Reception Trends 2011

Forget the photo booth! It eats up a big portion of your budget and your photographer can do a version of it for no extra charge.

When you book with Melissa Z Photography, we can arrange with the reception venue to hang a fun background that reflects your style to get those photos for your guest book, formal or funky. We can either have each family of guests photographed after you welcome them in the receiving line, or have the dj announce a specific time which I'll be available for 'photo booth' like photos. Bring party props and enjoy the funny photos right along with the rest of your day online and on your DVD.

Create Fun for Everyone You've discussed the open bar/cash bar options, but what are those who can't celebrate with alcohol?

• Food bars - be it coffee, candy or desert...everyone will have fun creating their own concoctions
  
• For the kids - see if your venue has a tv/dvd player available so kid's movies can be played, throw pillows and blankets on the floor and you have a safe place for the kids to hang out
• Games - one of this years biggest reception trends, see below for more ideas
• Party Dance Songs - as a photographer the more of these played the more likely the bride & groom will have an awesome collection of photos featuring their fam & friends having a great time.
  

My favorites to photograph: Cha Cha Slide, Cupid Shuffle, Shout!, Electric Slide, Chicken Dance - Bride and Groom must join!

Ditch the Slideshow - Creating a slideshow is a touching and personal way to share your love story with your guests, but it takes time away from socializing and slows down the evening's fun.

Try one of these alternatives instead:

• Display framed photos on ladder rungs
• Clothes pin photos on a clothes line between two trees or on a pretty ribbon on a venue wall
• Create custom banners featuring your fav photos - great ideas in Brides magazine March 2011
• Instead of table numbers, use a photograph, it'll encourage guests to mingle at other tables too
• If you must have a slideshow, allow it to play on a loop during the cocktail hour, instead of dedicating a set time for it during/after dinner.
  

The hottest reception trend? Games - from croquet to horseshoes to the limbo. The only stipulation: the bride and groom must join in on the fun!

Think school yard fun and your reception will be more entertaining and interactive than a select few joining you out on the dance floor.

• If the reception is outdoors, set up horseshoes, a bocce court, bean bag toss, or croquet game during cocktail hour.

• If the party's inside, have a hula-hoop contest, limbo, or a round of "Dance! Freeze!"
  

64% of guests say the entertainment (not the food) is what they remember most about weddings.

The New Engagement Shoot

Gone are the days when engagement sessions are taken in a studio. Today's brides are taking them outdoors and thinking high-concept. Use these ideas to inspire an engagement session that's truly reflects your love for each other.

• Bring fab furniture into meadows or abandoned buildings- creating that fashion-shoot feel
• Copy of movie theme - think Up and use a giant bunch of balloons
• Time periods - 50s fashion are very in right now

Places To Go: (you'll need permission and most likely have to acquire a photography permit)

• amusement park or fairgrounds
• an ice cream shop
• a culinary school
• a subway platform
• playground swings
• a science lab
• a ski slope
• your alma mater
• a baseball stadium
• an aquarium
• a pumpkin patch
• a bowling alley

Making the most of the session:

• Pick a theme and dress the part - preppy, quirky, flirty, etc.
• Avoid the hours between 10-2p when the sun is high and the lighting's unflattering
• Choose a location that means something to you: your first date, where he proposed, your favorite hang-out
• Bring props to add pose variety, flowers, sunglasses, 'Save the Date" or "I Said Yes!" signs
• FLIRT! Pretend that you are on a date and the photographs will reflect the love you have for each other

2011 Wedding Trends

The Hottest Wedding Trends 2011!

I'm always asked what types of trends I'm seeing, so here's this seasons forecast.

BRIDE'S ATTIRE:

Custom Gowns: it may sound expensive but many designers are allowing for more customizations like never before. My favorite: Alfred Angelo.

