Written by Candace on January 7, 2016 | 3 Comments

10 Ways To Relieve Stress On Your Wedding Day

This January marks the 7 year anniversary of our photography business.

Within those 7 years, we have photographed over 100 weddings, either together or with other photographers. We’ve seen it all! And as all the newly engaged couples begin planning and dreaming for their wedding day, I thought I’d share 10 ways to help keep stress low on your wedding day. Most of them are accomplished during the planning process so grab a notepad and take notes.

10 Practical Ways To Relieve Stress On Your Wedding Day

Pick a location that can host your entire event, from getting ready all the way to the reception. Traveling from one location to another can add so much stress to a wedding day. Traffic, arriving late or getting lost, or even your mode of transportation breaking down en route to the ceremony or reception. Yes, these all have happened! (Bonus: Having everything at one location also maximizes your time as you don’t have to allow for travel time in your timeline.)
Be very selective when it comes to choosing your wedding party. Do not choose bridesmaids or groomsmen out of guilt or obligation. Make sure they are the kind of person who will have your best interest at heart and will happily serve you on your wedding day.
Plan a realistic timeline. This is something your wedding planner and photographer should work together on for you. If you don’t have a wedding planner, make sure the photographer you hire can help you realistically plan out your timeline. The DJ or caterer will help you plan your reception. But the photographer needs to help you shape the day from the getting ready, to the ceremony, and through the portraits. (This is so valuable I should expound on it more – check back for a blog post with more details on this item.)
Schedule at least 10 minutes alone with your spouse on the wedding day to slow down and soak in what this day means to the two of you. I usually recommend finding a secluded spot right after the recessional.
Consider doing a First Look and taking all of your pictures before the ceremony. From our experience, the last thing clients want to do after their ceremony is take photos. They just want to go celebrate! (Bonus: your hair and makeup is more fresh before the ceremony too!)
Work with vendors who have your best interest in mind and who work well with other vendors. The working well with other vendors is usually about having your best interest in mind. So, do your homework! Don’t just hire someone who is exceptional at what they do. Hire someone who is exceptional at what they do and who is also kindhearted and thoughtful. Both are necessary when it comes to emotionally charged wedding days. (Tip: read their yelp pages or ask to speak with a previous client.)
If you can afford it, hire a wedding planner. If you can’t, here are my recommendations. Reread and execute #3 above. Schedule a date 2 – 4 weeks before your wedding date as your wedding day deadline. Everything must be complete by that date! It is so easy to put little things off, but they quickly add up and will leave you frazzled during your wedding week when you’ll want to be stress free and enjoying all your family and friends who are in town for your wedding. (Trust me, I’m speaking from my own wedding day experience here too!) Lastly, think of someone right now who knows you well, loves you a lot, and knows how to get a job done. Ask that person to be the point of contact for all wedding day decisions so you aren’t aware when things don’t go exactly how they’re supposed to go. (Tip: everything won’t go exactly as you planned it.)
Hire a good day DJ who can keep the party flowing and the energy alive. There is nothing worse then awkward pauses during the reception or a song that kills the dance floor. Again, do your research!
About a week or two before the wedding, go on a date with your fiance. Decide together what you need to let go of, what needs to be delegated, and how you’re going to enjoy your wedding week together. And resolve from that day forward, to stay a team and not let anything come between each other or get in the way of your wedding day happiness.
All venues require the entire place being cleaned up by a certain time or there are most likely penalties. Likely of the financial kind. Your caterer or rental company usually helps with the big stuff. But if you’ve brought anything in yourselves, done anything DIY, then you’ll be responsible to clean all of that up before the end of the night. Have a clean up team in place of friends or family who want to help you so you can leave at the end of the day with a peace of mind that you’re not going to return from your honeymoon with overstay or damage fees. This includes a trustworthy person to handle any of your personal belongings and your gifts. (Tip: Be sure to send a thank you to anyone who helps you.)

You may not find these doing a Google search or in your favorite wedding magazine, but I promise they all come from experience. A couple from my own wedding day, but most were inspired from the experiences of our clients. Weddings are emotionally charged events no matter what steps you take, but there are many practical ways to stay stress free and keep those emotions on the happier side (with a little bit of nerves mixed in, of course!).

