And as far as being published goes… perhaps one of the most exciting things is to see my work in a print magazine! There’s something very surreal about picking up a magazine, flipping through the semi-gloss pages and landing on a photo I’ve taken. Even crazier is to know brides are out there buying this magazine and looking at my work! I was very fortunate to have felt the thrill of being published in print 3 times during 2011. And 2012? Well what a start we’re off to! I just received in the mail my copy of Seacoast Weddings Magazine 2012 issue. In it they featured one of my photos on an entire page! And what’s also cool is that they featured my headshot on the “Contributing Photographers” credits page! Holy moly! Almost too exciting for words! Check it out! My photo is of the stunning bouquet (designed by Honey + Poppies) on the right-hand page.

A closer look at the page…

The credit in detail…

A look at the Contributing Photographers page! My headshot is number #4  (top row)!

…and a close up of the credit on the “contributing photographers” page.

Rad! Thanks so much to Seacoast Weddings for the fabulous feature! And any fans in New England should definitely go buy a copy! It’s a great magazine with tons of inspiration!

One thing I’ve always dreamed of having was a gorgeous chandelier. In the past we’ve rented and it’s kinda like “whatever ugly lighting comes with the place is what you get.” So I have never had a really nice light fixture before. And when we first moved in one of the FIRST things that had to change was the ridiculously ugly, apartment-rental-esque ceiling light in the dining area. I wished I had taken a photo to show you how truly yuck it was… but I was too focused on getting rid of it!

Anywho… so I really LOVE the look of a Crystal Linear Chandelier. Modern. Yet Blingy. But after having just dropped most of our life’s savings on a down payment, we really needed to be budget conscious on the decorating. Luckily I found this amazing DIY tutorial on how to make a linear chandelier on Teal + Lime.

So off I went to make my own rad chandy! And I think I really succeeded. There were a few blanks I had to figure out from the DIY instructions I read..so I am gonna walk you through how I did it. It’s such a posh and affordable way to jazz up your dining area!

Here’s what you need:

• Tidig Chandelier from Ikea (I used the one with 6 lamps)
  
• Crystals!!! (I bought mine here + here from Etsy)
• 26 gauge jewelry wire
• Flat nosed pliers with wire cutters
• Crimping Beads
• Clear Packing Tape

Project Cost: $215

Step one is to install the light. My father-in-law did it, but you may need an electrician depending on your knowledge of these things!

The Tidig hangs SUPER LOW! The height is fairly adjustable but we adjusted it as far up as it would go. It’s still pretty low but it’s about 26-28″ above our table so it works great!

Here’s a before picture of the light just installed which I snapped with my iPhone. And yep… that’s my father-in-law painting our accent wall in the background (we make him work hard)!

One thing you notice as you shorten the length of the chandelier is there is A LOT of extra, lose wire hanging about…and it is anything but clean and modern looking! So we had to carefully and neatly fold the wires to make it look like one piece and used clear packing tape to hold it together! Now it looks super clean and you don’t even notice it!

Next step is the crystals!

Needless to say,  you have to buy the crystals first! That’s the funnest + easiest part of the whole project! Watch your budget as it is VERY easy to get carried away. I spent $150 on crystals, which is $40 more than Teal + Lime spent. However, I really like the look of the extra crystals… our final result is one lush and luxe looking chandy! And still the whole chandelier came under $225 which is much less than any one  you can buy a brand spankin’ new  in ANY store I’ve seen.

When buying the crystals look for different shapes + sizes! Varying lengths is so important too! I chose a mix of pendalogues of varying shapes and sizes, rectangular prisms, teardrop prisms, and octagon crystals!

Hanging the crystals was another challenge that took some time to figure out. Luckily I have a smart + crafty mother-in-law to help me when it comes to projects like this!  We decided to use 26 gauge jewelry wire and crimping beads. First we looped the wire through the hole on each crystal. Then we used a crimping bead to hold and just wrapped the excess wire around the hanging piece of wire. Once we had all the crystals attached to wires, we then looped the other end of the wire around the chandelier. Again using a crimping bead to hold and wrapping the excess wire. …Hope I explained that well!

Here’s a visual on how we fastened the crystals…it should make more sense after seeing these details…

We made sure to balance out the shapes and sizes of the crystals and also to hang them at varying lengths! That is super key. A big tip is to stop every handful of crystals you hang, and step wayyyy back. Then evaluate where it needs more of what.