• ‘50s style tea-length gowns
• Button earrings
• Pale blue accents
• Fab Feathers on Dress Train
• Face veils in bright colors
  

BRIDESMAID'S ATTIRE:

COLORS:

• Call it lavender, or lilac , lapis, or grape...brides are gaga for the royal hue in all its tonal variations.
• Turquoise, teal , jade, or malibu, these bright blues work for a variety of venues and look good with everyone's skin type.
• Canary yellow and navy…perfect for any outdoor wedding.
• Chartreuse, this near-neon green pairs perfectly with plums, browns, silver and teal
  

DESIGN:

• Bold colors
• Empire waists
• Mix ‘em up: Short and long, strapless or with, different shades of the same color or different colors of the same tonality (think jewel tones or a pastel palette)

GROOM'S ATTIRE:

• A nice watch! A great gift idea for the bride to give to the groom, plus a great photo-op of the wedding prep, another plus? He’ll actually use it after the wedding.
• Grey tuxes with a subtle sheen: grey tones show much more detail than black in photos!
• His socks! We’ve seen the funky shoes in years past, from cowboy boots to signature sneakers, but it’s time for the sock to show off his personality. Don’t miss the newest must-take photo: the sock portrait
• Trade in the classic white shirt & black bowtie for a contemporary combo like: fine lines & floral within in the same shade, pale yellow shirts, deep blue checkered shirts with a paisley tie, texture in both the shirt and the tie
• Cufflinks: from dapper to quirky, another new must-have photo-op!

IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS:

INVITATION COLOR: Pink…the dusty blush kind, combine with charcoal gray or silver accents.

FLOWER of the YEAR: Peony

CAKE:

• Fun colors like eggplant, sapphire and deep turquoise
• Groom's Cake - this trend continues, although, most brides are choosing to serve them at the rehearsal dinner so as not to take attention away from the wedding cake.
  

PHOTO FUN:

Proposal Photography: Grooms are now hiring photographers to capture the special moments during the proposal!

Funky backdrops: Photo booths have become overexposed, instead ask the reception venue if you can hang a quilt, hand-painted canvas or funky fabric for the guest book photos.

RECEPTION TRENDS:

UNIQUE VENUES:

• Rooftops
• Pool decks
• Fields & Meadows
  

FOOD:

• Mini, bite-size, or petite: if it has one of these words in the name, then your on the right track.
• No-meat dishes: dishes like asparagus risotto are getting as much cred on the menus as filet mignon.
• Seasonal, local, organic, farm-to-table: Caterers' top buzz words for the year
  

Candy-Stations were very popular in 2010, this year try these fun alternatives:
1. Fried-to-order doughnuts
2. Shots of infused vodka or tequila
3. Ice creams and sorbets
4. Scotches (single malts and blended)
5. Crisps - blueberry, peach, rhubarb, strawberry

Top Honeymoon Destinations 2011

World's Top 20 Honeymoon Destinations:
1. Hawaii
2. French Polynesia
3. Fiji
4. Italy
5. Bali
6. Bermuda
7. Costa Rica
8. Greece
9. The Bahamas
10. France
11. Antigua
12. Aruba
13. Jamaica
14. British Virgin Islands
15. Cayman Islands
16. Australia
17. Anguilla
18. Barbados
19. Mexico
20. St. Lucia

Hottest Honeymoon Destinations:
1. Belize
2. The Maldives
3. The Seychelles (island group off the east cost of Africa
4. Croatia
5. Argentina

World’s Most Romantic Beaches:
1. French Polynesia
2. Hawaii
3. Fiji
4. St. Lucia
5. Bali

World’s Most Romantic Cities:
1. Paris
2. Venice
3. Florence
4. Rome
5. Barcelona

Oh, Deer! - a nature encounter

As my husband and I made our way with our dog, Hailey, we stumbled upon several deer grazing on the newly grown spring grasses. I inched closer, praying that I wouldn't scare them away. As a dog-walker approached from the opposite direction, four deer stop and shoot a frozen glare. Their stillness nearly allowed them to disappear into the trees without being noticed. With the 'photo-op' over, we continued biking, Hailey now very anxious after being taunted by the young deer.

Newborn Portrait Session

The Fleishfresser family welcomes Bryant Gary Fleishfresser!

He was born on February 27th, 2008, sharing his birthday with his great-grandma.first Bryant was born two months early and spent his first months in the NICU (newborn intensive care unit). He weighed only 3lb. 9oz. at birth, but he's grown enough now for his first portrait session at 5lbs. 12oz. The family can already tell that Bryant has his mom's nose, and tilts his head just like grandpa.

These are some of my favorite photographs from baby Bryant's newborn session.

Animal Portrait Sessions

Pet Portraits - Cosmo
Cosmo is 3 yrs old.


Pet Portraits - Tarzan
Tarzan is 18yrs old.





Recently, I had the opportunity to photograph two beautiful and very different felines during an animal portrait session. I've posted a few favorites from each.