With a First Look, you’re able to get rid of some of the jitters as well as spend a few moments alone together. Also, so many couples find that this is so much less stressful!

Photo: Chelsea Nicole Photography

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For a complimentary consultation for wedding planning services, please email us: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

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Prize Package:
6 hours of photography coverage
a disc of your images from the day with a release
a $500 print credit
a custom bound album
an engagement session!
Total value: $3,000

Rules:
If you’re getting married in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, St. George, Provo or Salt Lake City send an email to giveaway at megruth dot com with your names, a photo of you together and 300 words about your story or why you should win. Meg Ruth will be selecting the top five entries and then you and your friends and family can vote for the winners.

Deadline:
The 5 finalists will be posted on February 1st. There will be a week for voting from February 1st to February 7th. The winners will be announced on Valentine’s Day!

Meg Ruth Photography
Meg Ruth website Meg Ruth blog

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

Name: Alicia Lynch and Chris Purdum
Location: Las Vegas
Company Name: Orange Soda Photo
Number of Years in Business: We had our own photo businesses prior to meeting, falling in love and becoming Orange Soda Photo. Together we have 20 years combined wedding photography vision and experience.
Website: orangesodaphoto.com
Blog: orangesodablog.com
Twitter: @orangesodaphoto
Facebook: facebook.com/orangesodaphoto

How did you get started in wedding photography:
Alicia: Most of my family are photographers, so I grew up with a camera in hand and a darkroom in the basement.  I began photographing landscapes and my family growing up during our travels across the US.  In high school I started photographing weddings of friends, and needless to say, I loved it!

Chris: I always wanted a life behind the lens. I’ve had a camera in my hand since I was 12 and that first magical look through the viewfinder started it all. I did quite a bit of photography in the Army during deployments and later natural history and landscape photography shooting large format film through out Washington State and in the deserts of Utah, Nevada and Arizona. In the 1998, a friend asked me to photograph their wedding, and I’ve been doing it ever since.

What did you do prior to this?
Alicia: I had a prior life in the medical field, with two bachelor degrees from the U of WA, first in Cell and Molecular Biology, and then later in Prosthetics and Orthotics.  My residency in Prosthetics brought me to Las Vegas in 2002.  When I wasn’t on call, building artifical limbs, or putting on HALOs in the Trauma ICU, I was off photographing weddings.  The lure of the camera lead me to choose a career as a professional photographer, and in 2004, I left the medical field, and started career in the photography business.  I haven’t looked back since.

Chris: I was an Art Director and production artist. I’ve been doing color correction and large format digital printing since the 90s. At one of my jobs we had a darkroom with a copy camera which I loved using – I think I spent more hours in the darkroom than I did sleeping.

If you didn’t do photography for a living what would you be doing instead?
Alicia: I love what we do, I honestly wouldn’t choose anything else.  This is my dream job.

Chris: What she said, except with a YEAH! at the end.

What are some of your hobbies? We both love SCUBA diving, and I am an instructor as well.  We love the great outdoors, and go hiking & camping when we can. Urban/desert exploring and disc golf are our short escapes.  Besides the outdoors, we love to watch movies. And of course, playing with our crazy Corgi, Boon!

What is the craziest wedding experience you’ve ever had?
We’ve seen some crazy weddings for certain, but nothing too over the top. A recent groom was a wrestling coach so all of his friends attended the wedding as wrestlers. The expressions from the other guests was priceless.

What is the best wedding experience you’ve ever had?
They’re all the best! We get to photograph people in love and the share the celebration of that love with their friends and families. That is the most rewarding experience we can have.

What is your inspiration?
Cinema, art museums, old masters, pop culture, fashion, books – just about anything that has passion and an interesting story. The connection of people in any manner, and of course the people themselves and the friendships we make with them. We get to see the phrase “love conquers all” in real life, almost every day. That’s so much inspiration to keep us filled! We love nature and we really love being under the surface of the ocean diving with the beauty of the underwater world. It gives you a perspective on life that we carry to every event, no matter how small or large. Diving with a humpback whale to sharing the most important day in a couple’s lives are unique experiences that cannot be reproduced, and is always remembered – we bring that experience every time we pick up a camera.

Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon.
Alicia: Truk Lagoon, Micronesia, Central Pacific

Chris: The Galapagos Islands.

Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors?
Because our photography is awesome and fun!
We work as a team, and it’s always the two of us. We work with our couples to determine exactly what they would like to have in their photography.  We have a very fun attitude towards life, and it’s infections to our brides and couples. We always end up being friends with them, even halfway around the world. We always get the true personalities to show in our images, and we always get our couples to smile. We obsess over the smallest details so that what they see is perfection and exactly how they want to remember their experience, but most of all we have fun.

What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day?
Alicia: Hire a wedding planner, so you can relax and enjoy your day, and when booking a photographer, give them the time they need to photograph the fantastic images you are looking for.

Chris: What she said. Hire a planner. We’re planning our wedding right now and without a planner I’d want to jump off a cliff.

Anything else interesting you’d like to share?

We are so lucky to have so many cool wedding vendors as friends here in Las Vegas. Beyond making the day go that much smoother, we all feel like an extended family and want to thank everyone for supporting us!

We’d also like to extend mega thank yous and smooches to Juliet and Green Orchid for interviewing us!

Cake by Simple Elegance

Wedding Ceremony at Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas

Newlyweds and owners of Sound Fusion Entertainment

Juliet’s notes: Alicia and Chris will be getting married next April and I hear it will be a fun and crazy party!

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

What happens during a first look is that we’ll stage it so that the photographer can capture the moment when the bride and groom first sees each other.  It’s very touching, romantic, and takes place way before the ceremony.

I know there are plenty of traditionalists who are completely against this: “Seeing each other before the wedding is bad luck.”  But where does the tradition even come from? Most people do not even know the reasons behind the traditions they follow. Maybe if you know the reasoning behind this tradition, you’ll feel more comfortable going against it.

The tradition stems from the days of arranged marriages. For fear of the groom running if his bride were “ugly”, the bride and groom were not to see each other until the bride walked all the way down the aisle. Obviously, most weddings are no longer arranged these days.

I think the advantages of doing a first look completely outweigh the disadvantages.  As my friend Chelsea Nicole likes to explain in her consultations, “nothing can take away the moment when you walk down the aisle and see each other for the first time”. So even if you decide to do a first look, it is still an overwhelming experience full of emotion as you walk down the aisle!

I honestly find that the couples who decide to do the “first look” are a lot more at ease for the few hours before the wedding ceremony.  They can spend quality time together before the wedding and do not have to miss out on the cocktail hour! And, they usually never regret that decision.

If bridal portraits are important, I suggest keeping an open mind and considering the first look. Your photographer will love the time to take your bridal portraits and you’ll thank your photographer once you see your photos!

Here’s a series of photos from one of my amazing photographer friends Chelsea Nicole.  I love the playfulness of these photos!

So did you do a first look? Why or why not?

Photos: Chelsea Nicole

Head over to Chelsea’s blog for her recent work. I promise you’ll love what you see.

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

Photo: Orange Soda Photo

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The First Photo-less Generation? Yes, Really……

It seems as though the digital revolution has altered the world of photography forever….but are we now a culture on the road to become the first photo-less generation in almost 150 years?

It’s 100% true:  the combination of digital photography and technology has greatly impacted the way just about everyone on the planet enjoys photos.   Whether it be in a digital revolving image frame, viewing photos on your iphone or tagging your friends in your images on facebook, digital images are enjoyed by everyone!  In fact, it seems that not a day goes by any more when a client doesn’t give us a call to ask to purchase these wonderful, plentiful, digital negatives that have become a standard in image preservation.

And we must admit, enjoying the compact nature and many avenues to share digital negatives is a wonderful bonus for both clients and photographers alike.  In regards to photographers, our processing is much quicker at times as we now are the actual photo lab handing our clients processing directly.  By replacing actual film with digital negatives, it reduces our “archiving surface area” as we no longer have to maintain hundreds of rolls of film in film safe containers.  Heck, even our clients have virtual storage for their images creating an “at your fingertips” style of backing up their images so they no longer have to worry about losing delicate film negatives….

But one thing we have noticed is that although our clients absolutely LOVE their images, it seems that many of those same clients who are purchasing digital negatives instead of prints or albums, unfortunately, often times, never print a single image as a result of this ease of sharing.  They are so pleased and excited by the idea that they can view their images at any time on their computer or phone, that many clients believe there is no longer a need to print them…

However, recently we had an experience that caused us to see the concept of photo printing in powerfully different light; we were reminded me of the importance of printing not only to share your memories with your virtual friends, but also as a documentation of your own personal history and life.  We’ll explain….

