bridal advice

The Top 3 Mistakes that Brides Make | Business

The Top 3 Mistakes that Brides Make | Business

It's hard to plan your wedding when you don't know what you don't know! That's why a wedding planner (or at least a day-of coordinator!) is absolutely crucial - and today I'm excited to feature one of the best, Jill Brown from Sunkissed Events. She has tons of wedding experience under her belt and is sharing today 3 of the top mistakes brides make when planning their wedding. Read on to avoid these mistakes as you plan your wedding!

To begin, I would say the #1 mistake brides make is booking the venue or vendors prior to determining your overall budget. Typically, the first thing in the bride's mind is choosing a date, which means choosing a venue. Once the date is chosen, your thoughts will probably move to the budget you have set or been given. The problem is that the first step of securing a venue may already put you over their budget based on the percentage allowed for that item. Then you will have to think about what areas you can trim to make up for it, often making the process extremely tough!

5 Must-Read Tips for Church Weddings | Hampton Roads Wedding Photographer | Business

5 Must-Read Tips for Church Weddings | Hampton Roads Wedding Photographer | Business

While I never set out to target church weddings, over the years I have ended up photographing a lot of them - especially Catholic wedding ceremonies! From working in multiple churches and different buildings I have seen what works best and what is not ideal for the ceremony - both from a picture standpoint and from the perspective of the bride. Here are my top 5 tips if you're getting married in a church, whether in Hampton Roads or beyond!

1) Make sure there is plenty of light at your ceremony time. Even if flash can be used, natural light ceremonies usually make for the prettiest pictures and allow us to be as unobtrusive as possible by not keeping our flashes on or setting up a flash during the ceremony. In addition,  this allows your photographer to move around as much as they are able rather than being restricted by certain places where the flash will or will not light it.

2) Find out any photography restrictions in advance.