Archive for the ‘Weddings’ Category

Wedding Image Sneak Peek

As photographers,  we are always searching for unique moments and we have been fortunate that each wedding we have attended always gives us something new to capture for our couples. We photographed a wedding this weekend that fit the bill of being unique.

A little bit about the groom and bride and their wedding party

Allison is a becoming a EMT paramedic and Duane is a volunteer fire fighter. So what did they do to make their images a little bit more unique? They included Fire Fighters in their wedding party – actually all of the groomsmen as well as the groom were part of one fire department, which gave us access to one of their fire trucks – that spelled picture opportunities for us.

The ceremony was great, family portraits were done outside in 92F + weather (no one melted) and then it was time to play with the firetruck.

Here is a sneak peek of a few images from their wedding day.

If you were at Allison and Duane’s wedding, or you are relatives, and would like to be contacted when their images are ready for viewing – send us a note and we will email you a link to their images when they are up on a private gallery.

Allison and Duane – enjoy your honeymoon and congratulations your marriage. Thank you for having us be a part of your wedding day.

Do you remember when you were a little girl? Think back. You used to spend hours with your dolls and stuffed animals, talking to them, dreaming with them, creating wonderful childhood memories. You would dress Barbie and Ken in their wedding clothes. Barbie had the dress of your dreams, adorned in beads and lace. Bear was the preacher and when you placed him in front of the couple, all of the dolls and stuffed animals became quiet. The wedding was just as perfect as Ken and Barbie were.

Reality is that you were already planning your own perfect wedding, all you had to do was find your ‘Ken’. Years later, and a few adjustments to your dream, you are finally there, planning the wedding for real. You have finally found your ‘Ken’.

Everything is going great. The plans are coming together nicely. You are having your ceremony in the church you grew up in and your favorite minister will be performing the nuptials. The reception hall is booked and you have decided on a sit down dinner with the choice of either chicken or beef. You have found your photographer and have had your engagement pictures taken. You have decided to display your favorite image at the reception. You and ‘Ken’ look so blissful in the pictures. The guests are going to be so happy for you.

Or maybe you aren’t a traditional girl. Instead of the church and reception hall, your dream is white sand and tropical breezes with your family and some close friends.

Now that everything is in place, all the contracts signed, travel booked, dress chosen and you have your favorite songs gathered for the DJ, you can settle back and enjoy the rest of your engagement. You can continue to blissfully daydream about what the future holds for you and your ‘Ken’. You can prepare for spending forever together. Right?

As photographers, we have had the pleasure of photographing memories in both of the above situations. The bride’s dreams were realized and everything went pretty much as they had planned. Both ‘Barbie’ and ‘Ken’ were able to enjoy their day with the utmost joy and happiness.

Sometimes, though, dreams can take a wrong turn and become nightmares.

What would happen if a few months or even weeks before the wedding date, something has seemed to change between you and ‘Ken’? All of a sudden he begins bickering about the details that had long since been looked after. Maybe he just isn’t around as often as he once was.

Then he goes and does it! He calls off the wedding. He is telling you that he found someone else and just doesn’t think it would work between the two of you.

What is there for ‘Barbie’ to do? You have just been crushed by the man that you had been planning your forever with, and of course you are miserable. All of the plans you have been making are shattered. Everything that you have hoped for is gone, in an instant.

After the initial shock wears off, you suddenly realize something: you had signed all of the contracts for your wedding day and now you are the one who will be responsible for them. The amounts you owe are all varying, because of the cancellation clauses in those contracts. Therefore, you may still be owing hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to these businesses through no fault of your own, or theirs.

I know a situation like this sounds like someone’s worst nightmare, and thank goodness that it is rare. It does happen though. As a professional, I have seen it happen to a few clients of mine over the last seven years. It is a horrible feeling for us because we have usually had the opportunity to get to know the couples fairly well, and also come to know their story to some degree.

I decided to write this article now because it is currently happening to one of my clients. It was a very abrupt circumstance, and she didn’t see it coming. The couple in question had been together for quite a number of years, and this sudden change came as quite the shock.

I began to wonder if there was any way to help prevent the financial burden that is left in the wake of a terrible situation such as this, and also what information I would want to know if I were to find myself with the need to plan a wedding again. So I got on line and went to Google. I searched for “wedding insurance and cold feet” and found out, surprisingly enough,that there are at least four companies that now offer this type of insurance. It’s purpose is to help protect couples ‘just in case.’ There are also many plans out there that will cover almost any other conceivable reason for canceling or postponing the wedding. The cost for these plans begins at $150 and goes up, depending on the amount and size of the wedding.

I know many may be reading this and rolling your eyes thinking, “I have already spent so much money. Why should I raise my expenses even more?’. While I understand your reservations, I respond to them by saying: because unexpected things happen in life. It is always better to protect yourself than to be left thousands of dollars in debt because of something that is above and beyond control.

Think about it this way, if it makes more sense to you. We have to buy car insurance when we purchase a car, although you may never need it. However, one day, your car may be innocently parked in a driveway when disaster strikes, say, in the form of a tree falling on it. That very insurance that you’ve paid is there to write the damage off.. How would you feel if you instead had to choose between absorbing the cost of repair work on the vehicle, or having to send it off to the junk yard and getting a new car, while strapped with the responsibility of paying loans on both?

As anyone who has ever had a car accident can tell you, insurance can often be the only support that truly gets you through a difficult time. And as a car is an investment, so is your wedding day. So why not do your best to protect it, as well as to protect the money you’ve put into it? As professionals, we are not looking to take advantage of our clients, as many may assume. By providing you with a little information, we hope to assist you in guaranteeing that you protect your investment in professional wedding services, be they caterers, reception halls, or photographers. After all, not every fairy tale can end with a “happily ever after.

