My client Lauren and I were having a final meeting before her big day. She told me her band was amazing. When I hear clients make this statement, the band is usually amazing or dreadful. Luckily for Lauren and Brendan The Rhythm Shop is incredible. They were so amazingly talented and you know what, they were so friendly too. I always tease my clients that only they get to be the DIVAS on the wedding day, no one else 🙂 Sometimes you find talented vendors and they act like they are doing you a favor by being there. I have no time for that nonsense. So if you are looking for a spectacular band for your event, who are fun and friendly, The Rhythm Shop may be for you. Check out all of the fun photos I got of The Rhythm Shop at The Village Club of Lake Success.
Depending on your outlook, planning your wedding or helping someone you care about plan their wedding, can be a fun experience or it could just become a time burglar. One that starts to pull you away from what is most important about two people committing themselves to each other.
Bayview Florist & Montage-VendorSpotlight
Not all florists are the same. If you need a great florist check out the blog post for some wonderful advice by Marion, own of Bayview Florist Wedding Studio.
Marion: You’ve just gotten engaged. Now the fun begins! Planning a wedding, whew! There are a lot of details to cover and one of them is flowers. Are flowers important? Flowers will most likely be included in every minute of your day. Starting with the bouquets the girls will carry, to the ceremony space where you take your vows, to the ballroom where you celebrate. Let’s look at each category, personal, ceremony and reception and see what should be taken into account. How do you choose your bouquet flowers? Before you meet with your florist, determine your style. Are you vintage, formal or Modern? Your bridesmaid’s dress color will play an important role in deciding what colors and flower choices will be used throughout the wedding.
Long Island Florist, Photos from The Garden City Hotel and Cherry Valley Country Club- Lauren and Curtis’s fantastic wedding day!
I pick wedding bouquets the same way I would pick a piece of jewelry for a great outfit. They should accent what you’re wearing, not overpower it or be the focus. Your bouquet will be your most photographed accessory making it the most important one! I like to infuse meaning to my bride’s bouquets with a piece of lace from mom’s dress or photo lockets of grandparents.
The men’s boutonnieres will correlate with the girl’s bouquets. Keep in mind, boutonnieres can really take a beating throughout the day! Unlike the bouquets, they are compressed time and time again with hearty hello hugs and are really put through the ringer! You many want to consider an extra for the groom so that it looks fresh for the reception.Pocket squares are hugely popular right now. If the men have a great pocket square and it’s a bold color, I would skip the boutonniere. If it’s a subdued color, steel grey or black, you can still consider a flower but it’s not necessary. Again, we don’t want to overdue, we want to accent. You can have lots of great ideas, the trick is to understand that they may not all work together.
The owl pin gives a wonderful personal touch. Groom’s Boutonniere-Cherry Valley Country Club- Garden City Wedding
You may have heard you should use flowers that are local and in season. If you’re using a trained florist, they will automatically direct you toward blooms that are in season without you having to ask. We want to work with seasonal flowers as they are the fullest and lushest at their peak.
Tip: make an appointment with your florist one year ahead in the month you’re getting married so you can see what’s in season.
Choosing flowers for the ceremony should depend on where your ceremony is. Will it be in a formal church, an outdoor vineyard, the same venue as the reception, do you require a chuppah? Different surroundings call for different embellishments. Is your ceremony outdoors? What’s plan B if it rains? A good florist will make sure you’re covered for all weather conditions. The ceremony may be the briefest part of your day but it is the most important. It will be remembered in your photographs forever. Make the space your own; add your colors through flowers.
Saint Raymonds of Penafort-East Rockaway NY- From Meghan and Paul’s wonderful wedding!
Tip: Have your ceremony flowers moved to your ballroom. This way they work for you all night!
