It’s always exciting to see my couples years after their wedding as their family grows! I saw Heather and Connor in the Spring for maternity portraits, and now in the Fall for a Christmas card session at the beautiful Roger Williams Park in Cranston, Rhode Island. The air was a bit chilly, but the sun was shining and it was one of the warmer days in November.
I just loved meeting their little one and it was fantastic to see these two again!
Winters here in New England can be “snow” much fun! When Sara expressed that she wanted to have her engagement session on freshly fallen snow, I was definitely game! We couldn’t set a date and had to just play it by ear and wait for the weather to do it’s thing! We both saw a forecast coming in for a few inches on a Saturday and thankfully because it was winter I wasn’t booked so we set a date. Well, the clouds delivered the most perfect snowfall and some flakes were still flying as we walked around Roger Williams Park. It was definitely a shorter session with some breaks to bundle up and get warm, but these two definitley were great sports and the cold didn’t seem to bother any of us!
Hair and makeup by the fabulous Kristen Green & Company!
A little something different on the blog today! It seems like it’s been ages since I started portrait photography with the expectation of working with families and newborn babies. Well, it turned out very quickly babies were NOT my calling but the couples in love having them were! I don’t do many maternity sessions, but when one of your favorite past brides reaches out to say they’re expecting, I could’t be more excited!
I met Heather and Connor back in 2018 for their engagement session in Newport and their wedding at Lake Pearl in Wrentham. We became instant friends and I enjoyed every minute of their wedding. Not only are they kind and caring people, but loads of fun! We’ve kept in touch over the years and I was thrilled to hear they were expecting a little boy. We walked around the East Bay area to find some abandoned train tracks and ocean views, with Spring blossoming all over. It was a little windy, but no worries at all, these two are always up for an adventure, plus we all got excited for the families of ducks that were close to shore!
So while I won’t be doing their newborn photos (the beauty of referrals, that one takes a specialist!) I can’t wait to see them and continue to capture their family as it grows! Congrats Heather and Connor, and it was SO GOOD to see both of you (we definitely have to do a double date soon)!
By Alicia Laird, Owner of Alicia Laird Photography
Your wedding day is going to be one of the most memorable and exciting days of your life! All the planning over the past months or even years comes down to a day that will pass in the blink of an eye. When the vows have been made and the cake has been eaten you are left with memories and your wedding photographs. You will look back on these photographs for years to come, and they will spark reminders of exactly how you felt in these special moments. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to choose a photographer that you can connect with, who has a style you love, and who you can completely put your trust in. The following tips will help you sort through all of the different types of photography and guide you in making the perfect choice for your big day!
1. Go Professional Over Bargain
There is a reason why some photographers charge $500 per wedding and some charge $5,000 per wedding and everything in between. It takes years of practice and perfecting the craft of capturing a wedding day, as well as investing in equipment and education. Passionate professional photographers will put every ounce of their being into educating themselves through workshops, schooling, and second shooting to become the pros they are. We all started somewhere, but chances are someone who is shooting at incredibly low prices is probably just starting out, and may not have experience and equipment to handle different lighting situations on a wedding day. Do your research to make sure they have experience! A little breakdown on what you are paying for, since it’s not just the day of the wedding work:
1. Education, equipment, advertising and experience it takes to run a business
2. Pre-wedding consultations, questions and planning
3. Engagement session travel, the actual session, and editing afterward
4. The wedding day (4-10 hours on their feet with little rest), and the hours of culling, editing, providing sneak peeks, uploading the gallery and blogging the photos.
So when a professional is charging a rate that gives them a livable wage, you know you have a competent business owner with experience that you can trust, and that won’t run off with your photos and money. I recently heard a story about something like this happening to a friend and my heart aches for them!
2. What to Ask at a Consultation
At your wedding day consultation, before you book, the photographer should as you lots of questions to get to know you and what your expectations are of them. This usually takes place at an in person meeting, or a phone call or Zoom chat. This gives you a chance to get to know your photographer personally, as you will be spending a lot of time on your big day with them! Ask as many questions as you like, most professionals will be happy to spend time with you and answer all of your questions. Some common questions Brides ask are:
1. How long have you been photographing weddings?
2. What kind of equipment do you have and do you have backups? How do you back up images?
3. Do you specialize in weddings?
4. What does a wedding experience look like with you?
5. Do you have a second shooter/ assistant?
6. How long will it take to get my images/ see sneak peaks/ see a blog to share?
Most photographers are happy to chat about their experiences, show you full wedding and engagement galleries that align with their style, and answer any of your questions.
