Wedding Tips: Hire a wedding planner!

You are definitely going to hire a wedding photographer, but what about a wedding planner? These people are amazing at what they do and they will make your day super stress free and fabulous! Before we go into details there are a couple of terms you need to know.

Wedding Coordinator: They usually get involved a week or so before the wedding to confirm vendors and guide the couple through the wedding day. Some event planners do the coordinating but you also have those professionals who only do the coordinating instead of the entire wedding. There are also on-site venue coordinators who deal only with your chosen venue. They know everything there is to know about the venue and are great at helping with room layouts and making sure you follow the venue's rules.

We highly recommend hiring a wedding coordinator to take the stress off of you. There is no way you should be running around the day of your wedding making sure all the vendors are where they need to be and that setup is running smoothly. You should be relaxing and pampering yourself while the wedding planner does all the running around for you. Jess & Wade hired a day of coordinator. As you can see in the photo above they had tons of little details and they needed someone to take charge of the setup process.



Now these aren't actually the coordinators but it's not uncommon to see a wedding coordinator helping with setup to keep things running smoothly.

Wedding Planner: They do everything from venue selection, finding vendors, managing a budget, negotiating contracts, to picking out colors and decor. Not all wedding planners do the design side but there are some that dabble in it.

Wedding/Event Designer: This person helps you find your point of inspiration or the theme of your big day. They can do anything from decor to cake design to floral and table settings. They are a wonderful asset to have as they can make your wedding day absolutely beautiful.



Here is an article by Alison Kelly, founder of A Hot Pink Petticoat about all the little things that came up at her wedding. Even though they worked themselves out she still regrets not hiring a wedding planner to keep the big day running smoothly from the get go.

WedAlert also has a great article about why you should hire a wedding planner. They can help you get great deals with vendors and they'll also make sure everything is set in stone for your wedding day.

Thinking Different: Props for e-sessions, weddings & portraits

We love props! They make each image so unique and different from any other couple's. Like anything else that you bring along to the shoot, they bring another glimpse into your personality.





Props can also be a great ice-breaker for you and us. Doing a photo shoot can feel a little bit awkward and having something to hold or to take your focus off of the camera may help you feel more relaxed. They also give you something to have fun with.

Most of our real life photo sessions and e-sessions are closer to filming a movie than staged photos. We try to give you direction and when you have a prop it makes it easier to go in that direction.









Using props that are already on location is a great alternative to bringing your own. Some locations have some really fun things that can be incorporated into your e-session, just like this mosaic alligator. This shoot was in Baldwin park, but I seem to remember seeing them in Lake Mary also. You can find cool statues like this in many different cities. One even has cows and another has Snoopies!









We just could not pass up the opportunity to do a reenactment of "American Gothic" with all these cool antique items! We just picked a random one up and turned it into a prop.

Oh and here's a great website we found that has "super large" of anything! They'd be so much fun to use on a shoot!

All in all, props just add something a little extra to your photos. They really help to create a mood or theme. If your going for a vintage feel, bring a parasol or dress up! If you are going to the beach bring a kite or a beach ball. You could even make a sandcastle!

We love to brainstorm, so tell us what you like or what you might be thinking and we'll run with it!

We never have a shortage of random prop ideas. Here are some more to get you thinking! Water balloons, an entire office in the middle of an open field, paper cutouts, kites, and it goes on....

FAQ: Makeup is so important to your wedding photography!

About Face Design Team

Wearing makeup is one of those experiences I've never had, for some obvious reasons (I'll leave them to you to figure out ;). As a photographer it's become a necessity to learn about it though. Also as someone always looking for a new experience, and exploring what I'm unfamiliar with, it intrigues my curiosity. Putting on makeup can be as much of an art as creating an image of someone wearing it.


About Face Design Team

After the photos are made I try to do very little retouching. A makeup artist can make my life easier and the time I spend working on photos less. It's amazing how a little bit of makeup in the right places can make your eyes look open and keep light from reflecting off of your head. I believe in it being as subtle as possible though. I like things natural.




Kara Sánchez with KyleLynn Cosmetics

To get the right look for the camera, it can be important that you hire someone. You might put makeup on everyday, or you might be like me and try to keep things as natural as possible, but it's good to have an artist who knows how the light and the makeup will react when it's captured by the camera.


