It’s the big day. At this point you and or your family have spent thousands of dollars to create an unbelievable day. You wake up and now what? Do you want to be making calls and ordering breakfast or lunch? The truth is you shouldn’t have to. It’s your day and you shouldn’t have to stress out about all the crazy details and last minute stuff. In my opinion brides and grooms should be on autopilot that day and having to deal with distractions such as “where’s the limo drivers tip?” or “did I tell the florist 11am or 12pm?” shouldn’t be a concern.

I’m a believer: I recommend day of coordination to all my brides and grooms. Why? I have so many reasons!! I can talk to a coordinator prior to your wedding and we’ll figure out a perfect timeline so no one’s stuck twiddling their fingers for an hour. We have a science when planning out your day! After a phone call with a coordinator they’ll hang up the phone with me, call the hair + makeup, florist, limo drivers, etc and plan around our schedule. All you need to know is when to wake up and where to go. They even give you a little timeline the night before. How cool? It’s great because when I walk into a hotel room or brides home I want my bride 110% completely relaxed. When coordination is there I know I have this. Why stress? I’ve photographed some stressed brides in my day too! Word…

True Story: One particular bride I knew would be a perfect candidate for coordination so I begged and pleaded with her, she disagreed. What happened? Well we’re outside photographing her and her bridesmaids and I stopped and turned around to my surprise there was no limo present. Mind you, we’re seconds away from wrapping up and we have a first look scheduled for 3pm, its now 2:30pm and it takes 20 minutes to get to the first look location where the guys were suppose to be waiting. I imeadialtly said “call the company”. This bride was so enjoying the moment of being a bride she had no clue who the limo company was. No clue! Anyway the groom had been phoned and he said the limo had not arrived to him and the guys yet and was “10 minutes away”. Do you know how long 10 minutes is in photo world when you’re fighting to get a bridal party of over 12 adults and 6 children photographed and the sun is setting? What happened? Well for starters my bride went from being super happy to super stressed. I lost that relaxed bride in the snap of a finger and I was getting good stuff!! After that you know what happened? All the bridesmaids and the bride jumped into multiple cars and drove themselves to the first look location! Now, I’m not blaming my bride or the limo company but somewhere down the line there was a miscommunication. A miscommunication that would have NEVER happened had there been a wedding coordinator confirming all this nonsense for the bride. I hate to say I told you so ;)

I’m not a coordinator, I’m a photographer: Another reason I’m a fan of wedding coordinators is I can be creative. We can show up and document the day which is what we’re there to do! What happens at a wedding when I become coordinator? Well, I still do my thing and take what I only hope are phenomenal photos but I’m not even going to try and front, I get stressed. There is nothing worse then trying to setup a first look when I should be locked in on the grooms reaction but I’m out of breath fumbling with lenses because I just ran a 5K to tell the bride “ok, you can come to the first look spot now”. Look I’m not trying to get out of any extra work, our clients pay us very well to document their day and we’re grateful for that, believe me! Things just run smooth when you have someone telling people where they need to be and when. When we’re doing family photos I love to have a coordinator on my side making sure the Smith family is there and the Smith siblings are on deck waiting to be photographed. We can bang out those family shots in record time with a little coordination! Or there might be any given photograph you want and you mentioned it to your coordinator. For example, how many times has a coordinator came up to me and asked if I got the college shot, the rings or something special? All the time!

Day of coordination: Most of my clients use “day of coordination” and some are “full planning”. I would say there is a HUGE misconception in the words “day of coordination” because while yes they are there on wedding day coordinating, they have actually met with the bride and groom at least once in person and have had a handful of phone consults or video skypes with them. So no, you’re not paying for just one day. You’re probably getting a 40 hour work week at the end of the day. Now don’t quote me, but I think “day of coordination” begins around $1500 and could reach up to $1900 depending on date and hours needed. People, this is a STEAL! I see these coordinators all day making things happen! I mean they’re with you or running stuff around before your first eyelash has been applied and all the way into the night when you’ve said “good bye, thank you” to your 175th wedding guest. These girls BUST their butts and put out fires all day! I have to commend them for it! Shoot, they should have a holiday dedicated to them! I personally think they should charge more for what they do (maybe they all will after they read this so act now! kidding). I’d be willing to bet if you asked anyone who had a coordinator for their wedding if it was worth it they’d say it was the best money they spent… aside from the photography of course ;)

Who?: In this post I’m endorsing two coordinators. The reason is I work with these two consistently and consistently get work from them. Are they the only show in town? No. I’ve worked with other great coordinators as well. For the sake of putting one name before the other I’m going alphabetically by last name, Katie O’Malley and Christine Wheat. I contacted both these ladies and asked for some quotes from them and they both dropped what they were doing and emailed them right over. Those coordinators always have it together..

