Guys…it’s finally the BIG day…IT’S HERE!!! Can you believe it?? I cant! But you’re visiting my blog on my new website and I cant help but feel a tiny sense of pride that my work finally has a good home that I feel represents it well!!
It’s been a long journey to get to this point…from deciding on a web platform, to choosing a designer (Krista, you are amazing!!!), to picking colors and deciding what general direction to go in with the new look, to trying to select just a few images for the site that I feel represents my work well, to taking new headshots, etc. etc. etc….The list goes on and on…But can I just tell you how excited I am one more time??? I. am. so. excited!
The support and encouragement from my wedding photography and non-wedding photography friends has meant so much to me as I dove into starting this business a little less than a year ago with a pro-photo blog and a big dream….I am so thankful for you guys! This is a tough industry and at times it felt like maybe I should quit…but thanks to my awesome husband and amazing friends who told me that I should keep working hard if I really love this job and want to make this business happen, I now feel more inspired than ever to give AAP brides the best wedding photography experience I can…and part of that comes from having a quality brand that really represents the overall quality experience that I strive to give my brides!
I also feel like I have to say this one more time…my designer, Krista really outdid herself with this project…I came to her with a vague vision and she somehow managed to turn it into a beautiful, classy, yet fun brand and website that I feel truly represents my bright yet classic images well. When I first contacted Krista several months ago, she sent me a Branding Questionaire…in it she asked for five key words that would describe my ideal brand…and of course because I’m the most indecisive person on the planet I gave her seven (or really eight I guess) instead:
Classy, Quality, Cozy but Sophisticated, Polished, Timeless, Feminine, Charming
She did a pretty good job capturing the essence of those words with the new branding right? Amazing. Krista, I’m so thankful!!
We also drew inspiration from 2 of my favorite websites: Lara Casey’s site and the Hey Gorgeous Events site. I love these websites because they’re easy to navigate and clean, yet so fun and classy! SO I just felt like I also needed to give a shout out to those two fabulous women for being so wonderful and inspirational in more ways than just because they have awesome websites.
So what do you think of the overhaul?? I’m so excited to start this wedding season on a pretty new note! I hope you love it as much as we do!! To celebrate I’m doing a Launch Giveaway of a few of my favorite things!! See the pretty gifts that you could win below…Entering is really easy: Like this blog post below and post it to Facebook with a comment, become a fan of the Annamarie Akins Photography Facebook page (if you’re not already), and leave a comment below! A random winner will be chosen next Wednesday!!
1. A $25 Dollar Starbucks Giftcard 2. This super cute Emily Ley gold foil Print 3. Kate Spade Twirl perfume (which helped to inspire the new brand!)
Happy Wednesday!!
May 8th, 2013 at 4:24 pm
Yay!! It’s so beautiful! I love it! Congratulations!!!
May 8th, 2013 at 4:26 pm
Looks great, Annamarie!!
May 8th, 2013 at 4:36 pm
dang girl. this is amazing. can’t believe it was only 9 months ago that we shot the twele’s wedding together! you’ve gone so far and grown so much! its been awesome to follow that process via the blog :]
May 8th, 2013 at 4:40 pm
I love the new look! Your pictures are always so beautiful. Looking forward to working with you for Kelcey & Daniel’s wedding! :)
May 8th, 2013 at 4:46 pm
Absolutely adore the new site! I only started following your work a few months back but I love it! You did a fantastic job on the rebranding. Chic and classy and incorporating some of my favorite colors. :)
May 8th, 2013 at 4:48 pm
I just love your style! The colors, the typography it all :)
May 8th, 2013 at 4:49 pm
Love it! What a fantastic idea drawing inspiration from the Kate Spade fragrance!
May 8th, 2013 at 4:50 pm
Ahhhh!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!! It’s all of those words!!! So classy and clean but it still has fun pops of colors and dots! So excited for you Annamarie!! Your amazing work now has the perfect setting!!! Congrats!
