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Courtney Reece Photography bio picture

My name is Courtney Reece and I heart photography! I was born and raised in Louisville Kentucky and I am still proud to call it my home. My amazing husband and I got married last summer and that is the day I decided I had to be a wedding photographer. Its a passion, my calling, and I'm so excited for where this totally awesome career is going to take me.

So check this - My blogsite! Its got everything a website is supposed to have and more! Its where I will update you on all the AH-mazing weddings I'm blessed to be asked to document, and will ocassionally show other sides of my photo endeavors such as portraits, and random images of totally random stuff. I might also stray into a more person realm because...well - because I'm a blogger! I like to yap my jaw and believe it or not, I think I type almost as fast as I talk! What better way to let the world know what is on my mind, right?! Right.

Peace and Love!


Will - One Year Old!

Friday, July 3, 2009 Posted in Kids

Last night I got to take pictures of the adorable baby boy, Will. But he’s not such a baby anymore! He’s one year old this month! :) You know one thing about taking pictures of a one year old? They never stay still! To them, the whole world is something that calls for exploration. They want to crawl because they can, pick up everything they see and investigate it (and sometimes taste it!), and they certainly don’t care about the person who’s holding the camera! LOL Needless to say I got my exercise for the day, but it was worth it. He’s such a doll! I know it won’t be the last time I photograph him, because even if he doesn’t love my camera, it sure loves him. :D

I have to post this because it was funny, this little guy hopped right in the middle of our shoot. :)

Bobbie & Billy, I hope you love these photos of your adorable baby boy! I can’t get enough of those cheeks. :)

by Courtney

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500 Comments!!! Woohooo!

Thursday, July 2, 2009 Posted in Personal, Weddings

This morning I was pleasantly surprised when I logged on to blog a few things and noticed that I have finally exceeded 500 comments! :) I’m currently at 501 thanks to my friend Jenn from Michigan who reads my blog all the time. (I heart Jenn!) But ever since posting recently about how many visitors I have been getting and how I would like to hear from all those visitors through the comments I receive, I had secretly been plotting to surprise my 500th commenter with a prize. So without further ado…….(pretend you hear a drum roll!…..) Jé Ronet, you are the lucky winner!!! ;) Thank you so much for your comment on my new pricing guide. In fact, thanks to everyone who’s given feedback on it! So, Jé, if you are reading this contact me for your gift. :)

In other fun topics, I was watching the Oxygen channel last night and The Lakehouse was on, starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. I love that movie! LOL, What I love even more is the fact that Oxygen finds these sappy loves movies and plays them for months and basically plays them back to back. Over the weekend they played The Notebook (another favorite!) and when it was over, sure enough, they started it again. LOL But I don’t complain because I love sappy love stories. In fact, I think that is probably why I love being a wedding photographer so much. :D Love is lovely. I think I should make a bumper sticker that says that.

And finally, I’m going to post some photos from the wedding I shot with Jessica of Lemongrass Photography a few weekends ago. I loved this wedding, it was beautiful. You know, except for that part where it rained at the start of the ceremony and didn’t stop until the bride and groom were announced as husband and wife. LOL. I looked like a drowned rat.  Seriously though, even the rain didn’t stop anyone at this wedding from smiling. It was a beautiful ceremony and absolutely one of the most in love couples I’ve seen. Story, the groom, even shed a tear as his beautiful bride, Kelsey, walked down the aisle. I LOVE when grooms show their emotion. :D I’ll start with this group of the groom with his groomsmen. Notice the shadows? Yep, that’s right. The sun was out ALL before the ceremony. Go figure. ;)

The lovely bride and her bridesmaids

Here is a photo of the bride and her party after the ceremony. They were all already wet from the rain so they just decided to hang out in the fountain. :)

Probably one of my favorites. And isn’t the back of her dress  beautiful?!

