STAYING UP PAST MIDNIGHT….

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Crystal Nicole

“We can still make the 11pm show…. I’m up for it if you are….”

“Let’s go…. we’re only young once!”

If I were ridiculously cool this would be the opening to a conversation ending in a spur of the moment trip to Vegas. To sing and rock out among the crowd at a secret Florence and The Machine concert. With glow sticks.

Sadly, this was the conversation leading to a late night trip to the movie theater to watch The Great Gatsby. Yes, the movie theater.

Last Friday I met up with my BFFs for some girl time (people still say that right, “BFFs”?) and we couldn’t help but notice how much our “nights out” have turned into “nights in.” And maybe we’ve taken a liking to Bingo. Case in point: a few months back my friend Naomi actually started a sentence with “The other day while I was at the Bingo Store….” True. Story. Who goes to a Bingo Store? Naomi does…. and that’s why we’re friends

I’ll blame it on being in that “in between” phase – you know, not 21 years old anymore, but not yet ready to hang up our high heels - somewhere in there. I’m embracing it…. and my DVR is proof of it. Staying in to watch back to back episodes of Say Yes To The Dress and every show on the Bravo Channel never sounded better…. and maybe an occasional Lifetime movie. Maybe

Adding to my new adventure as a Wedding Photographer is this new life transition into the late 20′s version of me…. we’ll call her Crystal 2.0! City nights are becoming Red Box nights, Dance Parties are becoming Quiet Dinner Parties and Full Hair and Makeup is becoming Lipgloss and Updos. Is it weird that I’m totally okay with it? With the occasional midnight movie theater trip it pretty much all levels out…. Really.

So, according to everyone (and by everyone, I mean my family) the next phase for me is marriage and children. That right there? Well there’s no rush for all that…. for now, I’m perfectly fine with documenting gorgeous weddings and take notes for my own

Word!

Follow CRYSTAL NICOLE PHOTOGRAPHY on Facebook to view the galleries & get all the latest details. Visit Crystal-Nicole.com or contact crystal@crystal-nicole.com for booking & pricing information.

ABOUT ME: 10 Facts You {Maybe} Didn’t Know…..

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Crystal Nicole

I’ll say it.

I have a thing for reading about other people’s personal lives. Not to judge them or anything negative like that, but simply to assure myself that we all have a little oddness in us. Surely I can’t be the only one who has to have 8 ice cubes in her drink or has a nightly routine of setting up her pillows and blankets in linear positions before going to bed. These of course are completely normal habits. Completely!

Over the past year I’ve tried incorporate a few personal stories here and there…. but here are a few that I may not have mentioned. Most are way normal so don’t judge the “unique” ones

1. In my family I am the oldest of three…. I am 26yrs old, my brother Marvin is 24yrs old and Julian (the 6ft baby) is 22yrs old. Being the only girl sure came in handy when it came time to deciding who shared rooms! Sorry boys….

2. I am Hispanic, part Central American and part Mexican but born & raised in Southern California. If anyone would like to refer to me as JLo or Shakira I’m completely okay with that

3. I am deathly afraid of ferris wheels. Like, break out in hysterical crying simply by sitting in a cart type of scared. Roller coasters and free-falls I can handle…. but ferris wheels? Totally the enemy!

4. My family and I lived in Guatemala for one year when I was 12yrs old. A vacation to my dad’s homeland extended just a tad longer than planned Attending your first year of Junior High School in a foreign country & in another language is crazy…. I failed every subject, but totally aced English class

5. At 17yrs old my dad strictly told me to not use his car. Surely I must have misheard him because I took it anyway… and was hit by another car while at the drive-thru of a local food joint.

6. I wanted to pursue a career as a lawyer and was accepted into New York University (NYU) as a Political Science major after high school, but never attended. In fact, I skipped college all together (unless Real Estate classes count as “college”).

7. As a kid I had a tendency of getting lost. Luckily I was smart enough to turn myself into the lost and found whenever that happened….. during a family trip to Las Vegas at the MGM Grand, while shopping at Lucky’s grocery store, basically anywhere.