About Face Design Team

When it comes to makeup in black and white photography there are some awesome tips here from top celebrity makeup artist Elke Von Freudenberg. It talks about not using too much foundation and the different shades of makeup you should use.


Essence Day Spa & Salon

A few more tips from Elke can be found on Wed Alert. One tip that is super important is doing a consultation with your makeup artist. Get your makeup done for the rehearsal dinner or other special event (Like an e-session or boudoir shot) to give your wedding day look a run through.

Most of the time you also want your wedding day look to be cohesive. You may have a high fashion, couture wedding gown and typical "wedding hair and makeup." In the end the style of your dress doesn't match the style of your makeup and hair. Ashley Brockinton, another wedding and portrait photographer, has some great tips and videos on her blog for achieving that put together look.

Liene Stevens has some great tips about skin care before your wedding here.

Last but certainly not least, you can find tons of articles on The Knot about hair and makeup ideas. I highly recommend this article about skin care, healthy hair, and getting into shape for your big day.

Have you found any great makeup tips for your wedding day?

Wedding-Day timelines are critical!

I'm not a wedding planner (Although there are some amazing ones out there who I'm happy to recommend if you ask), but one of my awesome clients recently talked about being inexperienced and planning her own wedding on her blog.

When I got married, I planned my own wedding and had almost no experience with attending a wedding (Then I started photographing them and the amount of weddings I attended multiplied tenfold). I have to say my biggest suggestion is to write out a timeline for the day. Create one for both the bride and groom.

A few weeks before the wedding I will sit down with all of my clients and talk about this timeline. As a photographer when I know what to expect I have a much better chance of catching a great moment. Any major player in the wedding should get a copy of this timeline, or at least the part just before, after and during the time they are involved.

Start out whenever the wedding plans start. Is that the rehearsal? The day before when you get back into town? Etc.

Then as you write out each event that makes up the day (Waking up (Think about where each of you will stay the night before), makeup, hair, etc) write out what you will need for those events.

Write out the things that will be all day at the top (Photographer, DOC) and then as other things show up, put them on the time line (DJ, Cake, Flowers, table numbers, linens, etc.) Put a blank line by them and then fill it in when you contract a vendor or find an item to fill it.

Think about the little things. Like if you get dressed at the reception location, but are making a great escape by limo, who is going to gather up the clothes you changed out of? Who is going to get the gifts? Who is going to clean-up? Where are people going to park? How do they get from one location to another.

As you continue planning, you'll add to this master plan and find new blank spots. By the time your wedding day get's here every one of those spots should be filled and you can hand the list to your DOC, planner or whoever is taking over your responsibilities. Then the day will go smooth.

The average Wedding Photographer?

"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur."
Red Adair

I often see the question of what the average cost is for a wedding photographer. A few months ago I answered this question on some discussion boards. I thought my blog readers might be interested in hearing my response, so I updated it and cleaned it up a little.

Average cost is relative to a lot of things.

The cheapest of course is to have a guest take pictures or have all of your guests take pictures. This could be the most expensive mistake on the other end. Likely you may get a couple decent images out of each guest. Plus if your guests are taking pictures they will not be able to enjoy your wedding. And if they are drinking, dancing and experiencing the wedding, then they are not putting the time into making the pictures that you would like to put in an album, hang on your wall or remember your day. Even if one of your guests is a pro or semi pro photographer, they will want to experience the party. I can tell from experience that when I am shooting a wedding, there is sometimes barely enough time to eat, let alone drink and enjoy the party.

$1600 is what you should expect to pay for an average photographer (About $250/hr for coverage without a package.) That would only include coverage and not a package (Such as a DVD or Album). I would say the less you pay the more risk you are taking. Remember this is an "average" photographer and about half are better and half are worse. Most people plan for a wedding above average and you should consider that you probably want it documented that way.

The more you pay the more creative, more experience, awards, reputation and better chances that the images at the end of the day will tell your story as you want to remember it.

If you are looking for above average, plan on spending at least $2400-4500 for coverage and probably a DVD. Albums are another subject, but they usually are $700 and up.

