So you decided to get married: Part 2...Wedding Shoes

I don't know if I should admit this or not...but Im really not much of a shoe girl. I have shoes because I don't want my feet to get dirty. But when it comes to picking them out, its kind of a "as needed basis." If I need a pair of sandals, I go and look for a pair of sandals. If I need tennis shoes (if you remember my tennis shoe debaucle here, here, and here) then I go out and find some. But I know there are some people for whom shoes are an obsession! And that's cool. Shoes can definitely make or break an outfit.

On your wedding day, shoes are just as important! Maybe even more so. As a wedding photographer, I love to see shoes that push the limit and are outside of the box in terms of colors and style.  They tell me a little bit about your personality...hmmm, will your rock some cute flats, or go all out with the embellished stilleto's?  Its all about personal taste, what you like, and most importantly, what you will feel comfortable in.

What comes first? The dress or the shoes? Well, for my purposes, I am posting shoes first? Why? Because in my search on Pinterest, I found some smoking hot shoes, that just might make me turn into a shoe kinda girl after all!

Traditional wedding shoes are usually white, satin and medium or high heel. That’s usually because most wedding dresses are white, long and of a satin-like material. But you might want to do things differently...just because the majority go with the white dress and white shoes does not mean you have to. And as a photographer, if you choose to sport a pair of blue high heeled stilletos, more power to you! Check out these styles!




Certain details require your personal attention, so don’t leave it to others. You spend so much time perfecting your wedding dress, you must spend at least a quarter of that time deciding your wedding shoes.

Go ahead, start the beginning of your new life as a married girl with the best pair of shoes that you can buy. All eyes will be riveted on you when you make your grand entrance and when you are confident in what you are wearing you will have the courage to move on and walk confidently along the aisle.
(In fact, that cute pair of pink bedazzled keds? One of my brides wore those as she walked down the aisle! These shoes were all her and she worked the look all the way to her groom!)



Generally brides wear white shoes but you don't have to. Subtle and elegant colors will only enhance your outfit. Ivory colored shoes are a great option. Or blue, red and pink. The choice for wedding shoes is one and many and you can choose between silver stilettos, white wedges or flip flops.



I found a few pair of shoes that I am like "Yes, I want to rock that look." Haha! Maybe I should get married again. Or maybe, I can just buy the darn things and rock the look with my camera photographing your wedding! Or...just maybe...Im wearing them as I type this article...;)

 

Everybody will be looking at you; your dress, your hair, your make up, your accessories and your shoes. Your shoes can be both comfortable and fashionable, but only push the fashion in as much as you can bare it. If you can't rock the shoes with confidence, choose another pair that you can!

And don't forget about your best girls standing next to you at the front.  They want to rock a look too...
So go out there, and find yourself a pair of shoes for your wedding day!

Oh and lest I forget...men's shoes are equally important as the bridal shoes. The same rules apply though. Work the shoes, but feel comfortable and confident while you're doing it!~



vendors/highlights:  ecrater.com, Style Me Pretty, Nina Shoes, Weddingiluv, Citified, StephanieFay, Light in the Box, Zappos, Kate Spade, DSW, Hey Lady, Nordstrom

mens shoes: BergdorfGoodman, Gucci, Dies Van Noten, Burburry, Prada, Calvin Klein

Next? Gowns, Bridesmaids dresses,  Flowers, Tuxedos, Groomsmen/Bridesmaids gifts

eyefull: So you decided to get married...Part 1:

Part 1:  Rings and Venues

So you have finally decided to make the jump and get married!
Congratulations!!
I am so excited for you.
I remember when I got engaged and started planning my wedding...oh so many years ago. It was exciting, overwhelmings, lots of discussions and planning.  It was like having a second job. Every weekend we were going out to do something wedding related.  Wedding have come a looong way since then. Honestly, if I were to get married today my wedding would look so different than it did (clear my throat)  years ago :D.


I am loving Pinterest. Have you checked it out? It is a great place to find inspiration and ideas on a variety of endeavors, from house decorating, crafts, food, and YES Weddings!!  You "pin" and "repin" your favorites to your own boards and then you can go back and review them, move them around, or whatever.  It has been helping me to find my style, my likes and dislikes.


If you haven't already, choosing your wedding rings can be an amazing activity. It gives you both a chance to talk about what you like what you don't like and the style you like.  This might be one of the first indicators of how your wedding and reception will proceed, your decorating styles and your tastes from food to bow ties!  Wedding rings range from a few hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars. So its good to set your budget early to make sure that you don't go over when you are out shopping. There are so many different styles to choose from. Below are just a few that I found on Pinterest in preparation for this article.



You can go sleek and classic with simple wedding bands, or do something bold. Its all up to you. The couple.


The next step in planning your wedding, would be securing your venues for both the church and the reception site and also your photographer. As an Arizona portrait and wedding photographer, of course I would LOVE for you to choose me to photograph capture your day.  Realistically, your photography budget may be between 20-30% of your entire budget, so when you spend that much money for one vendor, you want to make sure you choose someone who you get along with, who you like as a person, and whose style of photography best reflects what you want.  That's right, I said "style".  Photographers are not cookie cutters. We all have different ways of approaching our craft, from equipment to editing.  Once you view some wedding photographers websites and blogsites on line, make sure that you speak to them, if not in person, at least on the telephone.  That will tell you a lot about personality and vision toward wedding photography, and whether or not you think you can get along with them for the next 6-9 months as you plan your wedding~! Here are a few basic questions you might want to keep in mind when discussing your photography needs:

1) How long have you been in business?
2) How many weddings have you photographed?
2) Can I see photos of the weddings? Both candid and posed?
3) Do you have any referrals that I can call?
4) What is your approach toward wedding photography and protratiture?
5) What is your turn around time for photos?
6) What is your backup plan?

