Ashley Bartoletti Photography

Happy New Year! New blog and updated website!

2009-01-01T00:44:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year :) I wish all of you the very best in the new year.

I'm so excited to announce my brand new blog! http://www.ashleybartoletti.com/blog

Be sure to bookmark the new blog or subscribe to the RSS feeder. I will no longer be posting on this blog.

I've also updated my website with all new images, and new information so be sure to check that out as well: http://www.ashleybartoletti.com

Thanks to all you faithful blog readers. I hope you enjoy the new one!

A Christmas Memory

2008-12-24T10:31:00.000-08:00

Where have I been? I usually blog a lot more often than I have been lately. In mid-November I flew back east to spend time with my mom, who as many of you know has been battling cancer. The past month has been completely dedicated to caring for and spending time with my mom and I am so thankful to be able to have the time and flexibility to do this.

Now onto my story...

A few weeks ago our local newspaper here in Pennsylvania was looking for locals to submit a favorite holiday memory. Our good family friend Mary submitted a story from nearly two decades ago, and the newspaper contacted her to tell her that her story had been selected to be featured in the newspaper. A reporter came by last week to ask her some follow up questions.

This morning Mary stopped by to visit my mom, and to our surprise and delight her story was featured on the FRONT PAGE of the newspaper! This holiday memory is a great example of the kind of sweet, thoughtful people both of my parents are. Please take a minute to check it out on the newspapers website here.

Here are some quick snapshots of my mom and Mary and the newspaper from this morning wearing the pashmina Mary got for her.

I also wanted to share Mary's full version of the story:

My family moved to Newtown Twp. from New York in 1990, and our family got friendly with our neighbors, Donna and Joe and their children, Ryan and Ashley, fellow New Yorkers, also far from family and getting to know Pennsylvania.

Our family put up a too large Christmas tree a few days before Christmas, and during its first night up it tipped over and all of the needles fell off, and we were looking at a skeleton of a tree. We went back to Carousel Garden and they gave us a replacement tree the afternoon of Christmas Eve, and this one crashed over sending ornaments in every direction, breaking many of the glass balls. Our children were still very young, so I tried hard to make light of it, saying it didn't matter, we'd decorate the little orange tree in the family room and Santa would put the presents under that tree. It really should not have mattered; we were together, we were in a beautiful new home, and we would be visited by Santa.

Donna and Joe, along with a few other of the neighbors, all new to Newtown, Pennsylvania, living in a new development, all came to our treeless house on Christmas Eve to visit and have a little party. We told the story of the falling Christmas trees as if it were a big joke, getting a lot of laughs.

The party broke up and everyone went home, and children were sent to bed, and outdoor Christmas lights were extinguished. We cleaned up the remains of the little party and were busy into helping Santa put presents under our little orange tree well after midnight, when I heard very light tapping on our front door.

When I opened the door, in my memory, snow was gently falling, but whether it was or not, or whether that is the coloring of years of a favorite memory I am not sure. But standing on our front stoop in red striped night shirts and fur coats, were Donna and Joe, holding an artificial, three foot tall, lighted Christmas tree, so "Santa will find your children", as Donna said.

I am particularly sentimental this year about that story. All of the children who were at our Christmas party have grown up into wonderful adults. Donna and Joe are no longer married, and Donna, with the love and support of her friends from Newtown and her children and new husband, is battling a very aggressive cancer. As I visit her to at least try to keep her company as she suffers through this terrible illness, I remind her often of this first Newtown Christmas, and what it meant to me to know that my new friends would be good friends to me forever.

Again, I am so thankful to be able to spend this holiday season with my mom, family, and so many wonderful friends who have been so supportive through this ordeal.

I hope you all have a fabulous holiday season and a wonderful new year.
xox

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T22:16:00.000-08:00

My favorite holiday of the year! Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

This year I am MOST thankful that my mom was released from the hospital today in time for Thanksgiving tomorrow!

I am thankful that I am home spending the holiday with my family for the first time since high school (that's 8 years!)

I am thankful my mom has good health insurance!

I am thankful that my business is thriving even during a tough economy

I am thankful for all my amazing, supportive friends and family

And of course, I am thankful for all of you clients who put your trust in me to capture your precious memories. Happy Holidays to all of you and your families!!!

What are you all thankful for?

Have to include a pretty fall photo :)

Jen & Carlos: Wedding

2008-11-21T15:26:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I headed out to one of my favorite places, Santa Barbara CA, to second shoot with fabulous Orange County wedding photographer DrewB (accomplishing #13 on my 101 things to do list, second shoot with a photographer I admire).

After a fire broke out in Montecito two days before the wedding, I was really nervous it was going to cause problems with the wedding. Thankfully, everything went off without a hitch!

The wedding was GORGEOUS. We started off at Fess Parker's Double Tree Resort right on the ocean, then headed to the Montceito Country Club for the ceremony and reception.

On to the pictures! I loved these gorgeous fall colored boquets! Fall is afterall my favorite time of year :)

Some of her lovely details

How gorgeous is she???

So beautiful!

Posing for Drew

There were some fabulous moments during their ceremony. Could Carlos look any happier?

During the ceremony Carlos's sister did a reading, and couldn't hold back the tears. Love that!

Listening to the officiant, I love the look on Jen's face here. So happy and peaceful.

After the ceremony I tagged along with Drew for portraits of the bride and groom

LOVE this, they look soooo happy!!

We were blessed with some beautiful light!

The reception was gorgeous as well. Yummmm, cake :)

First Dance!

Thanks Drew for having me share in this wonderful day! :)

Email Trouble

2008-11-20T12:14:00.001-08:00

My email is being strange... emails are taking a day or even a few days to show up in my inbox. Please be patient as I work out this issue, or try my at photogeek103@gmail.com or by phone.

Thanks, and sorry for the inconvenience!

Ashley

Keira: Newborn!

2008-11-18T22:22:00.000-08:00

Baby Keira arrived on November 3rd to Gina and Dave, whose wedding I shot last year. Keira was not so thrilled to have me around and cried for a lot our shoot, but we managed to get some nice shots between nursing, crying, and diaper changes :)

Lovely nursery!!

Teeny tiny toes!

Favorite! How cute is she??

Another of my favorites!

Mom comforting Keira :)

This pretty much sums up how Keira felt about me :)

Congrats guys! Keira is beautiful!!

Kris, Joel, Tyler, Samantha: Family

2008-11-18T22:16:00.000-08:00

Last week I headed out to Red Rock to do a family shoot with this lovely family

Leigh Anne & Parker: Wedding

2008-11-17T22:13:00.000-08:00

More words to come. For now. the pictures!

Tawnya & Emmanuel: Wedding

2008-11-11T20:06:00.000-08:00

Early in the morning on November 2nd I shot a lovely wedding at Wildhorse Golf Club. The coordination was done by the awesome Christie of CLM Weddings.

We began with Tawnya getting ready, she had so many beautiful details.

Her gorgeous dress, I love the lace detail

Birdcage veil! So much fun!

How gorgeous is she?!

Emmanuel watching his bride walk down the aisle. Look at that big smile!

Tawny was pretty happy too ;)

It was a GORGEOUS day.

Exchanging rings, my second shooter captured this awesome close up.

Instead of doing a unity candle or sand ceremony they decided to set a clock at the moment they were officially married. I loved this unique touch. 10:34am

Married!

The whole bridal party, the ring bearer decided to join us at the last moment ;)

Some portraits of the happy couple.

Thanks to my second shooter for these next two shots; Loving Tawnya's expression in this one.

Working with the mid-day light. I think it worked pretty well, they look stunning!

The groom looking handsome.

One of my favorite ring shots ever

The simple, gorgeous centerpieces.

Thrilled!

2008-11-04T23:36:00.000-08:00

I am so excited today to be a part of history and watch it unfold, and so proud to have voted for Barack Obama! I cannot wait to see what the future holds!

Jeanna & Michael: Engagement

2008-11-04T00:44:00.000-08:00

Way back in February of this year I held a contest on my blog for a free engagement session for the couple whose story I liked best. I choose Jeanna and Michael, and 8 months later we finally did the shoot! We headed to downtown Las Vegas for some "old Vegas flare".

How gorgeous are they?!

There is something I just love about this shot, just a peek into her eyes

I love his expression in this one, and loving that lovely shadow from the setting sun

Solimon, their dog, also joined us! He was so cute, sweet, and very well behaved

Loving this shot from my second shooter, just a few seconds later

How stunning are her eyes?

Of course I always love silhouettes as the sun sets, love this impromptu moment

Just a moment later from my second shooters perspective. So sweet!

One more, because I cant help myself :)

Same location, playing with some off camera flash. I think it is gorgeous!

We headed back down Freemont Street to take advantage of the awesome casinos!

Okay, just one word... HOT

One last note, Jeanna and Michael were SO sweet and brought me a lovely bouquet of flowers. Thanks again!!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-30T22:34:00.000-07:00

Fall is my *favorite* time of year! I love the colors, the smells, warm pumpkin pie, hot apple cider and it leads up to two of my favorite things... my birthday and Thanksgiving! It is not quite the same here in Vegas as it is where I grew up in Pennsylvania. No changing leaves, or crisp, cool air or haunted hayrides... but I love it just the same.

