Search this site:            

Corey Talks: My Wedding: Bride & Groom Pictures

Posted on April 12, 2010

While I LOVE pictures, I was dreading the time in front of the lens with Chris. I know that I don’t photograph well. I know he tends to make faces. I was worried that it was going to be an awkward session of us being weird because we’re not good subjects. Boy, was I wrong! Brooke is awesome. No no, you don’t understand. She’s seriously superwoman because not only did she get amazing pictures of us (NOT MAKING FACES… well all the time) but she also turned something we were dreading into something that was really fun. After a while, we forgot she was the photographer and she was just another friend that happened to be laughing at us while we ran around the beach like idiots. She literally has the best personality of anyone I know, I can’t cheer about Brooke enough. I need “Pocket Brooke” as an iPhone app so I can have her cute little sayings whenever I’m trying to make people get silly at weddings. If you are EVER in the Outer Banks you need to look her up. I know I have said this about a million times through this recap but I can’t say it enough.

The proof is in the pudding right? So here’s the pictures! Keep in mind that all of these were taken in about 20 minutes or so and all where the ceremony was at. Proof that a great location + a great photographer = awesome pics in a short amount of time.

I love how there are two birds above us.  :)

It’s hard to tell unless you look  by my feet but we are sitting in a shipwreck here!  Dad had discovered it the year before and I wanted to make sure we incorporated it into the pictures.  It’s an unknown shipwreck and when it’s uncovered you can smell the turpentine still all these years later from the wood.

Another rare shot of me that I like.

Brooke had us walk down from the dune area and go towards the water.  I love this picture SO much.  Used it for our christmas cards that year!

Brooke didn’t tell, ask or even hint at me going into the water.  I went in on my own.  Chris stopped when we got towards the ocean but I kept going in!

These pictures make it worth it.

Um, completely worth the salt water and sand in the dress.  COMPLETELY.

I loved my bouquet.  Renee Landry Style rocks socks.  I wish she had a subdivision in Ohio so I could have her awesome flowers at all of my weddings.

“What is she doing!?!?  Do I go in too??”

Favorite!!!!

Yes, we did.

My favorite one of us smiling at the camera.

So this isn’t a great photo of us but a hilarious moment captured.  We tossed my bouquet up to catch it and it got some flowers knocked out of it when Chris grabbed it.  I LOVED my bouquet so that made me sad… so I chucked the fallen rose at him resulting in this image.  LOL!  I love how it’s exploding off his head.

One last pretty portrait on the beach!

And another shot as we walk up to the stairs… LOVE this one a lot.  Especially my awesome bruise.

Another shot I adore, featuring said awesome bouquet.

Such a lovely moment… he was threatening to shove me over!

How I got rid of the sand!!!  :)  LOL

Corey Talks: My Wedding: Bridal Party

Posted on April 1, 2010

As I mentioned earlier in my wedding recap, we weren’t originally going to have anyone in our bridal party. We really wanted everyone to come and enjoy the day and not have to a) pay outrageous prices for outfits they would wear once and b) worry about any duties before or after the big day. We did end up with one person on each side, Paul and Lisa and Petra the super-de-duper adorable shell girl. Our ‘parties’ were really low key events the night before the wedding – which I’ve always told people NOT to do in my line of work! It worked out that way since our friends were coming from all over and it’s rare to have everyone in one place at one time. We also were traditional in the fact of not seeing each other the day of the wedding so the night before just worked. My bachelorette party was simple (and co-ed) and Chris’s was as well – they just drank and laughed all night. Thank goodness there are no strippers on the Outer Banks!!! Lisa also organized a mail-order lingerie shower for me (my friends are literally all over the country) before the wedding which is one of the nicest things people have ever done for me. While our bridal party may have been small in numbers – they made up for it in awesomeness.

We didn’t do a lot of bridal party pics, but one awesome shot is really all you need – and we got that thanks to super Brooke!

I love love love this shot.  Love.  Even with Petra making a face (guess who ate bubbles prior to this shot?).  The thing with kids being in bridal parties is that you have to roll with the fact that they may not smile on cue, they may act up and they may make faces.  So long as you’re cool with that… the rest is just gravy (and more fun!).

