Wedding Anniversaries | Silver

The traditional and modern gift suggestion for the 25th wedding anniversary is silver... Well of course, it IS the silver anniversary and all!

Today is my parents 25th wedding anniversary. Twenty five years ago TODAY my mom walked down the aisle at the church they currently attend and my dad was there waiting for her. Just a few feet from where we sit every Sunday in church. I know as a bride I was more concerned with getting married somewhere that would look pretty (we didn't) but then I would think about how my parents are going to that same church. Two years ago we were even there for Sunday services on their anniversary. We had originally hoped to throw them a surprise party at that church this past weekend or the next. But you know how it is, we got busy and didn't really have a bunch of money to throw at a party.

My mother recently (finally) found out she has a lot of food allergies which makes it almost impossible to go out to eat. So instead of giving them a gift card to Olive Garden (she's G-free now) or Max and Erma's, we made them a meal for two and took my brothers to Cici's Pizza. I had planned on taking pictures, but it didn't end up being a pretty meal. I don't know how restaurants make salmon and rice look so pretty, and I don't care to learn! They absolutely loved it and watched a movie alone while we kept the boys occupied. Window shopping at Target is a blast when you do it with some of your favorite people.

Today I am thankful my parents met that fateful night at the Nightlight near the Meadows. And that they had a whirlwind romance... and show me a loving, happy marriage every day. (sometimes too much...)

Congratulations on 25 years Mom and Dad! Here's to many MANY more.

N&J | Squaw Valley Park Engagement Pictures

They always say love will fall into your lap when you stop looking and I can definitely attest to that! A lot of my couples met when they weren't trying to find someone. I think every time before you go somewhere with your friends you should tell them you don't want to meet anybody, you just want to have fun. Thank me after you meet the love of your life!

These two pretty much met like that. They met while hanging out with mutual friends right after telling them they just wanted to hang out and have fun that night, not go out and meet people. You can tell they are head over heels for each other and we had a blast. I've never seen a guy smile so much without me having to say something ridiculous. I can't wait for their wedding next summer!

Squaw Valley Park has so much to offer for pictures with out being to big to walk around. The only way it could have been better was if the fountain was still on. I hope to do a lot more at this park.

Pittsburgh Weddings | A Quick Stop at Starbucks

On my wedding day I made sure I had my coffee, but it was purchased before I ever got dressed. With the cold and dreary day we had yesterday, that first cup wasn't enough. I should have known we would stop at Starbucks in Moon Township on our way back from getting some pictures. I covered my first car's floor mats in a lovely chai and white mocha mix getting this particular bride (and myself of course) coffee a few years ago. The things we do for coworkers... So the lovely limo driver stopped for us while the bridal party, limo driver and I got Starbucks and the boys got fries at McDonald's. Seriously an amazing pit stop and the people there LOVED it. So you know I just had to take a few shots of the rings...

I seriously took a million shots, I couldn't get enough.

Just a few different shots, I couldn't pick one favorite!

Now I want a pumpkin spice latte. I've got a lot to edit so there should be a couple more posts this week!

Boyce Park | Engagement Pictures

They met through friends, and had their first date at the Waterfront to see a movie. We've all been on that movie date. You don't have to talk once the previews are over so there isn't much pressure. Obviously something clicked. I'll never forget when Amber told me they were engaged, it was during a fire drill! (My favorite thing to do at work) Her ring was gorgeous and I knew they would be happy together. I had met Jason once before, but it was because we ran into eachother at show for a band I used to take picutres for. I didn't even remember he wore glasses when we met up for their engagement pictures. Just three weeks ago we had unseasonably warm weather and a cloudless sky that made it hard to get pictures with out weird lighting. And today, for their wedding, I am looking out my office window at a bunch of snow we should not be having. You'd think the two days were seasons apart! Hopefully the snow brings you both lots of luck in your marriage, I can't wait to see you in a couple hours.



