The first step is to meet with you so that we can learn about your wedding. This may involve a face-to-face visit, as well as phone calls and emails. We discuss subjects such as:

• Your wedding location (indoors or outdoors)
• Your preferences with regard to photographic styles.
• Family and friends that you would like to be involved in the formal portraits
• Specific rules of the facilities hosting the events
• We'll provide suggestions to help you get the most from your wedding photos

All wedding packages include full photographic coverage of your ceremony and reception as well as formal portraits. It will be important to plan for your formal portraits when you schedule your wedding day. The most popular options listed below will provide you with a good selection of formal portraits with family and bridal party.

Choose the wedding day photo schedule that fits your style & schedule:

Option 1) We take Formal Portraits before and after the ceremony

Perfect for the Bride and Groom who do not wish to see each other before the wedding. With this schedule option, you will have some formal portraits taken before the ceremony and some afterward.

Prior to the ceremony, we will take photos of the bride with her family, and groom with his family. Pictures begin 2 hours before the wedding and end ½ hour before wedding. Bride, Groom, family and wedding party must be dressed and ready for pre-wedding pictures at the scheduled time. Post wedding pictures of the bride and groom together take approx. 1.5 hours after the wedding. We strongly encourage you to provide hors d'ouvres to your guests while waiting for the pictures after the wedding

Option 2) We take all of your Formal Portraits before the ceremony

Perfect for the Bride and Groom who want to go right from the reception to the ceremony. With this schedule the Bride and Groom will see each other before the wedding.

Bride and Groom are given 5 minutes alone together to share a special moment, and see each other before the pictures. We start taking pictures 2.5 hours before the wedding (stop ½ hour before wedding). Bride, Groom, family, and all wedding party must be dressed and ready for pre-wedding pictures at the scheduled time. You may leave straight from wedding to reception with no delay for you or your guests.

-------------------------------

The schedule options listed above will give you a good selection of formal portraits of the bride, groom, families and wedding party taken at the ceremony location and grounds. We can make arrangements to take additional photos at an off-site location such as a nearby park if your wedding day schedule allows. If you are under time restrictions for your wedding day, contact us to discuss a condensed portrait schedule. We can work with your wedding day schedule and your photography needs.

The wedding morning is always filled with so much emotion. There is joy, anxiety, excitement, and camaraderie shared between friends and family. Most of our clients like us to include photojournalist styled pictures of the wedding party getting ready that morning. We show up near the end of the preparation period and collect images of hair prep, makeup, a morning cup of coffee, or whatever seems appropriate at the time. Remember, in general these pictures aren't posed. Rather they are simply a snapshot of the wedding morning. Some clients have requested that we accompany them to their hair salon, or other off-site location, and we have been happy to comply (extra fees may apply).

Depending on which portrait schedule you choose, generally pictures will begin either 2 hours before the wedding or 2.5 hours before the wedding. Either way, the shoot will end ½ hour before the wedding so that the bride, groom, and wedding party may be hidden when guests arrive and are seated. Learn more about picture schedule options in the "Pre-wedding consultation" section.

The bride, groom, wedding party and immediate family need to be ready for pictures at the designated time. Delays in the start of pictures will translate into a longer wait for guests after the wedding while pictures are taken, or a reduced set of portraits (your choice). Since extended family members (grandparents, aunts, uncles) are not included in a bulk of the portraits (unless by special request), they are not required to be ready at the beginning of the portraits. Depending upon how many extended family members and friends will be included in the portraits, they do not need to arrive until about 30-45 minutes before the end of the photo-shoot (60 - 75 minutes prior to the start of the ceremony).

In order to keep to your schedule, we need to limit the number of photos taken by other people during the portrait shoot. These extraneous flashes can interfere with our exposures, and ruin some of your professional portraits. In addition, our studio flashes will trigger off of the flash of any camera and will most likely over expose their pictures as well. We normally allow a couple of quick break points during the photo shoot where we turn off our flash equipment and allow folks to take a couple of their own pictures. But we need to minimize this activity so that we do not run late, compromising your wedding day schedule.

Flash photography is typically not used for the ceremony so that it does not interfere with the ambiance of the event. We strongly encourage for you to notify your wedding guests to comply with this standard wedding etiquette as well. The only exception is when flash photography is used during the entrance of the bridal party and bride. We can even eliminate flash photography during this time if you so desire.

If the wedding is indoors and a balcony is available, we will most likely utilize the balcony for a number of overlooking shots, as well as collect some angles from the ground-floor.

If you choose the portrait option #2, then the bride and groom see each other before the wedding and all the portraits are already taken. The only exception is that many times the pastor / officiator is not available for portraits before the wedding (this shot goes very quickly). Otherwise you are free to leave for the reception.

If you choose the portrait option #1, then you need to stick around for about 1.5 hours to collect all the pictures that include the bride and groom together. The wedding party, family and friends included in the portraits needs to also stick around. Normally, all the family / friends portraits are photographed first so they can leave for the reception, and we finish the portrait shoot with only the bride and groom.

After all the portraits have been collected, we will break down our equipment and then proceed to the reception area. If the arrival photos of the bride and groom at the reception are important to you, we recommend that you give us a quick head-start so that we can be assured to greet you at the reception.

Once at the reception we will collect the photographs of the various events, as well as candids of the guests. We will work with the DJ (if a DJ is involved) to coordinate the pictures at the reception. The DJ normally runs the show, announcing the cake cutting, toast, bouquet toss, and other events. We will cooperate with the DJ so that they can notify us before any big event is about to start.

We will stay at the reception until all the major events have been completed, including any special dances, cake cutting, bouquet toss, etc.

Following the wedding day, we will process your images. This process can take about 3-4 weeks depending upon our schedule at the time. Once the images have been processed, we will provide you with previews of your images. Your proofs will be delivered in two forms: on a Portrait Previewer CD, and a keepsake DVD.

Keepsake DVD for viewing on your TV. It includes a custom slideshow of your images set to music for you and your family to enjoy.

Portrait Previewer CD is designed to help you preview your images on your computer in order to select the prints for your album and additional enlargements for yourself and your family. Our clients tell us that it is much more convenient for a group of people to preview the photos on a computer, rather than to bunch around a small proof book. The Portrait Previewer gives you the ability to review your images on-screen. You may also purchase the full-resolution digital files.

Album: We offer many standard wedding packages featuring top quality Art Leather albums and a variety of different selections of prints. In addition to these packages, you can also order individual enlargements for yourself or your family. We utilize a professional processing lab which produces photographic quality digital prints. The prints delivered are of the utmost quality.