• yeaaahhhh…I figured out how to get my blog working again, so relieved! http://bit.ly/cqk24k #
• darn…my blog is still down! I feel like my journal is lost in outer space…please come back to me blog, I need you! http://bit.ly/9A9SKy #
• Great night hanging with my ABC wedding industry friends at Wash Park Studio! #
• bummer, my Blog is down, arrgghhh! http://bit.ly/az4Dd8 #
• Doing my time in jury duty #
• @adndotcom Police: Fake Boston bridal show signs up thousands http://tinyurl.com/yc452ar #
• @ccjulie & @DJPaula I got the spam too, also got it from 2 others, any idea how to stop them? #
• Here's a Wedding Forum Group featuring Wedding Contests and Giveaways! http://bit.ly/6iPTPu #
• Want to win an amazing night with your closest friends & amazing pictures to remember it by? The Boudoir… http://bit.ly/bsJ0tz #

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Do you want to win an amazing night with your closest friends & amazing pictures to remember it by?

One lucky bride to be will win photography coverage by Nicole Nichols Photography for your Bachelorette Party! Includes your choice of either a hotel room & champagne for a Boudoir style party OR if you have your own unique idea for a fun bachelorette party, lets hear it!

To register simply become a Facebook fan of Nicole Nichols Photography & click on the tab “Win a Bachelorette Party” for details.  If you are not on Facebook then leave a comment below and I will email you the details.  Hurry & register today, once 100 people register the contest will close!

Catrina & Chase have been living in Milwaukee since Hurricane Katrina, but knew they wanted to come back to New Orleans for their wedding. And with Mardi Gras being a favorite holiday, they chose to hold their wedding on Ash Wednesday, the day after carnival ends on Fat Tuesday. I first met Catrina & Chase carnival time last year when I did their engagement pictures in the French Quarter, which can be seen here on my old blog.

Catrina & Chase started the day getting ready at the Marriott Hotel, then headed off to Austerlitz Baptist Church for the wedding ceremony.  Following the wedding everyone took off for the reception at The Fine Arts Center in New Orleans, which has a unique art deco style and was used a few years ago in the Ray Charles movie.

Their wedding was full of small children, including their own newborn baby girl, Mailee. The day was also filled with lots of love, laughter, and dancing, including a traditional New Orleans second line.  I think they broke the record for the most toast, as everyone seemed to have something to say to these longtime “friends.”  It was a fun joyous celebration and thank you Catrina & Chase for allowing me to be a part of it!

With so many online directories out there for wedding vendors, is hard to know which one to use!  My intern today found www.weddinglenox.com, which I had to pass on to my bride-to-be followers.   My intern is in the wedding planning process herself so she has been checking out a bunch of different vendor directories but really liked www.weddinglenox.com because when choosing a vendor category you can also choose your budget, which most websites don’t offer.  For instance, when looking up a florist, not only can you choose the city and date of your wedding but you can set your budget for $1000-1500, so you know the florist names that come up will be available for your date and in your price range, pretty cool!

Below is Chey & Mike’s guest book proof, so keep in mind each of these images below are actually a 2 page spread. This will be used on their wedding day in place of the traditional ’sign on the line’ guest book.
I always enjoy doing a photo shoot in nontraditional ways, such as in the cold winter snow topped off with a beer at Fado Irish Pub, which is also where they had their first date.   Chey & Mike’s wedding is this July at the Lodge at Sunspot in Winter Park, Colorado, so it is also nice that they they will have a completely different look for their summer wedding pictures.    I can’t wait to see you guys on top of the mountain for your wedding!

