Congratulations - You’re engaged! Take a minute or two to take it all in. Allow the feelings to wash over you. Ah, its magic… And now that that is out of the way, let’s plan your wedding! 

Photo by: Vancouver Wedding Photographer, d’Soleil Photography

Weddings come with so many decisions that it’s difficult to know where to start. It can b stressful, but if you know where to start, you’re off on the right foot. Here is a list of the first ten things you should knock off your wedding list: 

1. Announce your engagement to the world

Take your family and friends to dinner, or better yet ask them to treat you. Watch your loved ones explode with happiness over your wonderful news. Telling people about your engagement is a lot of fun!

2. Choose a date

Although some couples have a firm date in mind, its best to be flexible. The venue you want to book may not be available for the date you choose, or Grandma might not be able to make it at that time. Flexibility is your friend when it comes to wedding planning. 

3. Discuss your budget

Who is contributing to the wedding and how deep are they willing to dip into their pocketbook? Will you be paying for the wedding yourself? Create a budget based on who is contributing and avoid awkward situations later on. 

4. Find and book a photographer

We’ll admit it, we’re a little biased, but there’s no doubt the best photographers book fast and early. Use our photographer finder to find your wedding photographer.

5. Find a venue for your ceremony and reception

Many couples have their wedding ceremony and reception in the same spot. Choose a few venues to source out and make reservations soon. 

6. Wedding planners

Do you need a wedding planner? They will save you time and stress and maybe a bit of money in the long run. Decide if you have the budget to hire a wedding planner and begin interviewing a few. 

7. Start your guest list

The amount of people you can have at your wedding is limited by your venue. Decide in advance if you need to find a larger spot to accommodate more guests. 

8. Choose your wedding party

No matter if you are having one couple to stand up for you or ten, you should choose your wedding party wisely. After all, they will be helping you with the planning as well. 

9. Save the Date Cards

If you want to be sure that your Aunt Nelly that lives 25 hours away can make it, you should send out Save the Date cards. A quick alternate is a Save the Date email. 

10. Start looking at wedding dresses

You’ve probably been standing in the window of the bridal shops, nosed pressed up against the glass, for quite awhile now. Trying on wedding dresses is one of the most fun parts of planning your wedding. Enjoy the process. You’ll know THE dress when you see it. 

11. Book your engagement photos

Here’s a bonus - we couldn’t help it:)  The period leading up to your wedding marks a time in your life when you feel the most beautiful. Book engagement photos with your wedding photographer of choice, and get to know his or her style and process.

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Photo by: Vancouver Wedding Photographer, d’Soleil Photography

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Yes, booking a wedding can be stressful, but it’s also a lot of fun. And now that you have these first ten things knocked off, you’re off to a good start!

—Guest post by Austin & Dara Photography

Photo by Austin + Dara

There are a lot things to consider when you’re hiring anyone for any job. When you’re hiring a wedding photographer, they are going to be the person who captures the memories of one of the most important and amazing days of your life, so the pressure is really on to hire the right team. Here are four of the most important things to consider when you’re doing so…

1 - Style

Look at every photo that you possibly can.  Can you imagine yourself in them?  Do they get you excited about your wedding?  Keep in mind that photographers are only going to put their very best in their portfolio.  If you like them beyond their favorite images, ask to see a full wedding.

2 - Personality 

This may be the most overlooked factor in choosing a photographer.  Make sure that your photographer is someone you’ll be comfortable and excited to hang out with for an entire day.  Some photographers are very talented but have forgotten that the day is about you, not them.  Trust your gut on this one.

3 - Budget

It’s good to set an estimated budget for your photos.  The average couple typically budgets 10%-15% of their wedding budget toward photography, yet it’s not uncommon to see some who value photography as much as 30%.  If you’re on a tight budget, hold off on a wedding album or any extras and stick with the basics.  You can get products later, but you cannot retake the photos.  Do not hire a photographer solely based on price.