The final result…

I’m so in LOVE with how it turned out! And my hubby is too! He compliments it almost daily, how about that?! With the paint up and my chandelier in place our room is really starting to take shape and becpming the place I dream of it being!

I’ll update more as things progress!

xo

Ashleigh

I also have been having a ton of fun shooting in Santa Barbara, my new home! Even though Susie + Eric are getting married in LA, they were very excited about the opportunity to do their engagement pictures in Downtown Santa Barbara. Especially because Eric is an alumni of UCSB! We started off the session at the Santa Barbara Courthouse! I had heard that it was such a beautiful location… but I really was impressed at how awesome is! The architecture is fantastic and there are so many nooks and crannies with ridiculously pretty light! LOVED it!

Of course, the best part of the session was just working with Susie + Eric! These two both have such a great sense of style, and they were so excited to be all gussied up and play super-model! Total dream clients! But beyond being ridiculously stylish and good looking, these two are just so sweet and fun to be around! They were always looking out for each other, and would just get lost in each others eyes! Sighhh. So adorable to witness! You can just tell that these two are super in love! And not only are they so sweet with each other, but they also bought me a hot chocolate to warm me up from a very cold, windy session! Can’t ask for better clients than that!

So without further ado… love at the Santa Barbara Courthouse (100 Anacapa Street  Santa Barbara, CA 93101) …

Seriously! Are they not just ridiculously adorable together?!

They know how to ‘smise. That’s “smile with your eyes,” for anyone out there who doesn’t speak Tyra Banks!

Hotties for sure!!

Work it outttttttt!

Really, you two? Y’all should be in a magazine!

LOVE!

Love this sweet moment!

…and I LOVE this fierce moment! Rawr!

The light in the Mural Room of the Courthouse was oh-so dramatic!

We then headed down State Street to one of Susie + Eric’s favorite places… STARBUCKS!!!

Eric is a true gentleman!

Oh yeah… then they got some soft serve ice cream! And then we took this amazing-ness!

To see more photos from Susie + Eric’s Downtown Santa Barbara Engagement please watch the SLIDE SHOW!

I had so much fun hanging out with Brooks + Sam, hiking around the incredible Coronado Butterfly Preserve, talking about yoga and our cats, and taking some fabulous images! It was the perfect day!

Check out some of the beautiful images below!

I mean, really, you two. Could you be any more gorgeous??

Look at all the pretty nature surrounding these two lovebirds!

Sammie smiles with her eyes! LOVE it!

It’s RIDICULOUS how good you two look together! <3

Samantha you are STUNNING!

This one is very cinematic.

Adore!!!

Love! Brooks, you look so handsome!

Fun!!! I love these last two shots of them so much! Just running through the fields!

The motion blur in this last one gets me every time! RAD!

I la-la-la-love it and can’t wait for the wedding in May! I know it’s gonna be absolutely lovely in every way!

…and I can’t wait to shoot more at the Monarch Preserve! Such a stunning area! If you wanna check it out, even just for a hike, here’s the info:

Coronado Dr
Goleta, CA 93117

To see more photos from this lovely engagement session watch the SLIDE SHOW!

…Being a fashion photographer, Angie taught George how to make the “fierce” face. Rawr.

I love shooting in this tunnel but always have to challenge myself with a new shot. I dig this one!

We found some excellent light as we wound our way through the stalls and carts on Olvera Street! Love the colors here, and Angie looks GORGE!

SUPER STARS!

This engagement was such a great way to end 2011! I am so glad I finally had a chance to blog it! <3

I wish I could share photos from every single wedding I got to be a part of, but that’s not really possible right now. Hopefully soon I will be share some more top secret weddings from 2011, including the wedding I got to shoot in a Castle in New Hampshire!! But for now I will do my 2011 wedding recap with the images that are okay to currently go public! So enjoy this look back at the weddings I got to shoot this past year, even if it is semi-incomplete!

Hanna + Chris kicked off my year by eloping!!

Jami + Jose married in Santa Barbara on a misty March day!

Elaine + Angel tied the knot one fine April day in Pasadena!

Karla + Waldo’s stylish Downtown Los Angeles wedding knocked my socks off!

Andra + Nate got married in Pasadena… in July… in 100+ degrees! And they still managed to look FLAWLESS!

Kim + Mark’s wedding was just lovely!

I still get goosebumps when I think of Lauren + Drew’s AMAZING art deco Santa Monica wedding!

Skylar + AJ’s vibrant San Diego wedding was too beautiful for words!!! I still have to pinch myself that it was real! Such loveliness and such a perfect couple!

