HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

Today is the day Love is celebrated! Let's be bold and daring and celebrate love EVERY day instead of just once annually! To everyone, everywhere... I wish that you all experience love today and every day in some small way, be it through family, friends, that special love in your life or an act of loving kindness that you may offer to someone who really needs it. Happiest of Loving days! Pay some love forward! BIG love, Joanne

Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Hepatica Floral Design, Dan & Trina...and me!

One of the things I want to do for the many vendors in Pittsburgh is to sing the praises of those who do a wonderful job for the couples we all work with. That is where this blog entry comes in... The good news is that most everyone I have had the pleasure to work with do a WONDERFUL job at making our clients wedding days special and memorable on each occasion, be it Bridal Salons, Hair Salons, Videographers, DJs, Caterers, Florists and the many beautiful Reception Venues around town. I will be doing my best in the coming months to visually highlight the remarkable professionalism, precision, timing and artistry of the many vendors here in Pittsburgh through the images I have created of the people, places and things that depict their creative work. For those I don't have images of to use in my blog, I will be writing a review. Call me if you'd like to talk about how I can help you promote your work! This blog entry has been created to highlight two special Pittsburgh Wedding Vendors: Pittsburgh Center for the Arts (CFA); a uniquely creative wedding and reception venue where Joy Sato will do her best to make your day perfect! Joy is a DELIGHT to work with and I have known her for many years; she will take good care of you! And, Hepatica Florist (412.241.3900, or hepaticapgh@verizon.net) a uniquely beautiful floral designer who strives for artistic perfection. CLICK HERE to view a slide show from Trina and Dan's wedding from June, 2006 where you will be able to view the beauty created for Trina and Dan by CFA and Hepatica. They did a BEAUTIFUL job! Oh, yes...don't forget...I took the beautiful photos! ;-) I LOVED Trina and Dan's wedding...and love them as well! Their stylishly contemporary personalities came out perfectly through their wardrobe and the many beautiful details they planned for their wedding. Trina's dress was beautiful and she looked gorgeous in it! It was definitely meant for her. That slight, off the shoulder strap denoted her unique and elegant taste that stood apart from all the rest and it fit her like a glove! And Dan couldn't have looked more handsome in his suit (I love it when grooms wear a suit; it is such a fabulous look!). But, he added his own personal(ity) touch to his suit with his stylishly colorful tie and his fun striped socks with the lips on them - nice touch Dan! Really, they did a great job and the wedding was one of my favorites from 2006! I'll be creating another slide show of just Trina and Dan's wedding in the near future. As always, it was a delight to create such beautiful images for everyone! Without further delay, enjoy the show! Joanne

Kelly & Larry, October 27, 2007!

I'm late in posing this, so let me just get this out there... ...after much sorting, reading, deliberating and an unforeseen and untimely delay, the lucky couple who gets to have me photograph their wedding free of charge as a result of the Knot Special Offer is Kelly and Larry who are getting married on October 27, 2007! I am thrilled to be able to do this for you! The hard part...not choosing all of you that participated. Gosh, it really was the hardest decision I've had to make, maybe ever! The couples that participated; the love stories you told; it all was so beautiful that you shared your stories and love with me! All that love is exactly what we should focus on every day. Forget about all that other "bad news" out there. Surround yourself with love and all the special people in your life every day. THAT is what truly is important. Thank you everyone for participating, for sharing your love and your stories, for your interest in my photography and for making the world a better place through your loving ways. It is an honor to have had you participate and to have gotten to know a little bit about you through your stories. For those of you were not the final choice if you'd still like the opportunity to work with me I will be happy to discount my services simply for your participation in this event. Call or email me for further information. I wish all of you the best that life has to offer, now and always. Fondly, Joanne

Down for the Count... :-(

Just a quick FYI... I had a little accident that left me out of commission over the holidays and consequently have returned to a mountain of work that I am slowly chipping away at! I'm all better now, so please bear with me as I move through the process of answering emails and phone calls; I'm going as fast as I can! The Knot Special Update will occur on Friday when the lucky couple will find out who they are!! Thanks for your unwavering devotion! Joanne

ELEMENT OF LOVE !

