Wedding Tips and Ideas

Our Top 13 Quotes for Invitations

Top 13 Quotes for Invitations

This day I will marry my friend, the one I laugh with, live for, dream with, love
Together we've walked hand in hand, heart to heart, with love on our side we never shall part.
A life of sharing, caring; A love of endless giving together
You don't marry someone you can live with - you marry the person who you cannot live without ~ Author Unknown ~
Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust. Love still stands, when all else has fallen. - 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8
To get the full value of joy You must have someone to divide it with. - Mark Twain
Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale.
I have found the one my soul loves. - Song of Solomon
Grow old with me! The best is yet to be. - Robert Browning
Now join hands, and with your hands your hearts. - William Shakespeare
To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage. - Lao Tzu
Life can be beautiful, shared with each other two happy people who love one another!
An answered prayer he is to me; My greatest blessing she'll always be. And so this day we'll pledge our love, in front of friends and God above

Spring is just around the corner! That means spring weddings are in full speed planning. Many of you brides may be wondering what we have been up to here at Almost Hitched and we have started another website! This one is dedicated to families with a focus on birth and babies. Feel free to check it out by clicking on the banners at the top and bottom of this page. I know many of you are not mothers yet, but when you decide to start trying you will love this new resource. It has tons of hard to find information that is not only educational, but we try our best to show all types of births available to women along with the pros and cons to each. wwwthebirthingsite.com has a very strong social compoment with women sharing pregnancy and birth stories in the forum. This is a world wide site based in Saskatoon, come check us out we are growing rapidly!

Many people are intimidated by technology, I used to be one of these people. But, not anymore because now I'm in love with it. I can now keep in touch with you Saskatoon brides easier and more frequently than before. In the past I had to drag out the laptop, cords, mouse, plug it in and sit at the table. Now I can edit my website directly from the iPhone or iPad, click save and poof it's on the front page for all to see. This may not sound like a big deal to some student types, but for a busy mom of a 2 year old and 4 month old...this is golden! I look forward to blogging, tweeting and just generally keeping in touch better than before. Happy planning ladies and if you have a smart phone be sure to use it 100% to your planning benefit...every little bit helps!

I hope everyone is having themselves a wonderful holiday season! The weather has been as warm as -1 degree!! Seasonal temperatures are consistently at -20 or colder, with the coldest temperatures in the below -40 degree mark. So boxing day in nearly positive temperatures sure was a nice break. It made hauling my newborn and toddler in and out of the car with their gear more bearable!

I see many of you Saskatoon brides are hard at work planning your weddings! Congratulations to all of you ladies who had a Christmas Engagement!! So exciting to have an engagement ring and kiss your single days good-bye. I loved this part, but some will say "it's sad you will never be intimate with anyone else ever again". I say, "Who cares...you've found the love of your life and you've had your last first date, yay!! I hated first dates, everything about them spelled two words...energy and time! Make-up, hair, shaving/waxing, uncomfortable clothes and shoes, not to mention a whole night blown if you didn't hit it off, or worse yet you somehow ended up needing to "chip" in for the bill! First dates, especially blind dates are a heck of a lot of pressure to place on one evening. Good thing, this kind of thing, will never happen again...to any of us!.

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Tips for Picking the Wedding Day in Saskatoon

Favorite Season: many brides first choose the season they prefer. The season will dictate nearly as much as the Wedding Dress itself. A winter wedding will have a very different tone and decorating scheme than a summer affair.

The Month: next choose an ideal month you would prefer to have your wedding. Taking into consideration the average weather temperatures for the month, whether it's fly season or not and so forth.

The Day: many brides prefer having their wedding on a Saturday based on tradition, the Monday to Friday work week and to accommodate out of town guests with travel arrangements. H

Secure Venues for Ceremony and Reception in Advance: book up a year or more in advance, especially for Saturdays in the summer.

Flexibility: once you have chosen your date, be prepared to change it! In order to secure both of your dream places you may have to change the date all together. If you are lucky you will still get the month you prefer.

Note: many reception venues will hold the date for you free of charge for a few days, while you work to secure your ceremony location/church. Be prepared to hold your date with a cash deposit, after the grace period.

Contracts: make sure you have a written contract including all fees, guaranteeing the price you see today is the price you pay in a year or two when your wedding takes place. Venues can be tricky at times and you don't need any surprises down the road! Keep in mind a change in the meal price of $2.50 per guest, multiplied by 150 guests is an additional expense of $375.00. Doesn't seem like a lot, until you realize it's a couple months before your wedding and the cash flow is dwindling!!

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Wedding Planning Checklist

Here is a sample wedding planning checklist to help you plan and organize a wedding.

Checklist 12 Months Before the Wedding:
Start a wedding folder of ideas
Work out the budget
Choose wedding party
Decide on number of guests
Hire a wedding planner?
Decide on wedding date
Book reception and ceremony venue (save contact info)
Book officiant (save contact info)
Begin researching caterers, photographers, florists, deejays and/or bands
Have an engagement party

Checklist 9 Months Before the Wedding:
Purchase the dress
Book photographer and videographer
Book deejay, band or any other entertainment
Start meeting with caterers
Finalize guest list and save it in an excel spreadsheet
Start gathering guest contact information
Launch wedding website
Reserve a block of hotel rooms for guests (often a discount applies)

Checklist 6 Months Before the Wedding:
Shop for bridesmaid dresses
Plan Honeymoon
Engagement photo-shoot
Meet with officiant
Book florist
Begin gift registries
Reserve decorations, structural and electrical necessities for venues
Purchase Invitations
Hire a calligrapher
Send save-the-date cards
Arrange wedding day transportation, book limo
Begin a day of the wedding time-line

Checklist 5 Months Before the Wedding:
Check progress of invites or start to print them yourself
Order the wedding cake
Book rehearsal and rehearsal dinner venue
Purchase Shoes
Purchase undergarments and wedding night lingerie
Start dress fittings
Schedule hair and make-up trials and book for the day of the wedding
Plan welcome baskets for out of town guests
Register for wedding and bridal shower gifts
Choose reception and ceremony music

Checklist 3 Months Before the Wedding:
Order and begin hand making favors
Finalize the menu and flowers
Finalize readings
Create a toast makers list and start asking people on the list
Purchase wedding bands
Finalize the look and functionality of the reception and ceremony venues
Have second dress fitting
Print menu cards and programs
Send schedule to vendors

Checklist 2 Months Before the Wedding:
Touch base with vendors
Meet photographer and discuss different shots and locations for the wedding day
Submit play-lists to band or deejay for reception
Submit another play-list for the ceremony music
Send invitations (send earlier if no save-the-date cards)
Submit engagement announcement to local paper
Enjoy a bridal shower and stagette
Groom enjoys a stag party

Checklist 1 Month Before the Wedding:
Add those who have RSVP’d into guest data base
Phone those who have not responded
Update gift registries after bridal shower
Mail rehearsal dinner invites
Get marriage license
Final dress fitting
Pay some vendors in advance if possible
Assign guest seating
Write wedding vows
Get hair cut and colored
Make other spa appointments ie) massage, manicures and pedicures
Purchase attendant gifts to give at rehearsal dinner
Stock the bar with alcohol and mix

Checklist for The Week of Wedding Reconfirm details like arrival times with vendors
Send of the final time-line to bridal party, ushers and parents
Delegate small wedding day tasks to friends and family
Have a spa relaxation treatment or mani/pedi
Send final guest count to venue and caterer
Break in wedding day shoes
Arrange decorating and set-up of reception and ceremony venues
Assemble a clean-up crew for after the wedding
Make sure photographer has a list of moments you want captured
Arrange pick up or delivery of your wedding gown
Assemble and distribute welcome baskets to have at guests hotel rooms
Set aside labeled envelopes with payments and tips for vendors

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Wedding Flowers by Season

Top choices of flowers by season:
Fall: Celosia, Chinese Lantern, Chrysanthemum, Crosnia, Dahlia, Statice, Yarrow.