3. Style
When you Google wedding photography, you will see work from hundreds of different photographers pop up in the images section. Some of them may look like they belong together but chances are, since it is work from all different people, it will not. Looking at a photographers style is one of the most important things when you want to see how your photos will look.
There are two different kinds of styles, how they edit and what approach they take to your wedding day. Some editing styles are bright and airy, moody, bright and colorful, dramatic lighting, and rich color. Search these terms and see what style you like and what resonates with you! When you look at their portfolio, you should see consistency all around, and not see work that looks like it was edited with 10 different filters by 10 different people. It should generally have a consistent mood and feel. Photographers are usually passionate about their style, so if one tells you they have a bright and airy style and love natural light, don’t expect them to set up a bunch of lights or create dark or dramatically lit photos for you.
The second type of style is how the photographer approaches the wedding day. Some styles are artistic, editorial, or photojournalistic. An artistic photographer is one you will see with the most unique angles and compositions. An editorial photographer will pose, perfect every little detail with styling, and make every image look magazine worthy. A photojournalist will try to be as discrete as possible and let the moments unfold exactly how they happened, wile capturing all the emotion along the way. These are all wonderful styles, just think about how you want your day captured and make sure you discuss it with your photographer, so everyones expectations are on the same level. I consider myself an editorial photojournalist.
I will style details in the bridal suite, pose you like a pro for portraits and family formals, but be discrete as possible during the ceremony and reception and capture the action as it happens!
4. Anti-Pinterest
We all love Pinterest for inspiration, and if your photographer sends you boards they have created so that you can see ideas and inspiration that is great! Going back to trusting your photographer and their artistic vision, if you don’t see photos and poses you love on their site and have to resort to sending them tons of stuff from Pinterest, you may not have a good fit. Remember, photographers post on their site the work they love the most and that represents them and their work. If you don’t see dresses hanging in trees, jumping bridesmaids, a blurred out ring with a kiss in focus in the middle, sepia tone or selective color in their portfolio, it is probably because this is not their style. Never fear though, there are so many types of photographers that work in all different ways. You should trust their style and vision to pose and create images you love, so you can relax, enjoy your day and have the most fun ever!
5. Personality and Connection
There is nothing worse that not getting to know the person you will be spending the majority of your big day with, and meeting them for the first time on your wedding day and realizing your personalities completely clash! Not that everyone has to be exactly alike, but a lot of “box store” photography studios will just send you whoever is available and you won’t even know their name until a few weeks before your wedding day. A personal interest and connection is such a huge part of the experience. Weather it’s chatting in person, on the phone or through e-mail correspondence leading up to your wedding, you want to get a good sense of their personality, and make sure you will enjoy spending time with them on your wedding day!
So don’t be afraid to do some digging and research to find a style you love and several photographers that you can meet with, that have that style, so you find your perfect match. You’ve already found your perfect partner, now finding your perfect photographer should be easy!
Cheers!
Alicia
When your best friend graduates college you have to celebrate with some awesome photos! Her supportive husband Mike (you guys have totally seen them all over the blog before!) and their adorable Golden Retriever, Millie, joined in for the fun too! We went to a cute little spot near my house that had a variety of nice grass/ woods, stone features and gorgeous Spring evening light. That filtered through the trees sun glow is my favorite light to photograph in.
Sabrina + Mike will be moving to California next month and I’ll miss them like crazy so I’m glad we got to do this last shoot! You know I’ll be flying out there to visit them and capture more of their memories and probably a lot more, because…vacation! I love you guys and will miss you! Congratulations on your graduation, Sabrina!
When Pringles are passed around to guests at a wedding, joyfully erupting with laughter during a speech, you know there is a good story behind it!