I am thrilled to announce a new venture with my colleague and close friend, Heather Lahtinen called Element of Love!

CLICK HERE to experience this wonderful opportunity we've created! We couldn't be more excited about sharing this with all of you!

For discerning couples seeking outstanding wedding photographers, Element of Love offers a uniquely special wedding photography experience. You now have the opportunity of having two professional, highly experienced, passionately creative, caring and personable photographers available to photograph your wedding, and Fine Art products you will receive with your experience. You will not find a wedding photography experience quite like ours!

For our fellow photographers, Element of Love is an opportunity where you can tap into our experience and success. Through private consultations, photography seminars and hands-on workshops, we will be offering you an opportunity to draw off of mine and Heather's professional experience where we will assist and guide you into developing your creative, technical and business skills. We believe very strongly in what we have to offer and look forward to helping others develop and achieve their own formula for success! Heather and I have very successful independent photography businesses that have brought us together as supportive colleagues and close friends. We share a passion for photography and when we are together talking about it, it's hard to get a word in edge-wise! Our shooting together started out as supportive and fun but then we quickly recognized that we had this tremendous "chemistry" while we were photographing a wedding - we knew exactly where to be and when to be there while shooting. It was like doing a dance that we both knew the steps to! As our professional relationship grew while photographing together on weddings, it naturally developed into a wonderful friendship. Upon recognizing that we had this great passion for photography/photographing weddings, this knowledge, experience and success, and this wonderful chemistry between us, we decided to combine our efforts to form Element of Love. We hope you will enjoy our new venture and that you will stay tuned for more exciting information on Element of Love in both of our blogs. Please feel free to contact us for further information!

Ciao!

NOTICE on the Knot Special Offer...

I've had some questions come up regarding the Knot Special offer, and also think there may have been a glitch in the emails that are being sent for consideration, so I'm indicating the most current information on the Knot Special below: For INITIAL information on theKnot Special offer feel free to email: theKnotspecial@joannebartone.com If you would like to be considered for the special offer, please send your photos and information for consideration as instructed in the previous blog entry to me at: joanne@joannebartone.com NOTE: The Knot Special offer is a Holiday offer for couples who recently became engaged or have yet to book their wedding photographer. If you are a current client of another photographer's, or a current client of mine and you have already paid either in full or have paid deposits towards your wedding photography, unfortunately you cannot be considered for the offer. If you have previously sent information for consideration to me at theknotspecial@joannebartone.com, PLEASE RESEND IT TO ME AT joanne@joannebartone.com THERE IS NOT MUCH TIME LEFT, SO LET'S GET YOUR INFORMATION IN TO ME ASAP! LOVE, Joanne

DECEMBER 25, 2006: FREE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY!