Winter: Amaryllis, Casablanca Lily, Freesia, Gerber Daisy, Heather, Holly, Narcissus, Poinsettia, Rose, Stephanotis.

Spring: tulips, hyacinth, lilies, Gerber daisies and any color calla lilies even a mixed arrangement.

Summer: Anemone, Azalea, Calla Lily, Camellia, Daffodil, French Tulip, Hyacinth, Hydrangea, Jasmine, Lilac, Lily of the Valley, Mimosa, Pansy, Peony, Primrose, Ranunculus, Sweet Pea, Tulip, Violet.

Year Around: Baby's Breath, Carnation, Cattleman, Chrysanthemum, Cymbidium, Orchid, Daisy, Dendroblum Orchid, Freesia, Gardenia, Gerber Daisy, Gladiolus, Iris, Lilies, Protea, Roses, September Aster, Snapdragon, Stephanotis, Tuberoses.

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Wedding Reception Table Centerpieces and Decorations

The rule for centerpieces is they shouldn't interfere with wedding guests making eye contact and visiting, by having to look through or around it. To prevent this a shorter or taller centerpiece is best. Shorter so the guests can look over it or taller so it's not in their visual path. Your centerpiece should also enhance any other decorative elements you're using.

Examples of Popular Wedding Centerpieces and Decorations include:
Vases

Candles

Splash of Color

Themes

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Should you hire a wedding planner?

A big decision some brides face is whether to hire a wedding planner to help plan their wedding? Here at Almost Hitched we feel it’s a personal decision, many weddings go over smoothly without one, but the brides that do hire a planner feel it was completely worth the money. A wedding is a very stressful time, especially for the couple getting married. Wedding planner fees range from approximately $1000.-$2000.00, but prices do vary greatly in Saskatoon depending on the size and workload involved in planning the wedding.

Here is a breakdown of what to expect from a wedding planner. First and foremost they work with you to create a vision of the type of wedding you want. You still get to make the major final decisions on each individual item ie) venue, theme/colors, cake etc. Next they help with creating the budget and helping you manage it, staying on track with spending. The wedding planner will also suggest other businesses in the industry to work with, based on their experience and your price range. This can often save you money, wedding planners are pretty connected! They organize your to-do-list, take care of emergencies if they arise and create the wedding day schedule. Some wedding planners will even set-up for the wedding and take-down after. This saves the Saskatoon bride a lot of time and stress, because the set-up and take-down can be very time consuming and often you need multiple hands to help.

We hope this gives a clearer picture of what to expect from hiring a professional wedding planner. Click here to get connected to local Saskatoon Wedding Planners in our business directory.

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Tips for Brides

First and foremost...get organized! You can create a bulletin board, or clear off your fridge to keep everything visualized. You can created a bulletin board out of bristle board, making a huge chart with important dates, times, and whether or not an item has been been paid.

For decorations do a checklist on this board and every time you think of something write it down.Carry a notebook with you at all times! You never know when inspiration will hit or when you will remember something again...that will undoubtley cause problems later on if not addressed now. The notebook does not need to be fancy, the Dollar Store has some for, you guessed it $1.00! When sitting at home you can look through it and follow up, when time permits.

Keep an envelope with all of your receipts as you pay for things. You never know when a business you are dealing with may try and charge you twice, believe me...this happens!

Use Excel Spread sheets for guests, addresses, keeping track of your RSVP list, tracking your wedding budget or anything else you can think of. Excel can really simplify your life if you know the program!

Give guests plenty of notice for showers, parties, etc etc etc.. people have very busy lives and sometimes need more than a few weeks notice.

Keep a stack of thank you cards near your lounging area at home. That way when cards and gifts start to arrive prior to the wedding by mail, you can write out a thank you card while watching TV or on commercial breaks.

For the wedding bring an extra pair of shoes that are comfortable for later in the evening, your feet will thank you.

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Some Tips For Tastings

One of the best parts of the wedding planning process so far has been the tasting. Also Dave and I, in our penny-pinching, have not been going out to dinner lately, so it was nice to be able to go out, have a drink, and spend some time together.

So, on a chilly Thursday evening we drove the 30 minutes to the Lincklean House. We were welcomed by Ellen, the cute, young, friendly receptionist (who later in the evening imparted some good wedding advice based on her recent marriage) and shown to our table. Once we dropped our belongings at the table, Dave and I made a beeline for the fire place to warm our butts up just a bit (you can go ahead and picture it, it was a cute as it sounds). There were only a few people in the restaurant, which gave the evening a nice intimate feeling.

We came prepared with our wedding folder, which is decorated by birds, a gift from one of the places we registered with. It is pictured below so you can understand why Dave makes me carry it; I think it is fun and kitschy. What we did not come prepared with was an elastic waist band because there was SO much food!! There was 5 courses of food to taste, and even though I like to eat, I found it overwhelming. We took about 3 bags full of food home. I had thought that tastings were free, but when I asked some people I know who have done wedding planning for hotels, they said that trend has changed, so we were not surprised when we were told there was a cost involved. But to our surprise, when we were ready to go, Carrie said that there was no charge! (we like to think that is because we are so pretty, and you can’t disabuse us of that notion!!) We were very happy with the food and have narrowed down our menu.

A question for you all, Dave wants to put cucumbers instead of lemons in the waters…what do you think? Kitschy? Pretentious? Spa-like?

What also started to become clear during our dinner was how excited Dave and I are getting for the wedding. When we first started this it was an abstraction. Now that we are less than 150 days away from the wedding (eeek) it is starting to feel more and more real. I get that Christmas Day anticipatory feeling in my stomach. We are at the point where the major planning is out of the way and now all the little details start to come into focus, and that really excites us. I know that going into the final part of the planning process will be fun, hectic, and challenging.

Some tips for tastings:
If you are serving red meat be sure to ask how it is prepared. We like our steak medium rare, and that is how they prepare it, but they will take requests from our guests if they choose to have it another way. Also make sure you ask about presentation, Carrie, our event coordinator, was very open to changing things around if we did not care for the preparation. We also found it helpful to ask her thoughts about options, what is more popular, accessible for people, etc. That really helped us make some decisions.

(Not that you care, or maybe you do, I am listening to a song I just found–thanks Pandora!–Heart Upon Demand by John Gorka. Since I am such a Judy Garland fan–stop rolling your eyes!!–I am not sure why I have not come across this before, but, anyway, give it a listen)

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Bondage Wedding Dresses

Do you have imagination to find a unique creation of wedding gowns that are specific to your wedding? Reluctant to use that so far has been general.

