Whether you are envisioning rustic chic or ballroom elegance your wedding will always be distinctively you!
Dream Images Event Planning provides a full
complement of planning services with
expertise in organization,
creative styling and attention to detail so
that your wedding is all you envisioned.
Our customized list of services includes:
Venue Consultation
Manage Bookings, Ceremony & Reception Coordination
Checklist Development and Management
Budget Development and Tracking
Wedding Styling
Compilation of Guest Lists / Responsibilities
Design, print of "Save The Date", Mailing
Etiquette Consultation
Vendor Recommendations
Monthly Planning Meetings
Concierge Assistance
Vendor Coordination
Styling &Recommendations
Decor & Design
Flower Stylist
Marriage Officer / Officiate
Photographer
Videographer
DJ, Music & Entertainment
Make-up Artist
Hair Stylist
Wedding Cake
Wedding Day Management.
Manage Deliveries, Suppliers, Logistics
Project Management
Choose a
photographer whose style matches your desires.
The two main styles of wedding photography today are traditional and
documentary with a third style,
often called illustrative, growing
in popularity.
The traditional or classic style of wedding photography is the one
that most people are familiar with.
The photographer often works
from a 'shot list' prepared according to the bride's requests and
takes posed photographs throughout the day to complete the list.
Experienced photographers will provide you with all the photos you
requested with this type of photography.
The poses, composition and
lighting should reflect the skills of a good portrait photographer.
The advantage of the traditional style is that you can pretty much
predict what your photos will look like.
The disadvantage is that
the photographer will be directing a good portion of your day.
The documentary or photojournalistic style of wedding photography,
which is my primary style,
has grown in popularity in the last
decade.
The photographer is there to document the activities of the
day without interference in order to provide you
with a series of
images that tell the story of the day.
Experienced photojournalists
will provide you with unique photos that show the events and
interactions that took place
while depicting the atmosphere and
emotions felt throughout the day.
The advantage of the documentary style is that you can pretty much
ignore the photographer.
In fact, most of them will tell you to do
that. The disadvantage is that the results are unpredictable.
They
depend entirely on the interactions that take place among the people
at the wedding and your photographer's
ability to capture those
interactions.
The illustrative style of wedding photography was inspired by the
photography shown in high-end fashion magazines like
Vanity Fair and
Vogue.
The pictures are taken with an eye to interesting or unusual
backgrounds and lighting and sometimes with extreme camera angles
and
Photoshop special effects. Some photographers may call this
style 'fashion,' 'editorial' or 'contemporary.'
Both traditional and documentary photographers may shoot
illustrative style photographs.
It's most noticeable in photographs
of the bride and groom alone and as a couple where the background,
poses and lighting are quite dramatic.
Each photographer will have
his or her own approach to the style. It's not an easy one to
define.
One photographer may lean more toward controlled poses and
the other may try to get the subjects to interact with each other,
which is what I do. Many photographers offer engagement or wedding
day couple sessions in this style.
The main reason that the documentary style has become popular in the
last ten years is because contemporary couples
don't want to spend
their wedding day being directed by the photographer and posing for
pictures.
As a result, most traditional photographers will make a
point of letting you know that they also take candid photos.
On the
other hand, most documentary photographers will tell you it's their
primary style even though many also provide traditional
or
illustrative group, couple or individual portraits that require some
degree of posing, which is what I do.
Before you sign a contract, make sure the person you talk to is the
one who will be photographing your wedding and
is the one who took
the pictures you viewed.
Also, let him know about any special
requests or concerns you may have and ask that any promises made to
you be
included in the contract if it's not already there.
Once you have chosen a photographer, you can help him get better
pictures of your wedding by letting him know your wishes
and about
any unusual events or significant circumstances that he should be
aware of,
such as surprise quests or events at the reception, or
family and bridal party members who don't get along.
If your photographer works from a 'shoot list,' he should give you a
copy to which you can add or subtract entries.
Even if you are going
with a documentary approach, let the photographer know about any
people or
encounters that would have special meaning to you.
If you have seen wedding photos that you particularly like, let your
photographer know about them.
If they are his photos, point them
out. If not, show him examples or tell him where he can see some if
that's possible.
Try to tell your photographer as much as you can
about what you hope to see in your wedding photos.
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The Formals
The group pictures or 'formals' will go much faster if you can
create a list of the number of groups you would like photographed
and the people who you want in each group.
It's also important to
make sure everyone knows that they should stick around for the group
shots.
Stragglers slow down the group shots more than anything else.
You can expect average times of between three and five minutes per
group depending on how organized and cooperative everyone is.
It may speed things up if you had a friend who could work as a
coordinator to round up people for the photographer for the group
shots.
It would work best if this person wasn't in the bridal party
and he or she knew the people involved.
In addition to the traditional bridal party formals, or instead of,
you may want to try a more illustrative approach with the group in
unusual or more active poses.
Discuss this with your photographer,
and let your bridal party know about it before the wedding day.
These shots work best if the entire group is on board with it, and
the photographer isn't trying to get people to do things they don't
want to do.
This applies to an illustrative couple session as well.
If the bride is all for it but the groom just wants to get it over
with it shows in the photos.
You'll have to allow additional time for illustrative group and
couple sessions. Twenty to thirty minutes (not counting travel time)
would give you enough time to work through a few scenarios for
couple sessions, and you should double that time if you
also want to
include the whole bridal party.
In a pinch, though, most creative
photographers will come up with something in less time if they have
to.
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Relax and Trust Your Photographer
One of the best things you can do to get good pictures of your
wedding is to relax and have a good time.
Something is probably not
going to be the way you planned it, ordered it or scheduled it.
In
fact, your wedding would be the exception if everything went exactly
according to plan.
It would also be the exception if everything
didn't work out just fine in the end.
So try not to worry. The
stress can show in your pictures.
The day is a celebration of your affirmation of love and commitment
to each other. Everything else is incidental. Keep that in mind.
Also, don't forget that it's just as important to your photographer
to capture good pictures of your wedding day as it is for you to
want them.
From a strictly business perspective, wedding
photographers get a large percentage of work from referrals and they
want a good one from you.
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