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Being a wedding photographer, destination weddings are just one of the perks. Much like enjoying the wonderful energy of each wedding, shooting a destination wdding is no different. There’s just more of an adventure there. Just as the couple has the adventure of going somewhere fresh and exciting for their day and they get to turn it into a fun filled time of travels. Being a destination wedding photographer means the same for me. And just because there’s expenses involved for me to get there my stay and more. Don’t think that destination wedding photographers are going to put that all on you. I know that for me, it’s more about the adventure than the price. I generally don’t charge over what I would charge for a normal wedding. Instead, I take it as a fun excursion with a beautiful day placed in the middle. Your day.
Some couples look at destination weddings and think, “no, we couldn’t afford that”… That’s surely where the thoughts need to stop. With the average wedding in a local spot costing $24,000-$28,000.00, a destination wedding doesn’t have to break that mold. As a matter of fact, you can generally pull it off for less. One main reason, less attending. Only those that truly love you will travel for you, meaning the co-workers, clients and more won’t step up. So instead of having 200 guests at $75.00 per person, try 80… Sounds better right. Not to mention being able to offer a bit more and enjoy the company longer and hey, everyone gets a mini vacation….
First off, if you’re bringing 80 guests to a beautiful location, work with the hotel or inn. They want all the business you can bring them and you shouldn’t be paying full price for any of the rooms. Be sure to bring this up with the hotel so that guests can get that discount!!!
Same goes with the flights. Don’t book weekends that are going to cost your guests thousands. Be kind and mention the discounted rates to them. Even for airfare, American Airlines offers discounts for 10 or more of 10% off the published rates! That can save hundreds when combined together.
FAIR WARNING IS CRUCIAL! Those save the date cards, get them out ASAP! Guests will need the time to plan and save. It will be an unexpected vacation but one they will surely enjoy and you will enjoy having them be a part of your day.
Beware of the legal parts of being married in other countries. Some need blood tests or X-rays, some have extra fees, some require permits and more. Don’t let a snag happen upon arrival. PLAN PLAN PLAN…. One of the best ways around that is to hire a professional event planner to be sure all holes are filled before you take off.
Don’t stress… When planning a destination wedding, many of the little things you would deal with in a hometown wedding are out of your control. Even some of the big things. Try to let it go.
And set your watch to island time and your mind to island mentallity. The locals are going to move a little slower, get back to you on their time and in general, are going to be quite a bit more relaxed than the mainlanders would be. It’s just part of how it goes. Don’t stress if something is running late. It’s island life…
And for the big things, bring your own. From music to photography. Some of the resorts will work all that in. But those are two of the most important parts of your day. Especially the photography. It’s one of the few things that you will have after your day. Photographers will still work wit your budget and you’ll find many bands will do the same. It’s part of the adventure for everyone. THink about what’s important to your day and plan accordingly.
Most of all. VISIT… Before your day, take a little trip to your location of choice and dig around. Find the places you really like. Meet anyone that will be an integral part of your day. Most of all, just take it in and make sure this is the place for you….
Again, being a photographer is a great thing. Being a wedding photographer is even better. And being a wedding photographer that shoots destination weddings as well! Yea, that just rocks!!!
Shine on,
~Tim
WWW.TABPHOTOGRAPHIC.COM
There are so many situations in life where you tip, where you don’t tip, how much to tip, can you tip… tip tip tip….
As a wedding photographer in Hartford, Ct. I’m not a tipping expert. Thought I will say that when it comes to dining out I’ve been told I can sometimes over tip… Not the point here. Your wedding. Do you tip your wedding vendors? The answer, quite simply is… Some yes some no. HAH! That wasn’t an easy answer was it. LOL.
Okay, let’s break your wedding vendors down. The do nots. There are wedding vendors where you just don’t have to tip unless you really feel they went above and beyond or you just feel like it’s something that would make you and them feel great. Those vendors – party rental company, they don’t need a penny more, the salon itself – nope, cake baker or stationary company. Nope, don’t need to tip there either. Again, unless you feel it’s something that is well worth it.
