Bridal Show Flyer

I will be an exhibiting sponsor at the upcoming Gwinnett Historic Courthouse bridal show on January 17, 2010.  I will have sample books, prints and albums on display.  Come and visit with me and the other wedding service providers.  The June show had a great attendance, this could be the best show yet!

People are surprised to learn that the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse is also a wedding and wedding reception venue.  They have been doing weddings there for years.  There is plenty of parking nearby, and the upstairs ballroom is ideal for a wedding reception.  There is a very cool feature that I love, and you will see demonstrated at the show, an outdoor balcony, it’s perfect for a bouquet toss!

Even if you have your church or wedding venue already selected, come on down!  You never can tell, you just might find the right florist, wedding planner, caterer, or photographer at the show, see you there!

The Atlanta Wedding Photographer

I have all the time in the world.

You are probably wondering why there is a photo of a turtle on a wedding photography blog.  No, it’s not because this is the Bride’s favorite pet and he will be in the wedding, can you imagine waiting on him to make it down the aisle?  Good guess, but that’s not it.  There is, however, a story behind Mr. Turtle’s portrait.

I was standing at my kitchen window a few weeks ago having a snack, when I noticed this turtle near my neighbor’s gate.  I don’t often see turtles where I live so I decided to grab a camera and snap a few shots.  I had made three shots when I heard the office phone ringing.  I rushed back inside and caught the call, it was a potential client inquiring about May 1st, 2010.  The call went well, we spoke about twenty minutes or so, but didn’t set an appointment, they wanted to “look around some more.”  I don’t push for appointments, so I just said, “sure, call me when you are ready to meet.”  I went back outside to resume my turtle photographs and he was just gone!  Now how far can a turtle go in twenty minutes?  Apparently pretty far!  I looked around for him everywhere and he could not be found!  I didn’t think anything else about it, uploaded the images to the computer and went back to work.

Two days later I received an inquiry from a potential client that had been referred to me, their date? May 1st, 2010.  Long story short, we made an appointment, I visited with them in their home, and they booked me that night.  Two weeks later, I get a call from the pervious potential client wanting to sit down and discuss their wedding plans.  They were disappointed to hear their date was taken!  I did give them the names of some other photographers I liked, and wished them luck.  This has happened more than once over the years I have been shooting weddings, one time I had a potential client miss her date by the space of an hour!  I don’t “hold” dates, or “pencil them in,” I try to be fair by making it “first come, first served,” it’s a common practice in the wedding industry.

It’s just not limited to photographers.  I had a client a few years ago hire me in what I would consider an unusual way, she booked me first before her church!  We were chatting about the wedding and the church she wanted for her wedding when she mentioned she had not yet confirmed with the church, or given them a deposit.  I told her she needed to call them today, confirm, and make arrangements to pay the fee.  She said, “Oh, I can do that tomorrow, I’m going shopping for a gown this afternoon.”  After some urging from me, she called, spoke with the church and found out it was being shown that afternoon for a wedding on the same date!  Needless to say, she was there within an hour with a check!  Please understand, this was not a church in downtown Atlanta, this was a small church below Newnan, you would never think it could be busy with weddings, but it was.  Had she went shopping that day, she might have lost her church!

My point with these two stories?  Let’s go back to the turtle, I thought for sure I would be able to go back out and resume making pictures of the turtle.  I was thinking that he might at best have gone a few feet, after all, he WAS a turtle, how far could he go?  Well, I for one was surprised when he was gone, gone, gone!  How does this relate to you and planning your wedding?  Some things are unique, like churches, wedding and reception venues, even more so when you are talking about a specific date and time.  It’s a similar situation with artists and artisans, like photographers, florists, cake makers, bands, etc.  The question is, do you want THE photographer, florist, or band, or do you want to settle for less than your heart’s desire?  Get the unique elements set before you go shopping for the dress, they mass produce those.  I had a client just recently select a Priscilla of Boston gown for her April wedding.  I’m sure it will be beautiful, especially on her, but they will probably make several in that size and style, not just one.

