who specialize in wedding photojournalism or capturing the emotion of the moment, you are hiring wedding photojournalist who LOVE to capture love with their cameras…when’s the last time you were in front of a camera with the one you love?

Check out their slideshow and let us know what you think!

If you liked that, check out Van and Noelle’s Engagement Session in Northern Virginia

or

Check out Justin and Melissa’s Engagement Session in Washington DC area

Joseph and Maria

Click here to check out Jospeh & Maria’s SNEAK PEAK Engagement slideshow!

Fall engagement portraits before Maria and Joseph's Wedding

Maria's unique portrait using natural light

Emotional photography and photojournalism of Maria and Joseph

Northern Va engagement photography

Washington DC and Northern VA photography

Professional wedding and engagement photography

Awesome silhouette shot at Ever After Visuals outdoor studio

Natural light in a unique location during fall

Love and fashion at our outdoor studio

Sepia engagement photo of Maria and Joseph

Trees, leaves and love at our outdoor portrait and wedding photography studio

On the bridge at our outdoor engagement and wedding photography studio

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

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Photographing couples in VA for engagement and wedding photography never feels like work to me. And when we have the pleasure of using our outdoor portrait studio, it is truly “play” time. We are a mother and daughter, a modern wedding photographer team with photojournalist style. Our focus is on capturing relationships with an emphasis on style, fashion and photojournalism.

When our latest couple proved to be a good fit for our style of photography, we really looked forward to photographing their engagement session. Justin and Melissa are just the cutest pair — we had great fun getting to know them in our Outdoor Studio Engagement session with them.

Finally, the weather cooperated, so with blue skies and smiles all around, we set to work. But it wasn’t work — it was so much fun!! For most of our session, it felt like we weren’t even there, as we watched these two lovebirds being themselves and having fun together.

The blue in the sky wasn’t the first thing we noticed either — these two both have striking blue eyes. Check out their slideshow, and see if you agree with us.

Take a look at some more photojournalistic wedding photography shot at Ever After Visual’s Outdoor Studio:

Van and Noelle’s Engagement Session

Joseph and Maria’s Engagement Session

Ashley and Ryan’s Engagement Session

Click here to check out Justin & Melissa’s SNEAK PEAK Engagement slideshow!

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

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Ever After Visuals is a mother-daughter team who specialize in wedding photography — we are wedding photojournalist, who capture moments that tell the love story of our brides and grooms. We also do engagement photography, destination wedding photography, day after, trash the dress, family portraits, and lifestyle portrait sessions.

Ceremony: Walter Reed Army Medical Center Chapel
Reception Venue, Catering and Cake: Tragara Ristorante
Floral Design: Suburban Florist,
Reception Music: David Johnson
of MyDeeJay
Wedding Dress: The Bridal Belle
Hair and Makeup: Pout Partners

Tragara Ristorante
4935 Cordell Avenue
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 951-4935

When two people are in love, truly in love, well, it’s an amazing thing — you see it in the way that I and me becomes us. Working with Matt and Lucy, we saw this right away — the decisions they made about their wedding, they made together every step of the way with calmness, respect and love. It’s just the way they treat each other. Devout, loyal, and oh so very much in love, these two start their marriage with all the pressures that being a doctor and a nurse are sure to bring. We feel honored that these two would share their day with us and that we have the awesome privilege of documenting their relationships with those they love on their wedding day.

Matt and Lucy, thanks for being sooooo easy to work with! We have to say, this is the first time we’ve been served courses at a wedding — it was so grand to see the care you showed your guests and we thank you for making us feel special by including us. We really appreciate clients who make us feel like family!

Things we loved:

That Lucy wanted their images to reflect that it was their day, not just hers
We love that Lucy freely expressed the emotion she was feeling
Matt’s face when he saw Lucy for the first time
Lucy’s parents — Theresa was just the sweetest. And Louie, well, we are total sucker for a guy that cries. We pretty much all melted down when this father hugged his daughter as his little girl for the last time
Matt’s Family — Lots of love all around here!
Mark and Nate — The best brothers a girl could have! A special thanks for all the help you gave us — a shout out to Mark for his uber swing dancing with the bride.
Jennifer and Tara — Wow, two of the prettiest bridesmaids that were just as sweet on the inside. We could have continued to photograph them ALL day!
Michael and Scott — Happiness is GQ groomsmen willing to do their thing for us…thanks so much
The handmade quilt that everyone contributed to — what a lovely present!
That Matt surprised Lucy with his song choice for their first dance — we could tell she loved the song he chose!
That we got to be part of this wedding and share the love of their special day!

