Over to course of time photographing weddings and other events I have found that I gain so much by the people I meet and the lives I’m able to touch. What tends to happen when I’m hired to photograph a wedding here at the beach or if I’m called upon to take seniors pictures or even pregnancy shots, I will often times develop a friendship with that client that continues on. Here is an example of some of my former clients who are now my friends.

Justin and Dody – at one point in time before I was photographing full time, I was doing computer repair and I had met Justin and fixed his laptop. At that time he was single, and it was a year or so later that I got booked to photograph a wedding and I knew the bride’s name was Dody and the Groom’s name was Justin but I would never have guessed that it was the Justin I knew from fixing his laptop and who owned Dewey Parasail. So to my surprise when I arrived on location on their wedding day, it was a super cool time being able to photograph their wedding. Justin did not know I was into photographing these days and just thought I fixed computers still. Now a year and a half later, he calls me up to take professional photos of his business and boats, he takes my wife and I out for some parasailing whenever we want, and we have a good time. We both have each other on speed dial and I’m looking forward to taking their family beach portrait when their new baby is born. Shelly and Dan – I got a call about a wedding and when I went to the client’s house we got to talking and I found out that Dan’s sister runs / owns Pohanka of Salisbury. And so after some fun conversation, I offered the suggestion if he could hook us up with a good price on a car, I’d hook him up on the photography. At that time we only had one car between the wife and I, and we were in the market for a new one for Olga. A couple of days later, he suggested we come in and he’d take care of us, and sure enough my wife found a car she really liked and without hesitation he gave us a pretty sweet deal. They got married and at their wedding we have a couple of photographers out there, got some amazing shots and he got the hook up as well. Now a day’s Dan and I are still friends, we both have each other in our phones and we keep in contact on facebook.

In other cases, I’ve met people in this industry like ministers, wedding planners, disc jockeys, and many others, through our constant running into with each other we often become friends. That is really the case in this next story.

Jason and Stacy – I meet Jason through a mutual friend and he was DJing at weddings. It wasn’t long before just about every wedding I was going to he was DJing and rocking the house every time. I found myself hanging out at these receptions longer then I was paid to be out there for and still taking photos and having a good time with Jason. It might have been a year later that he asked me to photograph his wedding to Stacy and without a doubt I was really honored. I met up with them to discuss their wedding day and their photography needs and we often had dinner chatting about it all. On the day of their wedding I had myself, my wife, Olga as second shooter, and my father to capture some video, and we had a great time partying. Stacy and Jason insisted we put down our cameras and have a drink and have some fun, and we did. They fed us good and by the end of the night it was not a job but a good time. And to this day, Jason is one of my closest friends and Stacy is really dear to me. They are both great people.
There are many more to mention but that might just turn into a book and not an article.
So if you are ever thinking of hiring a photographer, watch out because you might be making a new friend.

Well it’s been a busy couple of weeks, with this being wedding season and all, it’s difficult to find the time to write or even email sometimes. We’ve had quite a few weddings to photograph, a few beach portraits, a lot of one hour weddings on the beach, and even got to photograph some of the Ocean City Air Show.

Some of the more memorable shoots I had were Kate and Neil over at Seacrets in Ocean City. They had DJ Rupe in the house playing it up and it made for a good time. The bride and bridesmaids rode on in on the taxi boat which was kinda cool, and we even had a guest appearance by a Paris Hilton (look a like?).

One of my favorite weddings so far this summer was Holly and Mark at Fager’s Island in Ocean City. What made this one so meaningful to me was how the bride and groom invited me in and embraced me like family. Checking to see if I’m eating and having a good time, they had a section of the beach all to themselves and it felt like we were in some tropical paradise.

About one of the worst weddings I had was at the Fountainhead in Ocean City, there was nothing wrong with the bride, groom or Ceremony but with the staff at the Fountainhead. We chatted with the manager and the security informing them we were there to photograph a wedding and they threaten to call the cops on us, as well as have our vehicles towed. It wasn’t until the couple talked with the manager and security that we allowed to park or get near around the building but by then we were parked a crossed coastal highway which made it difficult to carry our equipment from our cars to the wedding location on the beach.
A little tip for you brides out there, make sure you let your wedding venue, managers, security people know you are getting married there, or they might cause you unforeseen difficulties and avoid the Fountainhead at all costs. They are super unpleasant.

