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Showing posts with label Photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Photography. Show all posts

Friday, February 3, 2012

Our Indiana Reception

Since the wedding was in Pennsylvania, most of my family couldn't make it.  So, we also did a reception in Indiana.  I don't think I posted this on my blog, but this is the invitation that was sent out for that:


Well, not exactly.  I obviously blacked out some information so that you can't go stalk my parents!  :)

The reception went really well.  It was calm, which was exactly what we wanted.  My dad roasted a hog and we had salads and sides and such.  And my mom ordered some sheet cakes from a local bakery.  Everything was delicious.  And we got to see a lot of my family and friends from Indiana (and Philip got to meet most of them for the first time!).  There weren't really set times, so people just came and went throughout the day.  It was nice that way because we could spend a little time with people before they'd leave and then new people would come in and we'd spend time with them before they left.  And so on. 

I don't have a whole lot of photos from that day.  I think we mostly forgot about photography and just had fun.  But, here are some photos that we did manage to snag.

Mom set up some of the pics that she had taken of the ceremony and reception and displayed them here.  There are also some leftover vanilla favors up there.  And our photo frame card box.  :)
This cake was far less expensive than the wedding cake, but somehow they were able to decorate it better -- smooth, not half-assed, doesn't look like it was done in 5 minutes before the delivery... I'm not even a big fan of frosting flowers, but the cake is pretty.  :)
This one makes me laugh because it could have been awkward.  Philip and I are sitting at a table with my high school sweetheart's parents and grandparents.  ;)
It was an absolutely beautiful fall day.  :)
Yeah, great photo right?!  I mostly just wanted to show what I was wearing that day!
My dad and his brother playing horseshoes.  :)
Technically, this was after the reception had ended, but Philip is just too cute for me not to post this.  ;)

Those paper lanterns and string lights (along with the rest of the decor) got used again at the Indiana reception.  We wanted it to look as close to the Pennsylvania reception as possible.  Mom and Dad even bought a tent (they'll get plenty of use out of it for future parties!). 

And, there you have it.  There wasn't any drama.  It wasn't formal (or even semi-formal).  It wasn't over the top.  But, it was wonderful.  
Posted by Lyn at 9:05 AM 0 comments
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Monday, January 30, 2012

The Things I Would Have Done Differently...

With all that went wrong, I honestly wish we hadn't done a wedding.  If I did have to do it over again, I would have changed a TON.  There are lots of things that didn't go as I had hoped.  Here is a list of things that I wish I would have done differently:

1.  I would have had the wedding in Indiana.  We had the wedding in Pennsylvania so that Philip's family could come which meant that a lot of my family couldn't come.  And, then a ton of Philip's family couldn't make it anyway.  And Philip's dad and stepmom left the reception early (despite them being the whole reason we had the wedding in PA).  I wish I would have done what I wanted to do originally and just had the wedding in Indiana.  Then I could've at least had most of my family there. 

Some people think that that would be selfish because then a lot of Philip's family couldn't make it.  Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words:


That, my friends, is every single family member that I had at our wedding.  That's my dad's sister and her husband, my parents, my sister, and her boyfriend.  So, only 4 of those people are actually my blood relatives.  I know if we would have had the wedding in Indiana, at least 4 of Philip's relatives would have been able to come.  What's unfair?  Especially when you consider that I am a lot closer to my family than Philip is to his! 

2.  I wouldn't have chosen the wedding party so soon.  I let tradition guide me in choosing the ladies next to me right after we got engaged.  If I would have waited a while, I would've seen that I didn't have to choose women to stand beside me.  My sister still would have been my maid of honor, but I probably would have chosen my "big brother" Brandon and another of my guy buds to be my bride's men.  

