Chicago Wedding Photography

1. Don't tell mother-in law jokes. There will usually be one or two mother-in-laws present and you could spoil the day by offending them. You never know what people will consider funny so its safer not to tell such jokes.Learning about this subject will help you more in the long run than you may realize, until the time comes when you really need it.2. Never tell dirty or rude stories. Take a alarm from the photographer who trapped on tape the father of the bride whipping the best man because he had blemished his daughters wedding by generous a cobalt discourse. The bride was crying in the background. filthy stories are not correct for an juncture where there is assorted circle particularly on a day when people are particularly touchy. also there may be clergy present or elderly people who would be shocked.3. overlook the tutors unsavoury prior. Best men are regularly tempted to tell stories about what the tutor has done in his wicked prior. It might offend the bride still and it is safer to cite some fight where he baffled your luggage on holiday or knocked you out in a congenial football meet quite then citing his victory with other women.4. Never thank the lodge workforce. They are rewarded to do this job and you don't thank the florist the take or the photographer for burden their work. If they do a good job remit a letter of credit or advise a particularly useful worker to the management if you desire.As we take the journey through the final part of this article, you can look back at the first part if you need any clarifications on what we have already learned.5. Don't give away family secrets by citing a sore issue like alcoholism or betting. Weddings discourses should be congenial and activist.6. Never symposium about prior matrimony's. This is a new jerk for the fasten and prior matrimony's should not be cited. If the children of a prior matrimony will be present prove with the fasten whether or not they should be cited.7. overlook motto And now I desire to thank and then give a long register. If there are people to be cited they should be bamboo into the wedding discourse by motto something ardent-hearted or witty about them.

The focus of any wedding ceremony is always the bride. In tradition, the guests gasp while taking in her beauty as she walks down the aisle. Most wedding photographers also focus on this moment in time by devoting most of the wedding photography to her. While the pictures do serve to memorialize the bride's emotions on this most important of days, the groom often provides a different form of emotion in these pictures.The Tradition Of Photographing The BrideMost wedding photographers focus their "pre-wedding" photography on the beautiful bride and her bridesmaids as they prepare for the ceremony. The way they take their time in creating the most perfect image for the day with their makeup, hair, and dresses lends an air of sophistication and refinement to a wedding album. While the beauty of these moments are alluring and refined, they are often lacking in the intense excitement the groom and his groomsmen bring to wedding photography.A Party AtmosphereFilled with nerves and emotions, the bride and groom usually handle the hours before a wedding ceremony in very different ways. Women tend toward the reserved, fussing on little details, holding back tears, and making sure everything is perfect. However, men tend toward excitement, even participating in a little high jinks and tomfoolery before the ceremony, encouraging more of a party atmosphere.These moments of mischief provide wonderful wedding photography opportunities. Getting these extraordinary shots of the groom and his groomsmen before the ceremony will tell a totally different story than those of the bride and her bridesmaids in the wedding album. While both the bride and groom are nervous before their wedding, they usually express it in opposite ways.Capturing photos of the groom allows wedding photographers to tell both sides of the story in pictures through contrasting pre-wedding photography. A teary eyed photograph of the bride hugging her mother before the wedding tells a much different story than the groom grinning ear to ear as he tosses a football with his buddies out on the church lawn before the wedding. However, both photographs tell a stunning story through wedding photography.Capturing A Memorable StoryIt is important to capture those moments of playfulness, emotion, and even fear through wedding photography, especially as they happen unpredictably. After all, once these moments have passed, they're gone forever, but when captured by a wedding photographer, they tell the story forever.

More than a few brides have scoffed at the notion that photographers require dinner. I mean, come on. You're paying someone a small fortune to press a button for a few hours, and now he demands a dinner break on your tab. You're ready to tell the guy off.I feel for you. I wouldn't want to pay an extra $80 to $120 for a fully plated dinner after writing someone a large check.Does the photographer deserve the meal? It depends.No one working fewer than four hours should require his client to foot a meal break. But you shouldn't deny anyone food who works six hours or longer. A reasonable photographer won't disappear for a long time to enjoy his meal. He's on the clock.Think about it from the photographer's view. He's dragging around fifty pounds of equipment, probably covered in sweat, while maintaining a big smile and professional demeanor. He manages the subtleties of your family member's relationships and fulfills every one of your requests. Plus, he only has one chance to get every photograph right. That's some pressure. If he's starving, then he may just not be on his game.Nearly every site and caterer, fortunately, offers the vendor meal option. It will save you money and satisfy the photographer. The meal should run $8 to $30, depending on your vendor.I honestly enjoy opening the vendor box and breaking out the club sandwich, fresh fruit and cookie. It's always chocolate chip.I typically eat nearby the reception area at the same time the guests are enjoying their dinner. It's the only time at a reception when nothing else is scheduled to happen. I tell the DJ or band leader where I'll be. I check in on the room while I'm eating, and if the clients decide to stand up and visit tables, then I get up, too, and follow them around. Dinner can wait, and cold sandwiches don't get colder.Do you have to pay for the meal? Most photographers require a meal as part of their compensation. So, if your favorite photographer also requires food, then you'll need to request a vendor meal for him.