Becky + Bernadette tied the knot at the gorgeous Los Angeles River Center and Gardens!

Nikki + Dave’s fabulous Malibu wedding was just one of the weddings I got to shoot as an associate for Callaway Gable in 2011! So glad I can share this one with y’all!

Frances + Jared’s Sherman Library and Gardens wedding was picture perfect! Love these two!

Whitney + Nate’s Long Beach Museum of Art Wedding was just down right fabulous!

And there was nothing cuter than Carolyn + Prescott’s rustic, Southern inspired, autumn wedding held at Strawberry Farms!!

I was very lucky to have SUCH fabulously creative and stylish couples in 2012. Many of my couples wanted to do unique engagements and styled them to perfection! I loved it! I can only hope 2012 is filled with such gorgeous engagements, though I have no doubt it will be! So without further ado, a look back at 2011′s engagement shoots…

Technically Brooklyn + Mark’s shoot was an anniversary…but who wants to be technical?! They started my 2011 off in style on a drizzly February day!

I got to photograph Diana + JR in Nevada, thanks to Candice!

Andra + Nate celebrated Easter with a fun Pasadena engagement session!

Kim + Mark brought the fabulous at Griffith Observatory!

Carolyn + Prescott’s Valencia engagement session was styled to be oh so very pretty!

Virginia + Alex turned their love for each other and old western movies into one gorgeous engagement!!!

Adriana and Phil brought sexy back in Downtown Los Angeles:

Frances + Jared’s Long Beach engagement was full of stolen moments to make your heart flutter!

Skylar + AJ’s engagement at The Lab was so stylish I’m sure Anna Wintour would die of jealousy over them!!

Becky + Bernadette’s engagement at Griffith Observatory was filled with love!

Jen + Eric got real sexy at El Matador Beach…if the engagement is this hot I can’t wait for their summer 2012 wedding!

Rachel and Sean closed out my 2011 engagement season, with a sweet as s’mores camping themed engagement in the canyons of Malibu!

I started of 2011 with my first ever feature on The Wedding Chicks:

In February, a photo I took of one of Erica O’Brien’s cakes was featured in Brides Southern California magazine.

A cute balloon filled engagement session was featured on Ever Ours:

Green Wedding Shoes featured our Lady + The Tramp Anniversary shoot:

Grey Likes Wedding featured our Brunch Wedding Inspiration:

Wedding Chicks picked up our Lady Gaga Wedding Inspiration shoot which quickly went viral:

Wedding Wire and Hi-Fi Weddings were just a few of the places that later featured the Gaga Wedding:

Alex’s Engagement Party was featured on Hostess With The Mostess:

Carolyn + Prescott’s engagement shoot was featured on Style Me Pretty’s Facebook page and a gallery on the main site:

Christine + Tyler’s eco friendly wedding was featured on Recycled Bride:

This Western Film inspired engagement was featured on Green Wedding Shoes and also on Fabulously Wed:

Marry Me, A Russian Wedding Magazine, featured a 8 page spread of our Lady Gaga shoot… here’s a snippet of the spread:

Ever Ours featured Kim + Mark’s playful engagement shoot:

Some Japanese Wedding Inspiration was featured on The Sweetest Occasion:

Jackie + Tony’s Hippies in the Desert Mr. + Mrs. shoot was featured on Style Me Pretty California:

Carolyn + Prescott’s Spring Time in Paris themed engagement party was featured on Hostess With The Mostess:

Style Me Pretty featured Lauren + Drew’s wedding:

Occasions Magazine Online featured Christina + Syl’s wedding:

I contributed to article about engagement session tips for My Sunny Wedding E-Zine:

A few detail shots were featured on Grace Ormonde Wedding Style!!:

Brides.com featured a photo I took of one of Erica O’Brien’s cakes:

Skylar + AJ’s wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty:

Elizabeth Anne Designs featured Frances + Jared’s elegant garden wedding:

Hostess With The Mostess featured this Retro Chic Baby Shower:

And we ended the year with what is quite possibly the biggest and most exciting feature of them all! The Bride and Bloom Southern California Magazine featured a 2 page spread of images from our Alexander McQueen Inspiration shoot in their Fall/Winter 2011 issue:

What an incredible year of features! Thank you so much to all the fabulous editors and publications who featured my work! And also thank you billions to my creative clients for trusting me to shoot your gorgeously detailed weddings, and engagements! Also also, huge thanks to all the AMAZING vendors who trusted me to capture your fabulous work! I am so humbled!

