If you've never commissioned artwork before, the process can feel intimidating. How do you choose a photo? What should you expect? How much input do you have? And how do you find the right artist? This guide will walk you through everything you need to know.

As a live wedding painter, I'm constantly thinking about composition, color, atmosphere, and storytelling. Certain venues naturally provide incredible backdrops that elevate the final painting and help create a true heirloom piece. If you're searching for a Columbus Ohio wedding venue and are considering hiring a live wedding painter, these are five venues that consistently stand out to me.

The artists I studied in Florence weren't simply documenting the world around them, but also selecting the moments that felt the most pertinent to them to memorialize forever. They were making choices about what mattered most. That's exactly what I do when creating a live wedding painting.

Whether you're planning a wedding in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dayton, Toledo, Athens, or anywhere else in Ohio, here are five artists I confidently recommend whenever I can't take on a project myself.

In fact, some of the most unforgettable weddings I've attended as a live wedding painter had one thing in common: They felt intentional. The couple thoughtfully invested in experiences that encouraged connection, celebration, and joy. So whether you're a newly engaged couple planning your dream day or a wedding planner searching for fresh wedding reception ideas, here are five ways to make your wedding reception fun, meaningful, and memorable.

A custom wedding painting allows couples to transform a meaningful photograph into a one-of-a-kind piece of fine art. But does that make it better than photography? Absolutely not! The truth is that wedding photos and wedding portrait paintings serve very different purposes. Let's talk about why.

Eventually many couples find themselves asking: "What can I give them that actually feels meaningful?" As someone who spends her days transforming memories into artwork, I'd like to gently suggest an answer: A custom portrait painting. Because unlike many gifts, a portrait painting doesn't simply celebrate a person. It celebrates a story.

As a professional artist who has spent over a decade creating commissioned artwork for clients across the country, I'd like to pull back the curtain a bit and walk you through the process. By the end of this guide, you'll know exactly what to expect when commissioning a custom portrait painting—and hopefully feel excited rather than overwhelmed.