Dallas Wedding Photographer - Catie Ronquillo Photographer » addison

For Brides: Online inspiration for your wedding

Catie — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:17:33 +0000

Now I love me some magazines, but I’m also a big fan of online wedding inspiration. When I was envisioning the look of our wedding, I would totally scour for photos, ideas, and traditions online…while at work. It was a way less obvious way of browsing for wedding inspiration than flipping through a wedding magazine. I used to work in a cubicle, staring at a computer screen all day, so a little respite into the blogosphere was very welcome.

Are you looking for online inspiration for your wedding beyond The Knot?

Well good news! A brand spanking new online wedding magazine launched today! Introducing Nonpareil Magazine:

It has tons of DIY goodness, affordable, yet stylish centerpieces, and tutorials!

Another online wedding magazine that I’m a big fan of is Utterly Engaged. Having launched last year, they are now in their seventh issue:

And of course, it wouldn’t be a blog post of mine if I didn’t offer a few more blogs to peruse for inspiration and entertainment galore!

Happy Tuesday!

what next?

Share this with brides you know!
Subscribe to our new monthly e-zine: tips from the best in the industry on creating a stress-free wedding that honors your relationship and, most importantly, building a lasting wonderful marriage. Leave a comment below or click here to sign up.
See more inside scoop with other posts on wedding advice for brides & grooms here.

Getting lost on the Internet…

Catie — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 22:30:10 +0000

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, I’m a blog-a-holic. I read far too many blogs for anyone to keep straight, and yet I still keep my Google Reader jam packed. I’ve had the (1000+) post notice from Google before. Er, several times. This is when Google Reader gives up counting. Sometimes, I’ve had to just hit “Mark all as read.” But if I can get away with it, I’ll try to skim through and/or read all the good stuff.

Believe it or not, I still spend time reading wedding blogs. Why? Market research, of course. I love seeing what trends are in style, going out of style, and simply timeless. And no, I’m not longing to plan another wedding. Trust me, I’ll leave that to the wedding planners. But with a handful of friends springing up engaged, I thought I’d share my favorite wedding blogs.

Southern Weddings Magazine – Real Southern wedding inspiration.
Elizabeth Anne Designs – So much inspiration, and wedding bloggers.
Green Wedding Shoes – Real weddings, photoshoots, trends.
100 Layer Cake – More real weddings and color palette inspiration.
Inspired By This – Leila is a PR guru, and shares all kinds of inspiration.
Wedding Chicks – Sweet deals, eye candy, and lovely real weddings.
Blue Orchid Blog – Liene shares all kinds of useful advice for planning your wedding.
A Practical Wedding – No-nonsense wedding advice.
The Bride’s Cafe – Real weddings and great DIY projects.
JL Designs – Carissa is a floral designer and shares her amazing work.

So where do I spend my time in blog land when it’s not related to weddings? It’s a mix between business and fun.

Business:

Sage Wedding Pros – Michelle and Kelly are business dynamos teaching wedding pros how to rock their business.
Think Splendid – Liene is a social media maven and offers great advice for how to leverage it.
Lara Casey – She is Making Things Happen. all. the. time.
Brand Camp Blog – Advice on beefing up your brand.

Fun:

La Tartine Gourmande – Full of yummy food. And she translates everything to French.
Elizabeth Anne Designs: Living – Everything outside of the wedding.
Simply Recipes – Recipes. Recipes. Recipes.
Dooce – Funny. Sarcastic. Awesome.
Young House Love – Read this if you just bought a house.
DesignSponge – DIY projects and great interior decor inspiration
Smitten Kitchen – More food.

So, there are more, but this is what is currently living in my Google Reader. I try not to subscribe to everything, otherwise I’d inevitably be glued to my laptop. All. the. time. And Cent enjoys interacting with me every now and then.

What are your favorite blog picks?

And because a picture will spice this post up, here’s my sister’s bouquet from the wedding.

CONTACT CATIE | VIEW PORTFOLIO | SUBSCRIBE to the BLOG

My 365 Project

Catie — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:14:31 +0000

What is a 365 Project you ask? Well, it’s a personal project I’m taking on in 2010 to improve my photography and get me exercising my photographer muscles on new and varied subjects. I was inspired by Tasra Dawson who started her 365 project in September after a challenge by Scott Bourne of Photo Focus. I was intrigued by the project, but at the time I knew I wouldn’t be able to commit to it. So I put it off until January.

