20 Questions to ask a Potential Wedding photographer

December 11, 2018

Ever wondered what to ask a potential wedding photographer? Well have no fear, here are 20 sample questions you can use (in no particular order).

Click here to download the free easy to print PDF

Are you available for my wedding date?
Do you travel to my location?
Do you use off camera flash?
1. Why is this important? You want your photographer to be using a flash that doesn’t flash directly in your face if you can avoid it. Off camera flashes have the ability to bounce the light off a ceiling so you don’t have harsh shadows.
What is your most popular package?
What amenities do you offer in ALL of your packages?
Are there any amenities that I can add to packages that don’t already offer them?
Do you take engagement portraits/ bridal portraits?
Do you have insurance (this is really only important if your venue requires it)
Do you offer packages with second photographers?
What is the turn-around time for your images?
Do you edit your images?
Do I have the rights to all of my images or only a select number
1. Some photographers charge a smaller fee to photograph your wedding, then charge clients per image. Some photographers charge a higher up-front fee and include edited images.
How do the images come to me when they are done?
Do you offer prints beyond what is in your package?
Do you offer wedding albums?
1. What does your wedding album look like?
Do you share images on social media?
Do you offer same day edits?
How long have you been a wedding photographer?
Have you ever worked at my venue before?
Have you ever photographed a wedding like mine before?

If you haven’t already read the previous blog post (3 steps to hire a wedding photographer) check it out now!

3 Steps to Hire a Wedding Photographer

December 4, 2018

3 Steps to Hire a Wedding Photographer

It’s engagement season, and I imagine a lot of you have just gotten the ring (yea!) Now’s the time to start looking for things like wedding venues and a wedding photographer. So what should you do? I’m a believer in lists, so…

Step 1: Make a list of all of your potential wedding photographers. I would suggest using Excel if you have access to it.

In your spread sheet, put in the company name, main contact, phone number, website…

Step 2: Determine what’s most important to you and put those photographers on your list.

Are you on a tight budget and you just need someone to take a few snaps of you at the alter?
Do you have a specific style in mind and are hoping for some great amenities like USB’s, Printed images and wedding albums?
How much time do you think you will need a photographer (ball park idea)?
Of coarse, your budget needs to be considered.
- Know that wedding photography averages $2,000-$5,000

Step 3: Start contacting your potential photographers & whittling them down to “the one!”

Lastly, things to consider, choosing a wedding photographer should be like looking for a friend to rent (that sounds bad). You’ll want to consider personalities. If you don’t get along with your photographer, your images and nerves could suffer. Make sure their photography style is in par with your vision. If you don’t like the style of photography they offer, you probably won’t like the images they produce for you.

Where do you search for wedding photographers?
Facebook, WeddingWire, The Knot, Google…

Dylan & Jennifer’s Disney Wonderland Wedding

November 27, 2018

A little over a year ago, Dylan and Jennifer said “I do,” under the Texas stars.

Their Disney themed wedding was full of colorful decorations, a mad hatter wedding cake and, of coarse, Disney songs.

Happy Anniversary!!

White Oaks on the Bayou

November 20, 2018

White Oaks on the Bayou vendor appreciation.

It’s 2 days from Thanksgiving, so I’m starting a new type of blog post; vendor appreciation. I will kick off with one of my all time favorite wedding venues, White Oaks on the Bayou.

There is so many amazing things going for this venue. It has a beautiful, permanent outdoor ceremony setup with a stage and a fountain. Wedding parties can dress up or down the area to customize it to your needs. You could drape curtains from the pergola, flowers, cloth streamers… you’re only limited by your imagination.

Also, it’s out in the country, which I love. Surrounded by farms with cows and horses, the venue is 32 acres of quaint and quiet serenity. A big difference from the bustling madness of the forth largest city in the United States.

The bridal suit is light and airy with plenty of room to move around, while the groom’s room is a darker, hunting cottage feel. There is so much space for tables and a dance floor with plenty of windows and an amazing wooden door with wrought iron embellishments.

Check out some of my photos from the venue, including some photos from past weddings I have shot there.

What they offer:

White Oaks on the Bayou Rental Includes:
Lavish 32 acre property on sublime waterfront views with access from 9am-1am!
Gorgeous gazebo
Gold chiavary chairs
Round & rectangular guest tables to choose from
Large built-in stone fire pit for your guests to enjoy
Stunning outdoor patio w/ string lights
Picturesque outdoor swing perfect for bridal portraits
Bridal Suite & Groom’s Cave
1 hour rehearsal with coordinator
Coordinator on day of event
Set-up & clean-up
2 easels

Contact Sherry to schedule your tour.

Top 10 Flower Girl Photos

November 13, 2018

What’s more adorable than a little girl in a puffy dress throwing flowers into the air like she just doesn’t care?

