It was my first time participating in a bridal show, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. With the doors slated to open at 1pm, I couldn’t believe how many excited brides and grooms were lined up as early as 11am. I’m waiting to hear how many brides came to the show, but I would guess over 700!

Our booth got a lot of attention, with many couples looking for 2013 and even 2014 availability. It was so nice talking to all of the brides and grooms about their upcoming weddings. Everyone seemed to have a great time at the show, with the cake tastings and chocolate fountains, being as always, a big hit.

It was also nice to see some vendors who I’ve worked with before. In addition, it was nice to meet some new vendors. Our booth was between Sprinkles Custom Cakes of Winter Park and DJ Live Productions. I have to say, it was hard sticking to New Year’s resolutions with cupcakes staring at me the entire day!

Thanks again to everyone that came out, and please contact us if you have any follow-up questions!

It’s my first bridal show and I’m so excited to participate in such a great event!

The bride and her bridesmaids got dressed and ready at the DoubleTree Resort in downtown Orlando. As I was taking pictures around the room, I noticed a note with Tierney’s name on it. Ian had given it to her the night before letting her know how happy and excited he was to be getting married that next day.

Ian, as an active member of the United States Marine Corps, wore his dress blues to the ceremony. Tierney wore a beautiful gown from Kleinfeld with blue shoes to coordinate with his uniform.

I love when couples decide to have a destination wedding in Orlando – it’s fun to see all of the guests excited by the many sights and sounds of a city that I often take for granted. And I often learn something new.

The wedding was held downtown at Ceviche Tapas Bar and Restaurant, a place I had never been. What a cool and fun place to have a wedding! It is located in a building on Church Street that is over 100 years old. The ambiance of the location was fantastic, complete with great food and live Latin music. The candlelight room was a gorgeous host to both the ceremony and the reception.

We also were also just a few feet from Church Street Station, which is always a fantastic location to photograph. I had a great time with the whole wedding party as we found some great spots for pictures near the restaurant.

Tierney and Ian were an awesome couple and I am so glad I was able to be part of their wedding! Here are some of my favorite images from the day.

VENDORS

Hotel – DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando Downtown (www.hilton.com)
Dress – Kleinfeld (www.kleinfeldbridal.com)
Shoes – Caparros (www.caparrosshoes.com)
Florist – Amy Ruscica
Hair – Steph Caudle
Ceremony / Reception – Ceviche Tapas Bar and Restaraunt (www.ceviche.com)
Officiant – Reverend Steve Swan from Sensational Ceremonies (www.sensational-ceremonies.com)
Cake – Cut the Cake, Inc. (www.cutthecakeinc.com)

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to spend two days with legendary wedding photographer, David Ziser. David has been shooting weddings in the Cincinnati, Ohio area for over 40 years. His lectures at the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International pull in over 800 attendees.

This Saturday, I had the honor being his assistant at a wedding in Tampa, Florida. It was a smaller size wedding of about 70 guests held at the Heritage United Methodist Church in Clearwater, Florida with a reception immediately following at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa.

Working with David was a fantastic learning experience for me. It was also the first time I’ve been an assistant at a wedding, so the responsibilities were a little different than I was used to.

The bride (Becky) and groom (Paul) wanted to have a “first look” before the ceremony. So, we photographed the couple when they first saw each other on their wedding day. We then visited different locations around the sanctuary at Heritage United Methodist Church. It’s a beautiful modern church with many angles and leading lines that make for great photographs.

From there, David found a great area on the grounds of the church where we took all of the family and bridal party portraits. We also had some fun taking photos with the bridal party at the pumpkin patch that the church had going on. A wedding day is generally on a tight schedule, so it was nice to have all of these portraits complete before the ceremony.

After the ceremony, we headed across town to the Florida Aquarium at Channelside in Tampa, Florida. David does some amazing environmental portraits and being able to take photographs in this gorgeous room (complete with sharks and sea turtles swimming by) offered some fantastic photo opportunities. I assisted David with the lighting as not only did we have to light up the bride and groom; we also had to light up the room which was very dark and we had to light the fish in the aquarium! It was a very tricky photo, but David pulled it off. You can see a photo from before the reception on David’s blog (here).

It was a fun reception complete with a visit by two ADORABLE penguins. The guests all seemed to have had a great time in a very cool venue.

Being able to work for David was an amazing learning experience, something I’ll never forget. I learned many new technical techniques from him during the day. I also witnessed how he worked the event with the utmost in class and professionalism. David is famous for his amazing images. But, David Ziser’s 30 years of success in the wedding photography industry is because of the level of service he provides his clients.