Welcome to January. And welcome to my 365 project which you can find at http://365.catieronquillo.com!

And for a little preview of today’s post, here’s the alternate shot I took:

Say goodbye to my last piece of Red Velvet cake for the time being, to be explained in a later post this week. Enjoy!

If you’re interested in starting your own 365 project or checking out all the folks who have started a project, visit Tasra’s site at http://www.tasramar.com.

Happy Tuesday!

CONTACT CATIE | VIEW PORTFOLIO | SUBSCRIBE to the BLOG

This Year, I Will…

Catie — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:28:35 +0000

Every end of the year I find myself writing out resolutions for things to do and not do in the upcoming year. But over time, I’ve found that resolutions are much like rules. Meant to be broken. Expected to be broken. Carrying out resolutions from January 1 through December 31 are few and far between, especially in my book.

So, I like the idea of intentions. An intention is a determination to do something act in a certain way.

In 2010, here are my intentions…

Personal intention: GIVE – Spend quality time with my hubby (laptop closed/phone aside!), give back to my community through our church. Give back to myself through healthy eating (Hello veggies!) and exercise 4 times a week.
Business intention: FOCUS & DEVELOP – Work on my business, not in it. Focus on following up and following through. Develop relationships with local wedding vendors.
Relationship intention: CONNECTION – Check in with my parents, sister once a week to see how they are doing. Check in with extended family and friends monthly. “Do it now” instead of the “I’ll do it later” (and forget) mentality.

I’m also going to be SMART. I’ve found that writing out goals have been far more successful, especially when written in a S(pecific), M(easurable), A(ttainable), R(ealistic), T(imely) way. For an easy way to write out your goals for 2010, you can download a SMART Goal Planning Exercise PDF from Sage Wedding Pros, one of my favorite resources for wedding businesses. They also blogged their intentions for 2010, love it!

I also found a set of Goal Setting Questions for 2010 from Simple Mom. It provides a great overview of all personal life aspects.

Another great tool for setting up goals for about 3 years is out is writing a 101 in 1001 list. I reviewed my list a couple of weeks ago and it was fun to see how much progress I made and how far I’ve come since 2007. I still have a little less than a year to go, and goals to cross off the list.

What are your goals for 2010?

And for a little fun to ring in the new year, here’s a Mash Up of Billboard Top 25 Pop Hits.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

CONTACT CATIE | VIEW PORTFOLIO | SUBSCRIBE to the BLOG

Happy New Year’s Eve: 2009 Review

Catie — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 21:21:59 +0000

Let me just say that 2009 has been the best year yet. This year was huge both personally and for my business.

January: I joined a fitness bootcamp through Ala Vie Fitness. I woke up and started exercising before the sun rose. Crazy.

February: I attended my first WPPI Conference in Las Vegas. I met a TON of photographer friends in person and reunited with old friends too.

March: I launched this blog in it’s new and improved prettiness. Click here to see the old version.

April: I flew out to New York to hang out with my cousin Mercy in Brooklyn. I got to see her perform in a local cafe and we got Magnolia’s cupcakes. And she was my awesome assistant for an engagement shoot at the Brooklyn Bridge.

May: My mom graduated from her 18-month intensive Master’s program in Nursing Education. I attended the Fast Track Photographer Workshop.

June: I rallied in the last month-long stretch before the wedding and prepped all the last minute details. Including Martha Stewart Pom Poms.

July: We got married! After a long 16-month engagement the big day finally arrived! We went on our honeymoon in Kauai and went ziplining!

(photo by Travis Hoehne)

August: I moved into Cent’s apartment in Dallas. The long-distance part of our relationship came to a close. I went to Washington, DC for a final business trip from my full time job and shot some engagement sessions too!

September: I met and joined the Dallas Wedding Photographer community. Big props to Twitter and Facebook for the pre-move connection! We put an offer on a house.

October: I launched my website create with Showit Sites: www.catieronquillo.com!

November: I attended Pictage’s PartnerCon in New Orleans. We CLOSED on our home. First Thanksgiving with the new family. It was a tasty feast to say the least!