Good editing can make all the difference to a wedding shoot. The following tips may help you to pull the most out of your photographs.This article is intended for wedding photographers who shoot with digital cameras.Tips: Shoot and edit in RAW. I can't tell you the number of times I have used RAW to save shots that would otherwise have been unusable. You obviously can't do all your editing in RAW but since RAW captures much more in formation than the highest quality JPEG most adjustments will look better done in RAW.

Adjusting Exposure. The biggest advantage of RAW is the ability to adjust exposure, and restore blown out highlights or detail lost in deep shadows. Often however I will adjust exposure to increase already dark shadows, or blow out already bright highlights, to achieve various artistic effects or just to just increase the intensity of the photo.
Use RAW when converting to black and white. Generally if you want a black and white image you want to do the conversion in RAW, not JPEG. Converting to back and white in RAW will result in a higher quality black and white image.
Go easy with saturation. Over saturating a photo is an easy way to ruin a photo, and can easily look great on your screen and really bad in print.
Don't over sharpen images. Sharpening artifacts look awful on large prints, be very careful how much you sharpen images. I prefer to just shoot with a sharper lens and then use no sharpening or noise reduction, for the most natural look possible. If you want to add punch to your images consider using curves or dodging and burning instead.

Talking of weddings, you can picture in mind a very special day for couples in love. You may be imagining a day when your fairy tale dream comes true. You think of it as an event where couples are the main actor and actress. In making this dream a reality, lots of preparation needs to be done. In attending into the details for the big day, make sure that pre-wedding photography is a part of it.Pre-nuptial photo shoot is mostly a part of the wedding photographers' package. This can be done at a venue of the couples' choice, either indoor or outdoor. Here are some reasons why a pre-wedding photo shoot is a need.• Knowing your wedding photographer well. This gives the couple a chance to know more about the wedding photographer. It will make the couple and the photographer more comfortable with each other as you spend more time together on the wedding day.• Exchange ideas. You can tell the photographer what you like and dislike. This way, the photographer will know what to do and when to take action on your "big day".• Experience how your photographer works. Through this, you get to know how your photographer works. If you like it, you made the good choice. If you don't, you still have enough time to look for a better photographer.• Get photos of natural looking couple. This is your chance of taking pictures where you will look naturally beautiful and not as bride and groom. Do it in a more relaxed and informal setting than the wedding venue.• Can be used for wedding invitations. You can choose a picture from your pre-wedding photos that you can use for your invitations. Not only that, use it also on other wedding details where you can use your photos especially for a slide show at the reception.Doing pre-wedding shoots are fun. Set it on a weekday as wedding photographers are busy on weekends. You can do it anywhere you want, much better if you can have it at your planned venue. This will also help you get to look at the details of the wedding venue. Last but not the least; never forget to sign a contract between you and the wedding photographer. Read carefully before signing to avoid misunderstanding and future problem with your photographer. Don't hesitate to ask questions on terms that are not clear to you.