About a month ago we visited my parents in their home.  As we were relaxing and enjoying each other’s company, we noticed a big box of old photos sitting on the counter of their living room bar.  Jared and I headed over to investigate the images, and as we got to looking through them, my dad gave us a quick history each of these older photos discussing the many details of our family posing in the images.  It was exciting to share in his memories and stories while enjoying the amazingly tangible nature of these old photos.  Many had been printed on a very thick photo paper with artistic edging, which was something we hadn’t seen in a very long time…

It was at that moment that we truly realized that these images told our family’s history in a way we never could detail personally as they were shared and passed down through generations. Of course the stories have probably evolved over time, but we learned so much that evening about who we are and how our family came to be, that it was really a largely emotional experience.  It was also at that time that we realized that we hadn’t printed a photo of ourselves in almost 4 years.  We had spent so much time enjoying our own personal images on our computers, that really, we too were guilty of not printing; we really hadn’t taken much time at all to print any of our history…

In saying all of this, as photographers, we now feel a greater responsibility to our clients, our friends and ourselves.  We would encourage every person we know to enjoy their digital negatives as much as possible.  Give them lots of love and care and share them with everyone you can; just don’t forget that printing photos will help to share your past with your future loved ones so that they too can relive your history for years to come.

Studio ATG:

Trish Gumina-McMillen
Studio ATG
Studio ATG Website
Studio ATG Blog
702.809.4878

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

Restricted areas usually include the entire casino floor. In the last 6 years, Digs Studio has only gained access to one casino floor at the off strip Rampart Casino at 8:00 am at a closed poker table.  Other photographers have been “luckier” while playing by the “ask for forgiveness” rule and taking their chances.  With that method, security can sometimes be right there to escort you out within 5 – 10 minutes which can lead to embarrassment to the bride and groom.  Natasha from Write Shot also advises that brides do not ask them to just “sneak a few” shots. “As professionals who live and work in Vegas, ‘sneaking a few’ is not an option.”

I recommend keeping the lines of communication open with your photographer and wedding planner, allowing for extra time, and being flexible with changes.  Your wedding planner will usually want to add in extra time for photography in the wedding timeline that is created. Steve Fogarty of Fogarty Weddings suggests obtaining written permission before even signing the contract with your venue. Your point of contact at the casino (generally the catering manager) would usually be able to assist in obtaining approval for you or be able to point you in the right direction to getting approved. Your photographer should then carry the written approval with them on the wedding day.

The photographer you hire may have their own opinions on taking your photos on a casino floor. Rhiannon from Digs usually discourages casino sessions “due to the amount of people on the casino floor and the lighting in the casino. We use off camera lighting which requires room to set up and can be dangerous in a crowded area.”  Again, speaking to your photographer prior to the wedding day will prevent you from being disappointed.

As with most things, one casino may be more lenient than the next and it may all depend on who you ask.  Open and honest communication is extremely important. At a recent wedding, one of our couples wanted a photo taken by the roulette table. They had hired an outside photographer (with the permission of the casino) in addition to still using the in house photographer.  The casino’s in house photographer was the only person allowed to take that roulette photo on the casino floor. As far as the photos taken within the hotel grounds, we cleared it in advance with our contact at the hotel and planned it out so that the photographer had a copy of the written approval in his hands on the wedding day.

Other reasons for the strictness of photography in a casino include the fact that casinos are private property.  It also “stems from several legalities, including every individual’s right to privacy on the floor; and copyright laws that prohibit the shooting of artwork and third party trademarks that may be incorporated into the location’s fixtures and signage. In other words, photographers may obtain permission to shoot you on the floor, but the casino, itself, cannot grant permission for the shooting of third parties’ logos, like Marlboro or Heineken, which may appear in photos. This also extends to artwork on the walls. That’s why in reality TV shows, you see logos and art blurred.”

“Ultimately, you’re in your gown and everyone loves a bride, so you’ve got that going in your favor. Have your shooter ask permission. Then take your cues from him/her and enjoy the glamour and fun. You will cherish these shots forever, without a doubt.” – Natasha with Write Shot

Thank you Rhiannon Eddy from Digs Studio, Natasha Chornesky from Write Shot, and Steve Fogarty of Fogarty Weddings for their insight.