theKnot Special Emails accepted from December 25, 2006 through January 15, 2007 ONLY , so please hurry and get your information in to me as soon as possible! Happy Holidays! Yes, it is true; I'm going to photograph one lucky couple's wedding in either 2007, or 2008 FOR FREE! I LOVE photographing love! In my opinion, there is nothing more important or powerful in this whole world than love. And, I sincerely enjoy paying love forward by making my clients happy through my photography. The catch...and there is always a catch...is a little thing called "Artistic License" or "Creative Freedom"…and what it really boils down to is TRUST. This is MY dream; allow me to share it with you... I don't want to be limited in the time I have to creatively produce your photographs by venues that know nothing about the creative process of photography. Ever the trend-setter who boldly likes to take the road less traveled, I'd like to begin the process of moving my couple's attitudes, the wedding world (vendors) and wedding photography into the 21st Century by making the most important aspect of your wedding, the photography, THE actual most important element of your wedding! It is not good to try to dictate or control the creative process. It is a creative process after all! I So, long to work with a couple who is adventurous and bold enough to allow their photographer's needs to take precidence so she can be as creative as possible; no restraints or limits. I want you to trust in my ability as an experienced professional photographer and allow me ample time to photograph in the manner in which I feel will yield the most creative and beautiful images possible! I want to do more than just document your day. I want to plan your day together with you then CREATE some really interesting and artistic images as a result of that planning. My being able to do this for you will mean that you will really need to trust me. I'd like this couple to be strong enough to be willing to dictate their wedding day schedule to their venues based upon our plans for the day and that means that you will be willing to see each other prior to the ceremony for a few hours. You'll also need to be more on the "relaxed" side and be willing to be adventurous with me during the shoot as I request you to pose in some interesting locations! I'd like to approach photographing your wedding as a commercial editorial photo shoot. You see, 99.9% of all those great shots you are looking at in bridal magazines are created days and sometimes weeks prior to the actual wedding day (if there really is a wedding at all!) by commercial photographers who typically spend eight hours with models! Hmmmm...I feel another idea coming on here... So, I'm offering you adventurous, contemporary, un-traditional engaged types the opportunity to have some really fabulous photography FOR FREE by working with me in the creative planning of your wedding day photography! Does it sound like fun to you? It does to me! WHAT I WON'T DO: We’ll plan the day so I won’t keep you from your guests, obligations or from your fun. I won't be a dictator or one of those crazy, self-absorbed, inconsiderate photographers we've all heard stories about. I won’t place you in locations where you will get filthy but you may end up with a little something on you that you'll have to brush off. If you are not adventurous this won't be for you. WHAT I / WE WILL DO: I will ask you to be adventurous in our locations/poses, see each other before the ceremony and be creative with me! So, if you are worried about keeping spotless, this will not be for you! I will keep in mind that your ceremony is sacred (no, I will not be lying on the floor between you and the officiant during the ceremony...I have heard the craziest stories!). We WILL have FUN! And as a result of all this fun, you are going to end up with hundreds of BEAUTIFULLY ARTISTIC images from your day...and won't THAT be fabulous?!

If you would like to be considered for this crazy-fun special offer, here is what I will need from you: 1. I'll need your names; that would be you, the bride and groom. 2. Your contact information, including a day-time telephone number and email addresses. 3. The date of your wedding in either 2007 or 2008 - this must be an actual date. 4. The city, state and venue name/location for your church or ceremony and wedding. 5. A RECENT photograph of both of you together - PLEASE make these photos fun, sexy and as creative as you can! 6. Tell me your story: where/when/how you met, how long you've been together, where/when/how you became engaged, what are the things you love about each other (this means our gentlemen must actively participate too!), what have been your successes and challenges since finding each other, etc. Essentially, I want to know your love story! Share only what you feel comfortable sharing and remember that I LOVE love stories! Make it good but try to keep your story limited to one or two (at the very most) 8.5x11 pages. You can send your story in a Microsoft Word document attached to the email you will be submitting to me. This is what you'll receive if chosen: - 100% of my time, attention, enthusiasm and creativity, before, during and after your wedding! - A Photographic Service valued over $4,500 FOR FREE, based on my availability for your date. - This service includes wedding day coverage beginning with bridal preparations and lasting into your reception. - All of your wedding images will be available to you, your family and your friends in a secure on-line gallery with my professional lab, Pictage. - An Archived DVD of your wedding images suitable for you to print photos up to 8x10 in size. - An 8x8 Contemporary Fine Art Wedding Story Book. - A big fat hug and a sincere 'thank you' when we are done with the day and lifetime access to me as your family photographer! This is not a contest. I will make my choice based on your submissions and contact the lucky bride and groom on January 22, 2007! Okay, if you are enthusiastically interested and want to be considered, send your emails with your Word document attachments to me at: joanne@joannebartone.com SUBJECT LINE: the Knot Special, December 2006.

Emails accepted from December 25, 2006 through January 15, 2007 ONLY, so please hurry and get your information in to me as soon as possible! Have fun!

Ending of the 2006 Season!