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Two days later, I headed back to Tampa to attend a workshop that David was teaching. The class is part of the Dave Cross Workshops held at Studio 3 in Oldsmar, Florida. It was an intimate class that allowed us to ask a lot of questions and to be involved in the class. It was nice to see Tony, a fellow photographer, who was a participant in my photo walk, in attendance at David Ziser’s class.

We spent the morning reviewing different lighting techniques and how to make lighting exciting. We also had some informal portfolio reviews by LaDawn Ziser, which were great.

In the afternoon, we headed over to Phillipe Park in Oldsmar, Florida. Our beautiful model, Liz, was a great sport as we hiked around the park.

I took some pictures throughout the day, but my focus was more on the directions given to the model. It was very interesting how a simple gesture change could turn a good pose in to a great pose.

We headed back to the studio to review the pictures taken at the park and we had some additional time to touch on various topics.

Between the wedding on Saturday and the class on Monday, I feel great right now about all that I have learned. I also can’t wait until my next event to use some of these new found techniques. David and LaDawn Ziser are two amazing individuals and it humbles me to have had the opportunity to work with both of them.

Also, this is my second time heading to the Dave Cross Workshops. Dave has brought hosted workshops with some of the biggest names in the photography industry. It’s a rare opportunity that someone can have access like that. If you are looking to excel your photography or design skills, I strongly recommend you check out his workshops.

In closure, I wanted to include some of the photos I took at the workshop. It shows what a great job David does at finding an ideal backdrop and posing the model in a way that is very beautiful. I also included a quick photo of David in action with some of the students photographing as well.

I hope you enjoy.

I am pleased to announce a very special fall promotion. If you book a wedding package before December 21st, I will include a makeup artist for your engagement photo session. Makeup will be provided by Makeup by Rae of Orlando. I had the chance to work with Rae on some recent work, and she does a fabulous job.

This promotion is limited to engagement sessions in the Orlando area. For more details, please contact us.

Trash the Dress photography has only really been around for 10 years. For those that may not know, it’s a style of wedding photography where the bride and groom go an unusual location dressed in their wedding attire. Often times, they’ll go to a place where the wedding dress may get a little dirty or wet to create very dramatic and gorgeous photos. There are so many interesting places where a session like this can happen – the beach, city streets, and open fields are just a few of the more popular locations.

The workshop was held just south of Daytona Beach in Ponce Inlet. We started well before sunset and didn’t finish until after there was very little light left in the sky. We had plenty of time for shooting, so I tried out some new techniques that worked out very well – I can’t wait to use them again in the future!

There were four models for the workshop — two brides (Rebecca and Kelsey) and two bridesmaids (Lindsey and Ashley). I would have liked to have had a “groom” represented as well to get ideas for couples’ shots, but there was still plenty to photograph.

The class had a nice mixture of students – some of us were wedding photographers, some were fashion photographers, and the rest were photo enthusiasts who came out to try something new.

There were also two other sessions happening at the beach – an engagement session and a wedding – so I felt a little sorry for those photographers. I’m not sure how they felt when a class of 35 descended upon their prime photo spots.

Overall, I had a great time. It’s always nice to talk to other photographers and I think I got some great photos out of the day. I’m looking forward to my upcoming Trash the Dress photo shoots, and sharing those pictures with everyone via my blog!

Here are some of the photos from the workshop, including a “behind the scenes” shot of the class.

April had this to say:

Many couples never even consider hiring a wedding planner because they think it may be out of their budget. Every bride should realize that having professional assistance can save you time, aggravation, and even money. Do you need a wedding planner?

• You are way behind on your checklist and schedule
• You both work full-time jobs that will prevent you from meeting with vendors on weekdays? (Remember, vendors work on weekends!) Are you having your wedding on a Saturday? Well, you don’t want vendors scheduling a consult at YOUR wedding, do you?
• You don’t have other outside help such as an involved mother-of-the-bride, helpful bridesmaids, or knowledgeable friends (or you don’t want them taking over. Trust me, a planner can help you overcome any strains on relationships with people who “want” to help)
• You don’t know people who can give you reliable vendor recommendations. (Honestly, a good wedding planner is connected with the industry. We know who is reputable, professional, ethical and who fit your style/budget! )
• You are having a destination wedding (we love destination weddings — in Florida or elsewhere. A planner can tell you what to ask during a site visit or we can do the dirty work for you)
• You’re excited to be married, but just thinking about wedding planning fills you with dread (some people just aren’t able to focus or prepare a realistic plan.
• You’re having a very short engagement (need to get it done fast? With a few quick phone calls, a planner can make it happen QUICK)
• You can envision your wedding, you just have no idea how to make your dreams come true (you can spend days searching for the perfect linens and STILL not see everything. A planner will do everything needed to give you ideas)
• You can’t even envision your wedding (some brides can’t conceptualize, decide on, or envision their day. I consider myself a design expert as well as a planner. If you need inspiration for your day, a planner can work to get samples and inspiration for you to see and then help you decide)
• You’re feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and generally wishing that you had decided to elope. (Pretty common when you don’t have a solid plan). It can be so much easier and focused when you have a planner!

