Wedding Day: Where You Get Ready Matters!

If there is one thing that is the most confusing and constantly changes for our brides while planning their wedding, it’s where they plan on getting ready! There are SO many things to think about with getting ready, it’s so easy to get overwhelmed! We remember planning our wedding, and trying to figure everything out before the ceremony was undoubtedly the most tedious part. Since then, we’ve been involved in SO MANY wedding days, and we’ve seen a lot of stuff that works, and a lot of stuff that doesn’t. So for your sanity (and the convenience of your bridal party and wedding professionals!), allow us to offer up some advice to help make your decision about where you’re going to get ready the morning of your wedding that much easier!

1. Connect With an Amazing Planner
First and foremost, you have a lot on your plate already. You’re worrying about dress alterations, ordering your hangers and garters off Etsy, making sure your bridesmaids are ordering their dresses in time, getting invitations and programs ordered, scheduling your engagement photos…the last thing you need to do is worry about timelines! Make sure to connect with a reputable planner. They’ll take on the responsibility of making sure all the right things happen at the right times. We know of a couple of coordinators in the area who are incredible. So if you’re stuck and know you need help, definitely check them out!

Your Perfect Day
Bee For The Day

2. Do Everything in One Location
We cannot stress this one enough! We know it might seem easier to go to the salon the morning of your wedding, but it is actually a LOT easier to have all the hair and makeup come to you. Just make sure to triple check your bag packing so you don’t have to make any emergency trips home, be sure to pack an emergency kit (scissors, tape, tweezers, a crochet hook, ribbon, extra shoes, mints), arrive, and get started! There are LOTS of hair and makeup artists who will travel to you. Like these ladies!

Makeup By Amy Lewis
Beauty By Billie Jo
Jenelle Ahmad

3. Make Sure There is Plenty of Natural Light!
We know it may sound tempting to get ready in the basement of your church. After all…what’s more convenient than being at the same place as your ceremony? However, we can say with confidence that you won’t be nearly as happy with your pictures. Make sure wherever you get ready, there is at LEAST one great window in the location! Not only will your hair and makeup artists thank you, but when we get there, we’ll most likely turn out all the lights and shoot JUST with the window light. Trust us. There is not much that is less flattering than orange lamp light and overhead florescent lights!

4. Spring for the Suite
Hotels are often super convenient to get ready in if your ceremony location doesn’t have a bridal suite. Not only can you be in the same area as the rest of your guests, family, and bridal party (if they’re choosing to stay), but the hotel staff will help you with as much as you need. If you DO get a hotel room, make sure and spend the extra money to get the suite! We all know that when a group of girls get together to get ready, an explosion of makeup and clothing is inevitable. We’re going to NEED that extra space. Not to mention your dress is going to need room to breathe! When you’re shopping around looking for places, one thing to keep your eye out for is light, neutral walls with not a lot of busy patterns or pictures that can’t be taken down. No one wants a picture of giant monkey in their getting ready pictures. 😉

5. Relax!
It’s the morning of your wedding! RELAX and hand over the reins to a friend, family member, or your planner. You don’t need to be stressing about whether or not the EXACT combination of large and small vases are being placed on your tables correctly or not. Train someone to do these little details, and LET GO. And make sure to have fun! This is going to be a day that you’re going to remember forever! You don’t want to look back on those pictures remembering how stressed you were. You want to look at those photos and remember how happy and excited you were about starting your new adventure with the love of your life!

But What Do I Wear!?!? Advice on Your Engagement Session

Allow us to start off by saying we are not fashion experts, nor do we aspire to be.  Lol.  But the number one question we get asked when it comes to engagement sessions is always, “What do you think I should wear?”  And while we are no Stacy London and Clinton Kelly, we DO have an eye for color and how to match them.  You know.  That whole “artist” thing. 😉  Everyone’s personal style is different, and everyone has different colors, patterns, and cuts that look better on them than others, but we’d LOVE to give you a few basic guidelines that can work for anybody who may be stressing on what to wear for their pictures!

1.  Plan on two outfits.
We love it when people mix things up and have a couple of different color palettes to choose from!  We suggest to all of our couples to have a couple of different outfits: one that’s more casual and comparable to what you would wear every day, and one that’s a little more dressy.  Not necessarily super formal, but “going out to a nice dinner together” dressy.  Not only does it allow us to have some variety in your pictures, but it also gives you three stages of dress to decorate your home with!  The casual everyday look, the going out look, and of course, the super formal pictures on your wedding day!

