Engagement: 3 Reasons to Celebrate

Go ahead with your new bling bling and congratulations on your engagement!

We are very happy for you and can’t wait to celebrate this joyous occasion. Yes, I did say we are going to celebrate your engagement! You will be designing your wedding of a lifetime with family and friends, so why not think of the engagement period as pregaming?

3 Reasons why you should highlight your engagement:

1. Your friends and family love seeing you happy

There’s no reason to be obnoxiously flashy and boastful, but being ecstatic about getting engaged is not a crime! I want you to be happy, giddy, and all those good things. You and your honey have decided, “Hey, we’re starting this new chapter and we’re going to do it together!” The world needs a little more love in it, so be a representation of what happy and healthy love looks like. When I see my friends and family hit this milestone, I get a personal joy out of it. I like seeing the ring and the photos of the happy couple.

2. Photographing before the “I do’s” is an unforgettable experience

As a photographer I’m all about documenting the stages of life. Doing so has given me a great affection for them as well. Getting engaged is not a lesser-event in comparison to the wedding day. Where the wedding day is about you, you are also planning a celebration around friends and family too. The engagement period is only about the couple. It’s still so fresh, both people are bubbly from the excitement of the proposal, it needs to be photographed. Sometimes, we get lucky enough to capture the proposal and then have engagement portraits after jumping out of the bushes (talk about a surprise)! It is so unique and personal, why wouldn’t you want that memory to keep?

Plus, if you’re looking for a creative way to announce your engagement on social media or through invitations, you have the customization to do so! Lately, we’ve been using engagement portraits to create guest signing books for the wedding day. It’s a memory, a photo album, and a wedding keepsake all in one.

3. Let’s face it, engagement celebrations are starting to become retro and they need to make a come back

When was the last time you actually went to an engagement party, not just heart-emojied a Facebook event? Engagement parties are amazing and a perfect time to get all of your favorite people in one place to celebrate. Most times you can even plan around holidays and celebrate both at once. What I love about it is, the people you have in attendance are likely your support system. These are the people who should help hold you accountable to the union you’re going into, down the road this is going to be a big deal. So, share that time with them, nurture those relationships, fire proof your marriage-to-be and know that you have a loving wall of protection around you.

I hope you remember this the first time you get behind the wheel and get to dazzle at your new sparkle. Enjoy these moments because they go by so quickly. Until then…

engagnement, bride, bride to be, drinking champagne, hubby to be, engagement ring

“Pop the bubbly, I’m getting a Hubby!”

 

Wedding planning and browsing Pinterest? Check out 10 Secrets to a Successful Wedding, advice given from now wives!

Vote for your favorite couple – best wedding of 2017

In 2016 we started a tradition to honor our beloved wedding clients by sending out a blog post asking you, our readers, to vote on the “Couple of the year”

Each and every year I fall in love with my wedding couples and after 18 years in this business it still amazes me that I can tear up at the emotional connection that is shared and displayed at your weddings . To each of you, I want to let you know that I recognize your love in it’s many shapes and forms.

So I want to say a special ‘Thank YOU’ and pay it forward.

Getting personal allows me to get closer with confidence, to get to know who you are, and to be able to tell your story instead of only handing you pretty wedding images.

As a token of appreciation, I want to offer a special give away to one of my remarkable wedding couples so let’s have some fun together to start off 2018.

The rules are simple: the couple with the greatest number of voting comments on this post will receive a large 20×30 retouched fine art canvas for their first Valentines Day as a married couple. I’ll be counting comments on ONLY this page’s comment section – one per person – until February 12th.

The Winner will be announced Wednesday, February 14th!

Sara & Christian

Jamesha & Kelly

Cassidy & Mark

Deb & Steve

Elizabeth & Howard

Caitlin & Rick

Jolene & Ron

Mary & Lucas

Every individual who comments will be entered into a separate give away for a $25 Amazon gift card. Share to Facebook and Instagram, Tweet about this post, and get creative with spreading the word! You can earn studio gifts by referring a bride and groom to us too, check out how here!

