MARCH 2010 :

From our Photography Team’s desk:  

Sometimes……brides will call us and ask: “Why do some of my wedding photos look……washed out?    Well, that answer is easy.  It is only because one of the 10 or more friends and family members, with their little “point and shoot” digital cameras…..were flashing…..at the very same time. That’s why.  No other reason.

We love people, and we love when we all have a great time at your wedding.  We also don’t really care how many cameras are there, (obviously), ….BUT:  The more cameras that are there….blasting away at the very same time that our camera is shooting your wedding photos….will ruin your wedding images. It makes no difference who is shooting your wedding, or how good their camera equipment is, or how good their “Photoshop” program is.  Once your “original” image is blasted, (spelled OVEREXPOSED), it’s all over…for that frame.  There’s no bringing it back.  We tell everyone that.  Some listen…many don’t.  Remember….they’re your wedding images.  You’re paying us….and no one else…to shoot them.   Your friends and families all mean well …but don’t really realize that they are doing you much more damage than good by blasting away all of those flashes at the same time…..even after we have asked them not to. It’s for your benefit……not ours.

The flashes don’t really affect anything during the bright daytime hours unless they are standing very close to you.    When it does make a very damaging difference……is early morning…..OR SUNSET!  REMEMBER:  ANY OTHER FLASHES GOING OFF, AT THE SAME TIME AS OURS…DURING SUNSET…….WILL DO LOTS OF DAMAGE TO YOUR WEDDING IMAGES.  NO TWO WAYS ABOUT IT. We provide you with a NON copyrighted CD of your photos.  YOU can print as many photos as you want.   You can email them, Facebook them…..everything!   Why on earth would you want to risk your wedding images for no good reason?  Again, we really don’t care, but please remember:  The weddings that come out photographically the best…..are the weddings where there are no other cameras.   It’s that simple.  We don’t want to be the ‘bad guy” or “mean” to your guests.   YOU…..can be.  We….shouldn’t have to be.  We…don’t want to be.  WE…only want you to have the very best wedding images possible.  We need your help to achieve that!

MAKE UP!

Along with the “flash” subject….we would like to re-visit the make-up issue again.   We know that your wedding images are very important to you.   We want that too.   Having said that…..doing any kind of photos on a bright, UV15, hot, sunny beach…….is a hell of a lot different….than any other kind of photography. You really need to wear make-up, and your make-up really should be applied by a Professional.  It’s that simple. Here’s why:  A Professional make-up Artist will only use “Studio grade” make-up that is made for the beach type or bright lights type environment that you are going to be exposed to.   They aren’t just going to use something off of the shelf. There is a HUGE difference! You will look calm, cool and composed throughout your entire wedding day……..and what else is there?    You’ll be beautiful!

Listen…..we want you to be HAPPY!    Please let us do that.  We need your help!

February 2010

WHEN is the BEST time….for my wedding???

I can’t even begin to tell you how many times we get asked this question!   Actually…it’s a good one!  (Only…we….can’t answer that for you.)

The reason….is because it is a very subjective thing.    It all depends on one thing:  What time……you see yourself in your photos……getting married!

Sunset here,  books up the fastest year round.  Key West sunsets…are legendary, and for good reason.   A word of caution however.   IF….you need to see the actual sun in your sunset photos……get married between November 1rst and the end of February.   It’s pretty much that simple.

The sun….moves in relation to the earth…..daily.   Around December 21rst each year, we experience the shortest day of the year…and a sunset that is furthest to the south.   By June 21rst…..the longest day of the year, (and the latest sunset as well), the sun has traveled it’s furthest to the north……away from the beaches.

You still get the nice colors and romantic “natural lighting”….but not the sun itself.   Doesn’t seem to matter.   For some people….sunset is the time that they want.  Not everyone however.

There is a whole other group who only want morning! Why?   To “get it over with” ….of course!   Not making this up, that’s what they really say!   It’s not so much that getting married is an inconvenience…….it’s more that they are the type who are way overly nervous. They just don’t want to sit in a hotel room all day….all freaked out!  Here’s a story:  Not long ago….we actually had a groom that was calling us every 10 minutes or so “just checking in” to the point where we had to ask him to please…stop checking in!   There was no reason for it…and he was making us crazy!  When we picked up the bride and her mom at their hotel……the bride was a mess.  A MESS.   She looked “perfect”….but she could barely speak she was so nervous! She actually told us that she had only slept 2 hours over the past 3 nights…..and that she had spent part of “last night” ….in the hospital emergency room…..for anxiety attacks”! So….here’s the funny part. Whenever a bride or groom….(but it’s almost always the bride)…tells us how nervous she is…..I make it a point to ask them….why?   “Why…are you THIS nervous?”    Their answer…..every single time…is…..”I DON’T KNOW!!!!!!!