3.  I would've made sure to express my distaste for all things pink/girly to the photographer.  I certainly made it no secret that I hated the Pepto Bysmol reception photos.  I thought that it would've been clear from the burlap and books, the creamy colors, the whole look that I went for (!) that I wasn't a pink bride.  However, I guess that it wasn't, so I wish that I would've made sure that the photographer knew not to use pink flash lighting.  And made sure that he ate dinner with us so that he wouldn't miss getting photos of the speeches!  

4. If I had to do the wedding in Pennsylvania again, I wouldn't have done it at someone's house.  It made it just too easy for people to hide in the house instead of celebrating with us in the tent.  It also left us dependent on someone else (when to break down the tent, etc.), and I hate that.  Don't get me wrong.  I am thankful that Philip's aunt and uncle opened their home to us.  I would just do it differently if I had to do over again.   

5. I would stand up for myself.  I let too many people walk over me on my wedding day.  I wish I wouldn't have been so nice.  I wish I would have said, if you can't arrive on time, you don't get photos; if people want to leave, they are welcome to do so -- the cake will be cut when it's scheduled to be cut; etc.  

6. I would remember to unbustle my train for the ceremony!  I bustled my dress for the pre-ceremony photos and the first look so that it wouldn't be in the way.  Well, when the ceremony rolled around, I completely forgot to put it down!  It's not really a big deal, but I do wish I had some photos with it down!  It really is beautiful!  

7. I would have arrived earlier than Thursday night.  We had SO much to do in basically a day and a half.  I wish we would have had more time to get everything done!  I was really stressing in the days before the wedding!  And a lot of what I had prepared didn't get used/put out (bathroom baskets, toasting flutes, etc.).   

8. I would have pushed harder to get things done on time.  Our photos were rushed because we were running behind.  Especially the first look.  Even if we were running late, I wish we would've taken our time with those.  In the end, it didn't matter that we were on time since family was late for photos anyway.   

9. I wish we wouldn't have spent so much time, money, and energy.  Yeah, it really was beautiful, but in the end, it really was just one day.  Oh well!
Posted by Lyn at 12:28 PM 0 comments
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When I *Should* Have Had a Bridezilla Moment...

For the most part, our wedding day was incredibly happy.  I will forever cherish the memories of me walking down the aisle with my parents at my side to see my wonderful husband.  The photos of us with our wedding party will always make me smile.  And I will definitely never forget my dad wearing his tie around his head for most of our reception.  

However, there were several things that went wrong on our wedding day that weren't things that I could just forget.  I had thought about just leaving it alone and not blogging about this stuff, but this is my wedding blog and it wouldn't be honest to just leave out my true feelings.  

Our wedding ceremony was scheduled to start at 4:00pm.  All family members were supposed to arrive by 2:00pm for photos.  So, imagine my surprise when 2:30 arrived and part of Philip's family still hadn't arrived.  And then 3:00.  And then 3:30.  Still not there.

Philip continued to try to get a hold of his mom.  Finally he texted her and told her that if she didn't arrive immediately, she just wouldn't have any family portraits. Philip was embarrassed and apologizing to me that his own mother couldn't show up on time to take photos.  I was getting pissed.  

Philip's mom was actually in the last group of people to arrive at our ceremony.  Almost two hours late.  By the time she arrived we only had a few minutes to go until the ceremony started.  I was fuming so I went to finalize some things with Jon (our celebrant) while Philip explained to his mom and step-dad when they'd be walking down the aisle.

Here I am talking to Jon right before the ceremony started. 
After the ceremony, I was on cloud nine.  So we got pictures with Philip's mom and stepdad at the reception site.  When we got back to the tent, Philip's grandfather started in on us about cutting the cake.  He said that people wanted to leave so we needed to cut the cake. 

I spent months planning out our wedding day.  There was a schedule to it.  We had an ipod reception, so the music was timed based on the schedule I'd created.  So, I wanted to just tell him to tell people to leave then.  I mean, WTF?  If you want to leave an hour into the reception, why is that my problem?  But, I took a few deep breaths, found the right song on the ipod, and we cut the cake -- smiles and all.