If said yes to one or more of the above, you should at least look into the options of hiring a wedding planner. Of course, if you’re looking to save money, this may be an expense that you can avoid. But keep in mind that because of inside connections and experience that allows them to avoid common mistakes, hiring a wedding planner might be the most cost-effective move in the end. Ask a bride who has had one and a bride who didn’t have one… I can predict 100% of the answers!

To see more information about April and The D-Tales, please visit their website at www.thedtales.com.

My first tip is related to hiring a makeup artist for your wedding day. I asked Stephanie Mazzeo, a fantastic Central Florida makeup artist for some of her thoughts about whether to do your own makeup or to hire a professional.

Here are some of her thoughts on this topic:

Your wedding is probably going to be one of the most important days when you will be surrounded by family and friends and will have more photos taken of you than any other time (unless of course you happen to be a model or celebrity.)

It is crucial that your wedding day makeup is perfect for your photographs. You don’t ever want to assume that your everyday makeup look, perhaps applied a little heavier is suitable for the camera. I can’t stress enough how important it is to find a Makeup Artist skilled in bridal makeup and experienced in creating a long lasting application that appears flawless in person and on camera.

Narrowing down the list of suitable makeup artists is going to require a bit of research and a whole lot of trust on your part. Begin by asking your married friends and take a peek at their wedding albums. Look at their makeup in the photos during the ceremony and at the end of the night. Did it hold true? Is it still as flawless at the end of the wedding night as it was in any pre-ceremony photos?

Courtesy of Stephanie Mazzeo - Photograph by Brian Morey

Try asking your photographer for referrals. Many times they’ve encountered makeup artists while filming their clients and perhaps can provide you with a name or two.
When you’ve found an artist with whom you think you would like to hire, ask for her/his credentials. View their portfolio and be sure their makeup style matches the look you want. Request a list of past bridal client references to contact. Ask questions and feel out the artist. You should feel comfortable with the her/him and not settling on the one with the lowest price.

Next, schedule a pre-wedding consultation or trial run. Most of the professional artists will charge for the consultation, so be prepared to pay. Bring along magazine pages of makeup looks you like as this provides the artist with an indication of your style and desired look. Try to wear a white or off-white top/dress to mimic your wedding day attire. This will provide you with a better indication of the overall look. If you can, schedule your hair trial at the same time so you have a complete image.

Once you and your makeup artist have decided on a look and you are happy with the results, be sure to sign an agreement or contract specifically detailing price, services, location, time of arrival and completion. Many artists require some sort of payment to hold your wedding date. You want to be sure all the terms are in writing and leave nothing to chance. Include any other bridesmaids, mothers or others who may wish to have their makeup done as well.

Be sure to schedule accordingly with your hair stylist so she and the makeup artist are able to work together to keep the day flowing smoothly. With all this said and done, all you are left to do is get dressed and walk down the aisle looking Red-Carpet FABULOUS!

Stephanie Mazzeo – Makeup Artist
www.stephaniejmazzeo.com

The wedding and reception were held at the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia, not too far from the University of Georgia campus. On the way there, we even drove by a pasture of baby lambs – very fitting for Easter weekend.

Before the ceremony, there was time to explore the gardens, and it was a fabulous place for a wedding. I also had the chance to talk with the photographers a bit – Chad & Tina Pritchard, a fun husband and wife team from Atlanta. They did a wonderful job and we enjoyed “talking shop” for a bit. You don’t get to do that at weddings very often!

The bride and groom looked fantastic and we were so happy to be included in their special wedding weekend. Congratulations, Scott and Grace, and best wishes for a wonderful marriage!

It is a great way to enjoy and share images from your special day.

I put together this slideshow for Maria and Blake’s wedding last year.

Photographs were taken at:
· Hilton Bonnet Creek
· The grounds of Waldorf Astoria Orlando
· First Baptist Church of Orlando – Marie Williams Chapel
· Cypress Grove Park

The music is Valentine by Cary Judd.

I hope you enjoy!