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Written by Candace on January 5, 2016 | 2 Comments

A Real San Francisco Proposal
Scott+Andrea

It is officially engagement season! Every time I open my Facebook feed, somebody else is engaged. Tis’ the season! We thought we’d join in the celebration and share a real San Francisco proposal we had the pleasure of photographing last year. Looking through the images, I now wish I had photos of my own proposal. I’m so happy to know Scott and Andrea will always have these to remember such a momentous day.

The proposal images I see most often, you can tell the photographer is pretty far away from the couple in order to not ruin the surprise moment. But we planned a different kind of experience with Scott and Andrea. The day Scott proposed was his actual birthday so he told Andrea ahead of time that he wanted to have some pictures taken of the two of them for his birthday. This gave Vitaliy the opportunity to get up close and personal while still keeping a distance when Scott went to actually pop the question. We decided ahead of time to take some portraits and when Vitaliy found the best spot there was a code word so Scott knew Vitaliy was ready whenever he was. It worked perfectly! There were hugs, tears and celebration!

I helped with the planning, but opted to stay in the car with Rose during the actual proposal in order to keep it intimate. But I couldn’t wait to give my own celebratory hug once they were all finished! This was so special to be a part of. I hope 2016 will open up more opportunities to photograph real proposals! Especially with beautiful views like this one of San Francisco in the background.

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Written by Candace on December 31, 2015 | 3 Comments

Two Thousand Fifteen

It’s the very last day of an epic year! 2015 will always be unforgettable.

It was hard not filling up every one of these squares with a picture of Rose. She was definitely the highlight of our year! But as we thought back over the last 12 months, there were many more things we’re feeling very thankful for today. Here’s a recap of our year!

9 highlights, accomplishments and blessings from 2015 from left to right, top to bottom.

Our sweet Rose was born on February 14, 2015. I love this girl.
This was a year we really had to lean into our friends and family more than ever before. And even on days we were too tired or sometimes even unaware of what we needed, someone would call offering the very thing necessary to brighten our day. Meals, baby care, clothes for Rose, painting and cleaning the new house, or simply offering a listening ear. We are surrounded by some of the most dedicated and loving people.
The freedom to stay at home and mother my child. Since becoming a mother, I am so in awe of women. All women, well, moms in particular. Whether you birthed or adopted your child, moms are incredible. The magnitude of what our bodies can endure blows my mind. God’s beautiful design never ceases to amaze. But on top of that, the strength, vulnerability and perseverance it requires to mother. I had no idea I possessed these qualities. Whether you are a working mom, a stay-at-home mom, or in my case both – I will be raising a glass to you tonight!
Vitaliy faced his fears and pursued many different kinds of photography outside of the wedding industry. This particular photo he was commissioned to travel to the East Coast and document the experience of Bolivian organic quinoa farmers in the United States.
Whole 30. Vitaliy and I did our first Whole 30 in May. We never felt better! We learned a ton about food, our bodies and ourselves. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a good plan after it ended and fell back into some old habits. So, we’ll be doing our second Whole 30 starting January 31 and finally have a game plan of going Paleo at the end. Anybody want to join us!? Send me an email – we’re trying to get a whole team of us.
We rediscovered the joy of family portraiture. I think Rose may have something to do with this and enjoying our own family photos. Looking forward to doing more family sessions in 2016!
This is such a small thing, but at the same time, it feels huge. We have been able to remain debt free even after having our first child. We did Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University two years ago and started using the cash envelope system. We’ve been consistently keeping a budget and using the system ever since and I am extremely thankful. Being debt free creates so much freedom in life and freedom is one of our important family values.
A new home! Renting a home in the bay area was not even a thought for us because it seemed utterly impossible. But God had different plans for us and provided a way without us even trying. We are so, so happy for the additional space. To see Rose crawling (almost walking!) around and playing in her own room. But more than anything, this experience has reminded me that with Jesus, the impossible is possible. A truth I need as I step into the new year with goals and ideas that feel impossible.
A trip home to St. Louis to visit my family for Thanksgiving. Seeing Rose with all of my family was the best! We created so many new memories that I will always hold dear to my heart.

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