| Advice on Planning a Wedding First, let me congratulate you on your engagement. Now comes the hard work of planning the wedding of which you have been dreaming all your life. I have written this article with the sincere hope that you will gain the knowledge to make choices that could mean the difference between a perfectly planned and executed wedding day, and a less than memorable event. Whether you’re getting married in your hometown or celebrating the day on some exotic island, you’ll find helpful information for your big day in this article. Research everything on which you plan to put a deposit It is overwhelming how much information we can gather via the internet on anything we put our mind to. Why not research every aspect of your wedding? For example: if your DJ’s name is “Tom Jones”, do an internet search (Google, Yahoo!, MSN) for DJ Tom Jones Reviews, DJ Services, and other related terms. Google has an excellent business review service (called "local business results"), whereby past clients of potential vendors may have left reviews of them. Most are real, however, some are not. Here are some questions to ask potential vendors before making any final decisions. 1. How long has your company been in business? 2. Do you do this full-time? If not, why? 3. How many weddings did you service last year? Put on your dress prior to your wedding If you’ve had your dress altered in any way, be sure to try it on once the final alterations have been made. Do not assume that it was done correctly. You might also like to take a bridesmaid or your mother along to make sure that you fully know how to fasten the buttons and train. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen a wedding ceremony delayed because it was not clearly understood how to put the wedding dress on! You may laugh, but it has happened numerous times and is never funny the day of the wedding. I have witnessed a groom standing at the altar for 50 minutes, waiting for his bride while she and her bridesmaids figured out how to put her dress on. Wedding Coordinators Coordinators are probably my favorite wedding vendor because they understand how to make events go as planned, and alleviate stress from the bride, making the bride much more willing to smile and be beautiful for her photos. If you want to be a guest at your own wedding, hire an experienced wedding coordinator. From what I can tell, this is an extremely difficult profession to break into, so any coordinator that has a long history is probably very good at what they do. Working with a professional wedding coordinator can make the difference between a wedding that didn’t go exactly as planned, and having a wedding that was beyond what you expected and was able to give you memories that will last a lifetime. If you have the means to hire a wedding coordinator, I highly recommend that you pamper yourself with this luxury. You will be so grateful that you did. In my opinion, a professional wedding coordinator is great at organization, but also has a very creative eye for design. The professional coordinator will usually not charge you for finding other quality vendors, in fact, they might even be able to get a discount for you. I allow certain wedding coordinators to name their price (within reason) for their clients if they are good enough and dedicated enough at what they do, just for the pleasure of working alongside them. Choosing Your Wedding Photographer, and the Digital Revolution The digital revolution has affected the photography business more profoundly than any other industry I have noticed. Why? To simplify, the reason is basically because now we all can see the image we just took on the back of our camera, and retake it 18 times in order to get it just right. Ten minutes later, we throw our hands in the air victoriously and proudly proclaim “Genius! I so should be a photographer.” You probably even know someone who is starting up their very own photography business. The photography business has seen a huge influx of start-up photographers who are less than professional and more than willing to take your money. I often tell people that if they are planning on spending a thousand dollars or less on their wedding photographer, they would be better off buying themselves a thousand dollar camera and handing it to someone at their wedding. The quality will be about the same as hiring someone who charges this amount, but at least they will have a thousand dollar camera for their honeymoon. Even though we are fully into the digital revolution where it is possible to hire a $500-$1000 wedding photographer, I highly suggest opting to budget for a high quality photographer. The old adage “you get what you pay for” rings very true in the photography industry. Consider that truly talented and highly skilled photographers have spent years perfecting their craft, and spent many tens of thousands of dollars on top-of-the-line camera equipment. Many have even spent years in school learning the craft. So now that I have effectively scared you about the pitfalls of bad photography, allow me to assist you in choosing a high quality photographer if you happen to be blessed with the resources to commission one. If you have read this far down the page, you are truly one of the brides who are passionate about your wedding photography. Look around…do you see anyone else on this page? Nope, it’s just you. You are the few, the brave, the well educated in wedding photography future bride…….like…lady. Below is a list of questions to get answers to when searching for your photographer: 1. Does this photographer specialize in weddings? (a very important question in my opinion) 2. How long has this photographer been a professional? 