We would like to formally welcome you as a valued Shane Monahan Photography client. Thank you for trusting us with the important responsibility of recording your special day. As you have not experienced our services before, we would like to take this opportunity to familiarize you with our procedures, so you can make the most of your experience with us.
We not only want to meet your expectations, but to exceed them, and to do this, it is important that you understand exactly what happens from this stage in our relationship onwards. Our experience has helped us create this process and give you the best experience possible.
PRE-WEDDING MEETING
The last time we will see each other before your wedding day is at the pre-wedding meeting in our home, which is usually within two weeks of your ceremony. We will contact you approximately three to four weeks before your wedding day to schedule a pre-wedding meeting. We will also remind you of the final wedding payment that will be payable on your collection at this meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to confirm addresses, contact numbers, arrival times, locations, likes, dislikes and any other matters that require discussion. The combination of our experience and expertise with a mindfulness of your personal interests will help us plan for your perfect wedding day. We don’t want to leave anything to chance, so please don’t assume anything. If you would like something, simply ask for it.
WEDDING DAY TIMELINE
If we have any chance of emulating the beautiful photography that is on our website and in our display albums (which is why you booked us), then we need to spend quality time to create these images together. With regards to the grooms coverage, we need the groom and the groomsmen to be ready by the time we arrive, up to their shoes, pants and an open shirt. The vest, cufflinks and accessories can be done on camera. The groom’s family should also be dressed and ready by the time we arrive. From there, you must allow enough time to travel from the groom’s location to the bride’s location if you will be getting ready in different places.
Once at the bride’s location, the girls should be dressed with no accessories by the time we arrive and we can do the rest on camera. The bride should have hair and makeup completed with no accessories on. Wedding dress should not be on yet as we prefer to take a few photos of the dress before you put it on as well as photos of you getting into the gown with a loved one (Mother) zipping you up. If you are interested in boudoir photography, then the bride should be dressed in a robe with all hair and make-up completely done by the time we arrive. The bride’s family should also be completely ready when we arrive, so there are no delays for the family portraits. From there, you need to allow enough time to travel to the ceremony location.
It is also important to remind the florist that the flowers should be delivered to the groom’s home and the bride’s home by the time we arrive, so that we can include them in all of the photographs.
Please allow enough time for photography between the ceremony and the reception – keeping in mind that ceremonies usually take longer than you expect. You should also allow extra time for congratulations after the ceremony and time to coordinate a big group photograph with all of your guests. This group photo typically takes place at the front of the church. We then will take all of your family portraits immediately afterwards, there at the ceremony location, and this will take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes, depending on how many people will be in your family portraits. From there, we will use the remaining time to photograph you as a couple together, as well as additional portraits with your wedding party. Below you will find a typical wedding day schedule that you can adjust based on your own ceremony and reception times:
12:30-1:15 - Shane and Becca arrive, set up for upcoming shots, take dress photos and any other detail photos as time permits (shoes, jewelry, etc).
1:15-1:30 - Bride gets into dress - Mother of bride should also be dressed and able to assist bride with dress and jewelry (or have another person available to help if Mother is not available/first choice)
1:30-1:45 - Father/Bride first look
1:45-2:00 - Bride/Groom first look
2:00-3:30 - Formal photos
3:30-4:00 - Bride/Groom/Wedding party dismissed to back room so guests can be seated and wedding party is out of sight
4:00-4:45 - Ceremony
4:45-5:00 - Dismiss guests/Hug/Thank
5:00-6:15 - Party bus/limo/romantic/fun shots with bride and groom and some with wedding party
6:15-6:30 - Arrive at reception/Make entrances with wedding party
6:30-7:30 - Dinner and toasts
7:35-7:45 - Cake cutting
7:45-8:30 - First dance, Father/Daughter Dance, Mother/Son Dance, wedding party dance, open dancing
8:30 PM - Shane and Becca depart
CAR HIRE AND TIMES
Please book your cars/limos/bus to allow for a half hour after the intended start of your reception. This does not mean that we will plan to be late to the reception, but it gives us some breathing space to complete location photography without the pressure of you being charged more by the car company.
FUTURE PAYMENTS
After the wedding, you may choose to upgrade your album and purchase any extras. A 50% deposit will be payable before we begin your order and the balance is payable on completion.
Family print orders are all payable before we begin your order.
SPECIAL OFFER FOR FAMILY PRINT ORDERS
You will receive a 20% discount on all family orders and enlargement orders that are placed and paid for within four weeks of receiving online access to your photos. When you place an order for prints within four weeks of the images going online and that totals $1,000 or more, you will receive an additional $240 in enlargements for free. This is not redeemable for cash, nor can it be exchanged for the equivalent value in print orders.
PHOTOGRAPHY AND ALBUM PLANNING
If a married couple could only salvage one item while fleeing their burning home, most would choose their wedding album. Photos are priceless, celebrating a time in your life when you’ve never been happier, never looked better and are sharing the most precious moments of your life with the people you love most. We don’t take this responsibility lightly.
Our objective is to make you look the best you have ever looked in your life, while telling the story of your dream wedding. Of course, you can and should have confidence that we will capture the precious moments on your big day without direction from you. Our preferred style of photography is glamorous and fashionable, yet classic and natural at the same time.
