Morningside Weddings Welcome Guide Rough Draft

The Wedding

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table of

CONTENT

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HELLO & CONGRATS!

01

ABOUT THE HANDEGARDS

03

CLIENT PORTAL & PINTEREST

05

ENGAGEMENT SHOOT PREP

07

ENGAGEMENT SHOOT

09

WEDDING DAY TIMELINE/TIPS

11

WEDDING DAY TIPS CONT.

15

PRE - CEREMONY

17

GETTING READY PHOTOS

19

THE WINDOW EFFECT

21

FIRST LOOK & PORTRAITS

25

CEREMONY & FAMILY PORTRAITS

27

RAINY DAY NO MORE!

31

RECEPTION

33

YOUR ONLINE GALLERY

35

FINAL WORDS OF ADVICE

37

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02

HELLO &

CO N G R AT S ! #morningsideweddings

Yay! Congrats on one of the most exciting times of you life ever!

Overwhelmed? Excited? Nervous?

Let me tell you something, every bride to be is! This is such an exciting time for you and your hubby to be. We offer as many tools as we can to assist you, meaning we go above and beyond just photographing or video of your special day. We have over 4 years under our belt and about 100 weddings documented and many more engagement sessions as well. So what’s next? Your looking into documenting your day and we absolutely are honored to be one of the vendors you are interested in! I want you look at my images and feel something. We want to connect our my clients, and we want to be your friend. We are so in love with love. Its a journey and learning new things about you is our favorite. There are so many quirks in each relationship we totally understand. Our goal is to learn about your love for each other and capture its authentic nature. We have prepared some tips & tricks to help with your wedding planning. At the end of the day when the dust settles its about the two of you. Your next chapter will begin and having these memories photgraphed is priceless. Thank yo so much for choosing us to document your day and we are certain your our dreamie client. Just follow along with your client portal and these tips and you will be a pro in no time! We are here to make it stress free! If you have any questions email us anytime!

Enjoy and CONGRATS AGAIN!

KRISTINA

JAKE

BOTH

Loves:

Loves:

Loves:

Chocolate Puppies Chipotle Marvel Jake Weddings Spice Girls Wine

Music Puppies Candy New Tech Kristina TACOS Rap Concerts Zombies

You! Meeting Truly In Love Couples Netflix Candy Marvel Creating Loving Family

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04

About

THE HANDEGARDS Kristina’s favorite movie growing up was “Never Been Kissed” with Drew Barrymore......

So we are a very different couple or at least very rare we believe. Why? We have spent over 6 years together literally almost every hour of everyday together minus a 4 month tour Jake went on lol. Yes, we are that couple! We work in the office, at weddings and live together 24/7. We have shot weddings for most of our relationship as well so it is very much our baby. Kristina does have a confession...you will most likely see her teary eyed at some point on your wedding day. We take care of our couples like family and very much believe in open communication. Facebook, email, snapchat...all social media is open for communicating. Weddings are amazing… we love being apart of such a big milestone and meeting new couples as well as their families.

Enough about us...we want to tell you about our services and hopefully hear more about your engagement story and both of you in general!

Kristina- “I‘m a destination photographer, traveler, and story teller based out of the Midwest. I live in yoga pants! I love to travel, lacrosse, horseback riding, fishing, soccer, gardening, designing, and cooking. We travel all over the world documenting people, weddings and basically everything around us. I love experiencing everything through my eyes and on camera to relive moments and memories for me/others. I love having the chance to do so many great things with the click of my camera. Capturing moments to capture as memories makes my soul smile. I strive to learn as much as I can. I am often found on my computer googling the latest technology and wedding trends. I am a pinterest fanatic“.

Jake- “I am a videographer who began specializing in music videos for a oscar winning artist while still in college. I also began with short films, and documentaries. Now I have expanded in to weddings and real estate videography with my beautiful wifey Kristina. She is the reason I started venturing into weddings and love that I get to spend everyday with her. I love music...mainly rap, turtles, wrestling, basketball, my family and exploring. I travel all over the world for video assignments meeting amazing people and am so lucky to call this my career. I started with music videos and you can see more at www.morningsidefilms.com“.

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05

CLIENT PORTAL &

PINTEREST

We have a beautiful client portal now!

After booking we will create your portal and send you a link via email with it and a password to enter.

Pinterest also helps with choosing outfits and themes for you to plan.

After you receive the portal info you can access it also through out website typing in your email and password.

Pinterest boards are shared between us and we both put ideas in there to get a general idea of what your looking for with locations/outfits/props and more.

In your Portal there will be a copy of your contract as well as other documents to help create a wedding timeline/engagement session prep/ audio importance in videos and more!

Client Portals & Pinterest are important tools for organizing everything photo/video related with us.

Please fill out each form we send and look over the info.

We also have a easy payment system through your client portal! No more checks and mailing contracts. Its all digital!

We try to summarize everything so you don’t have a ton of paperwork piled on top of all your wedding stuff. Trust me we know how overwhelming it all is.

We make sure to send them and can see when they are viewed/filled out.

PINTEREST The best tool ever for inspiration! Yes inspiration not copying...that’s illegal.

You will receive a follow up page in your client portal with info on creating boards to share with us. We use this as a tool to see if you like more dramatic images/posing ore more romantic.

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If you ever have any questions please email us.

