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I read an article on the knot.com and thought that it was so spot on I had to write about it. The original article is, Top 20 Wedding Photography Mistakes. The Knot asked photographers around the country about the top mistakes made in wedding photography. All of them are on point but I will just go over the ones that I feel strongly about. So here it goes...
Not Sticking to the Finalized Schedule
Every bride should make a schedule of the day. Make a schedule including, the time the bride will start getting ready, when her bridesmaids will get ready, when certain pictures will be taken, etc. You do have some wiggle room with the schedule but if something goes wrong or changes, being an hour late has potential to ruin the photos. Letting Relatives Get in the Way Or anyone for that matter...I've seen it happen...not cool. There is always someone who brings their camera and takes all the pictures that I am taking while I am taking them, which leaves the bridal party left to not be sure who to look at, making it to where not everyone is looking at me, which leaves the photos to where not everyone is looking at the camera, and no it doesn't ruin the picture terribly but it looks much better when everyone is looking. My advice is if we're doing a group shot or you know that I am taking a picture, then to be safe look at me. If I do not have my camera up and/or I have stepped off to allow for others to take pictures then you are fine to not look at me. Or the case where they ask the couple or bridal party to wait so they can get some pictures. Here is my thing, I was hired to take the pictures. Yes, it's fine if you are taking pictures too, but when you have everybody stop for every picture I take then you are causing us to run behind schedule. Not Getting Help Organizing your Guests It's best if you have someone who knows the family and other people who will be in the photos. I more than likely will not know a single person other than the bride and groom. So if you can have someone organizing who is on what side of the family, having them ready, and directing them where to go, it makes for the photos to go a whole lot smoother. Trying to Make Things "Perfect" The day will NOT go perfect and that's okay. This is the day you are marrying the love of your life. I tell every bride and groom, all that matters is that you get to the end of the aisle and you both say "I do". Skipping the "First Look" I know that some couples really want to see each other for the first time at the beginning of the ceremony but doing a first look, which is when it's just the couple and the photographer and the couple is seeing each other for the first time before the ceremony, is so much better for a couple of reasons. First, it really is so much more intimate because you don't have everyone staring at you. Secondly, it gives me so much more of opportunity to get the real first look. There won't be as many nerves because you don't have the entire venue looking at you. It's also gives us more time to get a lot of great shots of the bride and groom. And the last reason is that it will save so much time on trying to rush after the ceremony and get all of the photos needed in. Waiting too Long to Book your Photographer If there is a wedding photographers work that you love and price is good, book them. Wedding photographers typically book fast, years in advance even. Looking at the Camera All the Time Some of the best photos are the candid ones. As long as we aren't doing the portrait photos or the photos where I am directing everyone or just the couple, then just do your thing. If you see the photographer, just act natural. Not Providing a List of "Don't Takes" I try to set up a meeting with each couple if possible, and this is something I ask. Be sure to answer this question honestly. If there is a certain way you don't like being photographed let the photographer know. Something else that goes along with this is please let me know if there are any strained relationships. I don't want to put two people that don't get along in the family next to each other. Asking for too Many Shots I personally have done enough weddings I pretty well know the shots that are the "needed" or "typical" shots. Meaning the bride with her family, the groom with his family, etc. Of course there may be a special picture that you want. But there is really no reason to give me a list of all the shots you want taken. Not choosing a Photographer You Connect with Just like Gillian Reinhardt from Carolina Studios says, "Make sure we get along". If we get along and "click" then everything will go so much smoother. Skipping the Engagement Session If I do your engagement session, that will be time that we get a real feel for each other. You will get to see my shooting style and how I work. That will definitely help work out any of the nerves that you may have with me. It's also a good practice session for the couple. Falling for Photography Trends I've seen it, we've all seen it. All couples want the same thing that everyone else getting married is doing. I did it when I started, but now after further educating myself, I have really tried to back away from what's trending. I want you to still love your photos 20 years down the road.
Those are my thoughts on the article written. Let me know what you think. Do you agree or disagree?
