If you're planning a destination wedding, especially to Key West or anywhere in the Florida Keys, it helps to have a little insight from a vendor's perspective.
Here, I'll share my tips and advice for making your wedding day run more smoothly, ensure you look your best, and of course, give pointers on how to best maximize your time spent with your wedding photographer, both before, during, and after the event.
If, on the other hand, you're looking for inspiration from recent weddings, please check out my Portfolio!
Putting A Face With A Name: Virginia Panico, Key West Chamber of Commerce Director
If you own or work at a business, or are in any way involved with city, tourism, or other issues on the island of Key West, there is likely one name that you have heard: Virginia Panico.
However, unless you are an active participant in those arenas, you might not necessarily know her if you ran into her in the grocery store.
As the long time...
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How Long Will It Take to Receive my Photos
We know you're super excited to see your images! We have 100 steps on our Workflow Checklist that we have to get through first.
We want to make sure you are thrilled with your photos when you receive them, which means we take the time to sort through them, narrow down sets of multiple images to just the "best of the best", and optimize them fo...
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Behind the Scenes During a Casa Marina Wedding Setup
It was a beautiful day to have a wedding in Key West, as local wedding planning company, A Modern Romance run by Eric Baker and overseen by his fellow Planner Brittany, set up a stunning display for their clients.
I was on scene to capture the setup and details of this small family gathering, with Chip Willis from PSAV getting the beach chandeli...
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Hiring an Undercover Photographer to Capture Your Proposal
Feel like someone's watching you? You should! You've invested years into your relationship, learned her preferences and predilections, and decided she's "the one". You shopped around and dropped a substantial sum on the ring of her dreams. You planned the perfect getaway to Key West, using any excuse you could think of to justify the trip, and have...
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The Essential Destination Wedding Photo Must-Haves
Traditional weddings tend to call for more traditional photos, modern weddings have more contemporary photos, and casual weddings have more laid-back, less formal photos. But what if you're getting married in a destination like the Florida Keys, Key West, the Bahamas, or some other island getaway?
Just because it's remote doesn't mean you're rough...
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My Mission
I give people the power to recollect. As someone who is very nostalgic, thinks deeply into the meaning of every little moment, and daydreams in great detail about the future, my mission is to create a world that people can draw on in moments of reflection, and be transported back in time to feel the emotions, see the faces, and be reminded of the l...
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Don't Trust One Wedding Vendor to Hire Another
Let me first start off by saying that I am not going to name names here. The point of this post is not to draw negative attention (and thereby any attention) to specific individuals. Instead, I mean only to inform brides planning to get married in Key West that there are a few things to keep an eye on when booking your vendors.
First and foremost,...
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Extra Love: Retouching for Albums and Prints
As I sit here working on the retouching for one of my latest albums, I thought it would be a good opportunity to show some examples of what goes into this "behind the scenes" step of the process. I often get the question "What is the difference between editing and retouching?"
Basic editing, which all images receive before you view them, is a fast...
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Venue Feature: Pier House Resort in Key West, FL
Here in Key West, one of the most popular wedding venues is The Pier House Resort and Spa, in the middle of downtown. Combined with a great downtown location, luxury amenities, an onsite spa and salon, a spacious and beautiful beach (rare for Key West), waterfront views, and great staff, it's hard to beat.
Enjoy this visual tour of the Pier House,...
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Make Your First Year of Marriage As Beautiful As Your Wedding Day
From the moment he pops the question, you believe that it will be a fairytale wedding and you’ll live happily ever after. But the truth is, you must put in a bit of work to have the story play out the way you intend. Even though you may have had the most beautiful wedding ceremony, the first year of marriage can throw you for a loop if you aren’t p...
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Getting Grooms Going. Using Key West's quirky energy into great groomsmen wedding photos.
Unless you have a groom who is really outgoing, photogenic, and has a big personality, most brides at some point will worry about their fiance's attitude or behavior during the photography session. The top concerns are usually one of the following:
He will get impatient
He will feel awkward and uncomfortable
He'll be hot, hungry, and gru...
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What to Expect During Wedding Day Preparation Photos
What does it mean when the photographer says they will include "preparation photos"?
Preparation photos are the images your photographer will capture when they first arrive for your wedding day. Often, these images are used to "set the stage" for the day's events. They give the viewer a sense of introduction, and set the tone for the style, colors...
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How 4 hours of Coverage Can Fly By
You might be thinking "I'm just having a really small Key West destination wedding; I could never use up 4 hours of coverage".
It's true, four hours does seem to be that magic starting number of many wedding photographers. If you're planning an event with a handful of guests, it might be tempting to look past photographers whose packages start a...
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Yes, You're Getting a Wedding Album
OR?
"I Don't Need A Wedding Album"
I hear this from couples a lot. Conditioned by our digitally-connected world that is always on, always accessible, and oh-so-full of gizmo goodness, who wouldn't think that "the digital files" were all a girl would ever need to be happy? But I'm here to tell you otherwise.
We love our gadgets. iPads, Sm...
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WHY VIDEO SHOULD NEVER BE “ON THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR”
Yeah, the economy can be tough sometimes, but that doesn’t mean your wedding memories should take a back-seat. There are so many ways to remain cost-conscious for your wedding, but too often we hear that a wedding video is considered a “luxury” that most couples forego.
Many couples see the photographer as a necessity, and the video as something t...
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