Patricia + Sammy's Egyptian + Dominican Backyard Wedding in LA
There were too many luscious details at Patricia and Sammy's wedding to mention them all! Because their home base is NYC and they have lots of family living abroad, the entire ceremony was live streamed for international/east coast friends and family who couldn't make the trek. Each element of the celebration was thoughtfully blended: it was a little bit glam (that gown!), a little bit pool party (that gown underwater!); a little bit Dominican (Patricia's side), a little bit Egyptian (Sammy's side); a little bit cozy and warm (hookah and s'mores station) and a little bit chic and funky (Patricia's blue hair)!
Sara + Nicko's Rose's Luxury Micro Wedding in DC
In the course of wedding planning, have you ever thought, “Fuck it, let’s just elope at our favorite restaurants with our nearest and dearest and call it a day?” WELP that’s exactly what Nicko + Sara did: invited their families and a couple friends, rented the private dining room/greenhouse on the roof of Rose’s Luxury in DC (swoon), and had the sweetest, most awesome micro wedding ever.
Nicko and Sara were actually guests at another wedding I shot (the bride from THAT wedding, Kathryn, was at their micro wedding!) and loved meeting us so much that they hired us for their celebration. Honestly, the vibes of the two weddings were as different as they can possibly be (giant barn wedding with dancing late into the night vs light and airy greenhouse dinner party) but I like to think that both couples hired us because we don’t put our couples into strict boxes about what they “should” do — we just support them while they do their thing!
So if you’re the kind of person wondering “omg is a micro wedding MY thing??”, here are some pros of having a tiny wedding in DC: no crowds of people trying to find parking; most people attending your wedding can also be IN your wedding (these two tried to involve everyone); actually remembering interacting with each guest; actually sitting down and eating your wedding food; minimal design decisions needed.
Please enjoy these favorite moments of ours from the afternoon — the heartfelt, everyone-participates ceremony, the impeccable dinner setup, and our little walk around the neighborhood to breathe, trespass (oops) and make some rad portraits.
VENDORS
CATERING - Rose’s Luxury
FLORALS - Allan Woods
SUIT - Indochino
DRESS - Kate Spade
HAIR/ MAKEUP - Michael Anthony Salon |
How to Totally Nail Your Engagement Photos Without Feeling Awkward
We’ve been adding TONS of new couples to the Carly Romeo & Co family, and many of y’all are now preparing for your engagement sessions! These tips should help you better understand what to expect and how to get the most out of our time together.
PREP
Don’t start hungry. Our engagement sessions usually last 1.5-2 hours, so make sure you eat beforehand or bring snacks if you’re a snacky type.
But you can start with a drink. Having a beer, glass of wine, cocktail or any other type of “herbal refreshment” before we start is helpful if you’re looking to quell any jitters!
Plan what you will wear. We’re often asked what a couple should wear for a photo session, and we love to respond with the not-super-helpful "whatever makes you feel fab!" but that is really the most important part. You don't have to worry about "matching" each other, color-wise, but instead try to plan outfits that are comparably fancy (or not-fancy). For example, if one of you is wearing a cocktail dress, the other should avoid a beachy maxi dress. Or if one person is wearing cargo shorts and a polo shirt, the other should go for something more casual than a suit and tie. Other general tips: opt for solid colors whenever possible (except black, white and green if we’re shooting in nature), avoid logos and items with words on them, and wear comfortable shoes (if you prefer heels, bring a second pair of more comfy shoes for walking). Bonus points: wear something with MOVEMENT!
Fuck the “shoulds." Overwhelmed with the amount of "should"s involved in this process? Guess what: fuck 'em. Are you dying to wear androgynous clothes but think you "should" be more femme/masculine? Fuck it. Do you hate getting bug bites but feel like you "should" do your photos in an epic meadow of wildflowers? Fuck it. In the age of Pinterest and Instagram, there are countless poses and themes to emulate; we're not copying those. Instead, we'll go someplace you like (Art museum? Farm? Cafe? Mountaintop?), and do something you like (Look at art? Milk cows? Drink coffee? Fireside sing-a-long?) and we’ll take photos. There's usually some off-roading, some go-stand-over-there-no-wait-over-there-ing, and we'll probably play some silly games. The goal of the session is to capture your relationship in a series of photographs, so the only thing you should be worried about is being yourselves, in love -- not trying to recreate something from the internet or doing what you feel obligated to do.
