No they aren't really your wedding photos-Copyrights and rules

You paid a fortune for your big day and far more than you expected for the Photographer the wedding is all over and your ready to show the world how pretty it all was, when you get your photos you probably expect to post them to facebook, or myspace maybe the local paper, but guess what that not your right to do so, that's not your call and you could be paying anywhere between 20 to 100 dollars per a digital picture and the right to distribute (publish)them even after that expense there maybe more limitations on the pics. Copyright is distributed at the discretion of the photographer, once a person takes an image paints and original image or creates it in any way shape or form that image belongs to the creator, not to say they have the right to distribute your image in anyway they choose, but most photographers with hold the right to show your pictures as part of their portfolio this may be very public like showing them on the web or just in person in a photo album to prospective clients, and you the model, the subject of the art, sign your right away in the contract if you are worried about strangers seeing you image you can talk to the photograher and change the contract to your liking. If you don't want to pay those extra fees for copyright check out the photographers copyright policies before signing any contracts and read carefully through the contracts, they want your business and probably are willing to change policy. As I see it the photographer is only in need of your weddings pictures as a way to show their previous work in their portfolios, I wouldn't suggest a photographer that won't include the copyright for at least minimal distribution for the price of
taking the photos, the photographers that do give you copy rights usually include a CD in the package this makes it easy to upload anywhere online, the photographers that don't give you rights keep you from printing anywhere you like, think about this a photographer goes though a photo site and gets a cut of the print charges that means they get 2 or 3 dollars for every extra photo you print and maybe more depending on the size for you that can mean $10 per a picture and 10 pictures that's a hundred dollars, at walmart or snapfish 9 cents a photo will get you any photo you upload that means 10 photos for under a dollar. I think it's your wedding and your photos you should have the right to use them as you like and any photographer that isn't happy with what you pay for taking the pictures is probably more concerned with the money than the art form or respecting your day and making it great. The only upside of the copyright greedy photographer is that they have all the photos posted with easy access for all your friends family and guests on a site, so even your great aunt Bertha can order a print or two even if she's too old to navigate around the web, and we all have these people in our families.

an education in modern wedding photography expectations/engagments, printing and wedding albums

Ok these photos might be visually appealing but maybe your wondering what purpose do they really serve, on there own not much more than documentation but in a Wedding Album they look great. Maybe you haven't made modern weddings your career and your wondering what are all these extra little things Photographers are charging an arm and a leg for Engagement Pictures, Wedding Albums, Prints, Copyright etc., CDs, and Contact Sheets, what is it how does it work why pay and what should you pay for it, expecially if you've never heard of it.

Having worked with weddings for the past 6 years it never even occurred to me that someone wouldn't be aware of what Engagement pictures are so when I posted some I had taken of my self and soon to be official husband on Facebook, I expected everyone would understand, to my surprise I got the response from one of my friends that one particular photo should be my Engagement Photo as if one was all that anyone ever picked, was this woman living in another country for the last 20 years had she never seen a wedding. No she just wasn't aware of current traditions a trends and I would consider the engagement photo session one of the must haves of todays weddings. There's a number of reasons and a number of uses for the Engagement Photos, to the Photographer their thought of as important as a DJ is for dancing, not completely necessary a must have, but definitely a keeper if at all possible.

The engagement Photos are about a 2 hour photo shoot usually in an interesting setting or sometimes a studio causal dress and personality defining props or settings. They help to tell the wedding story, the before pictures the couple as lovers average people. For the couple it's a first glance look at the social interactions of the photographer and a fair idea of what it's like to be a super model for a day, if someone's not comfortable with having their picture taken the shoot can loosen them up and getting a glance at what the wedding day will be like with flashes going off all around them and not a moment that goes without documentation. If you don't get at least 50 photos taken and about 10 that come out looking really good you might have a bad photographer on your hands but it's not too late since Engagement pic are usually taken 3 to 4 month before the wedding chances are it's not to late to change photographers, one excuse I heard used by a couple unsatisfied with the engagement pics was that they couple couldn't afford the photographer .They didn't hurt the photographer's feelings and didn't ruin their wedding day with bad work, switching photographers they saved a bunch of money and got great pictures of their special day, no harm no foul. For the Photographer it's more than just a few extra bucks, it's also a chance to get aquantied with the couple, what their comfortable with how close to get to them even a first chance to see what type of shots look best with the couple what angles, lighting etc. that's right not all people look good in all shots infact everyone has a good side and bad side.