8. Navigation systems have saved my life! I am horrible at directions and will pass a location 4 times before finding it. Sidenote: Anyone who gives directions by saying to “head North on so and so street” is clearly showing off. I get it, you have a sense of direction

9. I’ve been singing since I learned to speak. Whether it was in the school choir, with the church worship team, at an open mic night, in my car (with the windows up of course) I’ve had a passion for singing. I’m no Adele, but I can carry a note here and there.

10. No matter how many times I say that I want to try something new, I always end up ordering the same thing at a restaurant. It’s safe and I know I like it, so why mess with that right? Right!

So… do we have one of these in common? Let a girl know that I’m not the only one with some weirdness going on. Holla!

Follow CRYSTAL NICOLE PHOTOGRAPHY on Facebook to view the galleries & get all the latest details. Visit Crystal-Nicole.com or contact crystal@crystal-nicole.com for booking & pricing

DREAMING OUT LOUD….

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Crystal Nicole

If there was major available in college to obtain a degree to be a professional “Dreamer” with a focus on “Crazy Thoughts”….. well, let’s just say that I would have enrolled straight out of high school and would still be taking classes. Eight years later. For this I blame Cinderella – I mean, thanks a lot for sounding so convincing while singing “A dream is a wish your heart makes….” because I believed it. Not only did I believe it, but I went on with my dreamer self to pursue all the wishes my heart made. All thirty-thousand of them (some were a success, some not so much. Read about them in the blog post here)

At first this whole “dreamer notion” was embarrassing for me and talking about it out loud would have never happened. I simply didn’t want to be seen as a Disney kid wishing for magic fairy dust. I wanted to be taken as a serious adult who was truly trying to find her way and make the right decisions for a successful future. This adult world obviously had no room for Tinkerbell. So I took a shot at all the things that I thought were right but never pushed for the things that I dreamt about…. that moved me…. that kept me up at night with excitement. This was true for the past eight years, up until now.

Photography was the first move into the quest to keep the dream alive but there are so many other things that I yearn to do in life. So many opportunities that I pray come my way. Now I have no trouble talking about the desires of my heart because sharing my aspirations out loud for the past year has opened doors to meet others alike, who are dreamers just like me. This motivates me….. and quite possibly proves that there really is room for Tinkerbell in this adult world

Sure, it’s scary to pour your heart out on the internet because if something doesn’t come to fruition it’s out there in the opened for all to see. But what if it does happen? Even better, what if you inspire someone along the way? Is the fear of not succeeding worth jeopardizing a moment to inspire? Personally, I don’t think so. People are always watching… whether you realize it or not. So why not dream out loud? Yes, it could be a big fat fail, but it could also be the greatest thing ever.

So here comes my next dream. It’s something that I’ve been wanting to do for a few years now but have never dared to speak of: I want to organize and speak at a Young Women’s Conference for our church. Ministry is and has been a major part of my life for over 10 years now and I couldn’t see myself not being involved. The best memories, experiences and friendships have stemmed from this part of my life and I’m thankful for every minute of it (Read more about this experience and of my family’s church in this blog post here). This is a big deal for me because it tugs at my “teacher/motivational speaker” heart-strings. I want to be an example of both what to do and what not to do for the young women of this generation. The terrifying part is that it may put me in a role model position…. and I am far from perfect. Would I be a good role model to these young girls? Am I strong enough to share the difficulties in life, but the joy that has come from it? Most importantly…. am I someone they would want to hear from? This is the part where someone needs to jump in with an upside to this dream!

As nervous as I am just thinking of speaking at an event, I think I owe it to myself to go for it just as I did with photography. If I had let the fear of learning how to use my camera keep me from moving forward I wouldn’t be shooting the wedding I have booked for this year…. and they’re going to be some fabulous weddings

It’s either now or never! Now is looking pretty good so we’ll stick with that. I hope any other dreamers out there will join me and embrace the magic fairy dust. We can be Disney Adults together and start our own cool kids club. Member’s only jackets included!

If anyone needs me….. I have a conference to plan. Holla!

Happy Tuesday!

[ Planning a Wedding or Special Event? Follow CRYSTAL NICOLE PHOTOGRAPHY on Facebook to view the galleries & get all the latest details. Visit Crystal-Nicole.com or contact crystal@crystal-nicole.com for booking & pricing ]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TWINSIES…..

