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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For this blog post I wanted to show something a little different.  Back in 2003 I had the chance to travel to Italy with some of my fellow classmates at TWU and study Art History with Dr. Calabrese.  I can tell you nothing beat seeing the art in person, it is truly awe inspiring.  This was during the crazy heat wave in Italy and somehow we all made it through, probably because we live in Texas and we are used to crazy hot summers.  Of course being a photography student, I had to take lots of pictures while we were there.  I packed up my Pentax K1000 with its 1 fixed lens, 20 rolls of Ilford 100 BW film and 20 rolls of Fuji film.  Yep that’s right I show film the entire trip so I didn’t get to see the pictures I took until I got back home.  I developed the black and white film my self and the local community college and dropped off the color film for development.   I then printed the images in the darkroom (both color and black and white).  It’s crazy to think that was 8 years ago and now almost everything is digital.  Ok back to the point though of pictures of Italy.  I hope you enjoy these pictures and this is Italy through my eyes, enjoy

I hope you enjoyed these pictures.  And I just have to say, Italy is amazing and everywhere you go its so picturesque.  It would be the perfect place for a destination wedding (don’t forget to call us so we can be your wedding photographers over in Italy) and then you can have your honeymoon in Italy, wouldn’t that be perfect   I can tell you from experience that having your honeymoon in Italy is amazing, unforgettable and a truly a trip of a lifetime!!!!

This morning we were a part of the Grand Hotel in McKinney’s Open House for Brides and Grooms.  This is one of our favorite venues in the Dallas and Fort Worth Metroplex and is a wedding photographers’ dream.  If you are looking for venue, this is a must.

They were able to taste some of the delicious food by Rick’s Chophouse (it’s the restaurant that is in the hotel and caters all the weddings) and enjoy cake samples and gelato (so yummy!!!).  They also were able to see some tablescapes and different ideas for their wedding.  We were able to snap a few pictures of our Bridal Bloom and Creations’ table and a cake made by Sweet Art Bakery.  I hope this gets you inspired for your upcoming wedding and gives you some ideas.  I personally love the idea of having a gelato bar at your wedding in lieu of a groom’s cake, especially for summer weddings in Dallas.

Congratulations to all of the bride and grooms that are busy planning their weddings!! It was an honor to meet you and we hope your wedding is a dream come true.