Nikki + Matt = Married!
On 4/29, we photographed Nikki & Matt’s fun wedding!
Photography: http://
Church: http://
Reception: http://
DJ: http://
Cake: http://
Florist: https://
Catering: http://
Tuxes: http://
Hair: https://
In Nikki’s words:
How did he propose? “When we were at his parents house for a few days, we decided to go canoeing. He proposed in the canoe, which I almost flipped over when he asked! LOL We got back to shore and he got one knee and asked again in front of his parents.”
What was your favorite wedding moment? “My favorite wedding moment is when Matt started to break down crying while announcing my pregnancy!”
What was his favorite wedding moment? “His favorite moment was when we said ‘I Do’ ”
What was the funniest wedding moment? “The funniest wedding moment is when one of the groomsmen lead us all in the chicken dance with chicken gloves! He was drunk and took it so seriously! Lol”
What was your first dance song? “Our first dance song was ‘Hooked on a Feeling’ by Blue Swede”
Where did you go on your honeymoon? “We rented a very nice cabin near Yellowstone.”
What advice would you give to future brides? “The best thing you can do is nail down all of your major vendors early. I enjoyed the process much more than other brides I know because I had all of my vendors in the first few months! Also make a comprehensive timeline! Include everything you can think of and all of your vendors. The day will flow much better that way!”
Wedding Day Magazine Feature!
I’m so excited that our pics from Rachanee Keovorabouth Teipen & Z Joseph Teipen‘s wedding are featured in the new issue of WeddingDay Magazine on a 2 page spread!! We had an amazing vendor team for their event that made all of this possible! Great job team!! Black Iris Estate, IndyVisual, Kelly Early, Vince Early, Thomas Caterers of Distinction, McNamara Florist, Baylee Blackburn, Bob Ridge, Alan B. Thompson Aifd, Todd W. Kennedy, MH Pomander’s Bridal, Alfred Angelo Bridal, Inside Out Salon & Wellness Spa, Voguenail Spa, Men’s Wearhouse, Distinctive Diamonds, Jewel Box Jewelers, Bellissima Bridal Shoes, Charming Charlie, A Classic Party Rental, Evans Audio Visual, Scott Evans, AMS Entertainment & Audio/Visual, Jason Ryan, Rail Epicurean
Sparkler Photo Tips for Amazing Wedding Images!
Wedding season will be here before we know it so I thought I’d offer up some fun ideas and advice on how you can incorporate sparklers into your wedding to create some amazing images! Over the past several years, we’ve been bringing sparklers with us to most of our weddings and the resulting images have definitely turned out to be some of our favorites. We’ve photographed everything from sparkler exits to couples who have gotten their wedding party involved to spell out words like, “love” or their wedding date, to create a truly memorable image!
4 tips on how you and your photographer can get great photos with sparklers:
- Buy 3 minute sparklers and a wind resistant lighter ahead of time (They do make 5 minute sparklers but I’ve found that those create too much smoke)
- Check the sunset time for your wedding date
- Use a camera on a tripod with a wide angle lens
- Settings: Low ISO, long shutter speed, white balance on “shade” if you like a warmer toned look
We purchase the 3 minute sparklers from Sparklers Online and then bring them with us to most events now. You’ll want to check the sunset time online beforehand and look for the “end civil twilight” time which tells you at what point it’ll be totally dark outside and then plan to do them at that time or even later depending on the weather and the order of events. Once it’s dark outside, we take our couples out to the venue’s parking lot or open area (away from grass or anything that can catch on fire) and we teach them how to get the best sparkler photos before we actually light them. We always make sure that one of us has a bottle of water handy in case anything goes wrong and we always choose the darkest spot available in the nearby area to avoid ambient light showing up in the photos. (Sometimes a dark background isn’t possible in which case you’ll have to play with the exposures a bit more)
To get the best heart sparkler shots, the couple will need to stand as still as possible and remember to smile while they’re doing their sparkler action in 1 second or less. It’s much harder than it looks! Practice making each half of the heart by starting at the top and curving around to the bottom together. You’ll want to start and end at the same time so make sure you practice before the photographer hands you a lit sparkler.
There’s all kinds of fun things you can do with sparklers, there’s a shot going around on Pinterest where the couple is surrounded by sparklers and that’s become a very popular request. When we have a client who requests that shot, we usually take 2 groomsmen outside with us and have them run around the couple while the sparklers are lit, we advise them to go up and down with the sparklers while running but we ask that they try to avoid the sparklers being in front of the couple’s faces while they’re doing it. (Photographers, the settings for this particular photo are usually ISO 200, f/6.3 at 2.5-7 seconds – depending on ambient light, no flash & on the “shade” white balance setting.) I think sparklers make really neat end of night shots for our client’s albums and everyone loves the outcome of the photos!