Photography Equipment and Your Home OfficeSetting up a wedding photography business entails you have the appropriate gear to get the job done, on location and at home. But it doesn't mean you have to go into debt to get it done. I've seen photographers buy brand new top of the line gear spending over 10 grand only to find that they weren't able to make the business work. I started with 2 Rebel EOS cameras and some moderately priced lenses. In fact you might already have these or better. I'll go over briefly some items you'll need just to get started. I'm not going to cover top of the line items, just the minimums. You can upgrade as you go along. In my business I've moved on to Canon 5d's, Canon L series lenses and the whole shebang, but it didn't happen overnight. While the gear may be similar to other types of photography one major difference is the amount of backup items a wedding photographer has to have.BackupsThe most important lesson that I can't stress enough is to have backups of everything; back up cameras, back up lenses, back up computers, back up images, back up memory cards, back up everything. Because while you may never need any of them, the one time you don't have a backup camera, your shutter will lock up and you will have just cost a bride and groom their images. Even with photographer's insurance at this point you'd be hard pressed to justify the failure to the insurance company, not to mention the bride and groom. I've had memory cards fail, hard drives dropped, cameras lock up, images deleted, and computers crash. Luckily I heeded the advice of wedding photographers before me and had backups in place. So in closing, backup, backup, backup!Photography EquipmentIf I was posting in a forum I'd get flamed for telling you this next bit. When starting off don't go out and buy the top end camera gear. There are three different categories camera gear falls into. Consumer (average joe), pro-sumer (avid hobbyists) and pro (for people who do this for a living). The problem is when you start off in wedding photography you're not doing this for a living yet. You're trying to do this for a living. So live within your means and purchase gear that will work for your price range.I started with Rebel EOS XT cameras and while I wouldn't want to go back to using them I see nothing wrong with them. Cut your teeth learning on a Rebel EOS and you'll be that much better when you can afford a 5D. When it comes to lenses there are lots of options, but if you're on a budget most Canon lenses won't be on your plate and that's ok. There are other lens makers out there that put out quality products. I'm also only listing a workhorse lens and 1 fixed lens. I'm not going to go into the telephoto lenses because in my opinion they aren't a requirement. I didn't get one for a year until I could afford the Canon 70-200 IS L series lens. I'm also only listing Canon gear but if you're a Nikon fan the go for it. Here is a listing of some essential items, remember double what you see here and backup, backup, backup.
EOS Rebel XTI or XS without the Kit, the lens in the kit isn't worth the money
Sigma 24-70mm F 2.8 EX Dg lens, less than half the cost of its Canon counterpart and to be honest I still use it as my workhorse lens. I'd be hard pressed to pay over double for the slight gain in quality that you'd get for the Canon 24-70 L series lens. There is also the Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di LD lens which is close in quality to the Sigma and a bit cheaper. I used it for awhile and now it is my backup lens.
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8, very inexpensive and great for low lighting. But it is fixed so if you haven't shot with one before remember, there is no zoom, your feet are the zoom.
4 GB memory cards, as many as you can afford. Regardless of what some might tell you the brand doesn't matter. I've had the most expensive ones fail and some of the cheapest ones are still going strong, backup often and change your cards often. Don't buy larger than 4 gigs or you'll be tempted to put a lot of the wedding on one card, BAD IDEA.
Canon 430ex II flash. You could go with a cheaper flash, but to be honest I wouldn't. Lighting at receptions requires at least the power of a 430ex II flash. Your backup can be a Sigma or something similar. Later on upgrade to the 580's.
Tripod and Monopod. You may not like shooting with these but in low light conditions they can help to limit camera shake and help to sharpen your pictures.
Camera Bags.
Backup batteries for you camera and flash (as many as you can afford)

Every one who is having a wedding wants to have photo shoots during the wedding ceremony so as to capture those memorable moments. It is this very reason that wedding photography has actually been a major boost for many independent and small scale photographers. This spells out the fact that a modern photographer has therefore got to keep up with the technological advancements as far as photography materials and equipment are concerned.Whether the wedding event will happens indoors or outdoors, is is very crucial that the photographs meet the required standard otherwise the photographer stands a chance to lose customers. He should be able to provide digital prints, slide shows as well as albums in which the printed pictures will be well stored.Wedding photography has a history that is closely related too the invention of the modern camera and dates back to 1826 and is associated with Joseph Nicephore Niepce who had a hard time coming up with his first photo because it had to take him eight hours of exposure before he could come up with the print.It is interesting to note that the first wedding picture that was taken was that of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. This paved way for the wedding photography that is the in-thing today in most wedding ceremonies. Note the progress in this photography, in that, in days gone, the photo shooting was not done during the ceremony but long after it was over and done with and after people had changed into 'more appropriate' attire for the photo shooting. Today there is an overhaul in the whole scenario in that there is a combination of traditional classical photos and capitalization on all the important moments throughout the day, not forgetting the fetish that people have acquired for family albums.

