All images and content of this page are copyright Kathleen Baker, Eric Link, Studio 3.L or Candlelight Photography and may not be used without permission
The process of hiring us as your wedding professionals has several steps, so we have attempted to break them down for you.
- You're engaged! Yay! (word of advice: most wedding vendors charge less for Sunday weddings) Now you have to pick a date and get the chapel and reception hall booked, after those steps it's time to look for a photographer.
- Approximately 6 months
(sometimes as much as 12 months or as little as 2 weeks) before your wedding, you find Studio 3.L either thru the web or thru a referral. After looking at our galleries and pricing you think we might just be the photographers for you. So you e-mail us to see if we are available on your date.- After you find that we are available
; we will have a consultation, either by phone, e-mail or in person. Some brides want to meet us; others brides we meet on the day of the wedding, having only corresponded thru e-mail. Then you decide if our style of photography and pricing meets your needs.- Once you have decided
that you want to use our services, you will contact us to tentatively hold the date for 2 weeks. We will then mail or e-mail you a contract with the package level on it that you desire. In order to hold your date permanently I will need to have both the signed contract and the retainer (50% of your final wedding fee) as soon as possible. I can not hold a date for a couple until I have those 2 things. This is a lesson hard learned from both personal experience and the experience of our peers. We once held a date for a bride and turned down 2 potential clients, only to have the bride decide that her uncle was going to photograph her wedding for free. - Now that you have one more thing off your list, you can focus on finding the right dress, florist, caterer, musicians etc.
- 4 weeks before your wedding
the balance of your wedding photography fee is due. The last few weeks before a wedding are stressful with a LOT of bills due. We used to ask for payment 2 weeks before the wedding, but couples get busy and forget to mail checks and or because they have over extended themselves the check bounces (yep it happens). This all results in a bride that feels uncomfortable with her photographers on the day of the wedding, which doesn't make for good pictures. - 1-2 days before your wedding you will probably have a rehearsal (we strongly advise having a rehearsal). If the wedding in in the Kentuckiana area, we like show up for the rehearsal. We won't stay around and infringe on your family time at the rehearsal dinner, we just like to get a feel for the flow of the ceremony.
- WEDDING DAY! We will show up 30-60 minutes before the ceremony to set up and take some detail shots (flowers, rings, etc). Our sample timeline gives a good example of customary wedding flow.
- Planned Shots We usually then go into formal shots (bridesmaids and bride then we send them off and to the groom and groomsmen and end about 30 minutes before the ceremony).
- The ceremony
, we try to get all the key shots; the entrance the mothers and of the bridal party, the parting of the father and the bride, the prayer, the lighting of the unity candle/sand ceremony, the giving of rings, the kiss, etc...- Complete bridal party shots
, Once the shots of the entire bridal party shots are done we like to ask everyone except the wedding couple to leave the room so we can take romantic portraits. It's really to hard look sincerely and lovingly into the eyes of your new spouse when your siblings and friends are all staring at you (and possibly goofing off). Then it's off to the reception.- Reception: (depending on the package you choose)
We usually follow the wedding couple to the reception site and get shots of them entering and getting their first meal as husband and wife. About 1/2 an hour later (this varies from wedding to wedding) we have the "reception events". The cake cutting, toasts by the Best Man and the Maid of Honor, first dance, Father/Daughter dance, Mother/Son dance, dollar dance, chicken dance etc... Then there is the garter toss and the bouquet toss. When our contracted time is up we will say goodbye to the wedding couple and double check on any details that we need.
- 2-4 Weeks later: We will e-mail you that your images are ready to proof and order from our website. We suggest that you order one of everything. You can always tuck any extras in the thank you cards that you will need to mail out later. This gives you a chance to look at everything and request any changes (black and white on this one, soft focus on that one, "can this photo be lightened?"). You have up to 10 custom edits at no charge; after you have had a chance to look at everything you have 30 days to request any needed changes. 120 days after your wedding I'll mail you a disk with your full sized negatives and a copyright release on it.