I spent the afternoon yesterday with Kacy Kizer, Molly pictured here, and Portland makeup artist, Nicole Wagner. I say that made a great team! What say you?

Here are the people behind all the great work in making Scott and Danielle’s wedding day so great:

• Getting ready venues:  The Governor Hotel and the 12W
• Wedding venue:  St. Mary’s Cathedral
• Reception venue:  Portland Golf Club
• Wedding gown:  Anna’s Bridal
• Music:  All Wright Music
• Photography:  Perhaps your Portland wedding photographer too!

You can see their wine tasting engagement photos too.

My frustration with typical personal finance software is that when you remove the bells and whistles, the most it can do is track your check register, your bank balances, and in the event you create a budget, it can tell you how far off you are. That’s nice, but what’s missing is the ability to know what portion of your current bank balances you need to hold on to. You may go on a weekend trip with $1,500 in your account, spend $1,200 of it thinking you’re covered, and then after you’ve spent that money remember you haven’t paid all your bills yet and end up short of cash. What’s more important for me to know is the amount I CAN spend without ending up short (savings is one of my budget categories, so whatever is left after bills and savings is spendable). I don’t care what my bank balance is right now. I care what I can afford to spend in various categories at the moment I’m out living life faced with those decisions. Rather than make spending choices first, and then shuffle money later to try fixing them, I need to know if I can afford something at the moment I’m deciding about buying it and most software can’t do that. Not only does YNAB track what money you can spend in the categories you set up, but it tells you right then and there with an iPhone app.

Another shortfall of typical software, is that it budgets one month at a time and starts fresh for the next month. If you’re over or under in any month, it tells you, but it doesn’t carry any adjustments forward to the next month to keep you in line for the long term. If I budget $150 a month for gas and only spend $125 this month, wouldn’t it be great to see that $25 savings applied to next month’s gas budget? The only two programs I’ve found that do that are YNAB and MoneyWell. And if I overspend in a month, these two programs will take it out of next month’s budget to keep me disciplined. It’s the only way I’ll get those student loans paid off faster.

Another huge benefit of YNAB is that it’s budgeting helps with the bigger less frequent bills. How about car insurance paid every six months?  In a single month, I wouldn’t have the money to pay a larger bill like that, but if I saved monthly, it wouldn’t be a problem.  How would I know the portion of my bank balance during those other months is being saved for the big bills?  It “looks” like I have money to use on other things, but in truth it’s already spoken for and I might not even know it.

Moneywell solves this problem, but I found YNAB does it more easily for me.  It’s a much simpler interface. It almost looks like paper ledgers. If you make any mistakes they are easy to fix. One thing I found with MoneyWell is that if I made too many mistakes, they were too hard to undo and I’d end up starting an entirely new budget file. And eventually, I’d give up on my budgeting.

YNAB has developed 4 simple rules that help change the way we think about and interact with our money. It’s the key to a successful financial picture and they’ve made the concepts incredibly easy to understand and implement.

I could go on, but you probably get the point by now.  Let the YNAB website show you the rest!

Matt & Erin’s wedding started with some heavy showers.  Okay, they were absolute downpours!  Check out the photos of guests huddled under their umbrellas, that is if their umbrella hadn’t blown inside out.    Partway through their ceremony, the clouds broke and we had some amazing light and scenery for photos.

I think my absolute favorite photo is the vertical one of the bridal party in black and white.  What a sky!

Enjoy the photos! And…GO DUCKS!

In these conversations, whenever there are frustrations or disappointments, they tend to highlight the same issues.  Lack of communication, poor attention to detail and missed expectations.

For most tips and advice, it’s wise to listen to others around you…friends recently married, other wedding vendors, etc.  Style, products, coverage, budgets and personality are the most common topics in considering photographers for your wedding.  You’ll find great information from those around you as well as the photographers you meet with.  But if you want to avoid the frustrations I’ve heard from so many, you’ll definitely want to add a few more topics to your list.

