Tips for wedding decisions when working on a budget

With the times being what they are it is difficult for a couple to decide which aspects of their wedding to scale back or leave out all together and what should not be. The first thing that you should decide is what is most important to you. Is it important that everyone you know is able to come and celebrate with you, or is it most important that those closest to you attend. Just a year ago having 100 guests was considered to be a small wedding, but recently 100 guests in attendance is large. Consider, for your guests you need a chair for the ceremony, chair and table for the reception, appetizers, food, drink, and if your serving it, alcohol.

Flowers are important, the overall ambiance of your wedding can make or break the party, but think about how many flowers you have and what kind. Not all flowers are priced the same, going with fewer flowers but choosing a great florist can go a long way to creating a lovely event. A creative florist can create small interesting flower arrangements that look just as amazing as a large arrangement. Understatement can be a good thing, but the key is choosing the right florist. If it is at all possible, try not to do the flowers yourself, the amount of time it takes can be overwhelming, and it is one of those things that has to be done at the last minute so they look good for your important day.

Food is another area that trips up couples when planning their wedding. Three course meal, four course meal, or do you do a buffet. The more creative the meal the more expensive it can be, but think about the weddings you have attended, do you remember what you ate, did it make a big impression on you? Good food is good food weather it is brought to you by a server or you had to stand in line for a bit to get it. If you have a good DJ they can make the whole experience of going through a buffet fun and entertaining, so consider an excellent buffet over an expensive four course meal.

Photography is another area you can save on but be very careful about how you do it. When the day is done and everyone has gone home all you have left is a dress, a spouse, maybe a piece of your wedding cake, and the photographs of the day. Weddings go by so fast most couples can barely remember who was there and what happened, having a great photographer who knows how to photograph a wedding is very important. A great photographer puts themselves where the action is, they know how to compose an emotionally impacting photograph, and they don't have to take hundreds of photographs of one moment to get a great shot.

So how do you cut back your budget? Do you need to have the photographer there the whole time, does he need to stay all the way to the end? Think about what is important to you; moments with your parents, photographs of you and your spouse, the ceremony, your first dance, cutting the cake. Do you want 1,000's of ok photographs, or 100's of great photographs. Remember, when its all over, your photographs are all you really have from your day, choose wisely with a thought to the future.

Another important player for your wedding is the DJ. I know that might sound weird, but at your reception the DJ is the one who can make or break the event. A great DJ knows how to handle large groups of people, they motivate people to dance, they interact with your guests, and they keep the flow of the night moving forward. Once your reception starts going your dance floor should always be full, a great DJ makes that happen. How do you scale back a great DJ? Your first step is to contact a great DJ, tell them your budget for music and entertainment and let them help you to put together something that fits with your personality and budget. They will be willing to help if they are not willing, perhaps they are not for you.

Everyone rich or poor is working on a budget, its just that some budgets are bigger than others. Don't be afraid to tell your vendor what you have budgeted for their particular service, and ask them to help you keep to it. Some will not be able to provide a service that stays within your budget and that is ok, keep looking and don't settle just because it fits in your budget, choose what makes you feel the most secure and the most happy.

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Changes to Website

Over the last couple of weeks we, Kate and I, have been going over our website and looking for ways that we could change it. One of the things we have done is try to make the website a little more fun and exciting, plus a little bit more visual in nature. We have changed the contact page to look like this. A stainless steel door with magnets and other accouterments to help sell the idea, and yes we know that most stainless steel refrigerators can't take magnets on the front, but we researched it and there are some that do. The second thing we did was work on the investment side of the website, what the couples and families are most interested in. You can see the wedding page here and the engagement page here. Let me know what you think of them, I was trying to go for a realistic look, as if someone were looking at the information on a desk. It is not totally realistic but I think its pretty close. Over the next week or so I will be working on pages for family outings and business portraits. I have begun the family page but I still have a few things left to do.

Kelli and Robbie's wedding at Castle Green

New slide show from a wedding I photographed recently. Kelli and Robbie were amazing to work with and it was such a great day.

See the full size slide show here.

Expo Bridal Show at the Universal City Hilton

Hello all, we had a booth set up at the Expo Bridal show at the Universal City Hilton this weekend. This is our second time attending and we are hoping it will be as successful as it was for us last year. Kate and I had a wonderful time, met many excited bride and grooms, and a few parents who were investigating possible vendors for their children weddings. Once set of parents was a mother for the bride and father for the groom, both are stationed in Iraq right now. The parents were an absolute delight to talk to.

Vicki D's Work in Newbury Park, CA

This the third house that I got to photograph for Vicki, she pretty much put everything where you see it. The whole house is amazing but I'm only going to put up 4 of them, we did 11 I think. To see the rest of this amazing house and some more of Vicki's work check out her website at definainteriordesigns.com , the photographs should be up soon. Enjoy, and if you have a house that needs to look like a million bucks, or rather to show inflation, a billion bucks, give her a call or send her an email and get the ball rolling on the house interior of you dreams.

Connie T: Platinum Home Staging, Inc.

Met with Connie T. this week for a shoot in Calabasas. She does amazing Interior Design and Home Staging, and her company is Platinum Home Staging, Inc., check it out and see some really amazing stuff. A friend of mine on Twitter and in real life, recomended me to her for some photography. We had a great time, and didnt let the rain deter us a bit.

Vicki D's work in Malibu

Some more examples of Vicki's work. I met Vicki at a home with one of the most magnificent views from a home I have ever seen. You could see the Channel Islands, Santa Barbara Island, Catalina Island, and wide open ocean. It was breathtaking. Vicki did a wonderful job on an already beautiful home, she incorporated colors and style in the bedroom and bathroom that made for a wonderful experience just being in the rooms. vicki@definainteriordesigns.com is the email you need to contact this wonderful designer. We had a blast styling and photographing, and it didn't hurt that the owners of the home were incredibly nice. I am really enjoying photographing interiors, it allows for a creative side of me that I haven't been able to explore before.