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Crystal Nicole

Dear Twins,

You’re twenty-seven years old today. How did this happen?!

How have ten years passed us by so quickly? Because that’s when we met. Ten years ago…. remember that weekend? It was during a trip with our church group to help at an orphanage in Mexico. You were “The Twins”….. loving, singing, braided-hair, soccer playing seventeen-year-olds. I totally didn’t like you! Why? Because your popularity was annoying and there was no way in this world that you two could ever be nice! But you were. Nice doesn’t even scratch the surface of who you are. I would have never imagined that the girls harmonizing around the camp fire that weekend would be two I couldn’t imagine going through life without…..

The teenage years were the fun years! Getting our driver’s license (we’ll just say that we all passed on the first attempt) and our infamous first cars. You didn’t make fun of my car for shaking uncontrollably at red lights and I didn’t laugh at your plastic spinner rims. All three of our cars put together still wouldn’t amount to a decent one, but our radios worked and we were driving. Sans parental guidance. That’s all that mattered.

Then we hit our early 20s…. and things changed. We changed. Our hard work had paid off and we all had decent jobs for 20-year-olds. Sure, we each sent out a text once a week that said something along the lines of “I’m quitting! I can’t do this anymore, the stress is just too much! I’m soooo over this job!!” but deep down inside we all knew that we were only half serious. I mean, at this point we all had better cars so the stress was worth it! Another first that came around? Moving out! An apartment with one couch, a ghetto-fab TV, the first two seasons of the Nick Lachey & Jessica Simpson show, Hilary Duff movies and a fridge with leftover pizza and slim fast….. and that was all we needed! The evenings and weekends we spent in that apartment were some of the most memorable times that I hold dear to my heart. Whether it was setting up the poker table, Googling the rules and never actually playing…. or sitting on the floor eating In-N-Out, crying over a broken heart. We grew up during these years and we got through the good times, the bad times, and the hot messes together

Our mid 20′s brought on a whole chapter. Thankfully the job promotions finally came (hello decent salaries ) and we discovered the beauty of traveling and road trips. Whether it was at a baseball game in San Francisco or during a tour of the NBC studios in New York (team Chad!), or even heading to Vegas just to catch our favorite Jr. High band playing, we’ve made the most of it. Oh and the apartment got bigger too, fully furnished and all…. with real food in the fridge. Yay for upgrades! Even though the life problems have seemed to upgrade as well when it comes to family, relationships and paying off credit cards… we’ll take it! Because it’s made us who we are today.

So Happy, Happy Birthday twinsies! (in my awesome singing voice, with jazz hands) Thank you for giving me endless memories and 547,794 amazing times. You’ve laughed with me, you’ve cried with me and you’ve even driven on the wrong side of the road with me….. literally I couldn’t ask for better BFFs or as we like to call it, I couldn’t ask for better FIDS!

Cheers to celebrating at least 50 more birthdays together. Word!

Love, Crystal

PS- Ok now stop getting older because we’re getting too close to 30

PPS- You sent me flowers & chocolates for my birthday…. I’m dedicating a blog post to you. That’s basically the same thing ;)

THE PRICE OF DREAMING….

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Crystal Nicole

Making large purchases gives me anxiety….. it’s like driving through a yellow signal light and having it turn red while you’re half-way through the intersection. Is it questionable? Am I going to be in trouble over it? Should I have just stopped? You know, it gives me that feeling. For this I fully blame my parents. Is it any shock that spending money or purchasing anything at full price scares me after being raised in a home where my dad was an avid “smart shopper” at Albertson’s who would buy 30 TV dinners at a time because they were 10 for $10? Or experiencing my mom’s obsession with the BOGO sale at Payless shoes store? Point proven.

Once I decided to step into photography and really go for it, the investment part was my biggest concern. With a want list of camera equipment & awesome electronics that was equivalent to a brand new Mercedes-Benz my dream felt more and more like wishful thinking – unfortunately, photography rarely has “smart shopper” moments or BOGO sales so this list was obviously kept away from my parents, duh – So I’ve been very selective and have taken my time over this first year to gradually cross items off of the list:

My first purchase was my camera, a CANON rebel, that included a kit lens…. my next purchase was an additional lens (50mm f1.4)…. the third purchase was a 15″ Macbook Pro (which has made blogging & editing THAT much easier)….. the next item was my editing software (Lightroom 4)….. the fifth purchase was my website…. and this week I gladly crossed off the next item: my new iPad.