Photo by Denise Hoogland from our May 2010 wedding of  Michelle and Rob

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

What: 37/60 The Wedding Photography Workshop for Brides
When: Tuesday, August 24th from 6-7 pm and Saturday, August 28th, from 10-11 am
Where: To be supplied upon registration
Cost: Free, Registration required
How: Call 702-465-5700 for more information or to register. Or visit booths 614 and 604 at Bridal Spectacular

THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION A BRIDE FACES IS WHO TO MARRY. THE SECOND IS HOW TO HIRE THE RIGHT PHOTOGRAPHER TO DOCUMENT HER WEDDING

37/60 The Wedding Photography Workshop for Brides, offers 37 serious recommendations in 60 minutes, guaranteed to help brides:

• Save money
• Save time
• Maximize their wedding photography experience, regardless of their budget

Las Vegas wedding photography studios Artistic Imaging and WriteShot have partnered to develop this educational workshop to all brides, many of whom feel overwhelmed by the myriad of wedding photography options available.

“There will be no sales pitch, at all. This is purely an opportunity for brides to learn and get answers to their questions, regardless of their budget,” says Adam Frasier, Artistic Imaging.

According to Natasha Chornesky, WriteShot, millennium brides are smart and regardless of their budget,  they’re looking to learn as much as they can about maximizing value before they commit to any particular wedding vendor, especially photographers.

Vegas has many talented wedding photographers. 37/60 is designed to benefit all brides, regardless of whom they eventually hire to shoot their wedding.

“We’re reaching out to empower brides with real information, so each one can make decisions that best suit her distinct needs,” says Chornesky.

Workshops are scheduled for Tuesday, August 24th from 6-7 pm and Saturday, August 28th, from 10-11 am and are limited to 10 participants each. Workshops are free, registration is required. Call 702-465-5700 for more information or to register.  Information will also be available during the Bridal Spectacular Show at booth numbers 614 and 604.

About Artistic Imaging and WriteShot
Artistic Imaging’s  Owner/Photographer Adam Frasier has been a  professional wedding photographer for over 7 years. Frazier is the Founding President of Las Vegas Wish Upon a Wedding.

WriteShot’s Owner/Photographer Chris Cozzone has been a professional photojournalist and wedding photographer for over 20 years. Natasha Chornesky Owner/Photographer has been shooting professionally for four years. Chornesky is the Founding Vice-President of Las Vegas Wish Upon a Wedding.

Contact:
Natasha Chornesky
702-465-5700
Natasha@writeshot.com

Please let them know we sent you!

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

How did you get started in photography?

Ingrid had to take PHOTO 101 as a prerequisite for her BFA. Upon seeing her first black and white print magically appear in the developer tray, she immediately feel in love with photography. The next day she changed her fine art emphasis from painting to photography.

David helped assist Ingrid when Images by Ingrid was just beginning. He found a creative outlet for his unique eye of angles and composition. He enjoys capturing moments, shooting the must get traditional wedding pictures and the challenge of creating dramatic effects with off camera flash.

What did you do prior to this?

Ingrid went to school and worked in food and beverage. It took 8 years and three colleges in three states to get her BA in fine art.

David was a custom picture framer and currently is a bar/wine manager for a fine dining restaurant here in Vegas in which has  served for 13 years. He is also part of the 9% of the Vegas population who was born and raised here

How do you describe your style?

Documentary coverage is an entirely different approach to wedding photography. Ingrid believes her photographs represent much more that just a tired fad, but as documentarian,  it is her responsibility to capture each moment exactly as it happened. She does not intervene or interrupt  the moment already taking place.
She feels the mastery of this style is very easy to claim and advertise, but rarely is it achieved.

Her lighting preference is soft natural light. Her portraits of her couples reflect fun, happy moments at times and others a deeper revealing side. Her passion is to create an emotional response from the viewer through her images.

David is more a traditionalist. He enjoys capturing the must get images at weddings.  He is a master of off camera flash and captures the most amazing pictures of  the bride and groom with Vegas sunsets. He sees angles and photographs them differently then anyone else. Clients and venders love his detail shots of rings, food, locations,

If you didn’t do photography for a living what would you be doing instead?

Ingrid would be a life coach or chef/restaurateur. She has  created  the life of her dreams and would love to help others achieve their dream life too. Also, Ingrid is too good of a cook, this is why they have to go to the gym regularly. She feels with 14 years in F&B and cooking skills she could create an amazing  restaurant.

David would be wine & food critic. David has been in F&B for 13 years and is currently a bar manager during the week at a fine dining restaurant in Vegas. Ironically every time they go dining he is already playing the part.

What are some of your hobbies? Attending live sporting events, concerts, traveling, sailing dining out, spending quality time with family, plus any activities that create memories and experiences.