May 8th, 2013 at 4:51 pm
Words cannot express how elated and excited I am to see this Annamarie! All your beautiful and hard work paid off! So excited to see my wedding photos up on this amazing site come August! :)
May 8th, 2013 at 4:51 pm
The new website looks beautiful!
May 8th, 2013 at 4:54 pm
BEAUTIFUL! So classy, represents you and your brand so well! Krista did an AMAZING job! :)
May 8th, 2013 at 4:54 pm
Congrats! Love the logo and branding! I’m already a fan on Facebook :)
May 8th, 2013 at 4:55 pm
GIRL I LOVE IT SO, SO MUCH!!! We’ve never even met but I just feel like it screams YOU! It’s clean, timeless and feminine… and I’m pretty obsessed with all the fun dots & loopy fonts :)
May 8th, 2013 at 5:16 pm
I love it! I looks perfect!
May 8th, 2013 at 5:37 pm
Yay!!! It looks great! And I can’t wait to see all the amazing pictures you took last weekend at Katie’s wedding!! :)
May 8th, 2013 at 5:37 pm
Anna!!! Your new site and branding are BEAUTIFUL! Krista is extremely talented but serious props to you for figuring out your 8 key words!!!!!! I absolutely love it! :)
May 8th, 2013 at 6:22 pm
This looks SO good! I love the colors and the feel of your new site. Definitely cozy but sophisticated :) What a fun giveaway, too!
May 8th, 2013 at 6:30 pm
I love your new website and look! It’s so amazing! Your brand is so classy and fun, and I hope that mine can be as beautiful as yours some day! You are such an amazing photographer, and inspiring to me! :)
May 8th, 2013 at 6:46 pm
AH ANNA! This looks amazing! :) So happy for you!
May 8th, 2013 at 6:46 pm
OH MY GOODNESS. I’m like salivating over here. Even though I got to see some sneak peeks along the way, I am still FLOORED by how good it looks. Congratulations lovebug, I know that this has been a long time coming – I’m so proud of your patience and your perseverance. It DEFINITELY paid off.
May 8th, 2013 at 6:50 pm
i can’t remember what i have to do to win – i’ll re read later! I’m just so excited for you!!!!
May 8th, 2013 at 7:00 pm
Congratulations!
Your new look is beautiful! Best wishes :)
May 8th, 2013 at 7:06 pm
It looks SO good! Loooove!
May 8th, 2013 at 7:20 pm
You are a wonderful inspiration to the rest of us who are working on rebranding! This is brilliant<3
May 8th, 2013 at 7:22 pm
It looks amazing Annamarie!! Congratulations! I know what a process all of this is!
May 8th, 2013 at 7:23 pm
beautiful site! congrats!
May 8th, 2013 at 7:23 pm
I am SO proud of you and excited for you!! It looks just as lovely and classy as you!! Miss and love you!
May 8th, 2013 at 7:41 pm
Love the inspiration from Kate Spade!!
May 8th, 2013 at 7:49 pm
Gorgeous! Absolutely Gorgeous!!!!
May 8th, 2013 at 8:30 pm
Hey there pretty lady – your new website is perfectly you!!! As someone who started following you a ways back, it’s wonderful to see the changes you have made as your business grows. And as someone also in the middle of a rebranding process, it’s great to see where my can go!!
May 8th, 2013 at 8:39 pm
Love the new look, girl! It’s gorgeous!! Congrats! :D
May 8th, 2013 at 8:42 pm
YAY!!!!! ANNA!!! This is looks SO PERFECT! Oh gosh, I just love it! Proud of you!
May 8th, 2013 at 9:16 pm
SOOO beautiful!! :)
May 8th, 2013 at 9:19 pm
Gorgeous!!! It looks great and I think you achieved a look that oozes the words that describe your ideal brand!
