Las Vegas Photographer for Weddings and Event Photography TiffanyG » Mandalay Bay THEHotel

Bridal Show Survival Guide - Las Vegas Wedding Photographer
11

January 28th, 2010TiffanyGEngagements, Parties, Strip Photography Tour, Weddings

The Bridal Spectacular is here this week, and since most of my readers are brides, I thought I’d post a “Bridal Show Survival Guide”. The most-heard comment after a bridal show is that it was “overwhelming”… so here’s some ways to help the show become a successful day for you!

1. Have a plan. Make a list of vendors you definitely want to talk to. Do a little research to hopefully narrow your search down a little. Look at the MAP of the Bridal Spectacular and find your preferred vendors. (Our booth is number 223!). There are many very helpful websites to provide online reviews from many of Las Vegas’ vendors, but the two most popular are WeddingWire and TheKnot.

Wedding Photographer Las Vegas

2. Wear comfortable shoes and leave your coat in the car. You will be receiving lots of brochures, etc and you do not want to be burdened lugging your coat.

Wedding Photographer Las Vegas

3. Bring someone with you! Your Mother, Maid/Matron of Honor, or maybe your fiancé will enjoy himself! They can help you with collecting information and would be happy you included them in the planning process! As for your fiancé? Just tell him that he can win stuff and eat free cake and hors d’oeuvres!

Wedding Photographer Las Vegas

4. Bring address labels. We recommend printing out labels on your home computer with your name, address, phone number, email address and wedding date. This will help free up time to talk to vendors instead filling out the same information time and time again.

Las Vegas Wedding Bridal Photography

5. Bring a pen, notebook, and datebook (or, your BlackBerry!). Some vendors offer special pricing if you book with them and leave a deposit with them the day of the show. This is great, but if you choose the WRONG vendor, at ANY price, is it a good deal? Ask them if you can have a few days to think about it, because pressure to sign RIGHT THERE AND THEN should make you wonder what they are worried about! Is their competition better? Special good ONLY at the show? Time to look for a new vendor! Make an INFORMED decision - don’t rush into anything!

Wedding Photographer in Las Vegas

6. Want to see the most vendors AND the fashion show? The majority of brides watch the show, so plan on arriving just as the 1st show starts. Visit the vendors DURING the show, this will allow you better chance to actually talk to a vendor and it will be a much quieter atmosphere. Then, stick around for the 2nd show, and this time watch the show!

Las Vegas Wedding Photos

7. Don’t be embarrassed to wear your “Bride” sticker! It can become confusing for vendors to identify everyone that attends, and if they know you are the bride, they will be more apt to spend a little extra time with you!

Bridal Photos Las Vegas Wedding Photographer

8. If you don’t bring labels (see #4), when filling out any contest entries or door prize drawing slips, print clearly!

9. The best place to take notes is on the actual brochure/flyer handed out by each vendor. That way you can connect a face to your notes and it will be easier to remember when you make your follow up calls!

Limousine Bride in Las Vegas

10. Don’t be fooled by huge discounts! This is especially true for Disc Jockey companies! If a company tells you their price is $900 but they are giving a $300 discount, that sounds great… but if they normally charge $600 for an event that’s not really a discount. Do your research and find out the ACTUAL discount (if any) based on their NORMAL rates. ALSO: Watch for ‘add-ons’ that nickel-and-dime you to a higher price. Show special at $495 but an extra $200 for a ceremony sound system, $50 for lights, and a 15% required gratuity and it’s not as good a deal as you thought!

Las Vegas Engagement Photography

11. Enjoy yourself! Use this time to gather information and enjoy any of the special offers extended to you. You are the Bride; you make the rules when dealing with vendors. It’s YOUR day, not theirs!

12. Most importantly, come to D. Jay’s Entertainment’s booth (number 223) to discuss your disc jockey, photography, and videography needs. We are having some great specials (true discounts and LOTS of FREE extra service). I will be there, and we will have several of our disc jockeys and photographers available for you to meet!

Beautiful Future Bride Wedding Photography

Thank you VERY much for reading this entire post! I hope you learned something.

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Las Vegas Wedding Photography - Mario and Micky
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June 1st, 2009TiffanyGStrip Photography Tour, Weddings

Mario and Micky had a beautiful ceremony at St. Jude’s in Boulder City and then we did a Strip Tour with the entire wedding party. St. Judes is absolutely amazing, but small, with tons of color. So for this shoot I decided to process high-saturation and bright colors. I think this also matches Micky’s personality…

This first photo is after getting ready at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay Las Vegas. Yes, I know I do this photo a lot but hey, if the brides love it then give them what they love!

