Dear Bride & Groom,
Thank you for checking out this website. And congratulations on your engagement! Now, let's guarantee you have a fantastic and romantic wedding day - full of love, emotion and beauty! (Believe it or not, that does take some planning!)
If you are looking to have an "average" wedding - one that is stressful and not very organized, one where the guests hardly get to see you, one where you are so exhausted that you can hardly smile. One where it seems like you're constantly putting out "fires" and solving emergencies. One where "so many things just went wrong"...?
No, of course not. But that's what happens so often. If you're a bride who wants her wedding to be PERFECT, and the most romantic, beautiful and emotional day of your life; if you want to enjoy every minute of your day; if you want to be the most ravishingly beautiful bride your friends and relatives have ever seen; if you want to spend wonderful, quality time with your guests; if you want to remember with happy tears in your eyes all the love, emotion and joys of the day...
My name is Roy Thomas, and I LOVE to photograph weddings! Together with my business partner and photographer Emily Schlipf, we've been photographing them for 10 years - not because we have to for the money, (We have a successful portrait photography business that makes us a comfortable living) but rather because we WANT to, because we love the emotion and romance of your wedding.
You want your wedding to be a wonderfully emotional and romantic
day. You want to have everything go smoothly and perfectly, You want to
have a great time. You want
to see all your guests, and have them also
have a fun time. Well, here's how to do it:
Believe it or not, the photographer you select to photograph your wedding can make or break your wedding day. Yes, I kid you not, your wedding day - not just your photographs! Why? Because he's THERE - with you and your family, in person - interacting with all your family and guests - and representing you every minute.
We're not just talking about photography here - we're talking about YOUR WEDDING - how YOU FEEL on your wedding day, and how smoothly and romantically everything goes. You see, your photographer determines this, by the way he helps you plan your wedding, the way he treats you and your loved ones, and the way he conducts himself throughout the day.
Believe it or not, the bride may spend more time with the photographer on her wedding day than with the groom!
So here's the secret: Meet the photographer - IN PERSON - before you hire anyone to photograph your wedding! Most brides don't realize that many studios hire part time photographers to photograph their weddings for them - high school and college kids, friends, relatives, etc. This means that you go to a studio, talk with a salesperson, look at their samples, and make a decision - without really knowing who will be photographing your wedding!
And if it's not just the right person doing the photography, and interacting with all your family and guests, everything can be ruined!
Then, decide if you REALLY LIKE HIM, as well as his work! Because he's going to be spending a lot of time with you and your family and friends, on your important day.
Emily and I are the ONLY photographers at my studio. Emily or myself will be photographing your wedding personally. Usually we will dress in a nice suit (NOT A TUX). Naturally, if you are having a Beach Wedding or other special venue that requires something different, we will adjust our attire to fit with your wedding theme!
We always act professionally and do everything we can to make your wedding a success. Since we NEVER photograph more than one wedding a weekend, we will NEVER arrive tired, dirty, sweaty or ragged from a previous event!
Our time commitment varies from 6 to 10 hours, depending on the package you choose. But we will stay until both you and your husband - and both your parents - all say there is nothing else for me to do. I will NEVER leave our wedding without checking with all of these VIP's!
A photographer who has taken the time to get to know you, your family, and what you want photographed shouldn't need a detailed checklist. One who really doesn't know you will spend his time looking at a shot list and will miss some of the most wonderful, romantic and spontaneous moments of your wedding!
Your photographer shouldn't need a checklist. He should KNOW every photograph that needs to be captured.
My Answer:You and I will spend lots of time in the weeks and months leading up to your wedding talking about Who and What is Important to You. And I will do my best to learn the names and relationships of all the members of your wedding party, and both families! On your wedding day I will refer to them by name, and know their relationship to you. So I can be constantly watching for those special, magical and spontaneous moments that will be so meaningful to you to have photographs of!
Here's a really big "secret" that almost no brides think about when interviewing a potential photographer: What's their guarantee? What happens if you aren't happy with the photography, or the way you and your friends were treated, or if the photographer left your wedding before he was supposed to, etc.
This is of the utmost importance! The guarantee (make sure it's in writing!) tells you just how committed they are going to be in taking good care of you, and doing a great job.