Contact us and we can help you attain the dream wedding that you deserve.

Looking back at some of the images that we have captured during the summer, it seems hard to believe that we are waiting for snow to start flying.

That aside, its never too late to have some outdoor images captured – plus our studio is nice and warm to capture those important steps in one’s family history. Children grow up so fast, and go away on their own to make their way in life – a family portrait is a great way to freeze a moment in life. Wall portraits always make a great gift for your family. Get a hold of us to schedule your session before Christmas comes and goes.

We photographed Kayla and Justin’s wedding a few weeks ago, and after they have had  a chance to look over their pictures, we post them on our site to share with others.

Their day started off as most wedding days do – the bride and groom show up to the church and they start getting ready for their day. Having the advantage of being a couple wedding photography company, we offer our couples something different then a single wedding photographer. Nicole can be with the bride, and Bruce can follow the groom around to create portraits before the ceremony. Not only does this offer a different vantage point because we have 2 cameras capturing images – but its something that the brides appreciate because Nicole can be there to help out.

This was another amazing wedding and we were grateful to be a small part of Kayla and Justin’s start of their new live together.

Congrats Kayla & Justin.

Here is their slideshow, which contains a select number of portraits.

Here are Janell and Courtney Begue’s wedding images.

The day started as any wedding would – ladies getting ready and the men just hanging around. Things changed quickly when we were ready to have portraits done – the guys were ready and the ladies were not too far behind. Everyone was looking at the weather, as rain was being predicted for the day. The ceremony was held outside and they had an indoor reception. This worked out perfectly as the rain held off till we starting photographing family images in the gazebo.

Janell and Courtney were surrounded by their family and friends and had a great day to be married. The ceremony was great, the balloon release was something to see and the reception hall was decorated amazingly. The food, finger food and their cake + cupcakes for the guests were also amazing.

Janell & Courtney – thank you for allowing us to share in your wedding day.

Their Slideshow

Ashley and James were married September 18, 2010.

Why do we love weddings? We get to capture such a special day in a couple’s life. Getting married, being around loved ones and also wearing those fancy outfits (including the photographer) happens every once in a while and it’s great that we can be there to capture those memories for our couples. By the end of the night, the vows have been said, the environmentally friendly rice has been thrown, the food has been eaten, the cake was eaten, and the dances were danced – and we were there to capture it.

And the most rewarding of capturing a couple’s wedding is the great comments that we receive immediately after they have seen their images. Knowing that we captured a couple’s wedding day and that they love their images is such a great feeling.

Ashley and James – congrats and many happy years.

Here is their slideshow.

It seems like this was the week for engagement sessions at our studio. Janell and Courtney came with children and parents to take care of their children while we were photographing them as a couple. Everyone had a great time, including our daughter as she came to help us out – our junior assistant. While we were photographing Janell and Courtney our junior assistant was there to play with Janell’s children.  So Courtney’s parents were there to surpervise the children – and they thought that it was great that we had a junior assistant to help with their grandchildren.

It was great to see a blended family come together and really get into this engagement session. The session was extremely relaxed, and everyone had a great time while being photographed. We went to the JFK Memorial Gardens near McKinley monument where we captured some nice images of the family and of the soon to wed couple.

September 11, 2010 will be coming soon, and I am certain that the wedding will be great for all attending, because we had so much fun during their engagement session and I am certain that it will be the same during their wedding day. Cannot wait to capture memories on your wedding day.

This was a unique area to have an engagement session – Janell likes butterflies, so this backdrop was perfect choice.

While walking around the JFK garden in Canton, we thought this would be a unique spot for a portrait.

We are getting very busy photographing lots and lots of engagement sessions.

Kayla and Justin will be getting married this September, and they came to our studio to have their engagement session done. At first Justin was a little shy, not really – he thought that he was there to make the pictures look GOOD. Well he certainly added to the photo session, exactly what I am still scratching my head at. And of course I am completely pulling Justin’s leg – he did a great job, and being half of the couple that is needed to do engagement photos, he is extremely important to the session. Plus he is needed for the wedding as well – Kayla needs someone to kiss after she says “I DO”.

And some people think that Hockey is the only sport that has a boxing match break out from it. They were fighting on who would get the comfortable chair in front of the TV to watch a Browns game.

Kayla and Justin – I had a blast with you guys, and the carpet cleaned up well (inside information). Nicole and I cannot wait for your wedding day – I know we will be thrown a long pass, and we will be there for the catch and to spike the ball after the touchdown.

Jessica and Matt tied the knot a few weeks ago. We had a little bit of rain on that day, but there is a saying “a Wet Knot is a tighter Knot”. Jessica and Matt were married, they had a great reception and we captured many images that they will charish for years to come.

The slideshow below is just a handfull of images that were captured that day.

Congrats Jessica and Matt – thank you for allowing us to share in your special day.

This Saturday is the BIG DAY for Jessica and Matt. When Matt proposed to Jessica, she did not hesitate to contact us to see if we were available for their wedding day and we were honored to have been selected to photograph their wedding. Capturing portraits during several engagement sessions with them was great as we had the opportunity to meet Matt and see how he would be in front of our cameras. We already knew Jessica from a few years back – we photographed her mother’s wedding and Jessica has worked with us as an assistant on several weddings.

The images below are table favors that we provided them, with images from their engagement session. Everyone loves pictures, and why not have something for the couple to share with their guests. Plus the guests will have our website information readily available so that they can look over images from Jessica & Matt’s wedding once we have them posted online.