Rachel + Joe’s Rock the Dress in Lodi, CA

Lodi, CA - A photographer’s dream consists of a dynamic location, beautiful light, and of course, eager and responsive subjects. This session had it all, from Rachel’s choice of cowboy boots to the Farmall tractor to the broken down pick-up truck all the way to that gorgeous California light. With temperatures pushing triple digits all that week we need to give major credit for the resolve of Joe and Rachel who were pretty much game for anything we wanted to do that evening.

We couldn’t have asked for a better Rock the Dress session, thanks to you Rachel and Joe!

Cherlene + Greg’s Wedding | 8.15.09

Dorchester, MA – Yes, we are still blogging weddings (and portrait sessions) from this summer. Don’t judge us, please…

Cherlene and Greg were married on August 15th of last year at the United House of Prayer in Dorchester, MA with their ceremony at Luciano’s on Lake Pearl in Wrentham, MA.  Here are some of our favorites images from their wedding day!

Two Photographers – Two Perspectives

Lowell, MA – “Are two photographers better than one?” ” Do I need two photographers to get the photos I want from my wedding?”

These are questions that are infinitely subjective and can only be answered by the bride and groom once they have all done a little research and have spoken to photographers personally. There are a lot of two photographer teams in the wedding photography industry and there are a lot of solo-photographers as well. Some bring along assistants and 2nd shooters, some work together every weekend. We all have different ways of working so it can’t really be said that either way is better, it’s really up to the bride and groom to invite the photographer(s) they trust to get the job done.

The images above are an example of how two photographers can bring two different perspectives on a similar moment.

As wedding photographers, Ashley and I always work as a team. We’ve developed a certain routine that allows use to use our strengths to get the best possible images for our clients. For example, during the processional I choose to be up front with the groom capturing his reaction to the bride’s entrance. I then turn down the aisle to focus on the bride’s emotion as she approaches. Ashley, who has been documenting the bride as she gets ready, stays at the church entrance to capture the image of the veil and the architecture of the church. In this particular case, the veil was incredibly important to the bride and it was our job to make sure we got that image.

From our perspective, we feel that there are no moments lost when we work together, which is an absolute benefit to our clients.

We’d love to know your thoughts on this, so please, comments are welcome.

-Rich

Happy Valentine’s Day

Ash + Rich

This was Jamie’s Rock the Dress session from this past summer. We’ve blogged a ton of Jamie and her husband Josh this year so you might remember her smile from her engagement session or maybe even her wedding day. It’s always such a pleasure to work with people who love photography and really value the experience we provide.

This session had two different locations about 30 minutes apart and we were planning on wrapping up just as the sun was going down. We started a bit late because our GPS decided it would be cool to not find the first location at all and take us on a driving tour of the New Hampshire / Vermont border. Long story short, we found it and it was perfect. Madame Sherri Forest in Chesterfield, NH contains the remnants of a European style chateau built in 1924. This once grand estate was abandoned in the 1950’s and was destroyed by fire in 1962. All that is left is the stone staircase, but that is enough to make a perfect rock the dress session.

Our second location was Alyson’s Orchard in Walpole, NH. An absolutely beautiful venue with some incredibly generous owners who invited us to take portraits at their location. Alyson’s property is set upon a hill was undeveloped when it was purchased and turned into an orchard in the 1980’s. The trees on this property are incredible, which is what drew Jamie this spot. You see, Jamie loves portraits with trees and on her wedding day we weren’t able to make it up to Alyson’s for their formal portraits. But it worked out as a great post wedding session because we had time to explore the property without worrying about time restrictions.

In the end, it was really an amazing day for all of us and we’re so excited that Jamie and Josh loved all of their images. Rock the dress sessions are definitely a favorite for us as photographers. We feel it really rounds out the wedding photography experience and our clients have a ton of fun.

Lowell, MA - A lot of our clients spoke up and reviewed us on Wedding Wire this year. And we need to thank them because we were given a 2010 Bride’s Choice Award.

This award is given to wedding professionals who receive consistently good reviews on the site, which is a clear reflection of the dedication to client satisfaction.  We know that after the wedding the bride and groom are probably not continually excited about everything wedding, and that after work or on a day off taking 20 minutes to review your wedding vendors might not be as enjoyable as the next episode of (Insert Popular TV Show). So every review that we receive is pretty special because we understand the time, consideration and effort that goes into it. We’ve worked with some seriously cool people in the last few years and we wouldn’t be here without them.

Thank You !!!

If you’re not familiar with Wedding Wire, it is an online planning site that will definitely benefit anyone planning a wedding or any wedding professional looking to showcase their talents or network. We are actually using it to plan our own wedding. The budgeting tool and the seating arrangement module have been incredibly handy in figuring out key aspects of our wedding day.