So maybe the iPad isn’t exactly something new but I never really had the need for one before. I had my laptop and my iPhone and both of these always felt like enough. Then this strange thing started happening in the last few months…. Wedding Consultations. Brides began to contact me and wanting to meet for coffee to discuss their wedding needs. I tried showing my work, collection menus & contracts the trusty old-fashioned way, with paper. That went horribly! Nerves, stacks of paper, clumsiness and small tables at Starbucks should never mix. Like, ever. The laptop was too big….. the iPhone was way too small. That’s when I decided to t~~ake without asking~~ borrow my mom’s iPad and instantly fell in love. It was the perfect size, all my docs were in one place….. but really, the retina display simply made my photos look way professional!

Now I’m totally looking forward to my next wedding consultation. Sure I’ll get to show off how organized I am but let’s be honest…. I just downloaded the Pinterest App so I’m more excited to show my wedding boards

Happy Tuesday!

WHEN THE JOURNEY IS WORTH IT…..

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Crystal Nicole

The hardest part of beginning a new journey isn’t actually starting, it’s sticking to it and not quitting along the way. At least in my life, this has been the case on more than one occasion. It was always fairly easy for me to jump into something new…. a hobby, a class, a diet (ok, maybe attempting to give up Mexican Food wasn’t the easiest) but completing the journey has been difficult. Why? Because the journey is long, tedious, time-consuming, stressful, difficult, emotional and every other not-so-fun thing that you can think of. Having outside influences who do not support or agree with your journey – and who don’t mind expressing their feelings – is the icing on the uphill journey. Fortunately, I have an amazing example in my parents of what it is to work hard and keep going no matter how difficult it can be…. and believe me, it will get difficult.

Even now as my parents are well into adulthood they are still working feverishly towards their dreams and following their calling in life. As a full-time Pastor who works 7 days a week teaching, helping local communities, traveling to different countries, counseling, and who most of the time cannot finish a meal without receiving a phone call, my dad’s journey over the past 8 years has been one for the books. Having the opportunity of not only seeing it but living it first hand along with him has been an experience of its own. We’re a close family…. the relationship between my parents, brothers and myself is like cookies and milk. We complete each other, for real. His journey has been our journey because it meant giving up time from home, reconfiguring finances, volunteering for multiple activities and most importantly putting our personal experiences out in the opened for everyone to see… or, speaking honestly, to be judged.

We’ve worked to the point of extreme exhaustion. We’ve gone out on a limb and incurred costs that we had no idea how we would cover. We’ve cried and questioned results. We’ve even felt like giving up because being told that ministry life is not a “real job” and a waste of time can be a hard pill to swallow. The sweat & sore muscles sure have felt like hard work to me. However, I understand that this is the downside part of the journey that cannot outweigh the incredibly amazing part. So we keep going….. or really, we encourage my dad to keep going.

This week brought another one of those wonderful moments that make the journey worth-while. After literally years of prayer, patiently waiting and with the help of the church leaders that assist my dad in every way, we will now have a new church building to work out of right in our home town. Having a secure and reliable location to host events and outreaches for the many families who could use a helping hand and encouragement is extremely important and not easy to come across so this is major and obviously calls for a happy dance (oh yes, a Pastor can definitely bust out some dance moves)

Alternating my weekends between shooting weddings and helping at events pretty much ensures that the days of sleeping in are over, coffee and I will become one and days off will be something I vicariously live through Facebook. These must be the perks of not quitting after 8 years though… my dad will have employees who work for Chipotle burritos and Starbucks! Oh, and obviously his own personal photographer

Even though this is a big step and will require lots of planning, I couldn’t be more excited to see everything come together. I know amazing things will continue to happen in my parents lives and it is a privilege to help in any way.

So here’s to finding the strength to keep climbing those stairs…. because toned legs are totally in right now

NOT-SO-BABIES ON THE BRAIN….