The ballroom is the place where your personality and originality can really shine. All eyes will be on the centerpieces so make them the focus of your bloom budget. What feeling do you want to convey? Classic elegance, vintage chic, polished contemporary? The venue will have a lot to do with what style choices you make. Your flowers need to belong to your space. Water venues tend to be a bit less formal than mansions and hotels. That’s not to say that crystal chandeliers don’t belong in a barn. The juxtaposition of the two can be amazing. A trusted florist will be able to help you pull together your ideas into a cohesive visual concept that reflects your style and personality.
Table setting with flowers from an aerial view.
Tip: Start collecting photos to give your floral expert a window into what textures and concepts appeal to you. Pinterest is a great place to start.
Most importantly, don’t worry about what everyone else will think! This is your wedding, let’s plan it the way you want it. Bayview Florist is a boutique wedding studio with locations in Nassau and Suffolk. Being a smaller company has its advantages. It allows me the time to form a relationship with my brides, truly understanding their vision and bringing it to fruition. I meet with my brides, hand select the blooms we will use for the wedding day and make sure all the smallest details are carried out. We have 54 years’ experience and strive for inspired, creative designs that are unique to you. I have enjoyed working with every one of my brides and I look forward to working with you!
Long Island Wedding Photographers-Modern Wedding Photography- The Video Dilemma
To borrow from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, to have video or not to have video: that is the question. (I think I just committed literary blasphemy, but you know what I mean). Below is an interview with a wonderful videographer that I work with often, L.John Morelli from Morelli Media. If you were on the fence about having video read on…
WHY SHOULD I HAVE A VIDEOGRAPHER AT MY WEDDING? What would you pay to see a professionally produced movie of your parents’ or grandparents’ wedding? Consider your wedding video a “family record” to share with family down the line. Years from now, you and your children will be thrilled to have this video record. I often hear a bride say that “it was all a blur” or “it went by so fast,” and how grateful she is to have this keepsake that allows her to view all the wonderful moments she missed and relive the others. I will start with the bride and groom as early as they’d like, and won’t stop until the band says good night. I have never met a bride or groom who regretted having their wedding on tape, only grateful people who couldn’t believe they considered NOT having a wedding video.
WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT FROM MOST WEDDING VIDEOGRAPHERS? I take my inspiration from other sources, such as Hollywood cinematographers. As such, I almost always shoot on a tripod. This adds an unparalleled professionalism, giving rock-steady images compared to hand-held shooting. When a tripod isn’t practical, I have other camera-stabilizing tricks and techniques. From utilizing methods of stabilization, to capturing audio with many microphones, to using beautiful soft diffused lighting, to shooting lots of telephoto footage, I am able to create a cinematic look in my videos, giving it the look and feel of film. So that’s the hardware: I use a tripod, I have HD (high-definition) cameras, use advanced methods of capturing audio with wireless mics, and know how to light a room so you don’t know it’s being lit. But all the best hardware means nothing without the right software: Me. I have a heightened sensibility for finding the emotion in a situation, using tasteful close-ups, sweeping camera moves, the right lighting, and also knowing when to give someone their space. I am an unobtrusive, videographer with a keen eye for capturing the right moment, whether it’s a groom dipping his bride or a tear falling down a father’s face.
One of my many goals when shooting a wedding is to show all your guests; simple, right? But many videographers never leave the dance floor, even though there’s a whole world of excitement happening off the floor. Many clients have thanked me for showing all their friends and family on and off the dance floor while still maintaining an extremely low profile. You and your guests will hardly know I am there. I use natural light whenever possible, and use additional lighting only if necessary and in a creative and unobtrusive way.
We simultaneously use two cameras for the Ceremony, First Dance and Toast. That second camera fills in the areas where I am not, ensuring full coverage of the dancing and all of your guests. The second camera is the seasoning to my main course, adding a great deal of flavor. My finished video is a sophisticated, condensed version of everything that happened at your wedding, lasting about 90 minutes to two hours. Many companies offer only a 30-minute video. Think of all the material you are missing. My editing is quick-paced–I know when to leave a shot and when to linger. Shots are not too long and not too short.