But we do have pumpkin patches! Well sort of. We have picked pumpkins nicely displayed on hay bails. Not quite the same as going to the local farm to pick a pumpkins from the field, but I'll take it!

Last weekend I joined my boyfriend and his 4 (almost 5!) year old daughter Layla at the pumpkin patch.

So pretty!

I think you would call this... sassy

Seriously, how cute is she?! And what gorgeous light!

Layla was being held by her dad when she yelled that she had discovered THE pumpkin she wanted... and ran after this yellow, warty thing. I guess she likes unique things :)

Hanging with dad

Silly faces!

This one probably weighed almost as much as she did!

Happy Halloween everyone! Hope you have a fabulous weekend :)

Less than a week to go!

2008-10-29T14:26:00.000-07:00

Christina & Corey: Wedding

2008-10-23T16:58:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I headed to Denver, Colorado to shoot a wedding in the mountains! I was so excited to have a change of sceneary... and best of all get some wedding pictures amongst the changing fall leaves! This is something I've NEVER had the opportunity to do before, since beginning my career as a wedding photographer I've lived in Las Vegas where we don't really get to experience the joy of changing fall leaves.

Christina and Corey are both cops, and met on the job! How cool is that! Their wedding was full of the warm colors of fall, and we were lucky enough to have a GORGEOUS day complete with a stunning blue sky.

We started off at the Marriott Denver West where Christina got ready. Love this beautiful light coming in through the windows.

Some details, starting off with her gorgeous tiara...

Getting her makeup done

Quick ring shot

I'm in love with this gorgeous boquet, such rich color!

The relaxed groom, waiting for the ceremony to begin...

I love the expression on Christina's face in this shot, so many emottions... happiness, excitement, pride.

Loving the back light and shadows!

The very hadnsome groom and groomsmen! Loving that big blue sky!

The lovely ladies

Everybody looking cute

After the ceremony and group shots were complete, we had about an hour of time to do portraits! LOVE that!

Making some more use of that gorgeous sky :)

Loving their expressions... I think he's trying to sneak in an ear nibble ;)

Some gorgeous flare coming through the mountains

Heaven! In LOVE with these gorgeous trees!!! Such a simple portrait, but I'm still totally in <3 with it :)

Lots of kissing...

And of course, my favorite thing about weddings.. cake! yum ;)

Destination: Chicago

2008-10-22T13:49:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back I headed to Chicago to visit some friends and get some family photos. Baby Nolan was almost 6 months old and cute as can be.

Sitting up all on his own!

Hanging with my mom and dad ;)

One of my all-time favorites.... look at that smile! And I love how the blue steps bring out those gorgeous eyes

A nice family portrait.

Practicing his jumping skills with dad

Toooo cute!

Love this one too... mom and dad look so proud :)

I imagine he's thinking "Why'd you leave me on the slide all by myself?! Please come save me!"

At lunch, Nolan was completely in love with our waitress.. smiled every time he saw her

With my busy travel schedule I'm often in locations other than Vegas. If you live in an area other than Las Vegas and are interested in family portraits, engagement session, or any other type of shoot contact me to see if I'll be in your area.

Missy and Paul: Wedding

2008-10-21T17:02:00.000-07:00

On October 10th I shot Missy and Paul's wedding at Caesar's Palace here in Las Vegas. It was a beautiful day, although a little windy... as you'll see ;)

I started off hanging out with Missy in her room at Tahiti Village. Oh how I love long veils!

Some of the beautiful details

The Lovely ladies

Yummy sunlight and gorgeous long veil... The wind definitely helped out here too :)

The bride's transportation was running a bit late, so we had lots of time for bridal portraits.

My second shooter grabbed this shot while hanging out with the groomsmen

Since we were running behind schedule, we didn't have a lot of time for portraits before the sunset... but we squished in as many as we could with the time we had :)

This one is also from my second shooter

Fighting with the wind... I think it's gorgeous!

Playing with some off camera flash to create some flare. Fun!

First dance....

Tyler: 3 months

2008-10-16T20:52:00.001-07:00

A few weeks back I headed to a local park to do Tyler's 6 month shoot! I really lucked out with a beautiful day... and took advantage of the last 30 minutes of gorgeous sunlight before the sun set.

Typical family portrait

I love the expressions on mom & dad's faces in this one, they both look so happy and proud

How cute is he?!

Talk about a beautiful day...

One of my all-time personal favorites

Dad time!

You can tell Tyler was bored with me... :)

Warn out after a long shoot. Needs some snuggle time

Ligaya & Christian: Wedding

2008-10-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

On October 3rd I headed to Phoenix to shoot an awesome wedding at the Tempe Center for the Arts. It was such a fabulous, modern location and I was so thrilled to shoot there.

Her beautiful gown

Christian's mom ave Ligaya this handkerchief just before the ceremony, I believe it belonged to Chrsitians' grandmother

The gorgeous bride, and her gorgeous fall flowers

Christian

The lovely ladies

... and the guys

The whole bridal party just outside the reception area. Isn't that the coolest background?

Christian being sweet on the way to a portrait location

Loving that sky!! We got a bit sprinkled on during the ceremony and portraits, but the clouds offered great soft light and a beautiful background

We were treated to this gorgeous sunset

Some of the awesome wedding details

How cool is this room?

First dance! Can you say 'awww'? :)

Liz & Garron: Wedding

2008-10-08T21:52:00.000-07:00

Well this is about to be one of my longest blog posts ever! Liz and Garron had a fabulous wedding at the gorgeous Red Rock Country Club on September 29th.

Liz didn't end up wearing these pearls on her wedding day, but they were a wedding gift from her step mom and step sister, and I think they are gorgeous

Some more gorgeous details...

Liz gave all her bridesmaids a broach to wear, each got a different one that represented their personalities. Love special details like that!

The gorgeous Liz!

The awesome bridal party

The lovely ladies

How gorgeous are these flowers??

Liz and Garron opted to do all their portraits before the ceremony to take advantage of the best light. Some of my faves...

Can't beat this view!

Liz and garron had the most touching ceremony. The each wrote their own vows that were really amazing...

... there literally wasn't a dry eye in the house!

Their reception was soooo gorgeous! So many great details... Here is their seating assignments

Loved this! A wall full of family wedding photos. And the gorgeous cake, too.

One of my favorite things ever... a candy buffet! Color-coordinated of course ;)

Their centerpieces were spectacular! I loved the dripping crytals, gorgeous flowers, and the warm color pallete was just stunning.

One last sunset shot

More blogs coming soon... :)

Sad. Warning: RANT!

2008-10-06T01:13:00.000-07:00

A personal post. Something I don't do terribly often, but I feel the need to vent. 2008 has been a rough year...

Tonight I returned home from a weekend in Phoenix to shoot a lovely wedding. We headed straight to Chelsea's for a PUG followed by dinner. I returned to my apartment at about 11:30pm... and noticed my flat screen TV missing from the wall where it should hang. Wow! I've had a break in. I think anyone would agree that is a pretty crappy situation, not to mention scary. I briefly looked around to see if anything else was missing. Nothing. I check for my jewelery box... stll there. Phew. I call the police to report the break in. While on the phone I realize that thouh my jewelry box was still here, two important pieces were gone.... my moms wedding ring and engagement ring from my dad. I completely lost it. Of all the things you could take from me, I don't know what else could hurt more. My mom gave me those rings just last month while I was visiting her, and I held them very close to my heart. What kind of people break into your home and take things from you? I feel completely heartbroken.

Though I called the police two hours ago to report the break in, no one has come yet... I guess it is a busy day for crime in this lovely city.

Katrina & Mark: Wedding

2008-10-02T23:29:00.000-07:00

Just a few days after their lovely engagement session, I shot Katrina and Mark's beautiful wedding.

One of my all-time favorite dress shots

Another stunning bride

I was in love with this dress! The bride's sister designed it and it was custom made for her in the Philippines. Isn't the detail gorgeous?

Checking herself out in the mirror

A moment during the ceremony at the church

Mark is a teacher and these are his students! The children's choir sung throughout the ceremony, a beautiful and touching element.

I just thought these knee socks and shoes were so cute!

First time I ever had an all yellow bouquet. Gorgeous!

An antique-y feeling portrait

Mark gave Katrina a few spins on the lawn. Just love the light and their expressions!

It was a truly beautiful day. Lots of beautiful sunlight and a bright blue sky.

Happiness!!

I don't know what it is about this shot but it is one of my very favorites. Check out my second shooter blending into the background on the left!

Katrina & Mark: Engagement

2008-10-02T22:46:00.000-07:00

I shot Katrina and Marks lovely engagement session at Lake Las Vegas just a couple days before their wedding... squeezed them into my busy schedule before my trip out to Chicago. It was a beautiful day at a beautiful location with a beautiful couple, what could be better?

Mmmm such yummy flare!

Dancing in the streets, don't the look so happy?!

Tammy & Dave: Engagement

2008-10-01T22:28:00.000-07:00

You saw Tammy and Dave's wedding images a few posts back. Due to my busy schedule and their short time in Vegas we weren't able to schedule an e-session until after the wedding. No worries, we headed to the Neon Boneyard and it turned out AWESOME.

