So why should you get a (professional) photographer for your wedding day?
Worst case scenario - you will be taking your own photos at the wedding. Obviously this really should not happen. You, the host of the event, the main reason people are there, are busy taking snap shots of your wedding party. You will simply have your hands to full to capture the whole essence of your wedding day.
Okay, so that first example may not be a really practical example. A real example would be if you knew someone, someone who isn’t really a professional photographer, but someone who was enthusiastic with a camera, who did it as a hobby?
Well sure, you can assign Cousin Al or Uncle Harry to do the honors and be the official photographer for your engagement. Sure they can pull off an event like yours: 150 guests minimum, reception, the ceremony at the church, some casual shots at the beach or by the bay with the sunset in the background. Perhaps.
Consider this: what kind of photography do they do in their spare time? They may do still-life photography. Or studio photography. Or portrait photography. Or maybe only landscape photography and maybe even shoot the occasional social party. Do you know what I’m getting at?
You have to check and know what they do. Ask if they are up to the challenge. Weddings are a whole different ball game.
Wedding photographers are a whole different breed to your usual hobbyist, glamour, still-life, studio, commercial and landscape photographer. They even speak a different language.
So what is the difference then?
The difference is in the equipment they carry, the planning needed to carry out your mission (your wedding) and their attitude and enthusiasm about the job.
Weddings offer a dynamic environment to which the wedding photographer must conquer and evolve within a short period of time. They have to make the best of different locations and different lighting conditions as well as weather concerns. A good successful wedding photographer can do all these (and more!)
Different locations and lighting conditions - that’s simple, you say, just whip out the camera and press the button.
No it isn’t. Photography is all about lighting. Photography is lighting. Photography comes from a root word that means ‘light painting.’ Wedding photographers must be the masters of light in all different situations at different locations. It’s not simply point and shoot.
And besides getting the perfect shot - the lighting and the composition, your designated photographer will need to be creative and constantly running around making sure every shot you want is taken. I can personally assure you that this is a very high-stress situation for the photographer. Film (or digital cards) can be lost or damaged, photos lost or shots missed due to faulty equipment.
The quality of service and photos…
You should go out and hire a professional photographer for your wedding because you will get the quality you want. Your memory will be preserved with the dignity it deserves. You don’t want to regret having a dingy old photo as a memory when you know you had the opportunity to have it better.
It is the job of the wedding photographer that every finished photo you see of your wedding day to be perfect for your needs.
Do you think you can rely on Cousin Al to deliver?
It’s not your mother’s wedding, so stop worrying about doing everything her way. This is a time for you to express your individual taste and style. So what if she never would have dreamed of carrying “fake” flowers in her bridal bouquet. In her generation fake flowers were plastic. Of course she wouldn’t have used them!
This is a new generation and silk wedding flowers are the rage! Not only have “fake” flowers evolved in leaps and bounds, but they have also become very popular as alternatives to fresh flowers for wedding bouquets, flower girl baskets, corsages and boutonnieres. From the exquisite cascading bridal bouquet to the simplistic hand-tied wedding bouquet, silk wedding flowers lend themselves to every style imaginable!
Elegant silk calla lilies look lovely, whether cascading downward intermingled with ivy, or when in a hand-tied bridal bouquet. Silk roses in a rainbow of colors combine nicely with a variety of other flowers in a clutch bridal bouquet or in a cascading wedding bouquet. The look is so close to that of fresh flowers that most people will never even know the difference. But your checkbook will!
Purchasing silk wedding flower packages is what many smart brides are doing. Eliminating the stress of last-minute florist mix-ups, ordering your silk wedding flower sets from one of the online merchants is convenient and cost-effective. With packages starting under $300, silks have made wedding flowers affordable.
Beware of low-quality silks, however. Make sure that you’re getting top-of-the-line silk flowers if you want to fool everyone that they’re real. Quality silk wedding flowers are so realistic that people will want to smell your bridal bouquet! To fool them, try spritzing your wedding bouquets with rose oil or another floral fragrance.
Flower girl baskets can carry a stationary arrangement or an assortment of silk rose petals to be scattered down the aisle for the bride to walk upon. Walking on rose petals is symbolic of both beauty and of the bride walking down the path of a new life that is about to begin. Another alternative for the flower girl is for her to carry a silk floral pomander. The flowers can match those in the bridal bouquet and your little flower girl will look adorable swinging her beautiful pomander to and fro as she heads down the aisle. This is especially conducive to very young flower girls.
The ring bearer’s pillow has an alternative as well. A fabric covered ring box can be carried down the aisle by your young attendant. This is a more contemporary look for the ring bearer, who often balks at carrying a lacy pillow.
In lieu of traditional corsages, consider giving the special women at the wedding small hand-tied bouquets for them to carry. With today’s flimsier fabrics, pin on corsages are sometimes too bulky to wear. However, by using silk flowers, the weight of the corsages is dramatically decreased. Maybe you could point that out as a benefit to your mother as you gently remind her — this isn’t her wedding after all.
So many relationships come in second, third or even worse to the many distractions in our daily lives. Unfortunately, these distractions are allowing too many marriages to end in divorce or a couple simply co-exists for years longing for happiness and fulfillment. It simply doesn’t have to be this way. It’s time to take a look at what is really important and what will matter in the long run. Once your job or other commitments are gone, all you’ll have left is an empty marriage or an empty home to face every day. It’s time to stop making excuses and find the time to romance your spouse starting today.
Some women truly believe that some men aren’t genetically capable of being romantic. No matter how masculine a guy is, he is capable of romance! It is just another excuse for people to let their relationship slide. Romance leads to happy relationships while relationships without romance lead to loneliness or even worse. All men are and can show that they are romantic. So can all women.
When you envision romance, you probably think about a great deal of materialistic exchanging happening between you and your spouse. Romance isn’t about what is tangible or how much you spent. Romance is about the thought and intention behind every gesture you make. As long as the thought is behind your efforts, you will have romance. Improving your relationship with better companionship, sex and attention is very romantic alone!
If you’ve decided to be romantic, you have one chance to forget about your commitment. Just one chance and then that’s it. From then on it’s an excuse- a bad one at that- and you will do more damage to your relationship than you thought possible from neglecting your spouse. If you are constantly forgetting, you are displaying behavior that can only be interpreted as your spouse simply isn’t that important to you.
Procrastination is the archenemy of romance. While your career is and should be important, your spouse should be more important. Imagine sitting on your front porch in your golden years while looking back at everything you’ve accomplished as well as any regrets you might have. Do you really thing you’ll be wishing you had spent more time working?
For the belligerent spouses out there, its most likely crossed you mind that you don’t have to be romantic because you shouldn’t have to prove your love to your spouse. Being married and bringing romance into your relationship isn’t about proving anything. Romance with your spouse is about showing how much you appreciate and love him or her.
Don’t drag your heels when it comes to being romantic. Putting it off can become just as bad as never ever doing it at all and the habit is quite easy to fall into. Consider the fact that you don’t know how long you and your spouse will be lucky enough to have each other. Whether he or she will become deceased or they leave your procrastinating butt, you simply don’t have the time to put off making your marriage and incredibly loving and romantic partnership.
