Photography Tips

Photography is a HUGE part of the wedding. I tell every couple this because i don't know one bride who doesn't regret getting photos of her big day.... Recently i talked to a handful of couples about their weddings. One Couple told me they just came to Vegas and eloped. Nothing special. No dress, bouquet or photos and the biggest thing the bride regrets is not one photo of them to remember that day. Another couple told me they were on a really tight budget so they let a "friend" take their photos for free..... And they got what they paid (or didn't pay) for. NO photos for 9 months. When they got the photos, they brides name was wrong on the photo release, the quality was bad, and the main family pictures were useless...

So here are my top ten tips when planning your photography...

1.Do your research and hire a Professional. There are so many styles of photography now that it is important to see MANY examples of a companies work. Make sure their work is consistent. Some websites will just post their favorite shots. Ask to see an entire wedding collection to make sure their work is true.

2. Hire your photographer first. They don't need to know where your wedding is, just the date. As soon as you know that, BOOK THEM! Photographers get booked up fast. To get the one you want, you need plenty of time. So make it a priority!

3. Take bridals/ formal pictures a week or 2 BEFORE the wedding. Do your first look then too! This will relieve half of the stress of your wedding. Get them out of the way so you can enjoy your day with family and friends. Also you can have your prints done early and use them for decor at the wedding! It will cost a little more for the extra hair / makeup, flowers and photographer time but it is worth it! This will also allow you to have plenty of time to go to several locations. Save the family photos for the day of.

4. Make sure your package includes a second shooter. A second shooter is there to capture candids.... Some of my most prized photos are candids of happy guests and us acting goofy. Your main photographer can be shooting the family and main shots while your second shooter catches the decor, guests arriving, and guests oogling your cake!

5. Take your wedding planner/ friend to your bridals. She/he can be a second pair of eyes to make sure you look your best. They will watch the clock and make sure you stay on time. They can also carry all your stuff!

6. Give your photographer a list of important photos to capture. This will keep you from missing any important shots like a 3/4 generation photo. Also give the list to a bridesmaid and grooms man and make them in charge of rounding up people for photos. They will know your family better then your photographer.

7. Stick to your budget. If you find a photographer who is more expensive but your in love with their work, just ask.... If your wedding is in the off season chances are they will put together a custom package in your price range.

8. ALWAYS get the print rights to your photos. Don't higher anyone if you have to pay per print every time you want a photo of your wedding. Buying prints 11x14 or larger should be done with your photographer cause It will be the best quality. But if you want a hand full of 5x7s or 4x6s, there is no reason you should pay 5$ a piece when you can get them at walmart for change.

9. Book your engagements with your wedding photographer. Usually you can get a smashing deal by booking both with the same photographer. Plus your styles will stay constant in your photos. The photographer will know you well and what you like. Getting to know your wedding photographer during engagements is great cause it will make your wedding photos go faster and more efficient.

10. Relax! You have hired a professional. They will take care of everything. If you are stressed, you will looked stressed. Have fun and smile!



Below is a list of some of my favorite local wedding photographers:

Vanessa Fulcher @ Visions By Vanessa
Joe Kenemore @  Once Source Photography
Kandylane Photography
Andrew Estey @ AE Photography
Trevon Angulo @ Canico Studios

Brook & Joe Rentteria

Got photos today from my all time favorite bride..... Ok I'm only saying that cause she is one of my best friends.... so I'm a little biased....

So of course Brook "let" me plan her wedding.... It was more me bossing her around, texting her every day with a list of things she needed to get done that day.... We planned this wedding in less that 3 months and It was pretty amazing if I do say so myself! The venue was set for our other best friend/bridesmaids backyard which is large and beautiful. We have been to many halloween parties back there and it is a perfect space for a wedding!

Well as Vegas weather would have it, it decided to flood the whole city 2 days before the wedding.... So I pulled out my list of INDOOR venues and prayed someone had this SATURDAY open..... My first phone call was to the Plaza at Whitney Ranch and they were available!!!!! Love this venue! Has beautiful entree way and a unique "ballroom" layout. It is in an office building but it doesn't look like a "conference room." Its great for parties around 100 people.

Our other wedding adventure was that Brook ordered a handmade bolero Jacket on line and 2 weeks before the wedding found out her order never went though.... So its a good thing I work in St. George, UT right now... So while i was working the weekend before her wedding I went to all the dress shops to find her a bolero Jacket that was the same style. Lucky us they had one and in the right size!!! SO I took it back to vegas, sewed hooks on her dress and jacket and sewed the french bustle for her dress.... cause we like to do everything last minute in Brooks world! Love this girl but she worries me with how laid back she is sometimes!

So Saturday morning we headed to the Las Vegas LDS Temple for the wedding ceremony and sealing. It was beautiful! After when we were waiting for the bride and groom to make their "grand exit" ALL of the grooms men just left..... SOMEONE "cough" "JOE" cough  forgot to tell them that it is their duty to stick around and take pictures.... i mean come on.... you now rented a tux for no apparent reason... haha. So the gals got a few pics and that was the end of the bridal party.... Losers didn't even help Dianna and I decorate their car!