DURING THE SHOOT
Focus on each other. Our engagement/couples' sessions are designed to feel more like a fun date (with me as a professional third wheel) than a cheesy posing experience. We will help you forget about the camera and enjoy one another by asking you to talk to each other, tell stories about your relationship, and laugh together.
Get snuggly. In most cases, there’s a good amount of squeezing/snuggling/smooching/hand-holding/etc, but I promise if you go with the flow and focus on each other, it won't be as awkward as it sounds. Remember: a (consensual) butt grab is always appropriate, especially if you don’t know what else to do with your hands.
Go with the flow. The more flexible you are, the better your photos will be! Some of our favorite engagement session photos came from spur-of-the-moment ideas, like ducking into an abandoned building during a rainstorm or standing on a pile of trash where the light is juuuust right. The more you trust us to do our thing, the more creativity flows.
OTHER TIPS
The best time to start our shoot is two hours before sunset. Because most wedding happen on Saturdays, it’s very unlikely that we’ll be able to do our shoot on a weekend, so keep that in mind when planning!
Whenever possible, choose outdoor shooting locations (or indoor locations with lots of windows). Natural light helps make your photos look dreamy and, well, natural.
PRINT YOUR PHOTOS!!! Use them for Save The Dates, give them as gifts to your family, put them around your home or office. Don’t let them just live on social media where you’ll only get to enjoy them every once in a while.
Finally, here’s our biggest tip for engagement sessions AND for life in general:
Don’t worry about doing it "right,"
just focus on loving each other.
Why Wedding Photographers (Including Us) Use the Term "Investment" When Talking About Prices
Time to admit something: when I first started my company, I would get so annoyed when photographers used the term “investment” on their websites instead of “price.” It felt like an overly-flowery use of a thesaurus - trying to make things sound fancier than they are instead of being simple and understandable. It also seemed like a bizarre euphemism meant to hide the fact that wedding photography is a business agreement with a cost associated, just another way the Wedding Industrial Complex was trying to con me out of more money.
I am here to say that I was so, so wrong.
And look...before we go any further, I know you're reading this on my website and I use this website to run a business, and that business requires folks to exchange money for my services. I get it, I've got a bias here - but what I want to write about today isn't whether or not photography should be free (I can write a whole other screed on the capitalist value of time BELIEVE IT), it's what I think the true value of photography is, for couples who choose to pay for professional photography. In fact, “investment” is really the BEST word to use when describing the money that is paid to a wedding photographer - as with any investment, your return on it will not necessarily come at the moment of purchase, but over time. And marriages last a long time, if we’re lucky.
Wedding photography is an investment in your future.
Try to imagine a day way in the future, like the year 2053, when Facebook and Instagram are just distant memories. There have probably been some absurd technological advances when it comes to social media (or maybe the tech sector has turned their attention to SAVING THE PLANET vs selling you that dog food it overheard you discussing yesterday, who knows). Anyway, it’s 34 years from now and you and your spouse have traveled the world, enjoyed time with your family, probably discovered the cure for cancer (you smarties), danced together, and cried together. You have gained and lost friends and relatives. Your lives have been rich and full and beautiful.
In 2053, you have been looking at and enjoying your wedding photos for 30+ years. You have a fancy-shmancy album*, and maybe you look at it every year on your anniversary. Maybe when loved ones visit you, you pull it out and show them. The image of someone’s father, who is no longer with us, dancing his heart out. The image of a flower girl, who is now almost forty and a mother of two, sobbing her way down the aisle. Your best friend from college (who is now a big deal comedian) cracking everyone up with a hilarious toast. Your first kiss as a married couple.
The cost of wedding photography isn’t about just the day itself.
Without photos, these images may fade from memory (and to be fair, some folks like that. Respect.) But when you hire a wedding photographer, you’re making an investment in remembering, and in how you remember. You’re not just paying someone for their time shooting, but for their experience, their eye, their ability to make you feel comfortable in front of the camera, and their understanding of what moments are important to you. You’re paying them for their work that day, but also for their work standing the test of time for the next few decades.*
So here’s my official apology to any photographer I judged, back in 2012, for using the term “Investment” - I’m so sorry. I get it now. And while I’ll never call wedding photography the “most important” investment of anyone’s life/marriage (hellooooo I’m not that egotistical, we’re not ending world hunger over here) I completely understand what an investment it really is.