A do-it-yourself (DIY) wedding in New York City sounds like an oxymoron, but it can be done. There are various ways of complying with that statement above and all for under $10,000. Well, under $10,000. You can still have quite an extravagant wedding, even an over the top wedding for under $10,000 AND in New York. Let me show you how it can be done, including your honeymoon. Now I know you're thinking that is an impossibility. My husband and I did it and so can you.It mostly depends on just what it is you want your fantasy day to say and whether or not one thing is the most important item or if you would prefer to have featured several things. For me I wanted the colors of our wedding to be featured, my dress and the water feature for my husband at the reception. At another time I will tell you about my excursions to and from the various locations to secure, just what I wanted for my wedding. Right now, I will give you the nitty-gritty about what I reaped from my excursions.What if you only wanted one thing to be the major featured item? Of course, it does not have to be just one thing, it can be several, but just so you don't go crazy, I suggest you choose one to two items rather than a whole slew, but if you want more than that, don't do any more than five. Most brides start off believing they can do it all and realize within eight to six months of the wedding that they can not. A friend's help comes in quite handily, after all your really close friends will have asked you all along what they can do to help. At about ten to eight months out from the wedding is the best time to take them up on their offers. I did. More about me later, though. I have a friend who did a wedding with a potluck reception at a very famous church here in Manhattan and even though it was phenomenally delicious, to my idea that was not even the featured item in her wedding. I am getting ahead of myself though.Her wedding had a committee of three women -the project managers- to help her stay within her budget which was WAY under $10,000. I believe she and her new husband paid no more than $6000 for their entire wedding, which included the reception space in that very same famous church. They did not pay for catering which can be quite pricey when it comes to weddings. In fact, the wedding couple paid nothing for the food at the reception, so plus the cost of the space, If they'd paid for catering it would have run close to the $6000 for their 150 guests. By having a potluck, she paid nothing other than the cost of the hall. The Riverside Church Chapel for me cost $800 (In a previous article, I said $1200, but in reality it was $800 for mine.) in 2005, but for another friend of mine last year, she paid $1500. I got the members' cost, but last year, there was no differential between members and nonmembers, so even though she is a member, she had to pay big bucks.My friend's wedding costs are an approximation, because I didn't pry that much,.. yet. She is out of the country now, so I can not ask her at all, but I am judging from her comments to me at the time. Forgetting about the cost of hers and her husband wearing apparel which I can tell you he had his own tux in his closet and her wedding dress was bought from a non-wedding wedding store on sale.

Since my friend is a singer too, she had friends who sang during her wedding, that were of course gratis or gifts. Basically that is a win-win situation all around. Since you tap your friends, you tap the voices you want singing your songs of choice. That's what I did and both she and her ex-husband sang at my and my husband's wedding.
Here's a big tip if you don't want to spend big time money on your dress, if it's to be one of the featured items, go to a non-wedding store in search of your gown. Personally I went to Filene's Basement bridal store, a year before my wedding and bought a dress for $536 with tax, so it is possible to pay for a dress under $3000. But my friend did not go the bridal store route. She went to Paramus Mall to Lord & Taylor. I don't remember exactly how much she paid, but I do know it was almost half as much as my dress.
She also did not go with a traditional veil, but went with a tiara alone. For mine, I had both, but did not pay a premium for either. I made up my own veil for less than $10 and found a tiara that didn't look cheap at Claire's Accessories for less than $20. She wore a tiara as well. A gold tiara, which costs no more than a $100.
For her reception, she had no music, we'd had plenty during her wedding ceremony. In another article I've already told you about using your own Mp3 player and saving big bucks in that respect. If you do want to hire a DJ or reception host, I suggest you go with a friend of a friend who is just starting to spin, but that the friend can vouch for their abilities, if you have not experienced them for yourself. Remember, whatever you do, GET a contract. One that spells out exactly what you want and expect them to do at the party. That means the songs you expect and when. That way, the surprises won't have anything to do with dancing. That way both you and your guests can be happy without much annoyance on anyone's part. New DJ's can start as low as $75 an hour and go up from there. If you want an established DJ, it could be as much as $125 - $350 an hour. This again is if you want to stay within your budget of $10000. Just remember you will need your DJ for at least four hours, so do your multiplication from there.
Transportation: Ah, you can go the traditional route with the white limos, or you can go with black limos, too. Did you know that the color of the limo can determine the price. White limos are more expensive and if you mention wedding additional money is added for that special day. Just be glad that you are not going to prom, because that is the limousine's big day(s) for money making. Limousines can be anywhere from $500 for a two and half hour rental to, of course thousands. To really save money, if you are friends with a special car association you could rent or borrow the owners' cars. Or now with the Internet companies, Zip Car, Drive Mint or even Connect By Hertz you could rent a car of your dreams for a great rates. Each of these dot com hourly car rentals can save you a bundle. Think about it.
Did you guess already that the featured item for my friend's wedding was the dress? Well, if you did you would have been correct. The bride wore, what appeared to be gold. In actuality, the dress was a copper lace with a light pink undergarment that peeked through, which made the dress upon entrance and even as she continued to walk down the aisle appear to be molten liquid gold. She was drummed in. Of course, the bride is usually the center piece of most weddings, but as they say in the theater, people were humming the dress the rest of the evening, especially since she was able to match the dress with a cape, that was already in her closet.
Transportation - Getting to and sometimes from the wedding ceremony can be challenging when it comes to keeping costs down, but with these suggestions you can be home free.