So…back to morning weddings.  Here’s how it goes on just about every beach, no matter where it is…but especially here.   Very few people are on the beach….before 11 am.   Almost no one.  Sometimes…it is no one.   From 11 am. to about 5 or 6 pm…..is the busiest time.   This is “seasonally adjusted” of course.   By that I mean that there are quite a few months out of the year where even during the height of the day…(and the sun)….there really aren’t people around where we perform weddings.   During a holiday period or during “spring break”…..it’s going to be more populated.   NOT PACKED.   Just more people roaming around.  Then around an hour before sunset…..they all “vaporize” back to their hotels or whatever to shower….and go downtown for the evening.  That’s how it seems to work pretty much year round.

Mid Day weddings: There is still another whole group of couples who will only consider doing their wedding…..when it’s the brightest and sunniest out.   Mid day.  That’s it.  NO other time will do!  They want the sun, the sand and the water in their photos….bright! So…everyone is different.

No matter what time you choose…..WEAR MAKEUP!!!!!!!!!!! I’m going to devote an entire blog to this subject sometime really soon…..most likely as we get closer to summer.   Listen…..you are getting married….on a beach.   NOT…in a controlled lighting situation.

Consider this:

1)   It’s MEGA BRIGHT!   Every little dimple or line….is going to show like crazy…..mid day.   Morning or evening are much better….and dimmer lighting prevails.

2)   Regardless of when you are getting married……if you want great photos…..PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE…….WEAR MAKEUP……have it applied…..BY A PROFESSIONAL!!   Why?   Because…..they use “Studio Grade” makeup.   It looks better under bright lighting, it doesn’t “shine” as easily….and even if you are perspiring….spelled SWEATING, you will still look great!

3)   NO ONE SHOULD GO OUT DRINKING…..the night BEFORE your wedding.  NO ONE.   YOU…and your GROOM ESPECIALLY!    DO NOT!     Here’s why: Believe me when I tell you….Key West….can handle it’s liquor…..a lot easier than you can.   From a photographer’s perspective….I can’t tell you how many times that I’ve arrived to shoot a wedding….and thought that a bunch of raccoons…were there!    Everyone…..had dark rings under their eyes, bags too.   They “looked” hung over.   The camera only shoots what it sees.  Don’t forget that.   Sometimes…the groom “needs” to have a “few quick ones” before pulling the trigger.  They can’t hurt….right?   WRONG!    Those few “quick ones” to calm his nerves…..will definitely come back to haunt him…..when he hits that bright beach,  THE SUN…and the warm temperature!   (It’s never pretty.)    The moral of the story:  DON’T DRINK THE NIGHT BEFORE…..and DEFINITELY don’t drink…right before your wedding.   It’s up to you.

So…there ya have it!    Pick your poison!    If you want pretty much TOTAL privacy for your ceremony…..there is only one time to do it…….SUN…..RISE. Sunrise….regardless of the time of year….is without a doubt….the most private time.  Why?   Because everyone else on the island…..is sleeping!    It comes early though!   Usually around 6-7 am. depending upon the date.   Sunset….is next.

Only you can decide what time works best…for you.   What is in your “mind’s eye”.   Whenever that time is…..will be the time that feels the best….for you.

Ray

January 2010

Greetings from sunny…and (usually) warm Key West, Florida!

We will be doing little articles for you on this brand new blog page monthly.   It will contain, hopefully, valuable and helpful information for you including hints on what to expect during different months of the year and especially…..getting married…..on a beach…and in the bright sunlight!

First of all, though, and most importantly, we would all like to thank all of our really great clients.   2009 was, to say the least, a very “unusual” year for the wedding business in general.  For us, however, it ended up being extremely rewarding…and successful!   We not only ended up performing more weddings and commitments than ever before in our history, but we performed quite a few ceremonies for international guests as well!   When we reviewed our year, we realized that we married couples from England, Canada, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, India, Singapore….and The People’s Republic of China! We would like to especially like to thank all of them for putting their “long distance” trust in us.   To all of our past clients, as always, we want you to know that we appreciate all of you, and we know that we would be nothing…without you.   We never forget that.  2009…..was a fantastic year for us!  Our biggest and best ever, in fact…thanks to you!   Thank you!

