There is nothing as sweet, as precious, and as innocent as a newborn baby! Poetic Images is here to document the first moments of your child’s life. A new baby is so tiny and expressive, a time that can never be recaptured. We are available to capture your special (new) moments in our studio, at your birth center, hospital, or home.
There are many different traditions that are part of a wedding ceremony, and many of these customs have been practiced for several centuries. Ciara and Andrew implemented many different traditions into their wedding day, some of the explanations of these traditions are listed below.
Ring Exchange: First marital ring exchange dates back to 4800 years ago!
The Kiss: Token of bonding and exhange of spirits
Bridal Flowers: The bouquet signifies a woman in bloom!
Wedding Veil: A woman’s face covered by a veil means she is spoken for.
The Garter: Was believed (in 14th century Europe) having a piece of the bride’s clothing was a good luck. The bride would throw a garter to keep guests from ripping off a piece of her wedding dress.
Wedding party favor: In the late 1800’s, it was common for the married couple to send their guests home with a cardboard box filled with almonds.
Bridesmaids/Groomsmen: Originated from Roman Law which required ten witnesses at a wedding to outsmart evil spirits.
(Information on traditions taken from bridallistings.com and wikipedia.com)
Erika Hohn, owner of Octopus Arts Collective, has been teaching yoga to children for 11 years; we took photographs for her upcoming new website! A new resident to Taos, NM from Boulder, CO, Erika is already connecting with children at Shree Yoga Studio as she teaches “Sweet Pea” yoga hour. Erika has a playful personality and a strong musical and dance background; these gifts allow Erika to integrate smiling, chanting, and dance into her yoga classes for kids.
There is nothing like a wedding in Taos, NM! Rachel and Seth live in California, but Rachel was raised in Taos and has been dreaming about her wedding day here since she was a little girl. Rachel and Seth tied the knot at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish one block away from the Taos Plaza. The reception venue was Taos Country Club which has gorgeous views and a beautiful green golf course.
The Taos Vacation Guide describes Las Fiestas de Taos as a “time-honored festival preserving four centuries of cultural diversity and tradition unique to Taos.” Las Fiestas began in Taos in the 1930’s and always takes place at the end of July to observe the feast days of Santiago and Santa Ana (St. James and St. Anne).
In my opinion, the best “Fiestas” event in 2011 was the procession, blessing, and dancing of the the Aztec dancers at the San Francisco de Asis (St. Francis) Cathedral in Los Ranchos de Taos. I love the photos, however I do wish you could smell the cedar and feel the high energy and incredible rhythm of these dancers in perfect sync.
Danielle and Jon traveled from Dallas, TX to enjoy their destination wedding getaway in Taos. The weather was gorgeous and the New Mexico sky was blue. Cars honked as they drove by and store owners gave greetings of best wishes as we walked around the plaza taking photos and documenting this special day.
Little David did not like having his photos taken. In fact, he did not seem to want to see me at all! When I was hidden, David smiled. A lot. This photo shoot consisted of me hiding and acting/feeling like the paparazzi, while David’s mom and dad hung out and played with David in the area we were shooting. Thank goodness we were not at my studio for this shoot, there is no way that I would’ve been able to hide and get these great smiles.
A lot of time and effort can go into the process of “getting ready” on wedding day. There are so many things to remember: the shoes, the veil, the lipstick, the bobby pins, the something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and a penny for your shoe! WHEW!
These special details are ones you will remember forever with my photojournalistic style of photography. I have a special eye and notice “the little things” that become precious memories for years to come.
Chris works at the Taos Fire Department, it only seemed appropriate to do some of this engagement shoot with a firetruck adorning the background! This was an extremely easy photo shoot for me. Not only was it fun getting creative with this couple and the truck, but Danielle and Chris are both so easy to photograph as they just break into a smile every time they look at one another.
Chris and Danielle will be married in September. Happily ever after!
Kelsey and Adam escaped the heat in Oklahoma to enjoy a July wedding at the El Monte Sagrado here in Taos, NM. The wedding party of 14 included five bridesmaids and five groomsmen, two ushers, the attendant for the flower girl, and the flower girl…who is also a Miniature Dachshund (“Tootsie”).
Kelsey and her bridesmaids got ready in El Monte’s Kama Sutra suite. This suite is a favorite for wedding day as the hand carved wood in the room features couples engaged in various sexual positions.
Heather Miro (et al) perfected the bridesmaids hair and makeup; Mercedes Valdez, owner of Elegante Florals, designed gorgeous bouquets and adorned the altar floor with white rose petals.
Yvette has an exotic look that photographs so well! We scheduled this photography shoot because Yvette has never had a professional studio session before; she is an awesome model and I love helping her build up her portfolio!
I have recently learned that boudoir photography became popular in the United States in the 1920’s when very affluent married couples would commission a photographer to take elegant “bedroom photos” to hang in their house. These photos sessions usually featured only women, and almost never were the subjects in the nude.
Emily Quintana is a beautiful 17 year old graduate from Taos High School. She received her diploma at the end of May 2011 and plans to continue her education at UNM in Albuquerque. We took some amazing pictures of Emily alone, Emily and her boyfriend, her brother, and her entire family.
