Wedding Planning Tips From a Wedding Expert: Wedding Group Shots

Bride Tips From Dax Photography: Wedding Group Shots. Have you ever tried to take a picture of 250 people at once?!?! Whether your family group shots are a few people or a few hundred there are a few things you can do to help. First off, make sure you move all the shoes, purses, bouquets, etc behind the photographer (not to the side). Secondly, fill in the gaps...if you can't see the camera...the camera can't see you. Finally, just keep smiling and looking at the camera...don't check to see if the person three people down from you is smiling (nothing ruins a shot quicker than people looking in every direction). A good photographer will roll through group shots quickly and effortlessly making sure everyone is entertained through the whole thing. I usually start with the large group (to make sure everyone is there) then peel off people as needed. Even with the biggest family groups these shots shouldn't take more than 40 minutes to take. Love, your friendly neighborhood photographer. :) To see the ultimate list of bride tips, click here: http://www.daxphotography.com/bride-tips/

Wedding Planning Tips From a Wedding Expert: Asking For Discounts

Bride Tips From Dax Photography: Asking For Discounts. I know how expensive weddings can be and fully understand that EVERY bride is on a budget. As a bride you should never be afraid to ask for discounts from your vendors...you never know until you ask and they just might surprise you. One of your best ways to get discounts from vendors is if you have a wedding date that is an off day (i.e. not a Saturday or holiday weekend). If a vendor doesn't have anything booked for a Friday or Sunday they may consider a discount more. Your chances of getting a discount also increase if it's later in the season and they don't have that date booked (i.e. last minute weddings). DON'T tell the vendor that you would like a discount because your wedding will "only be a few hours"...if they book a wedding at a discount for that day they are giving up the opportunity to book that day at full price and probably will say no. DON'T ever tell them it will be great exposure...just don't! DON'T tell them that you can do some of the work (editing photos for example)...a professional wedding vendor takes pride in giving you their best products and services and won't want to jeopardize that. Bottom line is that everything is negotiable and it doesn't hurt to ask but don't be alarmed if the vendor simply says no...they are making a decision based on what's right for their business. www.daxphotography.com

Wedding Planning Tips From a Wedding Expert: Smiling During The Ceremony

Bride Tips From Dax Photography-Smiling During The Ceremony. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've seen a wedding party that doesn't smile during the ceremony. No more RBF people!!! This goes for EVERYONE! Remind your wedding party that they NEED to smile during the ceremony! During the entrance it always looks best if the couples entering are smiling and laughing at each other. While standing up during the ceremony, some smiles and glances at family and friends in the crowd is perfect. During the exit smiling and high five'ing the guests in the aisle is wonderful. And let's not forget the couple should be smiling at each other with a few laughs towards the crowd. It should be the happiest time for everyone involved...show it. Love, your friendly neighborhood photographer. www.daxphotography.com

Wedding Planning Tips From a Wedding Expert: The Kiss

Bride Tips From Dax Photography: The Kiss. My best recommendation regarding the kiss at the end of the ceremony is to actually kiss twice! I guarantee that you won't be able to not smile in that moment which is absolutely adorable! If you're going to do a dip make sure it's perpendicular to the crowd. No tongue...period! Take your time up there and revel in the moment. By all means practice ahead of time...photographers orders :) www.daxphotography.com

Wedding Planning Tips From a Wedding Expert: The Guest Book

Bride Tips from Dax Photography: The Guest Book. As more and more brides get creative with their guest books (thanks pinterest), make sure you have VERY clear instructions on what you want guests to do. At my own wedding we did a fingerprint guestbook where guests were supposed to put their prints in a cluster to look like balloons above a cute drawing I did of a couple...let's just say that didn't happen (not even close). Guests need instructions and maybe even a picture of an example you're looking to create. Bottom line is that the sky is the limit for creativity regarding guest books, just make sure your guests know what to do to create your memento. www.daxphotography.com

Wedding Planning Tips From A Wedding Expert: Size of the Bouquet

Bride Tips From Dax Photography: Size of the bouquet. This post may be a bit touchy for some of my fellow wedding vendors, but I'll try and be as tactful as possible. I'm seeing a troubling trend with florists and wedding planners...the bouquets are getting HUGE! As a general rule, the bouquet on your wedding day should never be larger/wider than the bride...period! Don't get me wrong they are still beautiful but let's not forget that the bouquet is an accessory for the bride to carry down the aisle. In fact...probably the least important accessory (think family jewelry, etc) and is meant to enhance how she looks the day of her wedding...not be the focus. From a visual perspective if you have a bouquet wider than the bride it naturally makes her look bigger than she really is. Ladies, simple and elegant should always be the rule, plus a smaller bouquet will save you money. www.daxphotography.com

Wedding Planning Tips From a Wedding Expert-Guest List Numbers and Percentages

Bride Tips From Dax Photography: Guest list numbers. Ever wondered how many guests actually attend a wedding if invited?  As a general rule you can expect about 85% of local guests to show and about 55% of out of town guests to attend if invited. Granted that can vary but those are pretty darn good numbers to go by when planning your wedding guest list. www.daxphotography.com

Wedding Tips From a Wedding Expert: Who gives this bride away.

