Yesterday we were a part of The Swoon Bridal Show that South Side on Lamar hosted.  Some of the best wedding vendors in Dallas were there from Southern Fried Paper, i-Entertainment, Couture Events by Lottie, The White Gown Showroom, A Stylish Soiree, Belmont Hotel, Brides of North Texas, Low Country Quisine, Vera Green Productions, K & S Photography and many many more.  There were so many cute ideas for brides to soak up for their upcoming weddings and I wanted to share just a few pictures I took with my i-Phone.  Hopefully these give you inspiration for your upcoming wedding

I’ve been dying to blog these photos, but I knew I wanted to get these photos published on a wedding blog. I know most of you reading this are probably thinking, why do you have to wait.  Well most wedding blogs want to be the first one to publish a particular shoot/wedding.  They are in the business of showing the unique sessions and they want to be the first ones to put images up.  Ok I’m hoping I’m making sense here.  So Wedding Wire published this shoot on their blog, YAY!!!!!  (click here to view).  So with that said, I can discuss how this shoot came to be.  I photographed a wedding that Rachel of Rachel Events was the coordinator for (shout out to Laura, love ya sweetie).  I knew through Facebook that Rachel was recently engaged herself.  So what do girls do, OMG let me see the ring and we chatted for just a few minutes while guest were enjoying dinner (no one wants pictures of them stuffing their face, right).  She talked about wanting to do a theme shoot for an engagement session and I was so down and told her that I would photograph it for her.  At first, the shoot was going to be in the oil derricks in Oklahoma.  Then when Rachel and I met for lunch to discuss the shoot, she let me know she wanted more of English Victorian feel with a mirrored walk way, a huge birdcage, lots of deep red arrangements.  Something very different.  I was so down for that.  So Bryna with Dr Delphinium, Heidi with Sugar Bee Sweets, and Nicole with Left-Handed Calligrapher got pulled in to help create this Victorian masterpiece.  OMG and did they floor me with their brilliance and creativity.  So the day before the shoot and the morning of the shoot, I saw it pouring rain. I was like really, we haven’t had rain for months and today of all days.  But somehow the rain stopped for the 2-3 hours of our shoot, we were so lucky.  And I have to say the gray, muddy, murky day kinda added to that English Victorian feel. It helped give that darker feel to the shoot that we wanted.  Rachel, OMG, Rachel was such a trooper, she stomped through the mud and did whatever was need to get “The Shot.”  The bottom of her gorgeous white dress was covered in mud by the end but she laughed it off in true Rachel style. Oh and Matt was awesome and he and Rachel are perfect for each other.  Whew Ok with all that said, here are the gorgeous pictures

And I will end with a picture of Rachel’s oh so gorgeous engagement ring

Again I want to give a huge THANKS to all the vendors involved that made this shoot possible.  You all did the hard work and feel so blessed to have photographed it.  Thanks to Rachel for bringing me in on this and entrusting me to capture these images for you.

Last week the Old Red Museum in Downtown Dallas had their open house for brides so they could come see Old Red and how it would look set up for a wedding.  I just love all the details they set up on the tables, its was stunning when you walked in.   One of my favorite things is to photograph all the little details at a wedding and so I was having a field day taking all these pictures. I encourage any idea stealing here for your wedding

 I love this cake table with all the varieties of cakes, cupcakes, and cake-balls.  So picturesque!!!

I don’t think these flowers could be any prettier. LOVE!!!!!

I’m huge into Scrabble and at family get togethers we always play.  I think that is why I am so in love in using Scrabble tiles in your wedding decor.

On Thursday I had the opportunity to be a part of AFR’s National Tour as they stopped in Dallas for the very first time.  You are probably wondering what AFR is, well they are a company you can rent furniture from for your wedding. Here is their website so you can learn more about them http://www.afrevents.com/.

I just love the pattern they used on these ottomans

I’m a little partial to red sofas, as I have one in my living room

I just love this popcorn bar from Le’ Popcorn, yummy!!!!

The food was amazing!!!!!!!

And Marshall of Entertainment Enterprises Dj’d the event.  He rocked the house!!!!!

I loved working with all the vendors involved.  They truly made this event a success!!!!!

Today for brides, I wanted to talk about choosing a wedding photographer and some basic tips for you when you are searching.  First and Foremost, think about you, your personality and the style you want for your wedding and be honest with yourself.  A good way to gage your style is to look around your room/house/apartment.  How have you decorated?  Are you modern, French-inspired, shabby chic, traditional, romantic, country, etc?  This will give you a good basis to start.  I say this because if are traditional at heart and you hire a modern/edgy photographer, then there is a good chance that you will not be happy with your wedding pictures.  And don’t for one second think traditional is bad, its not.  There is a reason why it’s named traditional or tradition, it’s tried and true and has stood the test of time.  So basically what I am saying here is be true to yourself when referring to the style you prefer.  There are a whole slew of photographers out there for every style.

Then take those word(s) that fit you and Google (style) Dallas wedding photographer or weddings at (your venue) Take a look around the photographer’s website and I mean really look.  Visit their galleries for engagements, bridals and most importantly weddings pictures.  Go visit their blog and see how current and up to date they are. Do you like their style, does it fit you?  If the pictures you see were of your wedding how would you feel?  Would you be over the top excited about them?  If so, then bookmark and/or make note of that photographer.  I suggest going and visiting several photographers websites, and make note of your top 2-4 photographers.

Contact those photographers who you absolutely love and set-up a time to meet.  I think it is of uber importance to meet your photographer beforehand.  You need to see if you two click and are on the same page when it comes to your wedding.  Also, the photographer wants to make sure that you are a right fit for the style they produce.

For us, we work with clients that love having fun each other and being silly and are very much in love with each other.  Also, are clients are really happy, fun people that are super excited about their wedding.  Our clients’ eyes light up when they talk about each other and how they met, and how he proposed.  So if I met with a couple and they give me one word answers to how they met or how he proposed, I know they are not a right fit for me.  That’s ok and there will be a photographer that out there that is a better fit for them.

So once you have met with a couple of photographers, chose the one who has a style you LOVE and you really clicked with.  Trust me, this will make the whole process much easier and you will love love love your wedding photographs.  Let me also say, if you met with a photographer, you already love their work i.e. you keep staring at their website, and you really click with them, don’t hesitate to book them at your initial meeting.  Good photographers book up really quickly.

Ok now for the budget part, because yes we all have a certain budget in mind and I do understand this comes into play when choosing your wedding photographer. One thing to consider is that your wedding photographs are the one thing you have to look back at.  Ten years from now, you won’t have the cake, or the flowers, etc. to look back at but you will have your wedding photographs.  I weekly get emails from brides that skimped on their wedding photography budget and now want at least a day after session or for me to try and edit or “fix” them.  This is one day that has no redo’s so you want to make sure you get the best pictures of your special day. The average starting price for a really an awesome wedding photographer is $2,500-$5,000.

If you have any other questions in regards to choosing a wedding photographer don’t hesitate to email us at kandsphoto at gmail dot com. We want to help make your wedding day planning as easy as possible. Thank you and I really hope you have found this to be helpful

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