Your Wedding Advice - StrictlyWeddings.com Blog

Fall in love at The Dallas Arboretum

Fall in love at The Arboretum, Chase & Rachel did and Thisbe Grace photographed every sweet moment. From cobble pathways to fountain courtyards full of fall foliage and flowers, The Dallas Arboretum never ceases to offer a setting worth capturing with love. Let the suns rays peer through the trees and warm you as you stroll hand in hand, kissing at every turn. 

Green – A Refreshing Change for a Wedding

Meg Perotti is a California wedding photographer whose work we have featured many times. In this case, we couldn’t bypass the “freshness” of green as the main color in this wedding in San Jose. It’s like that “ahhhh” feeling you get when you have an ice-cold drink on a hot, sunny day or the noticeable pop when your eyes shift from dark to light. We hope the photographs  we shared with you today resonate with you as well.

Trained in fine art photography, Meg Perotti approaches weddings in an intimate artful way, resulting in lovely images that emulate her unique personality and beauty. She states clearly on her blog that she absolutely loves what she does and if it touches your heart, she’d love to hear from you!

New York City Secret Proposal in Central Park

Gruber Photographers wanted to end our week with a smile. This secret proposal in New York City’s Central Park, captured by Maike Schulz, says it all. Enjoy their story!

Prospective groom Alejandro may have pulled off one of the biggest New York surprise proposals that we have seen in awhile – his girlfriend didn’t even know he was in the same state!  Here’s how it went down …

Alejandro and Marie, who are from Houston, had planned a fun weekend in New York City visiting relatives.  The plan was for Alejandro to arrive a day later and meet Marie in the city.

Marie and Alejandro’s sister decided to take a walk in Central Park (how she got her to take a walk in the rain is genius!) and when they arrived at Bow Bridge, Alejandro was waiting.

The wonderful Maike Schulz who braved the elements as well, was hiding out prepared to capture the monumental moment.

And as soon as Marie accepted his proposal, the rain stopped.  It doesn’t get more fairytale than that.  Wishing them a bright future!

Love Actually – Abby and Marty

This lovely bride and groom, so very in love, is courtesy of our StrictlyWeddings.com New York City partner Gruber Photographers. After choosing the magical Angel Orensanz as their New York wedding venue, Abby and Marty, with the help of Chlo Events + Production, began creating a night that truly reflected their personalities, style and love for one another. The couple wanted romance and glamour to shine through, so the space was bathed in the glow of candlelight while the abundance of crystals lent an additional sparkle. Gruber’s New York wedding photographer, Maike Schulz, was there to capture every moment.

Just as the couple was about to begin the processional, Marty had a surprise for his new wife! Being that Love Actually is their favorite movie, he surprised her with a gospel choir during the processional and an acoustic guitar version of their wedding song (Jason Mraz “I’m Yours”). Cue the tears!

Abby and Marty are such a social couple, for their reception they decided upon a chic cocktail reception event complete with various lounge areas that allowed the drinks and dancing to flow all night!

Architectural Elegance – Wedding at Disney Hall

Our thanks to L.A. Photographer Ryan Phillips for sharing this wedding with us. The elegance of the couple and the bride’s wedding gown by Gucci was almost out shined by the sleek architectural lines of Disney Concert Hall as the wedding venue.

Here’s the recap in Ryan’s words: “Maria and Paul had a beautiful wedding at Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. These two Bostonians give power couple a new meaning. Dressed to the nines, Maria was wearing a stunning Gucci wedding dress with some serious Jimmy Choo heels. Paul was wearing a a custom Brooks Brothers suit. I have shot many engagement sessions at Disney but this was the first wedding…what a great location to get married! The architecture makes for stunning photos and creates an amazing experience for guests. We had the whole place to ourselves to shoot. It’s like an amusement park for Photographers.”

Hair and Make-Up: Mariah Nicole
Coordinator: Cara MacIntosh
Florist: Glorian Oh
Caterer: Patina

Every Bride Deserves to be a Princess

Or that’s how Dallas Wedding Photographer Thisbe Grace sees it, and we don’t disagree! This playful and engaging photo shoot of bride-to-be Sunshine Crump at Dallas’ Nasher Sculpture Center will bring smiles to many for years to come.