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Exclusive CLIENT PORTAL Morningsideweddings.com

PREP ENGAGEMENT SHOOT

08

Clothing

Pamper

Choose colors that go together and keep the same colour palette as this will unify you together in the shots. I also think it is important to wear color and maybe mix with some blacks/whites [can look harsh depending on scenery and skintone].

Think about where we are shooting and choose appropriate clothes ie: if its winter hats and scarves or on the beach in summer think sun dress and flip flops.

You will look how you feel! SO pamper yourself.

Make sure your clothes are washed, pressed, fresh, and stain free.

Think classic, no wording on your clothes and nothing too fashionable as this will date your images quickly.

Also think about accessories and shoes little details that could be brought out in a photo to make it catch your eye and blend well with both outfits to unify your looks.

If we are going to an appropriate location why not dress up a bit, a dress and heels looks fabulous or jeans, a shirt and suit jacket for the guys you will feel amazing and in turn look amazing.

Try your clothes on first (both of you.) Do a 360 check in the mirror.

Look for any problem areas and opt for outfits that flatter you from all sides. Be aware if your bra strap tends to show in that dress, if you need a slip, if you need a different size in jeans, if a shirt hugs you a little too much, dips too low, etc. Be comfortable and confident in what you’re wearing. If you love your clothes, you’ll be more relaxed and your shots will turn out even better!

Ladies: A makeup trial for your wedding day can be scheduled on your engagement session day.

Nails, there will be images of your ring on your hand so a little polish or getting a manicure is suggested.

Gentlemen: Skin, At least one week before you’ve got pictures scheduled (or the wedding) stay in the shade, wear sunscreen and play it safe.

Hobbies Incorporating hobbies is another way to make your shoot personal to you as a couple. Fishing, favorite sports teams, picnics, and many other hobbies to help tell your love story. If you have a pet this is something we could incorporate too they are after all part of your little family.

Location Think about your location, it is lovely to go somewhere that is meaningful to you as a couple but also has a variety of backdrops to make things more exciting and give you real variety in the images.

engagement shoots, they give you something fun and natural to do while making the shoot individual and interesting. Riding a bike, picninc, apple picking, going to the library, really any date idea makes a perfect story to tell the life you live together.

Props Think about the kind of props that might go with the shoot you have chosen. Get creative and make a statment with your props to express your love with a sign & quote. You can choose little details for a picnic or if your going to a orchard a cute basket and blanket. I could go on forever about props as they can really ‘make’ a photo, they are also fun and make your images unique to you. Here are some ideas: - Flowers: a bunch, loose stems, wildflowers, small pots -Balloons: a bunch, multi-color, or single unique balloons that make a statement -Food: lollipops, popsicles, ice cream, cupcakes, big cookies, apples, watermelon, bananas, hot dogs, s’mores, wine, beer, coffee, favorite candy, popcorn.

-Objects: books, pets, heirloom objects, love letters, special gifts, fire arms, sports team paraphernalia, paper parasols, hand fans, masquerade masks, musical instruments.

Activities Activities are fabulous in

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09

t n e m e g a Eng

n o i s Ses GET READY

YAY! Your wedding date is reserved and we recieved your contract. Its time to get your engagement session date booked. If your already booked, its time to get your glam on in preperation for your engagement shoot! Here we have collected some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your photo session. I absolutely love photographing Engagement Sessions for my couples because it give my couples the chance to get to know me and my shooting style. Lets get started........

com/kristinalabbe. Notify me that you created and follow me on Pinterest.

I will then follow you and notify you.

- Go to “Engagement Picture Photo Ideas” then click add contributor and type in my name. It will pull up then click add.

- Go to “Wedding Day Photo Ideas” then click add contributor and type in my name. It will pull up then click add.

I will receive a invitation for each board and accept!

1. The next step is to create a Pinterest Board for “Engagement Picture Photo Ideas” and another “Wedding Day Photo Ideas”.

CONGRATS! Now you can pin to each board ideas of outfits you like, poses and more. They are not to be duplicated but a inspirational board so I know if you like more posing, more candids, more girl and so on. This also helps you visualize outfits and props you may want to use. I can also add anything I may find for you and if you like them keep them and if you don’t delete it out of the board.

2. After you created one of each please follow me at www.pinterest.

Our #1 Asked Question: How soon before our wedding should

WHAT TO DO RIGHT AFTER BOOKING WITH MORNINGSIDE WEDDINGS YOUR BOOKED! It’s one thing marked off your to do list.

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we have the engagement shoot?

The answer really depends on how you intend to use the photos. Typically, couples want to use at least one of the photos for their save-the-dates – so in this case sooner is better. If you don’t care about save-the-dates, your next consideration should be location.

If you have a specific place in mind, perhaps a spot that’s special to you both, that location may look better at certain times of year more than others.

Lastly, I tend to be most busy during May-October so if you have a tough schedule to start with, I recommend booking your session when I am not totally slammed with the normal wedding season (and therefore have more flexibility with my own schedule). ** Mostly weekday evenings 2 hours before sunset we do sessions. **There are only a few Sundays free and select Saturdays during our busy season [May-October].

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WEDDING DAY

TIMELINE & TIPS We know this can be the most intimidating part of wedding planning! So here are suggestions to help you plan your wedding day.

This isn’t the most exciting part of the wedding planning process. It’s as fun as the guest list...but we are here to help you make it as easy as we can.

