Orange County | Los Angeles | San Diego Photographer ~ Rich & Kristine

Today we made our way to Irvine, CA to the Mainer's Chapel for Rich and Kristine's special day. Rich has been a client for many years and it was such a pleasure to be apart of such a special time in his life. Congratulations you two!! We look forward to capturing many more memories. Take look at our sneak peak at some of the amazing images we captured:

Orange County | Los Angeles | San Diego Photographer ~ Wedding Wednesday

   So, what's the deal with Save the Date cards and notices?

A Save the Date notification for your wedding guests has become common for destination weddings, weddings during holiday times, and weddings being held at certain locations that could have busier than usual tourist traffic at specific times, such as a popular beach area.  Notices aren't required, but can give your guests a heads up that timely travel arrangements may be needed.

If you do decide Save the Date cards are a good idea, six months before the ceremony is a good time to start spreading the word.  (Eight months before a destination wedding is best.)  This will give your guests lots of time to book their travel, save some money, and ask for time off of work.

Even if you choose formal invitations for the wedding itself, the Save the Date cards can be more imaginative or creative.  Use great photos of the two of you (like in Kelly's beautiful example seen here) or infuse the card with some of your personality.  Or take advantage of technology and make it an exciting video production!  If you have a special talent, try to use it.

How about if you are an artist?  Try a special short comic book telling your story as a couple.

Are you a reader of mystery novels?  How about using hidden code that can only be seen with special "red" glasses?

Are you a blogger?  Create a fake blog that you can print out and send.

Do you love to cook?  Create a special sauce or jam or goodie with a special stick on label with the information.

The sky's the limit...so use your creativity and create a notice that will make people sit up and take notice.

Orange County | Los Angeles | San Diego Photographer ~ Helping Our Youth

June 24th through July 6th the youth of Vineyard Community Church are going to pour their love into the beautiful people of Thailand. For a portion of the trip their team will be in Bangkok working with a church in the city, the remaining time they will be in Chaing Mai, which is a more rural city in the Northeast of the country. Thier team will be both doing practical things such as: a vacation bible school for refugee children and helping to repair and build in areas that have been affected by recent flooding, and blessing and ministering to the hearts of the people.

We are asking for your support for this amazing team financially for this journey. Each member of the team is responsible to raise their own funds, but they are also doing some fundraising together as a team. Kelly Lynn Photography's Sunday Funday is one of these fundraisers. Any funds given will go into a pool for the whole team.  Our goal is to help these amazing young people reach out and do something that matters. 

There are a couple ways you can help!!

1) Join us for our Sunday Funday Events: 

 

Also be aware that 50% of any additional print orders made will also go towards this fund.

2)  If you would like to give online it can be done at www.vccgn.org. Click on the “Giving” tab then select “Give Now” on the next page. Then select “Event Donation” in the giving options. In the Notes, Comments and Suggestions box please write, "Global Network". Then fill out the required billing information.

PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU HAVE ANY 

QUESTIONS OR WOULD LIKE TO BOOK A SESSION:

Email: kellylynnphotography@hotmail.com

 OR

Phone: 760.618.2833

Orange County | Los Angeles | San Diego Photographer ~ Wedding Wednesday

Hello Ladies,

 As I said before, my fiance and I are having a destination wedding in July 2014. Although a destination wedding might sound like a fun idea a lot of work and extra planning and hoping for the best is involved.

A few things to think about before you embark on planning a wedding abroad:

-Most of the time, the wisest decision you will make is to hire a wedding planner from the outset. There are so many benefits

 – from overcoming any language and cultural barriers to sourcing local suppliers at the best prices- a wedding planner for a wedding abroad should be given some serious consideration. But a word of advice, take care to find out about the “hidden costs” before you sign up to anything

 – some planners charge a percentage on EVERYTHING they organize for you (including suppliers, flowers, music, etc) which I don’t really agree with. Having a planner on the whole should save you time and money so choose your planner carefully.

-That said, you can still plan a wedding abroad without a planner. I’m not going to lie, destination wedding planning is stressful, so the key is to have a great venue that will help you with your plans and maybe some available time (and $$$) to travel to the destination a couple of times to meet suppliers or to make sure you are happy with how all the plans are going. It also helps if the people you are dealing with are happy to speak English (unless you speak the other language).

