Normally January-March is “booking season” for a wedding photographer…. following all those Christmas, New Years & Valentines Day engagements… but it seems I’ve hit another booking peek during late summer…. oodles of inquiries have streamed in over the last 10 days (perhaps there were lots of beach engagements this summer?). With lots of inquires often comes lots of questions, and the common, “we’re on a budget”.  Now, budgets are not bad things…. we all have them…. but it’s how you set them (and the expectations that comes along with that number) that gets me. You get engaged, yippie!! Now, things tend to go one of two ways…. you instantly set a budget (maybe it’s the amount you have saved up, or can save between now and the date picked…. or it’s the amount your parents have set aside) OR you decide what kind of wedding you want before thinking about the money. It’s always one way or the other. For me, I knew what kind of wedding I wanted (venue & season picked long before I got the ring!) so that was going to dictate the budget I would need to spend instead of the financial perimeters deciding what kind of wedding I would have. Jeremy and I paid for our wedding (minus $500 my dad gifted me for gown shopping). After getting engaged, Jeremy and I talked about what was important to us on our wedding day…. his list included; a sit-down dinner, craft beer, a live band and suits instead of tuxes…. my list included; real flowers, good photos, pro hair/makeup and pumpkin wedding cake. We then began to research what each item would run, and made decisions from there…. Google was my best friend. I would research suits, flowers and caterers, get quotes and analyze them. I challenge you to decide what’s important FIRST and research what those important things cost…. before arbitrarily saying “our wedding budget is $X, and squeezing what you can in it (possibly sacrificing things that are important) Below is a rough breakdown of our wedding day budget. We spent about $18,000 on our wedding (which included our wedding rings) for a weekend-long soiree of about 100 people.   Things to note about my budget: The $4000 for dinner also included our rentals (about $1000) but doesn’t include the linens – I bought those. The $2800 for photography includes our engagement session, disc & album, but I made the album myself (a pro album later after I started this business) $600 for cake was for a mini 2 tier cake and a bunch of cupcakes. $200 for hair & makeup was for me only… my girls had the option to have theirs done and pay for it themselves, some did. The remaining $6k not pictured here was for my dress (wore my moms & then bought a cocktail dress for the reception), Jeremy’s suit, wedding gifts for everyone, all the decor, goodie bags for the hotel rooms, etc. Ways to have bubbly on your budget: 1. Get married on an “off day”   You may be able to score your dream venue for less. 2. Dying for peonies (who isn’t!?) buy them loose, and arrange them yourself (this takes time!) Remember, flowers are seasonal. Using what’s in season will be less expensive. 3. Want a killer photographer, but don’t think their packages are in your budget? Ask them if they offer an hourly rate to cover the event, then buy all your products after the wedding with those cash gifts. Or ask if they offer gift cards, then let people know you would like gift cards at your showers. We offer this 😉 If it seems like much of what you want is not going to be within your reach, then you have 2 choices…. Extend your timeline & save up for what you really want, or compromise and be ok with it. At the end of the day there’s one goal, to be married…. and if you spend $100,000 or $60 at the courthouse, you’ll have the exact same outcome. Anyone can have a super posh wedding, but you might only be able to afford 1 hour of photography, and dinner for 5 people…. it’ s all about YOUR priorities.   GIVEAWAY!      To help you get a little more bubbly….. 😉 Enter below how you work bubbly into your budget to get my copy of “Bubbly on your Budget” (this is not a wedding book), a set of IOMOI pens  Lara Casey’s Encouragement Postcards  AND a $100 gift card towards a session or wedding photography! (you can gift this to someone if you cannot use it) Entries will close Thursday, September 14th at noon, EST.  *Session or wedding must take place by 6/1/15*  GIVEAWAY CLOSED

Last fall I photographed a promotional shoot at Sertoma 4-H Center to help them build their wedding business. As someone who went to camp there as a kid, worked there in college and got married there… this place has a special place in my heart, as well as many of my friends. About a month after that shoot I got a heartbreaking email letting me know that NCSU was shutting it down (along with other facilities). Thankfully, people from all over NC rallied, wrote their representatives and down-right begged for this to be reversed. We just got word that Governor McCrory has signed the budget, allowing Sertoma to become part of the NC park system and become part of Hanging Rock State Park (which is only a few miles away). They hope to have the facility up and running again in 2015!!! Below is a sample of a promo brochure I did for them (maybe it will finally get printed?!?!) NOTE: this is just a sample, prices in this brochure may not be the actual fee’s charged! [cycloneslider id=”sertoma-brochure”]   PS: We’d love to photograph more not-so-wedding venues and help them build their business! (other camps, conference center, etc.)

In May 2013 I traveled east to Lake Gaston for Katelyn & Adams perfectly handmade lakeside affair. It’s the only wedding I’ve had the pleasure of zipping across the lake on a speedboat to pick up the groomsmen! These two had smiles that wouldn’t quit, and I was delighted to be there to capture their wedding day at Celebrations. All images shot for Kate Monroe.               Adam rode from the boys house on their boat up to Katelyn for their first look!