My favorite cake shot ever :)

The best man and maid of honor had great speeches

That’s all for now, folks. :) I have a shoot with an adorable one year old tonight, so I hope it stays dry! And if I don’t post anything before July 4th, I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday full of summer fun! I know I will. As long as it doesn’t storm, I will be at my sister’s house eating grilled hot dogs and hamburgers while swimming in the pool. Woot Woot! :D

by Courtney

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I have a new look!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Posted in Personal, Products for Clients

Ok, so I don’t actually have a new look, but Courtney Reece Photography does! I’ve been pining for something new for a while, something that I felt really captured who I was and incorporate that into my business. So I did the best thing I could think to make sure I was headed in the right direction. I took the outsider’s perspective. :) In the recent months I’ve really been looking around and paying attention to what’s grabbed my attention, what’s sparked interest and what I seem to gravitate to. I  also went to two of my best friends and asked them questions and had them associate colors to me based on my personality, and it was fun to listen to their answers! Especially from Shelly, who has such a colorful personality anyway.  :) The funny thing is they both gave me the same answer. A mix of yellows and blues.  Alexis attributes her vision to my blond hair and blue eyes. LOL. Hey, whatever works right? Well guess what?!  After lots of perusing and thinking and playing around with looks I decided they were right. Blue is and probably always will be my favorite color and that is why I had incorporated it into my previous design as well. But this one is softer and combines beautifully with the pale yellow that I chose after taking the advice of my friends.

Okay so how many of you are completely bored with the talk of this makeover? :) Instead of just talking about it, I’ll show you something I’ve been working on to match the new style. Its a 15 page catalog that will eventually be both online and available in print to give my potential clients. It gives all the necessities like pricing and products available, as well as tips and a FAQ section to answer some questions that might come to a person’s mind when considering booking a photographer. :)

Isn’t it fabulous??? :) All with thanks to the fabulous Sarah Q for her template design skills. She’s freakin’ amazing. So this is it. This IS Courtney Reece Photography. The blog layout itself isn’t quite where I want it but the theme definitely is. Hopefully tonight I’ll get a chance to fix it and make it match the vision I have for it. In the meantime, I’d love to hear your opinions on the new look! :)

by Courtney

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Allison and Drew | Married!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 Posted in Portraits, Weddings

I had been looking forward to Allison and Drew’s wedding for quite a while, so when Saturday rolled around I was stoked! As Cheesy McGee as I might sound here, they have the most beautiful love for each other. Allison is gorgeous and full of personality and she seems to have this constant smile on her face which I’m sure is due in full to her new husband! Drew, also ridiculously gorgeous, is probably the nicest guy you’ll ever meet and looks at Allison as if she’s the only woman in the whole world. Needless to say, (because this post will prove it) my favorite part of shooting their wedding was capturing the two of them alone. I can tell how happy they are going to be for the rest of their lives together. It’s in the little things…like the way he helped her carry the train of her dress as she walked outside to keep it from getting dirty and the way she cups the back of his neck with her hand when she kisses him. Ah, Love. :) Ain’t it grand?

Hi. You are both ridiculously GOOD LOOKING!!

Yep I put the bride and groom on the bus for pictures. :) They were such sports, because it was ridiculously hot in this bus. I mean, it was already like 95 degrees outside, so of course the bus was even hotter. They totally could have called me crazy when I asked them to do this, and they didn’t. I LOVE my clients. :)

The flower girl was a doll, I had to put her front and center for a picture. :)

This next shot is courtesy of my second shooter Alicia Beckman who rocks. I love when we shoot together! Isn’t this a handsome group of guys?

The totally AWESOME bridal party :D

I just love this next shot. The light coming from above and behind them makes this whole picture seem more angelic, don’t you think?

A quiet moment of prayer during the ceremony

Drew sang beautifully to Allison at their reception. It was so sweet!!! :D

Allison’s mom sang for their first dance as husband and wife. She has a beautiful voice, and even sang during the ceremony as well.

Check this next one out. I was all “Be Serious” and they gave me all kinds of Hotness. LOVE it.

And the big exit!

edit: I realized I posted this entry and forgot to put in my favorite part. The picture of me with my new friends! :) Thank to Alicia for snapping this pic. Sorry for the yuckness that is me in this photo! It was a million degrees outside. (Seriously!) I think my face matches the color in my shirt!