Can anyone even believe it is December?! Wow! How did THAT happen? 2006 was a special year filled with lots of new beginnings, including some for myself! I simply need to express to all of my wonderful clients from my 2006 Season what a pleasure it was to work so closely with all of you and what a great time I had creating the thousands of beautiful memories for you week after week! Aaaaaaaand, I WAS VOTED ONE OF PITTSBURGH'S TOP PHOTOGRAPHERS! Thank you, thank you, thank you, most sincerely and from the depths of my heart for making my "Season" so bright and my "work" so much fun. You all are THE BEST! You'll hear me say this over and over again...pinch me; I can't believe this is my "job!" What a pure delight it is to do this for all of you. I am so grateful for you, for my work and that I can affect your lives so importantly. I've got a lot of work to do in this "off" season: completing wedding stories, re-designing my website and marketing materials, not to mention that I have a couple of things up my sleeve regarding my work that is coming up in the coming days, weeks and months! So, let me stop rambling on and... ...WISH YOU THE HAPPIEST HOLIDAY SEASON AND ALL THE BEST IN THE NEW YEAR! Joanne

RONNA & RICHARD, November 11, 2006

CLICK HERE to enjoy Ronna and Richard's Wedding Slide Show! I chose to have Ronna and Richard's Slide Show be entirely from their wedding ceremony because it was such a beautiful and profound event. Ronna and Richard's wedding was a sweet way to end my 2006 season. What a delightful couple; it rained and rained and rained all day long for their wedding but Ronna and Richard were so excited that it didn't bother them in the least bit. In fact, I don't think anyone really noticed it, well, with the exception of the photographers, of course! Yes, you read correctly, "photographers." My good friend and colleague, Heather Lahtinen was second-camera with me from preparation through the ceremony - you'll see her weaving her magic in the slide show ;-). My goodness I love it when Heather and I have the opportunity to photograph with each other! Our work is so similar in style and we are so passionate and INSPIRED as we create...but that is another story soon to come in another blog! She is simply a wonderful colleague, friend and photographer. Ronna and Richard's wedding ceremony and reception were held at The Twentieth Century Club in Oakland and once again it was an elegant affair, right down to the heart-shaped sugar cubes that were imported from Italy and adorned the coffee cups! It is always such a pleasure for me to be able to witness and record the planning and details that go into these very special events and the warmth and love that exists between family and friends during the wedding. It never ceases to amaze me how so many people are fortunate to have the love and support of family and friends and I am equally amazed and INSPIRED to be able to witness and record this profound love each time I photograph. What a gift! Ronna and Richard's wedding was brimming with people who loved and cared for one another and it truly was an honor to be in the presence of such wonderful people and energy! Ronna, her maid of Honor Michelle and all three moms were personally pampered by Marty and her staff at the "famous" Jacques Dessange, Paris Hair, Beauty and Wellness Spa in Shadyside where their hair, makeup and nails were adorned to perfection. Marty is a wonderful person and stylist and I recommend her spa highly, as I am a customer of the salon myself. After all that pampering the weather had to be "braved" and it was off to the Inns on Negley where Ronna and Richard prepared for the ceremony. I'll need to find out who created the floral bouquets and arrangements but I can tell you that Ronna's dress (which I was absolutely crazy about!) came from a funky boutique in NYC. I was thrilled that Ronna had the courage and creativity to express her creativity through her gown. What a treat it was for me to photograph it for her. The entire day was simply beautiful and wonderful, as are Ronna, Richard and their families. Thank you so much for having me with you, as always, it was a complete honor.

