I’m a big fan of using retro and vintage inspiration for event design (plus you can find a lot of decor at flea markets or eBay for very reasonable prices).

I love the simple tile runner of this table with bowls of floating flowers. It looks so effortlessly chic.

I love the 60’s style of this bride.

I love these bridesmaids dresses– slightly 60’s and very practical. I’d wear this dress again!

A polka-dot tea length dress? Too cute.

I love how the bright 60’s colored flowers pop against the color of the bike.

Images: 1. Artfool 2. John Dolan 3 & 5. Vallentyne Photography 4. Jeff Newsom

It finally feels like fall in Santa Barbara…

Photo by Jeff Newsom.

Sexy, silver, and strappy– what’s not to like? Shoes by Rene Caovilla, photo by Ryan Phillips Photography.

Yes, that’s fire! Photo by Vallentyne Photography.

These shoes are so adorable, I the love the bow on the toe of the shoe. Shoes by Valentino, photo by Katie Moos.

I love dance shots from weddings. They’re always my favorite candid shoots of the day.

Plus, when the bride and groom dance, everyone dances.

And after all the work of wedding planning who doesn’t need to cut loose?

Images: 1. Halberg Photographers 2. Cameron Ingalls 3. Jeff Newsom

I love the idea of the couple including their dog as party of their wedding celebration.

Whether acting as ring bearer or just apart of photos, it can be an easy personalizing touch to any wedding.

When planning to include your dog in your wedding day make sure somebody is in charge of taking care of your dog and you have an exit plan for when they’ll need to go home or to the kennel. And keep in mind, if you’re dog doesn’t do well around crowds, then including them in your day may not be such a good idea.

In which case, an m&m portrait might be a good solution (I was a little weirded out when the face m&ms came out, but here it is used in a cute, non-creepy way).

Images: 1. Katie Moos 2. Jose Villa 3. Jeff Newsom

Christian Louboutin. Fabulous.

Photos by Ryan Phillips Photography.

I love when a bride and groom have fun posing with their getaway transporation. Here again, is another place to add a personal touch to your wedding day…

Hot vintage sportscar and a hot couple, need I say more?

Baby blue bike and a just married sign, such a lovely detail.

Fun couple + Vespa = one of a kind photo

A tandem bike? Even better!

1. Halberg Photographers 2. Elizabeth Messina 3. Red Photo Co. via Snippet & Ink 4. Jose Villa

What’s better than one pair of hot shoes? How about 5 pairs?

Photo by Melissa Musgrove.

Today’s photo comes from Halberg Photographers. I love the contrast in color and texture between the black patent leather pumps and the yellow/orange calla lillies.

Our final post for photographer’s week comes from Elizabeth Messina:

Weddings are such beautiful rituals, the celebration of life & love with family and close friends. As a photographer, I feel so blessed to be included in many of the most intimate moments at a wedding celebration; it is an honor and a tremendous responsibility.

I have learned many things over the years, one of the most important is to remember to breathe, to look around and feel the moments as they unfold, there is magic all around you, laughter, light coming through the trees, your dress and your new husband looking at you, flowers on tables, the very ones you spent hours deciding on.

All of these things together, little and big, are celebrating the love you have found with another human being. Even the things that go less than perfectly become part of your history, your story.

Embrace all of it and as your wedding day comes to an end, remember it is not an “end” at all but rather the most wonderful beginning. You will take three very important things with you: your husband, your memories, and your photographs of that moment in time.

As you are deciding on a photographer to capture your wedding it’s important that you really connect with their work and more importantly with the photographer as a person. The more at ease you feel in the presence of your wedding photographer, the more beautiful your photos will be.

Your wedding images are in many ways family heirlooms that you will share with your children and your children’s children. There are so many wonderful photographers, in every price range, so be thoughtful and don’t worry, it’s a little like finding the right man; you only need one….

Our next post comes from Harper of Harper Smith Photography:

Photojournalism is defined as using photography to tell a story and document life. Capturing a moment in time without interfering or changing it’s course. Objective, honest, and above all else…incredibly real.

The root of my photography comes from a strong photojournalism background which lends a unique approach to the weddings I shoot today.  I’m a fly on the wall, an outside observer, moving unnoticed and stepping in at just the right moment to capture just the right shot.

Often these are moments you wouldn’t normally expect because they’re natural and un-posed. The nervous bride having a private moment alone in the limousine after all her bridesmaids have exited before her. These moments – which maybe awkward or embarrassing at the time – often turn out to be the most beautiful, intimate photos in retrospect. That’s why one of the biggest challenges of photographing in this style is earning the trust of the bride and groom so that on their wedding day they do let their guard down and trust that you’re capturing the images they never expected but always dreamed of.