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Crystal Nicole

These days it feels like most of my weekends are solely for photography use. Whether it’s a Wedding, Engagement or Lifestyle shoot, meeting with fellow photographers, or simply spending the day hidden away at home working off my laptop, this dream of mine sure is demanding. Even more so than my dog….. and for a pup who has a better wardrobe than I do that says a lot.

I totally have a social life too though, seriously.

This weekend was one of those rare occasions when I put down the camera, closed the laptop and stepped outside to attempt at helping with a Baby Shower for a friend. Now, among the many things that my best friends and I have in common is that we are all child-less. Being 26yrs old and in an age group where it seems like everyone around us has kids, or is having kids, we are perfectly dandy with not being moms right now. We figure that between missing our dog grooming appointments to having to leave work early for forgetting to feed our turtles, it’s just not our time for children. This doesn’t mean that I don’t think about it sometimes, because I do - especially now that I know that skinny jeans and sparkly Toms are available in infant size! I mean, according to my life plan at 18yrs old I should have been married right now with at least one little one. However, the fact that I can’t help but swoon over the Baby Gap store isn’t exactly justification for baby talk right now…. so I’m definitely more than okay that my “life plan” didn’t exactly work out the way that I thought. I’m living out an even better plan filled with experiences, friendships and accomplishments that I could have never dreamed of. Holla!

So as much of a blessing and beautiful gift that I believe kids are I’m really glad that I don’t feel that pressure or feel like I’m ”running out of time”. Another plus? My parents don’t seem to be in a rush to be grandparents either…. with my dad’s regular use of street slang and my mom’s Twilight loving heart I think their grand-parenting can wait a while.

The Baby Shower on Sunday was a success and I can’t wait to meet our friend’s new baby girl! If ever they need a babysitter I would be more than happy to take charge for a few hours…. but for now the only little one in my life will be my dog

Happy Monday!

WITH THIS WEBSITE….

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Crystal Nicole

Arriving at Starbucks before a mad rush. Finding that pair of sunglasses I thought I lost. Waking up in the morning and realizing that I still have one hour left before my alarm clock goes off….

All of these occurrences are awesome in my book. But this next one? Well, it pretty much feels like all of the above combined! Yes…. it’s my hard labor, sleep deprivation, anxiety, excitement, hopes and dreams all wrapped in one.

My website is live!

Head on over to Crystal-Nicole.com and take a look around….

I never thought I would see the end of the website-building tunnel. Every word, every photo and every detail was hand-picked by me so the pressure was seriously being felt….

Perhaps I did go a wee bit over board with starting over 3 times…. but that’s the “detail oriented” side of me. We’ve already established that I’m not picky

Confession: I’ve viewed the galleries about a hundred times. For real! Because they aren’t simply galleries…. this is my journey. Every photo brings a flood of memories and feelings. I remember exactly what was happening in those moments….. whether it was at a park with a family, or by the beach at a wedding, or the time I was miserably lost while looking for a location, or the time I almost fell in front of the entire bridal party….. all of these moments have led me to this. To where I am today - which by the way, still seems serial – of being able to publish a website.

A very big thank you to all who have contributed in making this possible! Whether you are in a photo, gave me the opportunity to take the photo, read a blog post, commented, followed through social media, I truly appreciate every single one of you.

Feel free to join me as I rock out to 90′s music and dance my heart out. Clearly this is what happens at victory parties. HEEYYY!!

OVERWHELMED vs. OVERCOME…

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Crystal Nicole

I suffer from what I like to refer to as “extreme attention to detail”…. society, on the other hand, would call it being Nitpicky. I think it’s safe to say that we’ll just agree to disagree on what to label it. Nonetheless, this attribute (slash curse) of mine has the power to hit my inner most core, grab hold of my soul and create anxiety to the point where I devour a bag of chocolate covered pretzels in one sitting. I dare not kid about this….

