What do you want for Mother’s Day?  There are a lot of wonderful gifts out there.  Jewelry, flowers and gardening tools are all great but anyone can get those.  What can you get that is one of a kind?  Well, your family is one of a kind and what would be better than capturing a beautiful moment together to keep forever?  You can blow it up big and hang it over the mantle, or you can collect your favorites and put them in a cute little book, or in a framed collection on the wall.  You can send prints to Grandma or give all the Aunties little wallet brag books to show off to their friends.

Just so that you’ll feel good about treating yourself to these goodies, they are all 15% off if you book your session by March 31 and your session date is between now and April 24th.  Also, if you tell a friend about it, and THEY book a session, too, you’ll receive an extra 8×10″ print from your Mother’s Day Session as a thank you.

These sessions will go fast, so call or email the studio ASAP and set up your appointment.  The number is 315-288-4893 and the email is sarah@pictureinfinity.com .

While we can’t answer for all photographers I’d like to give at least a few ideas from someone who’s done more than 1,000 groups of formals.

How long will formals take?

You will need to factor in several things here:

• Are you doing family formals?
• Are you doing bridal party formals?
• How many people are in the family photos and bridal party photos?
• How many locations are you expecting to use for formal photos?
• What is the actual travel time between each spot?

Typically our couples do both family and bridal party formals. We tend to shoot approximately 10-15 family groups and 10-15 bridal party “poses.”  Our couples usually choose to do family formals at the church and bridal party photos at a  nearby park or other location. We spend between 30 and 90 minutes doing formals at an average wedding.

That’s average – but what suits you?  If you have a large family and want to include aunts, uncles, nephews,  nieces, great grandparents, cousins, in-laws your photos will take much longer.  It’s possible to spend 30 minutes on family formals or 3 hours.  Make sure you let your photographer know your expectations.

The same goes with formal wedding party party pictures.  If your wedding party is bride, groom, maid of honor and best man you can expect formals to take far less time than if you have 10 on each side.  Try and feel out how organized you feel your photographer can be. An organized, prepared photographer can get a lot more done than a disorganized, haphazard one.

Who will be in the formals?

This is, of course, your decision in the end.  We think about it this way – some shots are “must have” shots.  Others are great if you get them but not necessary and others are unwanted.  Break down your list for your photographer that way. Here are some examples:

Must have
Parents and step parents (both sides)
Siblings (both sides)
Grandparents (both sides)
Full wedding party
All bridesmaids & bride
All groomsman & groom

Not necessary
Aunts & uncles
Cousins
Nieces & Nephews
Bride with each bridesmaid
Groom with each groomsman
Bride or groom with each parent individually (is a “must have” if parents aren’t together)

Unwanted
Step parents sometimes
Mom’s boyfriend
Dad’s girlfriend
Brother’s girlfriend after 3 month relationship
Groomsmen picking up the bride
Flowers on bride’s dress

These are just examples – you can and should make your own list. Who is important to you?  How much time do you want formals to take?

Can I organize that list?

YES!  Let me say first that some photographers will not work off a list – they don’t need or want to work from one.  However, if your photographer will take or even requests a list you can give them a great one by following these steps.

1) What people are only in one or two photos? If you finish their photos first they are free to leave.  The more people who leave the quieter and easier formals get.  If you’re doing one “whole family” shot with 25 of you in it but you aren’t doing aunts, uncles, cousins – get that huge formal first.  Then aunts, uncles and cousins can leave!  Simple, right?

2) After large groups, work your way through one side then the other. Start with the whole family who is most responsible for the reception – they are going to want to get to the site to host.  Start with the biggest group – grandparents, parents, siblings, significant others, siblings’ family, etc.  When finished with that photo move onto any other photos grandparents are in.  (It’s torture for most to move around a lot so once you get them standing, get them finished so they can leave.)  Work your way down – parents and siblings, siblings alone, then parents alone.  While you have one set of parents standing, bring the other in.  Go from both sets of parents to just the second set of parents then to the big family group on the other side – bring in grandparents, siblings, etc.  Once that’s done shoot grandparents alone (parents are done) and then siblings can move quickly back in for a set.

Just like that family formals are done.  Time for bridal party formals.  Assuming you move to a park or other location here’s my suggested order and why:

Whole bridal party formal – get it while people are focused- this can be creative, it can be a line of people, it can be anything you want – but don’t get crazy here yet.
Bride and bridesmaids – give the guys a chance to relax, get a drink, laugh a bit and relax more.  They will generally start to party and have fun the minute the ceremony is done and the further from the ceremony the more relaxed they look!  We try and get a few of the women together then one of each bridesmaid with the bride if time permits.
Groom and groomsmen – now give the ladies a rest, get into shade if it’s hot outside, etc.  Shoot the big groomsmen shot then let them have fun with it a bit.  The more the groomsmen start to “act out” here the better for your overall fun – encourage them and get them laughing or goofing off now.
Fun wedding party shots – now bring everyone back together, get those creative, fun, funny or just plain odd shots you want.  Have a few ideas and let your photographer work with you to get what you have in mind.  Not everyone wants a running or jumping photo but those who do are sad if it’s missed so just know what you want!  Your photographer will have ideas as well.