I met Melissa when we worked together in corporate and became lunch buddies and friends. Melissa and Charlie moved to Rhode Island from New York City for work and to start their lives close to his family. Before they met, Charlie was infamously dubbed the “Snackman of NYC” after breaking up a subway fight without violence, hence the Pringles!
The timeless elegance of The Dorrance, and Melissa’s classic beauty and family heirloom ring made this wedding a timeless affair. After sharing a first look outside, we headed over the the Arcade for family portraits and into an alleyway Melissa found full of rusted metal beams and graffiti! When I say I go anywhere for my couples I mean it, so amazing alleyway it was!
Congratulations Melissa and Charlie! I’m so glad we became friends and I wish you both the happiest of ever afters!
Venue: The Dorrance
Invitations/ Stationer: Melissa Menard
Hair Stylist: Linda Menard
Makeup Artist: Jenna Urbano
Officient: James Stern
Videographer: By Design Films
Photographer: Alicia Ann Photographie
Florist: Blooming Blossoms
Catering: The Dorrance
Cake: Silver Spoons Bakery
You guys remember back earlier this summer when I captured Sabrina and Mike with their adorable fur baby Eloise? Well if you don’t, you can check it out here!
A great story came out of that last photoshoot too, since they lived nearby we actually became really good friends and I crash their dates all the time! So here’s to beautiful photos, great friends, and adorable puppies, because now they have two!
What a winter wonderland we have had this season, and it seems like it's still coming! Haley and AJ met while he was coaching hockey, and she was teaching ice skating. The perfect setting for them was an engagement session after the most perfect snowfall on a frozen pond (don't worry, we made sure it was safe)! When they asked to bring along their adorable Beagle pup as well, I just couldn't be more excited! Despite some frozen toes, we had an absolute blast and I felt like we had known each other for years. Oakey definitely stole the show for a while, and left a few kisses on my camera, he was such a sweetie!
Now it's story time! All of us pretty cold, I finished the ring shots and we went to say goodbye. Yet my car had somehow decided to automatically lock itself when I walked away (leaving the keys on the backseat as I just took my camera to photograph the ring!) leaving me very embarrassed! Well, Haley and AJ refused to let me freeze alone while the guy came to unlock me door, and we had a good hour and a half to bond, warming up in their car, and talk about wedding plans and how badly we all wanted pizza and beer! This was definitely one of my most embarrassing career moments, but I couldn't have asked for sweeter people to spend time with. We are all human and life happens (however, if this happened on a wedding day and I was without camera, don't doubt I wouldn't be breaking my window haha). They even still decided afterward that we had so much fun that they wanted me to photograph their big day in September as well! These two are awesome, I can't wait for their wedding day!
Originally we were supposed to do our session outside, but our unpredictable New England weather brought snow and cold! Katie had the great idea to to moving inside to the Providence Public Library where it was nice and warm and they could show off their adorable outfits. I'm a total reading and book nerd, so doing a session in a library, especially as gorgeous as this, was right up my alley!
Thanksgiving day has gone, Christmas is in the air (and on the radio), and the end of the year is quickly approaching. I'm, so thankful for all of the beautiful couples that have trusted my vision and allowed me to capture their most special moments! We've worked with and met so many adorable couples this year, and can't wait for the 2018 wedding season! You've probably heard me say this before, but I love Fall! The colors, the snuggles, the smells of pumpkin and apple (candles for the most part, unless my mom bakes!) it is all so comforting!
One of our favorite (ok, their ALL my favorites!) Fall engagement was with Cassi and Mike at Mount Hope Farm, in the quaint seaside town of Bristol, RI. I love this location from its bright and cheery farmhouses, quintessential New England stone walls and history, and sweeping fields and trees. The foliage was near peak and we found the perfect area of bright leaves to create a cozy atmosphere. They even brought the most adorable plaid blanket to snuggle up in! I can't wait to capture their vows next Summer, congratulations Cassi and Mike, you two are just adorable!
xo,
Alicia
Every Spring I'm forever driving by beautiful pink and white trees blooming all over Rhode Island. Most of them tend to be on the side of the highway or street, which isn't the prime location for photography. So this Spring I made it my mission to find some gorgeous cherry blossom trees and set up an engagement shoot. I drive by Roger Williams Park all the time, and knew it had a Botanical Center and lots of beautiful garden grounds. So I took a ride through and found the Japanese Garden fully blooming! There were plenty of trees and all of them were in full bloom and lovely. Unfortunately they don't last long, so I knew we had to act fast. Thankfully, Sara and Andrew were totally game to dress up in my vision of blush and pastels and have their engagement session among the blooming trees! They were complete naturals in front of the camera as well, and so much fun to walk around the park with. Congrats Sara and Andrew!
