-B
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A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to photograph a boudoir session with the beautiful Niccell. I will have to check with her if I can post a slideshow :). What an amazing session!
Well, here we are a few weeks later and their wedding was no less amazing. Niccell and Jeremy are soooo good together, great people to work with. Tessa and her crew at the Don Vicente did a great job as always, everything went very smoothly. The ceremony was intimate and small, and very warm and emotional. I personally love the fact that they wrote their own vows, these weren't cliche or sappy vows, oh no, these were heartfelt and true feelings expressed in these vows. OK! Enough chatter, here's the photos!
Here's the sneak peek of their wedding:
No, nobody is going to jail.
I've been working on my own website for 4 years now. Along the way, I made some mistakes. At one point I had a bunch of Michael Buble songs for all my galleries. It looked and sounded wonderful! Then a friend reminded me that it was wrong to do that. As I understand it, using it for non-profit (ie, not for sale) is ok, but not reccomended. I do still use it for sneak peeks on my blog, but they are not for sale and are for entertainment purposes only!
Wrong?
YES!!! It's STEALING!
I pay for the music on my website and so should anyone else using their website for profit! If you go to a photographer's website and hear music that you just heard on the radio, they are breaking the law and stealing from that musician! I know what you're thinking, "those musicians have tons of money and the labels don't really care". Yeah, right. Here's the thing, it's a trickle down effect. It starts with stealing music, then the laws get tougher, then anyone who creates anything gets worried about theft of their property, then we all raise prices.
So, support lower prices and the US copyright laws and think twice about a photographer who uses STOLEN music!
I will now get off my soapbox.
-B
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Thanks!
-B
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Anyway, here's their sneak peek!
By the way, it totally poured during their ceremony, but everybody took it in stride, wonderful thing.
-B
Without traditions, most of what we do today to celebrate nearly everything would be rather blah. Weddings are no exception. It's tradition that the Father of the Bride walk her down the aisle. It's tradition that everyone be dressed up. It's tradition that there's even a wedding!
I'm not going to tell you what you should do on your wedding day, as a matter of fact, I'm more likely to tell you pretend you're at Burger King and "Have it YOUR way!", but, there are some things I want you to think about.
Cutting the Cake. Come on people, it's a cake, you cut it, everyone watches. It's over in about 2 minutes. You don't need the "cram the cake" action going on, that's kinda tacky. This tradition started hundreds of years ago and it signifies "breaking bread together", or forming a family. This is not one to leave out.
Bride and Groom seeing each other before the ceremony. This is an oldie, but a goodie. This one comes from arranged marriage, which is still practiced in some cultures today. I guess the idea was that lets say we had a "beautification challenged" bride, keeping the groom away from her until he says, "I do" might stop him from running away in terror! That's also probably the origin of the veil tradition as well, come to think of it. I personally think since most couples have been together much longer before getting married than they used to, having a "separation time", even if it's only one day, makes the wedding day (and night) better. You know the saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder". Plus, from a photography standpoint, the reaction of the groom to his bride coming down the aisle is priceless, but if he's seen her already, it's not so much.
The Garter and Bouquet. These are the items most commonly left out by today's brides. I hear, "It's tacky", or "That's boring". Guess what? Wanna know what's boring? Going to a wedding as a guest, sitting through a ceremony, then attending a reception where NOTHING happens. Just dinner, maybe a speech or two, then dancing. They have clubs for that. Having activities such as the garter toss, the boquet toss, first dances, cake cutting, maybe a dollar dance, get people involved and out of their seats. Here's the truth: Most people hate going to weddings. Why not do something that makes them not hate yours? Let's say you don't have any or enough single people in the crowd. No problem, have ALL the women or ALL the men come up. OR, here's a good one: One of my brides bought about 30 scratch off lottery tickets and fitted them into a boquet of flowers, everyone was invited to the dance floor (and most got up too!) and someone went home with a nice gift! GREAT IDEA! I've never seen that many people get up for a boquet toss before!
There are many more traditions at weddings that are being ignored or scorned today. I don't think this is the way to go. Instead, let's modify these traditions to suit today's world and interests. Keeping the spirit of tradition is more important than the actual mechanics of the act. I want future generations to continue to do the traditional things that have always been done. This is part of what creates a culture and a community, without that where would we be?
-B
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Then you are about to hit the dance floor. But...... where's the music? Suddenly there is a tap on your shoulder and some guy you've never seen before tells you he needs to run to WalMart for batteries. You look at him like the moron that he is and say, "Who are you and why should I care?" He responds with, "I'm your DJ and I need some batteries so I can get this party started! I'll be right back."
Wow, there's a nightmare just about to erupt!
I've actually witnessed this, more than once I might add.
I've seen people spend a fortune on everything, flowers, reception site, dress, jewelry, etc., only to skimp and pay $200 for their DJ, the life blood of the party! Did they think the DJ wasn't important? Didn't they realize how the DJ can make or BREAK your party?
Thankfully, there are Professional Organizations that can help filter the good from the bad. Professional DJ's invest in their education and their equipment. They have the permits, insurance and knowledge to get the job done with style and panache. DJ's come in all styles too, maybe you want a guy in a chicken suit, or maybe a monkey suit (aka tuxedo?). You can get that, but you will also get reliability and responsible, dedicated DJ services.
While I have many friends in the DJ business, I can't reccomend one or any here directly, that wouldn't be fair, but...... If you look just to the right of this post, well you know, right over there?
OK, here in Tampa we have a local chapter for the American Disc Jockey Association, or ADJA for short. Their website is: http://www.adja.org/ Here you will find lots of info and helpful searches for qualified DJ services in any area of the country.
Don't trust your party to some kid with an ipod, get a real Professional!
-B
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