Memories Fade With Time

Weddings are a big investment and as a bride you have everything planned down to the smallest detail. Your guests will enjoy the atmosphere, the food and the favors they take home, but what will you remember? You will remember that someone wise told you not to lock you knees or you will pass out, you will remember the butterflies in your stomach as all eyes turn to you, and you will remember your first kiss as husband and wife. What happened to the rest of the day? It all happens so fast and so many things will happen that you never even knew about. Photographers have the ability to capture some of these moments, but video captures so much more of these moments. Your vows, your first dance, the special toasts that were prepared just for you and the evidence of who took the first chance to smear cake on their new spouse. We offer several packages that allow you capture your wedding in a way that you can remember and cherish for generations. Contact us today to discuss your special day and see how we can help you preserve these moments for a lifetime.

Congratulations on your engagement!

Here is a sample of a wedding we just completed in Boulder

 Ceremony at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church and Reception at Wedgewood - Boulder, CO
Ceremony at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church and Reception at Wedgewood – Boulder, CO

Summer Wedding Tips

Protecting Your Look

Choose a summer wedding gown made of lighter fabric, appropriate for a hot-weather summer wedding, and talk to your gown stylist about fabrics that breathe, such as cotton organdy, chiffon, crepe, or voile over silk. You don’t want horrible sweat stains under your breasts, at the base of your spine and at your armpits.

Choose a tuxedo fabric that also breathes for the men, and select open-backed vests for the men’s comfort as well.

Choose the right shoes. Go for comfort as well as style with thicker heels that won’t sink into soft summertime grass.

Skip the train. If your ceremony and reception will be outdoors, skip the long train that only gathers grass stains with every step you take.

Prepare for summer hair. Curls and sculpted up-do’s often don’t fare well in hot, humid weather, so go for a trial-run hair styling with a pro, explaining your summer wedding date and experimenting with sleeker hairstyles such as a pulled-back chignon or low ponytail. Hairstyles with height just aren’t going to look good for long in hot summer weather.

Re-think the flowers in your hair. Individual fresh blooms tucked into your hair won’t have a water source and may be the first to wilt, which is not the best effect on your wedding day.

Pack blotting papers and powder. Guard against shine on your nose and forehead by including plenty of blotting papers and powder in your purse or emergency kit, and ask a bridesmaid to let you know when you need to treat your skin shine so that you don’t look oil-dipped in your important photos.

Skip the perfume. If you don’t want swarms of bees around you, skip the scent until the evening hours when you can freshen with a gentle spritz. If you or your groom have outdoor allergies, check the day’s pollen counts at nasal-allergies.com or weather.com, and use your regular allergy medication to prevent the sniffles, sneezing, red and watery eyes, and stuffed-up sinuses that can wreck your look and comfort.

 

These and many more tips were featured on The Bridal Guide and offer great ways to avoid looking like your melting in the hot summer sun in your wedding photos.

 

Tips for Great Wedding Video

It takes more than great filming and editing to make a fantastic wedding video. Pre-planning with your wedding videographer can make every frame count. Here are a few things to consider when planning your wedding that will make life easier for both your videographer and photographer.

Lighting – Your video will look better if the lights at the ceremony and reception are not turned down too low.  Pre-arrange with your event coordinator to turn up the venue lights for traditional moments such as toasts, cake cutting, and bouquet tossing and garter removal. If you are in a dark venue with no additional lighting used, your video could result in grainy images.

Vow Exchange – Turning to face your guests during the ceremony, or facing each other (instead of the officiant), will give you the best shots with the least distraction. If neither is an option, ask your videographer to use small hidden cameras strategically placed throughout the ceremony location for multiple camera angles.

Key Moments – If you choose to light a unity candle or include a different intimate ceremony, be careful not to block the view by standing directly in front of it. Standing off to the side at an angle where the candle is between the bride and the groom will give the videographer, photographer and your guests the best shot. The same is true for the exchange of rings.

Many couples choose to cut video from their budget, but this is the most regretted decision we hear from brides. They have photos of the toast’s but don’t remember what was said, the emotion behind the vows and the funny moments that maybe didn’t go as planned. Video is a great way to share with those that couldn’t be there and is a great memory to enjoy time and time again.

Contact us today to reserve your wedding date before it’s gone.

Here are a few wedding highlight wedding reels from summer 2014

Sunset Wedding Tips

Sunset weddings are very popular due of the natural gorgeous lighting that the sunset brings that is often called the “golden or magic hour”. There are a few things to consider when planning your sunset wedding that will help you and your photographer get all of those photos you want of you wedding day without being rushed, stressed or out of daylight.

