Kristen & Edwin

My trip down memory lane is in no particular order.   In fact some of the weddings that I plan to post about are from before 2008 (after all, I just started writing this blog).

Anyway, enter Kristen and Edwin.

Kristen was the definition of the relaxed bride.  While many brides sweat every detail about their wedding day,  Kristen focused on the major components and seemed to let everything else fall in line as time progressed.

They had a small intimate wedding in Alexandria, Virginia in mid October.  It was unseasonably warm on their day and other than a bit too much sun, it was absolutely beautiful (yes I know I say that a lot, but these are my favorite weddings, so what else would you expect?).  

But, lets set the way-back machine back to one week before the wedding.  I met up with the happy couple outside of the White House for an engagement session.  Yes, I said the White House.  The groom decided to propose to his bride there and she couldn't think of a better place to take engagement pictures.  We started there (in the middle of all of the tourists taking pictures and looking around), then we strolled down to the monuments to continue with the session.  

Note to all couples who like this idea. Sunday is definitely the best day to take pictures in DC.  There are several terrific locations to use around the monuments, so the question is how far do you feel like walking and how do you handle crowds.  Most people are polite and give you a little space to take what you desire as long as you don't take very long to do it.  The results were pretty outstanding.

Now, back to the wedding day.  So, we have some engagement photos.  What do we do with them?  Kristen told me what her favorite shots were and one of them was enlarged, matted and mounted in a frame.  The guests for the wedding signed or wrote a note to the couple as they picked up their candle, placed their seeds and went to their seats.  

Yes, I said candles and seeds.  They were integral elements of the wedding ceremony.  The guest placed seeds in a pot.  This symbolized the sowing of seeds that leads to the fruitful growth of marriage.  The candles were ultimately used to light the unity candle.  The Best Man carried a lit votive to the guests seated last row. They, in turn, lit the candles of the guests in front of them.  This continued until the flames reached the mothers of the bride and groom. Once their candles were lit, they lit the candles that represented the two families.

I love it when I get to see something new/unique and the seeds and candles was a very unique element in this wedding. 

The rest of the evening was filled with family, friends, food, music, dancing and celebration.  We ended the evening with a portrait of the newlyweds under the moon.  Truly lovely indeed.

There will be more weddings from 2008 soon.

Anjie & Wayne

I had a lot of great weddings in 2008. As I sit back and reflect on last year, a few of my great customers/friends come to mind.

Anjie & Wayne are a great couple. They got married in August of 2008 in Harrisburg, PA.

I can't say enough about their day. Everything seemed to cooperate with them. When something seemed to go wrong, the solution ended up improving their plans. The weather threatened and it actually rained heavily during the ceremony (which was planned to be indoors). However, when the ceremony ended and everyone went outside to watch the dove release, there was no sign of rain. In fact, you couldn't even tell that it had poured earlier.

After the ceremony, dove release and formal portraits, we all went to Italian Lake Park for some additional portraits with the entire bridal party. There is nothing better than having a cooperative group of people who care about the bride and groom. They did everything that I asked without complaint and we ended up taking some great photos. I was truly impressed when I asked them all to take a Jump for Joy. I was certain that the picture would be phenomenal, if I could time it just right.

That was our last shot with the full bridal party. Everyone except the bride and groom went to the reception. Anjie, Wayne and I went to the state capital to take more pictures. At times like this, I just let the couple set the pace and Anjie and Wayne didn't disappoint. We had the capital plaza to ourselves and I placed the couple in front of the fountain and let them do their own thing. They enjoyed themselves, I had fun and the limo driver relaxed and watched things unfold.

The rest of the evening was wonderful. We arrived at the reception ready to party. The guests were seated, the bridal party entered and Anjie & Wayne had their first dance together as a married couple. There were several heart-warming toasts along with the groom sharing the story of how he and Anjilla arrived at this day. Guests ate, danced and enjoyed cake. Anjie & Wayne laughed, cried tears of joy and partied until the very end. Fun was had by all (even me).

Your Investment - Wedding Photography

Why do I refer to wedding photography, or photography in general, as an investment? Think about it for a few moments. An investment is something that you make expecting a positive return. The same goes for your wedding photography. You invest thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars into your wedding. You need to invest in a quality photographer (or photographers) to capture the memories of your day (and the money that you've spent).

It still amazes me that people will spend thousands on rings, locations, linens, dresses and the like, then look for the cheapest photographer around to capture their memories. Obviously, as a photographer I am a bit biased about this, but there is some logic to my point of view. After all is said and done, you will have (hopefully) gifts, a dress (that will probably never be worn again), possibly a video, probably an outstanding bill or two and pictures. Some of the pictures will come from your guests or table cameras, but the bulk of them should come from your photographer. Your pictures will be constant reminders of the things that happened on your wedding day. They should last more than a lifetime (if they are stored properly) and will probably be the most seen/viewed/noticed items from your wedding.

So, what should you expect to pay your wedding photographer? Well, the books (formal wedding planning guides) say that you should plan to spend approximately ten percent of your total wedding budget. If you haven't figured out your budget yet, do it now before your spending gets out of control. My logic is a little different. Ten percent is a good starting point, but don't limit yourself to that specific number. Do some research and decide what you want, and more importantly, what you need in a wedding photographer. Then shop around carefully. Look at the photographers in your price range as well as a few that are just above it. Why? The answer is simple. Someone in your price bracket may not offer everything that you need for what you planned to spend. And when you add in the additional items that you need, the price may rise to more than someone who starts in a higher bracket. For example, you find a photographer for $1500 who works for 4 hours and provides 350 proofs, but you need someone to be there the entire day and provide all of the proofs shot. Adding those two options takes his price to $2500. Another photographer starts at $2200 and works the entire wedding, provides all proofs and puts your wedding online. Suddenly $2200 is a deal, where it looked expensive at first.

This is where comparisons become important. If you only compare package prices with making sure that the contents match, you can end up getting less for your money. Don't be afraid to ask for the names of the albums they use, or what kind of equipment they use. Since you are spending your money, there are truly no stupid questions. You should be very comfortable in the decision that you make. And don't overspend. You have to live after your wedding day is over. Focus on what you need first then try to get everything that you want.

And guess what? There is something that is just as important as the cost. What's that? The photographer's personality. Who is the only stranger who will spend more time with you on your wedding day? Your photographer. You need to make sure that you can get along with him/her. If you are uncertain after the initial meeting/interview, I highly recommend that you schedule a portrait session to find out how they do their job. You don't need any additional annoyances on your wedding day.

Well, I hope that you understand how photography of your wedding is an investment. Your wedding day will be a blur (I speak from experience here). It should be important for you to have as many lasting memories as possible. Take care in making our choice and you will have memories that last beyond your lifetime.

If you would like to see some examples of how I capture weddings, click here.