*Now do y'all see why I'm so adamant about the albums? I care about 2053 you! I care about post-Facebook you! I want you to actually invest in a thing that will give you SO MANY returns for SO LONG!
Kate + Matt's Simple + Dreamy Sandbridge Virginia Beach Wedding
Kate and I met through a mutual friend a few years ago when I was between studio managers and KINDA panicking about it. She whisked into my life with a calmness and confidence that I really admire, helping me organize my office and get things back on track. After a few weeks, though, she told me that she and her (then) boyfriend were planning a move to Korea. Of course, I was thrilled for her (though I fell slightly back to panicking) and watched their adventures via social media. Then, last summer, she emailed me to say that they were coming back stateside to do a small wedding in early October — and asked if I could shoot it.
I’m going to be very honest here — usually, October is THE MOST HECTIC MONTH for weddings. Everyone’s gotta get a piece of that foliage, you know. But because my birthday is in October and I am a major birthday diva, I try to take one weekend off to celebrate. Kate and Matt were getting married on that weekend that I had set aside for birthday stuff (fun fact: my partner and I have the same birthday so it’s double the fun). I told Kate I would think on it, and after a few days realized that Kate and Matt are TOTALLY “our people": adventurers, laid-back, doing things their own way. So I said YES and I’m so glad I did.
Kate and Matt got married on the beach in Sandbridge, VA (many Virginians will tell you it’s the quieter southern sister to VA Beach and they are very, very right). They had a great group of family and friends with them, and decorated their giant beach house with photos from all their travels. We spent some time after the ceremony walking down the beach and talking about their post-wedding plans, which were basically: drive west until we find a place that suits us. I loved that so much. And we just learned that they did choose a place (for now): Salt Lake City!
Kate and Matt’s wedding was more than a celebration of their love, but it was a cozy resting place where they could spend time with their nearest and dearest before flinging themselves to the wind and exploring the world together. Oh and of course it was a dance party, because duh.
Patty + Mike's Vintage Hollywood + Lush Autumn Wedding
Sometimes a wedding is so full of personality and beautiful details that writing a description seems like overkill. Patty + Mike’s wedding is like that.
Their Upper Shirley Vineyards wedding was a perfect blend of vintage Hollywood glam, retro rock and roll, modern twists on classic decor, and 100s of feet of lush garland. The entire party felt extremely luxe but also comfortable and funky: aka our dream vibe.
The following images will delight you if you love sparkly wedding gowns, autumnal floral color palettes, weddings that feature dogs, hot-dog-shaped cakes, and loads of happiness and warmth.
Special shout-out to their planner, Heather from The Hive Wedding Collective, who executed this day FLAWLESSLY, despite the officiant getting into a car accident en route!
VENUE - Upper Shirley Vineyard
EVENT COORDINATION - Heather Kemman | The Hive Wedding Collective
TRANSPORTATION - James River Transportation
CAKES - Sweet Fix RVA
FLORALS - Amanda Burnette
MUSIC - DJ Mikey Post | DJ Ian Svenonious | Paint Fumes
JEWELER - Catbird NYC
STATIONERY - Minted
FURNITURE RENTAL | CUSTOM SIGNAGE - Paisley & Jade
DRESS - Jenny Packham
Sara + Kelsey's Interfaith, Queer, Autumn-in-upstate-New-York Wedding
Today we’re sharing an upstate New York wedding that was plucked directly from our dreams. Kelsey and Sara live in DC, but decided on a Foxfire Mountain House wedding after falling in love with it during their travels. Considering it’s one of the most beautiful venues we have ever seen, we don’t blame them. This place is legit MAGICAL. The foliage, the lake, the interior design, and the house made of windows had us drooling. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE.
Sara and Kelsey have one of the strongest and most vibrant communities we have ever seen. Their friends even banded together (literally) to create an engagement scavenger hunt for Kelsey, the finale of which involved Sara surprising Kelsey at their home with dozens of friends and a live performance (i.e. singing AND instruments) of “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran. There’s a video; we still cry watching it.