With all the wedding professionals out there, each one has a purpose and each one is uniquely important. The wedding planner, often the brains of the wedding, taking the pressure off the bride and making it all come together. The cake maker, bring you that taste treat that is a beautiful ending to a fun evening. And to have that fun evening you’ll need that DJ, which is the heart of any good wedding.

I bring up the DJ because as a photographer I’m often relying on the DJ for information on how the evening will go. I know with a good DJ, the dance floor will be hoping, and keeping the evening events moving in a forward motion. Many of my friends are DJ’s and I wanted to say a few words on their behalf to thank them for making my job easier and bringing me to fun photos and videos I have to for the brides and grooms out there.

The Disc Jockey:
What I have come to realize is a commanding person. They are often confident in their abilities and will control the rhythm of the party to suit the needs of the wedding couple. Without a good DJ, events often spiral out of control and before long, its 11pm and you haven’t even cut your cake yet. The DJ often is fun and entertaining, as they will often be the focus of attention when on the microphone, and bringing the spotlight onto the newly wedded couple. As the lights are dimmed and the music is playing the new husband and wife will enjoy that special song that they will remember forever as “their Song”. More often than not, the DJ will bring tears to your eyes as you are on the dance floor dancing to that special song and you glide along with your parents, the daughter with her father, or the son with his mother. I have seen the father get choked up with tears dancing with this daughter or the mother’s face buried in her son’s chest, probably thinking back to when their kids where just babies. It’s the DJ that helps bring those feelings to the surface and lets it all show on this one special day.

“Hey Mr. DJ keep playing that Song”, it’s those songs that bring out the craziest dancers out on dance floor and allows me to get the coolest dance pictures. And with the right DJ you’ll even have the groom out there on the dance floor cutting a rug, as they say. There are a lot times when I need to steal the bride and groom away for pictures and it will be the DJ watching my back keeping the dance floor going and the rest of the party entertained while I’m out taking the photos.

Without a doubt a DJ for a wedding is your wedding reception life blood and to have things go smoothly you’ll need said DJ. When looking for a DJ keep some of the following things in mind:
1. Ask for references, names and numbers of people who they have done weddings for. Testimonials are ok, but they could be fabricated.
2. Meet with the DJ before you wedding, you want to meet the person who will be at your wedding and see if personalities click. And make sure who you are speaking with is the person who will actually be the one showing up.
3. Inquire about the DJ Equipment: Do they have backups? Any kind of lighting? Are they using Discs (they can skip in players) or laptops (who library of MP3s)?
4. Do they travel to your venue? If the DJ is not local find out if there is a travel fee, sometimes that gets sneaked in and you don’t want an unexpected bill.
5. Also check to see how much it costs for an extra hour or two, I’ve been to a lot of weddings where the party just isn’t done yet, people are still having a good time and they don’t want the DJ to leave.

If you are in and around the Eastern Shore area, like Ocean City, Maryland or Rehoboth Beach, Delaware I have a few suggestions of DJ’s that I have worked with on several occasions and found their performance to be outstanding. The following DJs are in order based on their names and not listed by who is better than whom.
Justin Darling – 443-527-1778 – thatdjguy@comcast.net
Justin Mac – 410-726-7936 – keep.livin@gmail.com
Sean Rox – 410-289-7699 – sean@roxenterprises.com
Leo Weigand – 800-439-6600 – leosometimes@gmail.com
Jason Williams – 410-845-9425 – jawzhouse@yahoo.com

I was providing some videography services to a wedding Memorable Milestones Events was providing coverage for, and they were working great. I’ve seen alot of weddings where the bride and groom can seem uneasy, a little lost, or things go pretty wrong, but not when these ladies are taking care of things. I highly recommend a wedding planner for every wedding, it just makes things run so smoothly and takes the load and worry off the bride’s shoulders.