The idea of bondage ball gown is quite interesting. Bondage wedding dresses are quite difficult to find, but if you have a passion for a unique look so it is very likely to be realized. The following is an illustration of what a bondage ball gown wedding dress is.

And here are some examples of wedding dresses with a combination of bondage style.

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DaVinci Bridal Gowns

Da Vinci should be a fascinating array with regards to wedding suits intended which will offer people magnificence and additionally well-liked models at reasonably priced selling prices.

DaVinci Marriage Outfits have a name connected with the inimitable suit as well as appearance obtainable. Davinci Bridal is a primary brandname of gorgeous great wedding apparel as well as maid-matron of honour clothes, having a varied variety about wedding party costume kinds, colors along with measurements. They’ll give moderate bridal gowns, plus size wedding gowns, old school plus style forward wedding gowns.

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San Patrick Wedding Dresses

San Patrick is well known wedding dresses designer, his collection of bridal dresses are exquisite, beautiful.

These dresses are suitable for up and coming brides that want to get a perfectly created bridal gown of which enhances their own beauty without the need of mind-boggling him or her through a bundle of beading and embroidery. Inside the types affords products really romantic together with state-of-the-art, discreet and original, all motivated by the most well known titles of the trendy business.

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Pink Black Wedding Dresses

Are you thinking that pink and black are nice color to combine for wedding dresses? If you are looking for pink black wedding dresses then here are they.

Barbie Wedding Dress 2010

Polka Dots Barbie Wedding Dress

Black and Pink Quinceanera Dress Picture

Charming Barbie Wedding Dress 2011 Collection

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Getting Creative With Wedding Portraits

The judge's comment on the first-place portrait from wedding photographer Sergio Lopez says it all: "There is nothing ordinary about this black and white portrait. His hair and eyes are black as coal and his eyes radiate with an intense, almost piercing gaze. The addition of the woman's arm combined with the intense look of the man's eyes elevates this portrait to another level. I can't stop looking at it."

Portraits are part of every wedding, of course, but Lopez's WPJA contest winner does indeed sear itself into the memory, providing a most unconventional image that rises head and shoulders above the rest.

Wedding photojournalists shooting portraits work within an expanded set of parameters, just like their counterparts in the news world: Some direction and setup is acceptable in order to fully capture subjects in the context of who they are and what they are feeling.

Yet everyone approaches portraits differently. Some photographers will perfunctorily record the traditional formals in a half hour before or after the ceremony. Then, they will just leave it at that while getting back to documenting the spontaneous moments of the day. However, the more adventuresome pros, including the majority of WPJA members, will take the portrait concept and run with it, bringing the art form to new levels of creativity and impact. The results are portraits that often convey the depth of the subjects' personalities, and can be expressive, and or full of energy.

The key to capturing creative portraits is to gain the trust of your subjects and to get them to buy into your vision. Once they are on board, it gets progressively easier to suggest unorthodox portrait ideas. And sometimes the bride, groom or member of the bridal party will come up with their own off-the-wall ideas for portraits.

"It's all about relationships, and we could not do what we do without having complete trust from our bride and groom," says Calgary, AB-based wedding photographer Quin Cheung, who shoots each wedding with her husband Dave. "You spend the most important day of their lives with the couple, and it's so important for them to come to you and know you're going to blow their pants off with the imagery."

During her portrait sessions Cheung also likes to play a bit with her clients, which requires their trust and a willingness to invest in her creative ideas. For example, her award-winning photo of the bridal party in the bus stop: "That was just total spur of the moment," she notes. "Our inspiration for that was an MTV commercial where all of these rock stars are stuffed into a phone booth. So we cajoled the bridal party into going into this bus stop and smooching their faces against the window."

"The couple needs to trust us with what we're doing," agrees wedding photographer John Prutch, who with his wife Amy works the greater Portland, OR, USA area from their studio just across the river in Vancouver, WA. He adds that knowing your surroundings, knowing your customer and why they chose the place, is key.
"The whole thing is just having fun while letting them know exactly what it is we're trying to get," he says. "We're reassuring the bride and groom that we've got an awesome shot, and we're continually talking the whole time. We're cracking jokes, we know the names of the people in the wedding party, and people know us by the end of the wedding."

Prutch's award-winning portrait has lens flare, dress flare, cool clouds, sky, trees and even a horse. "It was just one of those that came out perfect when it happened," he remembers. "The bride was a tomboy...she wanted to be barefoot, and she wanted her horse in the background. So we played off a bunch of different ways to have her play in the field. We had her spinning, and everything hit perfectly for this shot. I knew the lens flare was there but I didn't position her there because of that. The angle was because of the horse. The flare was just extra added 'wow.'" The bride's confidence in the photographer became a catalyst for the creativity on both sides of the camera.

Cheung perhaps sums up the trust factor when she says "If we didn't have a relationship with the couple, I don't think there's any way they'd get inside a sweaty bus stop."

When you take portraits, do you strive to be as creative as possible, or is it something that just happens?
The session that resulted in Prutch's award winner involved some creative premeditation, and was completed in 8 to 10 minutes. Prutch notes that the ceremony had already happened and the sun was looking good?better than it had earlier when he was doing all of the formals. "We had some nice warm glow, so we had a plan of attack of what we would get in this field and how we would do it," he remembers.

"We knew going in exactly what it was we wanted," he says. "Amy and I enjoy shooting from the hip for most of the wedding, but we like to think that we have a very relaxed, carefree formal, and it's not a stiff pose. Before the wedding starts we do more of a static session?the stuff that grandma likes-and then we'll play off that if we have the time, using very creative lenses and angles. We also take them out for an informal second session during the reception."

"I don't think too hard about how to get a creative portrait," says the Arizona-based Lopez. "The most important thing for me, is to get along with the clients, to talk to them and keep them entertained. While making a portrait I never step away from them. I never do the big panoramic, grandiose scene because 'it sounds ridiculous' but I feel that if I leave them alone, they'll get bored. I'm interacting with them the whole time."

Lopez says that the conversations he launches during his portrait sessions are not trivial. "We talk about politics and religion...I like to make them feel a little bit tense," he admits. "When I'm doing [wedding] photojournalism I want my subjects to feel carefree and comfortable with me, but when I'm doing the portraits, I don't want to make a pretty portrait, but rather an interesting one; something different."

Lopez notes that one of his biggest inspirations is a famous Yousuf Karsh portrait of Winston Churchill. According to Lopez, Karsh only had ten seconds to get the shot. So, as the story goes, when Churchill sat down with his cigar Karsh snatched it out of his mouth, immediately annoying the Prime Minister. The result was that the photographer was able to capture that famous, determined expression. People viewing the iconic photo might think that Churchill was reflecting on the war, but it was really all about his cigar.

"When I'm trying to push the limit with what I can do with a portrait, and I want to get that 'look' and I want to get into their eyes with my camera, I want to push their buttons a little bit," Lopez confides. "Instead of looking at my camera they may be looking at me with an attitude of 'what are you talking about?'"

His haunting award winner was the result of such a very deliberate attempt to invoke a serious expression, and perhaps a little luck.

"This was a very cool, nice couple," Lopez remembers "We were talking about family members and guests, and how stressful it is to craft the invite list, and her mom and how she gets along with him...and I saw a little bit of tension there. I was trying to get him to stop smiling. I was trying to make them both a little bit tense at that point, actually. She was looking into the camera, and then she put her hand right there. And normally, my reaction would be to just step back and get her in the photo too, but I thought 'I don't need that,' all I need is the hand there. And he didn't look at her, but kept [glowering] at me."