“As a bride you can definitely plan your own wedding but it is really hard to wake up on the morning of your wedding and actually coordinate your own day!  You should be sipping mimosas with your bff’s and getting pampered with hair & make-up, let us worry about the schlepping and details!” – Katie O’Malley

“It’s the one day in your life where you’re the VIP and playing hostess all at once.  When you hire a ‘day of coordinator’, not only do you get someone that is going to make sure your vision comes to life, but this person will help guide you through your day; getting you from one place to the next. This always makes for an enjoyable day and happy memories.” – Christine Wheat

“Investing in assistance on your wedding day just makes sense!  You have already invested a lot of money in the venue, the entertainment, decor and photography, you should be able to let go and make sure all your hard work pays off.  You will not be worried about when this vendor is going to arrive, if the escort cards been placed exactly how you want them and all the details that the coordinator will worry about for you!” – Katie O’Malley

“The traditional elements of coordination are important (cuing, making sure everything runs on time, lining people up, setting up decor) but I also think that making sure vendors are taken care of (bottles of water to the photog), sliding on the brides back-up flip flops at the moment she just can’t bare to walk, making sure the bands dinner is out when they take their break, even making sure that dad sees his daughter being pampered that day, are just as important and make a good day become a great day for all involved.” – Christine Wheat

“The best compliment we receive is usually at the end of the night when either the bride & groom or their parents come up and say “wow we had such an amazing day and can’t thank you enough.” – Katie O’Malley

“In my experience I’ve had many believers and nonbelievers before the wedding day comes.  Afterwards it always amazes me that my nonbelievers come up and say “you were the best investment we made for this whole wedding.” – Christine Wheat

I hope some of future brides and grooms got something from this! Big thanks to Katie and Christine for helping me out with this blog post! I hope I see more of you girls in 2012!!

Peace,
JP

When I ask you to vote for your favorite wedding I mean overall favorite. I want you to look back or remember each wedding from the images below. We’re not just voting for one image but really the whole blog post. There are a total of 20 weddings below and we want to see what was your favorite! Because I’m just crazy about this product the winner will get a Luxe Frame with the winning image inside from my friends at Millers Lab. Who’s going to own the second half of 2011? Go on, get your vote on..

Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to cast your vote!

Voting ends Fri February 3rd at 8am. Stay tuned after that for the winner!

Peace,
JP

Amanda and Kevin

Melissa and Andrew

Jessica and Jason

Suzanne and Brian

Christine and Dan

Isabel and Dave

Amanda and Shane

Jenny and Phil

Jamie and Josh

Tammy and Ryan

Katelynn and Wallen

Natalia and John

Natalia and Carlos

Tanya and Dylan

Carley and Bobby

Marisa and Chris

Chelsea and Shawn

Ashley and Brian

Megan and James

Julie and Chad

Ok, the big question was “will there be snow?”. It’s been a mild winter to say the least and believe me, I’m not complaining at all. I wish it never snowed! That being said, it you have your wedding in January through March there should be some snow. While driving to this wedding right around 2 exits south of Saratoga I noticed some snow coverage. I was like hellz to the yes and thank you. There was snow! After I saw that, I knew Danaea and Mike would be down to go outside. Oh, did I mention it was like 20? Word, frosty out there. We set it off at the Gideon Putnam hotel which is my new favorite hotel in Saratoga. It just looks like a classic hotel and has so much charm about it. Waiting in the lobby was wedding coordinator, Christine Wheat and her iPad with the time line. How cool? I hope this is a theme this year with coordination, you all need it. Stop lying to yourselves! My lovely and talented wife Kris Ann, of Fleurtacious Designs was on the team too. She beat me to Danaea’s room too. We have this thing when we work together of who can arrive first. Another key player of capturing memories was Al Woodard. Are you surprised? No, this is how we all roll. A tight knitted crew is what Danaea and Mike wanted, thats what we gave them!

After the getting ready photos commenced with bounced downstairs and began photographing Danaea and her girls. It was easy because there was so much beauty going on. Plus, the flowers looked awesome. I love me a black and white theme! Off at the Hall of Springs waited an anxious groom. Mike was so ready to see his beautiful bride, Danaea. So we had the first look and then just had a blast with these two. Back when I photographed them in Boston, I knew it was going to be so fun come wedding day. Sure, it was freezing and all that but these two brought their A-Game. Come on now, you only do this once! Once our session was done we all regrouped as the room filled up with guests. Mike’s father took over at this point and married these two. How cool and special is that? There ceremony was full of laughs and emotions. After they walked down the aisle it was on! I must say this was a partying wedding. The first time City Rhythm started playing during dinner the floor was packed. It pretty much stayed that way all night. The Elario Photo Booth was hopping as well. Hayden knows how to get the people going! What a night!

