Although I love Indy and all the great areas to shoot in southern Indiana as well there is something to be said about shooting in a big city like Chicago. I met Becca and Mike at their place in the West Loop and they took me on a little tour of the area. We stopped at a park near their place with their adorable dog Marlo. Found some great industrial areas and got an awesome view of the city from the Kinzie Street bridge. Everywhere I turned there was a great view or an awesome building to shoot by…. I could have done this session for another 3 hours! haha. Thanks to Becca and Mike for choosing me as your photographer! I can’t wait until the big day at Loft on Lake in September!

Time for a quick outfit change

Random hot pink door? Yes please

You may remember these two from their amazing engagement session in the rain. If you missed that you can see it HERE.

I arrived at the hotel to shoot Sarah getting ready. I knew she was going to be a gorgeous bride, but YOWZA!(yep I just said yowza). David you are one lucky guy! Granted the gorgeous gown from Sophia’s Bridal, Tux and Prom combined with the makeup of Kiralee from Eyemax makeup  and hair by Danielle Jordan didn’t hurt either.

From there we traveled just down the road to Valle Vista for the ceremony and reception. The day was perfect for the ceremony on the veranda followed by some of the greatest speeches I’ve ever heard at a wedding and a surprising groom’s cake! All in all it was a perfect March day and I was honored to share it with Sarah and David. I love you guys so much! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your big day!

The gorgeous flowers were from Steve’s Flowers and the yummy cake was from Amazing Cakes. The Bridesmaid dresses were from David’s Bridal and the tuxes were from Men’s Warehouse. Rick from DJ’s Direct kept the party going all night!

All of the girls signed the bottom of Sarah’s shoes that she wore for most of the day

The shoes in this wedding were amazing! The maid of honor wore these awesome blue sequined shoes, Sarah switched into the pink ones later and the bridemaids wore gray heels.

Sarah and David chose to do a first look

Time for some solo shots and fun with the whole wedding party

Seriously – these two were so cute! And she was the most well behaved polite flower girl EVER!

And then it was onto the ceremony on the veranda!

And then it was reception time!

Sarah had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cake make for David as a surprise  - along with matching glasses for a toast. Loved it!

We snuck out for a few sunset photos

What did kids do at weddings before the ipad?haha

]]> http://beckybrownphotography.com/blog/2012/04/20/sarah-and-david-wedding-greenwood-in-33112/feed/ 1 http://beckybrownphotography.com/blog/2012/04/03/anniversary-specials/ http://beckybrownphotography.com/blog/2012/04/03/anniversary-specials/#comments Tue, 03 Apr 2012 22:26:40 +0000 beckyb http://beckybrownphotography.com/blog/?p=3207 Hey everyone! I can’t believe I’m saying this, but April marks the beginning of the 5th year of business for Becky Brown Photography. It seems like it has flown by, sort of a blur of white gowns, boquets, kisses and baby giggles. I can’t begin to thank everyone who has been a client over the years. To those that took a chance on me in the beginning and  that have followed me from the start and believed in me the whole way – you mean the world to me. I wouldn’t be where I am without you. Especially to family – you’re the best

As a thank you to all my clients – past, present and future. I wanted to extend a few special offers for the month of April.

You can check them out below and if you have any questions feel free to email me at becky@beckybrownphotography.com or on the contact me link above.

WEDDINGS (previous brides – don’t forget you can get a print credit or gift card for referring new brides!)

$1999 (Indiana and Illinois)…. normally priced at $2500
Includes 8 hours of wedding coverage with Becky
An online gallery of your wedding images to share with friends and family
A CD of the images with personal reprinting rights
$100 print credit to be used online towards prints, canvases or albums
A complimentary wedding album design by Becky

$999 (Indiana only)… normally priced at $1200
Includes 6 hours of wedding coverage with Allie
An online gallery of all your wedding images to share with friends and family
A CD of 300 images with personal reprinting rights
A complimentary wedding album design by Becky

$150 … normally priced at $300 – yep that’s 50% off!!! 
A 1.5 hour engagement session added onto any of the above packages
A CD of 50 images from the engagement session with reprinting rights
An online gallery of the images

** Wedding must be booked in the month of April and take place before May of 2013

** This offer is not valid with any other offer.

FAMILY/BABY/SENIORS

I am holding Mini Sessions this Saturday – April 7th in downtown Columbus, IN. There are still spots available – email me to reserve one.