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When you think of Dollar Tree do you think of wedding? More than likely not. I’m going to show you some great things you can get for your wedding in order to save a lot of money.
Whether you are a bride on budget or you are doing a DIY wedding, definitely check out the list I’ve put together. The Dollar Tree has a nice section for weddings in the store and they have even more if you go to their website. They have wedding ideas on their website also, from wedding favors to chair decorations. Another great thing about the website is it is free shipping to the store so you don’t have to worry about the shipping costs. We all know that with a lot of companies the shipping cost is where they really stick it to you. I’m going to just cover the website items because every store is different and they may not carry the same items in every store. At least with the website you know that you will be able to order the items no matter what your store carries. In another blog post I'll go over wedding ideas that you can create expensive looking decor, favor boxes, tablescapes, and more! If you click on the title of each section below it will take you to that exact section on Dollar Tree's website.
Serving Trays
There are so many options that I could not possibly list all of the selections Dollar Tree has for serving trays and other trays. But I will list some of the most common kind. They have nickel plated, silver plastic, and translucent. If the colors nickel or silver isn’t what you are wanting, you can always purchase the translucent ones and spray paint them the color of your choice. Of course these serving trays aren’t the most durable but they will only be used one night and as long as they can survive one night then you should be good.
Vases
The selection of vases are HUGE! Not only are there lots of shapes and sizes but there are different colors and materials. They have the traditional glass and plastic vases. But the also have metal vases that are really cute! The website has many great ideas for different uses for the vases.
Drink ware
There are lots of glasses to choose from. They have tumblers and coolers, wine and champagne glasses, bar ware and cocktail glasses, beer mugs and pilsners, and plastic drink ware. There are many different looks depending on the theme of your wedding. These glasses can be used for drinking or you be creative and design your own centerpieces.
Table Covers
The only material they have for table covers are plastic which if you have ever priced the actual cloth table covers for a wedding then you know that going with the plastic table covers will be saving you so much money! Dollar Tree in the store and on the website have a wide array of colors. They also have plastic table covers for all sizes of the most common tables. The great thing about plastic table covers is that once the night is over you can just throw them away and be done with the them. They have the Plastic Table Cover Clamps(seen below) which can come in really handy. The only cloth table cover related item they have are Polyester Damask Table Runners. Unfortunately they don't have plain ones, as these have the damask pattern. They may work just fine for your wedding but then you have those REALLY picky brides.
Flowers & Floral Arrangements
I know that I have said that there are so many choices for all the items above but when it comes to their floral selection there truly are lots of choices. They have most types of flowers in a wide range of colors. They also have a pretty good selection of greenery to choose from. If you plan on doing centerpieces that incorporate flowers, they have most if not everything you need to make them.
Candles
Along with everything else, Dollar Tree has lots of candles to choose from. There are lots of different types including pillar candles, tea light candles, and taper candles in lots of different colors. Personally, I prefer the LED lights over real candles for a few different reasons. One of the reasons is you don't have to worry about a candle possibly getting knocked over and starting a fire. Another reason is you don't have to worry about the candle staying lit. Dollar Tree has pillar candles, tea lights, and taper candles in LED. Dollar Tree also has the decor to display your candles. Some of the displays are the pedestal candleholders, glass mirror candleholders, and the hurricane candleholders. You can get fancy and put the colored glass marbles in with them.
Some other items Dollar Tree has that I won't go into detail about are:
Favor Boxes Ribbon Tulle Silverware Frames Bowls And the list really can go on and on. You can easily go to the Dollar Tree website and in the search bar type wedding and it will come up with pages and pages of items for you to use for a DIY wedding or to simply save money.
I met Katie & Mike on a chilly April day. I also met their adorable daughter and Katie’s Matron of Honor. Poor Mike had to drive his Harley all the way from Evansville, remember it was a quite chilly day. Don’t worry, Katie drove her car with their daughter. =) We started the shoot down town in Washington. Their daughter was excited to be in some of the pictures and others she just wasn’t having it. After quite a few different spots downtown, we headed to the park. We got some great shots at the park. My all time favorite was of them sitting on the sidewalk with the fountain in the background(you can see it below). At the entrance of the park on the road, I had Mike attempt to dip Katie, I thought they did just fine but it was pretty funny watching because neither one of them could stop laughing.