I must say to Danaea and Mike, it’s been a pleasure getting to know you over the past year. I knew once we met we’d be friends. Kris Ann and I have enjoyed our dinners in Boston and Albany. You’re both awesome people and super fun to be around. I wish I could shoot your wedding every weekend! :) We’re happy to have set 2012 off with you guys. Thanks so much for trusting us to capture this special day for you! Congrats!

Peace,
JP

Who could forget these two from their beautiful North End engagement session?

January 14th 2012..

The Louboutin’s..

Danaea, getting made fabulous..

All the girls watched while Danaea opened her gifts from Mike.

Who doesn’t love something from Cartier? Shout out to Danaea’s mom Laurie, (my instagram pal) in the top left image..

I love this getting ready shot.

Yep, its going to be a good day.

Meanwhile in the guys suite… Step 6 is the most confusing..

Mike pretty much smiled like this all day..

because he was going to marry her..

One of my favorites of Danaea.

Dad saw Danaea for the first time and hugged her and really didn’t want to let go.. It was sweet.

Did someone order some hotness from Fleurtacious Designs ?

All stunning.. can I shoot all your weddings? If you’re already married its ok, just get married again!

That gown was perfect for Danaea..

The boys.. I was competing with Kosta for best hair..

Looking sharp my man..

A fun little first look series.. Look at Mike’s face in that one image!

Caught ya..

It was cold but all 16 of them hung in there..

A little backlight warmed it up though..

I love the way the light is catching their profiles..

Danaea and Mike killed the configuration both at their engagement session and the wedding..

The fur was pretty but Danaea wanted to loose it..

I must have said something funny because I’m a riot (not).

My facebook (lets be friends) teaser… I love this image.

Another favorite..

Ok one more. I thought they were going to turn into an ice sculpture here.. Love the light and shadows though..

The ceremony space.. More in the round please!

Mike waits for Danaea and Dad..

Always a great moment with the bride and her father before they walk down the aisle..

Mike’s father officiated the ceremony. It was so special.

Mr & Mrs..

The Hall of Springs iced out with some beautiful creations from Fleurtacious Designs

Making an entrance..

First dance.. if you have a first dance in the Hall of Springs you MUST spin your bride around! ;)

A little pano of the room..

Instead of wedding cake Danaea and Mike had this awesome popcorn bar.. The popcorn was flavored. Two of my favorites were buffalo wing and pickle. Yes pickle, Danaea’s favorite flavor, it was really good too! Popcorn from: Popcorn Papa.

As all brides and grooms should do Danaea and Mike partied their asses off. (“OMG he said ass” yup! :)

And when they weren’t partying they were in the Elario Photo Booth wilding out in front of “Spangled” from drop it MODERN.

Ok.. seeing double? Who has the better hair? ;)

One of my favorites..

Snow bunnies

Congrats you two!!

ps. All the New Orleans photos other than the instagrams were taken with my Nikon V1 which is a fun little camera and I highly recommend it. Don’t worry when it comes to professional, I’m still a Canon guy.

While in New Orleans I did the touristy thing! We visited Bourbon St which was fun. It’s just crazy down there.

I did a little speaking thang at Miller’s Lab and mpix pro’s booth… I’ll be speaking at their booth at WPPI this year. Also I have a platform class so please pre board if you wanna hear what I have to say!

My photo BFF Dale Benfield , and I took a morning to explore the French Quarter. Cafe Du Monde, was a highlight for sure. Dale and his wife Meredith are really wonderful photographers in Arkansas and dear friends to me! Follow their blog, its fun!

Here are some of my instagrams while in New Orleans.. I told you guys last year to get on instagram because its the bomb. One year later and I’m still loving it. How about drop it MODERN’s booth all spangled out? Looks sweet, but not as good as Emeril’s gumbo!  Follow me if you don’t, my instagram name is jpelario.

Want one? Come see us This Sunday, January 22, 2012 at Glen Sanders Mansion. The bridal show is the only one we do. The hours are 11:00am – 3:00pm.

Oh yeah!! I shot this awesome wedding before I went to New Orleans. Be sure to check back next week for their blog! Congrats to Danaea and Mike!!

Last but not least, the winnner of the 2011 favorite wedding from the first half contest was Marie and Chris! They won a Luxe frame with this image in it from Millers Lab!! Congrats to you guys! All that campaigning on facebook sure helped!