The ones that are sometimes expecting tips – your makeup artist, depending on who they are working with on the day, some bridesmaides pay and tip for themselves others don’t. For the MUA you should plan on an average of 15-20% just like you would on a normal salon day trip…. parking, coat check, rest room attendants and the likes, the average seems to be about $1.00 per car / guest. Wait staff seems to be an average of $20.00 per server. HOWEVER, look over the contract and determine if your reception site already has a tip worked into the package. Same goes for your livery service, some limo companies have the tip automatically worked in. Not to say you can’t go above and beyond but look that over so you’re not giving someone $100.00 when they’ve already received $90.00…
How about the wedding florist, wedding photographer, and more. Those are a totally different playing field. As a destination wedding photographer myself. There are times when I’ve received a $500.00 tip, and times when I’ve received a hug and a thank you. I never expect one over the other and am fine with either. And I know many florists that feel the same way. I think it just comes down to what your budget can swing. Just be fair, honest with yourself and if you like the outcome or the energy that was provided with the work, I would say again, go for the 20%… But that’s just my two cents from the ct. wedding photographer….
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There comes a time when one must go from being a Ct. wedding photographer to a Ct. portrait photographer. Not that I’m one over the other at any point in time, but more so the fact that wedding season is, for the most part, wrapping up.
What does that mean? Really, it means that it’s time to get all the wedding albums out, shoot all the portrait sessions that I have lined up in the new portrait studio located in Real Artways on Arbor St. in Hartford, and enjoy each and every minute of the winter season. And really, just make it a superfantabulous winter!!!
Really, that’s what being one of so many Ct. Photographers is all about. Speaking of which, I recently joined a very large group of wedding photographers where we are all quite talented. So while I too am a destination wedding photographers and have a Florida wedding or two booked, a New Mexico wedding, New Hampshire wedding Newport Rhode Island wedding and more booked. Well, when it comes right down to it, if I’m booked and not available for your wedding, I’ll hunt down the right shooter for you out of all my new wedding photographers that have become close friends. After all, that’s what it’s about. Finding the right wedding photographer for you. So again, you can easily view www.tabphotographic.com for my work and we can chat about your needs, or like I said, I can also help you find a different wedding photographer to fit your needs. Just give us the chance.
I am pretty sure that the coming months will be filled with thoughts and memories of looking back over the year and all the weddings I shot.
And I just came across an article which made me really look back and think about all the cool escort cards that were at each wedding. For the most part, all different than any other wedding. The escort card is such a great way to take your motif and spread it even further. Maybe even giving the guests a look at what’s to come. Below is a bunch of photos from the article which was written on the knot. Not much of an article than it was a bunch of great wedding photography shots of said cards.
So with out a doubt, being a Ct. wedding photographer and destination wedding photographer is a great thing. What other professions do you get to be thrown into a new enviroment with new details, new faces and new smiles each and every day? That’s surely part of my life as a wedding photographer in Ct.
It’s been a fun season of wedding photography and recently I’ve been hearing a ton of great feedback. But not only that, in the past two weeks I’ve heard my business spoken of on a much larger scale. From Wedding photographer in Florida. to Boston Wedding Photographer to Destination wedding photographer. Now some of you may ask why that’s such a great thing??? Quite simply because I’m based out of Ct. and began on a much smaller scale as a Ct. wedding photographer in Central Ct. but have had things just blossom into pure greatness!!!
Now the other thing that I have come across with the past 3 weddings I have shot is more important to you. From wedding dresses to wedding cakes to wedding hair styles. There are many things to consider and make out the way you want them. And HAIR seems to have been a big one in the last 3. Not because they were super picky, but because they didn’t like their hairstyle on their wedding day. So I have a couple quick and simple tips…
Don’t get your hair cut right before your wedding. Weeks before, yes if you much. But not with in a week. Or even two. ( I had a bride with new bangs and she hated them on her wedding day. They wouldn’t do what they wanted because they were used to being pulled back as longer hair. She didn’t know how to style them and they frustrated her beyond belief for her day)
Do a test run on your hair. Make sure you like the style, make sure you like the stylist and make sure it is how you want to look in your wedding photography for years to come. You don’t want to be looking back at your wedding pictures with this “uggg… is that me” thought… Most recently I had a bride who had her hair all styled and when the sylist left the room she started to take it all apart to make it look the way she wanted. When in reality, he should have done that in first place.