Yummy flare.

Seriously, how hot is she?! Love those blue shoes!

This might be one of my favorite shots ever!

Notice the shoe change, pink!!

Another all-time favorite. Thanks to Tammy for finding this awesome wall!!

Jennifer & Nate: Wedding

2008-10-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

On Saturday September 20th I shot Jennifer and Nate's fabulous wedding at Wynn Las Vegas. All the details were so elegant, it was a pleasure to shoot.

The lovely rings, on my favorite color rose ;)

Hair and makeup was a long process, lots of time to get detail shots of Jen

Checking out the results

Playing with textures, doesn't she look beautiful?

Just a moment later but a completely different look. Which do you like better?

The handsome groom, hanging out by the pool... patiently waiting for Jen to finish up getting ready :)

Some quick portraits before we had to head over to the ceremony

Yum!

The decor was so beautiful, I loved these gorgeous orchid center pieces

Sharing their first dance as husband and wife, behind them Jen's mom and dad and Nate's mom look on.

I just love the expression on Jen's dad during their father daughter dance, you can just feel his pride.

Jennifer & Nate: Engagement

2008-09-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Jennifer and Nate got married! A few days before their gorgeous wedding at Wynn Las Vegas, we shot their engagement photos on the strip.

Images from their wedding coming soon...

Tammy & Dave: Wedding

2008-09-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

Finally catching up on my blog! After a crazy few weeks, I finally have office time to catch up... *many* blogs coming at you this week!

Tammy and Dave were married on September 19th at one of my favorite locations, Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort. It was a beautiful, colorful wedding and I was so excited to have lots of time for portraits on the gorgeous property!

Her gorgeous dress

The GORGEOUS shoes, hot pink Stuart Weitzman's! You know I was in love with these!!

The bridal party, with more gorgeous pink :)

Stunning bride!

I love these gorgeous, color flowers by Pam at The Palette - she always does the most beautiful work.

The guys hanging out on the golf course

Fun detail... all the groomsmen wore different ties incorporating the pink and blue theme

And the groom, incorporating the blue theme pretty well himself!

A sweet moment from during the ceremony

Following the ceremony we headed out on the grounds to do portraits with Dave and Tammy, I was so stoked to find these lovely flowers

A moment captured by my second shooter Chris, I LOVE the expression on Dave's face in this one

Tammy looks so radiant in this one, pure happiness!

Tammy hamming it up for the camera :)

Heading off into the gorgeous sunset light

One more shot by my second shooter, lovely flare!

On another note, I'd like to thank all of you who left me kind comments and emails about my mom. At this point, she is still in the hospital but after a huge dose of steroids to control the swelling in her brain she is much more stable and aware. Thanks again for your kindness and patience :):)

Update

2008-09-25T12:32:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post I am out of town this week in Chicago. I have several weddings and other shoots that I will not have the opportunity to blog until next week. I appolgize for the delay, I know many of you are anxious to see your photos.

On a personal note, as many of you know my mom has been struggling with brain cancer over the past several months. Unfortunately she had to be hospitalized this week after taking a fall (probably due to balance issues caused by brain swelling), and had to have 8 staples in her head. She has been admitted to the hospital to control the swelling and for observation. These issues have also caused a lot of memory isssues and disorientation for her. As you might imagine this is a very difficult situation for me, especially being so far from my family.

I sincerely appreciate your patience with returning emails and other customer service issues. If you have any urgent needs from me please call. Your thoughts and prayers are always greatly appreciated.

Busy busy busy....

2008-09-20T13:26:00.001-07:00

A quick update... On Tuesday I flew back from my trip to PA. Wednesday I shot a baby/family, Thursday and engagement session, yesterday a wedding, today another wedding, another e-shoot tomorrow, and yet another e-shoot Monday.

I think that is a record for me of most consecutive shoots! Tuesday I will be leaving town again for a quick trip to Chicago, followed by two more weddings next weekend. Talk about busy!

Needless to say there will be *several* new blog posts in the next few weeks, so be sure to check back for the latest.

Here is a quick shot from yesterdays beautiful wedding...

In other news.... I *finally* got an iphone! I am loooving it and don't know how I lived without for so long! My favorite new application is fuzzyshot which automatically sends the pictures I take to a blog through their site, you can check out what I've been up to by following that blog - updated daily:

http://fuzzyshot.com/ashleybartoletti

Warning personal blog! Lots of pictures of my personal life, dog, etc :)

Carrie & Greg: Wedding

2008-09-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity to second shoot with the amazing Bob Davis for Bella Pictures. It was a awesome learning experience working with someone so knowledgeable, and it was so great to be a second shooter and capture all the great details and portraits as an onlooker.

The wedding was amazing with so many beautiful details at the picturesque Bonnet Island Estate, any photographers dream!

The gorgeous location

Some of the lovely details

Their signature drink the Bonnetini

The reception room was gorgeous, with long rectangle tables filled with simple bouquets of different types of flowers

The boathouse/chapel where the ceremony was held, lots of beautiful natural light flooding in through the huge doors

The bridesmaids bouquets

The groom hanging out before the ceremony

The absolutely stunning bride

Love those huge, natural smiles!

Heading out back to do some portraits at sunset...

Such a great location for portraits. Need more of this in Vegas :)

Dusk

The first dance, love their expressions

Couldn't have asked for a more beautiful end to the day!

I had an amazing time spending the last two and a half weeks back here in Pennsylvania. Three weddings down, lots of time spent with my mom and family. Tomorrow I am heading back to Vegas for 5 shoots between Wednesday and Sunday. Many more blogs to come!

A Beautiful Day...

2008-09-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

I shot the most beautiful wedding yesterday on the New Jersey coast (blog coming soon) and we were blessed with this gorgeous sunset. I just had to share!

Marilee & Luke: Wedding

2008-09-12T15:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I shot the wedding of Marilee & Luke at beautiful Merion Tribute House. The coordination was done by the fabulous Mark Kingsdorf of The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants. I've known Mark for years because he used to work with my mom! I was so excited to finally have the opportunity to work with him. Now on to the images!

Yes, that is a *pink* wedding dress! You know I loved that!!

The gorgeous shoes

Doesn't Marilee look so classically beautiful?

The beautiful bouquet

The handsome groom

This is a good representation of what the day was like... wet! We were feeling the effects of Hurricane Hanna so everything had to be moved indoors, including photos. I was slightly disappointed about this since the property is *so* beautiful, but all turned out well inside :)

Some moments from during the ceremony, don't they both just glow with happiness?

A detail shot just before the ring exchange. Everything from the wedding ceremony including the readings, vows, prayers, and hymns was hand written into this blue book in beautiful script. What a special memento!

Here's a close up of the rings in the book, with the words they shared as the exchanged rings.

Some quick portraits after the ceremony. Marilee and Luke opted not to see each other before the ceremony, so we just had a few minutes during the cocktail hour.

Some of the beautiful reception details.

One of my favorite dancing shots ever!

Thanks guys for allowing me to share in your day! I hope you're having an amazing time in Spain!!

September 11th

2008-09-11T00:21:00.000-07:00

Seven years ago today... where were you? I had moved to California 7 days earlier, 2,803 miles away from home. It was my second day of classes at Brooks Institute. I woke up a little bit before my 7:00am alarm to one of my best friends calling me with the news.

I remember picturing in my head a little Cessna 2 seater sticking out of the side of the building... when I got up and looked at the tv the first tower was already gone. A few minutes later I watched the second tower fall. Then I showered and got ready for my second day of classes.

I was 18 years old, thousands of miles away from everyone I knew, on my own for the first time... my dad lives in NYC (safe, thank god). I was terrified. I remember being glued to the tv, praying and crying on the phone with my mom.

My first break from school at the end of October I booked a flight home on a whim. I'm terrified of flying, and it was the first time I ever flew alone. My dad and I took the subway to WTC to pay our respects. Even 7 weeks later it looked like a war zone... debri everywhere, piles of ashes and paper several feet high. I have pictures in my office from this trip -- I'll post some when I return back to NV next week.

I remember very vividly the first time I ever saw the twin towers up close... I was maybe 6 or 7 years old, going to the statue of liberty with my grandparents and brother. My grandfather drove right by the WTC. From my perspective they were so tall I couldn't see the top. Just hugely massive.

On a recent trip to NYC my dad and I again took the subway to the WTC stop. I took a picture on my camera phone.... but of course I can't figure out how to get it to my computer :)

I can't post without an image... this is image came up when googling 'america'.. seems appropriate.

Comment and tell me where you were 7 years ago today.

Jeanelle & Samir: Wedding

2008-09-08T15:24:00.001-07:00

I flew back to Pennsylvania a couple of weeks back to shoot a few awesome weddings. This was the first wedding of my trip shot in Telford, PA.

Jeanelle and Samir are two nicest people you could ever want to work with, and it was a pleasure to work with them!

Jeanelle's lovely dress, I love the high neck - so elegant!

Samir and Jeanelle opted to see each other before the ceremony to get some of their portraits out of the way, a great option! Don't they look so happy to be marrying each other?