Most couples choose to do a “first look” so the following sample timeline is based on a wedding day if the ceremony starts at 6PM. Based on my years as a wedding photographer, I feel confident estimating how much time I’ll need for aspects of the day, but to ensure we’re on the same page, here’s a breakdown of what I’ll need to document everything perfectly: 2 hours - Bride/Groom Prep & Detail Shots [dress, jewelry, and rings] 30-45 minutes - Bridal Party Photos 30 - 1 hour - Bride + Groom Photos 30 minutes - Family Photos (if you have large extended families, it may take longer we estimate 3-5 minutes per family picture We usually recommend about 2/3 minutes per small group (2-8 people) and about 5 minutes per large group (8+ people).)

30 minutes - Reception Decor Photos [suggested to let into reception room privately before guests while they are at cocktail hour this can be discussed further to customize to your plans] 10 minutes - Ceremony Decor Photos How many people will be getting hair and makeup done? (1 hour per

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person) How long will it take to get from the place you are getting ready, to your ceremony location?

How long will it take to get from your ceremony location to your reception location (if applicable)?

How long do you have your reception space/caterer/DJ? In addition to these questions being answered, there are also a few common tidbits that you need to consider when creating a Wedding Day Timeline.

Hair and makeup appointments- times and locations?

Time of arrival to ceremony location for bride and groom (especially necessary if needing to stay “hidden” from each other), and transportation to and from ceremony if needed Time to bustle your dress?

Will you and your new husband be attending the cocktail hour?

Announcement/Grand Entrance into your reception (and who will be announced- bridal party and parents, just bridal party, etc) Time of First Dance?

Time dinner will be served/buffet opened?

Time of Father/Daughter and Mother/ Son Dances?

Cake Cutting?

Toasts?

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14 Continues from previous page > SAMPLE WEDDING DAY TIMELINE WITH A FIRST LOOK 12:00pm Photographer arrival // Photographer photographs details like dress, shoes, jewelry, invitation, 1:00pm Bridesmaids get dressed // Photographer photographs lastminute hair and makeup touchups 1:30pm Bride gets dressed 2:00pm Bridal Portraits 2:40pm Groom gets dressed [same location/near] 3:00 Depart for first look location 3:15pm First Look 3:30 B/G portraits 4:30pm Bridal party photos 4:00pm Immediate family photos 4:30pm Bride gets tucked away from early arriving guests and touchups before Ceremony 4:40pm Photographers photograph Ceremony decor 4:55pm Bridal party lines up for Ceremony 5:00pm Ceremony 5:30pm End of Ceremony // Guests head to cocktail hour 5:55pm Sunset photos of bride and groom (optional) 6:10pm Photos commence 6:15pm Photographers photograph Reception decor and cocktail hour 6:30pm Guests invited to enter Reception and nd their seats 6:40pm Grand Entrance 6:50pm First Dance 7:00pm Welcome Toast/Prayer 7:10pm Dinner 7:45pm Toasts 8:00pm Father // Daughter & Mother // Son dances 8:10pm Open dancing 9:15pm Cake cutting 9:20pm Bouquet/garter toss 9:30pm Open dancing 10:00pm Photographers leave SAMPLE WEDDING DAY TIMELINE WITH A FIRST LOOK 1:00 PHOTOGRAPHY COVERAGE BEGINS Details & final preparations 2:00 BRIDE GETS DRESSED Bride’s portraits and group shots with bridesmaids 2:30 GROOM FINAL PREPARATIONS Groom’s details, portraits and group shots with groomsmen 3:00 FIRST LOOK Bride and Groom Portraits 3:30 WEDDING PARTY PORTRAITS 4:00 CEREMONY & RECEPTION DETAILS Bride and Groom tuck away from arriving guests Photograph ceremony site and reception details 5:00 CEREMONY MORNINGSIDE WEDDINGS

5:30 FAMILY PORTRAITS / COCKTAIL HOUR BEGINS 6:00 COCKTAIL HOUR Portraits of guests 6:30 CALL TO DINNER 6:40 GRAND ENTRANCE & FIRST DANCE 6:45 DINNER IS SERVED 7:30 GOLDEN HOUR BRIDE & GROOM PHOTOS **Remember that the “sunset time” means the sun is dipping below the skyline at this time and it will then be dark. Most photographers want to end your portraits at sunset, not start them** 8:00 TOASTS, CAKE CUTTING 8:15 SPECIAL DANCES Bride with her father, Groom and his mother 8:30 OPEN DANCING 8:45 BOUQUET & GARTER TOSS 9:00 PHOTOGRAPHY COVERAGE CONCLUDES [These are ideal timelines assuming a sunny day with a sunset around 8:00-8:30pm. Adjust the timeline given your needs] Every wedding has different logistics & please note that this timeline worksheet may or may not include all of the items that you will need to include on your custom timeline.

It is a starting point in planning for your day :) This type of schedule has brought us amazing results. It allows shooting according to the best light of the day, but we’re allowing for vendors or people that may run late. We have however had a couple with ceremonies beginning around 6 and in that case did a similiar schedule that had alot of time for various pictures, lunch and overall a very relaxed day. All schedules are different but we emphasize allowing the appropriate time with travel times in mind and notifying your guests when to be where on your wedding day.

First Look: We HIGHLY encourage all my brides to have a first look. You will get more portrait images and it’s way less rushed than doing them after the ceremony. I also LOVE capturing the emotion of you guys seeing each other for the first time.