You see my husband and I are moving to Santa Barbara! Santa Barbara, you ask! Why? What? How? Don’t you LOVE LA??

Let me explain. Yes, I LOVE LA. I love it like it is my family. But I do actually love my husband more. And as it turns out, this year my husband (who is a Santa Barbara native) got his dream job. The dream job he told me about just a few weeks after we began dating 7 years ago. Yep, and it’s in Santa Barbara. Womp womp womp. But… Santa Barbara is a LOVELY place! So I am very lucky actually

We also… BOUGHT A CONDO THERE! Yep! A lovely 3 bedroom condo! Of our very own! This is our first time being home owners so we are thrilled!

You may be wondering how the move will affect my clients. And really, once we get settled in it won’t change a thing! I will still be shooting weddings and engagements in LA, in addition to working in SB.

Very exciting stuff!

But… It’s also a little cray-cray stressful. We get our keys today and move this weekend. Then it’s practically Christmas + Hanukkah (we celebrate both) and then I leave to visit my dad in Texas for 8 days.

I want to let you know that I will not be in the office from today, Friday 12/16 until Tuesday 1/3/12.

I will still try to reply to emails, but they may be returned  much slower than usual. Additionally, I will not be editing images, scheduling shoots, mailing out discs/canvases/albums during this time. All such work will resume on January 3rd.

Thanks so much for your patience! I wish everyone Happy Holidays! And please stay tuned on the blog as I have scheduled some posts to entertain y’all in the interim!

xo,

Ashleigh

Every year, around December (and sometimes rolling a little into January) I like to do a series of blog posts that review and sum up the past year. It really helps me relive all the fun and awesomeness of the past year and see how far I’ve come!

Last year, I debuted a Behind The Scenes post where I showcased all the photos I could find of me shooting weddings in 2010! To my complete surprise, it was a big huge hit, and I got so much feed back that people loved seeing me in action. So now that 2011 is coming to a close, I decided to spend an hour or two digging through all the photos from the weddings I shot this year…searching and searching for photos of me in action! It was kinda like playing Where’s Waldo!

Well… I found some doozies that I hope you will enjoy! Without further ado, here is Behind The Scenes of Ashleigh Taylor Photography 2011!

Here I am with Frances + Jared, shooting their First Look and romantics:

Getting a few portraits of the groom! Excuse the greasy hair please, it was over 100 degrees outside that day! YIKES!!!

What’s better than shooting on the beach with toes in your sand? Shooting an adorable couple on the beach– like Lauren + Drew!

I LOVE shooting romantics! I always have a dopey smile on my face when shooting them, no matter how hot or cold it is outside!

I always make sure to line up everyone for family shots and angle them just right for the perfect photo!

I LOVE showing my clients pics on the back of the camera and seeing their reaction! I think they love it too because they can see right away that they look amazing!

I always tell my the bridal party how to lift up the bride’s dress just enough so you can step in close to her without stepping on her dress! That’s what I’m doing here. Serious business friends!

I LOVE this picture! The light was fading as we walked back from the beach to the reception… and we chatted about Boardwalk Empire! Being friends with your clients is rad!

Just explaining poses to get the shot!

Yep, I can handle a big old bridal party and get them to have fun!!

Just chatting with the groom as I take some portraits of him!

This is me at my destination wedding this year!! Which was in New England in November! It was a chilly, windy 40 degrees that day so I bundled appropriately but also pretty snazzy! My hat had sequins– dressy and yet keeps the head warm and cozy!

I always make sure to check the back of the camera to make sure I got the shot before we move on!!

I’m a shorty. A REAL shorty. So my secret to getting great angles and pics often involves standing on chairs, benches and whatever solid furniture I can find!

We shot Skylar + AJ’s romantics on a suspension bridge!! What daredevils we were! Not gonna lie there were a few moments I was a little nervous but SkyJ is so sexy, I quickly forgot where I was and rocked the shots out!

That’s me showing a bridesmaid how to pose!! Sexy right? LOL

Just shooting a wedding in autumn, in New Hampshire, on the grounds of a Castle… that’s all!

This me showing a bride how I want her to pose. Aren’t I adorable?

Fun with my bride Carolyn in her ATP Phunky Booth!

I also LOVE getting fun shots in regular style photo booths too! Here are some great ones from 2011!

If you provide a pimp hat as a photobooth prop, I will pose with it on. Yeeeeah dawgz! I’m gangsta.

What a goofball I am!

Well folks, there you have at! A look at what goes on behind the scenes at one of my weddings! Hope you enjoyed!