After dinner, when we were trying to dance, Philip's family started breaking down the tables.  Mind you, the reception is still going on.  Our friends and family started leaving because they thought they were being rushed out.  We live on the other side of the country from all of the people at our wedding.  We see them very little.  So the fact that our reception was cut short  really upset me.  

After most of our guests left, Philip and I just gave up, went inside to change, and came out to help take down the decorations.   

Did we have a good time?  Yes.  The amazing thing is that through most of this, I was fine.  I was so happy about life that I just let it all slide.  It was only as we were cleaning up that I started to get angry.  And then the next day I was really irritated.  It's now been over 4 months, and I am still irritated by it. 

We spent so much time, energy, and money on that one day.  It was supposed to be one of the best days of our life.  Well, it fell flat.  Don't get me wrong.  I was totally happy that day.  I just can't look back on our wedding day without thinking about all the crap that went wrong.  I'm just glad that it's over and now I get to enjoy the rest of my life with my wonderful husband.

I guess my advice for all brides is just to try to let everything slide on your wedding day.  Just enjoy it while you can.  You've got plenty of time afterwards to think about all those irritating things that went wrong!  ;)  Kidding!
Posted by Lyn at 9:16 AM 0 comments
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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Vendor Review: Double H Photography

We used Double H Photography of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Howie Hartman was our photographer.  It was one of the first decisions we made about the wedding (after honeymoon destination and colors).  He is friends with Philip's aunt and uncle (where we had the reception).  They recommended him and I immediately stalked his website.  Then I told my mom about him and she stalked his website, too.  ;)  

We both liked what we saw, so I contacted him.  He was very friendly.  We signed a contract shortly after and sent in our deposit.  We spoke a few times throughout the planning process but there wasn't a whole lot to plan for since the photography was already a done deal.  

Howie was absolutely wonderful to work with on the day of.  He kept us laughing and was just a lot of fun.  There was drama but Howie stuck it out and made suggestions.  I loved his photo shoot location ideas (Bube's Brewery and in front of an old warehouse).  

At the end of the night, I asked Howie how long he would need to get me the disc of finished photos.  He told me four weeks.  At the one month mark, I emailed him to see if the photos were finished.  He told me that they would be ready in a week.  Two weeks later, he emailed me to let me know that the photos would be ready in a few more days.  A week later, I emailed him to find out if the disc had been mailed yet.  He emailed me a day or so later to tell me that he'd be putting them in the mail the next day.  That was a Sunday.  They arrived on that Friday.  Eight weeks after the wedding.  

I know that eight weeks isn't really bad for pro pics, but it was double the time that I was told it would take.  And I was getting the run around while waiting.  It was just irritating.  I know that Howie was super busy, but he should also know not to take on more than he can handle (and still be able to get customers what he's promised when he's promised them).  

Since the photos took double the time they were supposed to, my standards doubled.  That's just how I roll.  The editing wasn't spectacular and that's what I had expected after double the time.  Zits and other imperfections can clearly be seen in all of our closeup shots.  

Also, Howie took his dinner into the house to eat.  I didn't really care at the time.  However, when we got our pro-pics back and there weren't any pictures of the dinner set-up or our MOH and BM toasts, I was disappointed.  

I probably would have forgiven all of that had it not been for the pink.  I spent over a year planning the wedding.  I had a clear vision of how it should have been.  The tent set-up looked exactly as I had hoped.  I spent months working out how to get the perfect romantic glow in the tent.  I thought I had achieved that.  

The pro-pics definitely didn't show that.  I was going for more rustic-chic.  I loved the creams/whites and the burlap and the candles and the paper lanterns.  I didn't appreciate having pink spewed all over them.  I wish so much that Howie would have let me know what he was doing so that I could have put the kibosh on that.  