  • Give yourself and your bridal party plenty of time to get ready. Hair and makeup always take the longest so plan accordingly. Your photographer can stage shots of the final touches to your hair and lipstick without holding up the process of you actually getting ready. 
  • Consider doing a first look and getting the majority of your photos out-of-the-way before the ceremony. Not only does this reduce the amount of stress on you as the bride and groom, it allows you to get to your reception sooner and start celebrating with your guests. If you prefer to wait and not see each other before the ceremony, just make sure you plan enough time and sunlight after the ceremony.
  • Designate a specific person to help round-up and keep the family together after the ceremony so that any photos you want with family members can move quickly. This allows you and your new spouse some uninterrupted personal photos done without the extra paparazzi.
  • Consider any buildings, structures or trees that may cast harsh shadows or completely shadow your and the bridal party during the ceremony.
  • Summer weddings can make you “glow” with perspiration when it is warm out even for a short ceremony. Consider allowing a few minutes between the ceremony and photos for you and your bridal party to freshen up if needed.
  • Allow for travel time (for you and the photographers) between ceremony and reception sites if you are splitting your photo shoot between the two locations.

Check the sunrise and sunset times for your area here.

Kaite and Michael

Have you Considered a First Look?

If I were to give one piece of advice to a couple it would be to strongly consider doing a First Look. I am all about tradition but the more weddings I photograph, the more I realize that maybe this tradition is meant to be broken.

A first look is when the bride and groom see each other before the ceremony, have a few moments alone, and get portraits done before-hand. There are several ways to do this, but a lot of the time, the groom will go away from the craziness and get set up in a certain location and the bride will then come to him and either tap on his shoulder or say his name for him to turn around, or they’ll close their eyes and face each other and do the big reveal together..you get the idea.

Amy and Steven First Look Amy and Steven First Look
Why do I recommend this? Because weddings go by SO fast, I feel like it’s the one time the couple can slow down and be alone together. It’s such a special moment—I’ve seen couples pray together, say their vows or affirm each other, exchange gifts. This private moment alone really sets the tone for the rest of the day, calms nerves, and gives the couple a chance to connect before the moment they are standing at the altar together. Doing a First Look really frees you up and allows you to relax during cocktail hour or mingle with your guests. If you’re having a lot of friends and family coming in from out of state, this is definitely something you’ll want to consider. Most importantly, you want to feel like your married. You don’t want a photographer or a coordinator rushing you along in order to keep you on time. You want your day to be enjoyable and smooth and for that, getting as much done before hand is ALWAYS helpful.

I totally get the tradition of waiting until the bride walks down the aisle..but if you’re prone to stress or anxiety especially, the First Look can be a calming and tone-setting alternative.

I Wish I would Have…

“I regret not getting a videographer. I thought pictures would be enough and most people don’t watch their videos anyway, but your wedding goes by so fast and you miss a lot of things. Plus, I feel like I was in a blissful daze for a lot of it and would love to have the important things captured in video. Pictures just don’t capture everything.”                  -Regretful Bride

Toast CompositeWhen planning a wedding there are so many things to consider. Your wedding budget never seems to go as far as you hope, so what do you cut? Video is often the first service to go when it comes down to cutting your budget, but is the the right decision? If there is one answer we here from newlyweds about what they would have done differently, it is that they wish they would have added video to their wedding. A photo of your fathers toast is great but what would you give to hear it again?

Our staff captures these moments as well as the ones you may have missed altogether. We work in cinematic fashion so when you watch your wedding video you are not watching all 8 hours of your wedding from the same part of the room. Catching short clips allows us to move around and show you everything that went on.

Our focus is to retell the story of your day in a way that makes you want to watch it over and over again.

You’re Engaged! Now What?

Weddings big or small require many hours of planning,
do you know where to start?
 
Here are the top 5 things you should do after you say yes.

1. Make your announcement -Talk to your parents and close family in person if possible BEFORE you post it to your social media accounts.

2. Talk to your fiancé about the type of wedding you want to have. Big, small, destination etc.

3. Talk about your budget and decide what you have to spend. This will help you determine what venues and vendors you can afford.

4. Make a rough guest list so you know what venue size you need to fit everyone.

5. Book your vendors. Many vendors book several months in advance, don’t delay!

Winter Wonderland Engagement Backdrop

It is cold outside, bundle up and take advantage of the beauty of the Colorado winter backdrop. If you are planning a spring or summer wedding in 2015, now is the time to take your engagement photos and start letting family and friends know to save the date.

Taking engagement photos is a great way for you and your fiancé to get to know your wedding photographer and that will make everyone
more comfortable on your wedding day.

Bundle Up and Smile!

Professional Video & Photography
(303) 205-7879 or info@professionalvp.com

Winter Engagement Sessions