Once wedding party fun time is over do your romantic formals.  Bride and groom time should take 20-30 minutes or so.  This is the photographer’s favorite time at almost every wedding. We love the romance!  Bring on the kissing, dip shots, handholding, laying in each other’s lap, walking in the park… if you did an engagement session with the photographer you should also have an idea how they work during this type of photo shoot.  No matter what it means for your timeline make sure you include this 20-30 minutes!

Final thoughts

These thoughts are merely a rough guide as you work through organizing your wedding formal photos. We photographers want your wedding to be your own – a fantastic and fun trip through your family, past, future and your new life together.  If you want 2 hours for romantic formal photos, schedule it (and hire us!)  If you want to include everyone who attended the wedding in a photo at the church just remind us to bring a ladder (or how to get to the balcony in the church).  Hopefully these suggestions will help plan your wedding formals and keep you and your photographer on the same page!

If you enjoyed this article please pass it on with the social links below!  Thank you!

This time we got to play out in the snow at Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville.  Well, Kali, I hope the feeling has come back into your fingers by now.  She was telling her mom how cold she was so I said “It’s tough being beautiful, isn’t it?  She replied, “NO!  It’s tough being COLD!!”  ha ha ha ha!!

~Sarah

This was one area that I had no clue about!  Soon after we got engaged, I started looking for ideas with flowers.  It started as a Word document with pictures all over the place and soon came together as a large collection of beautiful pictures in a PowerPoint.  I had a total of over nine slides with four pictures on each slide!!  I included pictures of things I did like, colors I liked but not necessarily the arrangement, and things I did NOT like!  I shared the PowerPoint with my bridesmaids to get their input—they were very helpful!  With their help, I was able to narrow it down to seven slides.  I also made a PowerPoint for escort card ideas as well as centerpiece ideas.  Now, what florist do we choose?

We decided on interviewing three florists; Wegmans in Dewitt, Backyard Garden, and Whistlestop Florist.  We heard that Wegmans in Dewitt did wedding arrangements when we first visited Justin’s Grill.  On our way over to Justin’s Grill, Justin (my fiancé) and I were talking about flowers and different experiences with had with florists.  We joked that it would be awesome if Wegmans did flowers since we admire their work on our frequent trips to the store.  However, we did not think that they did flowers for weddings.

When we arrived at Justin’s Grill, they were setting up for a wedding and the florist came over to us, and asked us if we had chosen a florist.  When we replied “no”, she gave us her business card.  I looked down and it said “Wegmans—Dewitt, NY”.  I couldn’t believe it—Wegmans can do weddings!  I love that place!!  Our other two choices for florists came from bridal shows that we had been to, recommendations from friends and family as well as The Knot (http://www.theknot.com) online community.

Here are some of my inspirational pics (all taken from The Knot):

The whole process of sending out the STD’s led to a larger problem.  Who gets an invitation?  Do we just invite family?  Kids or no kids?  If no kids, what age is cut off?  Co-workers?  Which friends?  Deciding on whom to invite caused more stress than I thought!

Soon after we got engaged, we composed our dream guest list in Excel.  The main reason behind this was to get a general ballpark of where we were when looking at reception locations.  Honestly, I didn’t know if we were thinking 80 or 220.  I knew that the list would be trimmed so that was put into consideration when looking at reception venues.  After looking at the list, making revisions and booking Justin’s Grill, we decided that 125-150 people would be do-able.

Fast forward eight months and we are faced with an increase of prices at our reception location (ed. note: how does this happen??) and realizing that our guest list had to be cut quite drastically.  It was very difficult to decide who would make the cut and who would not be invited.  Finally, after some tears and Justin calming me down, some more tears and talking, we decided we had to use our budget as the guide. We figured out how much the reception would cost per guest based on our wants/needs (and trying to pinch pennies where we could) and realized that we could afford about 130 based on our budget. So…that was it.

We sent save the dates out to the number of guests we knew we could afford at the increased price.  While this was a very stressful part of the planning process, it worked out the best it could and I knew the people we could not invite would understand.

As much as I tried to tell myself it wouldn’t, money played a much larger role in the creation of the guest list than anything else.  My advice to other brides is to remember that it is not about how many people you invite or how much money you spend but rather remember that you are getting married to that special someone!

His baby sister, Samantha, is one of the most beautiful babies I have ever seen. Her eyes are super dark and those eye lashes just go on forever!  Her poor mother says she doesn’t sleep much. Luckily, she is a sweetheart when she is awake! I could just kiss those beautiful little cheeks forever.

I am so glad to have met these two marvelous children.  Thanks, Karrie for letting me into your lives.

Who we are

Matt & Sarah: owners, 7th year with Picture Infinity. We call our style ‘Freestyle’ – we aim to take the best available shot whether traditional and posed or candid wedding photojournalism.  We have photographed over 120 Syracuse weddings.