Thanks to their incredible community of friends and family (plus one of our favorite wedding planners, Dawn Mauberret), their wedding celebration was unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. They wove so many beautiful elements together: a ketubah signing, a flower-covered chuppah, a prayer led by Kelsey’s dad (who she did a beautiful “first look” with), live ceremony music, seven friends giving the seven blessings, incredible food including family-style dinner and an entire dessert table, handmade signage and other crafts, a bonfire, unicorn-themed party hats, and of course a raucous hora.
Some people may feel overwhelmed or intimidated by having a "destination” wedding, but having your wedding somewhere that you feel comfortable and at ease is of utmost importance. On average, couples spend the biggest chunk of their budget on their venue (according to this super-fascinating WeddingWire Report) and the environment you get married in sets the tone for the day. So CHOOSE carefully, friends! And if anyone is planning their Foxfire Mountain House wedding, we would love to go back. Hit us up.
PLANNING - Dawn Mauberret Events
VENUE | CATERING - Foxfire Mountain House
FLORALS - Aurora Botanica
DRESS - Sarah Seven | The Dress Theory
SUIT - Bindle & Keep
HAIR - Le Shag
Caroline + Logan's Dreamy Pastels + Poetry Prospect House Wedding
WHERE TO EVEN BEGIN WITH THIS WEDDING??? Picture it: a glamorous, light-pink-haired bride with a glittering back necklace, ultra-modern gown, dramatic cathedral-legnth veil and periwinkle-to-pastel-pink pumps. Her towering husband-to-be in a tailored suit, perfect-for-the-poet-that-he-is spectacles, the BEST head of curls, raspberry-colored tie, and all the steamy affection in the world for his bride.
Place these two dreamy people in front of a rad geometric backdrop, under the big bad state of Texas sky. Give them a ceremony filled with poetry they wrote for each other, meaningful readings from friends and family, copious tears, and the juiciest foraged bridal bouquet you’ve ever seen. Surround them with the greatest feminist friend-crew, hardstyling fellas and fuck-you-I-don’t-need-to-shave ladies (damn right). Set their dinner tables with bones, tropical flowers, and other curios; pile their dessert table almost to the ceiling with Dr-Suess-meets-Wed-Anderson delicacies.
The soundtrack runs from the bride walking down the aisle to “Baby’s On Fire” all the way to bumping party jams. The guests slay at the DIY photobooth, complete with furs and plants. The rosé flows generously all night. The newlyweds have crafted the most perfect celebration of their very Them love, and everyone basks in their joy.
Thank you, Caroline + Logan, for asking me to document this very special occasion.
PLANNER | FLORALS - The Moonlight Manor
DESSERTS - Jessica Dowdy Lopez
CATERING - Royal Fig
HAIR - Vibe Collective
SUIT - SuitSupply
Five Steps for Making a Photo Book so Your Photos Can Live Somewhere Other Than Facebook
It’s holiday time so of course we’re ready to talk about our number one most favorite holiday gift of all time: Photo Books!
A few years ago, we announced that every single one of our couples would be receiving a custom-made, heirloom photo book as part of our Signature Package. EVERY COUPLE. The reasons are simple and plentiful: a photo book will outlast whatever current technology we have; a photo book can’t get corrupted files (unless a child or clumsy adult spills on them); the experience of going through a photo book with someone you love is worlds better than scrolling through images on your laptop; your photos are art and art deserves to be printed and exist beyond the internet. I don’t think we need to go on (but we could).
So if we’ve convinced you that your photos need to live in a book, but you’re a little bit overwhelmed, DON’T WORRY! We’re here to help. Here are our favorite tips for turning your photos from files to heirlooms:
1. Select your favorite photos, and keep variety in mind.
Most wedding galleries we deliver contain more than 400 images, and you’re just not going to be able to fit all of them into a single photo book unless it’s HUGE (see below for size tips). To get started, go through and select your absolute favorite images. Keep in mind that you should select at least a couple that don’t include people (i.e. scene-setting photos of the venue or space where your wedding took place), and for photos of people, select a good mix of formal portraits (especially meaningful family formals) and candid shots.
Yen, Scott, and their families
2. Size matters.
Our standard photo album for 2019 is a 10”x10” album with ten spreads. Since a “spread” is two pages lying open, a ten spread album will have twenty pages. This size is large enough for approximately 50 images. A 30-page album would feature approximately 100 images, and a 40-page album would hold feature approximately 150 images, and so on. We have found that fifty images per 10 pages is a good guideline. Also, remember that square-format albums, when lying open flat, will be rectangles; horizontal rectangular albums, when lying open flat, will be super wide rectangles.
