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It was a beautiful sunny day with the cutest puffy clouds when we arrived. I photographed the many detail shots and then got to meet the awesome videography team Darrell and Emily from Dmart Films. They were such a pleasure to work with and I highly recommend them to future brides and grooms! The beautiful flowers were from The Loft Florist, who did an incredible job! The colors flowed together so beautifully and I loved the succulent accents in the bouquets.

Laura and Erik decided to do a “first look” which was really such an amazing decision because we got to walk around Bonnet Island Estate and capture many different aspects of the beautiful venue. Laura and Erik are so in love and they giggled and were so natural in front of the camera! I could literally photograph them every day! The joy in their faces and the love they have for each other is just wonderful and is the reason I do what I do for a living.

The ceremony was so lovely and their officiant was by far my favorite one of all time! His sermon was so biblical and inspiring! And before the ceremony he even asked guests not to stand in the way of the photographer yay!

After the ceremony, we took some fun family photos and then headed to cocktail hour and photographed some detail shots. Laura and Erik’s wedding cake was beyond stunning! I’ve never seen a multi-colored ombre cake before and it was just beautiful! The reception was so fun! Hands down amazing! Especially during this awesome rendition of “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” by Meatloaf. What a fabulous crowd and fabulous DJ!

During the reception, we went outside for night time shots and I was so excited to do my first successful 30 second shutter photo Thank you so much Laura and Erik for letting me photograph your amazing day! God bless, Kay

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Brooke wore a gorgeous Matilda gown from Sareh Nouri Bridal. I was so excited to photograph it on the chandelier in the amazing bridal suite. Brooke’s makeup was done by the talented Tim Alan, who I highly recommend as it lasted through the entire day, even in the cold ocean air! Her gorgeous flowers were designed by the amazing ladies at MDS Floral Design! It’s ALWAYS an honor working with them and they do such an amazing job every time!! My favorite was the Maid of Honor’s bouquet which had such gorgeous colors!

As mentioned above, it was gorgeous and sunny day but pretty cold. Brooke and Stephen were such troopers in taking photos and we got to go to several locations such as the beautiful Barnegat Lighthouse State Park. After the light house, we came back to Mallard and got some gorgeous photos on their dock. Their beautiful ceremony was held in the Mallard Island Chapel and decorated with gorgeous candles and pink and purple flowers and peonies. After cocktail hour we got to take a couple of fun night time photos outside of the venue. I just love the sapphire blue sky in the background and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect! Thank you so much Brooke and Stephen for allowing me to capture your special day and I wish you a lifetime of happiness! God bless! Kay English

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After photographing a countless number of weddings, I would love to give advice below on how to be the best bridesmaid ever to support your lovely Bride on the most important day of her life! These are tips as seen through the eyes of a photographer…Enjoy! And if you think of anything I missed please comment below…God bless!

• Be supportive! You are the brides #1 support system!!! The main role of a Bridesmaid is to be the Brides cheerleader meaning that no matter what you are excited for them and always there for them throughout the entire wedding process.

• Don’t stain the dress!!! I love this photo below where the Bride asked her bridesmaids to wear gloves to ensure they don’t dirty the dress. It’s also great to help the bride by carrying her dress while walking to different photo locations.

• Be encouraging and fun! Especially on the wedding day and in the photos!

• Wipe away the tears… The wedding day is usually emotional with tears of joy! Carry extra tissues with you and be there to wipe away the tears.

• Get the bride and groom a cute engagement gift! Below are some super cute and unique gift ideas for engaged couples. 1) Personalized heart map with wedding date 2) Personalized sign with significant dates 3) Another map with state 4) Mr. and Mrs. candles 5) Love book 6) Personalized robe

• Offer to get your nails done together before the wedding. It’s great for bonding time and also looks great in the photos with the bouquets.

• Start a Pinterest board for wedding inspiration! Pinterest is one of the greatest visual planners in the entire world! And they now have boards where multiple people can pin to the same board! So start an inspiration board for the Bride and invite all the Bridesmaids to pin ideas.

• Offer to go to vendors appointments with the bride- It’s kind of a no-brainer but definitely offer to go to as many vendor appointments as possible with the Bride. As a photographer, I’ve had great client meetings where the Bride brings her bridesmaids and they are there to support her and come up with fun ideas. Offering to go to the florist or even cake testing (yay!) can be super fun and great bonding time! And of course you HAVE to be there while she tries on dresses!

• The bride is #1 always!!! Do not be the center of attention! It’s the brides day, so don’t do anything to steal attention from her by complaining or acting up. Just know that the bride is always first on her day no matter what!

• Get emotional- It’s really cute in photos when the bridesmaids clap, cry tears of joy and act emotional! I love the raw emotions of the photo below where the Bridesmaids saw the bride in her dress for the first time.

