The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, Colleen Reed Photography was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.

Colleen Reed Photography is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year. “WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Colleen Reed Photography for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”

We are happy to announce that Colleen Reed Photography is one of the very best Photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/biz/colleen-reed-photography-aurora/bbefd121390c94e4.html.

To learn more about the Bride’s Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com. About WeddingWire, Inc. WeddingWire™, the nation’s leading marketplace serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire is the only all-in-one marketing platform for businesses online and on-the-go. WeddingWire offers one simple solution to build a professional network, improve search visibility, manage social media and reach mobile consumers. Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Brides.com and Weddingbee.com.

I would like to thank my clients for being completely understanding and so thoughtful during my hiatus and I am excited to see what is in store for me this year.   You are all awesome.

So, that’s where I was and here is where I am today.  Any photographer will tell you that January is a time to watch other photographers’ blogs listing off goals for the upcoming year.   Well, here is another one.  Lucky you!

I am not a resolutions type of gal, but I am a mom now and I find that writing things down is now a necessity in life.

1.        Develop a better workflow.  I know some photographers may gasp at this, but I just installed LightRoom last week and I have no idea how it works. Oh and?  The last version of Photoshop I used was CS2 and CS5 scares the crap out of me.  This is what I do know, it is 9:00 pm before I can sit down at the computer to start editing sessions or weddings and I need to stick with a 11:00 pm bedtime (as long as my children stick with a 5:30 am wake up time).  My hope for 2012 is to learn (and apparently) love LightRoom and cut my post session editing time in half.   Granted, there have been many times where I am so excited with what I am working on, I don’t get to bed to 1:00 am and this is when I need a kick in the pants.  So yeah, I need to get that under control.

2.       Network with other photographers.   Dear Colleen, Stop being overly shy and get your tushy (mom alert) out there.   I am lucky enough to have access to such a wonderful network of professionals in our area and I just need to go to the monthly gatherings. Granted yes, that whole “messiness” can come into play.  But in 2012, I really want to get over my fears (whatever they may be) and get there.

3.       Blog Faster.  Pretty self-explainable given my last blog post was September 25, 2011.  Are my avid blog readers sick of seeing Sara + Craig’s wedding at the top?  More on the way, I swear!

4.       Develop a brand.  I have spent the better part of the last four years figuring out what I want to do in the photography world.  Although I have weaned it down quite a bit, I still don’t have much of an online presence nor a brand to associate with that.  I am a big fan of spirit fingers, so I am going to work on that.

5.       Sleep more.  See # 1.

6.       Better photos of O + E.  Yeah, those are my kids. Twins in fact.  Staring 2.5 in the face and I often get texts from my husband saying, “I need new pics of the kids.”  My last reply was, “Me too.”  This is a large conflict for me.  I try not to shove my photography job in my family’s face.  I was told not to bring my “big” camera to the zoo this summer because I start to worry more about settings and getting a shot than enjoying the time with my family.  Noted.  So I leave it at home and shoot quick shots on my point and shoot and then complain the quality at home.   I have actually done really well at this…Maybe too well.  When it comes to their milestone birthdays or events or even the dreaded Christmas card, I often find myself rushing to get their photos done.  Then the reshoot.  Then the proclamation that I will just take them to the Big Box Studio to have their picture taken to relieve the stress. Then I don’t. Then I settle. Then I am sad because I settled.  Just get over it!   Right?

7.       Balance work, family + work.  Yes, I still have a day job.  For just a shade under a decade now, which is not too shabby given I am nearing 33 years old.   As I mentioned before, I have a husband and two kids, a cat who thinks she is a dog, a house.   Then I have this other job where I go and capture people’s memories while sometimes I feel as though as I am missing my own.  This is where it gets hard because I enjoy summer cookouts or hitting up the local Fair.  One of the great parts of doing photography in addition to another forty-hour a week day is that I don’t feel the need to say yes to everything.  ::waits for my husband’s eye roll::  Ok, so yes, I have had years where I HAVE said yes to everything, which has lead to a super fun anxiety attack and a lot of sacrifices from my husband, our families  and especially E + O.  In 2012, I have to toughen up and not book every, single opening I have.  Whereas I do appreciate the business, I should hope that client could appreciate the importance of time off as well.