2.  Don’t try to match!
We know this one sounds counterintuitive, but hear us out.  SO many people assume that you have to match for pictures, so if this is you, know that you’re not alone!  If you both show up wearing white shirts and jeans, then you may end up looking like a white and blue blob with two heads.  And no one wants that.  Lol.  Instead, try to pick colors that compliment each other (Like mint and coral, navy and yellow, teal and purple) or choose a palette of three or four colors and mix and match!

3.  Mix solids and patterns.
We are surprised at the amount of people who assume that they should steer clear of patterns for their session.  We LOVE patterns!  It makes the photos interesting, and when they are mixed well and layered with some good standard solids, it’s gorgeous!  It is worth noting, however, to be careful with your patterns.  For example, if you both showed up with plaid tops over solid shirts and blue jeans, it wouldn’t be as interesting as it could be.  Instead, ladies, you could rock out a solid top with a big chunky necklace and a striped maxi skirt, and gents, you could be the one bringing the plaid button up with the solid undershirt.  See how we broke up the pattern?

4.  Accessorize and layer!
We realize that June is quickly approaching, as are the 90 degree days and humidity, so it may be tougher to layer this time of year.  But that doesn’t mean that you can’t accessorize with some awesome nail polish, a pop of color on an undershirt, a bold necklace, bangles, or a super cute belt.  Save the cardigans, flannel, scarves, and boots for the fall. 😉

5.  No logos or writing, please. 🙂
When you have “Abercrombie” or “American Eagle” plastered across your chest, it looks more like an add for those stores rather than your engagement photos. 😉  Besides, the writing can become distracting when half of it gets covered or wrinkled when we pose you.  Then instead of people looking at your picture and saying, “Oh, how sweet!” they’ll be saying, “What did his shirt say?”

6.  Be yourself and be comfortable!
So often in this industry and in your planning journey, you’ll be presented with things that you are “supposed” to do.  You’re “supposed” to send out save-the-dates 8 months in advance.  You’re “supposed” to not see each other before the ceremony.  You’re “supposed” to have menu cards.  You’re “supposed” to do all the traditional dances.  You’re “supposed” to have all matching dresses for your bridesmaids.  But you know what?  This is your wedding.  And if there are things out of the ordinary and traditional that you would like to incorporate, than by all means, you absolutely should!  The same goes with your wardrobe for your engagement photos.  Don’t show up in something that’s uncomfortable or something you would never wear.  Come in something that is YOU and that will look gorgeous in your pictures.

So there you have it.  Our advice on your engagement picture outfits. 🙂  If you still need more inspiration, we send a bridal guide to all of our clients who book with us with some more examples, and you can always check out Stephanie’s Pinterest boards specifically dedicated to engagement session outfits!  Happy planning, happy photo-ing, and as always, if you’re searching for a wedding photographer, we’d love for you to get a hold of us!

First Looks: What They Are & Why You Should Consider One

For a lot of brides, your wedding day is something you’ve dreamed about for a long, long time.  The dress, the centerpieces, the colors…and of course the moment you walk down the aisle and your husband-to-be sees you for the first time.  It’s truly a magical moment!  For most brides and grooms the very thought of seeing each other before the ceremony would never even enter your brain!  It’s not traditional, it doesn’t match the vision you’ve had since you were 12, and it will make that walk down the aisle less special…right? Well, yes and no.  It’s certainly not traditional, and it may not be what you envisioned, but it definitely doesn’t make your walk down the aisle any less special.  If anything, it makes it better!  “What?  Kent…Stephanie…stop.  You’re trying too hard.  You must be joking.”  No way.  We’re dead serious. 😉 Follow along with us and we’ll gladly take you through what a first look is, and why they are so incredible!

1.  What is a first look?
A lot of times when people think of seeing each other before the ceremony, they think of casually getting ready together or nonchalantly approaching one another and just getting all the pictures done for the sake of convenience.  Well, where is the fun in that???  If you choose to see your fiancé before the ceremony, we like to set up a special “first look” for you.  Here’s how it usually works:  Kent will take your groom on a walk and get some pictures of his handsome self while Stephanie gets some pictures of you while your hair and makeup are still fresh.  Kent takes your soon-to-be-hubby to a beautiful spot and has him face away.  Then Stephanie will lead you to the location where you’ll see your groom standing there with his back to you.  We will back away while you tap him on the shoulder and just let the magic happen.