My two signature pieces are the “Getting Ready” sequence and the “Recap.” The Getting Ready sequence is shot in a different style from the rest of the wedding. It is slightly more from-the-hip, not as structured, definitely no tripod and often a little tongue-in-cheek. I capture the excitement and the humor surrounding the chaos of that process.
My Recap includes the best shots from the wedding, incorporating techniques like slow motion and different tints like black and white or sepia, all put to your choice of music. I look for moments that show the best emotion and expressions of the bride and groom.
L.John Morelli, principle videographer of Morelli Media. I have been a professional videographer since 1984, shooting literally over 2,500 weddings. With a background in photography and film from NYU film school, I have a portrait photographer’s aesthetic in much of my work. I love exploring people’s faces, seeing family resemblances down the line from generation to generation. In my 25+ years as a wedding videographer, I’ve developed a unique personal style and a strong sense of what clients want. www.morellimedia.com
These are some images from weddings that Modern Wedding Photography & Morelli Media have worked on together this year.
Long Island Wedding Photographers-Modern Wedding Photography-Classic Events NYC
Not to long ago I had the opportunity to work with Danielle Elder from Classic Events NYC. I was so impressed with Danielle I asked her to write an article for our blog. I like to call it a “Blogicle”. Read Danielle’s words of wisedom below.
Danielle Elder
In these economic times, all of us are trying to find ways to cut cost and save money.The wedding business is no different. Wedding business?It’s difficult to think of your special day in those terms but for everyone you need to make that day one you remember for a lifetime it is exactly that.
In business, the key to success is to hire competent, talented people and let them do their jobs.Planning your wedding is no different.Finding the right location and hiring the vendors are essential to having the best day possible. But you aren’t an expert in weddings – it’s not what most of you do for a living.
That’s where a planner can help.An experienced planner has rosters of vendors and locations that they have worked with. They have designed and executed dozen of “special days” and can bring your dream to life.
At the core, that is what the right wedding planner can do for you…There are 5 essential things you should look for in a wedding planner to do to support and deliver for you:
Help you develop a clear understanding of what you want for your day
Recommend vendors that meet your budget and understand your vision
Negotiate and coordinate the vendors/locations once you have made your selections. In fact, often times, planners pay for themselves in the process of fighting to get you the best price for everything
Handle the communication and scheduling with all the players involved
Execute and manage every single aspect of your wedding – from the rehearsal to the family and friends brunch the following morning. When it’s all over, it is this that brides often remember as the most important asset that a planner brings.
Time, stress and money…these are the big factors that take hold during the wedding planning process.The question you must ask yourself is what is most important to you. The beautiful thing about wedding planners is that can save you hours of searching, meeting and negotiating, the stress of dealing with so many different points of contact and thousands of dollars bringing to you the best vendors for the best price.
I believe that when you sit down to plan out your budget, you should give serious consideration to what a planner can do for you and whether you can afford NOT to hire one.
Now, to take just a moment to tell a little bit about why I could be the planner for you…
I started my career in the publishing world, bringing to market an author’s dream and vision – I spent time developing an deep understanding of what their book was about, what it meant to them and then ultimately, bringing to life their vision.All the while making sure we accomplished that vision on a budget that allowed them to enjoy the fruits of their labor.
After 12 years of working for someone else, I decided to strike out on my own and become my own boss. In 2005, I executed my first wedding and knew that I found what I wanted to do with my life. Working with a couple to create their perfect wedding experience brought me such joy and satisfaction that I knew I made the right choice in starting Classic Events www.classiceventsnyc.com.
I am a native Manhattanite and the city is my town – Having lived here my whole life, I know the traditional locations as well as the off-the-beaten path places.I can build you a princess fantasy, New York style, quiet garden party, or whatever your dream may be.
And as a “local”, I have been spending my summers on Long Island since childhood. Several of my recent events have in fact been “Island Weddings”. One in particular was really one of my favorites: Please see Jean and Tom’s photos below…and if you like some of what you see, give me a call.
