Tara and Stephens Wedding

The wedding this weekend was great. The bride hired us for guidence on the ceremony only, and she hired and planned almost everything herself. ALMOST everything went perfectly. The bride looked beautiful and the ceremony went off without a hitch. However, there were a few details that could have been avoided if she would have hired us as her Full-Production Wedding Planners.

The main issue was the photographer. Ricker Studios was hired by the bride, and they were not fun to work with. Here is what they wanted as their set-up during the ceremony:

If they kept it like this, it would have totally blocked a majority of the guests' view. Well, it was NOT going to happen. After trying to tell me that 'They were the professionals and knew what they were doing' they eventually agreed to move the set up to the side aisles.

One reason why they had this large set-up was because they had not gone to the church beforehand to test out the lighting. I always make sure the photographer has been to the actual site before the wedding so they are prepared and have all the right equipment.

Here are some pictures I took from my camera:

Bridal Party

Groomsmen

Everyone together

Bride about to walk down the aisle.

My New Picture!

I have been meaning to tell everyone about my new profile picture for a while now and am just now getting the chance!

One of my good friends, Julian Michael, shot them for me on a nice sunny day a few months ago in Seattle. He does some great work! I have never had my picture professionally taken before, so it was all new to me. He was fun to work with and helped me relax and get some great shots.

We are also in the process of creating something that I am very excited about. I will have more updates soon so keep checking back!

Take a look at Julian's website www.julian-michael.com.

Tip of the Day Series: Wedding Budget 101

For the next ten days, I am going to do a series of posts, one per day, for everything related to your wedding budget. Get excited because I have some good ones coming up!

#1: Decide What's Most Important

Pick the top three items that are most important to you and plan on investing extra money into them (This could be your dress, flowers, and photographer for example). Build them into your budget from the beginning, and you won't have to settle for the next best thing, you will know you can afford it the way you want. Also, this allows for you to know how much money you have left over for everything else, and you wont be unhappy with your decisions.

Common Photo Questions for Your Wedding

1.) Should I hire two photographers or is one enough? I believe you should always have at least two photographers for your wedding. One photographer cannot be in all places at once, and cannot get every angle or capture every moment. Having two photographers makes sure not only you are covered, but also your wedding party and guests.

2.) When should the photo shoot be held? Its always best to do it before the ceremony. Your makeup is fresh, you haven't cried yet (hopefully), you're excited about the wedding, you aren't tired or feeling overwhelmed yet and you will have more time to party at the reception. But if you don't want your groom to see you in your dress beforehand, you can do part of the photos beforehand and part after the ceremony. Take the pictures of you getting ready, your bridal party, the bride with the groomsmen, the groom with his groomsmen and so on. Then do the rest after the ceremony with everyone together.

3.) What if the photographer misses a moment? Should I re-stage it later on in the evening? If you give the photographer a list of key moments you absolutely want them to capture, you will decrease the chances of them missing the moment because they will already know they need to get it. But, even the best photographer can miss a moment. If the moment is very important to you, you can ask all parties involved to re-create the scene. It shouldn't take too long.

4.) What can I do to look my best in the photos? I would suggest giving the photographer a few good pictures of yourself and a few bad pictures of yourself beforehand. This will let the photographer know and get the feel for what your good and bad angles are. Also, when posing, place your weight on your back leg, and slightly extend and stretch the other leg out in front. Make sure you have powder and lip gloss ready. You don't want to be shiny in the pictures. Consider some black and white photos, because they help hide skin imperfections and tend to make everyone look flawless.

5.) How can I tactfully ask what the photographer will wear? Its fine to ask them to dress appropriately for a wedding. You don't want them sticking out like a sore thumb, and neither do they! But do remember that they need to be comfortable in order to take pictures. Don't ask them to wear a tuxedo or ball gown. Usually, photographers will wear all black so they can blend into the background and not stand out.

Professional Wedding Photo Books

Aren't these published, hard cover books, so much better than traditional wedding albums??? I LOVE them!

My company, Andy Mirkovich Productions, does books just like these for weddings. Usually for a lot cheaper than the photographers because we have our own, in-house media department.

Wedding Videos

One of the most important things to any bride is securing the right photographer to capture everything on the wedding day. Well, have you ever thought about having a videographer? If not, you should. They can capture the wedding and reception better than pictures. You get the sounds, the movements, the emotions and the energy of the entire day.

The video above is taken from a longer video my company made for the couple. We can do some amazing things with editing and after effects. Check it out, we can do this for anybody, for any style you like or any theme you want. We do everything in-house so it keeps the cost waaaaay down :) Let me know what you guys think about it, I would LOVE the feedback, good or bad!

Inspiration

Hello Everyone,

Well, here it is, my first blog, I'm proud of myself for getting this thing up and running (with the great help of my friend Steve). I have to say that I have been browsing through a lot of blogs and I am extremely inspired by so many many of them. Some are so fantastic! The pictures and content amaze me, and in turn, inspire me to make my own blog amazing as well (so hopefully one day it is).

A few weekends ago I went to the Bellevue Bridal Expo, and had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Heather Gilson from One Love Photo. After photographing an event, she picks out one picture and creates a collage out of it. Her work is amazing, she is so creative and creates such unique artwork. I definitely want one for myself one day! Here are a few of my favorites:

Check out her website at OneLovePhoto.com