Valentine’s Day dinner dance

Tiffany is a Rotarian, and would like to invite you to join her at the Jacksonville Rotary Club’s 11th Annual Valentine’s Dinner/Dance Friday, February 8th at Hamilton’s 110 N. East in Jacksonville, Illinois.

The evening features The Big Shake Daddies 10-piece/4-horn ensemble. $30 per person. Register at the Rotary club web site.

Tiffany volunteers to run the high school exchange program for Rotary, and has represented the club on an exchange to Argentina. Steve also went on a Group Study Exchange to Sweden.

Posted by Steve. Quincy Illinois area wedding photography by Warmowski Photography, husband-wife photojournalist team want to tell the story of your wedding day in pictures. Follow us on FacebookStudio located at 301 E Court St. Suite B, Jacksonville, IL 62650, open by appointment only. Be sure to check out our neighbors Girls in White Satin for formal wear for the occasion.

Something for high schoolers interested in a career in photojournalism

Some information from the University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign (Steve’s alma mater) in case you or a high schooler you know is interested in a career in photography, reporting, design or advertising . . .

An exciting new opportunity is being offered by the College of Media at the University of Illinois. Media University – a two-week overnight summer camp (June 17 – 28, 2013) – will kick off for the first time this summer.

MediaUHeader

Media University will introduce high school students to the many facets of advertising, journalism, and media/cinema studies as viable college major and career choices through hands-on learning activities. It will allow students the opportunity to work on a real project; interact with University of Illinois faculty, ad agency and client personnel, journalists, and media personnel; and learn from current University of Illinois students.

But don’t think Media University students will spend all day in the classroom. They will explore all that the Urbana – Champaign campus has to offer, visit some of the top companies in the industry in Chicago, Indianapolis or St. Louis, and most importantly, learn all about the media industry. Whether students decide to pursue an education in advertising, journalism or media studies, workshops in leadership, diversity, ethics, and teambuilding will prepare Media University graduates for any professional situation. In addition, Media University will allow participants to meet other area students with similar interests who may become future classmates and colleagues!

Do you have or know a high school student that should apply? We hope that you’ll encourage them to explore the Media University website for details, application, scholarship and tuition information and more. Space is limited and applications will be reviewed beginning March 15, 2013. Diversity scholarships are available.

Posted by Steve, who can wear orange all he wants because he’s a UofI alumnus. Springfield Illinois area wedding photography by Warmowski Photography, husband-wife photojournalist team available to tell the story of your wedding day. Studio 301 E. Court Street Suite B, Jacksonville, Illinois 62650, hours by appointment, first floor of Hamilton Catering’s 110 North East.

Share your engagement story with The Source, Denney Jewelers Springfield wedding

The Source, the weekly newspaper in Jacksonville, Illinois, is seeking engagement stories to be shared in the Valentine’s Day newspaper.

Whether recent or a long time ago, submit to marcy@   the-source.net (no spaces), The Source 520 S. Main St. JacksonvilleIL 62650, 217.243.3857

  • The ring was hidden in our old traveling chest . . .
  • We flew to Paris . . .
  • It was such a surprise when I opened my cereal box and found an . . .
  • I thought he was on a fishing trip, instead he . . .

Get your story ready and send it in . . . and, while you’re at it, did you know Denney Jewelers in Springfield also has a monthly contest searching for The Most Romantic Couple of The Year?

From their web site: We are looking for creative, meaningful moments that were made even more magical with a jewelry presentation. Stories can include engagement, birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, new baby, or any special occasion marked with a gift of jewelry. A monthly finalist will be selected and featured on our website and receive a $100 gift certificate to Denney Jewelers. Please submit a story of your romantic jewelry presentation along with a photo or video of the presentation, the recipient wearing the jewelry, a photo of the couple or another moment that represents your story. Submit.

A winner is chosen every month and their story goes on A Little Romance from Denney Jewelers blog. Monthly winners are invited to a romantic Valentine’s Ball, where the “Most Romantic Couple” in Springfield is crowned and receives a gift — this year the romantic Valentine’s Day package includes a $500 gift certificate to Denney Jewelers, a photo package and a 24K real rose.

Posted by Steve. Springfield Illinois area wedding photography by Warmowski Photography, husband-wife photojournalist team available to tell the story of your wedding day. Studio 301 E. Court Street Suite B, Jacksonville, Illinois 62650, hours by appointment, first floor of Hamilton’s 110 North East.

