Tag Archives: monterey

Wedding Photographer – Monterey

Getting Ready Shots at Hyatt Regency – Monterey

The final day has come for Steve and Janet’s wedding in Monterey.  As you remember, I photographed their engagement session last June.

It was an hour drive from San Jose to get to Monterey.  This was my last wedding for the season.  What else can I ask for when the party is taking place in one of the most beautiful area in California.   Not only that, the ceremony was located in a historically church - Mission San Carlos (if you want to long offical name: San Carlos Borromeo de Carmel Mission).  I call it Montery Mission or Carmel Mission.

I arrived early to meet the bride, Janet, at her Hyatt-Regency Hotel in Monterey.   As soon as I got there, I started photographing her and her sister, niece, and mother.    I’m pretty happy with the outcome of the photographs.   I tried to shoot candid during the getting ready and formal wedding portraiture of the bride after she was all done.   I used my 5d and my favorite 35mmL with flash for fill.  Here are some shots.

Bride Getting Ready - <a href=

Hyatt Regency - Monterey Wedding Getting Ready

Ceremony: San Carlos Borromeo de Carmel Mission

When I was hired by Steve and Janet, I was super excited to photograph their wedding since the ceremony was going to take place at the Carmel Mission.  An awesome, very ornate old mission church from the 1797 era.  Many tourist comes here and I’ve been here three times as a tourist myself.    Most of the mission grounds are actually a private school run by the church but most people just come to see the church and the historical buildings nearby.  The founding person, Father Serra, lies buried under the altar.


Wedding Photographer - Monterey


Monterey Mission wedding photography


Wedding - San Carlos Borromeo de Carmel Mission

Wedding Photographer - Carmel Mission

I thought that I should get some photographs of the bride and groom by the beach since we where just minutes  away.   Unfortunately, we barely missed the sun so you  just see the reddish hue that is seen in the background.

Wedding Photographer - Beach

wedding photography - beach

Reception: Grand Ballroom at Hyatt Regency – Monterey

The party was ON.   Janet and Steves’ relatives and friends are out to celebrate and have fun.  The music was just right for the for their guests.  I myself was jumping to the beat and wanted to parteee but I have a job to do.  Food was great and the staff was very pleasant.  I learned from Steve that he used to work here long time ago and most of the servers are his buddies.

It was trully a blast to photograph Steve and Janet’s wedding.  Thanks both for hiring me.  You guys are awesome.

Here are some more sample of their wedding photography.

Wedding PHotography - Hyatt Monterey

Hyatt Wedding Venue

Hyatt Regency - Monterey Wedding Venue

Wedding Photographers - Monterey

San Jose Photographer – Wedding and Portrait

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Wedding Album Design – San Jose

Wedding Photographer – San Jose

I finally finished an album design that is way overdue.  Thankfully, the mother of the bride is pretty much saying to not rush it since she wants something really nice to have for a memento of her daughter’s wedding.  It took me awhile to do it since I am often not satisfied with the first or second drafts.  Also, I put it aside and come back to  it when  I’m all  refreshed.

This Filipino wedding was photograph sometime this year in Monterey, California.

I just want to add that Monterey is just a fabulous city  to not only have a place of venue to celebrate your anniversary or wedding but also to visit.

This will be a 12×12 luxury album that the mother wants to purchase for her daughter, for herself, and her family back home in the Philippines (3 total albums).  Please enjoy the slideshow.

San Jose Photographer – Wedding and Portraits

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Save The Date Card

Save The Date Cards

Hello.  I am a wedding photographers in the San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Monterey, and the rest of Bay Area.  I offer save the date the card with any client that includes engagement session with me.  Save the Date Cards, also known as STD, are a good way to tell your friends and families when you will get married in advance of the actual wedding invitation.  I offer cards or save the date magnet cards.  The STD magnet cards are a good way to send your potential guess so that they can stick it up on there fridge.  STD cards are usually opened and put away somewhere safe, never to be  seen.  However, a magnet on a fridge will remind them of your wedding date on a daily basis.

There are many factors that need to be considered when it comes time to plan your wedding. Weddings can be viewed as one big party celebrating the unity of two people madly in love. Weddings can also be difficult to plan as they take a lot of work, time, and effort on the part of the bride and groom, as well as their families. While every aspect and detail dealing with planning the big day is important, one of the most important and critical tasks is making sure all of your family and friends are able to attend.

Below is a sample of a save the date card magnet.  Of course, these cards are designed with your input in mind.