Notes to your photographer: before going outside, put a wide angle lens on your camera (we usually use a 24mm) and then put your camera on a tripod and preset your camera settings beforehand. It’s much easier to do all of this preparation work while you’re still inside the venue than it is when you’re outside in the dark. The settings are a little bit of trial and error depending on the amount of side light or back light you may be working with in the evening. We tend to switch the white balance to “shade” since that adds more warmth to the photos, it’s a personal preference. Also, during sparkler exits, we usually incorporate a bit of flash or an off camera video light to capture the most ambient back light while still maintaining good exposure on their faces. 🙂
8 Reasons Why You Should Have Two (or 3) Photographers at Your Wedding
I realized very early in my career that one photographer just couldn’t possibly (adequately) cover everything that occurs on a wedding day! As a photographer, we’re always coordinating schedules with vendors, making sure everything on the couple’s checklist gets photographed, working within tight timelines at multiple locations, managing large groups of people and making sure that we’re not missing anything in between that. We include 2 photographers and an assistant (who also side-shoots) in all of our photography packages so that our brides get the most complete coverage of their wedding day. If you’re undecided on whether or not you’d like a 2nd photographer covering your wedding, here are some of the benefits to having multiple photographers and reasons why it’s worth it:
- One photographer can be in the dressing room photographing the girls getting ready while the other is photographing the guys getting ready. My husband and I divide and conquer a lot during the getting ready shots, he photographs and helps the guys while one of my other female side-shooters and I are with the ladies. Since we time sync our cameras, our couples are able to see what was happening simultaneously as they were both getting ready for their big day!
- If you decide to do a private moment (aka “first look”) you’ll have multiple perspectives captured! You’ll get to see the joy in your groom’s face when he first sees you and your reaction to seeing him at the exact same moment since one photographer will be focused on you and the other, on him. (See photos below) 🙂
- One of us will usually pose people for group shots while the other shoots the groups, making your formal photos go much faster. (The 3rd person in our team can also locate missing family members while we continue down our list, which also helps us run things more efficiently for our couples!)
- During the ceremony, all 3 of us split up to get various perspectives. One of us will be in the center aisle and the others will be on the sides or in the balcony. When we offer multiple perspectives, we also have different lenses on each camera so one of us is usually capturing wider angle shots, one of us focuses on mid-range shots and the other works on close-ups.
- We can also divide and conquer during time crunches, for example, if our timing is tight when we get to the reception, one of us can shoot room shots, décor, cake and details while the other one photographs cocktail hour or helps the bride bustle her dress & remove her veil before introductions.
- During toasts, one of us will be focused on the person giving the toast and the other will be focused on the bride & groom’s reactions. This is also helpful because a lot of times the person giving the speech may be in the front of the room and the couple may be on the other side of the room.
- We also print a folio of sample photos for our couples to take with them on their honeymoon so one of us works on printing pictures while the other one is covering the dance floor during open dancing.
- If you love pictures as much as we do, then you’ll love the fact that more photographers equals more photos! Most of our clients end up with anywhere from 1,500-2,500 photos after a typical wedding day. The testimonials, thank you cards and gifts that we receive afterwards show us just how thrilled our couples are when they have so many great photo options (from various angles) to choose from after their big day. Our #1 goal is to provide them with awesome photos that they’ll cherish for the rest of their lives and that’s not something most people want to skimp on when it comes to their once in a lifetime event! CONTACT us today to check availability of your wedding date!
What to Expect When Meeting with Potential Wedding Photographers
So, you are getting married! Congratulations! Your engagement signals a new chapter of your life together, but before that can happen, you’ll need to book the perfect wedding photographer to capture all of the details and precious moments of the best day of your life!
While there are a lot of choices when it comes to photographers in Indiana, it’s imperative to ask the right questions when interviewing potential photographers so that you choose the one that is a perfect fit for you! Personally, I recommend that you have a face-to-face meeting with the photographer to get a better grasp of their personality and how their services will fit your needs. Do not talk to a sales representative, talk to the actual photographer so that you’ll know who you’ll be working with on the big day and see if your styles and personalities mesh well together. Remember, the relationship with your photographer is incredibly important because you’ll be working with them before the wedding (engagement session, planning appointments, etc) as well as the entire length of the wedding day and even long after the wedding when it comes to ordering your albums, parent albums, reprints, etc.
During the initial meeting, make sure to view several weddings from their albums or portfolio, not just the best select few photos they’d like to represent. The photographer should take interest in you, your fiancé, your love story and your wedding day to really get to know you as individuals and as a couple so that he or she can tell your wedding story as best as possible through the photographs. They should explain their background, their services, show you sample albums and images and answer any questions you may have throughout the consultation. The photographers you meet with should be able to provide client testimonials but make sure you also do your homework beforehand and Google their business to establish what kind of reviews they have online.
Take note of the little things before, during and after your initial meeting too. Did he or she respond promptly to your emails? Did they come prepared for your meeting? Was he/she dressed professionally? Could you envision this person getting along well with your friends and family? Did they ask pertinent questions and take notes during the meeting? Did they go the extra mile and create a wedding day photo schedule based on your needs? Did they clearly state how much they would charge, including any extras you want included in the package? Did you absolutely love their work? Did they follow up with you after your meeting?
All of these things matter when it comes to choosing the right person to document your wedding day. You definitely want to hire someone who is responsive, professional, easy to talk to and who is fun to be around because in the end, the photographs are the only thing you’ll have left to remember the greatest day of your life! If you’re searching for an Indiana wedding photographer, contact us today to check availability of your wedding date!