Cheung credits some of her portrait success to collaboration with her husband. "I pre-visualize my images and script them out in my head, but David really flies by the seat of his pants, and what ever comes along he'll shoot it. So I guess it's part of putting all of those things into place-creating an environment where the emotion and the spontaneity can occur, encouraging that to happen, and having the right light and the technical ability to capture that."

As with the stricter side of wedding photojournalism, creative portraiture requires the practiced ability to anticipate and to be in the right place at the right time, a skill that becomes intuitive with more experience and the right chops.

"We're coming together each with our unique ideas and skill sets," notes Cheung. "We'll start with one pose, but then the pose will evolve as each of us works with that person or that couple. We'll move the light, we'll walk around and it will evolve into something completely different or extraordinary. It regularly happens when we shoot our portraits, and it's neat for us to see. It's a synergy that comes out when we put everything all together and put everything into place."

"When couples come to visit our studio the first thing out of their mouth is usually 'we notice that you capture a lot of expression and emotion in your images.' And those are the couples who hire us," Prutch says. "They're attracted to us because they know they're going to see a lot of emotion in their wedding day pictures."
And this reminds Prutch of another shot of a couple dancing on a hill in the sunset, with only the silhouettes and shadows coming through to the photo. "Couples are telling me that's what they want to see in their pictures. They are saying 'we want to dance on a hill.'"

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How To Starve Your Wedding Photographer: A Field Guide

Stomach staples are for sallies. If you really want to shed some pounds, become a wedding photographer.
It's a sad truth about receptions: Photographers are so low on the food chain, they're rubbing chest hair. Millions of plates of fatty beef and dried chicken are served at wedding functions each and every year. With all that nutritious booty, it should be a no-brainer that the photographer would get fed, right? Not so. Booty is in the eye of the withholder. And some banquet halls have turned food denial into an art form. When it comes to dietary relations with reception sites, photographers traditionally receive a swift kick in the pork medallions.
And brides and grooms are none the wiser.

For sure, this is in no way a recent injustice, but one that's older than time. In fact, just as Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes, someone may well have turned to the wedding photographer and said, "Sorry, dude - you get the cheese plate." Indeed, it would seem that a few banquet managers have taken to heart Henry Kissinger's famous quote: "He who controls the food supply, controls the people." (For a deeper understanding of how this brilliant socioeconomic model works, flip through any of the fine biographies on Robert Mugabe.)

One of reception halls' favorite tricks is the ol' "Bait & Switch." This is where the dearly beloved drops an extra $80 a plate for their vendors' meals, which, when served, magically turns into a flaccid stack of damp baloney sandwiches. "It's all we've got" is usually the accompanying sniffle. That's a pretty low P/E ratio (price to edibility) in my book. But hey, it's completely understandable. With the cost of oil these days, the expense of microwaving a chicken breast has skyrocketed.

One photographer in the northeastern U.S. said this happened to him several times at one particular site. The final straw came one night when he walked into the back room and saw the wizard behind the curtain. "The banquet staff is eating your prime rib that you were told was not available!" Hardly a sporting move. That's why it's always a safe bet to order the haggis.

Worse than being fed sweatshop fare is getting fed too late. In an unfortunate twist of irony, a photographer's mandate is to snap people while they're running around and having fun. Which dictates that the best time to feed your picture-taker is when everyone is sitting and eating. Sadly, this happens about as often as Paris Hilton asks, "Will this affect my credibility?"

The reason most wedding shooters prefer to eat when the bride & groom eat is so they're immediately available for the first dance and cake-cutting. But, inexplicably, some caterers insist on holding their food hostage until the entire room has been fed, burped and had their nappy changed. When the friendly waiter finally drops those wilted green beans and fish sticks in front of the photographer, the music suddenly flares and she must leap across the room to cover Uncle Lou's 'just outta detox' rendition of "Baby Got Back."
WPJA award-winner Dan Harris recounted the time a banquet manager told him his food was on the way. Almost an hour later, the entire room was fed and Dan still had nada. So he stood right next to the manager until she brought him his meal. Which she did. A Styrofoam box with four cold chicken nuggets and a glop of cole slaw. To split with his assistant.

He never got to dine on this epicurean delight, however, because the best man immediately began his toast. Said Dan, "For the next year I got a lot of sympathy from my brides when I shared with them this story." He's never had a bad experience since.

But hey, at least they're getting fed something, right? Remember, by dinnertime, most photographers have been on their feet for five or more hours without a break; usually with five more hours to go. In a few extreme situations, they've bellied up to the table to feast on a big steaming bowl of jack squat. And it's not always the reception site's fault.

Abigail Seymour, a decorated WPJA member, booked a premium package for a high-end wedding. When her client worksheet came back, the line about providing a meal simply stated "NO." She was stunned, but held out the option that it was just an oversight. Sure enough, when she and her assistant arrived at the reception, "We were told then that we were not welcome to eat from the buffet." Ouch. That would have been a good time to demonstrate the benefits of a sneeze-guard.

Or, she could have done what one photographer did when the reception site offered him the Empty-Plate Special: "We called a pizza house and had a pizza delivered directly to the banquet hall." Large combo, extra spite please.

But even when the planets align, fate can still land a sucker-punch. WPJA founder David Roberts had his meal served at a table just outside the reception tent. Before taking his first bite, he jumped up to shoot something and returned five minutes later. That's when he found the parking lot attendant doing a Gene Simmons on his dinner. Roberts was stunned. "It was the last one (meal) and they had nothing else to get me."
Of course, as O.J. taught us, there are two sides to every obvious crime. What do the banquet halls say to all this? Your guess is as good as mine. Most every one I tried to contact never returned my overtures. But what did I expect? I was basically asking the catering equivalent of that old comedy saw, "When did you stop beating your wife?" Unanswerable in any form.

However, there are a few good ones out there. Lorraine Camara, Catering Manager for the Laurel View Country Club in Connecticut, charges clients half price for vendors meals; they are served the same food as guests and eat at the same time as or before everyone else. She hosts monthly meetings of the Connecticut Professional Photographers Association, whose members rave about their treatment. Adds Camara, "And they should because they're one of my best forms of advertisement."

Ah. Food for thought.

So how do we keep from inadvertently starving our highly-skilled documentarians? Simple: Communication. Hammer out all the food issues with the reception site/caterer before D-Day. Because nothing will ruin an inebriated massacre of the Electric Slide like having to stop and administer your photographer a saline drip.
Amongst themselves, most wedding photojournalists agree on three points: 1.) - Put everything in the contract. Food, time and place. 2.) - Before the date, provide your written wishes to the bride and groom to deliver to the caterers. Also, try approaching the caterers as soon as you arrive. And 3.) - Bring backup. A quick sandwich in the back of the van has saved many a hypoglycemic face-plant into the trumpeter swan ice sculpture.

And you know good and well the videographer is going to catch that.

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Including Pets In The Wedding

There are those couples who wouldn't think of banning their favorite creature from their wedding, whether it is a dog, a cat, or a parakeet. They would rather drop one of their family members from the invitation list than their beloved pets. Aunt Martha meet Bowser.