If you are looking for the top of the pack photographer then expect to pay $5000-10000. These guys have usually been around for quite some time. They are respected by the industry and usually the photographers who other photographers would ask to shoot their weddings! These are the photographers who's photos you will find at The PDN Top Knots contest or ISPWP's Contest

If you are looking for a luxury wedding photographer, then expect to pay over $20,000. They aren't always necessarily the best of the best, but they will offer a service that it takes a certain type of person to give. They are at your every beck and call and they know how to do it right. Their attention to detail is usually beyond anything that would probably be necessary for even the pickiest of brides.

Ask any photographer for references and access to the most recent wedding they shot online. A portfolio only shows the best stuff and can hide flaws. If you can see an entire edit, you will get a much better feel for how they will cover your day. Definitely look at blogs. These show how well photographers do on a regular basis.

When you do decide on a photographer don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions, and not the questions about what type of equipment they have. Make sure that you and the photographer click on a personal level. You are going to be spending many hours with this photographer on your wedding day and you don't want any friction.

Some places to look for good quality photographers are http://www.wpja.com, http://www.ispwp.com, and http://www.modernphotographers.com. One place to find reviews of photographer's is http://www.weddingwire.com or just look at Google Maps

But don't just base it on what other people say, find someone who you trust, who knows photography and get them to help you look at the photographers. Then just trust your instincts. If you don't LOVE the photography you are seeing, then there is a good chance you might be disappointed. It's like when you are searching for that perfect dress, you try a lot on that you really like and you look good in, but when it's the right one you know it!

What 18k Brides have to say about their wedding expenses

Some new survey results are out. The Knot polled 18,000 newlyweds and asked them a series of questions about the budget for their wedding.

You can find a summary of it here.

There were some interesting things. According to the budget the top three priorities for brides were the venue, the band and the photographer.

The average paid for photography was $2655.

One other thing to note is that "Photography Is Editorial and Digital: Almost all (93%) brides chose “documentary” style photographers, and 90% of photographers shot in digital."

So if you are looking for average, this is probably a good price point to start and if you want better than average, prepare to spend more. I would definitely be wary, and ask a lot of questions, if a photographer charges less than this.

One thing to remember is that this is your special day, and when you go back in 20, 30, 50 or more years to remember it, you will be looking at the photos.

Bottle Picture Frames

I want to thank @intimatewedding on Twitter for this tip.

I am always looking for something Weird, But Cool even when it comes to my picture frames. These ones are awesome and different.

Now I am going to have to go find some cool bottles and start printing some pictures. Can you imagine putting a mobile together with these. You could create a picture frame wind chime! This could be fun

http://www.designspongeonline.com

Free Bridal Guide

Free things are nice. If you are a bride or a vendor I just ran across this free offer for one issue of Bridal Guide.

http://www.valuemags.com/freeoffer/bridalguide.asp

There's a new wedding magazine in town...

I'm a little behind the ball on this, but I think that can be a good thing. When something new comes out, EVERYONE talks about it right away. A couple weeks later and it starts to lose it's novelty. This is when I like to talk about things, I have a chance to look it over and see what everyone else said, plus I've never been one to roll with the pack, I always like to be a little different.

Southern Weddings Magazine is a cool new magazine with a focus on, well weddings in the south. In the inaugural issue they make good use of photography. They use a ton of details to give perspective brides a chance to get ideas. This also gives wedding photographers a chance to show off more of their handiwork. It gives other photographers some great wedding inspiration and a level of photography to work towards.

What is any good magazine without a good blog! Outside of following these awesome women on Twitter (You can find all their Twitter accounts on their blog at http://www.swsmag.net/about/) They have a blog at http://www.swsmag.net/ that has been a great precursor to their magazine. They have showcased some awesome wedding photographers and other vendors as they do a regular feature where they interview couples about their weddings and another feature where they look at the details of weddings.

They seem like a good bunch with a ton of energy. I look forward to seeing what they come out with next and maybe even meeting with them in the future. I unfortunately wasn't able to make it to their launch party (Everyone was invited and I'm sure photos will be up soon!). If they can keep translating their awesome energy into the magazine and the blog I don't see the novelty wearing off anytime soon.

Congratulations ladies!