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Stuff in the ‘wedding gown’ Category
Weddings and Celebrating Love
— 05/02/2016 by Monika Wertman —There is nothing we enjoy more than capturing love in any shape or form and one of our favorite things to shoot are weddings. I wanted to play around with some ideas that had been hopping around in my head for a while and since during a wedding we are dealing with a time line and locations that are chosen by the bride and groom, we don’t always have time to get everything we want and need to be flexible as nature sometimes throws a kink into our wheels. For that reason and because something new should not be tried out on clients, I organized a stylized wedding shoot with several local vendors and 5 fabulous models.
Maryland has fickle spring weather and we had been watching the weather with baited breath, praying that it would be nice the day of the shoot and it was. In the morning we shot at Ava’s Lounge and the Ballroom at Schindel Rohrer in downtown Hagerstown whose owners Gary and Jennie are wonderful to work with. I wanted to capture an uptown/lounge feel for images for a long time and Ava’s is perfect for that. JB Bridals generously provided us with 6 gowns and 6 tux ensembles for the day and the first two gowns were perfect for what I had in mind for the lounge.
Bella Salon and Spa sent us two of their most talented stylist and make-up artists, Lindsey and Bettina and they stayed with us all day, touching up and re-creating hair and make-up. TG designs added floral arrangements to our adventure and let us play with the bouquets all day.
The second half of the day was shot at Cortland Manor, at the time under management of Hempen Hill Barbecue and Josh is a gem to work with. He had his team at the ready all day and even fed everyone lunch. Being prepared by Hempen Hill, you can imagine that we did not lack a thing and that it was delicious.
Carson jewelers let us play with fabulous bling all day as well. You can imagine that I had a blast shopping for the gowns, tuxes and jewelry prior to the day and appreciate everything that everyone contributed to make our day successful.
We had a blast working with everyone and from the feedback I have gotten so far, the feeling was mutual. I think the images speak for themselves and if you see something here that you would like to do at your wedding, please let us know. The vendors mentioned within this post are our preferred vendors to work with for your special day, and since we had this experience, we know for sure that you will be pleased when you choose them for your next event or special day.
Please vote on your favorite image in this post and you will be entered into a drawing for a 1 hour family session for up to 5 people.
Casting Call
— 03/03/2016 by Monika Wertman —Casting Call for Male and Female Models
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I need two female and two male models for a stylized bridal shoot. Shoot will take place at two venues, 4 clothing changes, hair and make-up services provided. All work is for trade and each vendor is participating to receive images and new promotional material. Trade for models will be fully edited portfolio images from the day of shooting.
Female models need to be 5’8″ to 5’9″ and need to bring heels with them, in either white, cream or silver, evening shoes to match the gowns. size 8-10 wedding gowns need to fit, which translates to regular dress sizes of 6-10. I am looking for hour glass models. We want these images to look real, yet fantastic.
Male models should be a size 40 regular with an inseam of 34.
Please contact us no later than March 18th to be considered for the opportunity.
April 5th will be the fitting day at JB bridal in Chambersburg. the shooting will take place in Hagerstown on April 12. Hair and makeup will likely start at 8 am and shooting will start at 10am. Please plan on a full 8 hour day. Only serious, committed models need apply and we will meet in person before the fitting day.
Please contact the studio directly through email if you are interested: info@wertmanphotography.net
Capturing your Wedding Day
— 08/17/2015 by Monika Wertman —This summer was pretty busy with weddings and I have decided to share a fun one that happened just a few weeks ago. The day started around 12:15 pm with my second meeting the groom and his men at their “getting dressed” location and me meeting my bride and her gals at Greengrove Gardens where they were getting dressed.
We had a lot of fun with everyone, including some sweet moments between my bride and her flower girls, my bride and her mom and the bridesmaids getting all of the underskirts of the wedding gown into the right position. We had some good laughs and I captured it all.
Within a couple of hours we proceeded to the church in Smithburg for the ceremony, a beautiful little church with gorgeous stained glass windows. My second was already there with the men and was setting up in the balcony to capture the vows on video, while also catching some stills of the church, the details and the wedding party as they entered from above.
