Category: blog

“Bakit yung mga couples mo, mukhang mayayaman lahat?” A friend once asked me, to which I replied, “A lot of them are simple and tasteful people.”

Hello guys! I hope you are doing well despite of the lockdown. We all wish for things to go back to normal as soon as it can! As you know, the events industry is one of those badly hit (economically) by the pandemic. It is hard for us suppliers and for our clients too who have prepared for their events like weddings, corporate, baptisms, birthdays. Cancelling it, or should I say, postponing it, is heartbreaking especially if you have prepared for it for a year or more (as in the case of weddings), but it is something we must comply for everyone’s safety. For our clients, I think you can look at the situation as a time for you to ponder on what you really want and what matters the most, and look at it as God giving you more time to prepare. SO, in line with this, I will be giving some tips for our clients (and future ones) to help you prepare your event, FROM A PHOTOGRAPHER’S PERSPECTIVE.

THE QUESTION IN THE HEADLINE? That really was asked by my friend while looking at my portfolio, and I laughed at her! I’ve had couples who like it grand. I also had couples who wanted it simple, some very intimate, narrowing their guests to fifty. However the couple want to celebrate their wedding is totally up to them–grand, moderate, simple–it is their prerogative. But for those who want to go simple, here are a few tips on how to pull off a simple wedding, without looking like a low budgeted one. These are based on observations from the hundreds of different weddings I’ve covered as well as insights from co-suppliers. Also noteworthy here, the sample photos shown here may not necessarily be a simple kind of wedding, as it is mainly shown for sample purposes on the tip being discussed.

• Try to book suppliers that are of the same price range. Don’t burn your money for a grand reception venue, but serve bland food. People will remember the bad, sad to say. One bad supplier can affect the rest of your other suppliers one way or another. And as my mentor in photography once said, if the make up is bad, his pictures will get affected; if the coordinator is not good, the bride will get stressed and and his pictures will get affected… and so on.
• Choose carefully your photo and video suppliers. I am not saying this because I am a photographer (hehe), but it is a must to say that they are your eyes during your wedding. You make the memories, they capture them, and this is really important. Some couples told me that they don’t remember a lot of things that happened during the wedding, and it is through looking at the photos and videos that they knew what traversed–who cried, who laughed hard, who got surprised, etc. After all the years, it is the memory that will make you smile. Invest on these artists who have good eyes and the passion on their craft.

• Get a wedding coordinator, even if it is just on-the-day. Some weddings I have covered opted to give this task of coordinating to their friends or relatives. This is okay if they are good. But sometimes, they don’t know how to, and it is not easy for us suppliers to do our own jobs if we can’t feel there are coordinators, even if there are. It is better to leave the job to those who really know it.
• The RTW wedding gown that fits you. One of the most expensive to book are gowns and suit designers. They are expensive for a lot of good reasons 🙂 But for that economical wedding, one option for you is Divisoria, you might just have to allot a day for it! Another option would be shopping malls. I’ve had a lot of couples who had RTW gowns. With just a few adjustments, they’ll fit perfectly and will look like it’s custom made. Just a tip on buying one, go for the matte looking fabric, because shiny ones (the likes of satin) cause unwanted light reflection on the camera. You can go without beads, and fitting is important 🙂

• It is safe to indicate, “Strictly formal,”or “strictly no denims” in your invites. Guests in denim, shirts, the ones who look like they’re going shopping in malls and not attending a wedding, are eye-catching amongst your other guests who made an effort to dress up. Even when they’re just on the background and blurred, it is still an eye sore (sorry, just being honest here). Of course, if it’s a rodeo themed wedding, then it’s an exception. oftentimes, we can’t post this photo for aesthetic reasons (check other blogs and you wouldn’t normally see photos with guests wearing denim). An option for the guest aside from wearing your color theme is you can specify to go for white, beige or something light colored. These look good in photos, even when it’s a simple, plain blouse. As they say, one can never go wrong with white. Black and grey, if it is okay for the couple, is a safe color too. Unless stated otherwise, weddings are semi-formal to formal events, so it is but right to dress accordingly.

These are all for now! I hope you learned a thing or two. Feel free to suggest more if you have other ideas! Stay safe everyone!

Liz 🙂