Cowboy boots and all Western popular in weddings

Katelin and her cowboy boots for a cold, cold January wedding at MacMurray College.
Katelin and her cowboy boots for a cold, cold January wedding at MacMurray College.

At the recent Jacksonville bridal show Laurie from Girls in White Satin Bridal and Formal Wear said that cowboy boots and Western touches are quite popular accents for weddings now (especially for this fall). Made us think of our professional wedding photography for Katelin & Brian’s wedding at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois.

Katelin dances during her reception at the MacMurray College McClelland Dining Hall.
Katelin dances during her reception at the MacMurray College McClelland Dining Hall.

Katelin wore a dress from Girls in White Satin. She accented decorations with lace, loved the back of her dress, and hoped for snow so she could get photos outside. Ceremony at MacMurray College’s Annie Merner Chapel, with reception immediately following at McClelland Dining Hall next door. MacMurray is a great location for a wedding (that’s were Tiffany and I were married).

Bridesmaids had muff handwarmers, perfect for a cold January day.
Bridesmaids had muff handwarmers, perfect for a cold January day.
Sparkly branches kept with an icy wedding theme.
Sparkly branches kept with an icy winter wedding theme.

We previously photographed the wedding of Brian’s brother Ben in White Hall, Illinois. Always a great compliment when family members come back to us for wedding photography! Here’s what Genny & Ben posted about us on our Facebook page:

Steve and Tiffany did a terrific job of capturing special moments during our ceremony and reception. They were available before and stayed after the time frame that they committed to. We will forever enjoy looking through the pictures and recalling the many people that made the day so special. Thank you for sharing your talent and your professionalism!

Katelin & Brian leave at the end of the night with sparklers all around.
Katelin & Brian leave at the end of the night with sparklers all around.

Posted by Steve. Warmowski Photography, husband-wife photojournalist team want to tell the story of your wedding day in pictures. Follow us on FacebookStudio located at 301 E Court St. Suite B, Jacksonville, IL 62650, open by appointment only. Be sure to check out our neighbors Girls in White Satin Bridal & Formal Wear for formal wear for the occasion.

Wedding photography at Jacksonville Bridal Expo

Great to have been a part of the Jacksonville Main Street Bridal & Prom Expo this past weekend at Hamilton’s 110 North East. So nice to be able to meet brides and have time to talk in a relaxed atmosphere about our central Illinois professional wedding photography.

The highlight of the show was Girls in White Satin Bridal & Formal Wear’s bridal and prom fashion show. To see all the dresses and gowns, check out photos on our Facebook gallery.

Girls in White Satin at the Jacksonville Bridal Expo. See link above for more photos.
Girls in White Satin at the Jacksonville Bridal Expo. See link above for more photos.

Other notes from the event . . .

  • American Rentals is now part of Signature Rentals. They feature our photography on their website, and on the side of their Springfield-based truck.
  • Mobile Mania highlighted their photo booth, contact 217.242.9676. They also offer Dj and lighting services. Based in Quincy, Illinois.
  • Flowers and decorations for the bridal show by Ashley’s Petals & Angels florist.
Summer wedding in Carrollton Illinois of Hannah & Joe with lightning from a passing storm. Image on Signature Rentals.
Summer wedding in Carrollton Illinois of Hannah & Joe with lightning from a passing storm. Our image on Signature Rentals.

Posted by Steve. Warmowski Photography, husband-wife photojournalist team available to tell the story of your wedding day. Studio  301 E. Court Street Suite B, Jacksonville, Illinois 62650, hours by appointment, first floor of Hamilton’s 110 North East.

Black formal dresses — Girls in White Satin at the Jacksonville Bridal Expo. See link above for more photos.
Black formal dresses — Girls in White Satin at the Jacksonville Bridal Expo. See link above for more photos.

The Classic Harpist listed as Bride’s Choice

Congratulations to Devon and Jeff of The Classic Harpist for being selected as a winner of the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards 2013 for wedding music. We photographed a civil union ceremony at the Washington Park gazebo in Springfield, Illinois with Devon, and as a fellow Jacksonville professional wedding vendor often see the couple at work (like at last weekend’s Jacksonville Bridal Expo). They offer a great service for brides!

From their newsletter (go to their web site and enter your email to get on their mailing list): The Classic Harpist have received this award every year that it has been presented. The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top 5% of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism. The Classic Harpist’s selection as a Bride’s Choice Award 2013 winner was based on the positive experiences expressed by past clients on WeddingWire, the world’s largest wedding review site. While many industry awards are given by the host organization, the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards winners are determined solely based on reviews from real newlyweds and their experiences working with Devon & Jeff.