Even the horse got dressed up! :) Samir entered the ceremony on horseback! How cool is that?

There were two parts to the ceremony, here are a few parts from the Indian part of the ceremony. Every time they look at each other they just beem!

Jeanelle was a bit emotional...

I don't think I've ever seen a happier groom!

Some of the reception details

We snuck away from the reception for a few minutes to take advantage of a lovely sunset

Hope you two are having a fabulous time in Jamaica!

Cara & Matt: Wedding

2008-09-02T21:07:00.000-07:00

So sorry for the huge delay in blogs! Friday I flew back to the east coast for a few weddings and to visit my mom, and with my busy schedule I just ran out of time for blogs! I have two weddings and an e-session still to post; I'm hoping to catch up before my next wedding shoot this weekend so check back often.

Cara and Matt were married at the Wynn Las Vegas on Thursday August 28th, followed by a lovely cocktail reception at Maggiano's, yum!

The gorgeous dress, and other details...

The stunning bride

Look at those gorgeous eyes!!

This has such a classic feel that appeals to me

Enjoying some champagne on the patio with an awesome view of the strip!

Thanks Cara and Matt for sharing your awesome wedding with me, hope you're enjoying your honeymoon!! :)

Rain & Hongbo: Wedding

2008-08-20T17:39:00.000-07:00

Saturday I headed out to Loews Lake Las Vegas for the beautiful wedding of Rain and Hong.

Their gorgeous Cartier rings -- love the red boxes they come in

Rain wore three different dresses, here is her second

And her third...

One more ring shot in what I believe was a Chinese bible

The gorgeous bride, this is one of my all-time favorites... she just looks so happy, relaxed, stunning, real...!

The flowers by Tivoli Floral

Oh, how I love cathedral length veils

My second shooter caught this series right before the ceremony, the groom reviewing his vows... I'm not sure what the said because he recited them in Chinese, but they were still touching -- even the (non-Chinese speaking) officiant had tears in her eyes

The gorgeous ceremony site overlooking the lake

It was soooo windy that Rain had to take off her veil for outdoor portraits, and we had to stay confined to the courtyard. As soon as we went past the walls we nearly blew away :)

Some quick details by my second shooter

Some more of the lovely couple

Rain and Hong, it was such a pleasure to work with you guys! I can't wait to share the rest of the images with you... so many great shots!

Breeyon & Ryan: Engagement

2008-08-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

I am so behind on blogging! A week ago Sunday I joined Breeyon and Ryan on the strip to do their engagement session. They will be getting married here in Vegas next April.

We started off at Paris... feel the romance? :)

My love for flair is still fully intact...

We walked a bit down the strip to get some shots with the Bellagio in the background, this is where Ryan proposed

Can't wait to see you guys for the wedding next year!

Courtney & Rodney: Wedding

2008-08-15T16:45:00.000-07:00

Just a few weeks ago I got an email from Courtney who at the very last minute wanted to hire me for some wedding portraits. I happened to be available so I spent two hours last weekend with the Courtney and her husband and their bridal party at a lovely golf course for some portraits.

Another gorgeous bride!

Love these gorgeous blue Stuart Weitzman's that her husband picked out for her! Now that is trust ;)

The lovely ladies...

Thanks to my second shooter for this awesome shot of the guys

I think these next few are so classically beautiful. Who would have guests we were just steps from the golf course's dumpster, lol

Another from my second shooter's perspective

I just love the warmth of this one

This is the same exact pose as the shot above, but from my second shooter's perspective. I love how different they are from just a second later.

One of my favorite things about Vegas is we (almost) always have these beautiful blue skies. Gorgeous!

Jocelyn & Marc: Wedding (08-08-08!)

2008-08-13T13:20:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I shot the fabulous wedding of Jocelyn and March at the gorgeous Bellagio. We started off shooting in Jocelyn's suite capturing all her beautiful details and a few quick portraits, then I took a break since the Bellagio does not allow outside photographers in the chapel for the ceremony. We resumed later and continued with portraits of the bride and groom, and the fabulous reception.

Her gorgeous Manolo Blahnick's

The beautiful, sparkly rings

I love this detail shot as her bridesmaids were getting her into her dress

Beautiful bride

Quick detail during portraits, aren't her flowers stunning?!?

Playing with some textures...

The whole party in the hallway of the Bellagio

Some of the reception details

What a gorgeous wedding!! I still have one more wedding post and an engagement session from last week, posts coming soon :)

Google Alerts & Twitter

2008-08-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Chelsea I signed up for google alerts which tells me when someone is talking about me on the internet, how cool is that?

Today I got a message that an article mentioned me called "The Ten Best Wedding Photographers in Las Vegas" on a website called squidoo.com, how cool is that?

Here's the clip about me:

3. Ashley Bartoletti Photography
www.ashleybartoletti.com
Ashley Bartoletti Photography has a good mix of both portrait and journalistic images. Her work is described as vibrant, colorful, and full of life. She has a simple to navigate flash site with large gallery thumbnails for ease of viewing.

Thanks, #3 sounds pretty good to me :) You can go add your favorite photographers as well, and vote so I can move UP.

Also I have finally jumped on the bandwagon and joined twitter, http://twitter.com/ashleybphoto

**EDIT** Turns out I don't know my password to that twitter, and I'm not receiving the emails from twitter to reset that password.... so follow my new one :) http://twitter.com/ashleyphoto

Come follow me to see what's going on in my world :)

Adria & Jeremy: Enagement (x2)

2008-08-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

This week I did something I rarely ever do... I woke up at 4:30am to shoot a sunrise engagement portrait session -- *gasp*!

We all headed out for sunrise at about 5:50am at Red Rock for part two of Adria and Jeremy's engagement session. The gorgeous sunrise was totally worth it!

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The gorgeous sunrise!

For this shoot, I also brought a long a second shoot who some of you may recognize from past shoots, and can look out for on future shoots as well. Here is Chris shooting:

And the shoot from his perspective:

I love the pink cast created from the sunrise...

Adria & Jeremy: Engagement

2008-07-30T22:17:00.000-07:00

I've been staying super busy since being back in Vegas. This week I headed down to The Venetian with Adria and Jeremy for the first part of their engagement session. I'm so excited to be shooting their wedding next year at the gorgeous Dreams Resort in Cancun! I'll be thrilled to check off #2 on my 101 things to do in 1001 days list.

On to the images...

The gorgeous couple

Love these awesome shoes!

The bling...

Yummy light in this shot, and I love the look on Adria's face, too. That's the Las Vegas Strip behind them!

More flair!

Don't they both have the most beautiful eyes?

Next week we'll be heading out for part 2 of their engagement session at *gasp* sunrise, so definitely check back for that :)

Liz & Garron: Engagement (Part 2)

2008-07-30T00:09:00.000-07:00

After our fun Boneyard shoot, Liz and Garron and I spent another evening together out at Red Rock. Here are my faves:

Liz & Garron: Engagement (Part 1)

2008-07-25T23:44:00.000-07:00

Well I am finally back in Vegas after a long trip and got right back into the swing of things. This week I shot two different e-sessions with this lovely couple, and for our first one we shot at the always fun Neon Boneyard.

Don't you love how they make the 'A' for chapel? :)

Love the FLAIR!

This is one of my favorites, both Liz and Garron's last names begin with 'G' so I thought this was so perfect.

I love this part of the boneyard with all the stars from the old Stardust, so pretty

Check back soon for part two at Red Rock!

Kristen & Brock: Wedding

2008-07-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

After a crazy few weeks I am back on the west coast, though not quite home yet :) I'm in California this week and will be back home in Vegas late Monday night. I've had limited access to the internet this week which has led me to realize that I'm an addict. I see an iPhone in my future because I cannot live without email :) (and I'm doing so much traveling this yea).

Anyway! Last weekend I shot the fabulous wedding of Kristen and Brock in Wilmington, Deleware. You know it is gonna be a good day when this is the smiling face that greets you:

Love this shot of her mom smiling at her, you can feel the love!

Stunning bride

TEN beautiful bridesmaids

Following the ceremony I grabbed this quick shot of them kissing in the sunlight from one of the church windows, I wanted to make the church go dark and have them stand out.

Before the reception, we stopped by the absolutely GORGEOUS Brantwyn Estate that was just across the street from the reception venue. There were tons of awesome spots for portraits, but I loved this grassy field (don't find these in Vegas!).

Kristen was a total trooper and climbed right in the field. It's hard to SEE just how hot, humid, sticky, and buggy it is from the photos... but believe me it was.

I figured if they were gonna be brave I would too. I was actually sitting in the field in my knee-length skirt trying not to think about what might be crawling on me :) I think it was worth it, love these shots!

The gorgeous estate in the background. This is actually the back side, and this image doesn't really show you just how massive it actually is so you'll just have to take my word for it :)

A quick back-lit portrait

There is just something about this shot I really love. There was such beautiful window light, and it feels like shes floating in a sea of wedding dress.

Stunning staircase in the entryway.

And of course they have to ride in style in this awesome Rolls Royce. There I am in the reflection!

The reception was held at the equally beautiful DuPont Country Club

My favorite part of the wedding... cake!