I covered why it was important as a dress rehearsal, but what do you need them for what do you use them for after the photos are taken. There are numerous uses, most adults haven't had professional photos since graduation, that purpose alone is good enough, but really it's about you as a couple so you now have a record of your pre-ceremony pictures the romance stage of the relationship. Post them on your face book and myspace, youtube and more it's like visually screaming to all your friends I LOVE this person! it really sets the mood for a happy occasion and a happy event. If your relationship is young (under a year or two)this gives you a chance to show and shine like couples with tons of pics together and vacations after years together. You can use the pics on your Invitations, rsvps, thank you notes menus wedding programs or any stationary as just photos they often serve the purpose of a small display in pretty frames of the happy couple at the front of the ceremony site, right in front of the guest book, the entrance to the reception or at the desert table and many couples display a full photo album of their most treasured times together at the reception, not to be confused with Wedding Albums. Engagement pictures are worth taking even if you don't go pro and their taken by your snap happy friend, so do it.

Wedding Albums have come a long way from your parents pretty pictures, it's not the family photo album, it's not a book with a bunch of picture slots and a hard cover, and it's not a scrapbook either, although those do pop up from time at weddings another good reason for engagement pics. Todays Wedding album is a montage of the day a professional bound book showing the different scenes details and people place and they like to claim the layout is magazine layout style which I would usually disagree with being a graphic designer but they do have nice layouts. If you want one you could be paying a few hundred dollars just for one, but then you could always choose your own pics and use a premade layout some albums cost as little as $20, if you are looking for the high end and really want amazing you could contact a local graphic designer and ask for the personal touch. These books are great for conversation pieces or coffee table books it's a perfect way to show off the wedding without boring someone while a mother can look at endless pictures of their children, a friend or someone less interested, only has the attention span of a few minutes so make worth some one getting jealous over your little keep sake. thumbing thru a thousand photos can take hours, but the artistic display of the best of your wedding put in a nice 2 page layout can show several pictures in a few seconds and make every aspect of your wedding look like gold.

Who's a real photographer and what are they really worth?

This is a closeup of a wedding bouquet, the closeup gives more dimesion then a full shot of the total bouquet.

There's a lot talk today amongst the educated artist photographers and professionals. When you go sight seeing and there's dozens of SLR cameras with huge lenses and fancy looking gadgets attached. At a wedding you may even see some of your own guests sporting more expensive cameras then the photographer you payed for, this may make a person feel ripped off but the equipment is only the beginning of the photographers reasons to charge, style, constant work, and knowledge about the camera and art of photography also come into play as well as editing the photos, these are aspects you will probably not find from your friend the amateur photographer. Your guests are there for the party while they may wish to get some nice photos of their own, they probably aren't knowledgeable on the work aspects of the art, so no matter how expensive that fancy camera is it doesn't ensure you'll get professional results, and no matter how cheap a camera is it doesn't mean you won't get professional skills. The artist argument stands as such, anyone can buy these nice SLR cameras these days that still means their amateurs but these self proclaimed amateurs are going pro everyday thinking that their good enough and I think, if they care to try hard enough they probably can do a fairly ok job of it. Some of the best shots come from total accidents and the odds are in your favor when the average hour of wedding photography produces between 50 to a hundred photos, even a monkey could get a good shot or two out of 200 photos. The difference between good and great photos is getting higher odds out of the total shots and while most people think that just showing themselves is good enough in a picture it really more a matter of showing your good side. So if the total number of pictures is about 600 to 800 for a wedding the photographer will probably only show you the 200 to 300 that turned out well they might even leave out that pic of your great aunt that you thought would be so cute, but in reality the light was dim and she blinked giving her a retarded look, so why would they tarnish their professional standing by showing you such an awful picture even if it has sentimental value to you. So of the 200 to 300 pic you the couple get to see There will probably be 50 outstanding one's and tons of doubles that means the monkey gets 2 out of a hundred and the professional gets 10 out of a hundred, I suggest you choose someone that likes to take tons of photos one after another if you do go with the less experienced or your buddy with the nice camera.