So, hopefully you already have your date set, church and reception venue booked.  Now it’s time for your next steps.  If you are in the process of finding a photographer, please visit my page “Three Things You Should Know“, it’s a guide to selecting the right wedding photographer for you.  And the timeframe you have for finding one?  It depends on your wedding date, to give you some examples, I have a client for November 2010, coming to meet with me Thanksgiving week, she will be in Atlanta then, she has her venue already booked.  My Spring 2010 should be fully booked by the upcoming holidays, if it’s not, Christmas engagements should finish it sometime after New Years.  This is not just me, but other full-time professional photographers as well.  Most of my current clients have booked me several months in advance of their weddings.  Please keep in mind, this is a similar situation for other wedding professionals as well.

The Atlanta Wedding Photographer

Mr. and Mrs Claus

Christmas came early this year to The Georgian Terrace Hotel.  I became involved last month when I received a call from my friend Walter Nemeth who is director of catering at the hotel.  “Terry I’m wondering if you would like to shoot a Christmas party for us this month.”  Usually Christmas parties are in November or December, but I’m pretty much game for anything that sounds like a good time.  ”Sure Walt, just say when.”  It had been a while since I had worked at The Georgian Terrace and I was anxious to check out recent upgrades to the hotel made by the new owners.

As a wedding photographer I had been coming to The Georgian Terrace for years, but I hadn’t been back since 2005 when the Grand Ballroom was used as a pre-function area for the Allie Awards.  The restored Grand Ballroom is nothing like what I remember from 2005!  It has been completely made over with new carpet, paint and other improvements, it truly is a “Grand Ballroom” now!  Not just the ballroom was remade, the entire hotel has been beautified, it’s easy to see no expense was spared, nice!  If I were a Bride, The Georgian Terrace would be on my list to consider for a wedding!  Given it’s proximity to many of Atlanta’s big Churches, it just makes sense as a reception venue.

Santa's new ride.

The hotel had set Santa up with a totally sweet ride for the event, he and Mrs. Claus seemed to be quite pleased with it.  In addition to Santa’s sled, the Grand Ballroom was fully decked out in Holiday decor by Eventscapes.  I have worked with them before, J. Wilbur and his crew always do a great job.

As I was photographing the decor, The Georgian Terrace catering staff was preparing the buffet stations for the evening’s festivities, it all looked so good!

Love chocolate!

More chocolate, great desert table!

Desert Table Ice Sculpture

Snowman ice sculpture by Ice Caters.

In addition to the buffet tables, The Georgian Terrace had carving stations and passed hors d’oeuvres being circulated by the friendly catering staff.

Friendly Catering Staff

Such a great face, food looks good too!

Maybe I should have taken a picture BEFORE eating two!

These were SO good!

Carving Station

This is an overhead view of one of the carving stations.  I made the shot from a balcony that is on a upper level in the room.  The balcony would be a great place for a bouquet toss at a wedding reception.  Check out the floor covering, it’s part of the room renovation, beautiful!

And let’s not forget something to drink with all that great food.

The Atlanta Ballet had a display promoting “The Nutcracker” a holiday classic.

Atlanta Ballet

The Fox Theatre also had a display promoting their holiday show featuring the Radio City Rockettes Christmas spectacular.

Radio City Rockettes

Pretty soon the room began to fill and get that “cocktail party” buzz.  There were many attendees I knew and some new ones I didn’t, I had a lot of fun shooting and chatting.  I found some really great faces.

More friendly Georgian Terrace staff. Check out the balcony in the background.

Beautiful place, great food and people, I had a wonderful time!

Sponsors for this event were:

Button it Up

Spectrum Entertainment (DJ)

Quantum Events & Entertainment (Santa & Mrs. Claus)

Eventscapes

Total Plant and Floral

The Atlanta Wedding Photographer

Atlanta Occasions Magazine Cover Image Courtesy Atlanta Occasions Magazine

Last night I attended what may well be the party of the year!  I had been invited to the premiere edition release party for my good friend Heather Vreeland’s new magazine, Atlanta Occasions.  The premiere was held at The Foundry at Puritan Mill, a popular event space just off Marietta street near downtown Atlanta.