Includes : 30 minute session on location with one outfit, 15 images on disc with print release, all images on an online gallery for ordering.

- you can purchase multiples for a longer session (if spots are available)

- Sessions include up to 6 people – add $10 for each additional person

… I will mostly likely have another session of these in June – “like” of the facebook page to get the latest updates : www.facebook.com/beckybrownphotography

PRODUCTS

$450 (normally $599)- 10×10 20 page photo book

$799 (normally $899) – 10×10 30 page basic wedding album

$399 (normally $499) – 16×24 Canvas Wrap

At lastly a shot from my first wedding of 2012 – the Mr. and Mrs. Andrews Love – Becky

I knew that this was going to be a very fun wedding the second I met Jen and Mike. At the time Jen was about 7 months pregnant with their son, Nolan, who is adorable and can makes an appearance below. They talked about how they met and what they had in mind for there big day. They wanted their guests to really have a great time and with it being New year’s eve the party was essential to kick off 2012 right.

We lucked out and it was in the 50′s on the day of their wedding. It’s been such a weird winter I didn’t know what to expect. After their traditional Catholic ceremony we spent some time cruising around downtown taking photos. LOVED the big fur coat Jen rocked for some of the night photos!

From there it was off to the reception at the Murat to get the party started….. and a party it was! The dance floor was packed all night. I even busted out some moves at one point. The space was gorgeous – shout out to Oasis Events! And I loved that they named each able a different date after a significant date in their relationship or the relationships/anniversaries of their guests.

Ceremony: Immaculate Heart of Mary 

Venue: Murat Theatre/ Old National Centre

Bridal Gown/Bridesmaids dresses and tuxes : Nancy’s Bridal 

Event Coordinator: Patti with Oasis Events 

DJ: Jeremy with Pro Audio Indy

Floral : VS Designs

Then we headed downtown for some photos before the recepetion

Love night time photos The Christmas lights were still up on the circle and around Mass Ave. We took advantage of both and the Murat, where they had the reception.

This reception was GORGEOUS!!! Patti at Oasis Events did an amazing job of transforming the room.

Each table was named after a significant date, either to the couple to one of the guests at that table. Such a unique idea!

Almost time to ring in 2012!!!

And last but not least me with Jen and Mike!

1) I get to spend time with my couples before their wedding to let them warm up to me and the camera. There isn’t anyone else to worry about and they can just be themselves.

2) It makes things flow smoother on the wedding day if we have done a session together before. You will be more comfortable in front of the camera and I will have already gone through some pointers on posing etc. So when I ask you to do something a little wierd you’ll know what I’m talking about and the result I’m looking for in the image. And I’ll know if you have any quarks about photos (blinking, every 5th picture your smile shifts to one side, you  have the urge want to give bunny ears to someone in every image etc.).

3) You get great professional photos of the two of you that AREN’T in your wedding attire. Yes you want wedding photos, but it’s also nice to have some images in your house that are more representative of you as a couple on a normal day. Unless of course you usually spend your days in a white gown and a tux…. in which case disregard this statement.

4) You have time to explore locations that you may not be able to on the day of your wedding. Wedding days can be a tight on time and if you really want images somewhere that isn’t close to your venue or even in the same town it becomes virtually impossible. For an engagement session you can choose your location(s) without worrying about getting back to the reception or making guests wait or getting your wedding party of 48 to the location. So if you want to shoot at the college that the two of you met at, then we will head to campus! If you absolutely love the view from somewhere in the city, but your ceremony is in the burbs than we can shoot the engagement session in the city to give you the best of both worlds. If you want your dogs or cats involved in the session and they can’t be at the wedding, then bring on those furry friends!

5) They’re just fun!!!

Convinced yet? (say yes) …. if not stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow on the where, when and why of how to plan your engagement session

 PART TWO:

So I decided to just add part 2 to the same post so everyone didn’t have to go searching for it. Hopefully if you’ve read the first part I’ve convinced you as to why you should shoot an engagement session. So now let’s talk about the where, when and why of planning your session.

When?