This picture is by far one of the most unflattering of me, but I’m posting it anyways because I LOVE that Petra jumped!  We had no idea that she did, I was more worried about my top going too low and trying to jump in a heavy wedding dress.  This was when the ‘jump’ shot had really just starting becoming the ‘cool’ bridal party shot.  When we saw the proofs and saw that Petra jumped we were all laughing!  She was pretty insistant on doing her own thing and I said that it was fine and to let her just go (she was getting fussy).  We were happy to find out she jumped right along with us… who cares if she’s facing her Mom!  Love love love.

I adore this shot of me and Petra.  Again, who cares she’s looking off the screen, she’s still darn cute!

Finally a fun detail shot of me and Petra’s feet

Punta Cana

Posted on March 29, 2010

Last week I was in Punta Cana second shooting a destination wedding for my friend Anne Ruthmann.  The wedding was simply put, amazing.  The details that the bride and groom put into the wedding were astounding!  Not only did they make sure that their guests (just under 70 people made the trip, coming as far as from Korea!) were taken care of, they also made sure to plan a wedding that would be unforgettable.  I can’t wait to show you the images from the wedding, I still smile thinking of the day.  THEY DANCED UP (AND DOWN) THE AISLE!  FIREWORKS!  RECEPTION ON THE BEACH!  Ahh!  I’m still in a bit of wedding awesome overload from the wedding.  Since I can’t show the images from the wedding day until Anne posts them (look for mine after hers though, probably this summer!) I figured I’d share a bit of the paradise that the couple chose for their wedding, the Paradisus Palma Real resort in Punta Cana.

I love the tiny waves in Punta Cana, they seem alien to me since I’m used to the big waves in the Outer Banks.  The water is such a beautiful aqua here! The sand here is also so wonderful, very silky!! Usually I love sand for about 5 minutes and then when the grit doesn’t go away I hate it. Here the sand was more fine and sugary and didn’t bother me as much.

Just another day in paradise!  I could get used to this view…

Sunset was on the other side of the island (Haiti’s side) but the clouds still turned some beautiful vibrant colors at sunset!

At night the resort had some really creative and beautiful ways to light everything.  My favorite were these candles around the buffet dining area.  There’s something cozy and calming about candlelight, especially on a beach.

This is the main courtyard of the hotel, isn’t it beautiful??

The  pool here has to be one of the top pools I’ve ever been in.  While it’s hard to top the Hyatt in Maui’s pools, this comes close with the awesome lounge chairs in the water.  Underneath the hut, there is a lounge chair (complete with tables for your drinks!) that’s just a smidge under water to keep you cool.  They were around all of the edges of the pool, some in the sun, some under huts.  I LOVED these.  I’m happy to report that I did get to relax on one during my stay.  It’s harder to stay on these suckers than you think though.

View from the area above but looking towards the ocean and dining area.  The huts on the beach were for the exclusive area and they had mattresses underneath them.  Our first day we took a nap on them (not knowing we were in the exclusive area of the resort, oops) and I have to say that they were really comfortable and relaxing!

I love palm trees.  This is the view towards the south from the wedding ceremony area.  Nothing but a sea of palm trees!!!

Ah, bliss!

Corey Talks: My DIY Projects

Posted on December 22, 2009

What is a wedding nowadays without at least one DIY project?  When I started on the wedding journey the Wedding Bee was relatively new and I was OBSESSED with it.  I only wish I’d discovered it sooner so I could have been a Bee.  *sniff*  I guess it will just be a life-long sorrow that I missed that boat!  Regardless it did spark some creativity and I really enjoyed doing these projects even if at times I was frustrated, covered in glue and had visited every store in the area trying to find a suitable sand bucket.  Even if they were not easy, they made the wedding that much more personal.  I also won’t lie, it is kind of fun to be able to proudly say “I made that” when at the wedding your guests and vendors compliment the item you slaved over.