2.  You actually get a moment alone together!
After you tap him on the shoulder, he turns around you two just get to drink each other in with NO ONE else around!  Once we get the reaction shots, we back away and let you guys have a moment ALONE before we start taking romantic portraits of the two of you.  Your wedding day is about you and your husband…and we can’t even count the times we’ve heard couples say that they wish they could just have a moment together!  Without a first look, you simply don’t get one.  When you choose one, we ensure that you get that much needed alone time. 🙂

3.  The pressure is off!
Allow us to paint a picture for you.  Your groom is waiting in a small room in the back of the church.  He’s got no one to keep him company.  The minister is in the sanctuary, the bridal party is all lined up, and he’s just back there.  Waiting.  Thinking.  Palms sweating.  The coordinator finally steps in after what seems like his eternity, and tells him it’s time to step inside.  When he is arrives at the front of the alter, he looks out on 120 guests staring directly at him.  Four or five couples come down the aisle also looking up at him.  And then here it is.  Finally.  The moment of truth…you turn the corner, everyone stands up and as soon as they see how gorgeous you look, they’re all going to stare at his face to see the same thing that you want to see.  A reaction.  Talk about pressure!  When you choose to set up a special first look before the ceremony, THE PRESSURE IS OFF.  We set up your first look, you enjoy each other, we take portraits of you two while you still have those first look butterflies in your tummies, do your bridal party pictures, and then you are free to go into hiding with your fiancé, and your best friends in the world and just relax up until the ceremony.  Then when he sees you coming down the aisle, he doesn’t care about the expectations of all the other faces in the crowd.  All he cares about is seeing you.  And we’ll be honest…often times, the groom’s reaction to his bride coming down the aisle is even BETTER when he’s already seen his wife-to-be!

4.  What is more important to you?  Tradition?  Or a reaction?
Listen, if anyone understands desiring tradition, it’s us!  When we got married, we knew we had an option to see each other before the ceremony and like many other people, we immediately wrote it off without even giving it a second thought.  It wasn’t traditional!  It would make Stephanie’s walk down the aisle much less special!  For those of you who don’t know us well, we’re emotional people.  We had all the makings of an amazing reaction to one another.  And while we’ll forever treasure the pictures and memories we have of that amazing moment, it wasn’t nearly at the potential it could have been.  Kent’s face was precious and so full of love when he saw Stephanie.  But his reaction was a little guarded because he was SO nervous and there were so many guests!  Stephanie could barely look at him because she forgot her hand written wedding vows at home and was trying so hard to remember them.  Had we had that moment alone without all the pressure that a wedding day has, we would have both broken down and had such a special moment.

5.  You end up with so many more pictures!
We have made a vow to ourselves and to our clients that no matter what obstacles the day may bring, we will deliver consistently beautiful images.  Rain, heat, a dress malfunction, running behind schedule…none of these things should effect our ability to do our job the way you expect!  However, let’s be honest.  When a couple decides last minute to have a receiving line after the ceremony so they can individually greet all 250 of their guests when we weren’t initially planning on it is going to cut down on a lot of our originally allotted time we had set aside for your pictures!  And if there’s any part of the day we HATE rushing through, it’s the romantic portraits of the two of you!  Those are SO important!  You two are the reason we (and everyone else!) are there, and if there is going to be a lot of time spent on something it should be those memories right there.  And let’s face it: the longer a day goes on, the more off kilter the schedule can get.  If the ceremony gets delayed a half hour because of rain, a groomsman has a seizure, no one can find the organist, or your guests decide to start a receiving line even though you put in your programs that you weren’t going to have one (and yes…we’ve had ALL of these things happen!), that window of time we’ve set aside for your pictures is going to get smaller and smaller, and your bridal party may get grumpier and grumpier toward us. 😉  If we set aside the hour and a half to two hours we need at the beginning of the day, there is a less chance of snafus causing a delay, your bridal party will be happier, and we like to get additional “just married” pictures of you anyway.  More pictures?  No rushing?  Yes please.  After all, these pictures are the reason you hired us. 😉

6.  It is more courteous to your guests.
Your wedding day is all about YOU.  If you want to have a TARDIS at your reception, then you should.  If you hate traditional music and want to dance down the aisle with your dad to “Forever” then go for it!  The things that happen that day should be a complete reflection of you two.  We’re not in any way saying that you should tailor your day around your guests, but some of them may have traveled a long way to be with you.  Some of them may be missing a day of work to celebrate your new life together.  Maybe in some way or another some of them made a contribution to your wedding.  Whatever the case is, these people are taking time out of their day to celebrate YOU.  It IS nice to think of them every once in a while in the planning. 😉  Think about it from a guest’s point of view…how many weddings have you gone to where the ceremony and the reception are three hours apart?  How often have you been waiting in a reception hall for two hours for the bridal party to finally show up?  If you choose to have a first look, everyone can go straight from the ceremony to the reception and barely have to wait at all!  The only pictures we’ll have to grab before the reception are some family pictures and possibly some additional portraits of the two of you.  Your guests can enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres for about 30 minutes or so while we finish those things up, and then you can head in and get the party started!