And finally the happy couple during their first dance. An awesome day.

**This wedding also helped me knock off #10 on my 101 things to do in 1001 days, by shooting a wedding in one of the 33 states I hadn't yet. Now I've photographed weddings in 18 states, and Washington DC!**

Bald and Beautiful

2008-07-14T19:44:00.000-07:00

I've been back home in Pennsylvania for a month now and every day I've been meaning to take some portraits of my mom, since she is the reason I am here. Finally I squeezed in a moment just as the sun was setting tonight before I leave tomorrow to get some snapshots of my mom. I think her baldness brings out her eyes :)

Doesn't she look beautiful?

In this one you can see her scar from the biopsy, which is a good 4 inches long and was a bit shocking the first time I saw it.

I truly appreciate the patience of those of you who are my clients during the past months while I deal with this personal situation. It has been an emotional month to say the least, but I am so glad to have a job that allows me the flexibility to travel when I need to. Tomorrow I am flying to California for a few days before heading back to Las Vegas on the 21st. I'll be in Vegas for another month before flying back here to PA for two more awesome weddings, and some more time with my mom. I have two weddings from last weekend still to post, so check back soon for those. Thanks for reading :)

Just for fun...

2008-07-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

This made me smile:

Check out Matt's website. He managed to get himself sponsored to travel the world by Stride gum (after he created his first awesome video), and the video above documents him dancing as he traveled to 42 countries in just over a year. This is just the latest in the series of videos of Matt dancing, so be sure to take a look at the other videos on his website.

I found it inspiring, it definitely made me want to get out and see some of the amazing things our planet has to offer. Hope you enjoy it, too!

Yvonne & Dammun: Wedding

2008-07-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I headed down to Falls Church, Virgina to shoot a morning wedding at 2941 Restaurant. It was overcast and drizzley so the ceremony was moved indoors, but the clouds made for great portrait late. For this wedding I didn't have the opportunity to do preparation coverage, which is a shame because I would have LOVED to been alone with those shoes for some shots :)

Loved these table numbers...

and of course LOVED these pink shoes!!

This was during their vows, where Dammun said "I promise to love you today, tomorrow and forever.... and ever... and ever". Loved Yvonne and the officiant's expressions

Just before their grand entrance, have to capture my signature silhouette ;)

Besma & Mazen: Wedding

2008-07-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I headed down to Baltimore to shoot a fabulous wedding at the Tremont Grand. Well, sort of. They actually were already married and were just having a celebratory reception, so I didn't shoot any of the normal getting ready pictures or a ceremony.

The venue was so elegant, with a beautiful ballroom and stunning furnishings. We stayed indoors for photos as well since it was quite hot outside, but utilized some awesome window light.

I played with some textures on this one, thoughts?

Loved this gorgeous china!

Sneak Peek x2

2008-07-07T21:38:00.000-07:00

I shot two more awesome weddings this weekend. I won't have time to blog until Wednesday, but until then here are the two beautiful brides...

Jamie & Miles: Wedding

2008-07-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I shot another gorgeous wedding in Havertown, PA. This couple was so obviously in love it made it so easy to photograph; their faces just lit up every time the looked at each other.

Jamie made these cuff links for Miles, and all of the groomsmen... as well as matching bracelets for the ladies, how cool is that!

Gorgeous!

Courtney & Josh: Wedding

2008-07-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I shot a lovely wedding a Meredith Manor in Pottstown, PA. It is so nice to shoot in locations that has beautiful natural scenery, trees, and green! Nothing like Vegas :)

Sneak Peek: Jamie & Miles

2008-06-29T19:55:00.000-07:00

I shot TWO fabulous weddings this weekend. Check back Tuesday for those images, but for now... here's one of my faves :)

Kaylynn and Bill: Featured on Wedding Podcast Network

2008-06-26T13:59:00.000-07:00

My clients and friends from a September 07 wedding at the Wynn were recently featured on The Wedding Podcast Network, a really cool site offering many different podcasts on various wedding related topics. Kaylynn and Bill are featured on the newlywedcast, a popular section featuring recently married couples talking about their wedding planning process and wedding.

Among the other topics Kaylynn and Bill discuss, they say some very nice things about me (thanks!). Specifically, Kaylnn addressed the importance of the relationship between photographer and client. I've highlighted some of what Kaylynn had to say below, but to check out the full podcast go here.

Ashley Bartoletti was our photographer and she's phenomenal, and we actually... Tracey helped me find her and we met at a hotel. It's funny, when I came down to meet Tracey for the very first time, I met with a couple of different vendors. I met with a make up artist and I met with Ashley who's the photographer... and it kind of just happened that we were all running just a little bit late. So it happened that the makeup artist was there at the same time that Ashley was there. so it was kind of this really fun meeting where we had sort of a girl party where we were talking about photography with Ashley and talking about makeup with the makeup artist and Tracey was there, and it just kind of felt perfect. Her photography style is very life-style oriented I did like some of the traditional wedding poses and things you know that you traditionally do, but I really wanted to capture the wedding and the life of the wedding so I really wanted her to spend most of her time taking pictures of people having fun and not really posed pictures, and she just loved that idea. It was more editorial than it was posed photos. We just really, really clicked. She was so accommodating and really got what we wanted. She really just understood our style. The night before the wedding I think it was we had our pre-photoshoot so we walked around the Wynn with her and it was fun. She's just a really fun person to be around. She doesn't make you feel awkward and she gave us some really good pointers and just beautiful photography. Really, really beautiful. She just kind of knows... she just kind of I think intuitively got our personality and was really able to capture that on film.

Tracey Kumar-Moore was the awesome wedding coordinator behind this wedding. Some of these images have been blogged already, but here are some of my favorite details from the wedding.

Here's Tracey with Kaylynn and Bill

Marilee & Luke: Engagement

2008-06-26T09:30:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I headed into Philadelphia to shoot a really fun engagement session with Marilee and Luke at The Water Works. It was a super cool location with awesome architecture, but unfortunately a lot of it was under construction and we didn't have access to much of it. We still had a great time, though! :)

I was playing with a desaturated/vintage look in this shot, what do you all think?

Anytime they were looking at each other they had the biggest smiles on their faces. It was pretty adorable, and makes my job easy. :)

We took some time to dance a little bit in the plaza...

Sunset kiss... it was pretty hazy so we didn't get a lot of that warm delicious sunlight, but I've got to have my signature silhouette shot :)

Kristy & Mike: Wedding

2008-06-25T21:29:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I shot a wonderful wedding at The Mercer Museum in Doylestown, PA. Now you know why I've been behind in my blogging, I've been shooting in Vegas, Arizona, California and now Pennsylvania in just a couple weeks!

I grew up in PA, and coming back after 7 years of living on the other side of the country is refreshing. I love the colonial architecture, and the beautiful greenery and golden fields. I'm going to try to take a day while I'm back here to photograph some of the beauty and share it with you all :)

Anyway, back to the wedding:

I loved this corset detail on the back of her dress

The threads of her dress had hints of gold and pink, it was so beautiful!

Loving the big blue sky, nice green grass, and beautiful architecture!

I love how happy they both look during their first dance, the sang to each other the whole time. How sweet is that? :)

This is the view of the tent their reception was held in outside of the museum at dusk, beautiful sky!

Jocelyn & Marc: Engagement

2008-06-25T18:17:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago I flew to San Diego to shoot a beachy engagement session, and I was so excited to have the change of scenery. Jocelyn and Marc will be having a fabulous wedding at the Bellagio in Las Vegas later this year.

We did our shoot on two different locations on Coronado Island. We began on the north side of the island for some fabulous skyline views.

Nice view, eh? :)

You know I love her gorgeous Christian Louboutin shoes. Can't wait to see what she wears for the wedding!! :)

Our second location was on the beach by the gorgeous Hotel del Coronado, shown in the background here

I was particularly excited to shoot an engagement session on the beach at sunset (we don't have beaches in Vegas!!), but my sunset was obstructed by a stray cloud! It was still pretty beautiful though :)

Kathryn & Tim: Wedding

2008-06-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago I flew to Phoenix to shoot the awesome wedding of Tim and Kathryn. They were two of the nicest people I have ever worked with, and pretty easy on the eyes too :) I shot for 11 hours for this wedding so there were tons of awesome pictures to choose from!

Here are my faves:

This is a tiara from her bachlorette party, too cute to pass up a photo op :)

I love this shot of her dress on her mom's bed, with all her children's artwork above it. How sweet is that!

Lots of beautiful details on her dress, veil, and shoes...

Smiling for photos for her family

Just before the ceremony, gorgeous!

Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to leave the back of the church during the ceremony, but I still love the expression on Tim's face during their vows I got with my 70-200mm zoom lens

Married

Very happy couple sharing their first dance

Tim is a Marine who is leaving for his second tour in Iraq next month, lets all pray for a safe journey for him and his fellow Marines.

Rain & Hongbo

2008-06-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

I shot this lovely engagement session at the gorgeous Loews Lake Las Vegas, the same location that the wedding will be held later this year. After rescheduling once due to rain, we lucked out and got a beautiful day complete with a lovely sunset, with beautiful, warm light.

