Category: Wedding

New Interview Series On The Corridor Wedding Guide Website

by Becky

Corridor Wedding Guide is launching a new interview series, Local Wedding Professionals: Expert Tips and Advice. And I’m excited to be the person writing it!

wedding couple appleby photography tips advice interview seriesI’ll be talking with area wedding professionals about the latest trends, as they share valuable advice and interesting suggestions for weddings. And this is all done with the bride and groom in mind. Far from a typical, boring “profile” about a business, this series will focus on information that is important to couples planning their wedding. The first interview launched today, as I chatted with Jen from Prince Albert’s Tuxedos about trends in men’s wear.

As a local small business owner, I’m passionate about helping other business owners in the community. Planning a wedding can take a lot of time and effort, and without the right resources, can feel a little overwhelming. I think it’s so important for brides and grooms to know about the amazing amount of talent and knowledge that these area wedding professionals possess and want to share.

Together, the Corridor Wedding Guide and I hope readers enjoy meeting local wedding professionals and love their great advice that they have to offer.

New Projects Ahead

by Becky

This is always a busy time of year, filled with things like trying to wrap up client orders before the holidays, attending school programs and shopping for Christmas. This year is no different.

And I haven’t even started the shopping part.

My daughter asked me yesterday what my New Year’s Resolutions were going to be. I told her luckily I didn’t have to think of those for a long time, but a look at the calendar says I only have two weeks.

I’m wading my way through December, but I already know that I have a full January. That is when I kick off a new year-long project that I’ll share more about later.

We spend so much time trying to just get through the chaos that is in front of us that we don’t step back to see the whole picture. We reach for one goal, but before it’s even completely in reach, we are setting new, loftier goals.

So, for today, I’m going to sit back and appreciate where I’m at and just enjoy it.

Voted for “Real Wedding” Feature

by Becky

real wedding blue color theme

We are excited to be the photographers of the wedding that was voted best “Real Wedding.” This will be a 2-page spread that will be featured in the print version of the 2016 Corridor Wedding Guide.

The Corridor Wedding Guide wanted to showcase a wedding couple that had an interesting story, good wedding details and a strong theme. We submitted the wedding of Ashley and Joe, who were married this summer. We loved their color theme of blue and lavender, plus they had fun details, like the popcorn bar.

Then, the Corridor Wedding Guide asked the all wedding professionals, area vendors, etc., that they work with to vote on their favorite “Real Wedding” from those that were submitted.

We are delighted that ours was voted as the wedding to be featured in the 2016 guide!

Unique Fall Wedding Bouquet

by Becky

fall wedding bouquet with blues and reds

I have seen many wedding bouquets over the years. It’s amazing how each bride can put her personal touch and style into her flower choice. Of course, roses are always popular and bouquets in shades of white and pinks are common. I love the monochromatic look, but it’s so nice when a bride adds a pop of color to her flowers. I love the contrast it makes with her dress when her bouquet pulls in the colors from her wedding palette.

Laura and Nicolas had a fall wedding with navy as the primary color scheme. Typically, fall bouquets count on vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows to make an autumn statement. While those bouquets are certainly dramatic and stunning in their own right, that style would have given a different feel to Laura and Nic’s wedding theme. Also, I think the bright colors would not have complemented the navy bridesmaids dresses nearly as well as the bouquets Simply Glamorous Designs did for them!

The muted green of the succulents mixed with the subdued blues and reds. What I loved best about these bouquets was the blue because it was unexpected for a fall arrangement. It gave this bouquet a very modern feel, while still being very sweet and romantic, and maybe even a little bit “country.”

This fresh take on a fall bouquet was perfect with Laura’s dress style, too. When florists say they want to see photos of the bride’s dress when they are discussing the type of bouquet to create, there is good reason. With so many shapes and sizes of bouquets and so many different flowers, it’s an art to make sure the styles match.

The final effect for Laura and Nic’s wedding was truly stunning.

Engagement Session Guest Book

by Becky

Why would you go to the trouble of picking the perfect portrait session location, choosing just the right outfit to wear and then fussing over how you look on the day of the session if you were planning to never show anyone your photographs?

The whole reason you hire a photographer is to be able to show off the photographs to everyone!

After the engagement session, when couples see their images, there are usually a ton of different poses that they love. They are excited and want to share those great images with all their friends and family.

But how do they do that?

They could throw big parties so people visit their home to see portraits hung on the walls. They could post some images online and hope their friends are not too busy to check Facebook. Or they could set up a large portrait gallery at your wedding reception. While all of these might be good options, there really is a better one.

One of the easiest ways to let all the wedding guests see those fabulous images is with a wedding guest book.photos of the finished engagement gust book Wedding Guest book at the reception with guest signatures

Laura and Nicolas had twenty-some images from their session (see more images here) that they really loved and wanted to share with their family and friends. They decided a guest book would be a fun way to do just that.

Having their engagement session photographs in their guest book allowed their wedding guests to flip through the pages and see Laura and Nicolas’ personality as they really are: fun, natural, relaxed, and totally in love.

And having space in the book for guests to write allowed them to leave a sweet note of congratulations for Laura and Nicolas to keep and treasure.

Kim and Neil’s Wedding Album

by Becky

“You made it extremely difficult to choose photos! There are so many good ones to choose from.”

This is certainly a good problem to have. I’d rather a bride and groom have too many images that they love and want than not enough to fill their album.

Kim and Neil loved so many of their wedding photographs that they weren’t sure how to eliminate any of them from their album list. They opted to just pick their very favorites and then asked me to help. Once they gave me the list of ones they “absolutely fell in love with,” I helped to shape them into the story of their special day by choosing images that complemented their choices.

You can see some of their wedding images here.

Of the finished result, Kim said, “The album is absolutely beautiful. I started to tear up because of how wonderful every page looks! I cannot thank you enough for all your hard work and time you put into making the album.”

Happy tears, happy photographer.

wedding album of favorites from the special day

Fall Themed Wedding Details

by Becky

Fall Themed Wedding Details At The Reception By Appleby Photography

Fall is an easy season to use to plan a wedding theme. The rich colors and textures provide a beautiful palette, both for the bridal party and the reception. Pulling from natural elements, like fall flowers, wood and pumpkins, gives a wedding a warm feel while still being fresh and clean.

Timeline for Ordering Save The Dates, Albums and More

by Becky
Appleby Photography wedding save the dates with engagement portraits
Holidays are lurking around the corner and the nice fall lull is coming to an end. Are you ready? Here are some helpful timelines to make sure you are:

Save The Dates:

Spring and Summer brides-You should be sending them about 6 months before the wedding, with 4-8 months being the range. Now is the time to be ordering your cards or magnets. Check out this post for more tips.

Christmas Cards:

Most people like to send cards within 1-2 weeks after Thanksgiving. You still have a small window of time to squeeze in an engagement or family session. Order your cards by the beginning of November to have enough time to address them.

Gift Portraits:

Photographs make great holiday gifts for parents and grandparents. Check off some names on your shopping list by ordering no later than the beginning of December.

Wedding Albums:

All albums are custom designed. Make sure to plan on it taking 8-12 weeks for the whole process. If you would like your album before Christmas, we need to start now. You can read more about the album process here.