We eventually quit trying and moved down by the bridge. I took some pictures of Katie and Mike with the Harley and they turned out awesome! Their are certain sessions that I know when I am shooting that I can not wait to get home to edit them and this was definitely one them! After editing just a few I knew exactly why I was so excited to get to them, I was SO happy with them. Both Katie and Mike photograph great. They took directions great and were natural in front of the camera. Once I got them done they had 395 images to choose from. I know that sounds like a lot but I prefer to give them a bunch to choose from. I love when I can give a client so many choices.
And now onto the big day! Katie and Mike’s beautiful day was on September 9th, 2017 at New Leaf Fitness & Spa in Lawrenceville, IL. Their venue was absolutely gorgeous! It has a newly crafted exterior. The interior has a rustic country look to it. The attention to detail is perfect. The chandeliers were beautiful! They were made out of old looking glass bottles.
I sent Katie a questionnaire about her and Mikes relationship from beginning to their wedding day and for their plans afterwards. I am going to post some of the answers below. What ended up being your favorite part of the day? Before the ceremony, when my husband and I got to spend a minute together since we had already done our first look. Please share 2 or 3 words you would use to describe your wedding photography. Captured our emotions What did you like most about working with Kirsten Alana Photography? Great pictures for great price Why did you choose Kirsten Alana Photography to photograph your wedding? The price Recommendation If you are wanting great pictures without the expensive cost, use Kirsten Alana Photography. What advice would you give to future couples for their wedding? At the end of the day, all that matters is marrying your love. There’s no need to spend thousands of dollars you don’t have just to get married. How did you meet? Tell me a little about your story as a couple. We were from the same hometown, but I had moved an hour away. He was friends with one of my friend’s boyfriends and they convinced him to Facebook message me. We talked all the time until our first date, and the rest is history. Tell us about the proposal. I found a paper on the counter describing the ring. I confronted him about it that night. Then neither of us could wait, and he threw his proposal plan out the window and proposed to me in our home plain and simple and perfect. Were you nervous? How did you squash the nerves? I was not nervous for the proposal. We had talked about it several times and knew it was coming. For the wedding, I was nervous about everyone looking at me, and my husband was the only one that could help me relax. What was your wedding inspiration? Tell us about your food and cake. Cake was made by my MIL. It was all her design and choosing. We had scones and cookies instead of a meal and I’m so glad we did. What song did you walk down the aisle to? Endlessly by Green River Ordinance What song played for your first dance? Never Stop by Safetysuit (wedding version) Tell me about some of your favorite wedding details and how you came up with them! I liked the simple touches of royal blue with the mismatching centerpieces. Pinterest helped me with every decision. What were some of your favorite moments from your wedding day? My husband accidentally said “waffely wedded wife” instead of lawfully wedded wife. I couldn’t stop laughing because I had seen the YouTube video of the husband doing that and I had a hard time keeping a straight face until we got more into the vows and my husband started to tear up and then I couldn’t stop tearing up myself. What are you most looking forward to as a married couple? Enjoying our time together and one day having another kid. What's next on your calendar as a couple? Since the hurricane had our honeymoon cancelled, we hope to reschedule it for the spring. The vendors that were used at this wedding were: Venue - New Leaf Fitness and Spa Bridal Gown - Illusions Bridal & Tuxedo To see more pictures of Katie & Mike you can visit Kirsten Alana Photography on FB.
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You've gotten engaged, booked all the important things, got the dress, picked out the rings, and now you have to decide how you want to go about the guests and gifts. A lot of times couples are pretty established by the time they decide to settle down and get married. Meaning they have the main things that you think of when you think of a wedding registry. They don't need another toaster or another margarita mixer...wait, yes you do! You can always use 2 of those! Okay, that's just me. A more modern and fun way of letting your guests know what you need for your new life there is a website called Honeyfund. You simply sign up on their website and let all of your guests know about it. Then they know exactly what you are wanting. There is an app for Android and Apple.