December: I participated in Help Portrait Dallas. We bought our first Christmas tree. We went to California for Christmas with my family. We flew down to Anaheim for a whirlwind adventure through Disneyland and California Adventure during the holidays.

And as for 2010, I know that great things are in store. Big things. Fun things. Exciting things!

Happy New Year’s Eve! This year, we’ll be ringing in the new year very low key in our new home, and toasting each other at midnight!

How are you celebrating?

CONTACT CATIE | VIEW PORTFOLIO | SUBSCRIBE to the BLOG

Belated Merry Christmas!

Catie — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 04:45:21 +0000

We just got home from a whirlwind visit home to my parents in the San Francisco Bay Area as well as a quick jaunt down to Disneyland. In the span of six days, we traveled on four airplanes, in the midst of a guy trying to blow up an international flight, crazy! But all is well with both my family and Cent and I. It was a fantastic time, which left little time to blog.

So here are our belated Christmas and holiday greetings!

I’m so thankful that we had no problems traveling. We made it out of Dallas the day before it snowed! Had we left a day later, we might not have made it to California. On Christmas Day, we took a flight with my parents and sister to Orange County to the Merriest Place on Earth!

It was the first time that we had been to Disneyland at Christmas time. It’s a Small World is so cool and worth the wait! The Haunted Mansion is transformed into the world of Jack Skellington and Nightmare Before Christmas. After going on the ride, I resolved to watch the movie. Yeah, I’ve never seen it in it’s entirety. Until tonight.

We’re showing that it’s -1 days til Christmas. Or 364. Whatever works for you.

My good friend and bridesmaid Krystle was able to join us in Disneyland, yay!

And it was seriously the COLDEST it’s ever been in Southern California. (Which for anyone who regularly experiences snow this time of year is like summer weather But you know us Californians…) Needless to say, I did not dress appropriately. By the time the sunset, we were all freezing. And at dinner, we ate at the Plaza Inn where there are outside heaters, except that we sat next to the one defunct heater, boo! I guess we brought the cold weather from Texas?

I received the awesomely fun Flip Video recorder from Cent. Like he literally read my mind. I was shocked and soooo excited! We made silly videos our entire trip!

And as for the fun recap of our trip to California for Christmas, here’s a video I put together using the Flip software. Easy peasy! Guest starring my parents and sister. And the not-so-little guy is my cousin who was also our ring bearer. He makes some hilarious faces and has some great dance moves!

Christmas Fun Times! from Catie Ronquillo on Vimeo.

I hope you all had a safe and wonderful Christmas!

Here’s to 2010!!

CONTACT CATIE | VIEW PORTFOLIO | SUBSCRIBE to the BLOG

Cans for Comments: 75 Cans Raised!

Catie — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:35:53 +0000

Thanks to you, awesome blog readers, we raised 75 cans/items of food for the North Texas Food Bank! When I delivered the box to their headquarters this afternoon, it amounted to 55lbs of food! Woo hoo!

So what does 55lbs of food look like? Here it is stacked on our counter:

If you’re thinking of making a food donation, here are a few helpful guidelines to follow when shopping for items. While food banks take all donations, they suggest donating the following nutritious canned/non-perishable food items:

Tuna
Stew
Pretzels
Peanut Butter
Rice
Fruit Cocktail
Chili
Beans
Pudding Cups
Mac & Cheese
Cereal Bars

Thanks again blog readers, we couldn’t have done without all your comments!

If you’d like more information about Cans for Comments or want to join the effort, click here.

Safe travels wherever you may be going this holiday week. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

CONTACT CATIE | VIEW PORTFOLIO | SUBSCRIBE to the BLOG

A Little Piece of Home

Catie — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:36:57 +0000

Yesterday I received a package from home. A box full of ornaments! And not just any ornaments, penguin ones! If I haven’t mentioned it before, penguins are my favorite animal. Not sure why. Well, kind of.

In second grade, my teacher, Mrs. Evans loved penguins. She decorated her classroom with penguins. She told stories with penguins (Hello, Tacky the Penguin!). And even did a unit about penguins. I started a penguin collection since then. Perhaps through brainwashing or osmosis?