Angela & Ray: Wedding

2008-06-23T14:57:00.000-07:00

Finally trying to catch up on my blogging now that I am settled in Pennsylvania. This is the first of three weddings, three engagement sessions, and more...

I shot Angela and Ray's wedding at the Flamingo Las Vegas on June 6th. After a beautiful and intimate morning ceremony, we spent several hours shooting portraits on the strip at the Flamingo, Luxor, Paris and of course the Welcome to Las Vegas sign. Enjoy!

Email/Site down

2008-06-20T07:47:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately the server for my email and website is down. I'm doing my best to remedy the situation as soon as possible, but in the meantime if you need to get a hold of me please contact me via email at photogeek103 at gmail dot com (so appropriate isn't it? :) )

Or you can reach me by phone at 702 943 0830. So sorry for the inconvenience!!

UPDATE: Email and website are up and running. If you sent an email to me within the last 12 hours, I may not have received it. Please resend it. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience.

Tyler: Two weeks old

2008-06-18T16:14:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the pleasure of joining Lindsay and Josh and their 2 week old baby boy Tyler for his first photo shoot. Tyler will be having a first year documentary photographer package, so except to see lots more of him over the next year :)

Isn't he so beautiful?

Snuggling up with mom

The whole new family :)

Gotta get some snuggles with dad, too

Available Dates

2008-06-17T23:15:00.001-07:00

Hi All!! Tomorrow I'm heading back east to be with my family (picture blogs coming soon!). I have several dates still available on 2008 (particularly in August and the late fall), so if you know anyone planning a wedding this year send them my way!! :)

Sneak Peek: Nolan

2008-06-12T23:35:00.000-07:00

How cute is he? More to come of him, baby Tyler... and lots of happy couples, too.

Personal Update

2008-06-10T19:42:00.000-07:00

For anyone who doesn't already know, I just wanted to give you a heads up that I will be out of town for about a month from June 18th through July 14th to be with my mom who is currently dealing with brain cancer.

I will be shooting and working from the east coast and will be available by phone and email, so please don't hesitate to contact me if you need me for anything.

In this busy week before I leave I have several shoots, but will not have time to blog them until after I get to the east coast. Check back for lots of images from two weddings, two engagement shoots (including an awesome San Diego beach session!), and two adorable baby shoots!

Thanks :)

First Las Vegas PUG!

2008-06-05T00:10:00.000-07:00

Last night Chelsea and I hosted our very first Las Vegas PUG and it was great! Everyone that showed up was super nice, and I know our PUG is going to be a huge benefit to all involved.

If you couldn't make it, be sure to come by our next one! PUGS will be the first Tuesday of each month and you can check out the website for more detailed information.

Here are some pictures!

Learning! (image courtesy of Chelsea's blog)

Silly group portrait (image courtesy of Chelsea's blog)

The guys: Rafael, Chris, Eric and Josh

The girls: Me, Keny, Chelsea, Rachel, and Trish (image courtesy of Eric)

More girls :) (image courtesy of Eric)

PUG co-leader Chelsea and her baby Bella

Some of the samples Pictage supplied

Reminder for photographers: First Las Vegas PUG is Tomorrow!

2008-06-02T18:55:00.000-07:00

Just a friendly reminder to all you Las Vegas photographers that our first Las Vegas PUG is tomorrow June 3rd. Here is all the info from the original post:

Hey Las Vegas photographers! I'm so excited to announce our very first PUG meeting in Las Vegas one week from today, Tuesday June 3rd at 7:00pm. My friend Chelsea Nicole and I will be hosting the very first meeting at her home, and all local photographers are welcomed and encouraged to come join us!

For those of you who don't know what a PUG is, it is a Pictage User Group and it is a great way to network with other local photographers.... and learn more about the benefits of being a Pictage member if you aren't already! To learn more about our PUG check out the PUG website.

Again, we are welcoming any local photographers to our first meeting, and there will be food drinks and fun so you should definitely check it out! If you'd like to come drop me an email and I will get you all the specific information. Hope to see you there!

Attention Clients!

2008-05-29T12:50:00.001-07:00

I am so sad to report that my computer has completely crashed (this is what I get for using a PC :) ).

Not to worry, all images and important client information is safely backed up but my computer is virtually unusable at this time. I will be working on getting my computer back into working order today/tomorrow so please be patient with me if you are waiting on me for email responses, album design orders, or any other service. If you have any issue that needs to handled immediately please call me. Thanks for your understanding in advance!

UPDATE: After a long day of dealing with backed up information, reformatting my computer, and installing all my programs over again... things are back to normal. yay :)

Carisa & Ned: Wedding

2008-05-29T00:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday I shot another beautiful wedding at Sienna Golf Club. The weather had cooled down to the 70's and it was a gorgeous day, just enough clouds for bridal portraits with the sun sneaking out just after the ceremony for some beautiful sunset light.

Another stunning bride :)

And handsome groom.

Carisa and Ned decided to see each other before the ceremony for portraits, this is their first look at each other

Don't they look so happy?

Attention Las Vegas Photographers!

2008-05-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

Hey Las Vegas photographers! I'm so excited to announce our very first PUG meeting in Las Vegas one week from today, Tuesday June 3rd at 7:00pm. My friend Chelsea Nicole and I will be hosting the very first meeting at her home, and all local photographers are welcomed and encouraged to come join us!

For those of you who don't know what a PUG is, it is a Pictage User Group and it is a great way to network with other local photographers.... and learn more about the benefits of being a Pictage member if you aren't already! To learn more about our PUG check out the PUG website.

Again, we are welcoming any local photographers to our first meeting, and there will be food drinks and fun so you should definitely check it out! If you'd like to come drop me an email and I will get you all the specific information. Hope to see you there!

Tagen & Luke: Wedding

2008-05-22T00:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday night I shot a lovely candlelit ceremony for Tagen and Luke. I started off with Tagen who was with her wonderful family and bridesmaids.

When Tagen was a little girl she and her dad had the special tradition of going out for ice cream together, so on her wedding day she surprised her dad with some on the balcony.

Her beautiful dress and lovely floor length veil

Tagen's mom made this gorgeous garter for her, and stitched in "<3 src="http://www.ashleybartoletti.com/blog/05172008_04.jpg">

Tagen also had a second veil, a birdcage veil with feathers. LOVED it!

The handsome groom

Their beautiful candlelit ceremony

First hug as a married couple! I love her expression in the mirror

Some nighttime portraits, with lighting help from the videographer

Yum!

Lindsay & Josh: Expecting!

2008-05-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

Last week I joined Lindsay and Josh for some maternity photos. They are expecting their first child, though Lindsay isn't due for a few weeks... baby may come at anytime! Exciting stuff!! Lindsay specifically requested simply nice portraits while she happens to be pregnant rather than focusing on the bump, so thats what she got... for the most part :)

I'll be doing several shoot with Lindsay and Josh over the next year so you'll see more of their family coming soon :)

Isn't she pretty?

I was playing around with a desaturated, vintage look on this one... thoughts?

Khara & Steve: Wedding

2008-05-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I had the pleasure of shooting Khara and Steve's wedding. Khara and Steve have been dating since they were in high school, so this day has been a long time coming. It was so great to see so much love and joy from their families as they were finally married.

I just looooved her cathedral length veil that had this beautiful detailing along the edges

Steve's mom putting on the veil

The girls... you KNOW I loved these beautiful pink dresses

The guys

The stunning bride

The handsome groom

Happy couple :)

I don't what it is about this shot, but it is one of my all-time favorites

a sunset kiss

Some reception details, love the bright colors

Tiffany & Jay: Wedding

2008-05-08T13:19:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night I shot an unusual wedding... on a helicopter! It was a different type of shoot for me, I didn't do a full 8 hour day as I normally do. Instead, I just shot some quick portraits at the Bellagio where Jay and Tiffany were staying then headed off for the ceremony on the helicopter!

Some quick details

The stunningly beautiful bride

The very happy and handsome groom

I just loved how they were constantly making each other laugh

Just before take off... A little tidbit about me is that though I fly often, I actually am really afraid of flying :) soooo I was a bit nervous at this moment!!

Amazing view

The ceremony.. exchanging the rings. I wasn't allowed to use flash due to safety reasons so I had to rely solely on the videographer's light. It was a tight squeeze with me, the videographer, and the minister in the backseat and Jay, Tiffany and our pilot up front.

Very happily married :)

The beautiful view from their room

Thanks so much Tiffany and Jay for this awesome opportunity to shoot your wedding, I had a blast hanging out with you two! Best of luck! :)

Check out this awesome new website...

2008-04-30T23:31:00.000-07:00

My friend and awesome wedding planner extraordinaire Tracey Kumer-Moore has just launched her brand new fabulous website. Take a few minutes to stop by and check it out. I'm so excited that my images from Kaylynn & Bill's Wynn wedding are featured in their very own gallery in the "featured" section so be sure to take a look.

If you're looking for a wedding planner in Vegas Tracey is definitely top notch, her organization skills are amazing so you don't have to worry about all the little details, and she's a blast to hang out with as well... All the right ingredients to help you create the wedding of your dreams.