I get asked often from couples about when they should schedule their engagement session. I always ask this question ” Are you sending out save the dates?And do you want to use the engagement photos for them?”. If the answer is yes than you need to consider that most people send those out between 6-8 months prior to the date. Generally if you are doing a destination or getting married on a holiday weekend they get sent out around 8 months ahead to allow people to plan for travel etc.

So work backward from that timeline. If you are getting married in June 2013 you should send your save the dates out in November or December. If you want fall photos than you need to shoot them in the Fall of 2012. But make sure you plan enough time to do the session and get the photos back and design/order the save the dates. My general turnaround time for an engagement session is 2 weeks.

If you aren’t sending out save the dates the timeline becomes much more flexible. You can basically schedule the session whenever time allows in your schedule or during a certain season if you are wanting a certain look for your session.

Where?

The next question is always “Where should we do our shoot?” and I always respond with the following questions :

-  ” Where did you meet?”

- ” If it’s a Saturday or Sunday and both of you have no where to be, what would you do all day?”

People think that’s a weird question, but the answers tell me a lot about my couple. I love engagement sessions and the best ones are when the couples are having fun and are comfortable. For 2012 I’m really trying to stress to my couples to personalize their engagement sessions. This doesn’t mean you have to run out and make all kinds of DIY props or rent out a space. Simply tell me what you two like to do together on a Saturday. Do you take the dogs to play in the park? Great – let’s go do that! Do you have a favorite coffee shop nearby that you love to go to and enjoy a book? Awesome, we go grab some java! Do you spend your Sundays watching football and eating wings? Sign me up! Do you like to get dressed up and head out to a wine bar or your favorite restaurant? Fantastic – strap on those heels and let’s go!

My point is that I don’t want my couples to choose a location based on what everyone else is doing or somewhere they think is cool or pretty, but that they’ve never been to. I want them to pick a place they are familiar with. A place that has meaning or that they frequent. Just look around your own neighborhood and there could be some great places to shoot. Don’t pick a park you’ve never been to because you think it will be good for photos. I’m here to help and make suggestions, but I want you to tell me what is meaningful to you and we can work together to find the perfect location(s) for your shoot.

Why? 

I covered alot of this in part one. But to sum it up because I want you to have fun and be comfortable with me as a photographer. I want you to have some great images of the two of you to treasure forever. Some of my favorite images came because my clients trusted me  (see image in the rain below) and just had fun being themselves!

How?

Just contact me on the link above! Some of my wedding packages include engagement sessions, but it can always be added on. If you are interested in more information you can fill out the contact form or email me at becky@beckybrownphotography.com

If you stopped by my booth you may have signed up for the give-away I was doing for a FREE engagement session. I was going to pick just 2 winners, but due to the large volume of sign-ups I decided to pick an additional winner.

And the winners are ……. (insert drumroll here) ………..

Sarah and Yianni – 10/14/12

Kristen and Mike – 3/30/13

Kaleigh and Bill- 6/8/13

If you are a winner you will receive an email from me about further instructions.

Remember you can get 2 extra hours of coverage if you book by May 15th and 10% off for Non- Saturday weddings (non holiday weekends).

Contact me for more information at becky@beckybrownphotography or build an estimate HERE.

For those of you that stopped by the booth and signed up for the FREE engagement session giveaway I would like to announce the winners…… drumroll please ……….

Krystal Fordyce and Ryan Murray

Katie Pruitt and Shane Tormoehlen

I’ll be sending you both and an email with more information!

Also the winner of my door prize giveaway was Molly Howard!!

Remember if you book by Valentine’s Day with me you will get an additional 2 hours of coverage. If you book with Allie you will get a complimentary 16×24 canvas print! Contact me at becky@beckybrownphotography.com or by clicking the contact link at the top of the page to set up a free consultation to discuss your photography needs for the big day!

Congrats to all the newly engaged couples!

Below are some of my favorite images from the big day. Their wedding will also be featured on Modernly Wed’s blog in the upcoming months.

A big thanks to Brooke, Mike and their families for allowing me to be a part of your day.  Everyone was so welcoming and a blast to work with!

Wedding dress/jacket- Chiffon Bridal in Lafayette, IN

Bridesmaid dresses- Chiffon Bridal

Tuxedos- Leon Tailoring, Indianapolis

Program- my mom did it all!