[caption id="attachment_2080" align="aligncenter" width="457" caption="Save the Date Card - Magnet"]save-the-date-janet&steve1343[/caption]

Weddings which are smaller events should be easier to ensure that everyone knows when and where the wedding is going to be held. Also, in the past, people were not constantly busy working multiple jobs to be able to support their family, giving them more free time to attend events like these. Also different from the past, current weddings are often planned at least a year, sometimes two, in advance of the actual wedding date, whereas in the past they were planned only a few months ahead of time. With that much time before the wedding, and with how large weddings can get, and how busy people can be, it is very important to make sure that your guests know about the wedding well in advance.

Typically, wedding invitations themselves are not sent out sooner than six to eight weeks before the actual wedding date. While many aspects of wedding planning have taken a turn away from the norm over the past years, this is a tradition that has not changed according to proper wedding etiquette. The problem, therefore, becomes how you can possibly notify all of your guests of your wedding date and time without sending out your invitations too soon. The best way to do this is with save the date cards.

Save the date cards have become more popular in recent years due to the increasingly busy lives that people are leading. Save the Date cards are cards that have a small amount of wedding information on it, namely the date of your wedding, which is sent to the family and friends who will be invited to join you on this joyous occasion. This is a great way to notify them of the date, while keeping any other exciting information under wraps until the day gets closer. Most save the date cards simply have the date and a note stating that the formal invitation will follow the card in weeks to come.

Today, there are many different save the date cards that are very popular. It is very important that you take the time to decide which save the date card is perfect for you. Choosing a save the date card is a great way to begin the wedding planning process while locking in your date with the location of your choice. A great save the date card will also encompass your overall wedding theme and color scheme, although at the time that these cards are sent out, you might not know that information yet!

Many couples choose to use a traditional card for their save the date notice. Even if you have not yet chosen a theme for your wedding, you can pick a few general colors that you think you will be using along with a general design that is sure to impress your guests. The best part about save the date cards is that they often go out so far in advance from your actual invitations that most of your guests will not even realize if they are completely different. Choose a one-sided card with the date of your wedding along with a picture of the two of you that can be sent easily to friends and family.

Another way to utilize unique save the date cards, is to opt for a postcard. By using a postcard, you do not have to worry about envelopes, and the postage might actually be less expensive. You can easily have a picture of the two of you along with the date that your wedding will be on the front and your guests address on the back. Many couples also choose to add their own address to the save the date cards in case people want to send them engagement gifts.

There are some other great styles of save the date cards that are very popular today as well. One of the most popular styles of save the date cards is cards that are magnets. These are popular because there is a good chance your guests will put them on their refrigerator, and look at it every day as they anticipate the arrival of your big day. Sometimes save the date cards can get lost, and dates can be forgotten, so putting your card with your date on a magnet that can go on the refrigerator is a great way for your guess to make sure that they will not forget. With so many wonderful save the date card options available today, you can be sure to find one you like.

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Filipino Wedding Photographer

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By: nicefashion

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Hiring a Cheap Wedding Photographer Does Not Save You Money

Wedding Photography – Why having a cheap wedding photographer is not so cheap at the end.

I am trying to find ways to blog more so that I can be helpful to you, when you search for a Bay Area – San Jose wedding photographer.  So, in the next couple of months, I will be using actual reviews of bride about their wedding photographers.  All business name of theses Bay Area wedding photographers will be deleted.

Again, this is NOT a bride’s review of my business.

From Katey L.  review of her  San Jose Wedding Photographer:

 
“Unfortunately, I cannot recommend Br*****d Sh****d’s wedding photography services. I contracted with him to take my June 2008 wedding pictures. He was very service oriented up until the wedding – my experience with Br****d after the wedding has been a complete nightmare. After he got his money, he seemed to forget about us.           

It took him months to post my pictures, and he only posted half the pictures online because he accidentally posted the other half on someone else’s account. 

Getting my prints was a nightmare – it took months of phone calls and emails. My wedding was 10 months ago, and I am still without the album he is contractually obligated to produce for me. Often times his email box is full and he is unreachable by phone. Working with Br****d after the wedding has been extremely frustrating and I would not want another bride to go through this mess”.

 

This is another unfortunate case where I suspect that the wedding photographer either went bankrupt, or just quit.  The wedding photography business is so saturated with brand new wedding photographers thinking that it is so simple to do.  Taking the wedding photos are fun enough but they do not understand that the business is tougher than they think.  Once they find out that it is not simple as pie, they change their mind and simply quit or go into another photography specialty field.