I've seen point a shoot photos that come out better than my SLR, some commercial cameras are just amazing these days the auto settings can work wonders, but remember the venue and location of the wedding is very important too. Even though I dealt with the time consuming college classes of photography I do think anyone can do it if they try, that being said I'm going to give you some inside secrets on what to look for from a photo portfolio. Red lights go up anytime I see a photographers web page filled with mostly black and white photos, I know it's very impressive to average person and gives it an artistic feel, but it also works like a eraser for photographers, if the lighting or color was bad just turning it black and white can make it look better, good photos start with good color and contrast then the variations can really bring out a style, if the photographer isn't so great they may try hiding their short coming with editing techniques like black and white.

The My Space Photographer, angles and cropping are great but all good things are only good in moderation. Common characteristics of the Myspacer are Andy Warhol colors, tight cropping, great photoshop skills and angle shots taken from up high this makes a persons head look big and tummy look small, but it also doesn't often make you look like yourself. You'll find that the average Myspacer is ultra talented has learned a lot about how to make themselves look better, which is their main downfall ego, they rather take pictures of themselves than you, they can make for good studio photographers but the extent of their photo event talents end at keg parties. Myspacers are great models but not professional wedding photographers.

As I said yes you can go with the "amateur" beginner photographer and you can get some really great deals with this route, some things you might want to ask is what books have the photographer read on photography do they do editing, (some beginners don't even know that comes standard), how many weddings have they done so far, what well known photographers photos or fine artist they like (fyi most people can only name Ansel Adams as a photographer, and Van Gosh as a artist), what types of photos do people like best of theirs. I highly suggest a engagement photo session, if the photographer only takes 30 picture you may have a problem, if you don't like the photographer for any reason whether their just rude people or don't take pictures you like this is the time to get out and find another photographer I hope you didn't pay the whole amount for the wedding yet. If your in the beginning stages of searching out a photographer searching online you will be viewing the absolute best that photographer has to offer don't be fooled by a handful of pretty good pictures these are picked from 1000's of pictures if they aren't that great at go find someone else, some people desire the money wedding photos can make them but truly have a gift for taking bad photos. Ask to see a recent weddings full pictures (thumbnails, contact sheets) many have links they can choose to show you. Beware of the larger companies many of them don't screen their photographers and out source everything hiring anyone willing to work cheap for them, after all it's not their wedding, you could hire that same photographer freelance for a quarter of the price. If your looking for the little guy with the personal approach don't click on the first page of google try the 26th the 15th page people pay big money to be top listed on those search engines, and the advertising costs go strait on the tab of the clients.

So what are the prices you should be willing to pay well experience location and talent have a lot to do with the price as anyone knows expect to pay anywhere between $200 to $5000 for an average photographer. So $200 is obviously the very low end amateur photographer, that doesn't mean their bad at what they do just not yet experienced and in need of building a portfolio, I've seen some great ones at this price and I've seen some bad one's for far more money. Now while I listed $200 as a low end these are large population big city prices I'm talking about rural areas may be even cheaper like Kansas, the North East seems to be the most expensive and in Denver it's not hard at all to find Photographers for a few hundred. Location- some of these new up and coming photographers price their work on the average for the area if everyone else in NYC charges $3000 they do too even without talent or skills, without any experience would you pay a Med student in their first year of med school, the same price as an experienced surgeon, and would you trust the Med student? It maybe not that serious to you but many people feel the only thing they get to walk away with from their big day is those pictures for all the work and cost of a wedding having something to show for it, is important. Expect a photographer to have at least 2 years and 15 weddings with some great pictures from each wedding before you dish out more than a thousand, Photographers get most jobs from referrals if they don't get too many referrals they probably aren't that good. Unless your marring Donald Trump you shouldn't be paying more than $7000, if your having trouble finding photographers in your area within your budjet check out other cities most are willing to travel and you might find even with travel expenses their cheaper then the one's in your area.