Megan, Me, Brook and Dianna

More on the Bridal bouquet later but Brook has had an obsession with leaves since we started planning so our bridesmaid bouquets ended up being made out of fall leaves! And yes there were pumpkins in our bouquets too!

Joe and Brook met though Dianna. When I first met him it was the night they got engaged but prior to him popping the question and I thought he was a loser... haha... well now i think he fits all too well with Brooks family even if he thinks he is cool/gangster.... We all like to mess with him but this photo tells you really what was on his mind the whole wedding day HAHA!!!

At the reception they had a ring ceremony so that all their family that couldn't attend the temple could still be apart of their vows.... Funny story about the rings... again why Joe fits so well in this family... Joe texted brook a picture of a ring he bought 2 days before the wedding claiming it was her wedding ring. She freaked out was was like "don't mess with me, I'm already stressed out about the weather!" Unfortunately he wasn't kidding and thought that a wedding ring was suppose to have her birthstone in it and he even got the wrong birthstone.... So we had to explain to him she just needed a simple band and he hit walmart the next morning... Well on the  day of the wedding he handed the ring to his sister to hold till the reception.... When we all got to the reception we found out that she had already left back to mexico on a plane with the ring in her pocket.... So out the door again to buy another wedding ring 1 hour before the reception.... I am told that he will buy a 4th and final ring WITH the bride so she can pick out something a little more permanent!

The reception was catered by Brooks favorite restaurant "Cafe Rio" and it was super yummy! I highly recommend them... They were great and brought everything from food to forks. And their prices are AMAZING!!! We still had tones of food left over. We also had Cupcakes from the Cupcakery that were delish! For the guest gift we did a Candy buffet. I will do a whole post on that later! It was beautiful and a HUGE hit with everyone. There was nothing left at the end of the night!

Brooks dad is Joe Kenemore, my favorite photographer... ok i'm being biased again. He shot my wedding as well and I have always been a fan of his work. It is simple yet beautiful! Their company use to be Cache Media works and there photography department is now One Source Photography. He caters to both Vegas and Utah photography needs.

 In the grand entry way they set up a photo booth and it was a huge hit as well. We had props and wigs and everyone had a blast taking pictures.

This is our Classic pose... I have at least a dozen photos of us this way.

Brooks Bouquet!!!! When we talked about flowers brook said just make me something in fall colors.... I am happy to say this is probably the most beautiful bouquet I have ever made and no picture does it justice... Specially my camera because it decided to take mostly blurry photos all night long... so not cool...

So I ended up using Circus Roses as my base with an Orange Dahlia. I added some mango callas, orange freesia, hypercumb berries, and chocolate cosmos  I wanted some type of collar so I use some seeded eucalyptus leaves and this just made the bouquet so regal! I found a beautiful crinkle brown ribbon to wrap it and added a huge bow. In the middle of the bow I added her broach. I bought her a leaf broach before we even started talking about adding all the leaves to the decor. It was very fitting for Brook! Her dad was even shocked after seeing the bouquet and centerpieces... I have done MANY weddings with him over the years but none have really been "my creation" cause I was always working for someone else and not just for my bride. This was the first time (besides my own wedding) that he has truly seen my work. In his words.... "Everything is AMAZING! I am completely shocked. This is some of the most beautiful wedding floral I have ever seen!" Thanks Joe, It really means a lot coming from you!!

This was the Grooms Bout

And the groomsmen!

The tables ended up beautiful! Brook had 4 main colors - pumpkin orange, cranberry red, chocolate brown, and moss green... We did each table with a different color and kept all of the base linens brown. 

Half of the tables had lanterns with small pumpkins in them and the other half had large pumpkins with a floral arrangement in them. LOVED THESE!!! I did eucalyptus leaves for the base. There were a mixture of circus roses, coxcombs, monkey tails (fern shoots), hypercumb berries, chocolate cozmos and orchids. We also had small pumpkins and leaves on all the tables as well.

The parents and the grandparents all wore beautiful red/orange cymbidium orchid bouts and corsages.

The toss bouquet was made out of silk sunflowers and displayed next to the candy bar and cupcakes.

Here's a quick shot of the cake topper.... yes brook had to have one that the bride was grabbing his butt...

The bride and groom told us they wanted to sneak out so we "trashed" their car early in the night! We told the guests to leave their empty soda cans on the bar so that we could recycle but I just wanted to tie them to the back of their car! Brooks aunt and uncle helped too by painting on the car and putting peanut butter under all the door handles! so not my idea by the way but still brilliant!!

Sorry this was so long but I still didnt get to tell you about half of it! When Pat... Joe Kenemore's right hand photo man... gets me more photos then I will do another post...

Thank you Brook for letting me plan your wedding! Love you to pieces girl and always will!