#1 - Have you ever wondered how designers make a wedding look so…put together? The difference between a professionally-designed wedding, and one that is DIY can sometimes be startling! And for the bride and groom, the workload can seem disheartening. Learn insider tips from wedding designer Sarah Nadler, who shares her twelve years of planning experience with attendees, covering topics ranging from how to coordinate the day-of, choosing wedding colors that make the reception

Your flowers can set the tone of your wedding, and Pinterest can make choosing flowers seem overwhelming! Rest assured, it doesn’t have to be! Choosing the right florist and having the right selection of photos can make this part of planning easy and fun. Here are a few tips for finding your style and selecting your florist. 1. Determine your style. Pinterest it up! Create a board with your favorite photos. It’s OK to add a lot! Your favorite photos and style may change as yo

With Valentines' just around the corner, I wanted to take a moment and ask you what your love language is. Maybe you have no idea what I am talking about. Each of us has a primary love language, a way that makes us feel loved. You and your significant other might not have the same love language. Book: The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman Quality time, gifts, words of affirmation, touch, and acts of service are the five love languages. Now maybe you can guess what your primary

When preparing for your engagement session, try to think of ways to share your story. The couple above, for example, chose to wear the same outfits they wore on their first date. They also included the family dog. (I LOVE including dogs in photos during an engagement session and/or on the wedding day). First, if time permits, maybe consider a second outfit. Having options increases the diversity. One outfit can be dressy and the other can be more casual. Along with this, may

In effort to help brides who are looking for specific types of venues, I am creating an ever-growing list of venues that I have personally visited/photographed. If you have questions about these venues from a photographer's point of view, feel free to message me. Indoor: Portland City Grill - Portland, OR https://portlandcitygrill.com/ Outdoor/Indoor: The Water Oasis - Newberg, OR http://thewateroasis.com/ Ainsworth House - Portland, OR http://ainsworthhouse.net/ Gray Gables

In effort to help brides who are looking for specific types of vendors, I am creating an ever-growing list of vendors that I have personally met. I also keep an updated list on my website at: stephaniefordphotography.com/preferredvendors Cake & Cupcakes Sewell Sweets - Catherine Sewell https://www.facebook.com/SewellSweets/ Chalkboard Artist Artful.Virgo - Lisa Peppard https://www.facebook.com/artful.virgo/ Desserts Tres Belle Cookies - Michelle Barnes https://www.facebook.co

Wedding planning can be confusing and hard, like really hard for a lot of couples. Sure, we've all had some sort of thought about what our wedding day should look like thanks to rom-com movies and Pinterest but who would have thought that it involves so many logistics like contracts, outlines and timelines? That's where I come in. Hi! My name is Jenny Dversdal and I own Daisy May Events, LLC. I am a wedding coordinator but more like your wedding chaos coordinator/extraordinai

The easiest way to answer this question is when there is glowy light! What is glowy light? Glowy light is light which flatters. This type of light happens usually earlier in the morning ( just after sunrise) or during golden hour (hour to 2 hours before sunset). So why do I as a photographer recommend this glowy light? Remember how I said it flatters. This light which doesn't cast awkward shadows on the face or other parts of the body. Midday light tends to be more direct/har

Group portrait time can be overwhelming. But having a plan and a list can help keep us all on point. And obviously not all families are the same. There will be more groupings in some cases than others. Some families have tricky family dynamics where certain family members don't get along. Informing the photographer of this ahead of time is best. This is just a tool to help you plan for who should be included in the formal portrait time. And if you can put the names of each fa

Recently I just started something new! A FB group just for my past and future brides. You might be wondering why. If you are a past or future bride of Stephanie Ford Photography, you may have already received an invitation if we are FB friends. If not, please come join us @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/341210823332912/ First, I want to get to know my brides better! I am definitely not as introverted as I was growing up. I would love to see what is going on in your life AN

How long do family formals take? Well that depends on bunch of variables. Here are some tips that can help this go smoothly and quickly: 1) Ask your family members to be nearby at the appropriate time (whether it be after the first look or after the ceremony). Have a specific area where they are to be at a specified time. Tracking down that one person for a group picture is a time killer. 2) Have a family member who knows everyone be point person. They can quickly find to the

In the past, I've been asked why I include an engagement session in my wedding packages. Some couples have explained they won't need one because a friend or family member already did some pictures for them. Here are few reasons why I believe it is important to have an engagement session with your wedding photographer. 1. Establish relationship. Prior to the wedding day, there is a series of communication touch points. Most of this happens via email or phone. But one of these

Maybe you have never heard the phrase "unplugged ceremony." An unplugged ceremony is where guests are asked to leave their cell phones turned off and put away during the wedding. Yes, we live in a social media world. I know this. However, I believe there are several benefits to having an unplugged ceremony. 1. Your guests will be present in the moment if they aren't trying to capture pictures/video. 2. Guests cell phones won't be in the photographers pictures. And vice versa.

In the earlier days of my business, some potential clients would ask for packages without a second shooter. This was an effort to save money. Part of me understood their point of view. But the photographer/business owner in me wanted say, you are missing out! Here are some reasons why you NEED a second shooter at your wedding: 1. One photographer cannot be everywhere at once. A second shooter is able to cover another area while main photographer is occupied. Example: main pho

Maybe the word timeline has you silently freaking out. Maybe you have no idea where to start. I am here to help! Here are some tips to help you get started. If you are working with a photographer, I would recommend talking to them about how much time they would suggest for each portrait portion. The purpose of the timeline is to keep everyone on the same page: wedding planner, photographer, bridal party, etc. It is the wedding day game plan! 1. Start with ceremony time and an

Last week I talked about a bride and groom "first look." Whether or not you decide to do a first look with your future bride/groom, here's something else to think about. A first look with your mom and/or dad. Can be equally emotional. Maybe you have your mom helping you get ready. Whether it is zipping or buttoning your dress. Or perhaps putting on your veil. These are also great pictures. So perhaps doing a first look with your father then, if he is walking you down the aisl

Have you heard the term "first look" and wondered what that is? In today's wedding world, a "first look" is an photo opportunity for the bride and groom to see each other before the ceremony and do some portraits. It is a special time between the bride and groom that sometimes comes with some emotions that are just precious. So what happens in a first look? Once the location has been chosen, I have bride approach the groom (who is facing the opposite direction). Once she is c

As a photographer, I am on a lot of social media pages for business purposes. A LOT. Some are for photographers. Others are for brides and vendors, etc. In planning for my next year of business, I have been wondering how to help my clients more. One of the questions that popped into my head was "what do brides wish they had done differently?" Here were the top 10 responses: 10. Rent the items you won’t use again. There is a temptation to purchase things cheaper than renting

Newly engaged?! Excited? Nervous? Realizing that there is all these decisions to make before "I do"? Stop. Take a breath. Take another. All right. Step #1 is to have a game plan! Before you make any decisions, the two of you should decide on a budget for your wedding. This will influence every choice from here. A cool resource for helping you think about what you will spend money on and how much it will cost: Wedding Cost Estimator Have a budget decided on? Awesome! Now what?

It is amazing to me that I have been in business a full year as Stephanie Ford Photography! Such an amazing learning experience. I won't say that I have loved every single moment of it. But I have loved most of my first year as a photographer. During this first year in business, I have done 16 weddings and roughly 14 engagements/family/senior/styled shoots (from Jan to Sept). It has been a busy year! Before you look at those numbers and think "yes, that is busy", there is mor