Why should you go to a Bridal Fair?

For people planning a wedding, the task of hunting down inspiration and then the vendors to pull off your ideas can be pretty daunting. The internet is a great resource for wedding planning (and one I used pretty heavily for my own wedding) but nothing beats the experience you get when visiting with wedding vendors in person. However, unless you have an unlimited budget of time, you can’t just go from shop to shop all around town to visit each one – that would take forever! But what if there were a place where you could get a glimpse into the best wedding vendor’s shops, check out their style, sample the products and talk to real people all in one place? Well that is what Bridal shows are for! These shows go out of their way to make the bride feel special, and you will be surrounded by people who want to hear all about your wedding and give you lots of free samples and valuable info.  Even if you’ve already chosen you vendors, the cost of admission is worth it just for the experience – and it makes a great girls day out with your mom or bridesmaids.

Want to get in on the fun? The largest bridal show of the year for Northwest Arkansas is this Saturday, January 15th at the Springdale Convention Center. I will be there with some sweet treats, drawings and booking incentives so come by and see me at the NWAbride Premier Showcase!

Look for my very colorful new sign at the bridal show!

Jillian & Kevin’s Miami Wedding

Over Labor Day weekend, I had the privilege to travel to Miami, Florida to photograph Jillian and Kevin’s destination wedding. This was by far the best location for a wedding I have gotten to travel to so far! The sunset ceremony took place beneath the lighthouse at Bill Baggs State Park on Key Biscayne.  Afterwords, the couple along with attending friends and family celebrated with dinner at the Fort Lauderdale Cheesecake Factory on trendy Las Olas Boulevard. The guests stayed at a cute retro-style little “boutique Motel” called Motel Bianco. I think I was almost as excited as the bride for this wedding and when it started raining a few hours before the ceremony, I started to worry. But the rain cleared off about an hour before we were supposed to start, and the remaining clouds made for a spectacular sunset! Here are a few of my favorite images so far, I will be posting more on my Facebook page as I work through the rest:

Jillian got this adorable handmade ring box as a gift for Kevin.

Love this image of the bride and her father walking down the palm-lined path to the lighthouse.

What a beautiful setting for a wedding! The officiant suggested this location rather than the traditional one at the base of the lighthouse. As a result, the full lighthouse could be seen in the ceremony pictures, which was great!

The ring exchange. The sunset glow gives all the images such a nice look.

Such a sweet couple. This image was taken during the prayer of blessing Jillian's father gave at the end of the ceremony.

The only problem with sunset weddings is that the light goes away really fast if you are doing portraits afterward. But thanks to Ed holding an off-camera flash, we were able to get some nice images in the fading light.

I will be posting more on my Steely Joe Facebook page as I go, so “like” it and follow along! And now I need a new destination – so who’s super cool destination wedding is next?