Many interfaith/Jewish weddings include the Seven Blessings. I was asked to officiate a ceremony, with a Secular Humanistic non-theistic Hebrew/English version of the Seven Blessings. I searched for a Hebrew version (I found only one or two), and nothing I found felt right, so I resolved to write one myself. It was important to me to preserve most of the original words, which would give it a traditional feel, and enable me to chant the blessings in the traditional tune. I also decided to try to write in a way that each of the six blessings (the seventh is the standard blessing over the wine) would parallel one of the six principles of the Humanist Manifesto III.Blessing #1 - Baruch hamaskil ba'adam hamaiveen sheha'olam lo nivra lichvodo. Praised be the enlightened one amongst humans, who understands that the world was not created for him. The traditional blessing blesses the deity for creating everything for his glory; humans aren't the reason for creation. Humanists agree with the latter. The first Manifesto principle states that, "knowledge of the world is derived by observation, experimentation, and rational analysis". It is these very tools that have made it clear that the vast Universe, wasn't created, and certainly not with us in mind.Blessing #2 - Baruch hamodeh al yitzeerat ha'adam. Praised be the one who is thankful for the evolution of humans. The traditional blessing thanks the deity for creating humans. The second Manifesto principle states that "humans are an integral part of nature, the result of unguided evolutionary change." This doesn't belittle our existence. On the contrary, our existence is something that Humanists celebrate and marvel at, feeling lucky to be alive in such a wondrous world. Hebrew doesn't have a word for evolution, so I preserved the word, yatzar, which doesn't have a definite ex nihilo tone to it.Blessing #3 - Baruch ha'ohev kol ha'adam kitzalmo kitzelem dimoot tavneeto ki'ezro kol echad vi'echad. Baruch hamodeh al yitzeerat ha'adam. Praised be the one, who loves all humans as one's self, as one's very own self, and loves every human as one loves one's spouse. Praised be the one who is thankful for the evolution of humans. The traditional blessing thanks the deity for creation in his image, the Mosaic rationale for according each human respect. The third Manifesto principle states that, "Humanists... are committed to treating each person as having inherent worth and dignity". The Humanist sees no need to ground respect for fellow humans in anything beyond the Golden Rule. We treat everyone, as we would want to be treated or want our loved ones to be treated. The Hebrew word tzelem, in this context, means "himself", rather than "his image".Blessing #4 - Sose tasees vitagail ha'akarah bikeebootz baneha litochah biseemcha. Baruch hasame'ach eem tziyon bishoov baneha. Let the barren (city) be joyful and exulted at the ingathering of her children into her midst in gladness. Praised be the one who shares in the gladness of Zion at the return of her children. The fourth traditional blessing prays the barren Israel/Jerusalem, will one day (anthropomorphically) rejoice in the Jewish People's return. The fourth Manifesto principle tells us that meaning isn't imposed by the deity. We "animate our lives with a deep sense of purpose, finding wonder and awe in the joys and beauties of human existence, its challenges and tragedies." We can derive meaning from human history and culture. As Jews, we are proud that we rose from the ashes, and fulfilled the "2000 year old hope", returning to Israel, which serves as a beacon of democracy and Jewish culture.Blessing #5 - Same'ach nisamach re'eem ha'ahuveem kiseemchat gan eden meekedem. Baruch misame'ach chatan vikalah. Let us gladden the loving couple, (so they may enjoy gladness) like the legendary gladness of paradise. Praised be the one, who gladdens the bridegroom and the bride. The fifth traditional blessing implores the deity to gladden the couple, as he gladdened Adam and Eve. The Humanistic blessing is explicit about the non-factual nature of this couple, but still embraces the idea of two people feeling like they were made for each other. The fifth Manifesto principle reminds us that, "humans are social by nature and find meaning in relationships." The peak of human relationships is that of true lovers. The ending of #5-6 emphasizes that it is we who should gladden the couple.Blessing #6 - Brucheem hamarbeem sasone viseemcha chatan vichalah geelah reenah deetzah vichedvah ahavah vi'achvah vishalome vire'oot. Mihairah bichole ha'olam yeeshama keev'arai yihoodah oochvichootzote yirushalayeem kol sasone vikol seemcha kol chatan vikol kalah kol meetzhalote chataneem maichoopatam un'arim meemeeshteh nigeenatam. Baruch ha'misame'ach chatan im hakalah. Praised be those who increase, joy and gladness, bridegroom and bride, exultation, song, pleasure and delight, love and brotherhood, peace and friendship. May there soon be heard, all over the world, as in the cities of Judea and as in the streets of Jerusalem, the sound of joy and the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the happy shouting of bridegrooms from their weddings and of young men and women from their song filled feasts. Praised be the one, who causes the bridegroom and bride to be glad together. The sixth traditional blessing thanks the deity for creating happiness, and implores him to hasten the day, where liberty may return to Israel, so weddings may regularly occur there. The sixth Manifesto principle also discusses happiness and liberty. It tells us that, "working to benefit society maximizes individual happiness", and that we must "minimize the inequities of circumstance and ability... so that as many as possible can enjoy a good life." To get there we must, "uphold the equal enjoyment of human rights and civil liberties." The return of our own right of self determination as Jews, coupled with Israel's democratic nature, inspire us to work towards a world where all people live happy and free.I hope these blessings will enhance future wedding celebrations. In the words of the Manifesto, may we be "guided by reason, inspired by compassion, and informed by experience", and, through that "live life well and fully."穢 Copyright 2010 - Rabbi David S. Gruber - All Rights Reserved - First published on http://www.interfaithfamily.com