Then there are the vast majority of animal lovers whose anxiety over their pets' unpredictable behavior keeps them from extending an invitation to them. There are also those who waffle back and forth on the matter. They would love to include their furry friends in the wedding day festivities, but for one reason or another can't fully commit to it.

Make no mistake. With thoughtful consideration, you can include your pet and leave it up to your wedding photographer to consider capturing the special guest?s reaction to this most unique day.

Animals create excellent photographic opportunities. Whether it is during the actual ceremony, the reception or when you're getting ready, pets can add a measure of spontaneity and fun to the photographs. WPJA award winner Ira Lippke notes, "[Pets] add a degree of personality to the wedding and keep it from being a run-of-the-mill type of event."

In most cases, the pet attending the wedding happens to be a dog, since canines are most easily trained and socialized. So how do you know if your Fido is ready for his close-up? First, it's important that you know how he reacts in a variety of situations. If you're considering including him in the ceremony, know how he responds to large groups of people. Is he easily distracted? Can you (or an appointed individual) command his attention? Does he respond to basic commands, such as heel, sit, stay, etc.? WPJA Medallion recipient Julie Gelfand says, "You need to know whether the dog is going to be cooperative, so [the event] doesn't turn into a joke. If the bride and groom want dignity in the processional, they need a dog who heels and is obedient."

Gelfand's award-winning photograph of a yellow Labrador standing in front of the bridesmaids exemplifies the model four-legged flower girl. The wedding took place outdoors, as many of the ones that include pets do, and the dog was adorned with a flower-covered collar. She was extremely well behaved, walking down the aisle with one of the bridesmaids, and she stood attentive and poised throughout the entire ceremony. Gelfand says that she took the photograph during the actual ceremony while the dog, entranced by the audience, looked out at them.

You can do all the planning and rehearsing with your furry friend, but in the end you may have to hold your breath and cross your fingers. Gelfand says, "It's like sending a three-year-old flower girl down the aisle. You hope you've done everything you can so that it works well and then you just sit back and watch." Although you never know what may come of it, a pet taking hold of the leash, so to speak, may result in a wonderful photograph.

WPJA award winner John Zich discovered this first-hand when he captured a bride's black Labrador, Betty, leaping towards her. The Chicago, IL, USA-based photographer explains, "Betty was the ring bearer, and for much of the ceremony she was held in the back. When the time came to exchange the rings and her name was called, she ran down the aisle and landed a wet kiss on the bride." The audience fell into laughter and Zich captured the kisses up close, resulting in two winning images. The first picture is of Betty's initial leap towards the bride, while in the second, someone has gotten hold of her leash and she continues to lavish the bride with kisses.

The pet's toy or bedding can be helpful in fostering a sense of comfort and security. Lippke recalls one wedding in which the bride and groom helped to keep their small dog in line by placing a familiar pillow next to them during the ceremony. When the dog walked down the aisle, he knew to go straight to the pillow and sat there contentedly from the processional to the recessional.

It's always a good idea to put someone other than the marrying couple in charge of the dog. "It should be someone that the pet feels comfortable with," Gelfand notes. And if you think watching over your pet would be too much responsibility for one of your guests to shoulder, then your pet isn?t ready to walk the processional.

With all the activity going on, it's important to create as comfortable an environment for the animal as possible. This means putting him on a leash if that's what he's accustomed to. Give him a small role in the wedding, just enough for that fun and clever photograph.

If your furry friend isn't ready for an audience, there are other ways you can include him in your wedding festivities and the accompanying pictures. Having him hang around while the bridal party gets ready for the big day is one. However, be sure that your pet can be trusted with all the mesh/lace and expensive gowns/dresses. Fido chewing up the dress an hour before the ceremony could be a big disaster.

Lippke discovered a wonderful photographic opportunity when one of his clients invited her small white pup into her hotel room while she and her bridesmaids got dressed. The resulting award-winning photo captures the dog with the bride's purple panties dangling from his mouth. Lippke recalls that the bride did not notice what her pup had captured when he documented the moment. The dog continued to walk around the room with his prize before finding a nice sitting spot on the train of her dress.

Gelfand, an animal lover herself, is always excited when her clients choose to include their pets in the day's events. Even if it's just for a short while, it can make a big statement. She says, "The pictures of animals in the 'getting ready' room can be very funny. Here's a time when the bride is getting ready, and the pet is a mark of normalcy, looking around wondering what is going on around here. It's an excellent place for humor." Gelfand has also photographed cats who often find their way into the 'getting ready' room, and with their customary aloofness can provide an added layer of interest.

Pets play a large role in many peoples' lives, and for some couples it makes sense to consider including them in the wedding activities. They can provide another aspect to the day, and subsequently to your photographs, creating memories and moments that last.

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Is Wedding Photojournalism a Fad?

We've all flipped through well-worn wedding albums of parents, aunts and uncles, and even grandparents, chuckling at dated hairstyles, handlebar mustaches, peach taffeta bridesmaids dresses, and powder blue tuxes. Wedding photojournalists might contend that these photos wouldn't seem so out of style (hideous wedding gowns and bad male perms aside) if more emphasis had been placed on the un-styled, un-planned moments of the wedding day, rather than the prescribed agenda of highly organized groups of people staring at the camera.

On the contrary, naysayers insist wedding photojournalism is merely a trendy, passing fad that disrespects the venerable traditions of the classic posed shot. They point out that tradition, and true photographic quality, is often sacrificed for grainy, natural-light candids that claim to be "art."

Others scoff at the idea that tears and laughter recorded forever will soon be going out of style. "When real life goes out of style, we're all in trouble," says WPJA award winner Peggy Bair. "When is that ever going to go out of style? Real moments - you can't fake them."

Bair argues that when people look back at their wedding photographs, they'd like to remember what they felt at the time, not just what they looked like, which is surely to be out of date 20 years later. What really matters, she says, is the actual experience the photographer is documenting.

"I think people want to experience real life as it happens. They want to remember their wedding day, without someone asking them constantly to move or stand a certain way," she says. "They don't want to remember the photographer making him dip her back like that. They want to remember the spontaneous moment - the real moment.

"Then they can say, 'That's what I look like when I'm really living my life. That's who I really am," she says.
Bair adds that there are trendy photos out there posing as wedding photojournalism.

Today's 'trendy' wedding photojournalism happens when a photographer takes photos that have become expected in the genre. "Someone decided that it was photojournalistic to take a photo of the dress hanging on a hanger. Now every photographer takes a photo of the dress, and it's not [wedding] photojournalism anymore," muses Bair.

Other, au currant photo poses to be wary of: dipping the bride; the jumping bridal party; tilted horizons ("tilting photos does not make you a photojournalist," she says); and close-up detail shots. "Don't just take a picture of the shoes, and then say, 'OK, I got that.'"

"We can look back at the 70s and 80s and say, 'Oh that's so pass'," but we're doing it again, just with a different set of pictures," Bair notes.

Brides and grooms need to understand the difference between real wedding photojournalism and the trends some photographers are buying into, according to our experts. If you are adamant about documenting your wedding in a photojournalistic style, make sure you communicate your wishes to your photographer, so he or she doesn't feel pressured to get those canned shots, and can instead focus on the real moments, happening organically, without direction or interruption.