4 - Experience

Once you’ve narrowed down photographers, make sure to research their experience, reputation, and reviews online.  Ask questions, read your contract, and read reviews.  Keep in mind that nobody wants to burn the bridge with their past photographer, so you won’t be finding many bad reviews.  If you do find a bad review, it is imperative that you reach out to that past client and/or the photographer to talk about it to see how it all turned out.  Also important to look at is a photographer’s professional associations.  Being listed on Plumtree Portfolios, for example, is a definite plus. :)

Austin & Dara are a husband and wife team of wedding photographers based in Santa Barbara, California.  Check out some of their work on Plumtree Portfolios or on their own website.

Photo by Austin + Dara

Photo by Austin + Dara

Yep, a few days ago Apple approved our iPad app, and it’s live in the App Store now. Woohoo!!!  

Download it here!

What is does:

We’re pretty excited about it (in case you thought “Woohoo!” was some sort of typo), and think it should will make the process of finding a wedding photographer much less painful for a lot of engaged couples. Like we’ve mentioned before, we’ve kept it really, really simple, and focused on getting the core features right. Within the app you can search for photographers by location, browse their portfolios fullscreen on the iPad’s beautiful 1024x768 screen, save your favorite photographers, share photographers with friends and family, and get in touch right directly with the photographers you like.

Give us a Review:

Try it out. If you like it, give it a review in iTunes on your computer or in the App Store on your iPad, and help more couples find the perfect photographer for their wedding!

Our Photographers:

If you’re in British Columbia, Ontario, New York, Florida and certain parts of California, you’ll find a bunch of great photographers’ portfolios to browse. Outside those areas, our photographer base is much smaller, and we might just have a few photographers listed, but we’re growing that base day by day, and hope to have you fully covered soon!

We’re happy to announce that we’ve submitted our iPad app to the app store, and have our fingers crossed that it gets released soon!

As photographers ourselves, we know how awesome the iPad is for showing off photos. So we thought, what better way to find a wedding photographer than browsing their portfolios on your iPad.

Since it’s the first release, we wanted to make sure we got the core features right, and have kept it really - really - simple. You can search for photographers based on where you’re getting married, and browse the beautiful fullscreen photos in photographers’ portfolios. Then you can mark your favourites and share them (linked to the website) with your friends and family. And finally, get in touch with your favourite photographers right from within the app.

We’ve been working on the details of the app for some time now, and are over the moon with the prospect of it finally coming out! We hope you’ll enjoy it too.

Wedding photography has come a long way since your only option was traditional poses. Just like no two brides want to have the same cake or even the same color of flowers, you ll find that no two brides want the exact same photos. Given the amount of money that modern brides invest in their weddings, its no surprise that they want to capture every single second of the day. If you are a bride, or groom, that wants to capture the offbeat, quirky details of your wedding day, you might want to look for someone who practices the photojournalistic style of wedding photography.

A tradition pose with a modern style, by Heidi-O-Photo

Classic or traditional photography focuses on specific poses and although these poses might seem traditional in the sense that you ve seen them in your mother s wedding album, the classic style is great for capturing specific individual moments or set photos that you know you want. The classic shots of the bride and her bouquet looking out the window, the bride and groom posing on the steps of the Church: These types of photos are examples of a clean, classic style. But if it s the tiny details you are after, you may want to branch out a bit and choose a more photojournalistic approach.

“From the moment you get up in the morning to the last sip of champagne, your day will be captured in detail.

The photojournalism approach to wedding photography focuses on capturing the moments of your wedding day. This type of photography tends to tell a story that you can easily follow as you look through the images. From the moment you get up in the morning to the last sip of champagne, your day will be captured in detail. When hiring a photographer that uses this style, be aware that he or she generally stays in the background and captures the offbeat and quirky moments as well as the important poses. At the end of the day, you ll be left with a photo album full of memories that will delight and surprise you.

Wedding Photojournalism by Lisa Petkau

The key to working with a photographer that uses this style is to be very specific in letting them know if there are poses that are must haves for you and your fianc . Often the couple will create a list prior to the wedding, and have a discussion with the photographer about what parts of the wedding they would like to traditionally capture.

Your wedding day only happens once. No matter what your photography preference, your goal should be to find a photographer who leaves you with unforgettable photos that you and your family will cherish for the rest of your lives.

Find More Wedding Photographers at Plumtree Portfolios.