• Arrive early and get dressed early! To ensure you are on time for all of the wedding events (bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, wedding), arrive early! It can be very disrespectful to the bride when a bridesmaid walks in late to an event because it shows she doesn’t seem to really care. I’m not talking about if something important comes up and you had to be late, but try your best to show your support by just being there and being early. Being late can throw off hair/makeup timelines which can throw off photography timelines and really effect the rest of the day. Arrive early and get dressed early so you can be ready to help the Bride with anything she needs!

• Be excited! Show your excitement throughout every aspect of the wedding! When the Bride is getting dressed, during the photos and first dance. Be sure to clap and wave and stay excited! I loved the wedding below where the Bride and Groom were surprised with an awesome helicopter ride on their wedding day! Their bridal party was just beyond excited and waved them off as they flew away. It was so romantic!

• Get your Etsy on!!! Girls! Get on Etsy.com and find every cute thing for the Bride’s wedding! Send as much as possible for props, bridesmaid gifts, necklaces, veils, etc… The Bride will appreciate your research!

• Be a hopeless romantic- Encourage the Bride and Groom to be relaxed in front of the camera by saying “Awwww!!” during their kisses and being excited for them throughout the day.

• Lend a helping hand- Help the bride get dressed and be there to lend her a helping hand

• Keep speech short and sweet! Being a photographer and 2nd photographer when I first started, I’ve seen some really amazing speeches, and a couple of not so great ones. The biggest difference in the quality of the speech and to get a great speech is 1) Keep it short and sweet 2) Be emotional and speak of how much the couple loves each other and how happy you are for them. Don’t drink before the speech, and please don’t do anything embarrassing like curse or bring up bad stories from the past. Extra point if you get the Bride crying like in the photo below

• Get the bride a drink after you have taken the bridal party photos. She is probably very thirsty and would love a glass of water or even to try one of her signature martinis. Even though the venue should provide someone to offer the couple food and drinks, it really shows thoughtfulness if a Bridesmaid offers as well.

• Keep the bridal suite neat and clean- The morning of the wedding, things can get a little hectic. And a lot of times things get misplaced. When you arrive, try to make sure your things are hidden in a corner or closet so that your things aren’t in the background of the photos. It’s also great to help the bride out by communicating with vendors while the Bride is getting her hair and makeup done. Finding a place for the florist to put the flowers, arranging the brides shoes and accessories for when she gets dressed or ask the planner if she need helps with anything.

• Be in the moment during the photos. As a photographer, I know that sometimes it’s very hot or cold during the bridal party photos, and that everyone wants to enjoy cocktail hour and the food. Instead of complaining, please try to stay present during the photos and not rush the photographer. If you complain it will make the bride feel uncomfortable or feel like she maybe should stop taking photos, but you have to remember the photos will be there for the couple for the rest of their lives. In 20 years, the food will be gone, but the photos will last forever. I loved photographing the bridesmaids below because they were so fun to work with and really just enjoyed the photo time and were very relaxed! This made for the perfect set of photos!

• Remember you are a team! Though you may not know most of the other bridesmaids, it’s important to pair up as a team and get to know each other well. Always invite everyone to planning meetings and don’t single other bridesmaids out. Bridesmaids can feel hurt when others exclude them from planning so it’s important to build each other up. At the end of the day you are there because you all love and care about the Bride and it’s important to get along and for things to go as smoothly as possible.

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Almost all of the photos below were shot on the Contax 645 processed at Richards Photo Lab in Hollywood, CA. I love the look of film especially in the winter time as it really adds a warmth to the tones and adds a nice bokeh effect. After photographing in the open field with the cute blanket accessory and gorgeous long maxi skirt, Jenna had an outfit change and we walked over to the fence and barn area. I loved her red outfit and Americana look with the red barn as the background. The photo shoot was great and I was just so excited to photograph the whole time Jenna and Eric, I really can’t wait for your wedding this year and thank you so much for being so great to work with as always! You are such an amazing couple!

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UPDATE: Contest on brief hold until next week Comments below still count towards contest!

I’m so excited to give away a FREE wedding photography mentoring session to one lucky winner! All you have to do is comment on your favorite photoshoot. It can be ANY blog post on this website and the winner will be selected at random. Anyone who shares the post on my Facebook page will get entered to win twice! The share will be counted as an additional blog comment. Please note you do not have to share in order to win as to adhere to the facebook.com rules.

Here is a recommendation from Erin Ray, who was previously mentored by Kay English Photography.

The lucky winner will receive a free mentoring session (valued at $350) where you can ask anything you want on camera equipment, photo editing, software, lighting, marketing, finding your style, starting a business, networking, etc… Sometimes it’s really hard to know where to start when picking up a camera and this will be great to give you better direction.

I will try to answer as many questions as possible to help you start pursuing your dream of becoming a photographer

Good luck to all aspiring photographers and happy voting!!!

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