Las Vegas Wedding Photos

Mario and his wedding party… Lynn shot this one.

Photographer in Las Vegas

The ceremony

Las Vegas Wedding Photos

I’m pretty sure that Lynn caught this one (there are 1400 photos from this event, I got a similar one but this one was better). CLASSIC (and priceless!).

Las Vegas Wedding Photos

The new happy couple! I post this with no offense to Mario but he’s not much of a “smiler”. I was VERY happy to get a nice, genuine smile in this photo!

Las Vegas Wedding Photos

Outside the church.

Las Vegas Wedding Photos

It’s hard NOT to smile with all these beautiful women posing around you! Mario is really cheesin’ on this one!

Photographer in Las Vegas

Now off to the Strip…. I’ve done this shot a few times and I think this is the best one so far.

Photographer in Las Vegas

Surprisingly, this is NOT posed. The guys were waiting while I was shooting something else. This is one of the very few that I processed differently - I saw “Rat Pack” and “Classic Vegas” in this photo so I desaturated the colors and gave it a classic look. What’s funny is that I’ve spent several minutes “posing” similar photos to LOOK un-posed, but these guys just naturally made this near-perfect shot!

Photographer in Las Vegas

Some dreamy couple’s shots…

Photographer in Las Vegas

This one begged to be made into a “chocolate” black and white. Plus we love to give variety of processing…

Las Vegas Wedding Photography

Ok, admittedly there’s a few technical posing things wrong with this photo but something about it makes me really like it. I think the weird “lean” that Mario is doing is a perfect compliment (contrast?) to the loose and fun pose for Micky. This is a love-it-or-hate-it shot. I love it but I’m sure many will hate it.

Las Vegas Wedding Photography

What a crazy day - shooting in 3 different locations with a HUGE wedding party. Mario and Micky were awesome, though, and the day was mega-fun!

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Las Vegas Wedding Photography with Conney and Hoover at THEHotel @ Mandalay Bay
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December 23rd, 2008TiffanyGFamily, Parties, Weddings

Before I tell you how cool Conney and Hoover are, I have to brag a little bit: I got some new toys! I’ve never been a “studio” photographer… it’s just not for me. However, lately my wedding photography clients and also some corporate clients have been asking for “portraits”. That would be more formal stuff, with a backdrop, etc. etc. Previously, I’d been using on-camera flash and it was “ok” but not up to my standards. So, recently I was able to purchase two off-camera strobes, umbrellas, soft box, stands, a giant battery, wireless transmitter/receivers, etc.

I have to say, the clarity, lighting and overall look of my “portrait” photos have improved an amazing amount!

That said, let’s talk about Conney and Hoover and their wonderful family. They hired me to attend their pre-wedding event (the day before the wedding). Originally it was planned to possibly do a Strip Tour or some outside shooting, but it evolved into a simple in-suite portrait session with their extended family. For brides and grooms whose familys just don’t have many “formal” photos, this is a great option. You get bridal/wedding photography AND family portraits all in one session!

I made everyone “suffer” though formal shots for a while… here’s some of those. Note: If the images look “fuzzy” to you, you’re probably using FireFox and have your “Zoom” set to larger than normal. Fix this by clicking on the photo! Heck, everyone should click on the image to see the larger image anyway! Plus you get to see my new plug-in that displays the photo in cool Flash-based pop-up thingamagig!

Wedding Photography in Las Vegas

Here’s 4 generations…

Las Vegas Wedding Photography Portraits

Parents:

Las Vegas Wedding Photography Portraits

Got a bunch of formal Bride and Groom shots but wanted to show this one, classic B/W processing…

Wedding Portraits Las Vegas

Hoover:

Wedding Photography Las Vegas

Then, Hoover pulled out his “paparazzi pose” - which started off our more “fun” portion of the night:

Wedding Photographer Las Vegas Portraits

You really didn’t think I could spend ALL the time taking the formals, did you? Sisters!

Wedding Portraits Las Vegas

Being goofy!

Wedding Portraits Photographer Las Vegas Portraits

Taa DAAA!! (keep ahold of that baby!)

Wedding Photography in Las Vegas

This one took them a little out of the expected area for photos (hence, the leaves in the top-left) but the shot was hilarious so I wanted to show it!

Wedding Photographer Las Vegas Portraits

Had a blast at this event, even though it was just supposed to be a “simple” portrait session. Being Las Vegas, we had to get just a little crazy, and Conney and Hoover were the perfect, FUN couple to do it!

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