No First Look: After the the ceremony we need to do your bride and groom portraits AND wedding party pictures after family formals.

That means I need an extra 2 hours (at least!) and you will miss your cocktail hour. During this time family combos tend to take a little longer then the average 5mn per photo because they want to chat with you.... you just got married :) . Again a first look is highly recommended

and we do have brides regretting not doing one because their day went by so fast and was taken up by photos for the majority of it :/ 1) Your wedding day goes by so fast and the two of you don’t really get alone time to share. The first look is a moment to share genuine emotions before your embark on your day together. A first look is a exclusive moment for you two lovebirds to share and great time to capture the very real moment of seeing the person you will be spending the reast of your life with.

2) The first look also allows you to be alone for your bride/groom portraits before bridal party and family portraits. This also allows you to take most of your pictures [with close family/brdal party] before the ceremony which allows more time after the ceremony to mingle [for example: out of town guests].

3) Getting most of your main pictures done before the ceremony also makes for a more relaxed you which in turn makes you and your family/friends more relaxed and photo ready.

Family Portraits: Doing the family portraits BEFORE the ceremony accomplishes a number of things: 1) There are no distractions so we can move quickly and family members.

2) Family can immediately enjoy cocktail hour & greet wedding guests after the ceremony.

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WEDDING DAY CHECKLIST FINAL WEDDING DAY TIMELINE SENT TO US COPIES OF WEDDING DAY TIMELINE SENT TO FAMILY AND BRIDAL PARTY FINAL FAMILY SHOT LIST SENT TO US FINAL FAMILY SHOT LIST SENT TO FAMILY MEMBERS DESIGNATED PHOTO AREA CLEAN. IN YOUR WELL LIT “GETTING READY” ROOM. PREFERABLY 2 WINDOWS IN ROOM ALL DETAILS OF THINGS TO BE WORN ON WEDDING DAY IN A CLEAN AREA GENTLEMEN: -BELT - SHOES -WATCH - CUFF LINKS - SOCKS - GIFTS/NOTES LADIES: - 2 WEDDING INVITATIONS - 2 SAVE THE DATES - SHOES - JEWELRY - VEIL - RINGS - GIFTS/NOTES - BOUQUET SOMETHING BLUE - GARTER IDEA OF WHERE TO HANG DRESS IN GETTING READY ROOM/VENUE [OPTIONAL WE CAN ALSO FIND A SPOT] BOUQUETS DELIVERED TO WHERE BRIDE DESIGNATED PERSON IN CHARGE OF FLOWERS RINGS WITH BRIDE IN MORNING FOR DETAIL SHOTS DESIGNATE ONE “BOSSY/INCHARGE” FAMILY MEMBER/FRIEND/PERSONAL ATTENDANT WHO KNOWS FAMILY

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Continues from previous page >

Wedding Day Timeline & Tips Continued

SAMPLE TIMELINE 11:00 Getting Ready & GR Details (TIP GIRLS: Get a nice hanger for dress. Have shoes, rings, veil, jewelry, other detail items & bouquet ready to photograph). ( TIP GUYS: Get a nice hanger for tux. Have shoes, tie, cuff links, watch, socks, & boutonniere ready to photograph). 12:00 All Hair and Makeup Finished 12:15 Dress On; Final Touches 12:45 First Look 1:00 Bride and Groom Portraits 2:00 Bridal Party [if several locations include travel time] *can be after ceremony also 2:30 Family Portraits read off shot list bride has given us. Assisted by 1 chosen family member to help call people over [see checklist to the right of this] Basic Combos: we give about 5 minutes per combo please keep that in mind when making schedule Bride and Groom w/ Bride’s parent[s] Bride and Groom w/ Bride’s immediate family Bride and Groom w/ Groom’s parent[s] Bride and Groom w/ Groom’s immediate family Bride and Groom w/ both sets of parents [Time may vary depending on family size] *before ceremony is HIGHLY recommended. It is less hectic for family members who want to go mingle with guests who they may have not seen for awhile. When making your family shot list you don’t want spend all your time taking pictures with every aunt and uncle and every possible family combination. Think of the ones you will cherish the most and put in frames/in your album. This tends to be the most stressful part of your wedding day and we would love to assist you make it as less straining as possible. We are pretty efficient and not afraid to wrangle people also to get them done in time.

3:30 Break / Details, Details! 4:00 Ceremony Begins 4:30 Ceremony Ends If you did a first look we rush to the reception hall for room shots of everything untouched before any guests. Usually cocktail hour is outside the room and we are let into the room to grab these shots. This is one area that brides usually forget/ don’t know to give us time for. This is another reason to do a first look. That way, I have more time during cocktail hour to get those gorgeous details and centerpieces.

5:00 Couple Joins the Cocktail Hour 5:30 Grand Entrance to Reception * (RECEPTION TIPS: 1. Serve salads BEFORE speeches.

16 Speeches that run long make for wilting salads and put dinner behind schedule.

2. For reception seating we suggest seating us near the head table for pictures/video of speeches/kisses/ and spur of the moment events. Also we can quickly drop what we are doing and grab those moments on camera alot faster if we are near the head table. Even if you don’t do assigned seating for everyone else we highly suggest having reserved spots for us so if we are out with you during the cocktail hour and come to the reception we can find our seats faster [and not be searching for spots for us to sit missing moments from your reception] 3. If you did a first look we rush to the reception hall for room shots of everything untouched before any guests are let in.

