Las Vegas Photographer for Weddings and Event Photography TiffanyG

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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Tags: blog, brides and grooms, catholic wedding, church photos, church wedding, disc jockey, DJ, dj las vegas, engagement session, Entertainment, green valley ranch, jw marriott, Las Vegas, las vegas disc jockey, las vegas disc jockeys, las vegas disk jockey, las vegas dj, las vegas photographer, las vegas photography, las vegas portrait, las vegas wedding, las vegas wedding photographer, las vegas wedding photography, Mandalay Bay THEHotel, married in las vegas, Nevada, photographer, Photography, photography events, photos in las vegas, Portfolio, portrait photography, reception, reception photography, TiffanyG, vegas disc jockeys, vegas disk jockey mc, vegas wedding, wedding, wedding photographer, wedding photography, wedding photos

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You may think that choosing a Photographer for your Las Vegas wedding is difficult - but if you consider these 7 simple things, your decision will be much easier:

1. This one is absolutely the MOST important: Does the photographer provide recent samples, and does the style/look of the photos match your tastes? If you like her/his photos overall, don’t worry if you don’t like ALL their demos - understand that a photographer should customize the photos to each specific bride, so you may not like ALL their demos. However, make sure your photographer will customize her/his style to you!

2. Do you get along with your prospective photographer? You’ll be spending the most important day of your life with her/him… if you don’t really LIKE your photographer, then you won’t look your best in your photos - attitude matters!

3. Is a 2nd photographer/assistant available, at least for your ceremony? A second angle and extra photos is many times worth the extra cost of having a 2nd photographer for the ceremony. What about photos of the groom and his friends pre-wedding? You’ll have tons of “getting-ready” photos of you (the bride), but will your prospective photographer be able to take photos of the groom? If not then consider a 2nd photographer - one that has experience with the unique poses and more laid-back photography of the groom and his party. There’s really no need for a 2nd photographer at your reception, so make sure you can have the 2nd photographer at the times YOU want!

4. Flexibility: Will your prospective photographer customize her/his packages to exactly meet your needs? Does she/he provide a “shot list” at least for the formal photos? Can you add to the list? And here’s a big one: If you notice that the photographer limits the number of locations or charges extra for a location change, then it’s a sure sign that he/she is difficult to work with (or set in his ways).

5. Prints: Are they important to you? If so then make sure you compare packages that include prints - however, prints within a photographer’s package are EXPENSIVE. It’s oftentimes best to make sure the package includes the disc of high-resolution images with printing rights so you can print your own 4×6,  5×7 and 8×10 prints (the truth is, the quality of these smaller prints is about the same whether you have them printed, or if you get them from your photographer). 11×14, 16×20 and larger sizes (including Canvas prints and other large prints) should be printed by your photographer.

6. Disc-of-Images: If your photographer does NOT supply a high-resolution disc of images, then he/she is living in the 1990’s and will then charge you as much as $30 for EACH print that you’d like to buy later on. The days of $10 4×6 prints are GONE - do not settle for a photographer who will want to sell you $1000 or more of prints after your wedding. Very simply, you should know well before your wedding day how much you are spending on photos. If you have to worry about extra charges after your wedding, that’s one more thing to worry about (and you don’t need that!)  Also, it’s VERY important to know exactly what is included if your photographer includes a disc of images! Some photographers will supply low-resolution versions (that will be pixelated and low quality if you make prints). These are only good for computer viewing. If you want to make your own prints, make sure that you get the “high-resolution” or “full sized” photo files. Make sure they are provided without a watermark, and that you have full printing rights.

7. Price. Notice this one is last on the list, but it’s still very important. Very simply, if your prospective photographer fits the other 6 requirements, then price shouldn’t matter. If you can’t afford her/his price then you’ll need to find another photographer that meets all (or most) of your requirements.

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Tags: ask her to marry me, beach wedding, California, church photos, church wedding, disc jockey, DJ, elope to las vegas, engaged in las vegas, engaged in vegas, Entertainment, Las Vegas, las vegas bride, las vegas disc jockeys, las vegas disk jockey, las vegas engagement, las vegas photographer, las vegas photography, las vegas portrait, las vegas wedding photographer, las vegas wedding photography, marriage license information, married in las vegas, married in vegas, photo, photographer, Photography, photos in las vegas, Portfolio, prices, pricing, reception, TiffanyG, vegas disk jockey mc, vegas nevada, vegas proposal, vegas wedding, wedding, wedding couples, wedding photographer, wedding photography, wedding photos, wedding proposal idea

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I’m so excited… we just added FOURTH and FIFTH National Awards in just the last three years!  D.Jay’s Entertainment and TiffanyGPhoto has earned the 2010 Pick for Best of Weddings in Las Vegas from TheKnot AND the 2010 Bride’s Choice Award from WeddingWire! These 2 awards are based solely on bride recommendations and voting and are 2 of the 3 most prestigious awards for the wedding industry (as voted on by brides).

This marks the SECOND time we’ve won Best of Weddings from TheKnot. It’s also the SECOND time we’ve won the Bride’s Choice Award from WeddingWire.