We would like to add that while we ADORE first looks, we certainly do NOT require them!  As we’ve said over and over again, your wedding day is about you!  If you can’t see yourself being happy with a first look scenario, then by all means do NOT have one.  We simply feel that by suggesting a first look we are better serving our couples because they truly get a better experience and a lot more pictures overall.  More than anything though, we want you to be happy with your decisions and just RELAX and ENJOY your wedding day!

If you’re searching for a photographer feel free to get a hold of us!  We’re currently booking 2016 and 2017 weddings! 😀

Celebrate With Us!

The core reality of certain situations don’t really hit you until you’re simply thrust in the middle of them.  For example…when you get married, all of your planning, all of your meetings, buying your dress…it doesn’t really become really until your big day arrives and you think, “Oh man, I’m getting married today!” and then you walk down that aisle and say those vows.  Bam!  Here it is!  Ahh!!!

The same goes for this stage in our life.  After over a year of planning, putting our finances in order, insurance, business plans, redoing those business plans, hiring people, having meetings, even when we were on vacation last week!  The reality of our new life in being FULL TIME WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHERS didn’t really hit us until, well, today.  And we are so excited.

So let’s celebrate!  Our success is your success…because after all, we wouldn’t be able to be doing what we love if it weren’t for you!  And as always, we want to celebrate with ALL OF YOU.  Our past clients, current clients, and our future clients as well. 🙂

Here’s what we’re giving away to all of our past and current clients:

– A $200 gift certificate for any products from any past sessions.  Memories are so important!  And we want to make sure you are able to look back on them any time you want.
– A FREE anniversary session with your complete digital gallery (a $350 value)!
– A 16×24 canvas from your anniversary session (a $230 value).

That’s $780 of services and products just for you!

If you’re a future client, here’s what we’ve got for you:

– A $500 gift certificate toward your wedding coverage!
– A 16×34 canvas from your future engagement session or wedding day (a $230 value)!
– A $50 gift certificate to the restaurant of your choice to take some time and unwind amidst all that wedding planning.  Date nights are important!

That’s also $780 of products and services for you!

Too good to be true, right?  Wrong…it’s totally good and absolutely true.  How do you enter?  Simple!  There are SEVEN ways to enter, and each one you do, just gets you one more entry!

1.  Comment on this blog with your wedding date, and tell us why you’d like to win this awesome package!
2.  Like our Facebook page.
3.  Share this giveaway on Facebook!
4.  Follow us on Instagram.
5.  Share this giveaway on Instagram!
6.  Follow us on Twitter.
7.  Tweet about the giveaway!

To make sure we get the right amount of entries for all of you, make sure to comment on this blog post to let us know which of the steps you’ve completed.  Sometimes when we do contests we can’t keep track of all the likes and shares that happens!  We’re so excited for this new adventure that we’ve been blessed with, and we’re even more excited to share it with all of you!  You have an entire week to enter, so all entries will be notified Monday, March 23rd!

Cheers!

Kent & Steph

Puppy Pictures! Including Your Dog In Your Engagement Photos

Lately, we have been taking our dog Jude to obedience training, and let us tell you…he is a different dog!  He was never a bad dog by any means, but he’s always been a bit of a talker, and since he’s a pit, he can be very territorial.  Not in a dangerous way (seriously…he’s a big baby), but when guests would come over he simply wouldn’t mind his manners.  He was constantly trying to jump on them, bark at them, or shove his body up against them to let them know, “Hey!  This is MY house!”  We were thinking…um, no dog.  This is OUR house.  You’ll do as we say, thank you very much.