Okay, I can hear some people now...we don't need to go on a honeymoon and that's okay because that's not all Honeyfund is for! There are so many options! There is a registry called The Everything Registry. You can request a house down payment, home improvements, landscaping, and even an entertainment upgrade. There are even Fun Registries where you can request cooking classes, a year of housecleaning, and future babysitting! And of course if you do decide to use Honeyfund for a honeymoon, the site will help you with all the options and everything that is involved with each destination. There is literally a world of choices! Let's say you choose Hawaii. It breaks down airfare, rental car, and all sorts of different activities you can do. And all you have to do is request what you'll need. If you won't need the rental car then simply leave it off your registry. Honeyfund was founded on the show, "Shark Tank" in 2014. Honeyfund has been featured in the New York Times, BRIDES, and VOGUE. It was chosen has one of TIME magazines 50 best websites. I could never tell you everything in just this one blog post so you'll definitely have to check it out for yourself!
This blog post will be a short and quick to the point post. But don't worry I have lots of blog topics coming up and in the works! If you have an idea for a blog topic let me know. I really enjoy hearing what other people think and what they would like to read about.
I am going to start blogging about client sessions and some info about the client(s). I had done a few of these types of posts on my previous blog but since I have moved my blog to this site I will be re-posting the ones that I had done in the past. Once I am caught up with past clients and their sessions I will then begin on more recent sessions and of course new clients. After each session I give the client(s) a questionnaire about the session and working with me. I incorporate their answers and feedback in the blog. This helps future clients and potential clients get a feel for what it is like to work with me and have me as your photographer. I will also post some of the images from the session. If a client does not want me to write a blog post about them and their session they have every right to not have a post written about them and their session. So get ready for these posts to be coming up! Don't forget...If you have a question about something, let me know because I may be able to turn it into a blog post! Also, if you have an idea or two for a blog topic let me know that too! I'm always up for a challenge!
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Wedding bouquets are no longer just flowers anymore. The bouquets you see today are DEFINITELY not the kind that hang down a foot or two like your Mom or Grandma had. A lot of brides are choosing to go the DIY route allowing them to put their own touch into their bouquet. There are also lots of different options that you can purchase. This post will show you some of my favorite bouquets and how to make them or where to purchase them. The possibilities are endless! I love being unique and being different is the best way to be!
Beaded Bridal Bouquet
I love this beaded bouquet for so many reasons! It's VERY unique and I love pearls and shiny things. =) You can also put it on display for a beautiful conversation piece.
This bouquet can be found on Momdot. The full instructions arehere! Custom Jewelry Brooch Bouquet
Look at that bling and that shine! I told you I'm a sucker for those two things! I even love how the "stem" is wrapped in a satin ribbon. It is on the pricey side but if you've got it to spend I say go for it! This bouquet is handmade by HarmonyCreative on Etsy. The direct link for this bouquet can be found here.
Fabric Wedding Bouquet
This bouquet is also up there in price but look at it! And it's fabric! It also has the beautiful details that really set it off. This bouquet incorporates pearls, tulle, birdcage netting, and ribbon. Each flower is individually designed from being hand dyed to hand brushed. So you know that every bouquet this Etsy seller makes will have no two bouquets exactly the same. The Etsy seller is, The Sunny Bee Bride. The direct link to purchase this bouquet can be found here.
Chic Brooch Wedding Bouquets
These bouquets are just 3 of the 20 examples of DIY Brooch Bouquets. Of course the bouquet you make will not look exactly the same since the pieces you will find won't be identical to the ones shown but it still gives you a good idea. When you make your own the options are endless! You can find more examples and instructions onDeer Pearl Flowers website.
What do you think of these bouquets? Would you carry them down the aisle? Do you prefer flowers? Let me know what you think or better yet, if you had a unique bouquet post it to share with everyone!
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AuthorMom, Fiancee', & Photographer. Archives
September 2018
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