Rebranding | Justina Mikalik Photography

I am rebranding now that I am married and it is a very involved process! I have an engagement session to post here and two weddings. I will have another engagement session this Saturday as well, so I am one busy bee! The old Facebook page at Justina M Photography will be shut down once the new one at Justina Mikalik | Photography  is completely loaded with pictures and most of the fans are switched over. Thank you for bearing with me through this process! I will be taking some family sessions for the holidays starting this month and with them you get a free personalized holiday card file that you can print or order prints through me! Please contact me for pricing. Now I have to get back to uploading to Facebook, blogs about the recent wedding will be coming this week!

Jonathan and Katie- Happy Anniversary!

This is two weeks late, but it's still exciting to think of the anniversaries that have just passed and are shortly coming up for the couples who let me be a part of their special days last year. It is also getting so much closer to my own! I haven't been on for a while because we have been getting things set up to move in together and I just had my bridal shower, but I wanted to get on and share these really quickly. I just visited and was looking at the pictures they chose to put up around their homes and noticed a rather large black and white canvas on their wall of a landscape. I think I might have to do that with wedding pictures for my new office I will have in about a week! I will post pictures once it is all set up. Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend and thanks to all our troups out there past and present!

Color Enhancements

I've seen a lot of photographer's offering photograph editing. If you would like editing of pictures please contact me and we can figure something out! This blog post focuses on a particular type of photo editing, Color Enhancements! I love making colors pop and this is one of the first things I did when we got our first photo editing program when I was in middle school. These pictures are examples of pictures that work well with color enhancements. I would use your digital camera files or scans to create these for you. The first two pictures are from scans of 4x6 prints. A couple of the pictures are from a one megapixel camera (the dinosaur and the stained glass), the rest are from a digital SLR. Any file can be used for a color enhancement, the original resolution would determine how big of a print you can get with the files. Please contact me with what you would like to have done and we can get started right away. The second picture I have added is one that has won me multiples awards, it was also with a one megapixel camera and has been uploaded without having the resolution altered for the blog. (For comparison, my PHONE takes 3 megapixel pictures and just 10 years ago when I got the one megapixel camera and took these pictures, phones had no camera! Always amazes me.)

Easter Weekend

So I have a few more weddings from last year to post blog boards for but I have been working on getting the rest of the site set up so you don't have to contact me for pricing. This is a really busy week for me because there is A LOT of church to go to the week of Easter! If you're new to the Greensburg area and your are looking for a Catholic church to go to I would HIGHLY recommend the Church of Saint Paul. It's a very welcoming parish and is where my wedding will be this July. In the mean time, here's one of my favorite Easter pictures and hopefully later today more wedding pictures. (It's so hard to pick a few favorite pictures from the weddings I do!)

Nothing to see here... Kids are the greatest!

Making the best of wedding day woes

You'd never know it, but the lights went out at my friend Melissa's wedding. Luckily she had the most amazing DJ who hooked up his equipment to his car and the restaurant just cooked everything on a grill.

She had originally planned on having the ceremony outdoors but it had to be moved inside to a very gorgeous room. Some what luckily for me pictures were not allowed during the ceremony, if they had been I don't know where I would have taken them from with out blocking everyone's view. The room was so little and intimate, it made the ceremony so amazing especially once the lights went out and the windows provided our only light. Sometimes Mother Nature is so romantic.

So now for the advice part. Melissa had an AMAZING back up plan and if you are planning on getting married outside it is probably one of the most important things you can discuss with your venue. I personally made sure to purchase a camera that works well below freezing and has a water resistant body and lenses so I will be there rain, shine or snow!

Using your engagement pictures for "Save the Date" cards

My engagement pictures are going to be very close to my wedding, but the day after we were engaged I took pictures specifically for our save the date postcards. As well as taking your first pictures as an engaged couple, I can help you design a save the date card that matches your wedding colors or showcases your proposal! I offer mini-sessions best for immediately after engagement so we can get pictures for your newspaper announcements and save the date cards. Please contact me to schedule a mini-session and get started on an amazing save the date card that's as personal as it gets!

Phipps Conservatory | Engagement Pictures

I love being a wedding photographer in Pittsburgh, there are so many great places to take engagement pictures! Phipps Conservatory is gorgeous year round so it doesn't matter when you get engaged, you don't have to wait for a better season to get your engagement pictures in Pittsburgh. 


Best of all, if you went to the University of Pittsburgh, it's right there! I love having the Cathedral of Learning in the background.