You will be THRILLED (not just 'satisfied') with how we represented you and your family at your wedding, and also THRILLED with your photographs, or we will do whatever necessary to have you be THRILLED with them, or we will return ALL YOUR MONEY. Period. No hard feelings either. We want you to LOVE everything we do for you.
You see, we understand that you can't do this over again. This is a "one-time-thing" and everything MUST be perfect! You have our written guarantee that we'll take really good care of you!
This seems so obvious, and yet brides miss this one all the time, and pay a BIG PRICE for it after their wedding! We're talking TESTIMONIALS here! Be sure the photographer has happy clients, who have taken time to write and tell the photographer how pleased they were with both him, and his work!
On our website you'll see photographs and testimonials from some of the many clients we have been honored to work with.
One of the things that you really want to look for in your photographer, is someone who is an EMOTIONAL STORY TELLER! An artistic photographer whose images combine to tell the EMOTIONAL STORY of your family, your friends, and your wedding day. This is really important, if you are looking for photographs which will be PRICELESS to you for years and years to come!
And here's why this is so important! If an artist is an EMOTIONAL STORY TELLER, there's a really good chance that he will be compassionate about not ruining the romance, beauty and emotions of your day. You see, only a true romantic can truly understand how important this day is to you, and how perfectly you want it to go.
And a true romantic will be sensitive to NOT INTERFERING WITH THE EMOTIONAL ROMANTIC FLOW OF YOUR DAY!
Not long ago, I heard about a photographer who was so brazen he walked up onto the alter circling the bride and groom shooting from every angle possible turning what should be a beautiful spiritual moment into a distracting photo circus while he tries for the "perfect shot". He obviously wasn't a romantic EMOTIONAL STORY TELLER or he wouldn't have ruined the romance and religious significance of the ceremony with his actions. So, looking for a romantic, EMOTIONAL STORY TELLER, who will beautifully tell the story of your love for each other, and for your family and friends, will also result in someone who will respect you and your wishes, and conduct himself in only the most professional and unobtrusive-way, because he understands in the most intimate way, the importance of the "Story of Your Wedding Day."
Many photographers will cram as many weddings into a weekend as they humanly can. Often, this means they photograph a wedding Friday evening, another on Saturday morning, a third in the evening, and a fourth on Sunday. This is especially true of studio "contract photographers" who "shoot and burn" and then dump everything at the studio – or on the bride - for printing and album design. It seems like a bargain when you hire them but.....
They arrive at your wedding exhausted and sweaty. They don't have time to clean and check their equipment and organize their film or digital cards between jobs. They do your photography as quickly as possible, and then rush off to the next wedding. They may barely know your names. They put a Post It Note on the back of the camera to remind them. Or they call every bride "sweetheart" and all the grooms "dude". I know photographers who do this. They photograph more than 80 weddings a year. And in private they admit THEY HATE WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY. THEY HATE BRIDES. THEY HATE GROOMS. THEY ONLY DO IT FOR THE MONEY. These are their own words!
This type of photographer just isn't going to be able to capture the EMOTIONS, ROMANCE, LOVE, AND RELATIONSHIPS between you and your husband and also between you and your family and friends. He just won't have the sensitivity and enthusiasm and love for what he does to be able to capture those feelings. And he won't have the time or energy.
You get me for the ENTIRE DAY. I understand how important this day is to you, and I am there for you!
This also means that I'm rested and energetic. It also means I'm enthusiastic about what I will be doing for you. As I mentioned earlier, I photograph weddings because I LOVE them, not because I have to do them. And since I only photograph one wedding a day, I'm not tired or "burned out on your important day."
This is so important! Be sure the photographer you hire has a "team" approach to taking good care of you on your day. This means that he isn't going to be trying to work alone to photograph your important day unless it's a very small affair with fewer than 80 guests.
You see, doing a really super, romantic, EMOTIONAL STORY of your day requires a huge amount of planning, care, and effort. More effort than just one person can do.
I will arrive at your wedding with my assistant. She (or he) has a HUGE responsibility during the day, and is integral to our success in wedding photography.