Devon Haupt of The Classic Harpist performs at a wedding at the Washington Park gazebo in Springfield.
Devon Haupt of The Classic Harpist performs at a wedding at the Washington Park gazebo in Springfield.

Posted by Steve. Warmowski Photography, husband-wife photojournalist team available to tell the story of your wedding day. Studio 301 E. Court Street Suite B, Jacksonville, Illinois 62650, hours by appointment, first floor of Hamilton’s 110 North East.

Brides recommend professional wedding photographers Warmowski Photography

Ashley & Scott married September 2012 in Jacksonville.
Ashley & Scott married September 2012 in Jacksonville.

Springfield area professional wedding photographers Steve & Tiffany Warmowski come highly recommended by their brides. Today we’ll be at the Jacksonville Main Street Bridal and Prom Expo at Hamilton’s 110 North East, and we’ll be sharing some of the things our happy brides and grooms have been saying about us. We not only take great pictures, but help you day go smoothly, help with wedding planning, put you in contact with other great wedding venues and in general help you focus on having fun with your family on your special day.

Ashley Wall: I HIGHLY recommend Warmowski Photography!!! They were so wonderful to work with! I heard numerous times throughout our wedding night how awesome they thought our photographers were!!! Not to mention Tiffany not only took wonderful photos but kept me so calm and did some last minute sewing… Even called the dress store and had Steve pick up a button without me knowing!!! I cannot say enough about these two!! They were simply amazing!!!

Ashley and her mother after putting on her wedding dress.
Ashley and her mother after putting on her wedding dress.

Be sure to go to our Facebook page and look under Recommendations and also under Recent Posts by Others to see feedback from our brides.

We are getting many inquires about wedding photography now — contact us to schedule a consultation and to save your date!

Some other recommendations . . .

Posted by Steve. Warmowski Photography, husband-wife photojournalist team available to tell the story of your wedding day. Studio 301 E. Court Street Suite B, Jacksonville, Illinois 62650, hours by appointment, first floor of Hamilton’s 110 North East.

Steve Warmowski one the world’s leading photographers to work on big data book project

Robert E. Holmes with his first telescope and his latest telescopes he uses to track objects for NASA at Astronomical Research Observatory.
Robert E. Holmes with his first telescope and his latest telescopes he uses to track objects for NASA at Astronomical Research Observatory.

Springfield area wedding and freelance photographer Steve Warmowski was one of “approximately 100 of the world’s leading photographers in over 30 countries” to take part in the recently-released book The Human Face of Big Data. We recently received a couple copies of the book, which include a two-page spread of his images of Robert E. Holmes of the Astronomical Research Observatory.

The observatory is located at Robert’s home in rural Ashmore, Illinois. A self-taught astronomer, he uses telescopes of his own making to track for NASA a list of objects that might one day hit the earth. He takes multiple pictures of each questionable object, and then a computer crunches the numbers to give location, speed and trajectory data. In 2011 he tracked 14,900 objects — accounting for 36 percent of the total number tracked.

Robert actually is a former magazine photographer, and especially liked the photo Steve took of his cat napping while he worked.

Robert E. Holmes works as his cat naps.
Robert E. Holmes works as his cat naps.

This is the third time Steve was selected by Against All Odds Productions to work on a book project. Steve was the Illinois coordinator for the America 24/7 project, which was featured on the Oprah Winfrey show and was New York Times Best Seller, and also a photographer for America at Home

Check out The Human Face of Big Data on the web, and they also have a cool iPhone app.

Photo Credit: © Michael Tompert 2012 / from The Human Face of Big Data
Photo Credit: © Michael Tompert 2012 / from The Human Face of Big Data

Steve also photographed for the book University of Illinois: Past & Present. He had an extensive newspaper career, including positions at Illinois papers in Jacksonville, Decatur, Freeport & LaSalle; and internships at Michigan papers in Muskegon and Saginaw; freelanced for papers such as The New York Times and Chicago Tribune. He has a journalism degree from the University of Illinois-Urbana. And he has won awards for his photography from the Illinois Press Photographers Association, National Press Photographers Association, Illinois Press Association, Illinois Associated Press and the Wedding Photojournalist Association; and recognized for editing by University of Missouri/Pictures of the Year.

Posted by Tiffany. Warmowski Photography, husband-wife photojournalist team want to tell the story of your wedding day. Follow us on Facebook. Offering wedding photography in the Chicago area, downstate Illinois (Springfield, Quincy, Champaign-Urbana, Bloomington-Normal, Jacksonville), as well as St. Louis and beyond. Images © 2012 Warmowski Photography.