The love of your life proposed, you said yes! Congratulations! This is one of the biggest moments in your lives, and a reason to celebrate. You will feel excited and maybe a little anxious as you think about planning your wedding. There are so many resources out there to help with your planning, but where do you begin? As a wedding photographer I often talk to brides about much more than just photography. It’s almost like we become such good friends that photographing their wedding seems more like just being an honored guest that gets to capture it all, and I’m always down to bring you a coffee to your bridal suite!
1.) Get Organized
I love buying all kinds of fun notebooks and folders, especially the ones with pretty designs and typography on them. It helps to have a folder with receipts, print outs, and things you rip out of magazines for inspiration all in one place. Notebooks are handy as well to write down ideas of anything that you want to remember to do.
2.) Plan a budget and stick to it
Next, you want to do is sit down together and plan how much you want to spend on your wedding in total. Keep everything in mind from venue, to dresses and suits, to décor. Also keep in mind if you want to include the cost of your rings (including the engagement ring) in this budget. Try your best to stick to this because the last thing you want to do it start your marriage with an enormous amount of debt over your head as newlyweds and being stressed about it.
3.) Venue Search
Before you book anything else you need to nail down your venue and date. This in itself can take a lot of time, but the best research can start online. Many sites like The Knot (www.theknot.com) and Wedding Wire (www.weddingwire.com) have reviews by real brides on their venue and vendor sites, as well as cost (stick to that budget!), and loads of pictures so you can think of décor and what you want your theme to be. Don’t worry if you don’t have or want a theme, your theme could always just be pretty wedding! Make sure you see your venues in person, speak to the coordinators, read the contracts and find out all the details. Now would also be a good time to hire your wedding planner if you are using one and they will take care of all the fine print for you. Think of how you want your photographs from your day to look while choosing your venue. If you love bright and airy images, don’t choose a place with no windows and dark wooden walls, floors and ceilings. Time of day matters as well, here in New England it’s not the best idea to have a 4:00 wedding in December with no first look if you want bright and well lit portraits after the wedding since it will be dark.
4.) Choose Your Bridal PartyOne of the greatest things about planning your special day is planning to share it with your closest friends. Both of your should choose your bridal party and think of a color theme that will be present in the décor and bridal party outfits. You can even ask friends to be a part of your bridal party with hand lettered cards and homemade gifts to add a special touch to it. Do some searches online to get some great ideas for some crafty fun, and start to imagine what your wedding day will look like!
5.) Dresses and InvitationsNow that your date and bridal party are set, you can shop for your dress and the dresses for the ladies! This is such an exciting and special day to share with your closest family and friends. Start looking for invitation designs at this time or hire a designer. Etsy (www.etsy.com) and Minted (www.minted.com) are really great resources for finding some beautiful invitations.
Now get ready to plan your big day! Get organized, set your budget, research and book your dream venue, gather your friends, say yes to the dress, and send those save the dates. Planning a wedding should be exciting and fun but is no doubt going to get a little stressful at times. The best advice I can give you is to enjoy the process. If things don’t go as planned, step back, take a breather and remember to enjoy planning your day together. It will all come together, and any issues can be overcome. Ready?! Go!
Alicia
www.aliciaannphoto.com
What an amazing Spring day for this lovely couples Maternity Portrait Session! After exploring several locations, we decided that Cotton Hollow Preserve in Glastonbury was a great location! With its history, natural beauty, bubbling brook and cascading waterfall, it projected the most perfect backdrop for this expecting couple! Congratulations Jamie and Alex, on your beautiful baby boy!
Alicia Laird Photography is a professional photographer serving in Rhode Island and specializing in weddings, engagements, portraits and dance.