Photo © Brooke Mayo

Menu

I saw a picture online of a menu and I fell in love with it on sight.  I decided that I HAD to have it and since I had some time on my hands I decided to make it myself as the cost to have the vendor make it was something around $5 a menu.  YIKES!  Finding the supplies and making it wasn’t easy but it was not hard either.  In the end everything came together perfectly and I’m so glad that I did it.  It was the first thing in the series that really tied everything together.   The cost per card for me was under $2.

Photo © Brooke Mayo

Program

I originally wanted a fan-style program but it made no sense to make a completely different item that was paper related.  So I ended up making the same size and style of programs similar to the menu but used a flip style for the pages.  I ended up scoring a pretty good deal on fans so I knew that people would still be able to cool themselves off if it was hot on the beach before/during the wedding.

Fortune Bouquet

Another idea I saw and I had to have was a Fortune Bouquet.  It’s a bit of a spin on the traditional tossing bouquet but a similar idea.  Basically it’s one big bouquet made up of smaller bouquets each with a “fortune” on it and ALL ladies participate, not just single ladies.  I decided to make mine when my florist was a bit confused over what I wanted.  I ended up with 6 different bouquets each with a silver charm that is intended to be a bridesmaid pull charm but worked well as a fortune charm as well!  I LOVED the way this turned out.  The picture above is of 3 of the bouquets.

Photo © Brooke Mayo

Camera Scavenger Hunt

At the time I got married, these cards were all the rage on The Knot message boards.  I know that most people have moved onto the digital realm but not my in laws.  My Mother in Law still shows up at functions with her disposeable camera in hand, despite the fact that over the years she’s been given 3 digital cameras.  I picked up a couple packs of the cameras and had them placed on the tables with these cards.  While we were getting pictures taken and getting settled once getting to the reception, our guests were having a blast with these cards.  About a half hour later though I discovered one tiny oversight in this ‘game’ – there was no prizes.  So I highly recommend having small token prizes if you plan on doing this!  I got some great images from the cameras and I’m actually really glad I decided to do it.  Are they pro pics?  No.  Are they a riot ?  ABSOLUTELY.  Without this I wouldn’t have a lot of shots from the evening due to the above mentioned lack of camera-ness my inlaws have.  While this isn’t for everyone, it worked for me.

Welcome Baskets

By far this was one of the hardest items to put together and one of the only things I didn’t take a picture of!  *head desk*  Each family upon arriving had a sand pail on their bed welcoming them to the Outer Banks.  I created personal guides for the area based on my travels there – one guide on what to see and one on where to eat.  I also had a One Boat Tour guide to Corolla, bug spray, sunscreen, beach ball, water ring and rip current information booklets.  Everyone loved them… but they still called me every time they wanted to go out to eat somewhere.  Ha ha ha.

Flower Girl Basket

Finally my last DIY project was making the shell basket for my flower girl.  I found the plain basket at the Flower Factory and also the mini shells there as well.  I then used ribbon found at Jo-Ann’s and starfish left over from my invitations to make it pretty.  It was really simple to put together with a glue gun but it really tied in beautifully to the theme of the wedding (well the vague theme that I had of blue + starfish + shells).  My 2 year old flower girl also dropped a few!  She also didn’t eat any nor was tempted to – as everyone on The Knot swore she would do.  The bubbles are a different story….

Corey Talks: Our Bridal Party

Posted on December 21, 2009

© Brooke Mayo

Originally we weren’t going to have anyone in our bridal party.  With my first wedding I quickly discovered that they are more drama than they are help (at least my maids were…) and the cost to be in someone’s wedding is ridiculously expensive.  We didn’t want anyone to feel they had to pay more than they already had to to be a part of our wedding.  We wanted everyone to just enjoy the day.  However, over the course of planning we found out that Chris’s best friend was somewhat upset he wasn’t asked and we realized that it is an honor to have people standing by you.  So we each chose someone to stand with us – just one person to keep it small and intimate.

My friend was excited and since she has the *cutest* little girl (at that time just one, now she has two little cuties) it was natural that she would come with a “shell” girl (no flower petals for me!  she dropped shells!).  My only stipulation besides “blue” for the dress was that it had to be something she would wear again.  In the end she had a dress custom made… and I still feel guilty about that!  But she swears she was able to wear it again and it was a beautiful dress on her.