(image borrowed from the website)

Jennifer & Lenny: Wedding

2008-04-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I shot the gorgeous wedding of Jennifer and Lenny at the Ritz Carlton Lake Las Vegas.

We began at Jennifer's parents house where Jennifer got ready

We did some quick head shots...

and this little lady bug stopped by to join us, that must mean good luck!

Each of the bridesmaids wore a different dress in the same shade of purple, and I just love the lace and broach detail of this one

I swung by Lenny's house very briefly to get some nice shots of him, as well as the groomsmen

Then headed to the church for their ceremony, this is one happy married woman!

We continued with portraits on the beautiful grounds of the Ritz Carlton

They stopped for kisses all over... :)

Isn't she gorgeous??

And finally, beautiful ballroom and flowers

Yum!

Mother's Day Special & Layla

2008-04-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day is just around the corner on May 11th. Photography gift certificates make a great gift for mom so she can have beautiful photos of her kids and family! :)

In honor of Mother's Day I'm offering 10% off of gift certificate purchases for portrait sessions, so a $500 gift certificate for mom will only be $450. This special is good through Mother's Day only; gift certificates can be purchased for almost any amount. Email me for more info at ashley@ashleybartoletti.com

Here's a recent kids session, a day with Layla

Isn't she adorable?

Mmmm... cookies

Snuggling with daddy

Layla is very serious about making these huge bubbles

Layla saw these flowers growing and picked them for me, how sweet is she??

Here's a few more samples of kids portraits, and be sure to check out my kids website for more.

Liela & Robb: Wedding

2008-04-23T22:50:00.000-07:00

On Friday night I had the pleasure of second shooting with my friend Matthew Kemmetmeuller of Minneapolis, who was here in town to shoot a fabulous wedding at the Four Seasons. As the second shooter, I focused on capturing detail shots and unexpected moments - two of my favorite things, so of course I had a blast!

I started off hanging out with the boys...

The absolutely stunning bride

I loved her necklace...

and her floor length vail

And I have to admit I was a bit obsessed with these gorgeous flowers by Naakiti Floral (they're my brand colors!)

First kiss as husband and wife

This is the best man and maid of honor (who also happen to be married), and their GORGEOUS triplets, Fey, Lily and Jack served as flower girls and ring bearer.

Just loved the look of pure happiness on Liela's face here

Some of the reception details

Sort of an abstract of the dip at the end of their first dance, but I love the movement of it

And finally, here is the official photographer Matthew getting down on the dance floor. Love this shot! :)

Jamie & Russ: Wedding

2008-04-21T23:56:00.001-07:00

Saturday I had the pleasure of shooting Jamie and Russ's wedding. Jamie was one of the happiest brides I have ever seen, smiling from ear to ear for the entire day.

Getting ready at the Bellagio

The beautiful smiling bride :)

Another handsome groom

Going to the chapel... and we're gonna get married....

Quick stop for some portraits in the lobby of the Bellagio

The first dance

Amy & Jerome: Engagement

2008-04-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I headed out to Sunset Park to shoot some engagement photos for Amy and Jerome. We we're lucky enough to have some really beautiful weather and some awesome light as the sunset.

Yes I do love sun flare, too much?

Brooke & Andrew: Wedding

2008-04-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I shot an awesome wedding with the super fun Brooke and Andrew. We started off at the brand new and beautiful Palazzo to catch Brooke getting ready,then headed outside to get some group shots on the Las Vegas Strip.

The beautiful bride

As you can see, Brooke and Andrew and their friends were super fun to shoot and constantly goofing around and laughing which I just loved.

The getaway car...

The handsome groom

As their wedding gift to each other, Brooke and Andrew are getting mustache tattoos on their fingers so they can strike this pose anytime the want. This is just a quick sharpie version. Clearly they're a perfect match :)

Dancing in the streets on the strip, just outside of their reception at Maggiano's

Cara & Matt: Engagement

2008-04-15T22:19:00.000-07:00

Last week I headed over to The Venetian to shoot some engagement photos of Cara and Matt who were visiting from Massachusetts to finish up some wedding details :)

Check back at the end of August for their wedding pictures, which will be at the gorgeous Wynn Las Vegas!

Yeah my job is easy when my clients are so gorgeous :)

Kathy & Ming: Wedding

2008-04-13T22:56:00.000-07:00

Kathy and Ming were married March 29th right here in Las Vegas. They had beautiful wedding at the Polaris Estate and we sneaked away for a bit to take some pictures at a local park as well. Sorry for the delay in getting these up, just catching up on everything after having to go out of town unexpectedly. I have also shot another awesome wedding yesterday and two engagement sessions this past week, so check back soon for those posts as well :)

An update...

2008-04-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

First let me thank all you who are my clients and have been very patient with me over the past couple of weeks. I have gotten numerous amazingly kind emails from friends, photographers, and clients, and it is so much appreciated.

I'm not sure there are any scarier words you can hear than 'brain cancer'. My mom went to see her doctor for blurry vision, and he recommended a CAT scan. With the results showing numerous lesions in her brain, she had a biopsy that confirmed cancer. I really couldn't have been more shocked, and got the first flight I could back home to Pennsylvania.

After spending a week at home with my family I have many more answers. It turns out my mom has aednocarcinoma, which is a cancer that is usually found in the lungs that would then metastasize to the brain. After multiple full body CAT and PET scans, there is no sign of cancer anywhere else in her body including the lungs (thank God), but makes for a very unusual case.

Of course the control freak that I am :) I stayed to visit with the oncologist to make sure he got my seal of approval, and researched her other doctors to make sure they were the best in their field.

Her oncologist believes this may have started as long ago as 4 years, which means the cancer is slow growing (a good thing!!) and not very aggressive (another good thing). Because of the way the cancer formed, she is stage 4 (not such a good thing). She will begin radiation as soon as possible, and after seeing how the cancer reacts to this the doctors will make further decisions. Chemotherapy is not an option for her type of cancer because of a barrier between the brain and the rest of the blood system.

I will be starting a separate blog with information on her story and how everything is going. Once it is up and running I will let you all know :)

Here is a quick snapshot from her series of cat scan images showing the largest lesion (2.8cm), also the one that was biopsied. There are several other very small lesions as well.

Thanks again to everyone who has taken a moment to check up on me or send an encouraging email. I cannot put into words how much appreciate it is!!

Out of the office this week...

2008-03-31T13:37:00.000-07:00

To my clients: Unfortunately, due to some serious family health issues I have to fly out of town unexpectedly tomorrow and will not be back until Monday the 7th. I would appreciate your patience at this time regarding proofs, albums, or any other product you might be waiting on. I promise I'll do my best to get these to you in a timely manner. If you'd like more information on how this will specifically affect you please feel free toemail me directly.

If you're the prayerful type, my family would appreciate them at this time :) Thanks for your understanding.

March Newsletter

2008-03-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

The March Newsletter is out so check your in-boxes now! If you're not on my mailing list you can check it out here, or email me at ashley@ashleybartoletti.com and tell me you want on the mailing list. Each month features news (of course), a special, an image of the month, as well as some fun stuff and reminders so be sure to take a look!

And of course today is Easter, so for those of you who celebrate -- Happy Easter!

(Image courtesy of google searching 'Easter')

WPPI Recap (sorry it's so LONG)

2008-03-21T12:24:00.000-07:00

It has been an awesome and crazy week! For those who aren't photographers and are reading this blog, the WPPI(wedding and portrait photographers international) Convention is a huge event filled with a trade show, tons of speakers/seminars, parties, and networking with thousands of photographers from around the world. After dropping my awesome friend Tim off at the airport last night to send him on his way, my WPPI experience was officially over.

It all began on Sunday where I spent the day at Pictage's headliner event, featuring speakers Gary Fong, Mike Colon, Joe Buissink, and Denis Reggie (basically the leaders in the industry) as well as an awesome panel featuring women in the industry. I spent about 5 hours listening to the speakers and being inspired by their words and images.

Later that night I headed to the Club Rouge party at The Palms hosted by Pixel2Canvas, featuring a live boudoir demonstration by the hugely talented Melody Hood (some of my images from this coming soon).

After the party, I rushed over to one of my favorite events of the week... POKER! Caesars was home to a poker tournament organized by J Sandifer and drew about 70 photographers. I'm happy to say I made some money, though I didn't win -- I did finish in 4th place, which makes me the only photographer to have made it in the money two years in a row. go me :) I had an awesome time playing with so many great photographers and can't wait until our weekly online game next Wednesday. If anyone out there has pictures I'd love to see -- I know there were a million photographers shooting but I didn't bring my camera :)

I can't believe so much stuff happened and I've only talked about day one! Anyway!

First thing Monday my friend and fellow photographer Chelsea and I met with Emily from Pictage to talk about starting our very own PUG (pictage users group) here in Las Vegas! This is basically to organize monthly meetings among other photographers who use the services of Pictage, and I'm so excited at the prospect of meeting more photographers right here on my home turf. (Speaking of Pictage, I somehow ended up on THEIR blog -- check me out.) After a quick run through of the HUGE trade show, Chelsea and I headed out to get thirty second head shots from [b]ecker. (Image hopefully coming soon!).