Thus started the obedience training.  We have learned SO much over the course of four short weeks, and it’s all been incredible!  We were apprehensive to take him simply because it IS a basics class, and Jude already knows the basics.  He could sit, stay, lay down, and leave it.  Loose leash walking WAS attainable, but it did take a little while to get there.  But this class literally turned our world upside down.  We learned that most of what we taught him, we taught him to do the wrong way…lol.  And it has helped SO much with his manners when people come over.  Even strangers!  The trainer taught us to calm down so our dog would calm down.  Let’s face it.  She was really training us more than our dog.  But we’re ok with it. 😉  If anyone is looking for a dog trainer, we HIGHLY recommend Chris Bliss of Canine Bliss!  She literally gave our lives extra peace, and that is invaluable!

Clearly, when one goes on a new venture, one automatically becomes an expert on the subject.  So after 8 classes with our dog, we’re basically fully licensed dog trainers now. 😉  In all seriousness, we have a brand new understanding for dogs and how they think, so it made us excited to pass on some knowledge along to our other puppy parents about how to incorporate your fur baby into your engagement photos.  Even if you have a different photographer, we promise these tips will apply to anyone and will make the experience much better for you, your dog, and your photographer!

1.  Make sure your dog has good manners before you even consider making him/her a part of the shoot!
Your dog needs to be proficient in some pretty basic behavior if you’re wanting him/her to be a part of your engagement shoot.  By this, we mean sit, stay, down, all four on the floor, and loose leash walking.  If your dog is no good at some of these things now, don’t fret!  Our dog has gone from crazed lunatic to a complete gentleman in just one short month.  But it takes a lot of time, effort, practice, and knowledge about your dog’s breed and personality.  If you’re willing to put in the work (which of course you would be since you own the dog to begin with!), then we’re confident you can make them proficient in these basic behaviors in no time.  Call Chris or another dog trainer and sign up for classes if you have to!  Forget making the shoot easier…it’ll make your lives easier!

2.  Exercise your dog before the shoot.
And by “exercise”, we don’t mean show up to the shooting location 10 minutes early and walking your dog in a circle.  You need to COMPLETELY EXAUST your dog!  Take them for a good 45-50 minute brisk walk!  And make sure they know who’s boss when you do it.  Shorten up that leash, and make sure their shoulder doesn’t go ahead of the seam of your pants.  Practice some basic behavior skills (sit, down, stay) to exercise their brain and keep them on their toes…they’re going to have to be doing a lot of sitting and staying in front of the camera, so it’s best to practice before you bring in a stranger to the mix!  Go to a fenced in park, and let your dog off the leash, or put them on a super long leash and just let them run.  Let them run for a good 20 minutes.  A tired dog is a good dog. 😉

3.  Bring lots of treats.
Different dogs are motivated by different things, but almost all dogs will do just about anything for a little bit of food.  Make sure to bring something to reward your dog to let them know that, “Yes!  This behavior is great!  Keep it up!”

4.  Give us time to get acquainted.
When we all first arrive at the shoot location, let’s not jump straight into things.  Allow us to get familiar with your dog.  Depending on the kinds of pictures you want, we may have to get up close and personal with your dog.  Let’s take a few minutes at the beginning of our session so your dog can say hi and we can give them a little bit of love.  If things go well, we may even take them for a tiny walk before the shoot so we can establish a bit of trust!

5.  Bring someone the dog knows and trusts to handle the dog while we’re not shooting with him/her.
Listen.  Dogs can be a handful.  And we certainly won’t incorporate your dog into all of your photos.  So make sure to bring someone to handle your dog while we’re not focusing on the pup so much.  It’s true that we bring an assistant along with us, but we bring her to help us.  And when you don’t bring a handler, then our assistant becomes the handler.  We promise that we won’t get nearly as many photos as we could because we’ll be busy assisting each other and won’t function the way we’re used to functioning.

6.  Don’t expect us to make your dog behave.
It’s true that in some cases we’re going to be the ones in front of your dog while you are beside them or behind them, but that doesn’t make it our responsibility to get your dog to sit and stay.  You are their owners and the ones that their trust lies in, and they’re going to listen to you much better than anyone else.  Now, if we need to hold a squeaker toy, a tennis ball, or need to encourage them with treats, that’s an entirely different story!  We can certainly help you with your dog and maybe even give a command or two, but the sole responsibility of your dog’s behavior rests on your shoulders.  And if things aren’t working, then we’ll give your dog a break and focus on the two of you and revisit it later on in the session.