3. Is this photographer formally educated in photography? (This is not as big of an issue as one might think, but it certainly says something about that photographer) 4. Do I absolutely love the work I am seeing from this photographer, or do I just like it? Keep in mind that most “portfolios” are a handpicked collection of the very best-of-the-best images, so if you just “like” that photographer’s work, you will just NOT like your wedding photos. 5. Have I seen at least three complete weddings from beginning to end, with at least 300 images from each wedding? I highly recommend this approach, as this will give you a very real idea about what your wedding photos will look like. If a wedding photographer is unwilling to share this many weddings with you, walk away. 6. In the case of a destination wedding, is this photographer experienced with destination weddings abroad and with traveling to destination weddings? What other destination locations have they been to? Your destination wedding is not the place for a photographer who is inexperienced in travel, or other cultures. Planning Time for Your Wedding Photos Each and every wedding is different, so you and your photographer should work together to determine how much time, and when the photos (portraits) will be taken. This requires in-depth discussion and planning between you and your photographer. Once the time and length of time have been agreed upon, stick with this plan. It is customary for the bridal party to “borrow” a few minutes from the time allotted for photos when they have fallen behind schedule. This is a bad plan, as it will not only affect the number of photos you receive, but also their quality as well. It is impossible for me to tell you exactly how much time you will need to set aside for photos, as it depends on many different factors that need to be discussed with your photographer. I can however tell you that a general rule of thumb when planning outdoor portraits is to plan to take them approximately 45 minutes before the sun goes down. Some photographers are quite able to control bad outdoor lighting in ways you would never expect, but asking a photographer to take a portrait of you at high noon with blazing sun overhead creating huge, unflattering shadows everywhere is not a good situation to be in for you or your photographer. Again, work very closely with your photographer in the planning process of your wedding day, and stick to that plan above all else, unless your photographer advises you to scrap the plan in favor of another one. Listen to your photographer, allow them to advise you and trust their expertise even if it means having to plan your wedding day around the wedding photography. Your photographer should be intensely interested in the quality of the light everywhere he or she goes, as they should be highly trained to know good and bad lighting. Choosing Your Wedding Ceremony Venue Photographically speaking, there are only two real issues that will affect the quality of your ceremony photos. The quality and amount of light that is available at the venue, and the restrictions placed on the photographer. If you are getting married indoors, at your church for example, determine the quality of light in the church (or ask your photographer to help with this). How much light there is will make a difference in the quality of your images. Again, it’s best to discuss your particular ceremony venue with your photographer to get his/her input before you make a decision, if at all possible. Restrictions placed on your photographer can have a major detrimental impact on your photos as well. If your church does not allow movement, flash, or anything else that restricts your photographer from doing his/her job, your images will suffer regardless of how talented and skilled your photographer is. If your first choice for a ceremony venue is restrictive towards photographers, consider another location. Consider hiring an actual Master of Ceremonies for your reception One of the most disappointing events I see at weddings is how early many people leave the reception. Why? Because they are bored to tears and would rather be home not wearing the suit they are in. You have to entertain your guests! Webster defines a “Host” (in the noun form) as: one that receives or entertains guests socially, commercially, or officially. I believe we as modern people have lost the art and inclination to entertain our guests. A true master of ceremonies will have people laughing, crying, laughing while crying, and dancing all night long and all the months of preparation you spent will not seem like a waste of time. Aside from your photographer and Coordinator, I believe your DJ/Musician/Master of Ceremonies will play