It is possible to have a reasonably priced, yet beautiful wedding. To leave for Italy with her fiancé, my daughter decided to get married with only two month's notice. We managed to put together a beautiful wedding with a decent price tag.First of all, she wanted to get married on the beach at sunset. We found a gazebo right on the beach and asked the local mayor to officiate the wedding. The cost was nominal. The gazebo was just large enough for the people attending to be seated inside. The bridal party walked around the gazebo and stood between the gazebo and the water for the ceremony.One of my big concerns was the people on the beach. They weren't invited guests, yet they would be in the midst of the wedding. Much to my surprise, these people were quite delighted to witness the ceremony and treated the officiating with the utmost respect. They merely turned their beach chairs around and watched the wedding in silence. Decoration for this part of the wedding was minimal. We donned the posts of the gazebo with bows of tulle and let the breezes blow them about. Extra chairs were loaned from our church and returned by a friend. The happy couple stayed at a bed and breakfast for the night and came back to town the next day.Since the beach was not close to where we live, we had the reception the next evening at a hall. Maps were provided on small cards in the invitations so guests could find both locations with ease. The hall offered a complete package if you liked, DJ, cake, flowers, linens, the works. After figuring out each individual price if I didn't pick the package, the price would have been much higher. The DJ did an excellent job as master of ceremonies, introducing the parents, the wedding party, and finally the couple. Then the couple had the first dance with everyone looking on. This was nice for the older folks who would leave early in the evening and ordinarily miss the first dance. After the meal he also helped officiate over the cake cutting and got the music started on time. Table decorations were simple for the evening, flowers from the catering package, and large flat bowls filled with sand, shells and a light blue candle.The most expensive factor of the wedding was the photographer. We chose a photographer that not only did the posed traditional pictures for the album but also included hundreds of candid shots. We had to pick a longer time package than most weddings because the celebrations were spread out over two days. This ended up being a great factor because it offered a lot more opportunities for candid shots with attendees. The longer time package was great value because it included a leather-bound photo album for the bride and groom with 50 photos inside. My daughter was extremely pleased with the variety of photos she could choose from.Overall, my daughter got the wedding she dreamed of, which was quite lovely and had a reasonable price tag.