Last Christmas, I told my mom that I wanted to have the penguin ornaments for my future tree. And trust me, we have a lot. While I wasn’t even sure if we were going to have a tree this year, (thanks Target!), when I told her we purchased a Christmas tree, she sent along a collection of penguin ornaments. Hooray!

A little piece of home.

Thanks, Mom!

I’m so excited because next week we go to home to my parents in California for Christmas! Yay! I’ve got a serious hankering for my family, my dogs, coastlines, and some In-N-Out. For serious.

Happy Holidays!

CONTACT CATIE | VIEW PORTFOLIO | SUBSCRIBE to the BLOG

Last Call: Cans for Comments!

Catie — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:10:40 +0000

And suddenly we’ve hit mid-December. How the heck did that happen?

We’ve put up our very first Christmas tree as a couple. When we bought our house I asked Cent if we could get a tree. While I knew that we would be out of town for the holidays, I still wanted something Christmas-y for our house. So I ventured out to Target (make sure you go with a list or you will leave will all kinds of stuff you didn’t plan on!) to find a Christmas tree. I thought that we’d have to settle for a little Charlie Brown tree, which I was totally okay with, but thanks to waiting around, the Christmas trees were 50% off! So here it is in it’s 6ft. artificial glory! It’s in our dining room since we still don’t have a dining table. And we don’t have any ornaments just yet, but my mom is going to send us some, so our tree isn’t totally bare.

And now I’m starting to get a little nervous because I still haven’t done ANY shopping. I’m a little scared of hitting the stores this weekend, but I may brave it during the middle of the week while kids are in school. And of course the safest shopping option is online. For all those shopping on Amazon.com, December 17 is the last day to order with the Free Super Saver Shipping for it to arrive by Christmas!

So leave a comment here or on any of the blog posts, for the last call on Cans for Comments!

Happy Tuesday!

CONTACT CATIE | VIEW PORTFOLIO | SUBSCRIBE to the BLOG

Help Portrait Dallas

Catie — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:07:59 +0000

This past Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity to give back to my new community.

I had heard about Help Portrait a few months ago. I had scoured the different sites for locations and wondered if there was an effort going in Dallas. Fast forward to last week. I had seen tweets and Facebook posts about Help Portrait. And I had read there was an organization meeting in Arlington, and I had missed it! I was bummed, but I figured that I was giving back to my community through Cans for Comments and Giving is Awesome, and that it was going to be okay if I missed out on this one.

Then fast forward to last Thursday. I was at the awesome Thursday Therapy, a happy hour for wedding professionals in the DFW area, organized by the amazing Kelly Simants of Sweet Pea Events. Chrys and Ben Q asked if I would be interested in helping out for Help Portrait. They along with photographer Jared Rey and the planning prowess of Deanie of Deanie Michelle Events, had pulled together a local Help Portrait Day. I didn’t happen to be busy on Saturday, and I had wanted to participate in Help Portrait, so it was a win-win situation.

I feel so humbled and blessed to have been able to be a part of this, and it warmed my heart to watch each family walk away with family portraits. For some, their very first one, EVER.

The coolest part about Help Portrait was that it wasn’t just going on in Dallas. In fact, it wasn’t just going on in Texas. And it wasn’t even just going on in the US. It happened worldwide in over 40 countries. And it started as an idea of Nashville photographer, Jeremy Cowart. Wow. That’s all I can say.

Here’s a recap video that Jared Rey put together from Saturday. You can see me in a few of the clips in the gray sweater.

Help Portrait – Dallas from Jared Rey on Vimeo.

And here are few behind-the-scenes photos from Help Portrait in Dallas. Many thanks to Family Gateway, Connie Boyd (Executive Director) and Susan McWilliams (Development Officer), Ben & Chrys Quintanilla, Jared Rey, Don & Emily Mamone, John Harris, Kristen Brown of Glamorous Newlywed who did hair and makeup, and Deanie of Deanie Michelle Events who organized and pulled Help Portrait Day together in just a few days.

Jared working with a little boy who almost wouldn’t smile.

Chrys Q showing proofs and making prints for families.

You can watch CNN coverage of Help Portrait here.

Happy Monday!

CONTACT CATIE | VIEW PORTFOLIO | SUBSCRIBE to the BLOG