Check them out at http://www.memorablemilestonesllc.com/

Donna Duffy – (302) 383-3294‎

I recently had a wedding on a Friday and Saturday and both utilized bubbles after their ceremony has concluded. And in both cases it was a bit of a hassle to get working right. I’ve been to about 10 other ceremonies where they had bubbles there and they never even used them. I think in a lot of cases couples dreamed of walking through the bubbles but either couldn’t coordinate it right or forgot about them entirely. So I’m hoping to pass along my experience with the hopes it will help. What typically happens after a ceremony, the Bride and Groom kiss, they are now husband and wife and start walking back down the aisle. Well the couple could just walk out the door and get into the car but it doesn’t work out like that. One main factor is you have to get the people outside first and ready for you. And the second problem is because most couples go the traditional route of not wanting to see each other before the ceremony; they usually end up doing the formal photos after the ceremony. So you can’t expect the people to wait outside for 30 minutes while the pictures are being taken.
One idea that would be super helpful is to get your formal photos taken before the ceremony. By doing this, it will help you tremendously because you will get the wonderful shots, without tying up all your time after the ceremony not to mention if the couple is nervous, and we all know they will be, this takes that nervous edge way. It’s like a mini glimpse of the future that can set the bride and groom at ease. You don’t have to rush, and you can definitely get all the shots you want, and more. Another idea is to get your ushers or various family members to help spread the word of what is going to happen. Every wedding is a bit different, and so most guests won’t know what is going to happen. I personally, as the photographer would leave the bride and groom inside the ceremony location, go outside and rally up the guests. Being accustom to working with large number of people, I’d give a shout out letting the family and friends know the couple is about to exit and would like a bubble storm. And to get your bubble blowers ready, set, BLOW!
But if I’m not there as your photographer, I’d suggest appointing someone to orchestra that for you. It can make for some awesome fun photos that you’ll love.

Greetings, Brides and Grooms of Summer 2009
For those of you getting married in around the summer of 2009 and are looking for something different, so you know, I have something for you. If you don’t have any big, Big reception plans, maybe not a lot of guests, looking for something just all out romantic, than our weddings on the bay might suit you.
We are working on 3 different options for couples to choose from, starting with our 10 people or less wedding. We’d take the bride and groom out with up to 8 of their friends and or family on our pontoon boat, to a nice romantic spot on the bay. Perhaps it’s during the day and you’d like to get your feet wet, we could pull up on a sand bar, jump out and have a cute little ceremony right there. We provide the wedding officiant, the professional photographer, music, complimentary champagne, sodas, and water. After the ceremony we can toast, take a few more photos, and maybe head off to another great spot for a nice photo shoot, where I’d arrange the lovely couple in a series of poses the express love and feeling. And then off to shore, were you can continue on to your reception, dinner, or maybe you are eloping.
Option 2 would be better suited for couples, clinging to tradition of not wanting to see each other before the wedding and have more than 10 guests. The max number of guests would be 20 split up between two boats. The idea behind this wedding is to have the wedding minister drive out with the groom and various guests to a predetermined spot, ready to go and eagerly awaiting his bride. Boat number two would have the photographer, the bride and her various guests riding out to the wedding spot ready to be married to her future husband. We can pull the two boats together and perform the ceremony on the boats or if you so desire we can perform the ceremony on the sandbar or nearby island. Afterwards, we toast, take photos, ride off to a great spot for more photo opportunities, and scoot back to shore. Just like the first package, we provide the minister, photographer, champagne, sodas, and water. If you would like we could arrange for a limo pick up and drop off, for an additional charge.
Ahh, but say you have more than the 20 guests, you want something bigger, something more fun, FUN. We can take you out on the Party boat which can accommodate up to 40 people. We can provide catering, drinks, and whatever else you might need. What come with the package on this one are the minister and photographer. We’d have to discuss what all you might like to have in addition to the ceremony. Without a doubt this will be one fun ceremony and ride. We would like to do the ceremony as you would like either on the boat, on a sandbar, or little island. Taking photos, before, during, and after the ceremony. Afterwards, finding a nice spot for some truly romantic photos of the new Husband and Wife.
For those of you interested please give me a call so that we might discuss options, ideas, and what you want to make your wedding magical with us. 443-513-1304 my number, Will.