Posts Tagged ‘wedding photography costs’

Rhonda and Adam were married on 7/25/09

At first it looked liked we would have some rain. We were ready for anything – rain, sunshine and winds. As it turned out we had a little bit of all during the formals that we captured before the ceremony.  Many couples do not want to see each other before the ceremony because of preference of because of some old tale about bad luck. This couple wanted to have lots of pictures to choose from but did not want their guests to wait too long for them between the ceremony and their reception because they wanted a lot of pictures.

The way we approach this is to have a “private” meeting between the groom and the bride so that they can see each other for the first time. This is a perfect time for us to have our cameras ready to capture the expressions that come from this meeting. Having 2 professional photographers gives you the ability to see the expressions of the bride and the groom as they happen, having 1 photographer limits you on what can be captured.

Great formals, great ceremony (first time we photographed a Mennonite ceremony),  and great reception (first time we saw a “dash for the cash” instead of a dollar dance).  Before we left we noticed the moon above the reception hall, and suggested a few last pictures to the couple – they loved it.

The title of this post is accurate (as far as I can tell). More times then not, we are at a wedding where something does not go quite as planned. As far as I could see being at Julie and Kevin’s wedding yesterday – things went pretty much as planned. I would attribute this to Julie and Kevin’s planning more then a year from their wedding day and retaining wedding professionals so far in advance that they selected ones that were dependable and would come through on their wedding day.

Here are a list of the Wedding Professionals that they used:

Limo – Thomas Limousine
The driver was VERY prepared for some small instances. Groom got his shoe muddy, driver was there with wet wipes and took care of the shoe. Drive was great, she warned us of potential rough spots in the road. Great JOB!!

DJ – The DJ Crew
We have worked at a few weddings with these guys, several different members of The DJ Crew, and they are always spot on with their music. Right level, and just the right song choice. Another great JOB!

Reception Hall & Catering – St. Joe’s Family Center
This is our second time at this reception hall, and we were impressed again. Food was great, service was spot on and everyone was friendly. Again, great JOB!

Photographers – well that was us of course.
And we did a wonderful job as well. Julie and Kevin (plus the bridal party) were game for pretty much anything. We had such a fun time with Julie, Kevin and their friends that we will be talking about this wedding for many years to come. Here are a few teaser pictures.

Thank you for selecting us to be a part of your wedding day.

One of our upcoming weddings will be Rhonda and Adam’s wedding in July. Like most of our couples, we like photographing our couples prior to the wedding day so that we can get an idea on how they will photograph. This also gives the couple a chance to see how we photograph, so that nothing is a mistery on their wedding day.

This image was captured in front of the school that they both work at. Rhonda is a teacher and Adam takes care of the grounds as well as other aspects of school maintenance. The sign was modified, in Photoshop, to make it look like their name and wedding date was on the sign at the time of capturing the image.

Lynn and Chris will be married on October 17, 2009. I had the chance to photograph their engagement portraits at the Buttler Rodman Museum, at the Youngstown University, where they will be hosting their friends and family members during their reception. What an amazing place to photograph at and what a great couple to photograph.

After Lynn looked at our latest revision of her enagement album online, she and her fiance live outside of Washington, DC – so travelling back and forth to our studio is not that practical. The internet is how we have been in contact with Lynn and also how we are displaying her portraits to her. No need to make an appointment with our studio – she just takes a look online when she gets a minute.

Lynn’s comments regarding her engagement album were:
Love it!!!!
Once again… thank you, thank you!!!!!

Again we are thrilled that our couples LOVE their images and LOVE the album that we have designed for them. Making our couples happy is what we are all about.

Here are a couple of images from the album that Nicole worked on for Lynn and Chris couple.

We met Alishia and Seth at a local bridal show, and at first they were thinking of getting married in California. When they asked us to photograph their wedding, they changed their minds and decided to get married at Kelley’s Island, near Put-In-Bay in Ohio. Well now that its closer to their wedding date – we will be photographing in sunny California. Specifically we will be on Santa Catalina Island at the Catalina Canyon Resort. Their intimate ceremony will take place on the beach near the resort with their family and closest friends.

The portraits that we capture from this wedding will be amazing, and we will have so many areas to choose from to capture their wedding day portraits.

Here are some images of the couple that we captured when we were at Kelley’s Island in September of 2008. We took a day to go to the island, look around and find where they were suppose to get married.

We photographed Jenn and Stephen’s wedding on June 13, 2006. They were married in Polk, OH and had their reception at the Diamond Event Center and just sent Jenn a link to her slideshow so that she could take a quick look at the images that we captured from her special day.

Their ceremony was early and their reception was around supper time, which meant that we had lots of time to go around and have some fun and romantic portraits of Jenn & Stephen.

What was the bride’s reaction to seeing her slideshow just over 2 weeks after her wedding? Here is what she said in an email to us:
OMG!!!! BEAUTIFUL I WAS CRYING!!!! I can’t wait to see the other photos!!!!! Thank you both so very much…

This is the reaction that we want to get from all of our wedding couples. We make certain that the entire wedding party is taking care off. From the Tide To Go (Stain removal pen), sewing kit, water & sports drinks to Licorice for the kids (big and small) in the wedding party. The idea is to keep the wedding party content and not to loose anyone that is going to get something and not be in the picture.

Here are a couple of images from their wedding.

Their slideshow can be found at this link (a small driver will install – it is not spam):
Jenn & Stephen’s Slideshow

Weddings are such a huge step to take in one’s life, and hopefully this will be a one time event for anyone that goes through all the planning and preparations for their wedding day to be unique and a moment that will last them a lifetime.

As photographers, we are there to help our couples remember those special memories with our trained eye, and have those moments captured with our cameras. Too often we hear couples say that they made a mistake in selecting a family member to photograph their wedding, or that it was one area of their wedding day which they should have spent
a little bit more time, and sometimes money, when it came to hiring a photographer.

Recently, the Canton Repository ran an article that dealt with a local wedding photographer that was commissioned to photograph several weddings, received money to photograph and give portraits, Cd(s), album and other items to the couples that she photographed and has yet to fulfill her contracted duties. This article appeared in the June 17, 2009 paper – click here to read the article in full.

Excerpt from the Canton Repository (Start)
‘IT’S MY WEDDING DAY’

They said they hired [photographer] for their August wedding near Columbus after seeing one of her online advertisements.
…
[Bride] said she tried contacting [photographer] by phone, e-mail, Facebook, MySpace, registered mail and had an attorney send a letter. About three months ago, she got some pictures on a CD, but they were not print quality as promised, she said.
…
“For me, obviously, it’s not about the money. It’s 500 bucks, whatever, but it’s my wedding day,” [Bride] said.
Excerpt from the Canton Repository (End)

We regret to hear that the many brides mentioned in the article are out their wedding memories. There are many great Professional Wedding Photographers out there, and this article should not reflect on Wedding Photographers as a group. When it comes time to select a photographer for your wedding, you should be very critical on who will capture and quickly deliver those memories to you.

If these brides had spent some time researching their wedding photographer, spent a little bit more money on an established Wedding Professional – they would have been out some extra time and some extra money. As it stands now they are out money and most importantly their Wedding Day Memories. Even if they recover their portraits from their day – what kind of emotions will be associated with those images?

What should be some of the first things that you look for in a Wedding Photographer? Drop us a line and we can send you a guide that will help you on your way to a stress free wedding day, and hopefully to captured memories that will be enjoyed for many generations to come.