Wedding Tip #4 - Bride's magazines & Inspiration Boards

In the early stages of wedding planning you should buy yourself a bridal magazine. It is a bride's right of passage, and to reveal my inner Bostonian, it's 'wicked fun' to look though all of the photos and get ideas for your own wedding. Dudes - did you know there IS a groom's magazine? It's called Today's Groom. http://www.todaysgroomonline.com/ (Yes, I know there are many, many, more magazines marketed for women but I wanted to share this one with you!)


(click image to view larger)

You can also search the internet for photos that represent your vision and ideas. I suggest using cut outs from magazines or digital collage to create wedding inspiration boards like the one I've posed here. Kathryn, at snippet & ink, does this very well! Check out her beautiful boards on her blog! (Lot's of B's - that was a mouthful!)
http://www.snippetandink.com/category/inspiration-boards

Please note how Kathryn credits where she get her photographs! Many photographers, myself included, are happy to let you use photographs for your inspiration we just want credit! How do you know if you're allowed to use a photographer's images? See how they've licensed their work!

My wedding images on Flickr are licensed as Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Creative Commons. What does that mean? You can use them with these terms:

-Attribution means - please give me credit

- NonCommercial means - for your personal use but not used to sell things ... unless you pay me :)

- NoDerivs means - you cannot turn my photos into something new, aka photoshop, cropping etc (But if you ask I'll probably say yes, I just want to know HOW my photo babies are used)
For more information on this, please visit the Creative Commons website.

Please do take a look at my Flickr wedding gallery for your wedding ideas. I am still uploading inspiration images so if you're looking for a specific color combination or theme let me know and I'll search my archives for you! :)

Wedding Tip #3 - Venue Rental Packages

You've called/emailed/visited some potential reception locations and received some kind of "welcome package" in reply. Here is an example of the pricing section from a Portland, ME venue (not the location pictured above) with some of my own notes.

Our Elegant Five Hour Receptions Include
~Open Bar with Call Brand Liquors~
(if you can afford to you should treat your guests to an open bar. They've put in a lot of effort and money to come to your special day)
~Champagne Toast for All Guests~
~House Wine (Red & White) Served with Dinner~
~Chair Covers (In Black, White or Ivory) & Sashes (In a Beautiful Array of Colors)~
(These cost from $3-$5 per chair)
~Personalized Menu Cards at Each Pace Setting~
(A high end look for tables while allowing guests to check for food allergies)
~Professional Wedding Consultant~
~Complimentary Centerpieces (Mirror with Hurricane Globe)~
(You can always add/substitute flowers if it is with-in your budget)
***Personalized Menu Tasting for Bride, Groom and Four Additional Guests***

Additional Amenities
~Complimentary champagne and hors d’oeuvres for the bridal party upon arrival~
(You often miss the cocktail hour because you are doing photos)
~White glove service during cocktail hour~
~An exquisite gourmet plated dinner created by our Executive Chef~ (Plated dinners then to look for formal than buffets)
~Complimentary cake cutting service~
(some locations charge extra to cut your cake)
~Complimentary reservation cards for your invitations~
~Complimentary room rental for your Rehearsal Dinner or Bridal Brunch~
~Discounted overnight accommodations for your guests of 10 or more rooms~
~Complimentary overnight accommodations for the Bride and Groom on the wedding night~


Total cost for this venue: $90.00 per person (Grande Ballroom Food & Beverage Minimum is $10,000.00)


The average American wedding cost is $22,000 with 48% of the budget going to the reception. So with an average budget of 22k a couple would have $10,560 to spend on the reception including: Reception Site, Food, Drinks, Rentals, Cake, Favors. This package covers all but the cake and favors. By spending this location's minimum of $10,000 (110 people) a couple could have approximately $560 left to spend on their cake, favors and/or additional guests.


See a budget planning worksheet here
(Photography is budgeted at 12% - or $2,640 with a 22k budget) In many cases this won't be enough for full day photography coverage. However some photographers, myself included, could work out an hourly coverage plan to fit this budget.

The problem is that all venues do not price with the same structure or include the same things. This means they can be difficult to compare. How do you sort though all of this information? I suggest making a basic chart for comparison. Your chart should include the following columns: Location, Room Rental Fee, Dinner price, tables & linens, chair covers, cocktail hour apps, Open bar, Bridal suite, Center pieces, cake cutting fee, and any other options you would like! (For example, you might be looking for a reception location that also offers space for your ceremony.)


Once you have your chart you can check included items or write in additional costs and more easily compare venues. I made my chart in excel, if you you like it just email me and I'll happily send it to you.
katie.m.ring@gmail.com


I believe you want a venue to include enough options so you don't have to search for all the extras (food/drink vendors, tables, silverware, etc) - but leave enough options outside the packages so that you can make your day unique! For example, most couples choose to book their own photographer, band/DJ, and cake rather than take and "all inclusive" reception package.


Happy Planning!

Happy Birthday to me!

I spent yesterday, my birthday, in Maine with Anthony and my parents ... and it was like I drove to winter! It's still cold here in Salem, but most of our snow has melted. In Maine my parents got about a foot and a half of snow overnight! While it might be a pain to shovel, snow is beautiful!

Wedding Tip #2 - White or Ivory?