Not much.

I have photographed some really adorable flower girls in past weddings. Some cried happy tears that their uncle was able to marry the man he loved, others were super sassy. Some were sisters or even twins, others were just friends. Check out my top 10 flower girls wedding photography.

John & Heather’s Rustic Cross Key Acres Wedding

November 6, 2018

It was a stunning fall day in Richmond, TX. The perfect kind of day for a wedding photographer.

The sun was out, the birds were chirping, there were few clouds in the sky and the temperature was surprisingly pleasant. I entered the Cross Key Acres venue with White Wedding by Billy Idol stuck in my head (because it was a “nice day for a white wedding.”)

Heather and her immediate family and friends were readying themselves inside the bridal suite at the venue. They took their time enjoying the moment and reveling in what was soon to be a stunning wedding.

As Dan and Shay from the ground up started, John and his grooms men (his Grandfather and father) along with his ring bearer walked down the stairs from the venue to a romantic backyard setting. Long fingers of Spanish moss danced in the breeze behind the wooden door frame and ancient wooden table, set up as the alter.The arch of the door frame supported a large, exquisite arrangement of white roses, white hydrangeas and an assortment of other beautiful flowers.

Heather and John assembled a unity cross partly through the ceremony — with the help of Heather’s daughter (and made of honor), Lexi. What are families for, right?

The ceremony was short, but sweet. There were tears of joy and laughter from the happy couple as well as several guest. After taking some wedding portraits with the party and family, Heather and John took some time to themselves in the bridal suite. In a rare turn of events, a wedding I was at was ahead of schedule (by 30 minutes or more!)

The wedding party made their grand entrance to Celebration by Kool and the Gang, and Heather and John went right into their first dance. They moved about the floor as lovers to James Arthur say you wont let go. After, Heather danced with her stepdad, a tribute to her late father. Her mother joined in and made it a trio on the dance floor. Then John danced with his mother to I Hope you Dance by Lee Ann Womack.

As the night continued on, wedding guests wore holes in their shoes dancing the night away. Of the guests, the children owned the dance floor. They flossed, duggied and did whatever else silly dance they could come up with (to any song that was on, including slow songs). One kid even did the worm on several occasions. I was impressed.

The night wound to an end, as all great parties do. All of John & Heather’s guests gathered outside the barn with extra long sparklers for a grand exit the happy couple will always remember.

I am sure everyone will miss them as they make their journey from Texas to Oregon to start a new chapter in their lives.

Congratulations John & Heather!

Vendors

Venue: Cross Keys Acres

Dress: David’s Bridal

Tux: Men’s Warehouse

Flowers: Busy Bees Flowershop

Cake: SmallCakes

DJ: Incredevents

When to hire a wedding photographer

October 30, 2018

Best time to hire a wedding photographer.

If you’ve done any sort of research, you’ll know that the very first thing you should do is lock in a date and location. (generally)You can’t hire a wedding photographer or anyone else for your wedding until you’ve booked a venue.

Some rare few might be obsessed with a wedding photographer and want to book them above all of the rest. They might find an available date with the photographer first, then find a venue that was available during that time. Good for you for going after what you want. All the rest of us tend to start from the top of the list and work our way down.

I would say on average you should book a photographer at least 6-months before your wedding. However, depending on the photographer and their load, 6-months might not be enough time.

3-6 months for new wedding photographers
6-12 months for seasoned wedding photographers
12+ months for popular wedding photographers

It also doesn’t hurt to book sooner for several reasons. First, you guarantee you get the wedding photographer you had your heart set on. Second, you give yourself plenty of time to either save up money for the wedding photographer or you start a payment plan.

Also, the sooner you hire a wedding photographer, the sooner you can get things like your engagement portrait session and bridal portrait session booked. Knocking those out of the park will reduce any stress you may encounter along the way.

Why Detail Wedding Photographs are essential

October 23, 2018

Detail wedding photography is essential so many reasons.

Your wedding day is almost here and your wedding photographer just sent you a message asking for you have your rings, perfume bottles, flowers, invitations and so many more things ready for them when they arrive at your venue. You might think, why is this important? I would rather them take pictures of me hanging with my bridesmaids?

First, there will be plenty of pictures of you and your friends hanging out. Second, your wedding photographer has allotted specific time for the detail shots. As for why your detail photos are important, here are 5 reasons:

1. You’ve worked so hard planning a theme and a color pallet for your wedding. You’ve scoured antique shops, malls and Etsy and spent a minor fortune on all of the details to make your wedding day perfect. Why wouldn’t you want to capture all of that hard work on film (or data as it were)?

2. Detail photos will help to tell a complete story of your wedding day.

3. Detail wedding photography tends to be an artistic representation of your vision. You’ve visualized it and now your wedding photographer has turned your vision into something solid that you can print and hang on your walls or gift to friends and family.