4. We only need an hour or two of reception. After the speeches,first dance and cake cutting not much is going on besides partying :) . Thirty minutes of the dance floor is MORE than enough. After those main events mostly people are just getting sweaty and drunk and let’s be real - those don’t make for pretty pictures.

5. Usually its grand entrance, dinner/speeches, cake cutting, first dances and optional bouquet following right after. Lots of breaks during the reception makes guests antsy so getting the main events right away has become more popular. Its called “everything up front” receptions and makes the most of the partying time. Lets be honest you had a long day and want to enjoy dancing/mingling and gettign your main events done first makes it so you have no more worries for pics/what you may look like in them later in the night ;) As I mentioned before, this is merely a suggestion and if you’d like to move things around to what you prefer, please feel free to do so!

There are many different scenarios to extend certain parts of the timeline, please account for travel time/room for possible late family members and more.

I hope this offers the insight you were looking for, but if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me! I’m here to help every step of the way!

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Tips: -Both the bride and groom should spend the night and get ready in a hotel near the place where you want to have your photos taken.

Having everyone in the same place will relieve stress and make it easy for everyone to meet in a central location.

- Have house-keeping come into the room before everyone arrives to make the bed and clean up the room so it looks pretty for photos.

- Have the wedding dress, shoes, accessories, and an invitation ready in one place for the photographer.

- Have your hair stylist and makeup artist come to you on the wedding day rather than going to a salon. You’ll be more comfortable in the bridal suite and it will free up some time.

- Arrange to have sandwiches or some sort of lunch delivered to the hotel rooms and do your best to take time to eat. Dinner is usually several hours away and you don’t want anyone to feel lightheaded.

Also have a cooler prepared with bottle water for your bridal party and vendors.

- Family formals can be stressful because there are a lot of people involved and it requires the Bride and Groom to stand for long periods of time in the same place smiling.

To make this time go by quickly and smoothly, compose a family formal shot list in advance and limit the amount of combinations to the essentials. Allow 3-5 minutes per group. We know how important these photos are so please include all your must have photo combos.

- For family formals its usually best to schedule elderly and children photos first.

- All posed family formal and group guest shots should be complete before sunset. It’s nearly impossible to get all the faces in large group photos in focus at night. Venues typically dim the lights which makes it especially difficult with out setting up portrait lights.

- Plan toasts for either the beginning of dinner or the end of dinner rather than spreading them out amongst courses. This will give your vendors and opportunity to take a break uninterrupted as well as give you the opportunity to visit your guest’s tables should you choose to.

- Have your florist deliver the bouquets and corsages to the hotel before photos. You’ll want them available for your bridal party portraits.

- If you are not having a first look, we advise against having a receiving line after your ceremony. You’ll need this time for family photos and Bride & Groom portraits.

- Avoid having an entourage of people in the bridal suite with you. Usually just bridesmaids are enough. The more people surrounding you, the more questions you’ll be asked and more potential stress you’ll have.

- In this modern age first looks are becoming the new norm. They allow you to complete all your portraits before the ceremony so you’ll have more time to enjoy your reception and spend time with your guests. As photographers, we try to make first looks as intimate and special as possible so you still have that moment to reflect back on.

- Limit the amount of alcohol you and your bridal party consumes until the reception. It’s wise to cut out hard liquor completely until the reception. The more sober your bridal party is the better they’ll listen to directions and be where they need to be on time.

- The lighting conditions at sunset are the best for portraits. We like to take advantage of this time for a few Bride & Groom photos if possible.

- Factor in travel time from photo locations to the ceremony and reception, etc. Give yourself a buffer in the case of traffic. You may want to do a little research to see if there are any festivals or events happening near any of your planned locations so you can be prepared for the congestion.

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PRECEREMONY sometimes things do go wrong and not everything goes

This portion of the wedding day really sets the stage for the whole day. Here are tips to help you plan.

perfectly but this is the day you get to marry your best

Let the wedding day begin stress free!

things to consider about the “getting ready” portion of

friend. The rest of the day will be “fast paced” and filled with emotions so take this time to relax. There are some your wedding day. Do you want a “first look”? Will you and your groom be exchanging letters or gifts and how?

ITS WEDDING DAY MORNING! It’s time to relax with your

Who would you like to help you get in your dress or help

girls and family getting pampered.

put on your shoes? Usually we do document jewellery last as a finishing touch. These final steps are precious

Think about “WHERE” you are planning to get ready.

and we love seeing the interactions during this time

It is lovely to get ready at home and we will be

period of the wedding day. We also love the moment

able to get beautiful images anywhere but for wow

you look at your self in the mirror with your gown on.

factor and gorgeous backdrops we suggest thinking

Speaking of gown, if your gown in on a plastic hanger

about using a room at your venue, the bridal suite or

make a note to have a wood hanger for the wedding

perhaps hiring or borrowing a cottage/airbnb/vrbo or

dress shot. We have included this on your wedding day

somewhere super special for amazing getting ready

checklist and also on our website. There are some fun

shots.

hangers you can buy that can be customized say your new last name. DIY is also a awesome option for your

At this time hopefully everything is checked off your

hanger to add a personal touch. I suggest Pinterest for

list. If there are things still left to be done it’s best to

some ideas to help you. If you have ideas before the

hand them over to a friend or family member to be

wedding day of where you would like your dress hung

done on the wedding day. This truly is the moment to

just include that in your final wedding day timeline.