I fully encourage couples to have their photographers arrive 3-4 hours before the wedding for this reason. The unscripted, unrehearsed moments that capture the real, raw emotion of the day often take place during this time.

I also encourage the bride and groom to let go, live the moment, and pretend there isn’t a camera around.

{Editor’s note}

Harper actually shot my wedding and I had to share one of my favorite images she captured of me that day. My mom had brought some champagne for me to sip on while I was getting ready and Julie Morgan, the thoughtful makeup artist that she is, brought straws with her so I could drink without messing up my lipstick. This is the un-posed, all natural, photo Harper got of me:

Our next post is from Tim Halberg of Halberg Photographers:

Read the wedding magazines and they will give you check lists of things to ask your photographer: do you shoot digital or film, who will actually photograph my wedding, do you offer the digital negatives…

What the magazines don’t tell you to ask is how your digital negatives will compare to the photos you saw on your photographer’s website, the photos which drew you to their work in the first place. You need to know what the difference is between a print you will receive from the digital negatives when you upload them to your local lab vs. a finished print you will receive when ordering directly from your photographer.

Photographers prepare files for several different uses: marketing ie: their website and ads, proofing for brides/grooms to first view their images, album images and finished prints are among the most common.

Photos used for finished prints, albums and marketing have usually been processed through Photoshop to ensure the images look their VERY best. Depending on the photographer this may include adjustments that can take anywhere from a minute to an hour.

Usually printed proofs and online proofs have simply been adjusted in a digital workflow program such as Adobe Lightroom or Apple’s Aperture. Most photographers utilize this software to adjust brightness/exposure as well as color balance. The process is much more involved than this – but to go into detail would require an entirely separate and fairly technical article, but the end result is a photo which is close to correct for exposure and color.

With all of this in mind, there are some additional questions you may want to ask your photographer before hiring them:
*Can I see a complete wedding as delivered to a previous client for proofing (ask for more than one) – this will give you an idea of what to expect in your proof images vs. what you see on the photographer’s website.
*What does a final print look like when delivered from the photographer? – hopefully this will look very similar to what you have seen on the photographer’s website.
*What type of retouching is included in the cost of a print, and what does additional retouching cost?
*What type of adjustments/retouching will be included with the images delivered as digital negatives?
*Why should I order prints from you vs. using the digital negatives to have prints made down the street?

Your digital negatives will usually be a match to your proof images. This means if you order prints from your digital negatives from a lab down the street such as Walgreens/Walmart/Snapfish/Costco/Kodak.com your prints will not come close to the quality of what the photographer would deliver as a final print if you were to order from them (that is if the photographer does retouching when you order your prints).

(more…)

Part II with Katie Moos:

6. When creating a list of group photos for your photographer include individual people’s names.  So for example you want a photo of the Johnson family list off the individual’s names…Alice, Rob, Bobby, Sue, and George.  The reason for this…if the photographer calls out “Johnson family photo” they might get questions like “Did you want the spouses and kids?” “Did you want my fiancé in the photo too?” “Is Grandma in this one?”  “Did you want aunts, uncles, and cousins?” Some of those questions might be embarrassing to answer on the spot.  What if you do not want your brother’s fiancé in the photo—it’s hard to say that when she is standing right there looking at you or asking the question.  So talk about it before and put names on the list…that way the photographer will simply say “Can I please have Alice, Rob, Bobby, and Sue in this photo?”  It also is more personal and is easier for the photographer to gather people because she/he knows how many people to expect.

7. Bring a nice hanger for your wedding dress.  We like to take a shot of your dress before you put it on and often times the dress is on a cheap plastic hanger…not so cute.  Also, the best hangers do not have the cross bar where pants hang.

8. Bring an invitation to the wedding…we’d love to take a detail shot of it.

9. Have your reception area set up well in advance so the photographer can get some photos of it before it gets…well, messed up.

10. Last but not least—feed your photographers…they are starving by dinner (often times we are there from 8-10 hours and have missed lunch and dinner…we work hard for you all day—think about your job– 2 -10 minute breaks and a 30 minute lunch break…not us-we work all day straight-unless of course you feed us at which time we will eat what we can in a few minutes and then we go back out for more photos)!!  ☺

Thank you so much!!  I hope these tips are helpful.  If you have any questions please feel free to email me at info@katiemoos.com.  You may also check out my blog at www.katiemoos.com/blog.  Also, as a special treat for Kelly Oshiro blog readers—I am giving $50 off an engagement or family session when you mention this blog posting!!