 

Dream Wedding: Where will you go?

This blog has some of our favorite dream locations!

Here are a few lovely destinations to spark your wanderlust wedding plans. Even if these locations aren’t for you, why not let them inspire your designs and spark your imagination. Hey, while you’re here, why not go ahead and plan for the honeymoon to start right after the ceremony! We’ve even included the best month to visit destination locations so all the stars are aligned just for you!

January

 

February

 

March

 

April

 

May

 

June

 

July

 

August

 

September

 

October

 

November

 

December

 

With all of these beautiful places, don’t disregard small intimate affairs either.

At the end of the day, it’s the people around you that will truly make the memories and share in the happiness of your successful wedding. Never feel as if you have to restrict your wedding into a pre-destined box. Your wedding can be what ever you want it to be, and the world is open to all of your dreams and inspiration. New developments arise every day and you never know what the future olds. Just think about it…

One day we’ll be able to marry in space, and there’s already the current construction of Poseidon Undersea Resort. I don’t know about you, but I’d love to be part of a wedding in the little mermaid’s world.

dream wedding ideas with underwater and mermaid theme

So, where will you be getting married? Comment below to tell us more of your dream wedding ideas!

Jewish Irish Destination Wedding

There’s always something special about a couple who have embraced and committed to each for years before their wedding ceremony.

After dreaming of their beach wedding, it was great to see the bride and groom interact and joke with their friends before the ceremony. You can see from their first look photos, how connected the bride and groom felt to each other.

engagement ring and wedding band rest onto of a piano for a macro shot

bride poses in hallway with her reflection in picture frame before her wedding ceremony

bride and groom share a first look before the wedding and bride kisses groom's cheek

bride and groom face each other smiling and holding hands before their wedding

We were worried that the weather was going to rain on our parade, but the Corey-O’Conner destination wedding ended up having a beautiful sunny day. Emotions were heartfelt throughout the ceremony as a blend of Jewish and Irish traditions framed their union. Having a little boy myself, I enjoyed watching their son and all of his poses. He had a mind of his own and brought energy and laughs in boatloads.

niece kisses bride as she gives her away during the wedding ceremony

bride smiles will cupping the groom's face during the wedding ceremony and a happy moment

Bride and groom smash a glass as a tribute to jewish wedding traditions

bride and groom laugh and smile while walking down the aisle as husband and wife

the couple's son jokes in the hotel lobby with thumbs up

I was impressed at their reception hall too. Deb and Steve seated their guests on the 16th floor of the Hilton. When you walked into the room, the ocean side was nothing but windows! Light poured in and the food smelled delicious as we all sat overlooking a blue sky and calm ocean.

the dessert table included a beach theme wedding cake, cake pops, and cupcakes

When Deb and Steve cut the cake, it was one of their cutest moments from the night. Deb fed Steve and, instead of cake smashing him, took a bite off the end of his piece and kissed him.

bride and groom share their wedding cake during the reception

the wedding couple pose cheek to cheek for portraits at the beach

The chair dance was a lot of fun too! Between Steve teasing Deb and all of their friends and family tearing up the dance floor, the day was none short of perfect.

bride and groom kiss at the end of the their first dance surrounded by the wedding party

groom dances with his son as their enjoy the band and reception party

the bride picks up her son and twirls him around as the groom looks at them lovingly.

bride and groom laugh and enjoy the jewish chair dance during the wedding reception

groom dances during a jewish tradition with family and friends

bride points up to the sky during the wedding reception

bride, groom, friends, and family jump in the air during the wedding party for a fun photo

Overall, I was impressed with them. Steve and Deb planned and coordinated a successful wedding by themselves. Congratulations to you both, I wish you many more years of happiness!

bride and groom pose on the beach for a wedding portrait

Vendors:

Ceremony/Reception: Hilton at Kingston Plantation

Florist: Callas Florist

Photography: Carl Kerridge Photography

Videography: Reuben Long

Cake and Desserts: Croissants Bistro & Bakery

Entertainment: Permanent Vacation