Monday night we headed out to the coolest party hosted by Blu Domain at this super cool venue, the Parisian Palace. There were tons of people, tarot card readings, photo booths, temporary tattoos, and best of all - gaming tables. You know I was hitting up the craps and roulette -- so much fun to gamble when you can't lose :)

Tuesday I spent a good portion of my day checking out the speakers and trade show, and chit chatting with people I knew/met along the way. I'm SO excited about some of the new products I'll be offering this year, and some new ideas I have up my sleeve. So for that you'll just have to check back :) I did get a few new products including the totally functional and super cute Shootsac(thanks!!) and a new version of Kubota Actions featuring the famed Magic Sharp.

Tuesday night I headed over to the [b] party hosted by becker at THE hotel @ Mandalay Bay which was featuring a power outage! Fun stuff! I knew basically no one at the party, but was stoked to be invited so I made the best of it and met some really nice people.

Wednesday was really the final day of WPPI and I wrapped it up by one last loop through the trade show, and finished it off with lunch with my friend Tim and friends at the Bellagio. Tim is the best because he knows everyone and their mother and is always introducing me to the coolest people. That night I joined Tim and more friends for dinner at Tao and a for a few drinks afterwards. I ate way too much that day :)

Finally, yesterday everyone began their trips home... and I shared one final meal with Tim at Spago (yum, my favorite) before dropping him at the airport. I hear he's now stuck in the snow in Chicago (hope you get unstuck soon!).

Anyway, that turned out really long. I feel rejuvenated and inspired after such a great week and I'm so excited to get wedding season rolling and begin shooting more and more. Expect to see some really cool new products featured on this blog, as well as a few other cool new things as well...

Thanks for reading if you made it this far! :) :) Have a great weekend!

Email Issues

2008-03-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

My earlier email issues have been fixed (so sorry for that issue). If you emailed me today after 11am PST I might not have received it, so please follow up with me if you need something. Again, I am so sorry for the inconvenience. Of course you can always contact me by phone if you ever have an urgent issue.

Thanks for your understand and patience! :)

Out of the office this week

2008-03-17T12:08:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let you all know that this week I will be attending WPPI's annual conference -- a huge convention for wedding and portrait photographers. Please be patient when emailing or calling me, I will get back to you as soon as I can.

I'll update at the end of the week with all of the cool stuff I saw and learned this week, including the results of last nights photographer poker tournament :)

Have a great week!

Lancy & Crist: Post Wedding Engagement

2008-03-12T16:33:00.000-07:00

The day after Lancy and Crist's beautiful wedding at Wynn Las Vegas, we headed out to do some engagement portraits since we didn't have the opportunity to do them before the wedding.

Beth & Dave: Wedding

2008-03-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I headed out to Phoenix to shoot a super fun wedding at the Phoenix Zoo. I'm in the processing of retouching them now, but here is a sneak peek:

Check back later tonight for more images!

Edited to add:

Here are more!

We were at the zoo of course, so some animals...

First kiss as husband and wife

Yummy cupcakes. mmmm.

First dance

Out of town this weekend...

2008-03-07T16:47:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to give you all a heads up that I'll be out of town this weekend so please don't expect to hear back from me via email until Monday. I'm just about to head out the door to drive to Arizona for a wedding tomorrow at the Phoenix Zoo! It should be pretty cool so check back next week for pictures.

My friend sent me the cutest article about an unlikely relationship between a dog and a goat.. :) The pictures are too cute! Take a moment and check it out, it'll at least make you smile.

Have a great weekend!

Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

2008-03-06T22:43:00.000-08:00

If you're a long time blog reader you might remember last year when I posted about my first shoot for Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (NILMDTS). NILMDTS is a non-profit organization that offers free photographer services for families dealing with the loss of a child. This organization was featured in a recent segment on NBC's Today Show and I wanted to share it with you all. It is a great explanation of the value of this type of service, but it is a bit heart wrenching. Grab a box of tissues and take a look:

My New LOGO!

2008-03-05T23:42:00.000-08:00

Finally I am so excited to share with all of you my new logo!!

I wanted something that would work well with my current colors and designs, and represented my personality and the swirly heart icon was exactly what I was hoping for.

I've also created a new watermark that you will see featured on all of the images posted on this blog! Here is a sample:

And of course I have new business cards to go with it! The backside is a bit more bold, but you're gonna have to run into me to see that! :)

Let Them Eat Cake

2008-03-05T13:46:00.000-08:00

First let me apologize for the delay in getting these images posted. After some extreme discomfort Sunday night the kept me up all night, I headed to the doctors and it turns out I had a kidney infection! So I have been giving myself some bed rest and allowing the antibiotics to take effect. Now I am feeling so much better!

Anyway! Saturday I had the pleasure of shooting some images for Juliet of Green Orchid Events at her a 'bridal advisory tea party' she was hosting for brides to be. The event featured inspiration for invitations, table settings, flowers, cakes, and cupcakes... and best of all cupcake and cake tasting! Yum!

Cake designs by Aracelli Zea of Custom Cakes

Table designs by Tivoli Floral

Cupcakes by Mad Hatter Cupcakes who hosted the event, all cupcakes are custom made to order (you pick the cupcake, filling, and frosting and the are awesome!)

And the best part... cake tasting! :) Also by Aracelli Zea of Custom Cakes

Happy Leap Year!!

2008-02-29T19:37:00.001-08:00

So today is the final day in my month of blogging, and let me tell you I am thrilled! It is hard to come up with stuff to blog about when I don't have images to show! So I apologize for some of those most random of posts :) I'm so excited to be able to check off 'blog everyday for a month' on my 101 thins to do list.

So I googled 'leap year' and this is one of the first images that came up: I thought it was particularly fitting because I collect frog related things, yes I know, more randomness :)

Tomorrow I will be taking images at a fun event my friend Juliet of Green Orchid Events is hosting, so check back this weekend for some fun detail pictures!

It's Spring in Las Vegas!

2008-02-28T16:29:00.000-08:00

The weather has been just gorgeous lately, warm and sunny. This morning when I was walking my dog I noticed the the cherry blossoms (I think!) are blooming! There are only a few months in Vegas that the weather is nice before it turns into a furnace, so I'm definitely enjoying it while I can!

The blossoms in my neighborhood:

Also, today is my mom's birthday! Happy Birthday Mom!! :)

Lancy & Crist: Engagement (sort of!) Part 1

2008-02-27T23:55:00.000-08:00

The day after their wedding, I headed to Sunset Park here in Vegas to shoot some post-wedding engagement pictures for Lancy and Crist since we didn't have an opportunity before their wedding. Here is one quick shot, more to come later in the week.

Aren't they cute? :)

Gram

2008-02-26T23:52:00.000-08:00

My Great Grandmother, Blanche Gatrone, passed away this week after 95 years on earth. I was lucky enough to have my Gram around for my entire childhood and into my adult life, she was a very special person to me and of course to the rest of my family. Unfortunately, I won't be able make it home for her funeral tomorrow but I wanted to take a moment to remember her.

Here is a clip from her obituary:

Blanche (Cuba) Gatrone, of Edwardsville, and formerly of Wyoming, died Sunday at home with her daughter, Bernadine James, who was her caregiver.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Angelo Gatrone, who operated Gatrone Plumbing.
She was born Oct. 13, 1912, in Wyoming, a daughter of the late Mary Ciupek and Frank Cuba.
She is survived by her daughters, Bernadine James, of Edwardsville, and Jean Bartoletti, of Wyoming; nine grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and two great-great grandchildren.
She also was preceded in death by her son, Carl Gatrone, who died in 1978; and brothers, Stanley, Henry, Edward, Frank and Charles Cuba; in addition to sisters, Julia Huntz, Anna Prokpe and Josephine Mattie.
Funeral services will be held from the Graziano Funeral Home Inc., 700 Township Blvd., Pittston Township. Friends may call from 8 to 10 a.m. Wednesday.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, Wyoming. Interment will be in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Carverton.

Here is a quick snapshot (unfortunately this is the best I have access to at the moment):

She will be missed. xoxo

Lancy & Crist: Wedding

2008-02-25T23:55:00.000-08:00

Saturday I shot a gorgeous wedding at the Wynn Las Vegas followed by a lovely, intimate reception at the Four Seasons. Many of the guests came all the way from Hong Kong where Lancy grew up to share in the celebration. Everyone was so full of joy throughout the day, which was evident by their beaming smiles and frequent bursts of laughter. It was such a pleasure to work with such nice people. Here are a bunch of my favorites:

the gorgeous shoes...

the stunning bride

I love this shot of the bride's mom admiring her daughter jut before she walked down the isle, with family looking on

one of many bursts of giggles

the handsome groom

all of the guests (about 20) were seated at one long table, filled with flowers, candles, and personalized details... very beautiful

and of course the fabulous tiramisu cake, yum! :)

Email Issues

2008-02-24T23:40:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone! For some reason all of the emails in my inbox that I had not yet responded to vanished! If you have emailed me in the past few days and have not heard back from me yet, please resend them. Thanks and sorry for the inconvenience!

As for yesterdays wedding... I just ran out of time today so you're gonna have to wait until tomorrow to see them. It was a really beautiful wedding so definitely worth the wait!