Congratulations to Allison and Drew! I am so happy that I was a part of your Wedding Day(s) ;) Hope Florida is fabulous and I can’t wait to talk to you guys soon!

by Courtney

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Show me Love

Monday, June 22, 2009 Posted in Personal, Weddings

Have you ever woke up in the morning and just felt this incessant need to laugh and be happy? This morning it took everything in me to crawl out of bed, I was sleeping so well! But as I was standing in the shower (that is where I do my best thinking LOL) I realized it was the start of a new week! I had started my venture into financial freedom, my cabinets in the kitchen stocked up with brand new groceries so I would stop eating out so often. I was ready to sign online to pay a nice-sized payment on my pesky credit card. What is there not to be happy about?

Another thing to smile about - My website’s analytics. Recently I checked the stats on my website, and I’m averaging around 100  visitors per day now and sometimes over 300 page views per day. :) That’s totally awesome. I mean, I know its not 2,000 hits a day which some amazing blogs out there actually do receive, but its impressive to me that so many people have a continued interest in what I do. What’s even more awesome is the fact that they are coming from all over the country. It seems I’m most popular in Kentucky and Indiana, which is a great thing seeing as that is where my clients come from, but closely behind in numbers of visits is California. Cool, huh? (Hi California blog readers!) So now, here’s my query. I have more readers than I suspected because my stats tell me so…but the comments left here are scarce. That makes me sad. :( There are many of you out there who keep coming back but have never even let me know you’ve stopped by the first time! This is not cool. We must fix it! I would absolutely love to hear from all of you out there who stop by.  And who knows…? Maybe I’ve got a something special in store in the future for a certain commenter? But you’ve got to leave your comments to find out! :)

And because we all know how much more fun a blog post is with a picture, here is a sneak peek of Allison and Drew’s wedding photos from Saturday. I know. I know. They are ridiculously good looking. I tell them that at least 15 times a day when I see them. :D

by Courtney

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Dream It. Do It.

Thursday, June 18, 2009 Posted in Personal

Yesterday I set a personal goal for myself that I intend to reach in less than a year. I can tell myself every day, “we will see if I make it,” but I don’t want to say that. I want to say “I will make it.” And after an entire day of thought out planning and coming up with a strategy, I truly believe I’m going to be successful. Its going to take a lot of determination and will power from both myself and Johnathan but he’s on board, and we’re just going to go for it.

What’s that, internet? You want to know what the heck I’m talking about? You want me to actually tell you what my goal is? But that means I am giving every reader of this blog the potential to hold me to my word! Scary thought. But necessary, I think. My goal is for my husband and I to buckle down on our spending, really change that part of our lifestyle, and save some money. I’m sure you’re all going, “is that all, Courtney? So is every other American!” But my ultimate goal is different. I would love to be completely debt-free and open a studio. But it wouldn’t be the average photography studio. I want to create a studio that is used both for photography and recording. See, my husband is a certified audio engineer. He basically lives and breathes music, but there is a small need for audio engineers at the studios already here in the city. So my thought is that he can open his own! And while I use a portion of the studio as a gallery and meeting space, he can have the rest of the studio set up for recording. It all sounds like a great plan, doesn’t it? I know its going to take time but I think by this time next year, if we are able to follow a strict budget (a la Dave Ramsey style LOL) we can be well on our way to investing in our own business.

It’s all so exciting to me! I’ve put it all on paper and to see the difference…to actually see the difference in the way I can spend my money and to know how effective it is going to be to us in the long run is so exciting! Wish me luck, internet!!! :) And to complete this post, how about a picture?

P.S. Lots of good stuff coming up soon. I will be blogging some images from the wedding I second shot with Jessica at Lemongrass Photography and I’m also going to be shooting Allison and Drew’s wedding this weekend. :) FUN!!!