I was asked: "Random question... I think you had an ivory dress. Did the guys wear a
white tux shirt or ivory? I am afraid the ivory looks a little dirty but I want to make sure the white and ivory don't clash."

My answer: Have the guys wear ivory too! Otherwise in group photos your dress will look off. Don't worry about the ivory looking dirty... when it's the lightest color in the photo it will look great! For our wedding Anthony and his guys wore ivory :) I think it looked great but here are some photos so you can judge for yourself.



An update since I was just asked this questions again. ;)

So the answer is yes, if you're wearing ivory, have him wear an ivory shirt! Anthony wore ivory and it was perfect & didn't look dirty at all. Your photographer will balance to ivory if you're all wearing it and it will look great. If you can I suggest bringing a fabric sample from your dress when you go to look at tux shirts so you can try and match. When in doubt go with a lighter ivory but stay far away from bright white!

Slumdog Millionaire & Operation Smile

Operation Smile is sending this video in light of Slumdog Millionaire being nominated for best picture. If you haven't seen the movie, you should, it's amazing. However it is quite overwhelming to see children living in such poverty in India.

This video takes place in Bolpur, which is one of the poorest regions of India. It is actual footage of real Operation Smile patients. I spent three weeks in Bolpur in this very hospital doing photography with the Operation Smile team. I know the difference this surgery makes in a child's life, I've seen the tears of happiness and received thankful hugs from patients and their families.

I was emailed this link and asked to pass it on in light of all the attention the movie is receiving. Operation Smile is a very worthwhile charity - please give if you can!

You can view some of my own photographs from an Operation Smile mission by clicking the photography below.

Wedding Tip #1 - I'm engaged, now what?

In an effort to do more blogging I've decided to post a series of wedding tips. Most of these tips come from conversations I've had with brides-to-be while answering their questions. If you have a wedding or photography question - YES YOU blog reader - please ask! I'm happy to help in any way I can. To ask comment here or email me at: katie.m.ring@gmail.com



"Katie, I just got engaged, what should I do first?"

1) Celebrate! Yay - you just got engaged!

2) HIRE ME! Just kidding ;) Everyone's priorities are different. If you have your heart set on a particular wedding venue, photographer, or other vendor call them first to see their availability! If you're still deciding what you want to do proceed to step #3.

3) Discuss a preliminary budget, guest list, and time of year you'd like to get married (Don't forget to check for graduation and friend/family wedding dates)

** BREATHE, enjoy being newly engaged! Tell your fiance you love him/her! **

4) Choose the date. (This usually means booking a venue, but if you choose a date before booking a venue you will want to start looking for a location right away.) With a wedding date chosen you can start to plan the other details. I don't mean plan everything right away ... choose a date and then devise a 'plan' for what you'd like to do next.

5) About that 'plan' if you feel lost (or just want help) consider a wedding planner! Did I hire a planner? No, but I did hire a "day of coordinator" and I think you MUST have someone to follow through on your wedding plans for you. What's the difference?

• Wedding Planner: She helps you with all of your wedding plans! From selecting vendors to making sure things go off without a hitch - she will help you start to finish. Many planners also do the job of a day of coordinator.

• Day of Coordinator: You plan your wedding and then get her up to speed. She will help you with organizing the final details and make sure you haven't forgotten anyway. However, mostly the job is all about seeing that your plans come together as you expected. If there are any minor wedding-day issues she will handle them, ignorance is bliss!

It's a wedding planner's JOB to know about all things weddings and all of the best vendors. Hiring one will certainly make life easier for you! Yes, this will cost a bit more but saves you stress and piece of mind. Often times planners know of bargains or can get discounts you never would have found on your own.

If you don't hire a planner be honest with yourself and what you can and can not do. You do not want to be calling the reception hall, wedding band, limo driver, pastry chef, and the florist to make sure they'll all where they're supposed to be! While a professional is always best make sure to at least ask someone, a close friend or family member, to help you with pulling together the final details. What about calling the photographer - wondering why I didn't mention that? Well since you'll have hired me - wink wink - I'll be with you taking some 'getting ready' pictures that morning and you won't need to worry about where I am! :)

Happy Planning!

I've fallen back in love with my blog

This week I was inspired to spruce up my blog so I could use it at an effective marketing tool for my wedding photography. I cleaned up the design, added more links and started a new system of adding photos. I tagged old posts and I realized that my blog is much more than a marketing tool. It's a mini self-history. There are many reasons a blog can be effective for marketing. Updating photos faster than I can on my website is a big part of that. However, letting my clients, and future clients, know a bit about me is also important.

Today I re-discovered my first post (also tagged "life). I had just started graduate school and having a blog was highly encouraged. I still still stuck in a recent college grad frame of mind and trying to figure things out. By no means to I mean to say I've got it all figured out now but I look at the last two and a half years and all of the changes they have happened in my life.

• I spent a life changing month in India volunteering with operation smile
• I lost 2 grandparents & a grandfather in-law and felt deep personal loss for the first time
• Anthony & I got married
• We purchased our first home
• I balanced graduate school, planning a wedding, condo-buying, and my photography business
•I started and finished my masters of fine arts. I am now 26 (ok days away from 27) and have a terminal degree in my field...

I got what I asked for when I started initiating all these changes! I've grown!
(and my blog will continue to grow and change with me)