-Legalities - different countries have different rules for having a legal marriage ceremony. In some countries it is straightforward, but with others you may have to get civilly married in the US before you go. Make sure to check it out for the particular country you decide on before you embark on too much planning.

-Think about accessibility for family and friends. If you really want your 98 year old Granny to make your wedding day, it’s unlikely she’ll be able to hop on a flight. Also be sure to check the regularity of flights from airports in your home area and the distance at the other end to the venue before you make a decision. Unfortunately, having your guests travel for hours and hours after a flight may not be appreciated, even if the venue is out of this world.

-Ash clouds, snow and hurricanes! Enough said! There are always risks 

- but taking out wedding insurance can somewhat alleviate this concern. Be sure to discuss your plans with the insurer to make sure you have cover for these types of acts of God (cover can be obtained but you may have to plan to be at the wedding destination at least 3 days before the wedding).

-Priests - they can sometimes be a cranky bunch! In some countries the local priest will marry you but sometimes you have to bring your own priest so it’s a good time to get back in touch with that old family friend!

-If you are going to plan the wedding yourself, it can be a lot more difficult to find suppliers, particularly photographers, that you like. Bear in mind the cost of bringing over a photographer, hairdresser or make-up artist.

-In lots of venues abroad it can be necessary to pay for all of the alcohol for the entire day. Usually the alcohol is much cheaper than in the US, but do take it into account when thinking about your budget. 

 

-Last but not least, the wedding dress! It might need a whole plane seat all for itself…and might be a ball of wrinkles when you get there! You’ve been warned!

These are just a few things to consider and I would love to hear from you with any of your top tips for destination wedding planning.

Happy Planning Ladies!

XoX,
Lucy

Orange County | Los Angeles | San Diego Photographer ~ Wedding Wednesday

Hello Ladies,

  One of the most important parts of your wedding is your date. When it comes to picking a date a lot goes into it, there are many questions you and your fiance need to ask yourselves before you decide.
First off, how much time will you need to prepare/plan? After deciding you then will have a time frame you can zone in on.

Do you have your heart set on a particular season? If so think about any important family events, pregnancy due dates, birthdays or graduations and try to avoid those dates.

Don't plan around big conventions or charity events in your area because locations and vendors might be booked up. You can call your local chamber of commerce to check.

Avoid holidays because people might not be able to attend due to family commitments and prices for everything from location, florists, lodging, travel and caterers might be higher.

Here is a list of important dates to avoid in 2012 and 2013:

Holidays:

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (always a Monday) 

January 16, 2012

 January 21, 2013

Presidents' Day (always a Monday)

 February 20, 2012 

February 18, 2013

Memorial Day (always a Monday) 

May 28, 2012 

May 27, 2013

Independence Day 

Wednesday, July 4, 2012 

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Labor Day (always a Monday) 

September 3, 2012 

September 2, 2013

Columbus Day (always a Monday) 

October 8, 2012 

October 14, 2013

Thanksgiving (always a Thursday) 

November 22, 2012 

November 28, 2013

New Year's Eve

 Monday, December 31, 2012 

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Religious and Cultural Holidays

Be mindful of religious and cultural holidays (your own and those of your guests) when planning your wedding. There may even be restrictions at your house of worship as to whether you're allowed to marry at these times.

Palm Sunday 

April 1, 2012 

March 24, 2013

Easter Sunday 

April 8, 2012 

March 31, 2013

Passover (begins at sunset the night before) 

Saturday, April 7, 2012 Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Tisha B’Av (begins at sunset the night before) 

Saturday, July 29, 2012 Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Rosh Hashanah (begins at sunset the night before) 

Monday, September 17, 2012 until nightfall on Tuesday September 18, 2012 

ThursdaySeptember 4, 2013 until nightfall on Friday September 6, 2013

Yom Kippur (begins at sunset the night before) 

Wednesday, September 26, 2012 Saturday, September 14, 2013

Hanukkah (begins at sunset) 

Saturday, December 10, 2012 until nightfall on Sunday, December 16, 2012 

Wednesday, November 27, 2013 until nightfall on Thursday, December 5, 2013

Christmas 

Tuesday, December 25, 2012 

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Kwanzaa 

Wednesday, December 26, 2012 until Tuesday, January 1, 2013 

Thursday, December 26, 2012 until Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Notable Holidays

April Fool's Day: If you and your fiance are jokesters at heart, this could be the perfect wedding day for you. If not, choose another day. 