What Wedding Photograper to choose/style

This is one of the Bride's faviorite photos, compleately blured and totaly expressive.

There's dozens of different types of photographers and a perfect fit for any couple. There are photographers that give superior verbal direction and those with special photo editing skills, there's plenty that are not "intrusive" at all and give no verbal clues what so ever standing from a distance and hardly noticeable, some love the candid photo and more often you find those whom take static traditional group portrait photos.

Well my personal favorite styles as an artist are the famously coined phrased style of photojournalist, which I must admit has become a very misleading phrase. Every wanna be photographer on the market is claiming photojournalist properties right now, but that doesn't mean they have any ability to take the style of photo they claim. So what is photojournalism, well when you open a newspaper and there's coverage of the big warehouse fire down town that is photojournalism, first you see that they got shots at good angles on the fly (meaning without any preparation), fires don't give warnings as to when they're going to happen, the photographer got in the right angle for a good composition to explain the photo visually to the viewer like a story. Some other elements of a true photojournalist are blurs such as the foreground showing a focused image and the background blurred this shows depth, opposite are static photos where the whole picture is in perfect focus static photos make things look 2d flat and boring, but they do have their place. You may also find that the photojournalist is every where all the time in your face at your feet above you on the canopy, willing to verbal instruct you like a fashion model and show people looking like they really do blemishes and all. These attributes are not appealing to some couples but I believe this gets the best results and the most real feeling of the wedding day. Journalists aren't centered on the people but the art of the photo it's not in the face of the bride but the contrast, story, and angle of the picture.

Then there's the "Traditional wedding Photographer" in the art world these guys get the worst rap, but they do completely have their own place and I think that place was left behind in the 80's somewhere between LP records and mullets. Maybe I'm being too harsh on self starter business guy, which you'll find is the main objective of the traditional wedding photographer the paycheck. That said you'll often find these guys have the lowest price reasonable accessible.
The traditional photographer is geared to the common person what most people take pictures of themselves when tourists go to a national monument they don't take awe inspiring photos of the statue of liberty or Mount Rushmore they aren't conserened with lighting or angle, the tourist wants to prove they were there for all the money the trip cost them they only want the picture of them in the picture with the monument behind them, they don't understand the vaule of the bigger picture, but I believe that everyone respects the artistic value but they don't know it until the photos are processed. But then there's other things to consider about the Traditional style, Traditional aren't the type to talk a lot when shooting, this is a job to them, to some brides this can be preferable. Some things to consider are whether your a photographic person do you like your picture being taken, are you self concise about you're looks weight skin etc. are you very concerned about the photographer getting in the way of the religious ceremony if you answered yes to the last two questions then a traditional photographer might be more your thing. The Traditionals don't spend a lot of time thinking about the lighting or cropping of an image, they don't concentrate to much on the details and aren't concerned with the photoshop editing of the photos, the preceromoney and engagment pictures might be on their list of to do's but that doesn't mean they know what to do with those photos or how to shoot them. To find the Traditional you'll find they talk a lot about the group portraits which are a standard of any wedding photographer but far more emphasized by the traditional style, why because most people think that's the most important photos of a wedding (not me personally). You'll often find them to have years of experience and no education at all.