Atlanta Occasions Magazine is not just another “Bridal Magazine” it is one of the highest quality magazines on the shelves today!  I had seen a preview of the magazine online, but I was not ready for the absolute quality when I held the book for the first time.  Did I just say book??  Yes, I guess I just did, to be honest, it FEELS like a book!  The cover is made of a heavier paper as are the magazine’s pages, much heavier than most magazines out today.  The layout is clean, text crisp, pages glossy, and the color pops!  This is first quality printing!  In all, Atlanta Occasions is well worth the cover price just for the quality alone.

Atlanta Occasions cover quote is “metro atlanta’s luxe guide to planning weddings, corporate and social events”.  I would say that’s right, the list of advertisers read like a Who’s Who of the event planning world.  This is just the short list of  the “well known” in the magazine, Tony Brewer, Tony Brewer & Company, “Doc” Waldrop of Full Circle Lighting, Chef Drew, Endive, Eliana Baucicault, By Your Side Events, BB Webb, Carl House, and others, too numerous to list here.  There is no shortage of event venues either, Carl House, Georgia Aquarium, Chateau Élan, The Foundry at Puritan Mill, The Biltmore Ballroom, Twelve Atlantic Station, just to name a few.

The party, what can I say??  I came early and stayed late, right up to the end at 11:00 P.M., I had a great time celebrating Heather’s success!  I saw many old friends and introduced them to some of my new friends, lots of fun!  I don’t know if the venue was at maximum capacity, but it sure felt like it, there were guests everywhere, chatting and having a good time!  Entertainment was provided by Lethal Rhythms,  Joel had everybody dancing!  Decor was provided by Tony Brewer & Company, event lighting by Full Circle, catering by Endive.  Planning and event coordination, By Your Side Events, I think Eliana never slowed down for a second the whole night!  There were two photo booths provided, WOW Photobooth and Smilebooth, I’m sure many crazy pictures were taken!  I actually participated in a few myself!

I could not have had a better time last night, good food, music, great friends, and celebrating the success of Heather’s new magazine, life is good!

Post Addition: I received an email asking what the interior of  The Foundry at Puritan Mill looked like, I never thought to include a link!  Here is a client’s wedding at The Foundry at Puritan Mill, shot at almost the the same time of day and year.

The Atlanta Wedding Photographer

Heather's Flowers

I had the privilege of being invited to Heather’s Flowers open house event in Locust Grove Georgia.  I am so happy I was invited!  Not only is Heather a great florist,  if you are shopping for wedding gown, this is the place!  Heather has a fantastic selection of wedding gowns and bride’s maid dresses at some very good prices, sometimes as low as fifty percent off list price.  The store is divided in to two halves, floral on one side, dresses and formal wear on the other.  The racks of dresses almost run the length of the store making for a great selection.  Heather also carries men’s formal wear from Black Tie.

For those of you who are used to a shopping mall atmosphere, Heather’s is a refreshing change from the Galleria boutiques.  Located in what had been the local hardware store for the last one hundred years, the space is charming with antique wood floors and high ceilings, so different than a bridal shop in the mall!

We had quite a crowd that evening, the shop was full with invited guests and exhibiting wedding service providers.

Mary Hernandez Connie Duglin Linen

Kathy Shepherd Incredible Southern Poundcakes

Yummy Cake!

In addition to the guests and vendors, Heather had some of her friend’s daughters modeling formal wear and wedding gowns.  The girls were having a great time showing off the gowns, each one wearing a big smile as they walked around the store.  They were really excited when they found out I had brought my camera!  We went and played “fashion shoot” outside the store.  These were teens so it was all giggles and smiles as they posed for the camera, I had a blast!

The Atlanta Wedding Photographer

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