Mike and Donna enjoyed their wedding ceremony in St. Louis, Missouri, and celebrated their marriage with their friends and family at a private party and reception in the gardens of Sabroso Restaurant and Bar in Arroyo Seco, outside of Taos, NM. The guests enjoyed happy hour while listening to The Jimmy Stadler Band. Dinner featured a pig roast, prepared to perfection by Chef Tim. The gorgeous cake brought a tear to Donna’s eye as she said, “It’s perfect.” The cake was done by Ann, Sabroso’s incredible pastry chef.
Misty and Mike Bruce of Upgrade Taos are the people to call for all of your PC and Mac, hardware, software, website, and “help me” computer needs. Is your website having a hard time showing up on Google? Misty knows all the search engine optimization secrets to keep your website above the rest! Is your computer slow and acting funny? Mike knows the insides and outside of all computers and can usually fix your computer’s problems in one day! Misty and Mike’s son is brilliant with computers too, it only makes sense that he would be a part of the Upgrade Taos business photo session.
There are many different options for your wedding and reception site when you choose El Monte Sagrado for your wedding site. The Rio Terrace is perfect for an outdoor reception or your cocktail hour. With beautiful mountain views, a gorgeous green lawn, and a contemporary patio area, the Rio Terrace is a stunning place to socialize and celebrate your special event.
After ten years and three children, Nicole and Miguel decided to finally make things “official.” Nicole and Miguel’s wedding ceremony took place in Cerro, NM, a small village outside of Questa. Their wedding was on June 11th and it was very smokey from the Wallow Fire in Arizona. The morning was windy and the smoke was pushed aside for beautiful sunset shots with the bride, groom, and entire wedding party at the Taos Country Club reception later in the night. We had an amazing sunset of pinks and oranges which was spectacular for romantics and family portraits on the pond at the golf course.
The Taos Country Club in Ranchos de Taos, is an amazing place to hold an event. From a photographer’s perspective, every angle at this venue is incredible. With views of both the mesa and the mountains, the country club is a perfect spot for a outdoor wedding. The golf course offers a green background which is otherwise difficult to find in this dry area of the southwest. The indoor ballroom is adorned with dark vigas which offer a beautiful New Mexico look in photographs. Here are a few samples of some of the fantastic photos I have captured at various weddings, receptions, and other events at the Taos Country Club.
Jolynn and Manual are both from Mora, NM and came to Taos for a beautiful wedding at El Monte Sagrado. This couple had a guest list of over 125 people which is quite large for a Thursday wedding ceremony, but quite small for a New Mexico wedding (many times the guest list is over 350 people)! The bride and bridesmaids had prior experience in flowers, so they designed their own bouquets which really look stunning in the photographs. The wedding cake you see is a very traditional style of wedding cake from this area. May this lovey couple and their new combined family live “happily ever after.”
Deb wanted to give herself the best 50th birthday present ever–so she decided on a boudoir photo shoot here at Poetic Images by Deanna! Deb brought in some different props (the masks are so cool!) and outfits, and we created photographs that show off this gorgeous woman in various poses: sexy, sassy, classy, unique, and beautiful. Boudoir sessions are for women and men of all shapes and sizes. These sessions are not only fun, but they build up your confidence in the fact that yes, you do look beautiful on camera!
Christal and Joshua got married off of the Taos plaza at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. Christal’s favorite colors are watermelon and lime and these colors stand out brilliantly in the photographs. Christal and Josh have a darling little boy who was the ring bearer and responded well when he was given gum or candy. This was the kind of wedding that makes me love being a photographer. These guys had a beautiful ceremony, a fun reception with amazing guests, and were just awesome to be around. Their wedding photos reflect how in love Christal and Josh are.
Sharon and John live in Virginia and came to Taos to elope and have their intimate destination wedding ceremony in front of beautiful Taos Mountain. This springtime wedding took place at beautiful bed and breakfast La Hacienda del Sol right on Taos Main Street. The flowers were done locally by Mercedes of Elegante Floral. There was a plaid ribbon wrapped around the bouquet that matched the Scottish groom’s tux bow tie… cool!! Congratulations to Sharon and John!!
The San Francisco de Asis, also known as St. Francis, is one of the most famous cathedrals in New Mexico. Vanessa and Charlie tied the knot at this famous church and then the entire wedding party took the Taos Trolley around the plaza (driving around the plaza after a wedding in Taos is tradition here) to end at destination El Monte Sagrado for a gorgeous reception.
During the cold winter days here in Northern New Mexico, we are grateful to use our private (and warm) studio in Taos to capture your child’s portraits. Lola’s mommy wanted photographs of her daughter “in her element” and I believe we accomplished that in this photo shoot. Lola has a very theatrical side to her and we caught her happy, sad, playful, and serious moods. Lola loves her dog, high heels, and the color pink.
I won the bid and received a contract through the Town of Taos to photograph the opening day of the Taos Eco Park. The Taos Eco Park is a state of the art synthetic turf field that has been 20 years in the making. The park opened with one field; two more fields will be added to the park. Also the entire parking lot will be covered with solar panels, meaning the Eco Park will be run totally on solar power.
The Taos Eco Park’s ribbon cutting and grand opening was a warm and windy day, everything went off without a hitch.