Mabyn & Tim: lead associate photographers, 3rd year with Picture Infinity.  Mabyn is our fashion wedding photographer and Tim is our documentary rockstar.  The two team to form an incredible combination of wedding photos full of fun and flair!

Becky & Jess: associate photographers, 2nd/1st year with Picture Infinity.  2010 will be Becky’s 2nd and Jess’ first year with us.  Jess has been shooting weddings on the west coast of Florida for the past few years and Becky has been shooting mainly sports here locally.

What we offer

Albums: Picture Infinity offers three styles of albums: Infinity Albums are our top of the line collage-style flushmount albums. Renaissance Albums are traditional albums similar to what your parents likely have.  Amore Albums are coffee table style albums similar to the Infinity but with lighter weight paper and not as many cover options.

Photos: We offer the high resolution digital DVD of your wedding photos.  You can add those to any photography package for $500.  With the disk you get a print release to make copies of those photos.  The disk includes one of every keeper photo.  “Keepers” are the best of the photos, normally between 550 and 850 for a full day coverage.

Digital DLs: When your images are complete we upload them online so your friends and family can view the photos on their own. Digital Downloads are iTunes style photo downloads of individual photos for $3.99  These files allow prints up to 8×10″ and are delivered immediately.

Why choose us

Experience: Our team has over 25 years of combined wedding photography experience. We have shot over 200 weddings and our teams of two work exclusively together so our teamwork and communication grows with every event we photograph.  We have shot small 4-person wedding ceremonies and we’ve done weddings with nearly 400 guests.  We’ve worked at the E. Syracuse American Legion and the Hotel Syracuse.  We’ve shot wedding formals at Onondaga Lake and Thorndon Park while also doing formals at playgrounds, hotel bars and abandoned factories.

Speed: Our goal is to get you from wedding night to wedding album in 30 days.  We think waiting 6+ months from photographers to get a wedding album completed is too long.  We think 6 weeks to even see your photos is WAY too long.  We want you to come into the studio 7-10 days after the wedding to give us all your final choices, orders, etc.

Honesty: What you see is what you get with Picture Infinity. No hidden costs, no extra fees.  No boasting about winning photo contests that everyone with $20 can “win.”  No charges you don’t want or need for things you have no use for.  If you need 8 hrs pay for 8 hrs, not “full day.”  We want your trust and we believe we deserve it.

Reputation: We have over 1200 fans on our Facebook Page.  We have over 500+ satisfied clients. As far as we’re aware we have ZERO negative reviews online anywhere.  We do have positive reviews on Facebook, WeddingWire,  Yahoo Local, Wedding Photography Sites, Syracuse wedding forums, TheKnot and many more.  We are on many venue and vendor lists including: Jones Tones, Elegant Events by Mel, Mirbeau and more.

Our Photos: Obviously the style of our photos should be a huge help in deciding on a photographer. Click the link to see our work.  Enjoy your planning!

So why do I (Matt) love love?  I’m a romantic.  Let’s face it – my job consists of taking photos of people and spending their happiest days with them.  We feel great when people are truly in love and exchange their vows.  We shoot a lot of Syracuse weddings but honestly some are something truly special – the ones in which both people are phenomenally in love and can think of nothing but marrying their partner.

Love has health benefits.  Among the health benefits are fighting disease, boosting immunity and lowering stress.  If you’re in love you have a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases.  Married people live longer, have fewer heart attacks and lower cancer rates.  Love has other significant benefits as well.  Love has economic benefits – shared housing costs, health insurance, utility bills and so forth.  Shared food costs lower the price for each of you.  Married couples also earn more and invest better.

Some of my favorite thoughts on love are in the form of song, poetry and quotes.  Here are some to get you feeling like a hopeless romantic on Valentine’s Day:

“You are what I never knew I always wanted”

“Don’t say you love me unless you really mean it, because I might do something crazy like believe it.”

“You don’t marry someone you can live with – you marry the person who you cannot live without.”

“To say ‘I love you’ one must know first how to say the ‘I.’”

“I never knew how to worship until I knew how to love.”

The last sums up my own personal relationship very well.  As I said, I am a romantic.  I call Sarah “the Empress” and as often as possible say “Yes Empress!” to whatever she asks me to do.  Of course, being in real love also means I have to say no sometimes.  True love isn’t selfless and it’s not selfish.  True love is balance.  Balancing your needs with your partners, balancing your wants with theirs so you both end up with the life you want.  Love is seeing your own values embodied in someone else and recognizing it.

So today I want to say Happy Valentine’s Day to all of you in love. (And Happy Anti-Valentine’s to those of you who are celebrating that today as well.)

I’ll leave you with this final quote from The Princess Bride:

Westley: I told you I would always come for you. Why didn’t you wait for me?
Buttercup: Well… you were dead.
Westley: Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.
Buttercup: I will never doubt again.
Westley: There will never be a need.

(If you like this post pass it along with the sharing links at the bottom!)

~Sarah