the next biggest role in the success of your wedding as a whole. I’m sure that you will be glad that you put so much attention into the quality of evening that your guests enjoy. Food for Wedding Vendors It is indeed customary to feed some of the wedding vendors you hire for your wedding. A good rule of thumb when deciding who to feed and who to let starve, is to determine whom have been with you during both the ceremony and the reception, and invite those vendors to dine with you. Those vendors might include your pastor/priest/officiate, videographer, musicians, photographer, coordinator and the balloon animal guy. Keep in mind that your photographer and videographer need to be ready to shoot when you are done eating, so allowing them to go to the front of the line with you and your wedding party especially in the case of a buffet is advised. Invite them to eat while you are eating, so that they do not miss a moment, and because neither you or your guests will want to be photographed while eating. Again, in my opinion it is customary to provide dining for the vendors who have been with you the entire day. Vendors who are only there for the reception could have, and should have eaten prior to coming to work. Let them eat cake. Destination Weddings and Destination Wedding Photography Destination weddings can be one of the most beautiful and memorable weddings to have, but a little extra bit of wisdom and planning may be required to pull one off without dissappointment. Make sure everyone on your guest list has their passports well in advance of your wedding date. It usually takes about 90 days to get a passport from your local post office, and they usually cost about $100 for a first time applicant. Also, it is crucial that all of your wedding vendors have work permits if they are not a native. It is possible to get away with not having a work permit, but it is not advised as the risk it presents is certainly not worth it. Pay attention to the average weather and humidity in the area where your wedding will take place. Consider what high humidity and heat will do to your dress/hair/makeup. Many of these islands have nicer weather during seasons other than summer, so consider the option of having a destination wedding during an abnormal part of the year. You will have much smaller crowds, cheaper prices, no hurricanes and more hospitable weather. Never underestimate the sun and the heat on a tropical island. You can easily get dehydrated, or sunburned if you are not used to tropical or sub-tropical climates. A sun-burn or a heat-injury would certainly ruin your wedding day. Consider providing SPF 45 for all your guests in their welcome bags. Keep in mind that most of the local wedding vendors on these islands do not have the same passion for your wedding as you do. I have seen many instances of local island wedding vendors who act as if they are simply doing their job, which of course they are. However, what we consider less than motivated, they consider normal and acceptable work ethics. It is simply a matter of perception and cultural differences in most cases. There isn’t much you can do to prevent this, besides understanding that most islands have a relaxed culture to say the least. For example, during a 2008 Bahamas wedding, I witnessed a Bahamian wedding officiant’s cell phone ring during the wedding ceremony. He actually pulled it out and looked at the caller I.D. as if to decide on answering it or not. To avoid too much disappointment, just be aware of the fact that you are getting married in their country with all the cultural differences, and try to relax and have fun! In conclusion, if you are willing to put up with a few added headaches, your destination wedding can certainly be a memorable and exciting event. Of course the advantage to having a destination wedding is that you are already most likely in the place you’ll spend for your honeymoon! For more information on specific destination wedding locations and our advice about those locations, see the “Destination Weddings” tab on this site. A list of resorts that service destination wedding couples, but also disallow or actually charge high fees for allowing destination wedding photographers, include the Sandals Resorts (all locations), Breezes (all locations), Rooms On The Beach Resorts (all locations), Couples Resorts (all locations), Starfish Resorts (all locations), Grand Lido Resorts (all locations), Rose Hall (Jamaica) and the Fern Tree Spa at Half Moon (Jamaica) (The Fern Tree is the same Company as Rose Hall). Please research each resort or hotel you consider in reagrds to their policy on destination wedding photographers, as this list is bound to be incomplete. We wish you the very best for your big day! and we hope this information will help in planning your local or destination wedding. Brad Walters is an international destination wedding photographer who routinely travels to many parts of the world for his client's destination weddings. A list of destinations the Brad Walters Photography team travels to includes, but isn't limited to: Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Fiji, Hawaii, Jamaica, Mexico, St.Lucia, Tahiti, Turks and Caicos and the Virgin Islands. |