Click here to check out Lucy and Matt’s SNEAK PEAK slideshow!

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

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We are so excited to post that we have added a bridge to our outdoor studio. My father worked tirelessly to build this beautiful piece of woodwork that connects point a to point b. Isn’t it wonderful?!?!

Shot at Ever After Visual's Outdoor Studio; Sterling, Virginia

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Well, I wish I could put into words how totally thrilled Joriana was when she ran screaming, dancing, and just generally having what my momma would call a conniption when she got invited to join WPJA.
David Roberts even sent her a personal note about her work — how kewl is that?

The Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA). WPJA is an elite organization accepting less than 5% of the photographers who apply. Their members represent the most discriminating talent around the world technically, creatively and visually. Qualified members hold industry-leading standards, skills and business integrity and are set apart in the industry for their candid, documentary and distinctly artistic vision.

That she got invited is awesome, but that she is 19 is well…one of my proudest moments as a mother! Congratulations, Joriana, on this wonderful achievement!

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The Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association. [AG]WPJA is a group of international wedding photojournalists, who capture unscripted wedding moments as they happen, and excel in the art of post-production image processing. The [AG]WPJA is a division within the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA); one which specifically promotes Fine Art Wedding Photojournalism.

I’m totally thrilled to be invited to join their ranks — I couldn’t help but have a mental picture of Sally Fields accepting her Oscar and saying “You like me. You really like me.” That’s how I feel…;>}

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Ever After Visuals is a mother-daughter team who specialize in wedding photography — we are wedding photojournalist, who capture moments that tell the love story of our brides and grooms. We also do engagement photography, destination wedding photography, day after, trash the dress, family portraits, and lifestyle portrait sessions.

Getting to know Ilse and Seth was so much fun — these two doctors really seem made for each other. They both have that easy, confidence with each other that just makes you feel that you are witnessing a love that will last. Both have attachments in Washington, D.C. so what better place to catch a few images for their engagement than when the Cherry Blossoms are at their peak. We are really looking forward to recording the history as they start their family on their wedding day!

Click here to check out Seth’s and Ilse’s Engagement slideshow!

Check out these other Engagement Photography Sessions shot during cherry blossom season!
David and Danielle’s Engagement Photography
Chip and Mila’s Wedding Photography
Marcus and Maria’s Engagement Photography

Best,

Mindy & Joriana – Contact Us!

View Our Portfolio | Order Prints | Ever After Portraits |

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Reading a friend who is a photographer’s blog recently, I came across her post below and I just had to share it — you see, this is a very personal issue to me, too:

“I came across this blog post that I wanted to share. A woman admits to stealing from her photographer by scanning photos instead of paying for them. She felt guilty yet continues to do it because she feels entitled to “more than what she paid for. The original article has been removed because the website doesn’t want to advocate it. But in comment #45 is a link to her original posting.

As a photographer this is very personal to me and it’s frustrating to read the views of consumers who don’t understand the business. Other photographers have posted our point of view. I understand (yet disagree) with some of the consumers point of views. Hopefully some of them will read the photographers’ responses and understand that point of view.”

are-you-stealing-from-your-photographer

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It is our honor to introduce to you our official name change — from now on, Ever After Images will be Ever After Visuals — it’s only part of all the new things to come from us.

Behind the scenes, it’s still us, Mindy and Joriana! Notice anything different about our splash screen and logo? It’s not only new, but we think it’s prettier! Find us at www.EverAfterVisuals.com!

What do you think? Show us some love — comment!

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So it finally snowed — and what a perfect setting for some winter portraits! My little “Freckles” is growing up…;>} I think the time is right for a new wall portrait of Joriana, so off we went down to our new pond (big thanks to honey bunny for all the backhoe and dozer work to put it in and for adding the waterfall…;>})

Soon, the portrait side of our website will be up and we will be offering all types of portraits — this slideshow is typical of what you will see as a client.

But I’m still a mom…and it’s a hard choice for me to just choose one…be sure to let me know your favorite in your comment!

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My friend, Neal Jacob,   tagged my blog!   Now I have to appear to be witty by sharing eight  random  facts  about myself and then tag eight blogs.   Egads!

Well…since I’m kinda random anyhow…here’s 8 random things about me you probably don’t care to know…;>}:

1.   I have lived in Sterling for the 18 years, but I am a true Southerner, born and bred in Tennessee.

2.   My husband, daughter, sister, mom, dad and aunt all live with us — my Aunt is homebound — my mom and aunt keep us all on our toes.

