Friday Frames // Wedding tips from my newest bride

This post is inspired by a newest bride of mine, Kasey. She inquired with me for a 2016 wedding, she states she has been looking around for a while and felt the most connection with my photos, she has a few venues in mind and is not set on the date rather she asks me for my open dates between June-August 2016.  I email her back my open dates, tell her I love her venues she's looking at and over the weekend her and her fiance go "bumming around" looking at said venues and dates. She comes back with a date that works for everyone and Viola! She has her wedding in the works.  Three days after her first email she has her perfect venue and photographer she wanted booked....Her last email states "This is easier than I thought"!!

Stress free wedding planning. 

A few things I want to highlight here to make your wedding planning process easier

Breathe. Sometimes brides get that ring on and it's like Gollum and his "precious", your vision narrows, your excitement heightens, things get crazy. You do not need a dress that weekend, you do not need a wedding party, you do not need a date.  Enjoy being engaged, have fun and breathe.

Don't create your own stress. Unless your emotionally attached to a date, leave your options open to work with specific vendors (photographer). Especially if your having a family farm or backward wedding...your in control, change the date. Or even at a venue you can simply ask them if they have other dates open, you can move your deposit to a new date. Be Creative ladies, nothing is concrete.

There are no "Have to's".  You do not "have to" get married at a specific venue, you do not "have to" get married on a certain date, you do not "have to" get married the same year he puts a ring on it (refer back to #1), you do not "have to" have engagement photos in the first month, you do not "have to" do anything at all. 

Do not read wedding magazine timelines. They are full of it. The last one I came across said to book your venue and photographer last....last! Give me a break. Unless you are planning a backyard wedding, pick your venue and unless you plan on having uncle bob photograph your wedding with an ipad, pick your photographer 12-15 months in advance is where I am booking currently. (Wedding magazine said to book 6-8 months in advance) the farther advance you book, the better odds your favorite vendors will be available. ( keep it 15 months and under) 

Moral of the story, balance it. Seriously, slow down, keep your options open, give yourself time and when that time is right, book your venue, book your photographer.  This is just my opinion and it obviously doesn't fit every wedding scenario,  perhaps your planning an elopement or intimate backyard wedding, these can easily be planned in under a year but you could still run into issues finding the right vendors for you. 

This is me...married 7 years on November 10th to the love of my life! 

Photo Credit: Krystal Muellenberg Photography

Nate + Whitney's Enchanted Fall Wedding

Nearly 5 years ago a bride, Erin contacted me for her wedding, I told her I wasn't available because 5 years ago, I was only shooting about 4 weddings a year. She emailed back and said "are you sure? here's where the wedding is"...with a link to The Enchanted Barn. I was instantly sold, I had to work here with Erin, it was the perfect wedding it opened more doors for me than I could have ever dreamed of, every year after I have been fortunate enough to work at the barn, it's come along way the first time I was there it had port-o-potties!  This year I was honored and excited to come back with the Sorenson Family for Erin's brother Nate's wedding.  Whitney and Nate planned a simple and breathtaking wedding on a beautiful November day. Her dress, his suit, this barn, it all worked perfectly. I loved Whitney's timeless details in her peplum wedding dress, dried bouquet and finger tip veil.  The barn was as always a perfect backdrop for this gorgeous and intimate wedding.  I'm so excited to share this preview, enjoy!

Friday Frames // I'm a Believer

What do you believe in? Fate? meant to be? I truly do. Seriously, I believe in it so much that I use it in my daily life like If things don't come easily for me then I don't think they should happen.  I never try to fit a square peg into a triangle shaped hole. For instance, like buying a car, I test drive it, I like it, I call back the next day and it's already sold so I shrug my shoulders and chalk it up as not meant to be. If there's a long line or detour- not meant to be, if something doesn't go as planned or flow easy, not meant to happen.  In my business life I use it too like when an awesome wedding inquiry comes in and I sweat it for 3 days and then they get back to me with "we went another way", yes, it stings and for a day or two it felt right but in the end, it just wasn't meant to be and the people passing me by made room for the ones who don't. More importantly I use it in my soul, my center, myself, my happiness. 

What am I getting at? I believe this photography gig was meant to be for me.  It's never been a trend or glamorous. Although it was a long road of learning and processing who I am as a photographer, and it wasn't always pretty, it all did happened fairly easily. 

 20+ years ago when this beautiful girl, my cousin who was around 7-8 years old I photographed her with my fancy Kodak 110 camera me being super-cool-in-my-own-mind-older tween self age 11-12.  I dressed them up in silly dresses, wigs and make-up we found at grandma's. I photographed her and her sister and my sister all posing like glamour shots. ( I begged to get my film developed ASAP and I still have proof !) Amy went on to beauty pageants and modeling, (no surprise there she is gorgeous) and here I am, a wedding photographer. Needless to say, our Grandma is not surprised. But perhaps the most exciting thing to happen is now we are grown up and have our own lives and kids and Amy is going to be a mom soon and here we are, me taking her photos again. She is more gorgeous and glowing than ever and I just know this was all meant to be.