The WeddingWire award is only given to the Top 5% of Wedding Vendors in the entire USA, and to win it TWICE is extremely difficult. It does prove our dedication to perfect customer service and high-quality photography and DJ services. When other companies claim to be “the best”, we don’t need to claim it- our brides shout it from the mountaintops!

I’m excited to be YOUR wedding photographer, so if you are getting married in Las Vegas or in surrounding states, please give me a call via my office at D. Jay’s Entertainment, 702-643-3529.

The Knot Best of Weddings 2010 for Wedding Photography and Wedding Disc Jockey!

WeddingWire Bride's Choice Award 2010

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Tags: ask her to marry me, beach wedding, California, church photos, church wedding, disc jockey, DJ, elope to las vegas, engaged in las vegas, engaged in vegas, Entertainment, Las Vegas, las vegas bride, las vegas disc jockeys, las vegas disk jockey, las vegas engagement, las vegas photographer, las vegas photography, las vegas portrait, las vegas wedding photographer, las vegas wedding photography, marriage license information, married in las vegas, married in vegas, photo, photographer, Photography, photos in las vegas, Portfolio, prices, pricing, reception, TiffanyG, vegas disk jockey mc, vegas nevada, vegas proposal, vegas wedding, wedding, wedding couples, wedding photographer, wedding photography, wedding photos, wedding proposal idea

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(Note: Hmmm, I just noticed my blog did not automatically post this post on December 24th as I had ’scheduled’ it… sorry for making everyone wait!)

I write this post glowing with happiness but with tears in my eyes after reading the amazing submissions to the Season of Giving Challenge. While I only had 7 submissions, all 7 were amazingly heartwarming stories.

As promised I am not publicizing the full names of the family that I’ll be giving the package to, and they have asked that we do not use their photos here on the blog… but here’s some excerpts from the “winning” submission:

“… I met Dante and Shirley through my Church outreach and their story touched my heart. The story started almost 15 years ago when Shirley’s 1st husband was killed in action while serving our country overseas. Shirley was left with with 2 wonderful children under 3 years old. … fast forward 12 years and Shirley met and married an amazing man from her Church (Dante). He brought 2 of his own children to the marriage. Dante is also active military and was deployed about a year ago. … This was very bad timing, as Shirley and Dante were caught up in the mortgage problems and were in danger of losing their home. Shirley did everything she could to save the house, while still raising 4 children and working a full time AND a part-time job. Unfortunately, they lost their home in October and Shirley and her 4 children are currently living in a 2-bedroom apartment while she awaits Dante’s return so they can move to on-base housing.  … I could only imagine Dante’s feeling of helplessness as he serves our country halfway around the world while his wife and children are here trying to keep their lives together. … Dante comes home in February …”

The submission was much longer than the above excerpt but you get the picture.

This story touched me very much, mainly because these two wonderful people have always done everything right and don’t DESERVE this to happen to them. Dante is off protecting our freedoms, and this happens to him and his family.

I was inspired by this story so much that I’ve expanded the prize: I’m going to meet Shirley before Dante’s plane comes in, and do a “welcome home” photojournalistic style shoot, then once they get settled in, we’ll do their official portrait session.

Thank you SO MUCH for the submissions! I wish I could give this to all of them…

Tags: Family, Las Vegas, photographer, Photography, portraits, season of giving, wedding

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We did an engagement session with Michael and Angela in preparation for their wedding later this year. They are such a cool couple and SO MUCH in love. Can’t wait for the wedding!

Here’s some of my favorite photos from the engagement session:

Wedding Photographer Las Vegas

Engagement Las Vegas Photos

Las Vegas Wedding Photography

Engagement Las Vegas Photos

Wedding Photography in Las Vegas

Las Vegas Wedding Photography

Las Vegas Wedding Photography

Wedding Photographer Las Vegas

Wedding Photography in Las Vegas

If you are interested in hiring me for your Las Vegas wedding photography, give me a call: 702-643-3529.

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Tags: church photos, engaged in vegas, engagement, engagement session, Las Vegas, las vegas engagement, las vegas photography, las vegas wedding, las vegas wedding photographer, las vegas wedding photography, married in las vegas, married in vegas, photographer, Photography, photography events, photos in las vegas, prices, pricing, propose in las vegas, wedding, wedding photographer, wedding photographers, wedding photos

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Donovan and Jessica are great! We very much enjoyed working with them for both Disc Jockey and Photography - AND, after the wedding, Jessica and her mom helped us find a new house here in Las Vegas!

A couple pre-wedding photos:

Wedding Photographer Las Vegas

These two photos use my “Alice in Wonderland” special processing - really saturated color.

Las Vegas Wedding Photos

Wedding Photographer Las Vegas

First Dance:

Wedding Photos in Las Vegas

And a short post-wedding session:

Las Vegas Wedding Photography

Wedding Photos in Las Vegas

This one, with Jessica’s permission… she made these “bloomers”.. pretty cool!

Wedding Photos in Las Vegas

If you would like pricing and package information for your Las Vegas wedding photography, give me a call: 702-643-3529.

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Tags: disc jockey, Las Vegas, las vegas disc jockey, las vegas disk jockey, las vegas photographer, las vegas photography, las vegas wedding photographer, las vegas wedding photography, photographer, Photography, prices, pricing, silverstone gold club, silverstone golf club, wedding, wedding photography, wedding reception

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