May 8th, 2013 at 9:36 pm
I love it! You are very talented!!!
May 8th, 2013 at 10:07 pm
EEEKK!!! it fits you perfectly!!! love it!!!! <3
May 8th, 2013 at 10:59 pm
It is so beautiful! Congratulations!
May 9th, 2013 at 1:02 am
It looks amazing, annamarie!
May 9th, 2013 at 8:40 am
Loving this!! I’ve been dying to see the new launch, and it couldn’t be more perfect! :)
May 9th, 2013 at 8:47 am
Annamarie, the site turned out stunning!! I knew it would be beautiful when you showed me your inspiration page, but seeing it in “real life” is even better. I am so proud of all that you have accomplished since we were Hokies together :) God has truly blessed you in family, friends, and career; to see you giving all the glory back to Him is wonderful!
Love you!
May 9th, 2013 at 9:12 am
Love it!!
May 9th, 2013 at 10:19 am
Congratulations! Looks classy + modern!
May 9th, 2013 at 10:55 am
It looks WONDERFUL!!! I love it and you.
My favorite parts are the fact that Lex is now on the “About Me,” AND that you included an easy way for people to learn how to pronounce your name. :)
May 9th, 2013 at 11:26 am
annamarie it looks AMAAAAZING! congratulations!
May 9th, 2013 at 11:26 am
Looks so good! What an amazing redesign!
May 9th, 2013 at 12:32 pm
Love everything about the new site!! Congrats Annamarie!
May 9th, 2013 at 12:48 pm
Fancy and fun! Like how accessible and quick loading the blog posts look on my smart phone. Loads of color and pics to peruse. Like the window into some of your design-spirations.
May 9th, 2013 at 4:12 pm
I love visiting your blog periodically and seeing all of your amazing photos!! You are incredibly talented! The updates and changes you’ve made are really wonderful as well!!
May 9th, 2013 at 4:15 pm
Your new site looks amazing! It’s also very inspiring. I too – have thought about quitting. But encouragement from people has been a huge help. I see that you’re making a step in a great direction. Good luck!
May 9th, 2013 at 4:19 pm
Great job! Beautifully branded.
May 9th, 2013 at 4:42 pm
Annamarie you are so talented. I am so excited and honored that you will be shooting my wedding in just 16 days! Best Wishes on the rebrand and with the growth of your business, I know big things are coming your way!! :0)
May 9th, 2013 at 4:49 pm
Ahh I love it!! It’s soo awesome! The details, the colors, the composition, everything! Such a sweet, classy and happy brand! So you! :) love love love!
May 9th, 2013 at 4:53 pm
This is so cute! Great job with everything :) Love it!
May 9th, 2013 at 5:12 pm
I LOVE the new look. You are so good! Let’s just say when I get married (if you’re still in the photog business at that time haha) I know who to call!!!
May 9th, 2013 at 8:03 pm
It’s stunning!!!
May 9th, 2013 at 9:39 pm
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!
May 10th, 2013 at 7:26 am
looooove it!
May 13th, 2013 at 3:40 pm
I love the new site! It’s so fresh and clean. I love that it’s fun and classy at the same time! Can’t wait until my pictures are on here…it seems so far away!
May 13th, 2013 at 3:52 pm
Looks great Anna!!! So excited!
May 13th, 2013 at 3:58 pm
Congrats love! Everything looks amazing!
May 13th, 2013 at 4:58 pm
Love your new look, Annamarie!
May 13th, 2013 at 6:17 pm
Beautiful! I’m excited to see Katie and Johnny’s photos!
May 13th, 2013 at 6:53 pm
The new look is GORGEOUS and fits you perfectly! I LOVE it and I’m so excited for you and your growing business! Would love to catch up sometime and get starbucks of course :)
XO Samantha
May 14th, 2013 at 1:16 pm
Annamarie- It’s GORGEOUS. So fresh, beautiful, and classic. Happy for you!