VENUES:

Whether you choose an indoor venue, an outside venue, or something inbetween, the details will help what make your wedding day wonderful. Choose a competent and established wedding planner to help you plan your day. (In the weeks to come, I will be interviewing wedding planners in the Phoenix area or their business and their vision when helping a bride plan their wedding).   Wedding planners that I have followed through FB, Blueprint Affairs, LLC or Karen Doan Events do an absolutely gorgeous job of planning events from start to finish. Check out these cool wedding venues. Some are elaborate and some are simple backyards, but its the details that make it special don't you think?



As you can see, though each venue is different, the use of light, both natural and articifical, coupled with tiny details and special touches create the ambience on your wedding day. If you are a country girl, you might choose a barn wedding and have details that reflect your love of country. If you want a more traditional wedding, glass and china, might be what you decide will make your day special.   Even if you are having an english style of wedding...all of these will play into WHERE you have your wedding and the TIME of your event.  But, whatever you decide, make sure it reflects you...You and your fiancee. THAT is what will make your day special and memorable.  If you are looking for someone to help you fine tune details with creative flair, contact Creative Occasions, they specialize in taking your vision and making it reality with colors and creativity! 



Vendors: marcusdesigninc.blogspot.com, i01.i.aliimg.com, Karen Doan Events, Blue Print Affairs, Creative Occasions, Style Me Pretty

Up next? Flowers, wedding dresses, shoes, hair, grooms tuxes, bridesmaids/grooms men and gifts!!

eyelets: Price Guides

As a Arizona portrait and wedding photographer, I really want to try keep up on the trends in the photographey business.  That does not just mean that I want to stay sharp skill wise, but also I want to stay on top of things with my product and media management.

This project has been a labor of love. It all started with a conversation I had with another photographer about making automated price guides. When I priced them through a another company, I couldn't afford it. But then I remembered that I had some templates that I had purchased from The Album Cafe and I thought that I might be able to make my own automated price guides using the templates and Issuu.  You can see the automated portraited price guide here and the wedding guide here. 

But that wasn't enough!

I really wanted to have the guides printed.

Again, what I thought would be an easy endeavor turned out to be more difficult.

I figured out a way that I could take panels from the auto guide and put them onto a 4 panel front/back card.  However, the company kept sending it back to me because my dimensions were off! ACH!  About 10 tries later, I finally got it.

I had them printed and I cannot wait to start giving these out to clients.





I am so excited! They are 4 panel, 4x4.5 accordian cards. They look fabulous!!





Digitally printed on standard paper....the texture and feel of these are amazing. They come in batches of 25...so I have 25 of each style. And when those are done, I will get 25 more. This is how you build a business people! Little bit at a time! :D



I am looking forward to increasing my boutique style with custom bags and boxes. From start to finish, you will have a wonderful experience with this studio!

eyefull: News ALERT

My wedding photography deal seen here is EXTENDED to include ANY of the first seven brides, whether your wedding is in 2011 0r 2012~

Doesn't matter! 2011 or 2012...be the first seven to receive the wedding photography deal as outlined in the post.

Book a wedding with me and be one of the first seven do it...and receive some extra goodies as well!  Including a free guest book!  Check it out here

Open publication - Free publishing - More book

eyelets: eyefull spotlight

As a new Arizona Wedding Photographer trying to make a business out here in the Valley of the Sun, imagine my surprise when he administrator of a blog called Disney Weddings emailed me a few weeks ago and wanted to know about a resource that was available for photographers and other vendors with Disney Weddings.
I am from California.
I love California.
And I love Disneyland and would be thrilled to be able to photograph engagements and weddings in and around the Disney property in Anaheim, CA.   

Luckily, I had just finished photographing Wayne and Jamie's engagment and I had some photos to share.



My post is up here, go check it out.

Note:  Carly, the administrator, is in no way affiliated with the Disney company, just an avid Disney lover providing a service.

i love weddings. LOVE THEM! arizona|california|and wherever my camera takes me!

 
I love weddings.
<3 them.
LOVE!
And I want to shoot more of them.
Being an Arizona Wedding Photographer has been great. I have been able to travel to California and Utah for weddings as well, and would love more opportunities to capture beautiful weddings for couples at an affordable price.
Beautiful brides.
Handsome grooms.
Everyone there to support and love the couple. Call me a romantic, but I love weddings! So here's the deal....

"The eyefull Wedding Rules" are simple:

Your wedding MUST take place in 2011.
Must be wanting to do a first look
You cannot enter if you have already booked with me.

To enter:

It is really simple, the first three brides who contact me, has a consult regarding their wedding day photography AND schedules their wedding with eyefull, will receive their wedding day photography for HALF OFF...yep, I said 1/2 off...do I need to say it again?...thats 50% OFF the package they choose.

The 4th bride will receive 40% off
The 5th bride will receive 30% off
The 7th bride will receive 20% off

(open to anyone in the United States, but does NOT include travel fees.)

So you will get HALF OFF the wedding package you choose. HALF!

Email dawniele@eyefullphotography.net or call 520.483.6913.

All eyefull wedding dates are extremely valuable, so a deposit will be required to hold your eyefull wedding date. All weddings MUST occur within 2011 and cannot have already booked with me.

I am so excited.
I <3 weddings. LOVE them~



Give me a call. Tell Your Friends.