 Sunday, April 1, 2012 

Monday, April 1, 2013

Mother's Day (always a Sunday) Make sure your mom is okay with sharing this weekend with your wedding -- but it could be the perfect opportunity to honor her. If you do choose it, make a toast to all the mothers in the room at your postwedding brunch.

 May 13, 2012

 May 12, 2013

Father's Day (always a Sunday) Ditto for Dad. 

June 17, 2012 

June 16, 2013

Halloween: Avoid it if you're terrified that someone might actually show up in costume. (If you love the idea of it, get our top Halloween wedding ideas!) 

Wednesday, October 31, 2012 

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Days of Remembrance

Historically significant days may cause a conflict of interest for some guests. September 11, Patriot Day: It falls on a Tuesday in 2012 and on a Wednesday in 2013. 

December 7,

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day: It falls on a and a Friday in 2012 and on a Saturday in 2013.

Some cute dates

10/11/12 falls on a Thursday 12/12/12 falls on a Wednesday 11/12/13 falls on a Tuesday

Most importantly remember every year you will be celebrating this date as your anniversary, make sure its a day that you will always look forward to!

Happy Planning Ladies!

Lucy,
XoX

Orange County | Los Angeles | San Diego Photographer ~ Ariel's Birthday Portraits

Headed to Rancho Santa Margarita Lake and photographed Ariel's birthday portraits. She is a supermodel. 

Happy Birthday Ariel!!

Orange County | Los Angeles | San Diego Photographer ~ Wedding Wednesday

Hello Ladies,

  I hope last week’s timeline planner was helpful with starting your wedding plans! Now onto this week...

Steve and I got engaged on St Patrick’s Day this year, it was nothing over the top but none the less very special and meaningful to us. We are planning our wedding for July 30th 2014 in Acapulco, so we still have a long time till then and I feel like it will give us time to be prepared for marriage. We both take getting married very seriously especially since we have both been married before. We don’t want to get married and split up, so we are going to take our time. We started living together in late November 2011 when we moved to Nevada for Steve's work, and its not just us, my 2 year old son Antonio is with us too, him and Steve have gotten very close and Antonio see's him as a father figure. We feel like we have successfully blended into a happy family and marriage is the right thing for us. Unfortunately people we know have not been as optimistic about our marriage as we are. After we got engaged Steve changed his relationship status on Facebook and the first comment was not "Congrats" or "so happy for you two!” it was "Again? Well I hope this one lasts". It made me pretty upset, the person who posted the comment was an old acquaintance of Steve's so they had no idea what they were talking about, but it didn’t make it any less hurtful. I started feeling like having a wedding might be a little ridiculous, we both had small weddings with our first marriages so was it tacky for us to make a big deal and have another wedding? I felt like having been married before took away from this engagement and family and friends wouldn’t be so excited for us again. I told Steve how I was feeling and he told me that just because we did it before doesn’t take away from this wedding being special, if anything we both know exactly what we want and we want to do it right this time and anyone who doesn’t like it doesn’t have to be a part of the happiest day of our lives. He made me realize that this is truly about celebrating us, we really want to get married and have a nice wedding for us and our close family and a few friends and that is why we decided on a destination wedding at the church of my dreams in Acapulco. So the best thing to do if a friend has a negative reaction is to listen to what they have to say, tell them you appreciate their friendship but you know what you are doing. On the other hand if the “friend” is just being negative out of jealousy or to be hurtful then you should reevaluate if they really are your real friend. If a parent or family member has a negative reaction it should be handled a little differently in my opinion, since your parents and family most likely only want the best for you their concerns will probably be are you rushing things? Is this the right person for you? Are you really looking at the big picture? Respond to their questions with patience and be calm about it, then tell them you appreciate their love and their support is very important to you and your fiancé, let them know you have made up your mind with your decision and you are sticking to it and as time goes by your commandment and love will show them you are doing the right thing.

Hopefully everyone is happy about your engagement, if not then you know how to handle it now!

Happy Planning Ladies!

XoX, Lucy