soak everything up and be pampered. So much time,

Communication is key so the morning can start of

effort and money has gone into this day. Remember

exactly as you pictured! Keep reading along for more tips

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IT IS A L L I N T HE DE TAI L S

GETTING READY PHOTOS PREP

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All Details Of Wedding Day Together In One Spot With the Bride: Stationary: 2 sets of weddings invitations Save The Date Shoes Wood Hanger [Bride, Groom & Bridesmaids] Jewelry Veil Groom & Bride Rings Gifts/Notes Bouquet Something Blue Garter

With the Groom: Belt Cologne Shoes Watch Cuff Links Socks [if fancy] Gifts/Notes

+ DRESSING + We suggest to keep everyone’s personal items to a minimum. You don’t want your photographer to waste time cleaning up the room instead of taking photos just to carve out a little space for you to put your dress on. And you also don’t want the backdrop of these images to show suitcases with everyone’s bras and underwear spilling out. YIKES. Ideally, this is your suite and only your personal belongings are here (in the closet). Everyone will hang out with you and get hair and makeup done here, but they can keep everything else in their respective rooms. This way they can just step out for 15 minutes to get dressed before you need to put that gorgeous dress on. + GETTING READY ROOM + Preferably atleast 2 windows in room Brides Bouquet delivered to room Both rings in Bride’s room The bridal gown needs time to breathe (and a large space to hang).

Groomsmen be fully dressed & Groom to be dressed in his pants and unbuttoned shirt upon arrival time.

Have a space for all your dresses to be hung… This is always best in front of a large full length window. + WHAT TO WEAR IN THE MORNING + Matching robes

CHOOSING A GETTING READY LOCATION Think about ‘where’ you are planning to get ready.

For wow factor and gorgeous backdrops think about using a room at your venue, the bridal suite or perhaps hiring or borrowing a cottage or somewhere super special for amazing getting ready shots.

If you are having your wedding in the warmer months I definitely recommend a getting place with air conditioning so you are not sweltering whist getting ready for your big day.

Please keep in mind that these are just my opinions derived from years and years of shooting weddings. These opinions are based on my experiences and what I know will get you the best photos possible, which is ultimately what you hired me to do, right?

The look of the room you are going to get ready in and make sure you can check off each one of these qualifications: 1. Neutral walls 2. Bright (with natural light coming in) 3. Clear of clutter 4. Clean 5. Spacious

Matching shirts PJ’s in your wedding colour

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THE WINDOW EFFECT As a natural light on-location photographer, I am constantly looking for light. Sources of light, harshness of light, types of light... Light! What’s the ONE thing we look for when we arrive to the getting ready room at the start of a wedding day? What’s basically the make or break element to a bridal suite? A window!

So, when it comes to a wedding day getting ready space, I always recommend to my couples that they choose a getting ready location that offers a clean slate and window light

Keep your face to the sunshine & you cannot see a shadow.

-HELEN KELLER-

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K A R I A N D W A D E

MORNINGSIDE WEDDINGS OUR EXCLUSIVE COLLECTION

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First Look & Portraits S HO W YO UR LOVE An intimate “First Look” moment on your wedding day...what is that?

First Look: We HIGHLY encourage all our brides to have a first look. You will get more portrait images and it’s way less rushed than doing them after the ceremony. We also LOVE capturing the emotion of you guys seeing each other for the first time. ​ No First Look: After the the ceremony we need to do your bride and groom portraits AND wedding party pictures after family formals. That means we need an extra 2 hours (at least!) and you will miss your cocktail hour. During this time family combos tend to take a little longer then the average 5mn per photo because they want to chat with you.... you just got married :) . Again a first look is highly recommended and we do have brides regretting not doing one because their day went by so fast and was taken up by photos for the majority of it :/ ​ 1) Your wedding day goes by so fast and the two of you don’t really get alone time to share. The first look is a moment to share

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genuine emotions before your embark on your day together. A first look is a exclusive moment for you two lovebirds to share and great time to capture the very real moment of seeing the person you will be spending the reast of your life with.

2) The first look also allows you to be alone for your bride/groom portraits before bridal party and family portraits. This also allows you to take most of your pictures [with close family/brdal party] before the ceremony which allows more time after the ceremony to mingle [for example: out of town guests].

3) Getting most of your main pictures done before the ceremony also makes for a more relaxed you which in turn makes you and your family/friends more relaxed and photo ready.

Portraits We typically go right into protraits of just the two of you after the first look. This whole time is the “you” time of your wedding day. Its just the two of you taking it all in and being in love. If first look isnt apart of your plan then we save them for after the ceremony with family pictures/bridal party pictures.

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Ceremony & Family Formals

CEREMONY: Here it is! The moment everyone has been waiting for!

Outdoor weddings- Our absolute favorite!

Lighting: We suggest 2-3 hours before sunset when lighting is perfect and allows for plenty of portrait time before the ceremony.

Indoor weddingsLighting: We suggest even lighting on the altar since most churches do not allow flash photography [and it is distracting]. If there are spotlights on the bride and groom then the rest of the bridal party will be darkened unfortunately. All churches vary and ofcourse we adjust to the environment. Communication is important for church weddings.