3.  My husband and I  love to camp.

4.   I have a captain’s license from my old sailing days.

5.   I graduated 3rd in my class and got to give the class ‘prophecy’ as to where we would all be in 20 years.

6.   In school, I was voted Most Talented in my senior year.

7.   I hate scarey movies.

8.   My husband and I were high school sweethearts.

Hmmm…

Have to tag 8 people?   Okay, here goes –

1.   Kerry Gastley

2. Katya

3. Neil van Niekerk

4. Melissa and Rene Tirado

5.   Ulysses and Jeni

6. Alicia Williams

7. Devin Kirschner

8. Andrea Kelly

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They don’t look like much to the average person…there are some callouses, a few scars…and they are never manicured.

I’ve seen them do so much — I’ve watched these hands build our house, plant grass, flowers and trees; lift,cook, paint and polish,  fix the car, type a letter  and steady a razor.   They can mow a lawn, wash a dish, clean a toilet, tie a tie — all with the same ease.   They have clapped and stroked; patted, petted, hugged and spanked…and I’ve watched those strong hands gently lift my aunt from the floor when she falls.

Those hands shook when they cut the cord when Joriana was born…but they were strong and steady when they put on her first diaper.     These hands have been kind and strong.  They have comforted me, forgiven me, steadied me, picked me up and brushed me off.   Sometimes those hands  speak more than words could.

They have loved me…for 27 years as of August 30th.     I love those hands…and I’m grateful for this man who means so much to me…

So we will be going away to celebrate for a bit…this man with the hands I love…

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I am excited to blog that one of the images from David and Danielle’s wedding took 5th place in the WPJA contest!!!!    And what is even kewler is that they are using my image as the thumbnail for the category!!

WPJA is the Wedding Photojournalist Association and in their words is an “organization composed of photojournalists and wedding photographers from around the world.  What sets our members part in the industry is their candid, documentary approach – a distinctly artistic vision toward wedding photography.”    In Virginia, I’m one of only 45 photographers in WPJA.

I’m honored to be a member,  honored to have an image place in the Emotion category, but I feel even more honored that David and Danielle chose  Ever After Images  to document the emotions of their wedding day.

Be sure to check out the winners at http://www.wpja.com/index.htm

Here is the winning image –

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Thought I would share some kudos we just receive from two of our awesome couples!!!

From Jonathan and Leslie:

They are breathtaking, funny, beautiful, and just perfectly done. We couldn’t be happier. There are alot of photos we are going to buy.  I mean ALOT! …My friend loves your work so much I could almost guarantee you will be photographing her wedding…

Terrific job on everything and thanks for bearing with all the stress of the day and the weather. Turns out the little sickness I had was pnuemonia. Oh well. that took a bit to clear up but despite that you got great photos.

You surpassed our expectations!  We loved the way you worked and my bridesmaids mentioned how comfortable and relaxed they felt. Everyone was able to be themselves and it shows in our photos and thats what we wanted. Natural pictures. Your rates are good. I think you have put yourself perfectly where it’s competitive yet not too steep. I like the names of your packages very cute. Flexibility! you all must have been born with it flowing through your blood. If we wanted or had ideas you listened and that goes with responsiveness. You all are very fun and professional. I love that you have unique ideas for capturing moments we forgot about. Looking through photos I was laughing and having a great time. Even my friends said that they liked the pictures online and the way you set up our sneak peak. I think one of my friends said she watched it at least 10 times a day. She was humming the song out in service. I have never heard her hum before.  I  think everything was beautifully done and you all really did capture our once upon a time…

Thank you a thousand times!  Keep up that awesome work! I will recommend you both to everyone I can!

Much love,

Leslie and Jonathan

From David and Danielle:

Hello Mindy and Joriana,

Thank you so much for the amazing job that you both did last week.  We were truly Blessed to have a picture day and even more blessed to have the PERFECT photographers. The slide show is FANTASTIC!!!!  Everybody who sees it remarks at how wonderful the photographs are and they always say  your photographers are really great!!  We have already referred you all to a couple of people so do not be surprised if you here from some of our lovely guests and friends.  We can’t wait to see the rest of the images!!!!  Thanks again and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!
Always
David

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We had the distinct pleasure of making the acquaintance of the most awesome Zack Arias.  Zack is Atlanta’s music photographer, having photographed oodles of up and coming musicians.  His seminar was sharing the wealth as related to improving our lighting skills.  Be sure to check out his blog – it has pictures of Joriana ALL over it since she was one of the models for the day.

Here’s some of what we learned:

We said:� Joriana, be a Tiger!� And here is what happened…

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