Bride Tips From Dax Photography: Who gives this bride away? ALWAYS hug your Dad...and Mom for that matter during the part of the ceremony where the officiant asks "Who gives this bride away?" I get it...in that moment all eyes are on you, your heart is racing and you can't take your eyes off of your groom, but just breathe and make sure you hug your parents! It's a small but VERY important gesture to acknowledge how much they've done to help get you to this moment. Enjoy that moment, revel in it, hug it if you will. :) www.daxphotography.com

Wedding Planning Tips From a Wedding Expert: The First Look Is NOT Required!

Bride Tips From Dax Photography: The First Look IS NOT Required. A first look is when a bride a groom see each other before the ceremony. I've heard from a few brides now who were, let's say pressured, into doing a first look by either their photographer or wedding planner. Despite what wedding vendors may tell you it is NOT necessary to see each other ahead of the ceremony. For me whether you do a first look or not is totally up to you and really doesn't save any time or make things easier in most cases. I LOVED seeing my bride the day of our wedding at the end of the aisle and I wouldn't trade that moment for anything...in fact I encourage couples to do just that; wait til the ceremony. www.daxphotography.com

Vintage Airplane Engagement Session Featured on Montana Bride!

Just had one of my engagement sessions featured by Montana Bride, Inc​!  This was the second time that the Missoula Airport/TSA has literally shut down air traffic for us to shoot.  They have been so great to work with and on this one we had the Director of the airport drive us around.  Just as we were starting a gentleman was just parking his vintage Yak-52 and graciously allowed us to use it!  Congrats again to Tim and Meagan!!!!  Check out the feature here: http://www.montanabride.blogspot.com/2015/08/montana-bride-featured-e-session-meagan.html

Wedding Planning Tips From a Wedding Expert: Hair and Makeup Order

Bride Tips From Dax Photography​: Makeup and Hair order.  The order in which you and your girls get your hair and makeup done the day of the wedding can make a huge difference in the flow and schedule of the day.  I've seen some weddings where they save the bride til last to get her hair and makeup done...DON'T!  Say you have 5 bridesmaids all getting hair and makeup done by the time they get to the bride things are undoubtedly running late (it's a wedding after all) which puts pressure on the hair and makeup people to get done faster and adds stress to the bride in general.  My best advice is to never have the bride go first or last with hair and makeup but rather to have her go 2nd or 3rd.  That way she's done and can relax and if something needs to be touched up it can be done before she leaves the salon.  Not everyone has a photographer that can do hair and makeup ;)  www.daxphotography.com

Wedding Planning Tips From a Wedding Expert-Parent Entrance

Bride Tips From Dax Photography​-Parent Entrance.  I often see parents and grandparents being ushered to their seats during the beginning of the ceremony.  Many times this means that the Dad or Grandpa is left to awkwardly walk behind the usher and Mom/Grandma.  This is not only awkward for them but also makes photos of them entering virtually impossible.  I would recommend that unless one of those family members is a party of one or needs assistance, then to let the couples walk in together and let them share that experience.  www.daxphotography.com

Wedding Planning Tips From Dax Photography-Dance Circles

Bride Tips From Dax Photography​.  Dance Circles.  No...just no!  These are the worst during a reception and yet they always seem to happen.  We've all seen them...it's when all the guests awkwardly circle around someone on the dance floor who has some moves.  But once the person in the center is done doing the worm then it get super awkward.  It breaks up the flow of dancing and makes it super awkward for all the people on the dance floor who don't want to be the center of attention...those who just want to dance and have a good time.  My advice...give instructions to your wedding party to do their best to break them up if they occur.  www.daxphotography.com  

Bride Planning Tips From A Wedding Expert-Nails

Bride Tips From Dax Photography: Nails. Bottom line you NEED to have your nails look amazing the day of your wedding! Whether you get them professionally done or just do them yourself, it's a must. From photos, to everyone asking to see your ring...EVERYONE will see your nails, so make sure they're presentable. Simple elegant is always best...crazy colors and designs just distract.  www.daxphotography.com