Fun event photography at Hamilton’s 110 North East at Masquerade Ball

Tiffany and I had a great time last night at Jacksonville Main Street’s Diamonds & Ice Masquerade Ball last night at Hamilton’s 110 North East with the party and with event photography. Here’s some notes that might be of help with your wedding planning.

Dancing by Springfield Ballet Company.
Dancing by Springfield Ballet Company.
  • Steve Tankersley of Springfield-area Rage Revolta Stage Lighting 217.883.2634 did a fantastic job setting the scene with white LED uplighting around the ballroom. The lighting really fit in with the diamonds and ice theme of the night. When you’re planning a wedding, at Hamilton’s Catering or any other wedding venue, look into upgrading the lighting. We always love the opportunity event lighting gives for beautiful, different photos for Central Illinois wedding photography.
  • Troy Armstrong was the DJ for the night. He’s recently relocated to Springfield from Metro East St. Louis and is working at 104.5 WFMB radio. He also provides DJ service for weddings.
  • Precious Jewelers donated a beautiful necklace.
Tiffany & Steve in costume.
Tiffany & Steve in costume.
Whitewashed branches around the room.
Whitewashed branches around the room.
Kate Roth and Allison Pratt organized the event.
Kate Roth and Allison Pratt organized the event.
Tiffany and her award-winning mask.
Tiffany and her award-winning mask.

Thanks to Duncan & Hoots Jewelers for donating a $100 gift card which Tiffany won for “Most Elaborate Mask.” I think it was mostly for matching the great dress she picked up from Girls in White Satin Bridal & Formal Wear.

Another company we’ve seen do a great job with event lighting and up-lighting when we are out doing Springfield Illinois wedding photography is Premiere Audio-Visual.

Posted by Steve. Warmowski Photography, husband-wife photojournalist team want to tell the story of your wedding day in pictures. Follow us on FacebookStudio located at 301 E Court St. Suite B, Jacksonville, IL 62650, open by appointment only. Be sure to check out our neighbors Girls in White Satin Bridal & Formal Wear for formal wear for the occasion.

Inquiries for Bloomington & Springfield Illinois wedding photography

It’s that time of year! We have been fielding many inquiries for Bloomington wedding photography, Springfield wedding photography and all over Central Illinois wedding photography (Quincy, St. Louis and Chicago, too!) Please contact Tiffany through our Warmowski Photography web site or call/text her at 217.473.5517 to talk about your date.

Sarah & Billy's first look before portraits at Broadview Mansion in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois.
Sarah & Billy’s first look before portraits at Broadview Mansion in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois.

Wanted to share photos from a wedding we photographed in Bloomington-Normal Illinois in the fall. Sarah & Billy met at Illinois State University. Between getting ready and taking portraits at Broadview Mansion and the ceremony and reception at Bloomington Holiday Inn (at the Bloomington airport) we stopped at ISU’s Stevenson Hall to get some campus photos into their book.

They had wanted their ceremony to be at Broadview Mansion, but the remains of Hurricane Isaac drifted into the area. It brought much-needed rain to the region, and suggested a baby name if they eventually have a son, but it wasn’t very conducive to an outdoor wedding!

One other note, the wedding event DJ was Faith Rinker of Glass Slipper Entertainment. She did a fantastic job, had great LED uplighting which made the ballroom at the Holiday Inn look fantastic, and she told Sarah & Billy’s “love story” at the end of dinner. Lots of family members said they appreciated her retelling the story of how the couple met, dated and decided to tie the knot.

Dance floor with music and lighting by Glass Slipper Entertainment.
Dance floor with music and lighting by Glass Slipper Entertainment.
Sarah & Billy fun portraits at Broadview Mansion in Bloomington.
Sarah & Billy fun portraits at Broadview Mansion in Bloomington.
Sarah & Billy working Illinois State University's Stevenson Hall into their wedding photos.
Sarah & Billy working Illinois State University’s Stevenson Hall into their wedding photos.
Wedding party toast in the bridal suite, before the reception at Bloomington Holiday Inn.
Wedding party toast in the bridal suite, before the reception at Bloomington Holiday Inn.

Posted by Steve. Warmowski Photography, husband-wife photojournalist team available to tell the story of your wedding day. Studio 301 E. Court Street Suite B, Jacksonville, Illinois 62650, hours by appointment, first floor of Hamilton’s 110 North East.