After a good evening of blog reading last night, I kept thinking about this particular post from Grace Ormonde’s blog. “Don’t overlook the details” inspired me to look back at some of my favorite detail images from this past year. I agree that details can certainly tell specific parts of the wedding story and these images can also reflect the personality, character and style of an individual wedding.  Brides and grooms spend hours choosing the jewelery, the dress, the invititations, etc. and as wedding photographers we feel that these parts of the day should get their due attention in the wedding coverage.

This image below is a very standard and simple ring shot taken on a window sill at The Langham Hotel in Boston, MA. This is one of my favorite ring shots of the year, not because it is overly dramatic or stylized, but because it is simple, clean and elegant; and undoubtedly a reflection of the style and taste of the bride and groom. There are probably a few different ring shots from this year that would gain more attention but this is my favorite. That’s the beauty of photography; the subjective, instinctual and visceral feeling that comes over us when we fall in love with pictures.

-RP

This is one of our favorites of the 2009 wedding photography season. Thank you K + J!!!
To see more from this wedding check out their full blog post.

Marlborough, MA- The Original Wedding Expo this past weekend was a fantastic time. Ashley and I got show off some of our favorite images and talk to brides, grooms and wedding professionals for two whole days. The only downside is I woke up yesterday feeling like a truck ran over my left shoulder.

Our goal was to put together a booth that would invite people into the space to explore our presentation; almost a continuation of our studio. We got a really good response which means all the hard work paid off. Three years ago we began this design and have modified it slightly each time. For us it’s almost perfect, but then again as soon as we perfect it we’ll be ready to move on to a new design.

We met some really great wedding professionals at this show and we’ll be blogging about them in the coming weeks. Right now, we are in bridal show recovery mode, but very happy with the show’s turnout. -RP

Lowell, MA - As we’ve been planning our own wedding, we have been thinking a lot about how couples choose their wedding vendors. There are a ton of options out there for every category of wedding professional, so it is easy for people to become overwhelmed. With this blog post, and some others that we’ve planned for the coming weeks, we will hopefully assist some folks out there who are having a hard time deciding on the right people to bring to their wedding day.

• Recommendations: Probably the first place to start your search would be contacting friends and relatives who’ve recently got married and ask them who they used and how they feel about recommendations. Check out a friend’s wedding album and see if the photographer’s style fits your expectations. Plus, you can get a lot more out of this than just a photography referral because if the photographer was a true wedding shooter you’ll be able to see the flowers, decorations, cakes, and venues in the album as well.

• Reviews: Use wedding planning sites like Wedding Wire, Wedding Mapper, or Project Wedding to find reviews on vendors that are of interest to you. The downside to this is that there are so many wedding professionals on these sites that it can contribute to the problem. However, if you have a specific list of vendors you are already interested in, you should ask them if they participate actively on these planning sites and check out their reviews.

• Budget: The wedding budget can be an important tool when choosing wedding pros. Lets face it, we all want the best of the best, but if they are nowhere near your budget it would be wise to scratch them off the list right away. If not, lingering hope that you win Powerball will soon turn to disappointment when you just can’t budget for it. However, if there’s only a few dollars difference between the price and your budget, you should ask about payment options. We’ve just begun using payment installations to help our clients plan effectively, without losing sight of the money. Wedding pros are people too, so if you have a specific request don’t hesitate to ask. Some people will be more responsive than others, but don’t take it personally if they decline.

• Experience: To know that your DJ has been a wedding pro for a decade or more will put your mind at ease that the “Chicken Dance” will not be played when you specifically put it on the “Do Not Play” list.  Professionalism is a key attribute in experienced wedding vendors. Although, for the better wedding professionals out there, experience may influence their starting price and their availability.

• Contract: Before you decide who you are going to work with, check out their contract. This can give you a distinct impression of how your business transaction will be handled.

• Personality: This is hands down your most important quality when dealing with your Photographer, DJ/Emcee, and your Wedding Coordinator. These are the folks that you will spend the most time with and really get to know (and hopefully like). As an example, your photographer will be following you all day so you should be sure their professionalism and personality match your expectations. If your personality clashes with your photographer you are going to look annoyed in all of your images, which is not a good look for you. A wedding photographer should be friendly, confident, able to give direction when needed and unobtrusive when direction is not needed.  Your wedding vendors are there to work with you to make sure your day goes the way you want, so make sure those people have a personality that makes them easy to be around. We all vibe with like minded people, so go out there and find them.

We’d love to hear from brides/grooms and wedding pros who can add to this list of helpful tips on finding the perfect match for your wedding needs. Thanks!