“Hopefully helpful” hints from us: Listen.   Let’s be honest.  Brides….dream about their wedding day from the time that they are around 3 years old!  Grooms….are thinking about the beer and food …..afterwards! As a man, and now dealing with weddings and couples every single day…..I need to tell you girls one thing:   Grooms…..cannot and should not plan your wedding!!!  NO, NO….NO! You….might think that it’s really “cute” that “honey” wants to organize the wedding……but it’s not. Grooms…..aren’t into it.   Take that to the bank.   And if they are honest……they’ll admit it to you.  And now…a little story to emphasize this hint: We had a bride call us all excited to book her wedding with us…..on the 4th of July.   We explained that on the 4th of July….there would be lots of people, and pretty  girls on the beach….with little thongs and bikinis on.  Much more so…than just about any other day of the year.   She….didn’t care.    On the morning of her wedding….she told us that she decided to bring “some decorations” and a “little arch” of her own to set up on the beach.   Uhhhhh…….we asked her who “was in charge” of setting all of that stuff up?”   Her reply:  “Oh, it’s so cute….my fiance is going there an hour earlier and doing it all….himself.”   Oh-oh.   We told her that we really didn’t think that was a good idea.  She…begged to differ with us.   OK.    Fast forward:   She…was a little late coming out of her hotel to our van.  When she arrived, she asked us to “go and make sure that everything was set up”.   We had a very busy schedule that day, it was in the 90’s, and she was late…..but we went up on the beach to look.   There was the little arch, and the decorations….laying on the beach…..amid beach blankets and towels.  But….where was the groom?    Why….he had taken his white jacket off, and his shirt off, and he was strutting back and forth across the beach, in front of the little bikini clad tourists….talking on his cell phone!   When we went up to him and asked what in hell he was doing, and why everything wasn’t set up…..his answer was:  “I don’t know what to do.  I don’t know where she wants this stuff.” Enough said.     Of course, this is an extreme example….but a true one!     We have others.    It’s not that men are stupid.   Trust me….that’s definitely not where I’m coming from.  It’s that men…..really aren’t into weddings.   They aren’t.   They’re in to you.  They want to be married (usually), but purely technically speaking……they are not into weddings.   FYI:  Men aren’t into hanging curtains either.   Same thing.  They aren’t into shopping either.   Same thing.   YOU….are the one who can visualize your wedding.    Not only can he not visualize it….he doesn’t want to either! So brides…..if you really want to have a happy wedding……you call us!   We’ll work with you….and he’ll be much happier!

NEW FOR 2010!:

We’ve “enhanced” our “White Glove Service” package!   Now…our newest (and very popular) all inclusive package…..includes an “in your hotel room” professional Hair designer and make up artist as well!  You asked for it….you got it!

NEW for 2010!:  Additional photograhy is now available for before your wedding at your hotel, after your wedding at the reception, etc.  At reduced rates, too!

NEW for 2010!:  ”Chairs ONLY” are now available!    Now, if you don’t really need our entire Decor option, you can have as many chairs only as you need delivered to the beach, set up, and then removed again after your wedding….very inexpensively!

NEW for 2010!:  BLACK & WHITE weddings!   Key West is so full of color, especially during the winter months, that we’ve been kind of reluctant to provide BLACK & WHITE or Sepia toned weddings, but we’re going to try it!   We will provide some examples for you shortly so that you can decide which format that you would like.

NEW for 2010!:  Our super popular $239 KEY WEST ISLAND WEDDINGS….are now available Every day, 7 days a week…..INCLUDING SUNSET!   Same price…..all the time (except for a couple of holidays)!

NEW for 2010!:    We are now super-excited about our brand new alliance with a great developing resort complex up in the KEY LARGO/ISLAMORADA area!  This area is beautiful….but we’ve had difficulty over the years finding “the perfect place” up there…..where weddings are actually allowed.  Well…we’ve found it!    We have just partnered up with the ALL NEW Holiday Isle Resort in Islamorada, right on the Atlantic ocean….to be their EXCLUSIVE wedding company!   We can, beginning right now, book anything from a simple beach wedding right on the water to a full blown event with catering and bar facilities up there…..at Weddings to Go! affordable prices!   Even hotel accomodations for everybody as well!   **Especially for our Miami/Ft. Lauderdale clients…..if your guests don’t want to drive all the way down to Key West…..NOW……we can be 2 HOURS CLOSER for you!!  Available now for bookings, keep checking our websites for updates!   We will have an entire page devoted to this fantastic new location coming soon!

And please remember:   Weddings to Go Key West is a year round company.  We aren’t just here “part time” during season.   We are also one of the very few companies who are licensed with both the City of Key West as well as Monroe County for your protection.

Check out our new “Monthly Blog” page every month for helpful hints specifically designed for the Florida Keys and it’s climate.   If you haven’t already….put us in your “favorite places” section. It’s faster!