Even the people that claim they want Photojournalist often go bridezilla the moment choosing who's in the group portraits start, although when it comes to printing the photos those portrait photos are often the first to be left behind, they just show the wedding party and family not the feeling and interactions of the people. This is where the rift between fine art and the common people begin.

I have other things to do for now so I can't finish this blog some other things I'd like to cover are; an education in modern wedding photography expectations/engagments, printing and wedding albums, a copyright and expense guide questions to ask and where the mark ups begin, No they aren't really your wedding photos, online wedding albums what is really nessary?, What I like to do when shooting, who's a real photographer and what are they really worth? anyone can buy a slr now a days- all the worlds a photo professional.

Weddings/ the abnomoral blog

What is it about weddings that makes people into such jerks, stress, insanity, insane amounts of money all being thrown out the door just for one day in 8 short hours you can spend as much as a new house costs. So I'm attempting to plan my own wedding now and every time I come up with a solution, it seems there's 10 more barriers standing in my way. It's somewhat about the money, but not all, a lot of my problems are with other people and how they see weddings and what they think they should be, and what they expect. I'm not so sure this is even supposed to be my big day, seems all the trouble comes in when guests are thrown into the mix. Every little detail needs to be addressed, every tradition is supposed to be adhered to.

Maybe I'm just not vain enough, I'm not concerned with out shining anyone in the beauty range, I should hope all my friends are beautiful in some way. Maybe it's been too long since I read a real fairytale, my favorite is after all, the Hans Christian Anderson version of the little mermaid, which of course ends in suicide unlike the Disney version, but it's true and real with a deep message that's why I like it. I guess that entails my views on love too, real- not perfect, not always beautiful, time endearing not instant, something a little more than a best friend and far more than just a passing lover, time filled with respect and mutually enjoyment, understanding of differences, not a false belief that your love is an exact replica of yourself in another's body, or that they should be you at all. I'm trying to figure out where this celebration of Love gets lost in all the giltz and glamor of a wanna be celebrity débutante princess dream, what happens to the sanctity of a promise to with stand all the pressures of society for the betterment of the union between two people, if they can't even choose to unite without yielding to everyone else's wishes of what society has deemed a perfect day.

Maybe it's not my humility, maybe I'm not even that humble? There are certain things I'd like in certian ways, but I'm not so blind as that I don't see what's really important is the Love of the gathering of friends and family and the declaration of the Love between the two that marry. Maybe I'm not so humble at all, maybe trying to avoid the hell I've seen others go through. I've just seen so many weddings where the brides don't look happy at all, nothing perfect enough, they aren't skinny enough, some one did something wrong and the world is going to end, all hail bridezillas ! It's truly enough to turn anyone's stomach to see people so lucky so pampered and yet so dissatisfied, reason enough to have no greater wish than to be happy. The Brides smile, but then you see them turning colors looking around the room for any imperfections, their nerves turn them into fire breathing dragons laying just beneath the extreme layers of caked on makeup, the guests dress so unlike themselves you wouldn't recognize your own best friend were they walking down the street, everyone is upper crust at a wedding, no matter the cost of the wardrobe.

So I know most of the things I want to avoid, first I want to avoid my entire family (they are stress cases) until the wedding of course, I want to avoid my friends looking like upper crust versions of themselves (not hard to do with artist), I want to avoid the competition for the greatest wedding amongst my friends (so long as I'm happy that will make me comparable with at least 2 of my friends weddings), I want to avoid paying as much a college education for just one day of my life (I just can't justify a few hours of pleasure being worth more than my families financial security).

Perhaps your or your friends were one of those smart people that chose to elope or do a destination wedding of just a few close friends, well then you might not know the expenses so let me give you a quick run down. I'll start with the dresses, as you might know wedding dresses (that are intended for weddings) can run you anywhere from $100 dollars to $50,000, but not everyone wares Vera Wang, so let's just go with that low end price 100.00 that of course is just a starting price to get you in the door, then there's the slip 69.99, the corset 69.99, the shoes about 50.00 or more plus the cost of dieing them, then there's the vail 20 to 200.00 dollars, the alterations to the dress the garter the stockings, the hair pieces and crowns plus tax, well as you can see- that simple, cheap little 99.99 dollar can easily run you 600.00 it's the sales persons job to convince you that you need everything else and they show only what they want you to see, as a seamstress and having covered a number of weddings I'll share with you some tips to save on my next blog.

