What's In a Name? Ya Know Our Business Name!

Promise Event Planners huh? Whats that all about?

One of the hardest things about officially starting this little business of mine was picking its name! When you are starting out, picking a name seems so daunting. It has to be meaningful and yet catchy. Something that you will love forever! People ask me all the time how I picked the name of Promise Event Planners! One day I was sitting down and writing out what marriage meant to me. Forever, Best Friend, Soul Mates, and all that mushy gushy stuff were the first things that came to mind. Those words didn't seem to fit and didn't seem to get down to the actual meaning of marriage, a promise. A promise of faithfulness, support, forever love, and still touching each others butts when you're old and wrinkly. The best part of marriage is all of the promises that you and your partner get to make to one another! 

The other meaning of Promise was the promise that I make to my clients! I promise that I will be your biggest advocate, support system, spirit animal, cheerleader, and that I will create the best day of your life (and that we will have a shit ton of fun in the process)! This is such an amazing time in a couples life and I promise that I will do my very best to make it as silky smooth as possible. 

If you didn't know, now you know! 

p.s. this little symbol means so much to me that I got it tattooed on my arm. There’s no going back now! 

Vendor Spolight: JXC Photo

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This Husband and wife duo have a love of wedding photography. Heres more on JXC Photo:

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Tell us about yourself and your company?

We are a husband and wife team of wedding photographers based out of the Denver area. JXC Photo is the evolution of a combined five years of wedding photography experience between the two of us. Josh has passions for mountain biking and project cars as well as photography, and Christie writes freelance editorial for magazines and works on several books in her free time.

Why did you get into the wedding business?

Christie: I met Collin Richie (www.collinrichiephoto.com) while writing editorial for a magazine in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where I'm from. He was the staff photographer for the magazine, and shot weddings for his company on weekends. When Josh (who had been a photography hobbyist for many years by then) moved to town, Collin asked Josh to be his assistant at a wedding when he found himself in a pinch. Josh became Collin's full-time assistant, and eventually, I helped Collin with his company's administrative end, and picked up shooting weddings for a local studio in the meantime. By the time we left Louisiana for Colorado, both Josh and I were experienced wedding photographers, and hooked to the point where we wanted to photograph weddings long-term... and then, we built our business in Denver. Tah-dah!

How would you describe your wedding photography?

At our core, we are photojournalists. Christie's educational background is in storytelling, and Josh began his photography journey by documenting his international travels. We also place attention on the traditional "posed" shots that a majority of couples need at their wedding, such as family photos and couples' shots -- and anything else our clients might request -- when necessary. Our favorite photos reflect a focus on the context of the story we're observing -- emotional and physical -- along with knowledge of lighting, color, composition, and art. Our photography packages automatically come with both of us so we can give each wedding full attention to all of these factors. It also helps to be in two places at the same time. ;)

Who are some of your biggest influences?

Josh: Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Christie: Photographically, Annie Leibovitz. Literature and everything else, Kurt Vonnegut and Mark Twain.

What is your favorite venue? Colorado and elsewhere?

Honestly, we've loved just about every venue we've photographed in Colorado. One that stands out is the Overlook open-air ceremony site at YMCA of the Rockies, but to be honest, anywhere in the mountains during the Fall season is breathtaking. On the New Orleans side of things, we thought Preservation Hall was a really neat place to get married, in a city with so, so many neat places to get married.

What is your most memorable wedding to date?

Two of our friends got married in North Carolina, and they had a water slide at their reception. That was pretty memorable. So many of them are memorable -- Christie witnessed a US Marine groomsman straight up faint during a ceremony. We photographed a rehearsal dinner for a Jewish wedding earlier this year that involved a few very moving rituals that we won't forget anytime soon. Fairly often we see wedding rituals that send goosebumps running down our spines (in the good way, of course), and just thinking about some of those really makes us thankful that we get to do this for a living.

Tell us one thing we might not otherwise know about you!

One fall, Josh rode a bicycle from Colorado Springs to South Louisiana so he could "see the leaves change colors." He also spent about six months in Japan working on farms in the countryside.

Christine was once an entertainment editor for a magazine and got to interview people like Ice Cube, John Waters, and Brian Posehn

One editorial gig sent Christine and Josh careening down the Mississippi River in a canoe and camping on a river island infested with boars.

Josh Hall & Christie Matherne Hall

JXC Photo

Wedding Photographers

Denver, CO

jxcphoto.com

https://www.facebook.com/JoshxChristie/?fref=ts

What is your favorite moment during a wedding?

Josh: The first dances. You can see them really react to each other, and you can see all the people around them, and the decorations in the room. There's a lot of context to capture during those minutes.