Bride – Sunshine Crump
Dress – Legends by Romona Keveza
Shoes – Valentino
Bracelet – Lulu Frost
Earrings – Bloomingdales
Engagement ring – 1920′s vintage from Lang Antiques in San Francisco
Wedding rings – Ll Pavorsky in Philadelphia
Eye shadow – Beautiful Iris by MAC
Lip gloss – 106 Chanel
Location – Nasher

GLAM! Kate Spade Shoes Sparkle

These Kate Spade Wedding Shoes, photographed by LA Photographer Ryan Phillips, just screamed GLAM when we saw them. We just couldn’t resist. Of course, if we had shoes like these we’d create places to go to wear them again and again. The bride’s wedding gown by Monique Lhuillier is equally stunning.

WeddingPhotography411 – Advice for the Bride & Groom

WeddingPhotography411.com is a new website co-created by LA Photographer Robert Evans, who is one of the talents we’ll have with us when we expand to Los Angeles, and friend and photographer Ryan Phillips.

Robert and Ryan created this site to educate future brides and grooms about the most important part of any wedding day, their wedding photographs. The website helps the couple understand everything there is to know about getting great wedding photography. As they explain,”if they can keep a bad or disappointing wedding photography experience from happening then the site will be a success.”

We really like the overall site design. So much to learn. But defnitely, take a look at the “Must Read” posts. It’s not just about the photography, but what not to eat the week of your wedding, engagement photos, reviewing the photographer’s portfolio. This is amazing information! As it states, these are must reads.

This images below are just a sample of the wedding photography you can enjoy on Robert’s website. Always a plus for new ideas and inspiration.

A special moment between father and daughter – so precious!

Robert’s eye has been noticed by some of the world’s biggest celebrities. Robert has been sought after to photograph some of the most widely publicized weddings of the last century, including the weddings of Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes, Brad Pitt & Jennifer Aniston, pop singer Anastacia, and Ioan Gruffudd & Alice Evans. Some of Robert’s other clients include Jim Carrey, Jenny McCarthy and Christina Aguilera.

Celebration – live, love and happiness.

A stolen moment. Love the black Calla Lily bouquet.

Destination Weddings are showcased on Robert’s website as well as advice for destination photography on WeddingPhotography411.com

What an elegant shot of the bride descending to meet her father.

Photographers love the photos that turn our unexpected surprises, such as the spray from the perfume.

Napa Valley – Destination Wedding – an intimate affair with special friends

Napa Valley – Destination Wedding – Enjoying the night celebrating

This Princess Married her Prince

Not long ago, StrictlyWeddings.com had the opportunity to work with Kelly Crowder, when she produced several of our video features. We loved her talents then and this summer she applied those talents to her wedding. This princess met her groom while working at Medieval Times. (Literally, he was the knight on the white horse and Kelly was the princess). Five years later, on the anniversary of their meeting, she married her knight in shining armor.

The talents of Dallas photographer Paul Ernest is apparent in each of these photographs; they not only capture the joy of the young couple, but also both the playfulness and romance that is part of their relationship.

Kelly’s dress required a bit of tenaciousness on her part. She wanted a big ball gown, but none were found in Dallas to her liking. She took her search online (thank goodness for the Internet) and found a Maggie Sottero gown in Waco, Texas. Road trip! Her shoes were dyed to match the bridesmaid’s dresses. We love the crystals on the bottom! Kelly wanted a very bright and happy color theme. The bridesmaids’ dresses were a mermaid color and the flowers were orange and purple to contrast and stand out. We love her fresh approach.

The location of the reception was in Fort Worth, Texas at the T&P Station, an old train station used for the Texas and Pacific Railroad. The main ticket lobby is now the main ballroom and as soon as Kelly walked in to the ballroom, the “Princess in her took over and visions of a big ballroom reception” took flight.

Cake Designer – Delicious Cakes

San Juan, Puerto Rico makes for a beautiful wedding

Untamed, restrained, cosmopolitan and country, Puerto Rico has it all. El Yunque – America’s largest rain forest – and 19 other forest reserves are home to 20 orchid varieties and countless other flora and fauna. Water babies will love its 270 miles of coastline littered with innumerable snorkeling, sunning and world-class surfing beaches. The island’s massive central mountain range tops 4,000 feet and demands hikers take note. There’s even a phosphorescent bay that glows at night.

After dark, visit New San Juan for its flamenco dancers, piano bars, open-air concerts, clubs, casinos, folkloric shows and Latin revues. Casinos can be found in almost every major hotel, clubs for all shapes and tastes go in and out of trendy favor, and there are always new restaurants to sample.

These fabulous photographs are from a destination wedding in San Juan, Puerto Rico from Andy Marcus of Fred Marcus Photography at the beautiful Ritz-Carlton resort. One hundred friends partied the weekend away and had such a great time. The weather was amazing and only made the ceremony held on the beach even more special.