I just hate pink and now all of our reception photos are covered in it.  I don't remember specifically telling Howie that I do not like pink.  However, I think it's something he should have mentioned before going ahead with it.  I just didn't think it would come up.  I mean, I did all the decorating so I didn't think to mention to my vendors the colors that I don't like.  

Especially since I didn't think anyone would think this:

Photo courtesy of Howie Hartman of Double H Photography.

...would scream "PINK!"  Oh, well.  Note to all brides: Make sure your photographer knows all the things that you do not want, even if you don't think they're relevant!

Anyway, this review is hard for me.  I really did like working with Howie.  He's a great guy and he's a lot of fun.  However, he did mess up our reception photos.  And he took twice the quoted time to get the photos back to me (and kept stringing me along about it).  

I give Howie 3 out of 5 stars.  His great personality is really what saved him there.  Honestly, I do recommend Howie.  Just make sure you are very clear on everything that you want from him.  And whatever time frame he gives you, double it.  ;) 

I hope that Howie will either hire some full time assistants or stop taking on more than he can handle.  It's obvious that he's taken on more than he should since he can't complete orders in the time that he's quoted (and the fact that the photos he's producing are becoming less creative -- our detail and ring shots were bland).  But, Howie has a ton of potential.  I say give him a shot. 
Posted by Lyn at 10:24 AM 1 comments
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Friday, December 30, 2011

The End Has Arrived :(

It's that time, folks.  The end.  We partied a little longer, but Howie left before the end, so there are no more photos to show you.  We didn't have a send-off or anything.  We just kind of ended.  Don't worry, though.  I've still got some vendor reviews and some odds and ends to cover before I say farewell to my wedding blog.  But, as far as recaps go...

Photo courtesy of Howie Hartman of Double H Media.

...it's time to say adios.  Thanks for hanging in there with me.  I know it was a very long journey!  I've definitely enjoyed sharing it with all of you. 

If you missed anything throughout the recaps, you can catch up here: 

Posted by Lyn at 11:15 AM 0 comments
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We Get Our Groove On: Part IV

After the slow song, it was time for more real boogeying.  ;)  Let me tell you, it's rather difficult to get down in a wedding dress (those things are heavy!), but I did my best!

My sister borrowing the kids' sunglasses and microphone. 
He's pretty proud of that garter. 
This has to be one of my favorite photos.  My dad is just hilarious.
Learning the dance for Cotton Eye Joe. 
My sister and I know how to get down.  ;)
Here you can see just how filthy the bottom of my dress was.  Oops!
He's such a pimp.  ;)

Yes, we had a ridiculously good time partying down in our pink tent.  It was fantastic.  We did it right though.  No one got sick and my dress did come clean.  :)

Photos courtesy of Howie Hartman of Double H Media.

Miss something?  Catch up here:
We arrive in Pennsylvania
Posted by Lyn at 11:07 AM 0 comments
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We Get Our Groove On: Part III

After the tosses, a slow song came on.  One of my favorites: Blake Shelton's God Gave Me You.  So, everyone got on the dance floor and did their best 8th grade slow-dance shuffle.  :)


Photos courtesy of Howie Hartman of Double H Media.

Miss something?  Catch up here:
We arrive in Pennsylvania
Posted by Lyn at 10:23 AM 0 comments
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The Bouquet Toss!

Immediately after the garter toss, we rounded all the single ladies up and did the bouquet toss.  Unfortunately, it wasn't nearly as entertaining as the garter toss.  ;)  

Anyway, a little mood music:


I chose Bill Conti's Gonna Fly Now (that's the theme from Rocky).  Again, I thought it was cute (but I hoped that the bouquet toss wouldn't turn into a boxing match!).  


Thankfully, no boxing match erupted.  ;)  Unfortunately, more pink. I do love the paper lanterns, though.  :)

Photos courtesy of Howie Hartman of Double H Media.

Miss something?  Catch up here:
We arrive in Pennsylvania
Posted by Lyn at 9:54 AM 0 comments
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