Chris’s best man was really happy to be asked to be in the wedding.  We knew that the outfits wouldn’t be anything too formal or hot from the beginning.  We ended up selecting silk shirts and pants and they were a perfect blend of dressy and casual for the wedding.

In the end it was the perfect bridal party for us.  No over-the-top parties.  Just the right about of people… and the RIGHT people helped make the wedding a perfect day!

PS:  Today is the LAST DAY for Cans for Comments!!!

Corey Talks: Choosing Vendors

Posted on December 16, 2009

My amazing bouquet from Blooms by Design!

After I had the venue and the dress… I needed people to make the wedding happen!

The first wedding vendor that I booked may surprise you, it was my florist.  I have always been absolutely crazy over flowers so it really isn’t too surprising for those that know me but it is for those that know me as a photographer.  I booked Renee Landry of Blooms Design Studio in Duck, NC.  Go and look at her site.  She’s seriously just simply amazing.  From the first look I was in heaven.  Everything she had images of I just loved.  I never had a “theme” for my wedding but the images that Renee had of her weddings she’d styled were exactly what I had in mind – nothing with a great big BAM IN YOUR FACE theme but all very elegantly done.  I knew I wanted sea shells and possibly sea oats as part of the wedding but that’s all.  No set color.  No set shell.  Just casual beach and beachy colors.  She did SUCH an amazing job.  I seriously cannot rave more about the amazing job she did.   I honestly never even LOOKED at another florist.  I also chose well as she was recently a runner up to be the official White House Florist!!  She made it to the final 3!!!!

Next up was naturally my photographer.  I actually had someone else in mind first that I liked when I looked at their website but then a different search online brought me to Brooke Mayo.  As with Renee, I was sold as soon as I saw her site.  When we started emailing I was completely and utterly in love.  She’s seriously the cutest person and those that know and have met her in person know what I mean.  She is just the most adorable thing EVER.  In all that southern sweetness is an amazingly talented photographer that I am SO lucky to have chosen for the day of the wedding.  She was a BREEZE to work with.  We did almost everything online and via mail and I never questioned not meeting her before booking her.  What was even better was the fact that she was getting married a couple months after me and she was able to refer me to some of her vendors and saved me lots of online searching.  In the past 2 years she’s made a serious name for herself!  She’s one of the top photographers in the world with the AGWPJA and also has a book of her portraits of Diving Doggies (it’s a great gift for that dog lover!!).  I can’t wait to share my pictures with you guys… they still make me all warm and fuzzy inside!

Next up was a Day of Wedding coordinator.  I had most of the things done that were major and knew that I didn’t need much help planning but I knew without a doubt that I would want someone the day-of.  In came the lifesaver of my wedding, Nannette of The Proper Setting thanks to Brooke’s recommendation.  Nannette was amazing with everything leading up to and the day of the wedding.  When I found out that the home we’d rented wouldn’t allow us to have a reception, she was able to find a suitable backup location that ended up being perfection.  She also dealt with numerous snafus the day of the wedding including a lot of broken rental items.  I literally couldn’t have enjoyed my wedding without her.

Other vendors that I hired was Argyle’s for the cake (still one of the best cakes I’ve had!), The Delectable Dish for catering (now out of business),  The Saltaire for the reception and Dr. Dave as the officiant.  All were fantastic but not the “big” ones people worry about.  Pictures and a more in depth review to come

Corey’s Lessons: 1) Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals from other vendors, often they know the best of what is around!  It is also VERY helpful when planning from elsewhere!  2) Make sure your reception venue can hold the amount of people you are planning for.  I never imagined that 40 people would be too much for the McMansion we rented but it was.  3) HIRE A DOC!  Seriously.  LIFESAVERS!  They even will pull you out of the hot tub (well attempt to, Chris reached me first) when you fall in and hit your head under the water and are laughing too hard to come out on your own.  Poor Nannette.  I think she’s still recovering from that scare!