The dress is only the beginning of course and the horrible truth is that the other vendors are worse than even that, mark up isn't just a word used with weddings it's tradition. The prices for a normal catered party with most vendors is about 15 to 20 per a person, the beginning price for a wedding is in the 35.00 range 50.00 being on the low end and for those prices do expect cafeteria food cold and tasteless if you get better than that you just got lucky. A bouquet of flowers for your sweetheart at a local florist usually runs about 20 dollars more or less, but if that is intended to walk down the isle with you, a tight wrap on it costs about 100 dollars more and that's just for one bunch of flowers, try 6 bridesmaids ouch! the one little butonier is 25 starting price, just one flower and most of the work comes in trying to pin it on without hurting your self, unbelievable! ridiculous! absurd, revolting abuse of power. A photo shoot in the studio or engagement pictures is about 200 tops, wedding pictures 600 for the crappy photographer without any knowledge or education of photography as an art form, but don't worry all the vendors come with honey on their lips to sweeten the blow, the new trend for photographers is to claim they do photojournalism (artsy pictures), but it's just a line trust me.

Now while I sit here a bashing all the great institutions of art revolving around weddings, the culinary arts, fashion, floral design, photography etc., I know the other side too, not the bride side the other side, the people and artist that I'm insulting as being over priced and under value. I've made a few wedding dresses, and I've shot some videos, and photography too, in fact I wonder if I'll ever really enjoy a wedding as a normal guest would, you know sit back a relax, no not me unless a friend wished to really make me happy, I'm a bit obsessed because it's such a insane moment of ecstasy once I take a picture I'm determined to take the perfect shot, which never really happens but sometimes I come close. But the vendors point of view is not that which depends on artistic inspiration, it's not the effort of the intellectual challenge of attempting perfection, it's not willingness to please and make the couple happy. Ahh the main objective is usually that of money, even those who start with the will of making wonderful art, usually succumb to the pressures of just doing what needs to be done for the good of the pay check. AND WHEN IT COMES TO CRAZY BRIDES PLEASING IS NOT AN EASY THING! Perfect, perfect perfect, and then comes the spazms, cause their's no one on this planet that truly is perfect, if one's idea of perfection comes from the placement of material items and not the enjoyment of love all forms of love. So a vendor such as a photographer or videograher runs themselves wild shooting every 10 seconds every angle, every detail in the hopes that just a bit of it will please the clients enough to get the referrals for the next job. Then there's so much more even after the wedding is over for the videographer, it means hours of picking a choosing which scenes were the best and what events are most important, this work can take a few days or a few months depending on the skill of the editor and their willingness to produce good work, you do get what you pay for, but I have tricks on this too. The Photography on the other hand can be a simpler thing but not necessarily less costly, editing does take less time with photos then their's the add on's copyright and printing, let's not forget the wedding album and access for the guests. So the costs on these wedding things depends, on a few variables, for starters wedding vendors usally only work during the warm season that's only a third of the year, and of those months most weddings are booked on the weekends, that means for the most part their's only a 18 day summer cycle that can be filled and of this time refferals are still the number one way to get gigs for the vendors, advertizing costs can be pricy and undproductive because everyone's causitos when spending 10,000 of thousands of dollars and every thing adds up. So with the limited number of possible weddings and all the extra work we don't see going into the wedding, the extreme amount of perfection required to please brides and grooms, the vendors competetors rates being sky high, and a huge population willing to go into debt just for a formal affair to brag about, so these extremely high rates are starting to come into perspective now aren't they?
A small cheap wedding averages 10,000 and the average size runs about 30,000 dollars, and many people spend well over 100,000 on that one special 24 hour period.