• Communication:  Ask your friends and family how easy or difficult it was to get in touch with any vendors you’re considering.  You can ask vendors how quickly they reply, but of course they’ll tell you what you want to hear.  So instead, take note of how quickly they responded to your request.  How meaningfully did they respond?  Did they confirm any meetings the day of just to provide peace of mind letting you know they’d be there?

• Attention to detail:  Ask friends and family how organized they were and whether or not they asked for reminders or always offered reminders (were they reactive or proactive).  When meeting with someone, ask to see a copy of the wedding information sheet they’ll have at your wedding.  You might ask how they keep record of all the communications and notes that go between them and a client.  Do they list all the other vendors with contact info so they can work with everyone instead of in a vacuum?

• Expectations:  So much goes uncovered in this area!  Will your photographer put you first or will they be more concerned with doing something they love to do…potentially at your expense?  What will they do to put you first and avoid any problems?  What are some of the potential problems you might not have even thought of?  Read on…

This last one is a hard subject to speak out about because I have many friends that might fall into this category, but nonetheless…this post is in your best interest.  Here are a few potential problems I know to have come true for some.  Laptops have been stolen because someone was editing client’s photos in a coffee shop and left their seat for a short while.  Entire shoots lost because there wasn’t sufficient backup.  Gear stolen, but uninsured and a person left using rented or borrowed gear.  So…how many risks will your photographer take with your wedding?  There are many risks for certain, but there are great things photographers can do if they choose, to mitigate those risks.  For example, business and equipment insurance, legally purchased software that doesn’t fail like pirated software does, onsite and offsite data backup systems, leaving gear locked away reserved for you rather than in a trunk for easy personal use.  There’s a great list for you to start an interview with!

Granted, I’ve been there.  I had a brand new business once too and didn’t invest in it as I should have.  In fact, I couldn’t invest in it properly because my low pricing wouldn’t allow it.  As you consider photographers, be willing to invest appropriately and ask the hard questions and I promise you, you’ll be glad you did! 

Best of luck shopping!  Have a great day!

Kevin

PS – Keep an eye out for another post soon on a newly introduced verification system that will easily tell you that your potential vendor has a verified tax ID number (EIN for corporations, SSN for sole proprietors), insured, has multiple years of experience with verified numbers of weddings, and has references available.

Are you looking for a venue with a view? If so, aYoungberg Hill Vineyards wedding will definitely deliver.

As a wedding photographer, one thing I really appreciate about the venue is that there is a scenic backdrop in every direction. So what does that mean? No squints in your portraits because the sun can always be put at your back and you’ll still have an amazing background! You’ll notice that in the portraits of Nick & Jen between the vine rows and in the photo of Jen with her bridesmaids.

I hope you enjoy these photos!

If you’re recently engaged and starting that crazy planning process, those links will certainly be a great place to start!

Back in 2001, I’d spend my Saturdays at Borders consuming coffee and everything photo related. After choosing a photography magazine, an instructional book and a collection of work from highly regarded photographers throughout history, the gorging would begin.

One of my favorites was, and still is, Brassai. Living in Paris, he wandered the streets at night photographing some of the most memorable images I’ve seen. His first collection, Paris de nuit (Paris by Night), was published in 1933 and is filled with richness and mood. Cars who’s headlights illuminate eerie fog. Lamp posts that barely reveal a night walker tucked underneath an umbrella. Cobblestone streets soaked in rain reflecting what little light was present. Click to see what I mean.

That brings us to this image. Taken on a dark and stormy night (no, Snoopy was NOT with me), I used an old medium format camera on a tripod with…film! Yes, film still exists and it is still my favorite for instances when I go on my own creative adventures. I’m not the night walker Brassai was, but it was fun to pretend even just for a short time.

There are a lot more inspirations of mine, so stay tuned in the “Just For Fun” category and I’ll add some more!