Wedding photographer Joe Milton says since none of the popular styles - traditional, portrait photography or wedding photojournalism - is going anywhere; that it?s more about understanding the differences so you don't get caught up in the fads.

"Usually my clients have looked at several photographers, and they've looked at websites - and they've picked me, specifically saying they don't want those posed shots that they've seen in everyone else's album," he says. "They don't want those clich' photos - the groom dipping the bride in front of a mountain, the brides veil thrown over the groom's head. They already know that they don't want the experience of the photographer being in charge and directing the whole day; they want someone to record it."

Advice to brides and grooms: do your research, and then ask yourself some questions - and be honest. Do you want your wedding photographer to have control of how you look? Do you want him or her to be directing you during the day? Or are you the type of people who would rather not worry about the photographer, but instead have someone who is there to document the day as it happens, free from interference? Are you confident enough to let the moments speak for themselves, or do you already know how you want the photographs to look, and you simply need a photographer to help you set them up and capture them?

Another WPJA award-winner, Marc Climie, maintains that there's more to picking a photographer than simply picking a style; that each photographer brings characteristics to the job that will influence the photos. "The traditional photographer is more apt to mingle with the crowd, talk to people, and interact. It's his or her personality," he charges. "The documentary photographer is more of an observer, watching people react and interact."

It's that observing eye that captures the reality of a wedding - the real moments that you'll remember years later when flipping through your photos. Does he think that's a trend? "I believe there is beauty and art in reality," he says simply.

"It is a fad no more than a mother standing back in awe of her daughter's beauty is a fad, no more than a tearful father walking his daughter down the aisle is a fad, no more than life is a fad."

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Kids At The Wedding

A wedding is a special event for all involved, and children are no exception. With little boys suiting up in tuxedoes and young girls stepping into gowns layered in satin and lace, it's a milestone for your smallest guests as well. It's that rare occasion when they receive a glimpse into the adult world in all its ceremonial splendor. But in the thick of wedding planning, many brides and grooms often forget the little ones. Well, you need not be one of the forgetful.

With a bit of forethought, you can help create an environment at your wedding that allows your wedding photographer to capture your smallest guests at their best. It's well worth the effort. The innocence and spontaneity of children can make for colorful, unique memories and photographs. A bright-eyed ring bearer teasing the flower girl symbolizes the carefree and overly joyous tone of the entire day.

Every wedding photographer has good and bad stories of children at weddings. WPJA member Frederick Ng won first prize in the Ceremony Category for a picture he took of the bride and groom's first kiss with a little girl in a bright red dress in the foreground. Apparently, she needed to stretch out her legs during the ceremony and made herself comfortable on the sanctuary stairs, only a few feet from the couple. Many parents' reaction would have been to drag their daughter back to the pews. But in this instance, everyone remained relaxed and Ng was able to capture a moment that was romantic, as well as fun and quirky.

During the reception, Ng will follow the little ones around with a wide-angle lens and gets down low to capture them at their level. To make the kids comfortable in front of the camera, Ng says, "I hang out with them, make friends with them, and then I can hold up the camera and take the pictures." His low-key nature and friendliness came into play when a young boy who was three or four years old unscrewed Ng's lens hood. He ran around with it and refused to give it back. In this instance, Ng was able to make a trade with a piece of candy.

WPJA wedding photojournalist Jennifer Stanton captured a wonderfully unpredictable moment-a young ring bearer and his two older twin sisters-that turned into a first place prize. She recalls, "The little boy had the wrong shoe on the wrong foot. I was 25 feet away photographing the groom's party walking down the aisle and happened to turn and see the two girls pointing at his shoes."

An award-winning photograph WPJA's Eric Lagstein took came about through a bit of happenstance. It was during the Horrah, when a boy of about eight or nine was lifted up in the chair. Lagstein stood near the center of the circle, raised his camera above his head and took the picture. The result was a wonderful image that vibrantly captures the excitement and action of moment.

Start off the reception on a good note by handing out goodie bags to the children. At a wedding Lagstein photographed, the half dozen kids there received baskets with an array of treats and toys. With building materials, miniature planes and balloons, they stayed engaged and entertained for the entire reception.
It's common for parents to expend a great deal of energy trying to keep their little ones 'in line' during a wedding. Doing so can make both adults and children high-strung and put everyone on edge. Help to avoid unforeseen disruptions by having a separate area for the kids during the reception. This does not mean have a romp-roaring play center. The idea is to create an enjoyable environment for the children, as well as the adults so that both can relax and enjoy your big day.

Stanton suggests separate tables and ?kid food? buffets with treats such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (crust trimmed), chicken nuggets, pizza towers, chopped fruit, and macaroni and cheese. While it?s customary (as well as polite) for the photographer not to take pictures of the adult guests while they?re eating, the same does not hold true at the children?s table. Drawing from her own experience, Stanton notes, ?Kid tables guarantee a photographer at least a few fun pictures of kids goofing off at a time when other ?people eating food? pictures would be avoided.?

The goal is to accommodate the adults and the children, and the latter should not be left entirely to their own devices. It's advisable that someone manage the kids' table and do damage control so the parents aren't worrying about them. For a smaller group, this may come in the form of an older brother or sister, and for a larger group, you'll want to hire a babysitter. Whichever way, the goal is to maintain some semblance of civility. It's been Stanton's experience that when a kid table is provided, its spirited occupants can be as messy as they want to be, notwithstanding a food fight, and their parents can partake in adult conversation.

If you're inviting more than eight underage guests, you should consider designating a room at the reception for them. This space would be filled with toys and entertainment, and monitored by a babysitter. At a wedding Stanton recently photographed, the bride and groom filled a special kids' room with Playdough, games, dolls, puzzles and a giant TV with an arsenal of DVDs and cartoons. In their own space, the little ones, free of parental constraints, stop trying to act grown up and they can be themselves. This is when the photographer moves in and captures that spontaneous and delightful moment.

Your guests will take a cue from you. Relieve them and yourself of unnecessary stress by conveying to them ahead of time that the kids can act like kids at your wedding, barring tantrums and unwieldy behavior. Yet sometimes, a child acting a little rambunctious or out of line can make a really great photograph.

Children are full of creativity. They can be fun and capricious. In front of the camera, they can be honest and alive -a photographer's ideal subject. Creating an environment at your wedding where they can be themselves will help to create moments that embody the festive spirit of the special day.

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Kids Dressing Up For The Wedding

The great divide between the sexes can be witnessed a lot earlier in life than most believe. Girls and boys participating in weddings around the world demonstrate it time and time again. Frequently, little girls relish the opportunity to dress up in their finest, while the boys do so begrudgingly, kicking and screaming all the way to the altar, so to speak.

However, it doesn't take long before that divide is bridged, and children are children again, with neither girls nor boys particularly preoccupied with their clothing. Shortly after the ceremony, they are all tugging at their outfits, finding the fastest route to the greatest fashion faux pas imaginable. The reception begins. General roughhousing ensues. Add to the mix the children's openness and lack of inhibitions in front of a camera, and the results can be award-winning photography.

We spoke with three WPJA photographers who know a little something about capturing kids in their finery. They've been recognized for their work in which clothes helped to draw out the angel, rascal or prima donna in their prepubescent subjects.