7.  Relax!
Dogs feed off of energy.  Trust us.  Stephanie can be a high strung, high energy, stressed individual (what??? no…..), and she realized that Jude not only fed off of her energy, but he would anticipate it and use it to manipulate situations!  However you feel is going to get transferred right down the leash to your dog…so relax!  If your dog isn’t behaving, we’ll take a break, you can tell your dog to straighten it up, get him behaving (always leave on a good note!), hand him off so we can get pics of you, and we’ll try again in a little bit.  We’re both pretty stubborn and will make sure to get at least a few adorable family photos of the three of you. 😉

8.  If your dog has any kind of anxiety or isn’t always good in social situations, leave him/her at home.
We realize that your fur baby is a part of your family, and as such you want him/her in your pictures!  However, putting your dog into a situation that he/she may not be comfortable with is not a good idea.  You are the person responsible for your dog, so you need to make sure that your dog always feels safe with you.  If they have anxiety issues or aren’t always good with people, throwing a stranger in the mix/in their face isn’t fair to your dog OR us.  If anything, we’d love to end the session at your house and snap a quick picture from a distance, but we never want to put your dog into a stressful situation that they have no escape from, and we certainly don’t want to put anyone (including ourselves!) in any kind of danger!

Let it be known that we are NOT pet photographers or dog experts by any means, but we feel that these tips are definitely a good recipe for success!  We love dogs and definitely love it when other people love theirs so much that they want to make them a part of such and important photo session, so let’s make sure the dog is happy and well behaved…we promise that you’ll come out loving the photos and the experience that much more!

Why You Need A Wedding Album

More often than not if a couple is looking to save some money on their wedding photography (at least with our personal experience), they’ll skip the wedding album and only get the digital images.  We understand working on a budget…trust us!  We got married once too, and we paid for the entire thing ourselves!  But if there is any room at all to get that wedding album, then you should most definitely splurge on it…we got one, and even though it wasn’t as nice as some of the other studio samples the photographer had (budget!), we love it and wouldn’t trade it for anything.  If you’re teetering back and forth on the decision to include an album in your coverage, allow us to tip the scales a bit and explain why we think it’s super important for you to invest in one. 🙂

1.  If you don’t get it now, you’ll never get it.

We realize that people really DO have the best of intentions when they tell us that they’ll contact us back a few months after they see their images (after they’ve financially recovered from the honeymoon) and get the album at that point, but we have only ever had that happen ONCE over the last three years.  Odds are, if you don’t purchase it now when it’s fresh on your mind, it’ll keep getting pushed to the back burner and before you know it, two years and a newborn later, you’ve completely forgotten all about it.  Life happens, and it happens fast.  Don’t let this wonderful day slip through the cracks by not getting a readily available medium to view it with!

2.  They’re family heirlooms.

Yes, it’s true that digital is safe and will probably last longer than any kind of print would, but have you seen wedding albums nowadays???  They’re not pages with sleeves to stick 4×6 photos in anymore.  Our most popular selling album is a leather bound 12×12 with a metal, acrylic, or wooden cover.  The pages are 1/16 inch thick, and those puppies are DURABLE.  They will most certainly last you a lifetime!  And it’s something wonderful you can pass along to your kids and grandkids.  How awesome would it be to keep it in the family for generations and generations!  After all…this is part of your family’s legacy!

3.  The digital medium might change.

Technology is advancing so quickly, and we have changed the way we deliver images TWICE in the past three years!  We started out with discs, but the better our cameras got, the bigger the files got, and the more discs we were printing on!  And Mac did a pretty great job of making discs obsolete, so out that option went.  Then we switched to thumb drives.  They were great and everything, but goodness…if you choose to go and print your own photos and take that thing to a kiosk, it’s going to take forever for them to load and for you to be able to go through them!  So, we now do downloadable digital galleries.  Is it as cute as our discs in their clamshells or our crystal thumb drives in their leather box?  No.  But it sure is a heck of a lot more practical!  Who knows what is going to happen in 30 years.  We want to make sure that you can access your wedding photos at any time…and that’s most definitely where your album comes in.

