Children and Weddings

  There is nothing more precious than a small child all dressed up as a flower girl or ring bearer. But there are a few things to keep in mind when inviting children to be part of your wedding party.
  Weddings are hard on small children. They are asked to wear clothes that are different, every adult they know is busy, dressed differently and maybe a little stressed. Children pick up on the adult stress and become stressed themselves when asked to not crawl, play or run around because they are dressed up.
  Here are a few suggestions for having children in your wedding party:

•     Always make sure the child has had a nap a couple of hours before the wedding.
•     Make sure children have eaten.
•     Bring small toys that will keep them happy and occupied while the adults are getting ready.
•     Dress children at the same time the bride is getting dressed so not to worry about clothes getting crinkled hours before the wedding.

  Keep in mind that small children can be impulsive, a child who did great at the rehearsal can freeze up on the day of the wedding. So keep a sense of humor and enjoy that sometimes wonderful memories are made by unexpected mishaps
  One wedding I shot the flower girl was about 4 years old. She did wonderful at the rehearsal and looked like a darling little princess the day of the wedding. After the wedding party had made their way down the isle, the little flower girl was left standing in front of the bride. The doors to the chapel were closed. Everything was perfect.
  Then the doors opened....
  This little princess got a look of panic on her face when she saw all the people standing for the bride. She managed to toss a few of her flowers, then turned around, ran behind the bride and out the door.
  Everyone, including the bride laughed a bit, and the child's mother jumped up to catch the little girl...and a precious unexpected memory was made.
 
   ~Bonnie

Busy Wedding Photography Month

It's been a busy, busy month in the photography business and nothing makes us happier! Several weddings, some beach portraits and a reunion at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi. We've met some great folks along the way. Now it's time to get busy with editing photos, creating wedding albums and make discs of pictures.

Wrinkles in the Wedding Dress

Weddings are so full of details that it is inevitable that one or two of those details are gonna get away from you. Take the couple who got married in July. The bride and groom met while living and working in Ocean Springs. Since then, they have moved to the Washington, D. C., area. While Ocean Springs is not their home, this is where their relationship began and this is where they wanted to begin their life as husband and wife. All the arrangements were made long distance. Both sides of the family, and many friends, travel to Mississippi for the big day. The bride still owned a home in Ocean Springs, and although it was on the market for sale, it was empty and an available place for getting ready. So all the bridesmaids arrive at the empty house and the bride pulls her dress out of the bag. This is when the bride realized that one of those all important details got away. She had meant to bring the dress to the cleaners for pressing. She tries the old steam in the shower trick, only she didn't want to get the dress wet, and opted for filling the bathtub up with hot water. Unfortunately, there was no hot water. She then did what any other bride about to get married in a wrinkled wedding dress would do. She called her mother. Mom, was able to locate a steamer but was unable to get a ride to the house. At this point I couldn't help up step in and offer to help. I got directions to where mom was and immediately jumped in my jeep to get her. I found mom easily as she was standing in the driveway, with steamer in hand. This is when I realized another potential problem. Mom has had her hair done and the top was down on the jeep. All I could do is apologize, and offer to drive slow in an attempt to keep mom's hair in place. I have to say, she was a pretty good sport about the windy ride. We get to the house, mom pulls out the steamer and asks if I had any idea how to operate it. Taking the instructions in hand, I figured, no time like the present to learn. Between the two of us we figured it out (or at least we think so). But, this wasn't working so well either. There was plenty of steam, only it wasn't getting the wrinkles out. We also noticed that the dress was getting a little damp. Maybe the steamer just wasn't hot enough for the fabric? More heat, how do we get more heat?.....blow dryer! The bride had one in her suitcase. So while the bride put on her make-up, and the rest of the bridal party finished getting ready, mom held the steamer and I held the blow dryer. Section by section of the dress, together we got rid of the wrinkles, and the bride was of course, beautiful.~Bonnie