What is it about little ones dressed in dainty white dresses or miniature tuxedoes? Is it that they look like smaller versions of the bride and groom? Is it the personalities that these clothes bring out? Often, the little girls bask in the spotlight, imagining themselves as the one being wed. The boys can cause a stir, fighting the constrictions of their clothing with all they've got. Both are a sight to behold.

Washington state, USA, WPJA photographer Brooke Hendricks says, "Kids are easy to photograph. They're not aware of the camera and so they're not self conscious." They can make for wonderful moments. A prime example of this is Hendricks' award-winning photograph of a little boy, the ring bearer, scrunching up his face while his father adjusts his bow tie. His big personality comes through in this moment, with his displeasure and fussiness immediately evident. The image speaks volumes about what was happening when Hendricks took the photograph. We don't even need the photographer to verify that the boy was causing a ruckus. That's clear.

Many brides put significant consideration and energy into determining the outfit scheme for their wedding party. The children who are participating in the ceremony are usually no different. Next to the bride, they often garner the most attention. It therefore makes sense to carefully choose their outfits. Keep in mind that their clothes will have a hard time making it through the entire event unscathed. Wedding photographer Gary Allen, based in North Carolina, USA, puts it bluntly, "The clothes that the kids wear are going to be trashed...and white is not easy for anyone to keep clean."

Stereotypically, little girls love to dress up in adult clothes. A wedding provides a prime opportunity for them to shine. Unlike little boys, they may want to put on their finery hours before the ceremony has begun. In an effort to guard against any outfit disasters, some parents prefer dressing the kids moments before they're needed to walk down the aisle.

In Allen's photograph of two ring bearers wearing white suits, the subjects look nothing less than angelic. The stream of sunlight hits them at just the right angle. Capturing them walking in-step and in matching outfits adds cohesion to the image. He notes, "Visual alliteration often helps. The fact that they're the same size, wearing the same suit and walking in step, contributes to an interesting photograph."

Clothes can help to bring out something in the children that wasn't obvious before. While that 'something' can be characterized as difficult, it isn't always. California, USA-based WPJA photographer Wen Chang finds that little girls see an image of themselves in their tiny gowns of silk and lace that they value. She tries to capture that and says, "I always watch the girls to see how they see themselves in their outfits. It can make for very interesting moments."

We can see this in her photograph of a flower girl posing for the camera as she stands next to the bride. Chang explains that at the time she and her assistant were taking group pictures of the wedding party. In regard to her beaming subject, she remarks, "She had such attitude. It was so cute." Clearly the young girl was stealing the show.

Humor plays a big role in capturing those quintessential images of children dressing up. Fitting a mature-looking outfit onto a small body can be a challenge and can provide hysterical moments. Hendricks notes that it?s not uncommon for the boy's tuxedo to be a tough fit. She's taken photographs of suits that have been pinned to the boys or that had sleeves which were hemmed with rubber bands so they wouldn't hang down to the floor.

There's a balance to be met between dressing children in formal clothes and not covering up their innocence. Chang has noticed how absurd little girls can look when their parents put too much make-up on them. In an attempt to get the young ones more excited in the event at hand, they may cake on the rouge.

It is more conducive to good photography to let children be children. If that means allowing them to change out of their clothing shortly after the ceremony, okay. Hendricks observes, "There's very little hope of them being happy in their outfits." Formal clothes can be a real hindrance on good, all-out playtime. Allowing children to be themselves (within reason) also helps create wonderful photographic moments.

Dressing boys and girls up for the special event can help create memorable, classic scenarios. It's a tradition that does not grow old. And it's important. Still, kids will be kids. As Hendricks notes, "You're lucky if the kid can put it on and keep it on for the length of the ceremony. Beyond that, it's extra."

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Long Wedding Ceremonies

"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock..." Hear that? That's not the clock, that's the impromptu ping-pong game that just broke out in the church as your ceremony enters its third hour. Oh, and don't wake the guy snoring behind the altar he just needs a little nappy before witnessing your vows.

They say that love is timeless, right? Yeah, well, love never sat through an epic marathon of nuptials in 90-degree heat while mentally tracing a Rorschach test on his neighbor's liver-spotted head. It's a good time to start speed-reading your way to the "I Do's" when grandma goes down like a Sumatran rhino on the bad end of a tranquilizer gun. Not sure if your service is going a little long? Just ask those guys weeping in the corner. They're Teamsters.

Hey, no one doubts that the wedding ceremony is the raison d?etre for your big day; just don't let bad time management make you un-raison-able.

First, let's get this out of the way. A wedding is the happiest moment of most people's lives. It just doesn't have to last a lifetime. If your ceremony includes a souvenir program and an intermission, with guys in suspenders walking up and down the aisles selling peanuts and Cracker Jacks, it might be time to make some edits.

And if guests start doing the wave? Better make those changes quickly.

Luckily, your wedding photojournalist is experienced at capturing the most significant memories of your event, and can adapt to pretty much anything. But you'll only help yourself by keeping a tight leash on the schedule. It will allow for greater flexibility with your photographer, and you'll have far fewer shots of guests seemingly trying to catch flies in their mouth.

The truth is, we all hope to create lasting impressions from our wedding day. So it's completely natural to want to include as much meat in your ceremony as possible. However, by the ninth reading from Book VII of Milton's Paradise Lost 'unabridged' you're going to be spraying your guests down with Red Bull. A beautifully-crafted three-act set of vows can be quickly ruined by the thundering craaack! as Aunt Marge peels her big moisturized face off the back of the pew. Yes, it's a lasting impression, but mostly in the varnish.

WPJA member Jonathan Adams of Kentucky always makes sure to ask the officiant how long he or she expects the ceremony to last, to help with his pacing. "I've had three-minute 'I do' weddings and over-an-hour ceremonies," says Adams.

But we're really quibbling over minutes here, which to some might seem like a luxury.
Take those poor invitees at Ahmad ibn Tulun's wedding, for instance. The 9th-century Egyptian ruler recorded the longest wedding ceremony in human history. It rolled throughout the entire Middle East and lasted several months. A newly found Dead Sea scroll revealed a passage from one of the guests, which read, "Day 97?Vows almost over?hope to get feeling back in my buttocks soon."

Understand, a long celebration isn't bad by definition, especially if it's steeped in tradition. In some Asian cultures, the ceremony alone stretches into days, even weeks. (That's the best argument I know against polygamy). As we speak, a full-blown Shinto ceremony is holding court somewhere in Japan, while many Pakistanis are throwing rice from sunrise to sundown. That takes a 32-ounce gulp of endurance. And if you're planning on attending a wedding in some parts of India you better put your mail on hold for a week.
Fortunately, for those of us who reside in America, we like our rituals as we like our values lessons: quick and painless. The MTV generation has appropriated the traditional patience allotted to life-altering events and replaced it with a Pavlovian need for instant gratification. If your homily doesn't include a pounding bass track and a sports drink pitch, you might as well be reciting James Joyce in semaphore.

So who should crack the whip? Adams suggests that the best way for a couple to keep the bus moving is to hire an experienced wedding planner instead of relying on the photographer: "As a wedding photojournalist we like to document your day and not be the director."