HEATHER & CHRIS, October 21, 2006

CLICK HERE to enjoy Heather & Chris' Wedding Slide Show! Both the ceremony and the reception was held at The Twentieth Century Club in Oakland and it couldn't have been a more beautiful venue for Heather and Chris' wedding. They had a heck of a time planning for their day initially; so many things seemed to get snaffued with the original site they had planned to use so it seems as if switching to The Twentieth Century Club was meant to happen after all! Michael Jacobs of Blooms Florist was the floral artist extrordinare! The flowers were gorgeous - you did it again Michael - WOW - the perfect touch! CLICK HERE to see a mini slide show of Michael's work and The Twentieth Century Club. And, can we TALK about DJs?!!! Okay, hands down, Jeremy Ganss is phenomenal!! Classy? Absolutely, BUT can this guy spin! And not just spin, but mix and spin and rock the house! Jeremy's technique had people on the dance floor all night! What fun! Check him out - he travels to Pittsburgh to do weddings all the time. So, I'm photographing details prior to the ceremony, details including the cake, and WOW (again) did the cake ever smell delicious! And it tasted as good as its scent! Heavenly looking, smelling and tasting - that's the kind of cake you want for your wedding! Heather will be getting me the name of the cake creator and where she purchased her dress soon so I'll update that information shortly. Congratulations Heather & Chris! You both are so much fun and so easy to work with. It truly was a joy to be with you on your wedding day and I'm so happy I was with you to record all your special memories! You are a beautiful couple in all senses of the word! I'll be in touch soon! You are going to love, love, LOVE the photographs I created for you! The following is an email I received from Heather the day following her wedding. She hadn't even seen any results from my photographing her wedding yet, but this is what she had to say... "Joanne, What can I say? Really, words can't possibly describe how amazing you are. I have not even seen the pictures yet, but I know they are going to be great! My guests asked me this morning how I found you. They said that you were wonderful and that you were moving around getting different shots and that they could not wait to see the photos. You are such a joy to be around and your calm demeanor is exactly what a couple needs on their wedding day. I can't wait to have you photograph our little "pinkies" some day! I am so glad that Chris and I have you to photograph our memories for the rest of our lives. With Love, Heather" When these little "gifts" of personal thanks from my couples come to me I cannot begin to convey what tremendous satisfaction it is for me to know how much happiness I can create for you through my photography. It is such a joy to be able to affect your lives in such an important way. What a gift it is for me to be able to witness your love at the beginning of your lives together!

ANNE & HARRY, October 14, 2006

CLICK HERE to enjoy Anne & Harry's Slide Show!

HEIDI & MARC, October 07, 2006

CLICK HERE to enjoy Heidi & Marc's Slide Show!

KATE & JAY, September 29, 2006

CLICK HERE to enjoy Kate & Jay's Slide Show!

CAROLYN & GEORGE, September 23, 2006

CLICK HERE to enjoy Carolyn & George's Slide Show!

LAURA & ERIC, August 26, 2006

CLICK HERE to enjoy Laura & Eric's Slide Show!

KATE & NICK, August 12, 2006

CLICK HERE to enjoy Kate & Nick's Slide Show!

ERICA & MATT, August 05, 2006

CLICK HERE to enjoy Erica & Matt's Slide Show!

KATHLEEN & COLIN, July 22, 2006

CLICK HERE to enjoy Kathleen & Colin's Slide Show!

JENNIFER & PATRICK, July 08, 2006

CLICK HERE to enjoy Jennifer & Patrick's Slide Show!

MARIA & BRANDON, July 15, 2006

CLICK HERE to enjoy Maria & Brandon's Slide Show! Maria and Brandon couldn't be sweeter as a couple and are absolutely crazy in love with each other - WOW! It was such a joy to capture their love and the love their families have for them and for each other. The whole day was brimming with sheer joy! Maria was stunning in her gown from ANNE GREGORY'S BRIDAL SALON and Brandon couldn't possibly have been more dashing in his tux; his tie was made from material remnants of Maria's dress! NATE SHERER and his crew provided their usual thorough video production services for the ceremony at St. Richard's Church and the reception at the Hyatt, Pittsburgh International.

WELCOME TO MY BLOG!

...and thanks for taking the time to visit! I am so excited to be sharing my work with all of you via my blog! Please bookmark this page and check back on a frequent basis as I'll be posting still images and slide shows from recent weddings and will have other information that I hope you will enjoy. Please check back on a frequent basis and don't forget to share this link with your family and friends! I will continue to update my blog with images and information from my weddings and will also add some of my observations, tips and tidbits! I hope you enjoy my work, my blog and feel free to communicate with me via email or posting comments. Warmest regards, Joanne