Really, there is no pattern as to what sets off this extreme need to have everything perfect. It happens at any time….. the file labels on a folder were stuck on a millimeter crooked… the font size of a document I’m typing are both 12 and 14….. the papers on my desk aren’t disbursed in even stacks…. I scooped up guacamole on my chip with one too many tomato bits… it’s anything and my photography work is currently getting the short end of the stick. I yearn to enter the world of Wedding Photography with my best high-heeled foot forward so with my new website design, putting together my first online magazine, rebranding my contracts, collections, marketing kits, etc. the “detailed oriented” tendencies seems to slow down the process. Then comes that overwhelmed feeling. Enter chocolate covered pretzels…

Initially I wanted to have all of this ready at the beginning of the year, so the fact that we are now at the end of the month has me praying for time to S-L-O-W-D-O-W-N and let me catch up. Determined to not feel defeated and outdone by the clock I grabbed an extra cup of coffee this week and focused on completing one item at a time…. and first up to bat was my website. This deserves a major HOLLA! Really though.

Being a one-woman show doesn’t alleviate the situation at all but having accomplished one of my many goals feels incredible and helps me believe that my To Do List can and will be done….. however, at this point it would be nice to have some help and fortunately I’ve been approached by a volunteer. She goes by the name of “Mom” and she works for pedicures. Obviously I would be crazy not to hire her

The new website will go live this week so expect an excited post soon!

Happy Thursday!

DECISIONS & A NEW WEBSITE….

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Crystal Nicole

I gripped the plastic card in my hand tightly. Eyes pinched closed. Right foot tapping feverishly on the floor. “Your total today comes out to $237.43… will that be cash or credit?” As I handed my card to the young lady across the counter at Forever 21 I inadvertently made the decision to invest in what was best for me, whether everyone else agreed or not. After 2 years of brewing lattes and blending frappuccinos at a coffee shop I was ready to embrace being 20 years old and set out to find a full-time office job. You know, be all corporate business woman-y. For this I would need dress clothes that were presentable and appropriate for an office job because, really, who would take me seriously in my American Eagle faded jeans, T-shirt and Converse? Exactly. So as scary as it was for me to spend an entire paycheck on clothes & shoes at Forever 21 (yes, with my minimum wage pay of $6.75 an hour, this was an entire paycheck) I went with my gut and went through with the decision, immediately followed by hours and hours of job hunting & resume sending…. “Credit, please.”

Three weeks later I interviewed and was hired at my first full-time job, wearing my dress pants, cardigan top and pointed-toe heels

Were there other, more logical & necessary items that I could have used my money for? Sure. I had a laptop that needed repairs. I could have enrolled in a college class. I could have even purchased furniture for my bedroom that at the time consisted of a bed and hand-me-down desk. None of these areas seemed as important to me though… and what other’s felt to be a typical young girl move to irresponsibly spurge on clothes, it was just the confidence booster and motivation I needed to hang the coffee apron and step into the unknown. Did I really just justify shopping? Yes, indeed I did

Real moment coming…. for the first few months of photography I did photo shoots for free. Why? Because expecting compensation for an hours worth of shooting with 3 decent photos to show for it is just crazy talk! But as time passed and I more or less knew what I was doing the paid photo shoots started rolling in (Whoa, I know!) Having a full-time job at the same time allowed me to save the earnings, which I fully plan on putting right back into my business. Now that I am able to invest and expand a little, the more obvious choice would be to purchase photography equipment…. upgrade my camera, buy an amazing lens, get some off camera lighting…. but again, I went with my gut and invested in the area that I felt was right for me: My Website.

With the availability to rent all the photography equipment I need, I feel confident in the decision to hold off for a few months and instead create a website that I am proud of. This online presence is the first impression I’m giving so if it’s not something that I am proud of then it needs to change. If I would pass over my own website, why would I expect potential brides to stay and browse around? My goal is to present and deliver something that I myself would invest in so moving one step forward in that direction has me as giddy as a 5yr old at Disneyland

The entire process is exhausting and tedious…. but with every word written, every image uploaded and every link embedded a dance party commences. A real dance party…. with the robot dance moves and all.

By this time next week I will have already cut the imaginary bow around my new website and I have faith that good things will follow. New opportunities, new adventures and another chapter in a so far beautiful journey. If all else fails, at least my mom will have something bookmarked on her iPad to parade around Heeyy!

Here’s a sneak peek of the new look….

Happy Thursday!!

Crystal Nicole Blog

Category Archives: Personal