She makes certain that you look fantastic, every minute of the day! She's not there to take photographs. She's there helping you with your dress and flowers, fixing your veil before a photograph so it looks PERFECT, fixing your train so it is perfect for the photographs, etc.
Plus, she brings you a drink if you're thirsty in the receiving line. She finds your best friend from college if you ask for her. She helps you in any way she can to assure that you have a wonderful day, as well as wonderful photographs. If she gets a chance to take a photograph or two, that's great, but her main focus is YOU.
I'm also going to "recruit" two more part-time team members - one from the bride's side, one from the groom's. They are going to be my Wedding Guest Photo Coordinators. Because they know exactly "Who's Who" they will be able to help me gather different family members and groups of friends together for special photo opportunities, without your having to run all over the room doing it. We are a TEAM. A team that together, guarantees that you not only have a great time on your wedding day, but also assures you of having PERFECTLY EMOTIONAL photographs!
You see, I don't really look at it as "wedding photography," but rather as "Emotional Family Photography created on your wedding day!" It's all the emotions, relationships and personalities of all your friends and relatives, captured in beautiful images for you and your family to cherish for the rest of your lives. After all, isn't that what you really want?
"E.F.P." is one of the major things that separates me from all the other wedding photographers in the area. I want to capture the love, relationships, personalities, and emotions of all your family and friends for you to enjoy and view with happy tears in your eyes for years and years to come!
Because it's the PEOPLE and the EMOTIONS of your life that are so valuable to you. Yes, you'll also see the beautiful dresses and flowers. Yes, you'll see the lovely ceremony, etc. But more, much more than that. You'll feel the emotions that you and your fiancée feel toward each other and toward your best friends and family members on this magical day. Yes, FEEL them each time you view your photographs. That's what I am driven to do for you!
You see, you want photography that "speaks" to you with love, emotion, respect, and the glorious feelings you will be feeling on your wedding day.
You want your photography to "tell the story" of your wedding day, AND your families and friends.
I want you to cry when you see the photographs! Cry tears of happiness, because in those photographs are all the people you and your husband love and care about - showing their real personalities and emotions like you never dreamed they would!
Most photographers just want to get home before midnight, or hurry to the next wedding they are photographing.
Don't Miss The "Emotional Moments" Of Your Day Because Your Photographer Didn't Have The Vision To See And Capture Them In A Sensitive, Romantic Way!
Your day will be filled with beautiful "Emotional Moments" that you will never experience again in your life. Those "Moments" are what I am driven to capture for you.
Here's just three examples:
One of the most emotional moments in a dad's life is when he "gives his little girl away" at the beginning of your ceremony. Your dad will never forget it.
But now, there's something full of emotional magic that you can give your dad when he gives you away! At that very powerful moment in his and your life, you hand him a surprise "Father's Pride" folio that he carries with him back to the pew, and as he reads your personal message to him, and looks at the emotional photograph of you in your wedding gown, he begins to cry with tears of joy and love!
He will be so moved and touched! You and he will never forget it!
Don't miss that moment!
Or the incredible moment when your fiancé first sees you in your wedding gown - perfect in every way - with your lovely flowers, the beautiful veil and headpiece - everything which you selected specifically for him - as the tears swell up in his eyes, and he tells you how very much he loves and adores you.
Don't miss that moment!
Or, if you are lucky enough to still have a living grandmother, the lovely moment when she reaches up and puts her arms around you, and with tears in her eyes, tells you how beautiful you look and how much she loves you, and how proud she is of you.
Don't miss that moment!
I could go on and on. Your entire day will be made up of brief, priceless moments like these. Let's make sure first of all that your day is so beautifully organized and planned that these moments truly can happen, and then let's help you to be so stress free, but excited, that you can enjoy and remember these wonderful, magical moments for the rest of your life.
I'll bet you think I'm going to say that you do this through the photography. Right? Wrong! The way we help these moments happen, and help you remember them, is to help you have a wonderful, romantic and emotional day! A day where everything goes perfectly. As long as we do that, the rest will take care of itself!
That's what Cheri and I will do for you.