4.  Your wedding photos might get lost in the shuffle.

Think about it.  Over 500 million photos are shared daily from smartphones, and where do all those pictures go?  To the cloud.  Most likely, your wedding photos will go to the cloud.  Over the course of your life, you are going to take thousands and thousands of pictures that will also end up in that same cloud.  You may have children, and those children will eventually learn how to use technology and they’ll start taking pictures of things that are important to them and event and people, etc.  They may have children…lather, rinse repeat.  Before you know it, your family has millions of photos to sort through in your cloud of storage space (because you WILL want pictures of those grandkids…).  Where are your 500 wedding images?  If you have a wedding album, this is something you’ll never have to worry about.  While organization and storage is important, it’s nice to have a reminder of your wedding day readily available at your fingertips.  No searching folders, no finding the right external hard drive, just pick up the book, and flip on through. 🙂

5.  It’s one of the only products that will actually INCREASE in value.

If you purchase a wedding album from us for $1000, and in a few years, we offer you $3000 for it, are you very likely to give it up?  What if years from now, someone asks your grandkids if they would sell it?  Do you think they would get rid of those memories for $5000?  $10,000?  Of course not.  Digital files are a dime a dozen, but a wedding album is something unique and special that will help you relive your wedding day over and over again, and it will allow you to tell that story to your family members and friends who weren’t present.  Trust us…we’ve been married for almost six years now, and we still love getting our wedding album out and our kids absolutely love looking at it. ❤

So there you have it.  Albums. Are. Awesome.  It’s a decision we promise you would never regret making if you purchased one, but you may regret it if you choose to forego one.  And, when we book weddings, we always offer 25% discounts to the albums when couples choose to include a wedding album in their coverage!  Winning!

If you’re still searching for a photographer, we’d love to hear from you!  Check us out and get a hold of us!  We’d love to tell your love story. ❤

Myths Debunked! What Questions You Should REALLY Be Asking Your Wedding Photographer

So.  He popped the question, and you said yes.  Ahhhh!  You’re getting married!  Congratulations!!!  Odds are, once you get engaged, you are reading every online article and have a million magazines and bridal guides that you’re combing through for advice.  After all…this is a whole new world to you!  When we got engaged, Stephanie was constantly on The Knot, and bought a new bridal magazine every month for inspiration, instruction, and of course fun. 😉  Most likely you’ve come across an article–whether in print or online–that gives you this humungous checklist of things that you should be asking your wedding photographer.  We know, because we’ve had such lists pulled out and questions fired away at us during meetings before. 😉  While we understand that these articles are trying to help you, protect you, and are really looking out for your best interests, some of them are a little off.  And then some of them are a lot off. :p  So, we’ve decided to compile our own list of questions that we as wedding wedding photographers think are important to ask and clear up before you book your photographer.  And while we’re at it, we’re going to debunk a few things too. 😉

Instead of:
What kind of equipment do you use?

Ask:
Do you have more examples of your work on your website/blog?

Unless you are also a photographer, telling you that we shoot with 6D’s, use only fixed aperture lenses, prefer primes, and use our speed lights with modifiers as OCF is going to mean ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to you.  While it IS important to have good equipment, it is even more important to be a good photographer.  It can sometimes rub us the wrong way when people look at the equipment in our hands and say, “Wow!  That camera must take amazing pictures!”  We usually respond to this with, “It does!  I taught it everything it knows!” 😉  A good camera doesn’t make a good photographer, but a great photographer will make the best with whatever he/she is working with.  When we first started shooting weddings we had rebels.  REBELS (which again…probably means nothing to you…).  It’s basically just an entry level camera.  Nothing fancy, and not so great in poor lighting situations.  But you know what?  We made it work.  Instead of researching all the different kinds of Nikons, Canons, lenses, etc., instead, just look at their portfolio.  Do you love what you see?  Are you emotionally drawn to it?  Are the colors awesome?  Is there a lot of depth to the photos?  Then who cares what kind of camera they’re using. ❤  Go with your gut and you won’t regret it.  Promise.

Instead of:
Do I get the rights to my photos?

Ask:
Do you provide a print release?

This is probably one of the most common misconceptions in photography.  A LOT of people ask us if they get the full rights to their photos…and it’s probably because that’s what they’ve been told to ask!  We’re going to be honest with you.  If you ever ask a photographer this and they are willing to completely sign over their copyright…run.  Run fast and don’t look back.  Because this means that they don’t value themselves or their work enough to protect both you and themselves.  We completely maintain ownership over all the photos that we take.  We wouldn’t be able to post them on our website/blog, use them in advertisements, take them to bridal shows, or use them on social media if we didn’t!  Instead, ask your photographer if they provide a print release.  A print release is a legal document giving you, the client, permission to print the digital copies of the photos that you purchase from your photographer.  The details of the print release is usually different from photographer to photographer, but it’s definitely worth asking about…especially if you’re wanting to design your own save-the-dates or Christmas cards!