Ceremony Coordination: Hiring a event planner or day of coordinator is SO IMPORTANT. Quickly after planning its easy to see why coordinators are a must, so much stress! The day of your wedding the last thing you want to worry about is you, & your mother/family worrying about everything. Without a coordinator the responsobilities fall on loved ones and your photographer which is the last thing you will want. When a photographer is in charge of the timeline & the coordination of the day your images will suffer.

A lack of organization/coordination on the wedding day activities have resulted in some of our worst wedding experiences for us and the couple. We ensure as much as we can to assist in organizing beforehand but on the wedding day we should be focusing on creating your beautiful images of the wedding day. A day of coordinator/wedding planner does just that so we can focus on what your hired us to do with the memories you are busy making not “where is uncle bob?”, “who is setting out programs?”, “who is bringing our stuff to the hotel?”. It is so important to make thie a priority.

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Contnues from Previous Page

Family Portraits: Family Portraits: Doing the family portraits BEFORE the ceremony accomplishes a number of things: 1) There are no distractions so we can move quickly and family members.

2) Family can immediately enjoy cocktail hour & greet wedding guests after the ceremony.

Time may vary depending on family size] *before ceremony is HIGHLY recommended. It is less hectic for family members who want to go mingle with guests who they may have not seen for awhile. When making your family shot list you don’t want spend all your time taking pictures with every aunt and uncle and every possible family combination. Think of the ones you will cherish the most and put in frames/ in your album. This can be the most stressful part of your wedding day and we would love to assist you make it as less straining as possible. We are pretty efficient and not afraid to wrangle people also to get them done in time. Rather then us wrangle though we suggest designating one “bossy/incharge” family member to help in family portraits. Helps the process go much faster so your not dreading family pictures taking up all your day. Usually personal attendants assist with organizing people for portraits during this time.

Family Portraits read off shot list bride has given us. Assisted by 1 chosen family member to help call people over [see checklist to the right of this]

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Basic Combos: About 3 mn for smaller family portraits & 5 minutes large family portraits.

BRIDE : Bride & Groom w/ Bride’s immediate family [Parents, Siblings, Granparents, Neices, Nephews]

GROOM: Bride & Groom w/ Groom’s immediate family [Parents, Siblings, Granparents, Neices, Nephews] Bride & Groom w/ Groom’s parent[s] Bride & Groom w/ Groom’s Siblings

Bride & Groom w/ Bride’s Parent[s]

Groom w/ Groom parent[s]

Bride w/ Bride Parent[s]

Groom w/ Mom

Bride & Groom w/ Bride’s Siblings

Groom w/ Dad

Bride w/ Mom

Bride & Groom w/ Groom’s Grandparent[s]

Bride w/ Dad Bride & Groom w/ Bride’s Grandparent[s] BOTH: Bride & Groom w/ Both Sets of Parents

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** Any other combos that time allows. We do limit family portrait time to allow daytime for your romantic sunset portraits which is optional. We usually suggest around 15 family groupings but suggest a timeline which allows for more in case. Family portraits are important an we want to make sure to get everything you want within the time frame you booked **

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Rainy Day NO MORE Rain isn’t what you pictured? Ofcourse not but it happens and its gonna be ok! All we need is a porch just one. Cloudy days are our favorite and assists in creating some beautiful images.

1. Don’t worry about your images, its our job to problem solve!

2. A backup location is suggested/rain plan for your images and ofcourse your loved ones.

3. Please consider buying a clear umbrella for you and your groom for images.

Sometimes our brides have these for their wedding party as well. Totally up to you!

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RECEPTION DETAILS

T I M E TO PAR TY!

RECEPTION TIPS: If you did a first look we rush to the reception hall for room shots of everything untouched before any guests. Usually cocktail hour is outside the room and we are let into the room to grab these shots. If the ceremony & reception are in the same venue we take them during detail shots. This is one area that brides usually forget/don’t know to give us time for. This is another reason to do a first look. That way, I have more time during cocktail hour to get those gorgeous details and centerpieces.

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1. Serve salads BEFORE speeches.

Speeches that run long make for wilting salads and put dinner behind schedule.

2. For reception seating we suggest seating us near the head table for pictures/video of speeches/kisses/ and spur of the moment events. Also we can quickly drop what we are doing and grab those moments on camera alot faster if we are near the head table.

Even if you don’t do assigned seating for everyone else we highly suggest having reserved spots for us so if we are out with you during the cocktail hour and come to the reception we can find our seats faster [and not be searching for spots for us to sit missing moments from your reception] 3. If you did a first look we rush to the reception hall for room shots of everything untouched before any guests are let in.

4. We only need an hour or two of reception. After the speeches,first

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dance and cake cutting not much is going on besides partying :) .

Thirty minutes of the dance floor is MORE than enough. After those main events mostly people are just getting sweaty and drunk and let’s be real - those don’t make for pretty pictures.

5. Usually its grand entrance, dinner/speeches, cake cutting, first dances and optional bouquet following right after. Lots of breaks during the reception makes guests antsy so getting the main events right away has become more popular. Its called “everything up front” receptions

and makes the most of the partying time.

Lets be honest you had a long day and want to enjoy dancing/ mingling and getting your main events done first makes it so you have no more worries for pics/ what you may look like in them later in the night ;) 6. Don’t position tables right by the speakers.

by the DJ. 8. Decide when to have the speeches and try to plan to keep them short. They are traditional but they’re a pain when they’re too long, too maudlin, rude, or dull. Asking toasters to keep it short right before the speeches as well as the dj inform them can help stay on schedule.

