Visit us at Bridalrama

We will be at Bridalrama on February 27 and 28, 2016 at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati.  Stop by our booth to view albums and enlargements!  Ask about show specials!

Photo Gallery

Beach Photography & Video
Visit our website at www.beachphotography.com or text or call us at 513-519-0838
Check this page often for newly added photos

Your guests will have a blast with the photo booth!

Wedding Tips

Wedding Tips

If having your hair or nails done the day of the wedding, allow several hours between your appointment time and the time you need to be at the Church. They almost ALWAYS run behind. Don't take a chance on being late.

If you plan on having a receiving line, make sure that all of the wedding party and family members know to go back in immediately following for photos. Remember to add in a least a half an hour for receiving line when telling your caterer what time you will arrive at hall.

Bubbles or Bird Seed? Bubbles get my vote. They will pelt you with rice or bird seed, and it will be all in your hair.

Make sure you know how your dress bustles, maybe even practice it.

At rehearsal make sure the ushers practice seating the parents and grandparents and know which pew they are supposed to go in. Also make sure they know when they are supposed to take the mothers up to light the candles. I have seen many an usher drop the mothers off at their pews to be seated instead of taking them up to the alter to light candles.

Make sure that if you have a special song you want your DJ to play that he has it and that it is by the artist you want it by. Many different artist sing the same song. Try to finalize songs at least 30 days prior to wedding.

Use 6 or 8 large straight pins to pin down aisle runner. The self adhesive tape that comes on it never holds it. Don't put the aisle runner down until after beforehand photographs have been taken.

Take a few little emergency items with you, such as : straight pins, bobby pins, safety pins, scissors, panty hose, and something for a headache. And of course make sure you pack the makeup bag, including hair brush and hair spray. Don't forget to pack face powder for touch ups throughout the day, especially in hot weather.

Make sure you eat something the day of your wedding. If it is hot out you might want to bring bottled water for the wedding party to drink while getting ready at the Church. 
Don't snap at or be hateful to your mother or bridesmaids. They may get away with that on the TV shows, but your family and friends won't think it is funny. You want to be remembered as a beautiful bride - not bridezilla! 



Brides - Do Not use liquid make up, use powder. This will help eliminate any shine that you might have. Have your make up with you the day of the wedding and make it part of your maid of honor's duties that she keep a watch on you to see if you need it refreshed throughout the day. 


Glitter may be ok in the hair, but do yourself a favor and don't put it on your body. Those pieces of glitter reflect the light from the flash and show up as tiny white spots on your skin in your photographs. 

Hiring a limo - great, just don't let having a limo keep you from getting to the Church two hours prior for photographs. I understand that everyone is on a budget and sometimes limo's can only be obtained for 2 or three hours, but trust me, years from now when you are looking through your wedding album that limo ride will not be nearly as important as all of the beforehand photographs and after ceremony photographs.

 

Create Your Own Wedding Planning Checklist

Create Your Own Wedding Planning Checklist

Even for them most organized woman, trying to plan a wedding with no timeline and no checklist can lead to disaster. Especially as your wedding date gets closer, you’re going to have a million little things on your mind and deposit due dates or appointments will be jumping out at you from nowhere. Creating a wedding planning schedule early on in the planning process will give you a great guideline to follow and will provide an all-in-one reminder resource rather than wallpapering your whole house with sticky notes.

Making a Timeline of Your Checklist

Having a list of things that need to be done is great, but keeping things in chronological order will help you stay much more organized and keep you on top of any upcoming deadlines or appointments. A lot of bridal magazines or wedding websites offer wedding planning checklists that usually range over about 18 months or so. You may have more or less time than that to plan your wedding, so creating your own checklist will allow you to tailor it to your specific needs.

Incorporate Your Budget into Your Checklist

Deposits and vendor bills can sneak up on you when you have so much already on your mind. By putting due dates on your timeline checklist, you can avoid overstretching your budget at any one time. Using your checklist this way will allow you to decide at glance when to schedule in another big purchase for your wedding at a time when you won’t be paying for too many other expensive wedding necessities.

Get the Most from Your Checklist

Be sure to check your list weekly to see what new errands you’ll have to keep track of. As you get closer to the wedding date, it could be a good idea to start checking it daily. Creating smaller task lists off the main schedule every day can keep you focused on just what needs to be done for that day. By having a master schedule saved onto your computer, you can add to and edit your checklist as often as needed and reprint updates when necessary. It would also be a good idea to print a copy of your checklist for everyone helping you plan your wedding.