One of my favorite moments is always that first glance between my bride and groom and his reaction to seeing her in her gown, gorgeously arraigned for their special day. It was very touching as some tears were shed upon that first look.
After the ceremony we got some great shots of everyone in front of the church and the typical photos of the bridal party and all of the family inside. Two of my favorites are shown here. That special moment I was able to capture when my bride and groom forgot I was there while we went looking for a groomsman gone AWOL.
Another great shot is of my couple in front of their church after I sent everyone else back in to gather their things so we could depart for the reception at Greengrove Gardens.
My second had preceded us there to catch the detail shots of décor and cake and guests milling about. After we arrived back at the venue, I caught a few more shots of the bridal party before the big entrance.
Another favorite of mine is the first dance of husband and wife and the daddy daughter dance. My bride had chosen “butterfly kisses” for her song, which always has me on the brink of tears, as I have daughters who have those little rituals with their daddy as well.
After dinner we took our couple back out onto the grounds for what I call the specials. It’s that time when the guests are happily settled and I can sneak my couples off to get wedding day portraits without being rushed. The sun was setting and with the help of a bit of portable lighting, we got some great shots. Please look below to see some samples.
To finish the day, we came back inside to catch the tossing of the bouquet and garter, and after checking with our couple to make sure they did not want us to do anything else, we called it a night around 9:30pm.
Yes, weddings are long, they are tiring, but they are one of the most rewarding and fun events we love to record for our clients. We make sure that not a moment is missed, we are on our feet the entire time with just a few minutes to eat while everyone else does the same, and at the end of it all, we return to the studio to create a sneak peek for our couples that is posted to Facebook the same night. Within two weeks each wedding is edited and ready to be relived in our studio during the viewing session, when we help our couples decide which photos go into the album that comes as part of their wedding collection.
Please browse our website for recent events, weddings and senior pictures and call us to book your next life event or family/senior session with us. We are ready to create memories for you that will last a lifetime.
A Bridal Session in the Park
— 06/18/2015 by Monika Wertman —Last Saturday I helped preserve memories for a special couple on their wedding day. While the wedding is still in post production, I also captured the bride in question three weeks before the wedding in some wonderful moments during her bridal session, a service included in our middle wedding collection. For that session, Kristen was pampered by my make-up artist and stylist, got to try out her wedding look and play dress-up in her gown for the afternoon. It had rained for days and the morning of our session, so, being conscious of the vulnerability of her gown, I carefully placed a plastic table cloth under my bride and arranged her gown on top of it, to keep it pristine for the wedding day. With the help of two assistants and Kristen’s maid of honor we utilized the sunlight we received just in time for our session and bounced light onto our bride using only natural light for this session.
I wanted a few studio portraits as well, and two versions are shown here. Please leave us a comment on which one of the studio portraits you like better. They are the same capture, but are processed slightly differently. Both my bride and I can not decide which one we like better. Your vote will enter you in a drawing, please continue reading to find out more.
Originally we were going to shoot in fields of grass and tree groves, but with the rain making the earth soft and the grass still holding moisture on the blades, we re-grouped and decided to go to one of the local parks and use the sidewalks in said parks in order to not harm the dress and shoes. As is often the case, the change in plans led to wonderful opportunities for images we would not have had at the original location and great results. The only thing we battled the day of Kristen’s bridal session were little tiny flying bugs that found netting on a skirt to be a wonderful place to fly under. This strange occurrence took also place on Kristen and Brooks’ wedding day when we went outside for our early evening photos.
Please feel free to explore our other galleries, especially portraits and weddings as we just added new imagery to both. If a wedding is in your near future, you just got engaged or want to renew your vows, we can help and will be happy to discuss options with you. Please share this post on Facebook and comment on it when share it by voting on your favorite of the two versions of the studio portrait by commenting either with “black and white” or “sepia”, leaving your email address and name and be entered into a drawing for a 60 minute family session for up to 5 people, a $150 value. The drawing will be held on June 30, 2015.
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