4. The details are what drew you in to the wedding photographer in the first place. Sure you thought their portrait photography was amazing, but someone eases face was in those images. When you look at detail photos from a wedding, you aren’t seeing a stranger’s wedding. You’re envisioning your own wedding and what it might look like when your wedding photographer is done.

5. Lastly, detail photos will help future brides and grooms to plan their own wedding. I know it doesn’t have anything to do with you and your day, but doesn’t it make you feel good that you can inspire so many other people with your vision? You could inspire a whole generation.

Top 10 Wedding Blogs for Weird-O’s

October 16, 2018

Where my weird-O’s at?!

[raising the roof]…[being told not to raise the roof]

I wanted to share some of my all-time favorite blogs for the geeky, nerdy and all around unique wedding couples.

*Note: the wedding blogs aren’t in any particular order. They are ordered as they came to me in my head (or on the internet).

Top 10 Wedding Blogs to follow

	This is one of my favorite wedding blogs out there. They are so unique and cater to such a wide variety of people that you’re bound to find wedding inspiration here. I love perusing this site for wedding photography inspiration myself.
	“We’re not worthy!” I feel like I’m not cool enough for this blog. It’s filled with all sorts of unique and confident brides and grooms. People with Mohawks, tattoos and uniquely colored hair.
	This blog celebrates the unusual, the quirky, the interesting and above all, the unique aspects of weddings, events and festivals. They appear to be a UK based publication.
	Inked as in “Make their mark on their day.” A blog for outside of the box for nuptials for creative and free-spirited couples.
	If you have more of an artistic soul, this blog is for you. It caters to the artist in its readers. I feel like it could be a bit OCD as well… so if you have OCD tendencies, this might be the perfect blog for you. Let’s face it, artist are generally obsessed with perfection.
	You know I had to include a southern blog. I Do Y’all is one of my favorite southern inspired wedding blogs. Of coarse they even have football inspired wedding blog posts (because that’s defiantly a southern thing.) lol
	A UK based wedding blog, WWW caters to creative and joy filled real weddings. Styled photography shoots are great, but they are unrealistic when looking for inspiration for your own wedding. I love that they feature real weddings.
	The Junebug blog has a specific site for Houston blogs, which is pretty cool. This is a sweeter, softer blog from some of the others on this list. What I really like is their color inspiration board. You can pick a color and find some great wedding inspiration.
	They showcase beautiful inspiration, personalized and creative details, distinctive style and most importantly, love … lots of love. There’s fab photography, DIY projects, tips and trends, expert advice and fave finds.
	For the modern day couple who follows the play of their own rulebook, for the couple who met online, the couple who loves the convenience of Uber Eats and for the couple who waits for one another to watch the next episode of ‘their show’ together. So This Is Love is a wedding blog dedicated to showcasing your love story!

What do you think? Did I miss anyone? Let me know if the comments below.

34 years of following my heart

October 9, 2018

Welp… today is my birthday. Today I get another year older [cringe].

What have I accomplished in my 34 years? I have always let my heart lead me in the direction it wanted to go, even if that meant I would have to work harder than others. Even if it meant I might not have as big of a coin purse as others, or if it meant I would spend my days pulled in 12 different directions.

I have stood on more football fields than I can count, some of them quite famous. I have walked the same halls as professional football players, and even met a few (albeit retired or sill in college).

I have a degree in a field that, though I don’t work for a big advertising company (as I had imagined in college), I use in my every day life and has been a great help turning my true passion into a career.

I joined a writers guild, thinking I would write the next great Hunger Games novel. I did write something, but have never published it. Maybe another birthday you’ll see that here. I’ve been published in a small collection of ghost stories before. My passion to write creativity is what has helps me with my blog posts, especially the Real Wedding posts. I want each blog post about a wedding I photograph to sound like something out of a story book (with a happy ending of coarse).

I married the man I pined fore in high school, but never acted on it and slipped away after graduation. We have one beautiful child together who loves life as much as we do. He loves to sing and dance and make friends (with everyone… seriously).

Lastly, I followed my heart to photography. It has been a passion for me since I was a kid. It was my father’s passion, and he introduced me to it’s wonders. I learned it in high school and in college. I got a job as a photojournalist where I met more like minded photographers (who I am still friends with today). I had an instructor/boss (who shares my birthday… happy birthday Darrel!) who helped push me along the way. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without his critical eye or his constant pushing and teaching.

My passion for photography lead me to the world of wedding photography. I absolutely love being a wedding photographer in the Houston area. I get to meet such unique people and eat lots of cake!

I’ll leave you with the motto Darrel has instilled in me. You will never know everything. Always listen and learn, because there’s always more to learn.

20 Questions to ask a Potential Wedding photographer

Click here to download the free easy to print PDF