When you’re starting your checklist, fill in all the most important dates and appointments first and plan the smaller details around those. Whenever possible, try to spread out the tasks that aren’t time sensitive so you don’t overwhelm yourself in any one day, week, or month. Sticking to an organized checklist can take a lot of stress and uncertainty out of your planning and will keep you on the right track if you ever start feeling like you’ve become too swamped.

The Perfect Wedding Cake

The Perfect Wedding Cake

Your wedding cake may be the centerpiece for your entire wedding, so you’ll most likely be putting a lot of thought into choosing just the right one. Even if you intend to stick with a basic tiered cake, you’ll still be faced with many choices regarding flavors and decorations. When shopping for the right cake, be sure to choose a baker who is willing to work with you and understands what you want.

Before Shopping For Your Wedding Cake

Before you start tasting samples and designing an elaborate blueprint for your cake there are a few things you’ll need to think about first. No matter how simple you’re wedding’s theme is, you’ll want your cake to match the rest of that color scheme or any other type of theme you’ve chosen. As one of your biggest visual highlights, your wedding cake will play a key role in tying your theme together.

Know your budget before negotiating with your baker. You should have your guest list established beforehand to give yourself an idea on how many servings you’ll need. Cake size, type of icing, and number of hand-made decorations will all play a part in your final cost so it’s important to have an amount you’re willing to spend in mind before allowing your bank account to be seduced by designer decorations and fancy frostings.

Do Your Research

Before deciding on any particular bakery, read reviews and get referrals. Don’t hesitate to ask every question you have, such as what kind of delivery method your baker uses and is there an extra fee for that service. Educate yourself on the different icing options such as fondant, butter cream, and sugar icings. Taste everything, get samples, and bring a trusted friend or family member along to give second opinions. Once you’ve settled on a baker, make sure they understand your timeline and any other expectations you may have.  Fondant looks pretty, but it does not taste that great.

Go with a Professional

Don't let your aunt, or other family member or friend make your cake.  With 21 years experience in the wedding business, the cakes I have seen fall, lean or crack, have been made by a family member or friend.  Don't take that chance.  A tiered cake needs to be properly dowelled and this needs to be done by a professional so that your cake does not fall, lean or crack.

Unconventional Cakes

Not all wedding cakes have to be a standard, white, tiered cake from your local bridal shop. Some other ideas you may want to consider are tiered cupcake trays with delicious little mini cakes decorated to suit your theme. Perhaps you’d rather go with a smaller wedding cake for each table which will double as your centerpiece.  Ask your bakery about these options as well.

The Cake Topper

There are so many choices out there.  You can search online for wedding toppers and find one that suits your needs.  A lot of bakeries no longer carry toppers in their shop for this reason.  When you meet with the bakery they will need to know what your topper looks like, how heavy it is, what size the base of it is etc.  Some bakeries will let you leave the topper with them and they will put it on when they deliver the cake.  Others will just want to see it in case they need to do anything special to the top layer to support it.  Then they will have you take it with you so that they are not responsible for it.  Accidents can happen, things can get lost.  If you do not leave it with the bakery, make sure you do not forget to take it to the reception hall.  Some halls will let you drop off items like that the day before and they will place it on the cake table so that when the bakery delivers your cake they can put it on for you, or you can put it on when you arrive.

Cutting of the Cake

Tradition has it that you save your top layer for your first anniversary.  How it tastes a year later when you pull it out of the freezer is up for debate.  Ask your bakery, a lot of them will give you a free 6" or 8" anniversary cake free on your first anniversary, if you bought your wedding cake from them.

Finding the Perfect Dress

For a lot of women, their wedding dress is the highlight of the whole wedding planning experience. Many brides-to-be have had a dream wedding gown in mind since they were little girls and when it comes time to shop for the real thing a lot of time and energy will be spent on this aspect of the planning process.

Keep an Open Mind

Unless you are completely set about having a certain color and style of wedding dress you should try to be open to all styles, at least at first. Seeing certain cuts of a dress in a magazine or on a mannequin may be misleading as many dresses could look quite different on your body. That dream dress you’ve always had in mind may not actually suit your shape once you get it on. By trying a wide range of style at first, you’ll give yourself a better idea of what’s going to look perfect on you so you can start narrowing your search.

Shop with a Trusted Companion

While your caring friend or loving sister may have your best interests in mind, they may not always have your tastes in mind as well. Everyone has their own style, so while it’s a great idea to bring someone with you for a second opinion and extra pair of eyes, be sure the shopping buddy you bring knows what suits you and understands what you want rather than what styles they prefer.