Nicko and Sara’s wedding photo book was square, so when it is opened and lying flat, this spread is like a frame from a wide-screen movie!
3. Tell the story.
We provide our clients with wedding galleries that are broken out into chapters, because that helps to tell the story of the day. For our albums, we like to ease our couples into the narrative by doing one spread (i.e. two pages lying open are considered one “spread”) of location-based wide shots and/or details. Then, introduce the important people from the wedding day; move through the day as it progressed and try not to skip around too much. Also keep in mind that it adds to the consistency of the story to keep color images together and black and white images together on their own spreads.
Scene-setting spread from Catie & Erin’s wedding photo book
4. Explore different layouts and embrace open spaces.
There are countless ways to lay your photos out for the photo book, and this is where a lot of people get stuck. If you’re opting to DIY, you can design your own layouts when ordering through Artifact Uprising. Aim to keep the layouts varied yet balanced — and embrace empty space when needed. Too many solo images or similar collages on one side of the spreads, page after page, will feel repetitive. If you’d rather not DIY and want us to do this part, we can help you.
A lot of space on the right side of this spread in Katie and Keith’s photo book helps their portrait stand out.
5. Invest in the highest quality photo book you can.
We know that there can be a lot of sticker shock when it comes to purchasing a photo book. In fact, when we were getting married we even rolled our eyes over how much photographers have to charge for quality pieces. However, an heirloom-quality photo book is an investment that should last generations. We order our books from a lab that works only with professional photographers, and the reasons we work with them are:
Handmade construction (yes, made by hand)
True layflat binding
Thick, sturdy pages
Lustre finish on the pages (prevents fingerprints), and
Accurate color tone.
Here are some examples, below! If you’d rather DYI, we recommend Artifact Uprising.
Is this whole process feeling like too much for you right now?
If you order a photo book from us, we handle everything from photo selection to sequencing to individual spread layouts. After you order, Fin creates a first draft which you review together and make tweaks as needed. Once you’re happy with the design, we send in the order and deliver your heirloom book to your door. EASY!
Catie + Erin's Low-key, Queer, State Park Wedding
Erin and Catie have a special place in my heart, because they met at a summer camp, just like my partner and I! I’ll admit, their camp was the outdoorsy kind and ours was the nerdy kind (any CTYers out there?), but still, camp vibes are camp vibes. You camp people understand. Erin also has a Mountain Goats tattoo, so they are clearly one of the coolest people alive. Only the best people have Mountain Goats tattoos. Just saying.
But really: Erin and Catie are awesome people who are clearly immensely in love with one another. Their wedding day started with an awesome surprise: Erin surprised Catie during their first look by playing a song on the guitar. You can see Catie’s reaction below, but spoiler alert: everyone was crying.
For their ceremony, Catie and Erin opted for another surprise: rather than walking into their ceremony, they started the ceremony under an beautiful arbor and their community came to them. I am deeply in support of this twist, which felt unique and special (and helped quell any debate about whether or not someone’s parent/father would “walk them down the aisle.”) It was beautiful to see each person’s reaction to their friends standing there looking all fancy and fabulous. Erin wore a stunner of a gown that had a surprisingly poofy overlayer hiding a glam silhouette underneath; Catie wore slacks, a vest, and a fucking mohawk braid. Mohawk + braid.
Part of their ceremony also included planting a small tree together — be still my tree-hugger heart!! They fortified the soil with ashes from bonfires had at the summer camp where they met. I dare you to come up with a more poetic and nature-loving ceremony element.
The ensuing celebration was catered by one of our favorites, Everyday Gourmet, and the dance party was epic (derby skaters are notoriously wild on the dance floor FYI). Of course, we found some time to sneak away and explore the park during golden hour, which was a combination of photography time and “discussing-the-problem-of-being-misgendered-when-wearing-a-wedding-dress” time (PSA: people who wear dresses aren’t always ladies/don’t always use she/her.) We closed the day with everyone blowing bubbles and hugging and feeling so grateful to know these two and be part of their story.
VENUE: Pocahontas State Park
OFFICIANT: Casey Doukopil, EQ Events
CATERING: Everyday Gourmet
JEWELER: Diamonds Direct