P.P.S. I remodeled my proof cart. It now matches the site. Check it out. It’s pretty. Yeah, pretty sweet!

by Courtney

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Susie and Cliff | Engaged

Saturday, June 13, 2009 Posted in Engagements

OMG I love these two. :D I have to say that first off because it’s true because they’re awesome. Duh. My encounter with Susie all happened kind of fast. She was referred to me as their potential wedding photographer from a mutual friend (Dan, you rock, dude) but it turns out we know many of the same people. Hi. Can we say, small world? Yep, it totally is. So Susie worked with Dan, but she also happens to know another client of mine, Kristin who’s getting married in September, because they grew up in the same small town. And she’s good friends with Brooke. I know Brooke because she rode my bus in middle school. :) LOL. True story. Susie also knows a couple girls I graduated high school with because they were in the same sorority at the University of Kentucky. (um….go wildcats? ::cough cough:: …..sorry it’s not easy to say that being that I’m a UofL Cardinal fan and every reader of my blog knows this! ;) Just kidding, I love the Cats too! Go Big Blue.) So yeah, for a bigger city, Louisville sure feels small right now!

Anyway, I got a voice message from Susie on Tuesday, chatted with her over the phone and emailed back and forth the same afternoon, and I was booked for her wedding in October and doing their engagement session by Friday. My head spins at the speed of it all. :D But I like it that way. It was quick and easy and Fun! :)

Yet another absolutely STUNNING bride-to-be. How do I get so lucky??

Can I just tell you how much I love them again? Seriously these two are the poo so take a big whiff. Within 5 minutes I had them in this dirty open field full of spiders and probably other yuckness, and they even got mud on them, for which I apologized profusely for and they didn’t even seem to care! Love. Love love love love love.

Oh the light here….its gorgeous!

I seriously think Cliff wins my imaginary award for best smile. Ain’t he adorable??? ;)

I love this one too. Susie is so pretty in pink!

I love how adorable this one is!

Yes, this one is my favorite. It’s so totally delish.

Susie and Cliff. I’m a total broken record here, but you’re seriously both totally awesome. I had a ton of fun with you both and can’t wait for your wedding in Bardstown in a few months! Thank you sooooo much for letting me be the lucky one who captures your day. :)

Okay, I’ve got an early start to my day tomorrow. Reece Out!

by Courtney

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Sara and Joey | Anytime

Saturday, June 13, 2009 Posted in Portraits

I know my last post contained some familiar faces, and this one is going to do the same. Sara is a friend of mine who happens to be getting married in October. We’ve done their engagement session before but this session was just for fun and also a little bit of a celebration. If you took a peek at their engagements photos from last year, you’ll see that Sara had a beautiful smile, complete with a full set of braces. And these photos are celebratory of the fact that the braces have been removed!! Wooohoo!! She’s now got a magnificently gorgeous set of brace-free pearly whites just in time for the wedding day. And what better way to enjoy this than to smile big and bright for my camera?! Sara, dahling. You’re gorgeous!

And they also brought along Jasper! He’s gotten so much bigger since I last saw him. Isn’t he adorable?!

Sara and Joey, I love you guys! And I’m so excited for your wedding, its gonna be so awesome :) And Sara, thanks for introducing me to Ashley. She’s freakin’ fantabulous. :D Because of her I’m one sexy woman today.  LOL Speaking of Ashley, she just got engaged!!! Congrats girl, I’m so excited for you!

by Courtney

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One Amazing Week

Friday, June 12, 2009 Posted in Personal

This week has been so awesome for me, I can’t even begin to tell you. I’ve been off from my day job all week long and its been wonderful. The interesting thing is, its not a vacation, it’s not personal time I had decided to take. No, none of those things. My day job has required all employees take unpaid furloughs this quarter and next due to the down economy. I was more than grateful to take that time off unpaid rather than lose my job all together, that’s for sure. But I was a little worried about how it would affect my financial situations. That was until I found out the state of Kentucky will pay people for furloughs. Sweeeeet. So I am applying for unemployment for the week I was off this week, meaning I’m getting paid something for doing nothing. Woohoo! Who doesn’t love that?