Venues.. that should be your first consideration if you care at all for good photography or video, the wrong lighting, the wrong decor, the cheap affordable 80's decor venue will set the mood for your gorgeous white dress to look like a thrift store rag, if you want good pictures try to find a place with large windows that aren't permanently covered with drapes, at all costs avoid red carpet, yellow walls, old fashioned long florescent 7-11 bulbs, and most importantly mirrored walls are tacky! Tacky is cool if it's 70's but ask yourself do you really want to look like you did in that picture you have with the high hair and Micheal Jackson button that was 5 inches wide on your wedding day? There are other alternatives, try a park or small BYOB restaurant or simple bed&breakfast, simple can look a whole lot better even if it's not as classy as you might think trust me even with fine china that 80's venue is a monstrosity, and at least the stress of behaving gracefully is also left behind with the ugly decor, and if you try for simple there's a rustic old world romantic charm to it, that's well worth the trade.

The second consideration is traditions, remember when your family and friends first heard you were getting married and how they said oh well it's your big day you do it however you wish too. It really only took a few plans before they started telling how it's going to be or how you should do it, right, ok well maybe that's just my family (as I cower in shame and frustration left compleately sleepless from the agravation of no one being willing to listen to me, and really hear what I've been saying), I'm done really I'm done complaining. I'm hear to say to you yes it really is your day and yes you can make it any way you want on any buget, but it may take a little effort to do so. Traditions aren't half as traditional as you might think, today's bride can be a Pirate or a princess, there's a lot of new trends to trick the vendors and avoid the rediculous costs, now if what your looking for is hand servants and maids in waiting and you can afford these thing and they bring you joy by all means spend your life's savings, I'm sure I have a few good tips for even you the perfect bride, with the perfect life and perfect credit. Some of the new trends I've seen lately are usally combined with cost saving style, such as the cake an average wedding cake can easily run 600 dollars they charge per a person and depending on flavors icing etc., the alternative cup cakes displayed nicely can save you a bundle their not the average desert so score one for the thrifty bride, it also saves on cutting and serving costs which can cost almost as much as the cake it's self at times (please note hidden costs are everywhere). I also love the candy table, which I suppose is an alternative to high priced deserts, it looks great and is a lot of fun with some doggie bags it can double as a party gift souviner and more affordable too.
Don't let anyone give you slack about brides maids and best men, the class roles of the sexes are becoming quite blured, any gender can stand on any side of the bride or groom what's really important is that they are truly important people to you, I've seen quite a bit of switching places in regards to this. Uneven number of grooms men to brides maids not a big deal even a grossly uneven number, no father to give you away try a mother a close friend or walk tall on your own.

The ceremony is what you make of it, one of the most pleasurable ceremonies I've ever seen only lasted 10 minutes, my advice make your officiant aware of what you really want, and remeber you'll be standing most of that time and probally some what nervous as well.
The colors the dress the music when choosing these things think hard what really makes you happy, you can't please everyone and you don't need to try too. A big trend in the market right now one that I personally really love is the bright colored wedding dresses, that's right you don't even have to wear white anymore not even a scrap of it it's all up to you red blue purple.. it doesn't even have to be a wedding dress even if it is white any formal gown dress suite skirt and top that you feel fits the occasion will due. There's a change coming in these short lived traditions, be trend setter step out of the mold be bold, but most importantly do what makes you happy!

Well that's surely well worth my ranting on for a page or two, I do promise I'll try to get back to blogging soon, not sure if anyone's reading but it's easier than video and more precise. Note to self next time I'll right about some of the crafts sewing stained glass design printing work experiments and faliures I've achived in my efforts to explore my own wedding intrests, and it's only right I should share some ways to save money on some of these high cost vendors, what to look for in video, what type of vendor suits you, and some of the more inspirational weddings I've seen.