NO MATTER HOW GOOD THE DRESS LOOKS make sure YOU look good in it!  You have to look at yourself very closely.  Don't be overwhelmed by the beauty of the dress.  Look at your body!  Stand in front of the mirror and look at yourself.  Look at your cleavage.  Is it the look you are going for?  Can you dance in this dress?  The most overlooked spot on a bride when picking a dress is her armpits!  Depending upon how the straps are made, even a size 2 bride can have bulges by her armpits.  Keeping your shoulders held back won't even fix the problem.  If you really like the dress, consider having it altered to remove the straps.  Pull the straps down and see if the bulges go away.  If they don't, move on!  Look at your back.  Is the dress so tight, or made in such a way, that you now have back fat, or back boobs as they are often called?  No matter how awesome that dress is, if you have bulges you are no longer the bride in the awesome dress, you are the bride "That should never have worn that dress!"  So be critical and get past the dress and look closely at how it makes you look.  Because you should look awesome on your wedding day, you deserve it.

Budget before You Shop

Before you even set foot in a store, figure out your wedding budget and decide how much you’ll be willing to spend on a dress. Stick to shopping only in the bridal shops that have dresses in your price range. Figure out if you’ll be renting your dress, buying one brand new, or looking for a used dress. Some women buy a dress and never get married or some buy their dress but change their minds a buy an entirely different one before their wedding day. Buying a used wedding dress is an option that could save you quite a bit of money.

Keep the Little Things in Mind

If you have any idea how you’ll be wearing your hair and makeup, try to wear it that way when you do your dress shopping. Wear shoes that would be similar to something you’d wear for your wedding as well. Since you’ll be wearing your dress all night, don’t forget that you’ll need to have at least some degree of comfort. You don’t want to spend your entire wedding day tripping over a beautiful but ridiculous train or struggling to breathe in a too-tight corset. Take your time when shopping for the perfect dress and you’ll feel radiant and wonderful when it comes time to walk down the aisle.

Wedding Photography Packages

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Reflection Package $1499.00 Unlimited coverage of your ceremony and reception. Receive your choice of wedding album.  Pick from either a coffee table album with 20 sides or a traditional album with 24 sides.  Also receive one 16 x 20 Gallery Wrap, two 8x10’s and four 5x7’s.  Engagement session OR 11x14 from wedding.
Elegance Package $1699.00 Unlimited coverage of your special day!  Receive your choice of 10x10 coffee table album.  Many styles to choose from.  Also receive two parent albums, either in8x8 or 5x7 style.  Also receive one 16x20 Gallery Wrap,two 8x10’s and four 5x7’s.  Engagement session.
Masterpiece Package $1799.00 Two photographers.  Unlimited Coverage.  All images on a USB flash drive with copyright release.  Pick from either a 10x10 coffee table album with 20 sides or a 24side traditional album.  Includes a 20x30 Gallery Wrap, two 8x10’s and four 5x7’s.  Engagement session.
Wedding Album & Live Photo Booth $1899.00 Two photographers.  Unlimited Coverage.  All image son a USB flash drive with copyright release.  Pick from either a 10x10 coffee table album with 20 sides or a 24side traditional album.  Includes a 20x30 Gallery Wrap, two 8x10’s and four 5x7’s.  Engagement session OR11x14 included from wedding if no engagment needed. Live Photo Booth included.  We set up a background and bring lots of props!  Your guests have a blast, plus they go home with a 4x6 keepsake photo!
Wedding Album & Videography $1999.00 Unlimited Coverage.  All images on a USB flash drive with copyright release.  Pick from either a 10x10 coffee table album with 20 sides or a 24 side traditional album. Includes a 20x30 Gallery Wrap, two 8x10’s and four 5x7’s.  Engagement session OR11x14 included from wedding if no engagment needed. We will also video the beforehand craziness of the day, the ceremony and the reception.  You will receive 3edited copies on DVD.
Photo Video Fun Package $2499.00
 You will have 3 wedding professionals  capturing all of the memories of your special day with photographs and video!  No time limit, no location limit! Unlimited Coverage.  All images on a USB flash drive with copyright release.  Pick from either a 10x10 coffee table album with 20 sides or a 24 side traditional album. You will receive a 24 x 30 Gallery Wrap!  Plus two 8x8parent albums are also included with package.  Engagement session OR 11x14 included from wedding if no engagement needed. We will also video the beforehand craziness of the day, the ceremony and the reception.  You will receive3 edited copies on DVD.Live Photo Booth included.  We set up a background and bring lots of props!  Your guests have a blast, plus they go home with a 4x6 keepsake photo!
10 x 10 Coffee Table Albums with many different cover options.  Photo wrap around, Leather, Metal etched, Two tone leather, Exotic leather, Cameo opening.
We also offer a traditional album 12 pages 24 sides with a variety of mat options.