7. Consider whether you’d like to be announced as you enter the reception. This can be a lot of fun and can be done simply and easily

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MORNINGSIDE WEDDINGS

YOUR ONLINE PHOTO GALLERY! We spent a good part of last year making changes to our business in order to prepare for the rebrand. We wanted to offer everything to our clients that is most convienent for them and their lifestyles. A password protected online gallery hosting does just that!

We now offer a personalized client portal and a online gallery. Everything online from planning assistance, contracts, payment, and ofcourse images!

WHAT IS IT? Your online gallery is to view, share, and download images!

The gallery is an online backup for images, as much as it is the gallery for you/brides.

We absolutely love the protection of our clients’ images! The online gallery for your session/ event is also guarded with a password.

The online gallery acts as a substitute for a physical product. Clients can create folders of favorite images. You can easily download all your images with the click of a button directly from the gallery without the needing an app to do so. We love that it is a simple and minimalist approach to displaying photo galleries.

When sessions/event[s] are finished a link with a password to the gallery and download pin is emailed for you! Also there is a folder for downloading in web resolution for you to share on social media.

There is a function we can enable, which will let you download all the images to your device.

This will let you create copies of your images even if you have lost or misplaced ONLINE GALLERY OF DIGITAL IMAGES + PRINT RELEASE Final images are fully edited and will be delivered via an online gallery. Images can be downloaded from the gallery and saved to any computer or mobile device.

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Continues on next page > SHARING, WATERMARKING & EDITING You have the freedom to share your images anyway you choose ofcourse! We hate watermarking our images so all we ask for social media is a tag/credit [such as artwork].

Tag on facebook: @morningsideweddings or www.morningsideweddings.com Instagram: @morningsideweddingsphotovideo #morningsideweddings Editing We encourage to not re-edit. Instagram filters and things that do not coordinate with our style we ask to not credit us if you edited over our finished edit further.

of time to get to your shoot, there may be fussing, there may be anxiety from him that may come out as irritable....you never know. There is nothing worse then arguing in the car and showing up late, we want you both happy and ready for the fun part of wedding planning. Lastly, have patience with him if he his the type to be difficult. Once we start trust me he will be surprised on how fast it goes by and how it wasn’t that bad!

PORTRAIT TIMES THROUGH THE YEAR Be conscious of sunset, we usually do engagement session 2 hours before sunset as well as wedding portraits is we can on the wedding day. It is the best lighting and you will love how you look in them!

DESTINATION WEDDINGS Ofcourse we travel for destination weddings! We had one ourself. They are so fun and make for amazing images/video. Email us for more information and pricing which we costumize for you. #Budget friendly

BLOGS & MAGAZINES Blogs and magazines ask/submit to feature some weddings & engagements. If a blog would like to feature your wedding and you would like to be featured be sure to fill out our questionnaire. I can handle organizing the images/formating to send off to them. Yay! RANDOM PLANNING TIPS CONTINUE PREPARING YOUR GROOM If your anxious about how your groom will be with this “whole picture thing”, your not alone! He isnt a selfie king and that is ok! Trust me I will make it as chill as possible for him to relax. We use jokes and some sarcasm in our session and at weddings. Trust me we got this! After everything we always get “that wasn’t too bad” from most grooms and some get excited...they try to hide it but they are so excited! As you prepare for your shoot/wedding there are things to prepare your groom. I suggest showing him a couple images before hand of engagement pictures you like, ask him if he wants some sport or hobby pics that possibly will make him excited. Every groom is different. Allow plenty

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WORDS Advice IT’S JUST THE BEGINNING!

Shoes:

JUST ENJOY THE BIGGEST PARTY WITH ALL YOUR LOVED ONES.

If you bought new shoes for the big day, be sure to break them in ahead of time.

IT WAS ALOT OF WORK TO PLAN.

Groom:

NOT EVERYTHING CAN GO PERFECTLY. REMEMBER WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT.

Grooms should make/have a list of all the things they need to do on the morning of the wedding.

LOVE.

Groomsmen:

AT THE END OF THE DAY THIS IS ALL ABOUT YOU AND YOUR LOVE.

A good idea for the groom to discuss expectations for behavior.

GO TO BED EARLY THE NIGHT BEFORE SO YOU CAN BE YOUR

Day Of Coordinator:

BEST. ENJOY THE MORNING WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

Hire a wedding coordinator if possible! Explained on page 27.

BEING NERVOUS USES ENERGY, SO MAKE SURE THAT YOU EAT!

Before Ceremony:

EAT A BREAKFAST THAT IS HIGH IN PROTEIN AND COMPLEX CARBS.

Do light stretching to release tension.

Reception:

RELAX.

Make sure you dance!

GET PLENTY OF SLEEP AND DRINK LOTS OF WATER THE NIGHT BEFORE RELAX. TRUST YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER. IF YOU’RE RELAXED, IT’LL COME THROUGH IN YOUR PHOTOS.

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Relax.

Leave some breathing room in your schedule so you don’t feel rushed

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THE WEDDING

COLLECTION

Welcome to the Morningside Weddings Family JAKE & KRISTINA

HEAD OFFICE

Thank you so much for choosing us!

EMAIL: We are truly blessed to have you as our clients. We hope this guide was useful in the wedding planning process.

Congrats!

morningsideweddings@gmail. com WEBSITE: www.morningsideweddings.com

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