And last but not least, don’t colour your hair the day before your wedding. Give it some time to tone down and work for you. A bride coloured her hair for her wedding day, only to then have redish orange hair with darker eyebrows that she used a redish orange makeup pencil to colour in her eyebrows to look a bit more like her hair… Just didn’t make for a good combination….
So while yes, I’m just a New England wedding photographer in Southern New England. I also run into these situations more often than I would like. I guess it’s just a good thing that I keep the bobby pins, hairspray, stain stick and more in my camera bag huh…
Wedding Photography in Ct. at The Woodstock Inn located where? Woodstock Ct.
So you’re ready. You’ve enjoyed the first couple weeks of your newly engaged status and you’re ready to tackle your dream day. Just remember through all of this that it’s your dream day and you shouldn’t let anyone or anything take that away from you. Take on what you can when you can and know that it will all fall into place as it should…
However, in order for everything to fall in place, you need to know what that everything is. And you can’t really determine that everything before setting up a budget. Believe me, as one of many wedding photographers across the US, we hear of budgets and try to work with budgets the best we can.
First things first, is the word around the country. And that word is about the average wedding. Maybe you’ll want to sit down for this, but the average wedding at this time is around $29,000.00. Typing that tells me why the budget is the most stressful part of the entire set, so hopefully I can share some words of advice with you to help assist your day.
First things first is setting the budget and to do so you need to sit down with everyone involved. It’s the oldschool way to say that one certain family covers the cost for everything. With the cost of weddings rising, the amount of people helping on the financial side has also gone up… (thankfully)…
Now that you have come up with a realistic budget that works for everyone involved, it’s time to determine where that money is going and to allocate it to the correct pieces and parts of your day. Sit down and come up with a list of items and details that you will need for your day and how much, roughly, you’ll have to allocate to each one. (I have a great spreadsheet that I share with my brides that I would be more than happy to e-mail you. Just shoot me an e-mail and I’ll get it out your way) From there, really look at your list with your fiance and determine what the most important parts of your day would be. Much like I do as a wedding photographer with all of my brides. I don’t believe in packages A, B, or C because I don’t believe each individual couple has the same thoughts and or needs for their wedding photography.
From there, you’ll need to set up a reliable way to to account for each and every part of your wedding day and the budget. There is software out there to help with that or just a simple spreadsheet will do. But something that will keep it all under control is a must!!!
If the money is something that is already there, put it in the bank! And not in one of your pre-existing accounts but an account for your big day. That’s the only reason that account will exist. Don’t use money out of it for gas, food, or anything else. Let it accrue intrest and stay safe.
If you’re starting with nothing and need to work it up, plan on putting a piece of every paycheck into the account. And think about paying for as much as possible with a credit card that will supply frequent flier miles, cash back or another useful bonus. But what ever you do… TRACK IT ALL!!!!
Shine on,
~Tim
NEXT Wedding tip coming up – Saving $$$ tips
So I’ve decided that among the wedding tips and what not, I’m also going to throw in some photos from weddings and engagement sessions here and there. Not nearly as much as I do at my other blog located at http://tabphotographicishere.blogspot.com but I’m still going to insert some. I mean, after all, as a Wedding Photographer in Central Ct. and Southern New England I may as well insert some pictures. Not only that but today I had to turn down a wedding. Something I hate to do, but also as a destination wedding photographer serving the entire country, well, it’s something I have to do because I really don’t want to over book myself. As it is right now I seem to really be a New England Wedding Photographer or maybe East Coast Photographer more than a Ct. wedding Photographer.
Anyway… Some pictures…. Enjoy!
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