To look your best you need our help. We do not pose you on the wedding day; we prompt and direct you in a way that appears natural. The more you respond to our direction, the less we get involved. We will not interrupt natural magic, but we will help create it if the need arises.
You booked Shane Monahan Photography because you wanted images that are timeless and synonymous with style and finesse. A team effort is required to achieve this style. We photograph your wedding with the end result of your album in mind. Although your initial investment includes a certain amount of sides/pages, we don’t take just enough photographs to fill the pages you have booked. We can never add more images later; on the other hand, if we take enough photographs to fill 100 pages and you only want or can only afford 30, then this is one of the best problems you can have. Our challenge is to take the best, most intriguing and evocative photographs on your wedding day. We always rise to this challenge and present you with the wonderful dilemma of having too many gorgeous photographs. Your challenge is to resist buying them all!
We usually schedule your album planning session within four to six weeks after you have viewed your images online. This will allow you plenty of time to review your beautiful pictures. It will also enable you to secure a 20% discount on your family photo orders before the special offer expires.
We would like to begin production of your album early, so you can enjoy sharing your gorgeous photos with your family and friends as soon as possible after your wedding. Please allow up to three hours for your album appointment. Making your album look perfect takes time. During this appointment, you will be treated to a slideshow of your perfect wedding album – artist’s choice. Many couples would not know where to begin to choose or design their dream wedding album. You have booked and trusted us to create some beautiful images on your wedding day. Please trust us to create an album that you, your family and your friends will enjoy for years. We will design what we believe to be the best album possible with your photographs. The album we will propose to you is indicative of what our display albums look like. The proposal is offered to you as a guide only. With your taste and budget in mind, the album can be refined as you see fit.
Of course, you are not limited to purchasing a specific number of spreads. You always have the option of adding additional pages from $75 per 2 page spread in order to customize and complete your perfect wedding album. Each spread includes unlimited images, effects and digital design.
We are pleased to offer you a 30% discount off our standard side/page prices if you pre-purchase them before the wedding day. It would create a waste of valuable time and beautiful photographs, as well as frustration, if you try to eliminate too many sides to fit an unrealistic budget at the album design session.
We certainly can produce a beautiful album to fit your initial investment, but we encourage you to keep your options open and budget for some extra sides. Most couples will end up with a 40-60+ sided album. It is important at this stage in our relationship that we educate you as to all the financial possibilities.
Once we have agreed on your perfect wedding album, you are required to pay 50% upfront for any upgrades. Once this payment is made, we will then begin production. Your album will take up to 12 weeks to complete. The final balance is due on completion.
We ask for creative license when making the finer adjustments to your album. Our digital artists are very experienced and will treat the images with effects that will maximize their full potential. The most common effects we use, which are included in the price, are black and white, sepia and basic retouching. These effects are used only if they suit the image and not for the sake of it. Sometimes designs that have been agreed on can be improved even more so and to do this freely requires your support. Hindsight is a luxury that we would like to take advantage of.
ENGAGEMENT PORTRAIT SESSIONS
Many couples like to take advantage of our engagement portrait services. Not only will you be able to enjoy some beautiful images of yourselves before the big day, but it’s also an opportunity to get to know your photographer and to learn what to expect on the wedding day.
The engagement portraits are shot on location. The session lasts for approximately two hours and all shots are normally taken within a walk of one central location. Images may be ordered by viewing them on screen at our studio. Please note that portrait print orders are different to wedding print orders. Your gorgeous engagement portraits may be used in many different ways and also make the perfect gift. Some other ideas to use your engagement photos are:
Framed portrait
Choose your favorite image from your session and we will enlarge, mat and frame it for display at your reception. It will be a beautiful welcome for your guests as they enter your reception.
Signature board
We can enlarge your favorite picture, mount it and display it (without glass) at your wedding reception. Before your guests get seated at the reception, they sign and write a personal message to you on the mount. You are left with a timeless, personalized and framed image of yourselves that you will enjoy for many years to come. We invite you to return the picture to us after the wedding so that we may add glass to the frame.
Signature album
As an alternative to the signature board, you can instead choose 10 of your favorite images from your engagement session and we will print them in a beautiful album. Each photo will be printed on the left side of the page and the right side will be blank so that your guests can sign and write a personal message to you. You will then be left with a beautiful personal keepsake from your wedding.
Printed pieces
Another way you may use your engagement portraits is to print them on your wedding invitations. Shane Monahan Photography offers an exclusive range of wedding stationery, including reply cards, place cards, bonbonniere cards and thank-you cards.
PHOTOGRAPHY GIFT REGISTRY
We are pleased to offer you an exclusive invitation to take advantage of our gift registry. Your guests are invited to contribute to your wedding album and photography products. This service gives you the opportunity to receive a contribution towards a gift that you will treasure forever, rather than be left with gifts you dislike, do not need or already have.
We can assist you in determining a maximum amount you would like included in your gift registry. There is a minimum contribution of $100. Not only do you benefit, but your guests do too. With each contribution, each guest will receive a free portrait session, valued at $100.
Please let us know if you would like to take advantage of this special gift opportunity and we will set it up for you.
If you need any advice with the remaining preparations of your wedding day or would like to clarify anything, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
We are happy to help you, every step of the way.
Thank you for choosing Shane Monahan Photography.