With the Saints Superbowl win, Mardi Gras was even livelier then ever this year!  Carnival time in New Orleans means weeks of parades and days of parties, which all lead up to the big finale of Fat Tuesday.    This is the day I actually drink the least because other then my liver begging for mercy, it’s the best day for pictures and alcohol does not mix well with a heavy expensive camera.  Some people shy away from the crowded French Quarter, but in my opinion this is the place to be!  The costumes are true works of art, the musicians are playing everywhere, there’s dancing in the streets, and more to see and do then you know what to do with.  Here’s a taste of some of my favorite pictures of Mardi Gras day in downtown New Orleans, from Bourbon St. to Frenchmen St.
To order a fine art print of these images or other New Orleans & Mardi Gras favorites check out my Online Art Gallery.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

1) Your Uncle Jack has offered to do it and it doesn’t matter to you if his camera is still film and if his style is way outdated, because you’re just hoping he stays so busy documenting your day that he has no time to make a fool of himself on the dance floor or tell his annoying stories to your friends.

2) Everyone will be bringing their cameras plus you have disposable cameras! It’s OK if you only get half of those photos back or everyone’s photos are blurry from drinking too much, at least you can tell your guests that their photos are all you have to remember your day by.

3) Your friend Amy is an art student and has the coolest newest camera! It’s OK that she doesn’t have a backup camera because computers never fail, especially on wedding days, and who needs all those fancy lens and lights anyway? She may have only photographed trees and clouds up to now, but how hard can it be to organize 20 family members for a photo and to catch a good shot of the kiss  from 50ft. back? Plus she always complains about having her picture taken, so she’ll be glad that she won’t actually be in any of the photos.

4) He triple-dog-dared you to marry him, and you really just wanted a huge party and a new white dress. You know you’re going to dump him after the honeymoon, so there’s no need for a wedding album to show to your grand kids one day.

If these sound like reasons why you DO want a professional wedding photographer, then be sure to consider Nicole Nichols Photography!

OK, so football is not usually my fortay…call me a fair weather fan or whatever you want but I guess when you grow up in a city where your team never seems to win it’s hard to get into the football spirit.  Well who would’ve known… hell froze over, the Saints won the Superbowl, and I became a football fan!  After we barely won the last playoff game in overtime it hit me that I needed to be in New Orleans for the Superbowl!  Yes, the actual game was in Miami but the real celebration was in the Big Easy!   From the time I got on my flight from Denver black and gold and “Who Dat’s!” were everywhere I looked.  We sang “When the Saints Go Marching In” on the plane and the streets of NOLA was bursting with fans!  The win felt more like a dream as the city erupted with tears of joy and shouts of relief & disbelief.  From this point on the cheers have changed to “When the Saints Went marching in” “Who Dat? We Dat!” and Mardi Gras has become “Dat Tuesday” & “Lombardi Gras!”

Tori & Kenny married on Jan.16 at the beautiful Southern Oaks Plantation in New Orleans, Louisiana.  The day started a little tense as a gloomy weather forecast and a big playoff game for the New Orleans Saints could affect the mood of the wedding.  But thankfully, the Saints stomped the Cardinals and the rain stopped just in time for the start of the wedding!  I was so relieved that the Saints’ easy win enabled the guys to make it to the wedding in time and the guests to arrive with cheery smiles.   And Tori was still able to have her outdoor ceremony, which started with a horse drawn carriage ride and ended with a banging fireworks display.   The reception also went off perfectly, with lots of dancing, laughing, and good times!  I have worked at a ton of wedding venues, and I must say The Southern Oaks Plantation wowed me with their smiles & service!  I was surprised to see them sweeping up rainwater to cater to the bride’s outdoor ceremony request with only 20 minutes to spare…trust me most venues would not even consider setting up outdoors with any amount of rain!   Tori & Kenny’s wedding turned out great, and I was glad to be a part of it! To see the story of their day unfold click ‘play’ below to check out their album proof.

I just finished the final revision for Kate & Alex’s wedding album. This beautiful tall volleyball loving couple got married at the Green Gables Country Club in October 2009. It was a gorgeous fall wedding filled with unexpected snow, a surprising and (very good) choreographed dance, yummy details, and lots of tears and laughs!  Play the slide show below if you would like to watch the story of their day.