Photojournalistic Wedding Photography

Wedding photography prices vary depending on what you need from your photographer, their experience and skill level. There are other factors that need to be considered, and before you choose to skimp on your wedding photographer rather than , say the flowers or the food, consider how important it is for you to  have top quality wedding photos. Where is it on your priority list?

There are two basic styles of wedding photography. There is photojournalistic wedding photography, which will be a little more creative and likely cost a little more. The photographer will be an expert at capturing important moments without requiring you to pose every few minutes.

Classic wedding photography will include primarily posed shots and will not capture too much of the action on your wedding day. You photos will have more traditional pictures of all the main parts of your wedding, like the cutting of the cake, first dance and perhaps table shots of your guests.

Classic Wedding Photography

You can manage great quality wedding photography on a budget. The key thing is to shop around for a photographer. You want to like (or even love) their work when you flip through their portfolio. Ask if their rates are flexible when it comes time for you to order your prints. Will you receive all of the shots on CD after you have paid in full?

When your big day is over, you will want to have a beautiful collections of photos to look at for years to come. Make sure you don’t sacrifice quality for savings.

The following video has tips for finding the right photographer for your big day and some thoughts on why you may not want to skimp on the photography.

An engagement party

Let the celebrations begin! He just popped the question and you can’t wait to start planning.  Are you ready to plan a fabulous engagement party, even on a tight  budget? Follow the tips below for planning your engagement party on a budget and you won’t be dissappointed.

Saving on the invitations:

• Compare invitations. Store bought invitations may save you money, if you choose simple standard sized cards and envelopes.
• If you are ordering custom printed invitations, a simple design will save you money.
• Create your own invitations by printing them on your home printer.

Save on your engagement party:

• Have the party at home instead of at a reception hall or restaurant. The comfortable warm atmosphere is perfect for any level of formality.
• Plan a cocktail party in the evening so you won’t be expected to serve a large meal. This will cut your expenses down significantly.
• Buy your food and supplies for the party in bulk by shopping at Sam’s Club or Costco. They also offer great prices on trays of appetizers, breads and desserts.
• Choose to keep the alcohol to a minimum. Serve only beer and wine, or simply have a champagne toast.
• Take your own pictures or ask a friend (or several bridesmaids) to take picture throughout the event.
• It isn’t necessary to give out party favors at your engagement party, but inexpensive chocolates or a trinket of some kind is a nice gesture to thank your guests for attending.
• Consider simple or homemade decorations for the engagement party. Homemade decorations can have a special, personal touch!

Do you hae any tips for saving money on your engagement party? Please leave them in the comments section!

Screen shot of iBridalGown App

Finding the perfect bridal gown just got a whole lot easier.

If you are struggling to keep an organized, detailed record of countless  dresses you’ve tried on, you are probably  frustrated and wishing there was an easier way to keep track of everything.

The iBridalGown application for your iPhone or iPod Touch was created by a bridal salon owner who understands how complex it can be to keep the gowns you like best straight in your mind and recorded on paper. This app was designed to take away that frustration and help you enjoy shopp0ing for your wedding gown.

iBridalGown for your iPhone allows you to do exactly what you need to do. You need to be able to carry all of your information about every dress you are considering with you. You need to be able  to show your friend pictures of you in these gowns, compare prices, quality and style all in one place.

Or you could just pick a dress in a single afternoon shopping outing, but we know that isn’t likely!

If you can pick a dress that easily, the you don’t need this app for your iPhone! Save your money for another wedding expense.

If you are the type of bride who needs to try on every wedding dress in the city – and perhaps the surrounding cities, you need this. It will be well worth the minimal investment to have a record of everything in the palm of your hand.  Even if you fall somewhere in between in your needs, this can still help simplify your dress shopping experience.

From their site:

“You can even use the iPhone’s camera to take one or more pictures of the gown and save it along with the rest of the information. Your favorite dresses are stored in an easy-to-navigate list, from which you can view the details, pictures, and even get directions to the bridal salon!”

Are there other choices  for wedding gown shopping applications in the app store? Of course, but this app has the top ratings and offers the most (in my opinion) that brides can actually use effectively to take some of the pain out of choosing a dress.

Engagement Announcements

He asked…you said YES!

Congrats! You’re engaged! Now you want to go scream it from the hilltops. You want to share your happy news with the whole world – or at least your whole world. Take just a little time to organize your engagement announcement plan.

To get started, think about the following questions. Your answers will help you decide what to do first.

• Do you want to submit your announcement to the local newspapers?
• If yes, which ones?
• Would you like to include a photo with your announcements?
• Would you like to send printed announcements to family and friends, or will a simple phone cal be sufficient?
• If you will be sending custom printed announcements, will you need to collect an address list from your parents and your future in-laws?

Photo Engagement Announcement

Use these questions to help you make an engagement announcements to do list. Here is a possible list, if you answered yes to all of the above:

• Make another list of newspapers that you would like to have print your announcement.
• Schedule a photography session for your engagement photo.
• Collect a list from mom/dad and future in-laws. Ask for an approximate number from each first so you can order the announcements.
• Research, write, rewrite your announcement for the newspaper. Keep in mind that many will charge by the word, so you may want to keep it short if you are on a budget.
• Order the announcements to be sent to friends and family.

If you are on a tight budget, consider printing your engagement announcements yourself at home.  Postcard style announcements will save you even more on postage.

Remember to keep the address list that your family gave you in a safe place. You will need them soon enough to begin building your guest list for the engagement party (if you choose to have one) and for the wedding.

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