Cake- Heavenly Sweets, Noblesville, IN

Engagement ring- Shane Co.

Wedding bands- Windsor Jewelers

DJ- Platinum Productions, Mark Smith

Ceremony – St. John Church – Indianapolis, In

Reception – Sheraton – Indianapolis, IN

Hair Salon – Studio 2000 – Indianapolis, IN

Brooke’s gift from her soon to be hubby

We headed out with the guys for photos on the way to the church. These guys are hilarious – see photo below for proof. Yep thats a super awkward prom pose from all the groomsmen and ushers…. classic

I snuck in a few bridal photos before the ceremony started. Brooke wore the gloves that her mother wore on her wedding day 30 years before.

Ceremony time – told you the church was gorgeous

And then we jumped on the trolley and took a ride around downtown for some photo ops. Neil was our trolley driver and for real he was the BEST driver of any I’ve had all year. Bravo Neil!

Yep that’s all the guys “Tebowing” on the circle…

And then it was off to the War Memorial

Then I headed off to the reception for some shots of the gorgeous room set up. The cake topper was also Brooke’s parents from their wedding.

View of the circle from the reception

Once again we had gorgeous fall weather for the shoot I met up with them first at the new Indiana State University Stadium where we had some fun kicking around  the soccer ball for a bit. From there we headed onto campus where they both attended college. I’ve never been on campus there and I must say – it was really pretty. Our last stop was at a local park. Thanks to Brittney and Aaron for spending their Sunday showing me Terre Haute! I can’t wait for your wedding in July!

This wedding was so amazingly unique. I met the Groom via working with Cummins and I was thrilled when he contacted me , and even more thrilled when I heard the wedding was in Bloomington. Um, wedding in Bloomington in the fall – yes please! It’s always so gorgeous there in the fall so I knew I would be in for a treat.

The couple met while doing contra dance. If you’re not familiar with Contra dance the best way I can describe it is that it’s folkdance mixed with line dance with a caller and many moves that are way too complicated for me! haha. So naturally when it came time to plan their wedding they wanted to have Contra dancing at the reception which was pretty awesome. I’ve never seen so many people on the dance floor for so long. Everyone gave it try for at least a song or two.

Between the gorgeous fall weather, the great use of colors, the heartfelt toasts and the dancing it was an amazing night overall.

Thanks Chris and Juliet for letting me be a part of your big day! And if you’re in the Bloomington area be sure to pick up the Feb/March issue of Bloom to see their feature in the wedding guide!

Reception Venue: Indiana Memorial Union  http://www.imu.indiana.edu/catering/weddings/index.shtml ( also did the cake)

Ceremony Venue: Unitarian Church, Rev. Mary Ann Macklin officiant.  http://www.uubloomington.org/

Flowers: Harvest Moon Flower Farm, Linda Chapman. Local grower and designer of all flowers.  http://www.harvestmoonflowerfarm.com/about/

Invitations: Twisted Limb Paperworks, Sheryl Woodhouse-Keese. https://www.twistedlimbpaper.com/

Band :Mean Lids, Matt Turino. Band. http://www.myspace.com/meanlids

Dance Caller : Fiddle ‘n’ Feet, Tamara Loewenthal.  http://www.fiddlenfeet.com/

Wedding Gown: Nancy’s Bridal Boutique  http://nancysbridalboutique.com/

Bridesmaids Dresses: David’s Bridal, http://www.davidsbridal.com

Tuxedos: Suzanne’s Bridal and Formal Wear  http://www.suzannesgowns.com/

Hair : Elan Uptown Salon http://www.elanuptownsalon.com

 And then it was ceremony time!

And then we headed off to campus to finish up photos before the reception

The flower girl was NOT feeling photo time haha

One of my favorite photos below in front of the Union…. I might be a little biased since I am an IU grad.

We took a little walk…. see what I mean about how gorgeous Bloomington is in the fall?!

On to the Reception!

After dinner guests moved to a different room for cake and toasts while they flipped the room to get ready for the dance. I’ve been to alot of wedding and these were some of the most heartfelt, sincere toasts I’ve heard – lot of love in the room!

And then it was onto the dancing! These pictures don’t being to do this justice and I could post hundreds more, but for now here are some highlights!