What is the craziest wedding experience you’ve ever had? For Ingrid and David each wedding is crazy, fun and unique.

A crazy wedding memory for Ingrid was a wedding at Lake Mead. The ceremony and reception was on an island in the middle of the lake. All the guests, food, décor, had to be boated to the location. The ceremony was under a beautifully decorated tent and the reception was held on top of the houseboats.  There were Hawaiian dancers, fire breathers, and a late night bon fire. Since night travel on the lake is dangerous all the guests and venders had to stay on the island and spend the night in houseboats. It was a blast.

David’s craziest wedding memory was a helicopter wedding to Grand Canyon. They were both terrified, and excited about the prospect. This was when helicopter crashes at the Grand Canyon seemed to be a monthly event. The plan was for Ingrid and David to fly with the couple to the Grand Canyon for the ceremony. Unfortunately, on the ride out, a thunderstorm came in and they had to turn back. It was defiantly an experience being airborne with thunder and lighting following you back to the airport. The best part was David and Ingrid met up with the couple the next day and once again flew to the Grand Canyon.

What is the best wedding experience you’ve ever had?

For David and Ingrid every wedding is the best experience. They love their couples and give their heart and soul at every wedding.

What is your inspiration? Ingrid’s and David inspiration is their clients and the fun, happy, and unexpected moments of the day.  Each wedding and couple is unique. To photograph the day with that important fact in mind is their inspiration.

Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon. Tahiti, Greek Isles, Barcelona, Estonia, Serengeti, Thailand, Egypt, opening day at the new Marlins baseball bark in 2012, New Years eve in Times Square, 2012 Summer Olympics in London,  sail the Caribbean, race car driving lessons, drive the autobahn, wine tours in Italy and France,  and these are just to name a few.

Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors?

The blend of documentary and traditional photography. Ingrid and David create timeless images, not fads of the moment.

What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day?

Hire professionals you are comfortable with, let them do their job, and just relax and enjoy your day.

Anything else interesting you’d like to share?

In 2012 Ingrid and David plan on taking the year to photograph outside of Vegas as much as possible. Their goal is to not only shooting weddings all over the world but visit and photograph past couples.  They hope to create a fine art series their 2012 adventures.

They love their job and hopefully it shows in their images.

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com

Name: Kristen Joy
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Company Name: Kristen Joy Photography
Number of Years in Business: 4 years
Website: www.kristenjoyphoto.com
Blog: www.kristenjoyphotoblog.com

How did you get started in photography? I started in high school when my Mom bought me a nice camera for a birthday, I didn’t put it down. I was blessed to meet an amazing photographer named David Burke in Pittsburgh, who took me under his wing and taught me everything I know. If I had not met Dave I would still be taking pictures, but without direction.

What did you do prior to this? I got paid the big bucks being a stay at home Mommy.

If you didn’t do photography for a living what would you be doing instead? I would be sliding down slides and running laps at the park with my two beautiful children.

What are some of your hobbies? I love being outside hiking, running, playing sports. I have a great time playing around with my kids, they think of the fun stuff and I get to play along.

What is the craziest wedding experience you’ve ever had? The craziest wedding I have experienced was one last August. In the beginning the group seemed very calm and far from wild, at the end of the night all the men in the room were in the boxers wearing their ties around their heads chanting some college mantra, I didn’t know whether to close my eyes or keep photographing… I kept photographing of course.

What is the best wedding experience you’ve ever had? The best wedding I have experienced was my twin sister Kim’s wedding, I took a few getting ready shots of her, but after that I was in the wedding. It was perfect and meant more then anything for me to be there.

What is your inspiration? Having been able to travel a lot with my family and see the world has really inspired me. Its one thing to see pictures in a magazine and its another to experience it.

Name an exotic location you’d like to visit soon. Greece, my parents just went there for their wedding anniversary, I edited all 2000 photos that my Mom took there, now I want to go there and experience it too.

Why do your clients choose you over some of your competitors? A majority of my clients choose me because we get along so good, they like my style of photography, but a lot of it comes down to our personalities matching more then anything else.

What is the best piece of advice you can offer a bride and groom on their wedding day? Always have enough time during the wedding day to take photos of just the two of you. Its a great time to relax and be alone and you will be pleased in the end with more options and great photos.

Anything else interesting you’d like to share? I’ve been blessed to photograph so many beautiful weddings and people. Thank you Juliet for your hard work and beautiful blog for not just brides and grooms but photographers too.

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website * Email: juliet@greenorchidevents.com