But life has a way of butting in. Like Paris Hilton's career, some things just happen without reason. Limos show up late; parking creates delays; even the main players can miss their cues. So says Chicago WPJA member Peter Pawinski. "I had a wedding at a country club in New Jersey where the minister simply didn't show up." About 45 minutes later, the father of the bride called in a favor from a judge friend. "Not only does the judge show up and marry them, but he ends up'providing the most entertaining, heartfelt, and smooth ceremony I have ever photographed," says Pawinski, "Plus he gets to be the hero of the day."

The moral of the story? Always ask if your officiant has a GPS microchip implant.
WPJA photographer Kristen Schmid of Illinois offers some tongue-in-cheek yet salient advice on how to keep on the clock. "It helps if you have the 'Bridezilla' thing going on, because people will show up on time out of fear," Schmid laughs. Kristen uses the term endearingly, though, adding, "The clich' is that it's the bride's job [to delegate], but it's not. If everybody involved has a clear sense of what their role is and what they need to do, it helps with the entire ceremony."

Surprisingly, more so than the length, the actual timing of the event can sap more energy than Al Gore's 10,000 square-foot mansion. As Chicago WPJA member John Zich points out, problems occur when churches squeeze multiple weddings into a single day. "The couple books the only available slot; the first one of the day, and then have several hours to kill between the ceremony and the reception." The downtime is often filled with a slow-mo limo tour of the city or countryside, with endless detours and photo ops, exhausting the wedding party. Says Zich, "We often suggest they pare down the list of planned stops and take a little time just to relax and refresh before the reception starts."

Ok, let's summarize: the more organized the planning, the less chance you'll be burning the mid-afternoon oil. And you'll ensure the best possible pictures from your special day. The pros agree on several tips that will help keep the ceremony running smoothly, on time and with minimal delays:

Always prep a backup plan. If the limo's a no-show, have a family car at the ready. You'll be the only bride with smushed Cheetos on her butt, but hey you'll be punctual.Whittle the number of readings and rituals down to those that hold the most meaning to you. A love sonnet is endearing; a full Mummenschanz version of Elizabeth Barret Browning's 'How Do I Love Thee?' is not.When writing your own vows, think 'economy. Distill your thoughts into their most potent; their most meaningful. Avoid any passage which contains the words "And then there was that one time, where you were like so totally hot, and I'm like "Omigosh, I can't believe how totally hot you are", and you're all 'no way!', and I'm like 'way!'"Study up on 17th-century physicist Francis Hauksbee. He's the guy who discovered capillary action, the phenomenon that keeps blood pumping upwards to your heart and brain from your legs. If you're standing at the altar for an hour with your knees locked, you'll be kissing marble before you ever get to kiss the bride. Keep those legs loose and you'll be sure to avoid the gag reel.

Lastly, keep in mind that this is your day, and you (or perhaps your selfless parents, bless 'em) are going to be paying it off for the next ten years. Or at least until there is a more equitable exchange rate for donated kidneys. You're the one who's ultimately in control and you can make your ceremony as long or as short as you darn well like.

And if people have a problem with that, just show them to the ping-pong table.

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Other Cameras At The Wedding

On your wedding day you'll probably feel like a celebrity with all the attention, adoration and fine clothes. You may expect fawning and flattery, but are you prepared for multiple cameras following your every move? More than any other event, weddings bring out the paparazzi in people. So when you walk down the aisle or cut the cake, be prepared to face a bank of cameras.

Thanks to the digital revolution, many cameras now are lighter, smaller, relatively inexpensive, and they're showing up everywhere, especially at weddings. "For a number of guests, the way to experience a wedding is to take their digital cameras," says Robert Mirani, a Lexington, MA, USA-based WPJA photographer. "Instant feedback is part of their experience."

"I embrace guests with cameras," says Matt Kim, a WPJA member in Oakland, CA, USA, "and incorporate them as part of the story of the wedding day. These guests are happy to be part of the wedding and want to remember it."

Both Mirani and Kim say they typically see as many as 20 cameras at a wedding. In fact, Kim says at most weddings digital cameras have usurped disposable cameras.

Some brides even pack their own cameras in their purses, according to Britta Trygstad, a West Fargo, ND, USA, WPJA photographer. "They hand it to their friends so they'll take snapshots of them," she says. "Their friends usually yell at them for having cameras, but some people feel they have to document everything."
With all the shutterbugs snapping pictures at the bride and groom, how does the hired professional photographer get a lens in edgewise" For the most part, wedding photojournalists say they work around the amateurs and are sanguine about them. "People with cameras] are in my way because they love the couple," says Kim. "It's all good."

Mirani adds that he sometimes works with the camera-bearing guests to make sure he and they don't trip over one another. "It doesn't bother me," he states. "I just try to incorporate it in my coverage."

"People are going to take photos and I don't mind," says Trygstad. "Many times a relative will stand in the middle of the aisle and I always shoot that. I think it's hilarious to see someone shooting away during the ceremony. At a wedding I recently photographed, a four-year-old stood up on a stool during the ceremony and took pictures, with a flash! It was a very small wedding' only about 20 people' and everyone was amused."

All three photographers say that people taking pictures of people often make for funny, wonderful images. "For me, it;s what's happening during the day so it's part of the story," Trygstad maintains. During a recent wedding at a resort near Otter Tail, MN, she took an awarding-winning photo of a little girl angling for a shot of the cake cutting. "She was so excited that she was taking pictures all day long," Trygstad remembers. "So when she popped into the photo it seemed natural to take a picture of her taking a photo." That image won second place in a recent WPJA competition in the Cake Cutting category.

At a wedding, Matt Kim spotted a grandfather trying to photograph his wife holding their grandbaby during the reception, which was held in a Sausalito, CA, USA restaurant. "He was working hard to find a good angle so he could get the San Francisco skyline in the background." Bemused by the scene, Kim captured the moment in a WPJA award-winning photo. After all, weddings offer a myriad of moments, too many for the wedding photographer to capture alone. Therefore, guests with cameras, who are on a mission of their own to record the things most important to them, should be encouraged.

Sometimes amateur photographers birddog good photo ops for the professionals, who keep an eye peeled for picture-taking activity. During the reception of a Chelmsford, MA wedding Robert Mirani photographed, the groom took the mic in a karaoke moment to sing to his bride. "He was very animated and really singing it from the bottom of his heart," says Mirani. "His passion was such that people wanted to almost form a circle around him. That's when guests and bridesmaids started taking pictures. I wanted not only to capture him singing to his bride, but also to capture the feeling that everyone else was enjoying it too."

There are times, however, when an amateur's timing is bad. Mirani gives one example. "I was photographing from behind a bride and groom walking to their reception with everyone in the distance watching them. It was a nice moment. Then someone ran up and asked them to stop so he could take their picture. It wasn't actually disrespectful towards the bride and groom, nor was it a violation of their space, but it did break the mood. Guests mean well, but they don't always have a sense of what's good for the pace and mood of a wedding."

Should bridal couples try to control all the picture taking? "Even if a couple really wanted to control other photographers at their wedding, I don't think they could fully do so," says Kim. "I would discourage them from even trying because it would introduce a sour note to the day. I think guests with cameras are here to stay and will probably grow in numbers."

However, it is important for the couple to understand the dynamics surrounding a free-for-all when it comes to photography on wedding day. Kim adds, "I tell my clients my approach is documentary, so if Uncle Joe jumps in front of me during the first kiss, they'll receive a nice photo of the back of his head!"

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