8.       More sample albums.  I just need them.

9.       Quit worrying.  A good friend of mine, who is also in the wedding industry, once said to me “your biggest competition is yourself.”  Seriously, this was a huge light bulb moment for me in 2011.  I had been pinning over other photographers, how they are “better” or how I will never get to “do something there”, how they have better equipment, more flexibility.  Blah, blah, blah poor me. After my friend said this to me, I knew that a.) I was annoying her with this and b.) it’s just not healthy.   You know the crazy mirrors you see at Funhouses (or really just episodes of Scooby Doo)?  That is how I was looking at my work.  My friend’s comment was just the kick in the pants I needed and I have been working cut out the crap since.  So thanks, you know who you are

10.   New headshots.  Yeah, not a fan of being on the other side of the camera, but a necessity.    Oh and new family photos, because our last ones were taken when the kids were 9 months old.

So, take that 2012 . Let’s see how you roll.

This next photo has been added to my one of my favorites of all time.

The bridal party wanted to add some ambiance to the portraits!

Can you tell that Sara + Craig met at The University of Toledo?

A surprise groom’s cake from Michael Angelo’s Bakery

The DJ Crew kept the dance floor packed all night!

Thanks Sara + Craig for being a fantastic couple to work with!  Check out more favorites over on Facebook!  Special thanks to Tiffany Luc for second shooting for me on our most special of second Saturday of August wedding.

I usually like to gauge how long a bride will last in her shoes before she starts to curse at them.  I didn’t hear a peep out of JoAnn.

Michael Angelo’s Bakery supplied the cake.  One word…. Awesome.

Lorenzo and his mom broke out in Apache (Jump On It) a la Will and Carlton-style!

My favorite shot of JoAnn!

Congratulations JoAnn + Lorenzo!  To see more favorites, be sure to check out The Book.

Congratulations Krista + Dave!  May Bennett love Hot Wheels as much as Ethan does!  Check out some more favorites and love over on Facebook!

True story…Here is where Kristen + Brad got engaged.

More favorites can be found on my Facebook page.  Kristen + Brad (and assorted Ice-ers)  see you in June!

To check out more Benjamin cuteness, visit his highlights gallery on Facebook!

At this point, we were all trying to get ourselves into the water.  It was one of the hawtest days of the year!

Brian was so excited that he set up this shot!  I think it’s one of my favorites of all time!

I could go on and on with posting my favorites, but you can check out more over on Facebook!

Finally…. Landon’s Non-Sleepy Newborn Portrait

Into a Toddler!

To see our Landon’s full journey, check out the Newborn to Toddler Album!

The multi-tasking in the above photo makes me giggle every time I see it.  I love chaos.

I absolutely adore the above picture.  Swoooooon.

It’s Julie!  Here is when I should kick myself for not getting in a photo with two of my brides.  Sometimes I suck at life

This gentleman winked at me every time I took his picture.  It’s the little things…

Saying good-bye was probably my most difficult to date, but I am so excited  to capture Lane as she grows!   To see more of this glamorous day, check out Jen + Adam’s highlights on my Facebook Fan Page.

The Players:

Ceremony + Reception:  Stonewater Golf Club :  Highland Heights, Ohio

Officiator:  Rev. Lynn Bressi-Rowles  from Happily Ever After (who might recognize from Christina + Alam’s wedding)

Flowers: Done by the BRIDE and her friend, Nicholas Howard.

DJ:  Josh Pomeroy:  Detroit,  Michigan

Cake Artist: Michael Angelo’s Bakery : Broadview Heights, Ohio