How can you avoid this?   You can’t.  It is hard to really figure out who will be screw you in the end.  You really have to be good judging people to figure that out.  Don’t just go for a certain wedding photographer just because he/she is a cheap wedding photographer and he/she is giving you all you want.  Find out how long has he/she been a wedding photographer.  Figure it out.  If he or she has been in business for two or more years, then they should have a more establish place to see you and provide you with quality service / products.  There are plenty of professional photographers out there that meet their clients in some business office, their converted studio home, or an actual photography studio.  The more serious and legitimate wedding photographers have an actual place to meet you.  On the other hand, there are other photographers who meet you at Starbuck or coffee places who are most likely new to the business (some are actually not new but prefers to meet there because they don’t like meeting their clients at home due to safety or lacking a clean house).   The other reason why Kathy L. is not satisfied is perhaps, this wedding photographer is just overwhelmed by the number of weddings he / she does in a years period.  

As a San Jose wedding photographer, I meet all my clients in my photography studio.   Also, I limit my wedding services to 30 weddings a year and I offer portraits photography services when not doing weddings.  This way, it keeps me fresh and will treat your wedding with a gusto.   Your wedding photographs will be posted online in 2 to 3 weeks.  Album design will be available for your viewing and editing on the 4th week from your wedding date.  I would like to deliver everything to you by the end of second months of your wedding (this depends how fast you approve your wedding album for ordering).

I hope this helps you deciding to hire your future wedding photographer. 

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Poor Customer Service-Cheap San Francisco Wedding Photographer

Wedding Photography – Poor Customer Service

I have been looking at other photographer’s review and found this online. Apparently, the San Francisco wedding photographers in question are not answering their customer’s correspondents. Late delivering albums and other products is definitely not a good sign of customer service. One reason why I keep my wedding photography in San Francisco – San Jose – Oakland – Monterey area to 30 wedding a year so that I can deliver a quality service. Unfortunately, there are so many photographers out there practically giving away their services that everybody budget conscious brides and grooms are booking with them.

If you are a bride or a groom looking for a photographer, the initially communication should give you a clue. The wedding photographers should respond within 24 hrs to 36 hours of your email or less than 24hours for a phone call. If they have not called or emailed you for more than the specified time, then most likely it will be worse once you sign the contract since they got you on the hook already. To be honest, most photographers are honest and they love what they do. Unfortunately, no everyone is honest so you just have to be watchful.

Furthermore, tell your San Jose wedding photographer – portrait photographer how you want to communicate with them. I personally like email since I get emails through my cell phone and can answer them immediately if needed. However, email to some people is very impersonal, so if you prefer phone conversation, you should let me know.

My current review online is just two so far. However, if you should become my client, I’d be very happy if you write a review about my business.

The following review is not about my business but of some other San Francisco wedding photographer.

HERE IS A REVIEW by Christina L. about her San Francisco wedding photographers:

“I really want to give P****a five stars — they were wonderful to work with on our engagement shoot and wedding day. Great funny guys, really interested in doing good work. And the pictures were absolutely gorgeous. Everyone that we showed them to was blow away. If this review was limited to the photo sessions and pre-wedding service it would be five stars, no questions.

However, their follow up has proven to be non-existent, if not deceptive. Our initial preview images were delivered more than three months after the wedding, and only with much prompting. Their excuse was that they had overbooked themselves. That’s fine, but it would of been nice of them to tell us.

Now we are about to celebrate our first anniversary, and we still do not have an album of our wedding photos. Our last few emails have gone unanswered. I get the feeling that they have moved on to their new customers (undoubtedly paying more than we did now that they have been around a little while) and could care less about their past clients.

This has been a huge let down for us, because we really loved them at first. But no wedding photographer is worth the trouble if they cannot deliver an album a year after the wedding.

Bottom line: good wedding photographers, but customer follow up is at your own risk. Like many wedding photographers, they are interested only in taking photos, not on the rest of the wedding package they promised.

EDITED FEB. 2009: Since posting this review, I have been contacted by two other y****s who have had similar experiences. These customers have received NO photos of their wedding at all (we at least have digital files) and P****a will not return their calls. Since posting this review, my calls and emails have also been ignored. Use this vendor at your own risk”.
It is true that you really are taking a risk. So, wise up and find that wedding photographer that you really deserve and will provide you with what you want.

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