If he says, "Your photographs are all you will have after the wedding is over. Your flowers will be dead, your cake will be eaten, etc. - but you'll have your photographs! They are the most important thing about your wedding!" - then he's NOT the photographer for you!
Why not? Because if he says that, he has a completely false impression of his importance, and will try to run your day and take charge! Don't let that happen! Because the photographs ARE NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING - the romance, emotions and relationships are the most important thing!
A great photographer will be able to capture all the great moments without detracting from the magic of your day.
You deserve to have a wedding day where you are the most beautiful bride any of your friends or relatives have ever seen. That's the dream of every girl when she begins visualizing her wedding day. And you deserve to have that!
Let's see to it that is exactly what happens! How? Simple. Yes, you will select the perfect dress, headpiece, veil, flowers, shoes, etc.
Yes, you will have your hair and make up done. But it goes much deeper than that.
You see, beauty is also in the way you FEEL on your wedding day. The way your emotions show on your face, and the way you glow when you walk down the aisle and look in the eyes of the love of your life.
Many of my brides will understand this when I say it: When you hire us to photograph your wedding, you're really paying for me to take many of the pressures and tensions out of the day for you. You know that we are there, and that we truly care about you, and will help you with EVERYTHING so the day goes perfectly. That's really what our brides are paying us for. The photographs are free. They're just an added "bonus!"
You see, if you, your husband and your family and guests are all having a wonderful time, you will be more beautiful than you have even dreamed you would be. Because there will be no tension there. And, by the way, your photographs will be WONDERFUL, too, because you looked so wonderful and were having such a great time.
See how it all "fits" together to result in a wonderful day, and wonderful photographs? You really can't separate them!
"Several years ago, I received a phone call from a woman whose wedding I had photographed a couple of years before.
Here's what she said, "Chuck, I just wanted to call you and tell you that our house burned down last night."
I said, "Oh, Sharon, I'm so sorry."
She said, "We got out okay, and are fine. But I wanted you to know what I did. It's the middle of the night, and the smoke detectors are going off. We grab each other and run for the door! But I stopped and picked up our Three Volume Set of Photography you did for us on our wedding day! I left the beautiful candelabra that was my grandmothers. I left the family heirloom bible that has been in the family for 3 generations. I left EVERYTHING, except those three volumes. Because they are so meaningful to me. Everyone who I love and care about is in those volumes. I couldn't let them burn!
"Now, I understood that you have the originals, and could have made us another set of photographs. That wasn't why I 'saved' them. I saved them because those volumes contain all the emotions, love, romance, and relationships that matter in our lives! I just wanted you to know that. Thank you so much for the wonderful, emotional photographs you created for us."
When she finished speaking, she was crying, and so was I. She had just put into words, what I had not been able to for my entire career."
The tender fabric of your life is sewn together with beautiful, emotional moments between you and your loved ones, and I want to capture and express all those wonderful moments for you in your wedding volumes - and accomplish this without interfering with the emotions and romance of your wedding day.
Pick up the phone and call me at 800-316-2220 right now. Ask if I still have your wedding date available. Here's the problem -Because we ONLY photograph one wedding a day/weekend, and because we strictly limit our weddings to no more than 20 each year, it is very possible that we will already be booked for your day.
SIMPLY CLICK HERE for the phone number to my studio. Remember, there's no cost and no obligation just to chat with me.
So DO NOT WAIT EVEN ONE DAY ON THIS! If you agreed with and liked anything on this web-page, call us NOW. There is NO CHARGE AND NO OBLIGATION for this call! Let's just chat a bit, see if your date is still available, and then, if and only if you would like to, we can set up a time to get together in person and talk about your wedding. There is no charge or obligation for this, either.
CLICK HERE to call me right this second and learn about more our July 2010 Promotion!
Sincerely,
Roy Thomas
PS. Call us today to see if we even have your date still available! There is no charge or obligation for you to call us. We will just "chat" a bit on the phone, and give you some great pointers that will be helpful to you, whether you decide to come in and talk with us in person or not.
P.P.S. - STILL NOT READY TO CALL? That's okay. I can still give you some more secrets FOR FREE in the mail. If you'd like more information about wedding photography rushed to your mailbox, simply CLICK HERE to have more secrets rushed to you.