Bride Planning Tips From A Wedding Expert-Prints

Bride Tips From Dax Photography​:  Prints.  After you get your wedding photos back...get prints!  I don't care if they're large, small, canvas, metallic, etc, etc...just get them done!  My wife and I took 6 months to get some prints made and I'm a photographer!!!  Don't just post them to Facebook or worse yet just leave them on the discs to only be viewed on anniversaries.  Too often I see couples' homes that don't have a single image from their wedding.  If you're looking to save money the best places to use are AdoramaPix​ and Costco.  Adorama's metallic finish is just beautiful and Costco believe it or not does a pretty damn good job for how cheap their prints are...seriously a 20x30 inch print is only $8.99!   For Canvas prints...CGProPrints simply can't be beat in quality and price!  www.daxphotography.com

Bride Planning Tips From A Wedding Expert: Heels

Bride Tips From Dax Photography​:  Heels.  Don't get me wrong I absolutely love heels as much as the next girl...the 4 pairs of Camuto's and Melani's we just got for my wife last weekend from Dillards can attest to this!  I would however, recommend to most brides that they skip the heels and only rock flats or cute boots (that hurt just even saying it).  It will save you money, most people will never see them anyway, your feet will be more comfortable and most brides end up in flats at some point during the day anyway (messing up the hem that was for heels).  The only caveat to this would be if they make you feel more confident or if you need the height.    www.daxphotography.com

Bride Planning Tips From A Wedding Expert: Your Dress WILL get dirty...roll with it!

Bride Tips From Dax Photography​:  Your dress WILL get dirty.  Bottom line your dress will get dirty and the underside will be absolutely filthy by the end of your wedding day.  I always find it funny how careful everyone is with the dress leading up to the wedding and even the morning of your big day...only to later be whipping the train around the beer and wine soaked dance floor.  My best advice to brides who are worried about the dress getting dirty is to just take a deep breath and enjoy the day and just roll with a little bit of dirt.  I run into brides all the time who want these epic shots in the middle of a field yet don't realize what it takes to get them.  I do take every precaution to make sure we don't hurt the dress (towels down, even literally carrying brides, etc) but if we're walking through a field we're bound to pick up some grass seeds and bugs along the way....don't worry it won't show up in the shots and I guarantee the guests won't notice either.  www.daxphotography.com

Bride Planning Tips From A Wedding Expert: The Cake

Bride Tips From Dax Photography: Cake. I'm a conessueir of cake...I've had A LOT of it over the years. As far as local cake vendors are concerned here's what I've found to be true. Best tasting-ranked from best to worst...Rosauers, Black Cat, The Pearl, Bernices. Cost-Rosauers (barely beat BC), Black Cat, Bernices, The Pearl. Creative look/beauty-Black Cat, Bernices, The Pearl, Rosauers. Make sure that whomever you select that they can make your vision become a reality...Rosauers simply can't do some of the creative cakes you see on Pinterest, but they do make a delicious cake. Additionally, when my wife and I got married we wanted a tier that was metallic silver, Bernices literally told us that they could do it, but it would be inedible...WTF! Bottom line we've chosen Black Cat whenever we've needed a cake and they haven't let us down!  www.daxphotography.com

Bride Planning Tips From A Wedding Expert: Wedding Website

Bride Tips from Dax Photography​:  Wedding Website.  This is a great way for couples to provide details of the event to the guests and to get more accurate RSVP's.  Many wedding sites allow you to build your own site within theirs that just has the basics (the knot, etc).  If you're feeling even more creative you can build your own from scratch...I'm a huge fan of the wordpress platform.  Check out what Jen and I did for ours to get ideas:  www.daxandjennifer.com It's a great resource on so many levels...in this day and age, every couple should have their own dedicated site!

Bride Planning Tips From A Wedding Expert: The First Look

Bride Tips From Dax Photography​:  The First Look.  Some couples choose to have a first look before the ceremony.  It allows couples more time to spend together the day of their wedding.  There are countless ways to do a first look but my favorite has to be the bride sneaking up behind the waiting groom...it's a beautiful and intimate moment when he turns around.  One of my favorite things that I've seen during the first look was a bride and groom who read letters to each other about how much they meant to one another and what this day and future meant to them.  It set the stage for a truly emotional and fantastic day.   If you choose to do a first look make sure you let your vendors know and if you have some ideas that you want to try or incorporate please let them know.  www.daxphotography.com