Instead of:
Can I see an entire wedding?

Ask:
Do you post weddings on your blog?

It’s understandable that any bride would want to see how her entire day would look behind the lens of their photographer.  After all, a few pictures on a website and some sneak peeks on Facebook and Instagram aren’t really giving you a good idea of everything that is captured that day.  However, what some people may not realize is that asking to see somebody else’s entire wedding day from start to finish is a bit of a breach on their privacy.  There are intimate moments that happen, and sometimes people who don’t like their photo being shared (or legally can’t!  We’ve run into this with foster children!).  Think about it…would you like it if some stranger was looking at pictures of you in your bustier getting your dress on?  Of course not.  That’s where blogging comes in.  Many photographers including us will blog about weddings.  Normally, it will give you a good idea of the flow of the day from the details, to getting ready, to the first look, to the portraits, to the ceremony, to the party!  It’s a good place to show potential clients that this is how we document, while protecting the privacy of our clients at the same time.  Win win!

Never ask:
Will you give me RAW files or can I edit my own images?

The answer will always be no.  No, no, no.  As professional wedding photographers, part of the service our clients have hired us for is our post production process.  We have our own editing style, and we take extra special care with every image to make sure that everything looks just so.  Handing over RAW files is like seeing us naked.  And trust us.  No one wants that. 😉

Never ask:
How many pictures will you take?

This question is SO relative and is never the same for any two weddings.  This depends entirely on how long we’re at your wedding, how many details you have incorporated, if you’re doing a first look, how many special ceremonies you’re including, what kind of shenanigans ensue at your reception, and the list goes on and on.  Not only that, but there is a big difference between how many pictures we take versus how many pictures we give you.  We week out all the blinkers, the unflattering, and the duplicates.  Plus, don’t tell anyone, but we’re not perfect.  There are times when we momentarily forget to change our exposure and/or white balance. :p

Never ask:
Can you make sure to get every picture on my Pinterest board?

Listen.  Pinterest is a wonderful thing.  We WISH Pinterest was around when we were planning our wedding!  That would have been amazing.  Instead of having what we lovingly refer to as “Retro Pinterest” (i.e. having a folder off of your desktop that you save images in that you’ve yanked from your google image search…), we would have loved a more organized method of gathering our thoughts and inspiration.  And if our clients have a photography board, we definitely like to take a look at it because we might see a theme there of things that we can definitely do within our own photographic style (Oh!  They really like sun flare!).  However, expecting other photographers to replicate work that isn’t originally theirs is a little unfair.  Again, when our clients hire us, they’ve hired us for our personal style and expertise.  We’re not going to necessarily see a situation and compose it the same way another photographer would.  Not only that, but the people on your board are completely different people than you and your fiancé.  They have a different story, being told at a different location, quite possibly at a different time of day.  And you know what?  Some of those awesome photos you find on Pinterest aren’t even from real weddings.  Some of them are from wedding workshops that photographers attend and that one shot that you just adore may have taken a half hour to set up.  There’s nothing wrong with loving certain poses and certain styling, but that’s why you find a photographer that fits you. ❤  Allow us to do our jobs the best way we possibly can, and trust us…stopping every 5 minutes to check your board does not a good flow make.

Always ask:
Do you have a backup plan in case something goes wrong?

Sickness, injury, equipment failure, and accidents are always things that can happen.  Make sure your photographer has a plan in case they get sick, that they are very careful with your images (we constantly create backups on site, shoot on many different cards, and by the time we get home from your wedding, your images are already in three different locations!), a plan in place in case something DOES go awry with their equipment, backup cameras, and insurance…just in case!

Always ask:
Are we going to be signing a contract?

Contracts are in place to protect both you and your photographer!  Our contract includes things like what happens in case one of us gets sick or injured, turnaround time for your photos, it ensures that you will receive your photos, how we handle consulting you with your timeline, what happens in case a bridal party member (or members) celebrated a little too much that day and aren’t cooperating for photos, how cancelation and rescheduling works, and so much more!

Choosing a wedding photographer is a big deal!  A lot of people don’t take this decision lightly, and rightly so!  This is how you’re going to remember your wedding day, and we’re one of the only vendors that will be with you almost all day.  It’s important to know what questions to ask and what some of the confusing verbiage means.  No matter what, you need to love your photographer, love their work, and love working with them!  If you are looking for a wedding photographer, we’d love to hear from you!  Check out our website, and get a hold of us!  Until then, happy planning! 🙂