Why You Should Have a Winter Wedding

Capitol Hill Building DC wedding photos

Capitol Hill Building DC wedding photos

Wedding photographers have something known as a Wedding Season; these are months out of the year — March through November — when they get the majority of their bookings for wedding photography. But when everyone is holding their wedding in the summer, here are my reasons why every bride should consider having a winter wedding:

Your vendor of choice will likely be available.

When it comes to summer weddings, there is so much competition to book a venue, DJ, and wedding photographer. Not so much in the winter — chances are you’re not competing with another wedding couple for the same venue or wedding photographer during the winter months.

Snow themed wedding

Snow!

Here in Washington, DC we usually get at least one good snow storm every winter. Think about how amazing it would be to have the beautiful snowy backdrop for your wedding photos! Now those would make for some wonderfully unique wedding portraits.

You can do a winter wonderland theme.

Winter weddings can go full on winter wonderland with their decorations. I’m talking garlands, candles, snowflakes, evergreen trees, twinkle lights, pine cones, etc. Serve your guests hot chocolate and mulled wine. Hand out roasted chestnuts as party favors. Surprise your guests with carolers! 

Santa Claus can officiate!

If you have kids at your wedding, how cute would it be if Santa dropped by during the reception and handed out some presents? Or even better, what if Santa was the one to officiate your wedding? By the power vested in me by the State of the North Pole, I now pronounce you husband and wife.

No humidity.

Summer weddings in Washington, DC are quite often hot and muggy. Winter weddings don’t have that problem. Your hair and makeup will look flawless without that summer weather messing it up.

Your guests won’t have wedding fatigue.

Summers are so jam-packed with weddings, friends and family can get tired of attending a wedding every other weekend. When you hold your wedding in the winter, it’s the highlight of the season! Another bonus is that your family will already be getting together for the winter holidays, so no extra travel will be required for your wedding. 

Perfect weather for black tie.

Tuxedos really aren’t meant to be worn in the summer, especially since many of them are created out of 100% wool. In the winter, however, they are absolutely ideal for an indoor wedding. Your female guests will have the perfect event for wearing floor-length gowns and sequined dresses. Rather than looking hot and sweaty, your guests will appear elegant and polished for your wedding.

You can wear a cape.

Since outdoor weddings photos can get chilly in just a wedding dress, brides choose to add a cape to their ensemble for warmth. And how often to you get an excuse to wear a cape? It’s the ultimate accessory for winter weddings!

Capitol Hill Building wedding DC

Union Station wedding DC

Capitol Hill wedding DC

Capitol Hill Building wedding DC

Torpedo Factory wedding

Alexandria Wedding - Torpedo Factory

Bride and groom - First dance - Torpedo Factory wedding

Are you looking to book a photographer for your winter wedding? We here at Justy Photography would love to photograph it! Get in touch with us here. 

A Day in the Life of a Wedding Photographer

Have you ever wondered what a wedding photographer does when they’re not shooting a wedding? The answer: a lot! Being a wedding photographer is about more than just artistry, it’s about running a business. Here’s what a typical day for me looks like when I’m not off shooting a wedding:

7:30 AM

Sometimes I wake up from my alarm, but most often my dog, Pongo, will wake me up by licking my face. She gets fed and walked first thing every morning, and she likes to keep to her schedule.

8:00 AM

After returning home from walking Pongo, I shower, change, make breakfast and drink coffee. I try reading some of the news headlines, but quite often I end up checking social media.

9:00 AM

I catch up with my emails. Usually, I answer emails as soon as I receive them, but sometimes they accumulate too quickly and I need to block out time in my day to go through all of them. I send out contracts, schedule engagement sessions, answer inquiries and talk with vendors. If there’s a wedding coming up on the weekend, I check in with my second shooter and send her the schedule and shot list. I also use this time to update my website and check my SEO analytics.

10:30 AM

I make another cup of coffee and call a bride for a phone consultation. We talk about the details of her wedding, and I answer any questions she has about working with me as her wedding photographer.

11:30 AM

I prepare a batch of photos to post to my blog. I try and update it at least twice a week with wedding photos, engagement sessions, and posts related to working as a wedding photographer in DC and Maryland. I also prepare the social media collateral to coincide with publishing the blog post.

12:30 PM

I’m meeting my second shooter for lunch at a little cafe down the street from my house. I take Pongo with me. I love using my lunch break to take a walk outside and get some fresh air. During our lunch, my second shooter and I discuss our game plan for the upcoming wedding. 

1:30 PM

Time for another consultation — this time the bride and groom are visiting me in my home office. I prepare refreshments and some sample wedding albums to show to the couple.

3:00 PM

Done with meetings! But my day is hardly over — I have several weddings for which I need to edit the photos. I sit down at my computer, crank up my photo editing playlist, and get to work.

6:00 PM

I take a small break to walk Pongo and answer any emails that have come in. 

6:30 PM

Back to editing!

8:30 PM

Usually, around now I finish working for the day. I make dinner, take Pongo on one last walk, and end the night curled up on the couch either with a book or watching Netflix. If I have the energy, I’ll go down to the gym and work out for an hour.

12:30 AM

Time for bed! 

There you have, a typical day in my life as a wedding photographer! 

How to choose an elegant wedding dress on a budget

How to choose an elegant wedding dress on a budget

Time and detailed commitment are one of the key elements to consider while planning an elegant wedding. But it is still a possibility to have a beautiful wedding without stretching your budget. That will involve you picking the important things wisely and investing in them. One such is the wedding dress. Yes, you can get an elegant wedding dress on a budget. That will require you to do some few things as highlighted in this post.

Be realistic

Be sure that you know all the designers and styles that are found within your budget. If you lack this information, you risk falling prey to scams. For instance, it is a fantasy to assume that a $5000 Vera can be bought at $300. If you see that a price is discounted too low than it can be, then exercise caution with such a wedding dress.

Be fully alert while shopping online

Do you buy to the idea that shopping online for a wedding dress will save you some dollars? Well, consider that again. Online shopping opens avenues for so many scams and the source of wedding rip-offs. You may order something online, only for you to get an entirely different-looking item.

It is much better to shop at local salon and bargain for a price within your budget. The good thing with salons is that most of them have money-back guarantee, a sale rack and an in-house tailor to help you out if you are unhappy. Most online scams will not reply to your emails or even pick phone calls.

Lookout for clearance sales from local salons

Each store has sale merchandise. There is none in the world that does not have sales. Most manufacturers do stop making their products on a yearly basis. In order to get these products from the stores and have new ones, they use clearance sales. Such is a great time to purchase a wedding dress.

Buy when off-season wedding

Most wedding dresses bought when it’s a wedding season tend to be more expensive than those bought in off-season. If you buy one between October and March, chances are you will get large discounts. If you decide to do the purchase between May and September, then you may want to buy on Friday or Sunday. Most weddings come on Saturdays, so these days pose as the best to get better discounts to help you get a wedding dress within your budget.

Utilize national holidays for great bargains

Shopping holiday’s sales is one way you can be guaranteed of low prices from genuine online stores. Products sold on holidays like Labor Day, Memorial Day and Black Friday and sometimes Christmas tend to be inexpensive than the normal days.

Get ready to pay up front

Save the sufficient amount of money before you go to shop because some shops will give you discounts if you pay in full. You can learn more about a company’s discount details by visiting its website.

Congratulations to Ashley and Andrew! A beautiful wedding at Celebrations at the Bay. Photographed by Eylul Gungor.