Anyway, the awesomeness of the weekend began with my friend Rebekah’s baby shower, then when I cleaned my house top to bottom, spring-cleaning style. I actually hate to clean (I’m still shocked that there are crazy humans out there who clean for fun.) But I adored the outcome of the situation. My living room smells fresh, my bedroom is clean, complete with a new bedset that has been made up every morning since I put it on. :) My spare room is fit for any guests, my bathroom smells all bleachy clean. It’s great! So once that was all done, I got to enjoy finishing up some much needed photography work. I’ve backed up some files, taken some new pictures, reorganized some things on my external hard drive, and even met with 2 brides about their upcoming weddings. It really just made me realize how much I love this photography gig. As Cheesy McGee as it may sound, I can’t wait to call this my full time job one day.

Speaking of brides I’ve met, I think its been a while since I’ve welcomed all my new clients on the blog. I know I did it a while back but I can’t remember where I left off, so I’m going to start over. 2009 has been amazing for me, because I’ve gotten the opportunity to meet a lot of people, and take a lot of beautiful people’s pictures, and I have so many more beautiful people’s pictures to take! First, a huge thank you to my newlywed couples who’s weddings I have already photographed: Kendra and Jason, Katie and Matt, and Merideth and Chris. You guys all are awesome people and I know you’ll each enjoy each other’s company for many, many years to come as husband and wife. :) With that said, I still look forward to the weddings I have coming up this year: Allison and Drew, Kristi and Kenny, Jill and Jason, Lori and Jeff, Kristin and Caleb, Monica and Lee, Lauren and Jared, and newly added to this list, Susie and Cliff. And I absolutely cannot not include my fabulous early bookers who are tying the night in 2010. Kristen and Michael and Colleen and Patrick. You all entrusting me with your wedding photos means the world to me and I can’t wait to spend that day with each of you. :) You all rock my socks. I have the bestest clients ever in the world. :)

And because we all know that a blog entry is not quite as much fun without some pictures…let me show you a few I took at Johnathan’s Aunt and Uncle’s house earlier this week. We went out there because there was a tree in their backyard playing house to a nest full of baby hawks. I used the longest lens I had to get this shot.  How cool would it have been if I could have gotten even closer!?

This is Ruthie! She is one playful pup.

Tiger Lily. They’re soooo pretty. I never realized before how pretty they are.

And I honestly have no idea why I took this picture but the bike was just sitting there…all little and lonely. I think the black and white version makes it extra cool.

Well, I get to meet Susie and Cliff tonight for a hopefully dry engagement session and then I’m getting up in the morning to get a new do. Ah! I’m super excited about that, because my hair needs highlights desperately. You have no idea. And that is because I’m too embarassed to show you. Fo Realz. And then Sunday itso ff to Indianapolis this weekend to second shoot for the fabulous Jessica of Lemongrass Photography :) Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Oh yeah, P.S. - One of my oldest friends in the world, Kristie and her totally rad husband Adam, welcomed their baby girl Emma into the world last night. I wish she wasn’t all the way in Minnesota because I would be there in a heartbeat to get some baby pictures for them.! Congratulations to you both, I know you’ll make super amazing wonderful and fabulous parents. :)

by Courtney

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Kristen and Michael | Engaged

Thursday, June 11, 2009 Posted in Engagements

You all might remember these faces from a fun little session I did with them a while ago in the yucky rain. (See here) As much fun as we had in the rain that time and as much as she loved these photos, Kristen thought about it and decided she wanted another session on a sunny day. So I was more than happy to oblige. :) And this time not only did we have beautiful weather, but we also had fun with their dogs, Classy and Rico. Classy is just as her name says, a classy big pup, and Rico is the adorable little white one who’s only about 4 months old.

Here is Kristen and her gorgeousness again. :)

Helllllooooo yummy light. I love when you come out and play :)

FUN!

Kristen is a dancer, so I asked them to show me some dance moves. Michael wasn’t so into it. Apparently Kristen’s skills haven’t rubbed off on him yet. ;)

Thanks for hanging out with me again, guys, I had a great time and its about time it stopped RAINING for us! (as I type this, its pouring down rain outside my open window. Go figure.) See you again next year for your wedding, which I know will be freakin’ awesome.

by Courtney

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