Christie: Lately, I've been enjoying watching the couple as they stand listening to the officiant. The guests are more or less just waiting for the vows to start, whereas to the couple, this is the longest few minutes of their lives so far. I love to find new ways to capture that intensity.

What advice would you give to a future bride?

Hire a professional wedding photographer who has experience. Weddings come in all shapes and sizes, and the more your photographer is caught off-guard by unforeseen circumstances, the more likely it is that they will miss something. Combined, we have photographed over 300 weddings from North Carolina to New Orleans to Denver, and every one of them had a new situation for us to learn from. We've shot alongside many different photographers and observed/researched many different ways to do what we do, we've fine-tuned it over the years, and all of that shows up in our work.

This is an example of our creativity at work.  We're always looking for an unconventional angle to help tell the story of a wedding day, and this is a great example of it.

We love this moment between a bride and her father, and here, we use bokeh (the blurriness) to separate the two of them from the rest of the photo in-camera, because this moment belongs to the two of them.

So many of our clients tell us how much they love our candid reception photos. We use off-camera flashes on light stands for evening receptions like this one, and they often become client favorites.

This is one of our favorite shots from our time shooting weddings in New Orleans. The classic elevator shot is romantic, and depending on the elevator, it can be a difficult one to get. 

These two lovebirds had such chemistry in their engagement shoot. We love getting in close to create images like these.

We find that much of the wedding photography industry is focused on brides, likely because it's mostly brides who are shopping for photographers these days, but of course we put as much emphasis on the groom when we're photographing a wedding. We like this shot because the white space surrounding him, combined with his reflection in the mirror behind him, allow the viewer to focus on his intense facial expression. Personally, when we look at this photo, we think about the myriad of thoughts racing through his mind as he's fastening his watch, minutes before he faces his bride for the first time. And when he looks back on this photo, he's able to see exactly what time it was, which is another thing we love to throw in our compositions: context.

 

 

Why Hire A Planner?

Why Hire A Planner?

For all of you beautiful brides out there right now that are just beginning your wedding planning journey, I am sure you have a ton of questions! One of the main ones being "Should I or shouldn't I hire a wedding planner?". Well we are here to give you just a few reasons why hiring a planner will be your best choice yet! (minus the guy of course!)

1. We Will Be the Main Point of Contact:

As the bride you do not want to be the main point of contact on the day of your wedding. We keep in contact with all of your vendors at all times, probably more than we need to, to make sure that things are going well and according to schedule. Instead of calling you, the vendors will call us to ask for help or guidance. We want you to sit back, relax, and have a mimosa. Not taking calls from rental companies! 

2. We Set Up & Tear Down:

This is a biggie! It is our job as your day of coordinator to set up all of your personal items and decor. These personal touches are so important and makes your wedding what it is! We do this so your family and friends can enjoy the day and not have to worry about setting things up for you. At the end of the night, we pack everything up and put it safely into your car or hotel suite. You have been partying the whole night and the last thing you want to be doing is cleaning up. A planner is a gift you give yourself on your wedding day so treat yo'self!

3. We Know the Vendors:

The wedding world can be a very tricky one to navigate and you don't want to start by blindly entering things into your Google Search box! There are so many options and so many different people to work with. Lucky for you, we just so happen to know the very best vendors in town. We hope you will use us as a resource to find vendors that will fit your style, your budget, and your needs. There are also some people in this industry that don't necessarily have the brides best interest in mind. For this reason we are here to fight for you and be your biggest advocate throughout the process!

4. We Keep the Stress at Bay:

We are here to answer the tough questions! If you wake up at three in the morning freaking out about any aspect of the biggest day of your life, shoot us a text, email, or give us a call and we will do our very best to put you at ease. When in doubt, call your planner! 

5. We Double & Triple Check Your Contracts: 

Contracts can often be misleading with their wording and legal jargon. We double and triple check your contracts for you to make sure that you are given everything you were promised. We hope you ALWAYS read the fine print, but we've got your back!

6. This Isn't Our First Rodeo:

Many of the brides we work with have never been married before.  We keep track of the little things so you don't have to! It is our job to keep you on track and tell you what should be done and when. Trust us, we've got the who, what, when, where, and why of this wedding stuff down to a science.

7. Your Wish is Our Command:

One of our many jobs on the day of the wedding is to make sure our couple is happy. This is our number one priority! At your wedding, we will act as your personal assistant (and BFF) to make sure all your needs are met. This way you, your family, and your closest friends can feel like true guests at your wedding! We want you to enjoy the day and not sweat the small stuff!

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We hope this gave you a little bit better insight on the perks of hiring a planner!  Do we sound like a perfect match? Let's grab a coffee and chat more about how we can create the best day of your life!