Wendy & Eddie! FABULOUSSS Engagment Shoot!!

Hello Loveliessss! So todayyy I am sooo excited because I am bringing you guys hands DOWN the cutest engagement shoot I think I've ever seen! ANDD I'm so excited because they are a future BCG couple!! I love how Wendy and Eddie made their shoot sexy, flirty, and fun, to me, it looked like something out of a magazine. They were also kind enough to share with us some of the thoughts and ideas that went behind their themed engagement session! Let us know what you think!!

"When Eddie and I decided we were going to take engagement photos, we knew that above all we wanted our pictures to tell a story.  The hard part was deciding what story we wanted to tell.  It took some thinking, but when we finally decided on a theme, everything flowed from there.  For a majority of our relationship we have been in different states and have also had the privilege of traveling to different countries.  From this foundation, our photoshoot theme came to life: “Planes, Trains & Automobiles”.  No distance was too far and no journey was too rough.  We just knew that no matter what it took, we wanted to be together and that’s exactly what we did!

Our photographer, Kirth Bobb, helped us bring this vision to life.  Over the course of six months we used three cities as backdrops for our engagement sessions.   We wanted to capture various elements of our personalities in each shoot.  From eveningwear during a night out in the park, to casual wear walking our puppies during the day.  Each picture truly captured an element of our personality.  Eddie’s favorite shoot was taken at the train tracks in Baltimore, while my favorite shoot was taken on a private jet.  While we each have our favorites, the finished package was more than we could ever imagine!

  

One of my FAVORITE shots!! Reppin for the N.B.A's!! (Nigerians Born in America, haha!)

Before a couple begins their engagement shoot, we would advise them to pick a theme and run with it. I am a firm believer that no concept is too grand to bring to life. As long as you pair your wildest imaginations with a great photographer, the marriage of the two elements will yield optimum results! In our case, the end result was great engagement pictures and a lot of posing practice for our wedding day.  In the end, the camera captures the essence of a couple’s true love for one another and it permeates through the pictures. So just have fun and smile, and the camera will do the rest of the storytelling.

Most importantly, a wedding only lasts for a day, but a marriage lasts for eternity! As long as couples remember this and keep God first, they will continue to receive God’s ABUNDANT BLESSINGS and everything else will surely fall into perfect place." J 

There you have it!!!! Like how do you NOT just LOVE these guys! And it doesnt hurt that they are like gorgeous together! **GUSHING** Yes, please let me know what you guys think!! How do you feel about themed engagement shoots?? If you want to see MORE of their pictures and read about their love story check out their wedding website here at http://www.eddieloveswendy.com/ ! Also, for more information on their amazing photographer who made it all possible his site is http://www.kbobbphotography.com/! LEAVE COMMENTS!! TALK TO ME!

Stay Beautiful My Loves,

Memi

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Ah! Mazing Vendors: Fotos by Fola!

I had the pleasure of interviewing one of Atlanta's up and coming photographers named Fola Sogunro! Who was actually the 2011 WeddingWire Bride's Choice Award Winner! The name of his company is Fotos by Fola and he does WONDERFUL work! It was such a pleasure speaking with Fola because it was sooo evident how passionate he is about what he does! His passion for photography made me GLAD that I've found my passion because he made it so clear that once you have found what you love to do, and you begin to do it. There is absolutely NO greater feeling! The happiness and satisfaction that I sensed from him is truly inspiring. What I took from this interview is that if you are not doing what you love, get up, find out what it is and GET ON IT ASAP! You'll be so much happier with your life! Thank you sooo much Fola for a great interview!  

BCG: Tell me about yourself and how you got into photography!

Fola: Well my journey into photography is one that wasn't planned or even thought about in the past. It's just something that I had a passion for in general, growing up whenever I went to parties and events I was always the one taking pictures. After the events I would always get call backs like "hey, your pictures are really good, you should do it professionally!" So I can say it was never something that I thought I would do, but I just had a natural eye for it. I was just able to capture beautiful moments and emotions,  the basic skills that make a photographer good, kind of came natural to me. One day my wife basically pushed me and just said hey, "Just go and do it!!" So that is really what made me get started in photography. From there I took a few photography workshops and classes to get a better understanding of camera and lighting equipment and everything else was pretty much from self-eaching and experience. In my opinion, experience has definitely been the BEST teacher!

BCG: What do you love the most about photography?

Fola: Man, that is a good question! The main reason I got into it is just the PEOPLE! I love being able to capture so much joy, happiness, and fulfillment. It really makes me able to enjoy my life that much better when I deal with happy people day in and day out. Life is not all rosy and smooth but that moment when you can just capture the beauty of life and put it in a time capsule is something special. So that, whenever you are down you can look at a picture of happy times and say "yes this is how happy I felt on that particular day". I just love when I go to events and parties and I can just capture the joy and excitement of the day and it lets me know how much I love to see people happy! I more so like to capture the raw emotions like the way friends look at one another, the groom's expression when his bride walks down the aisle or people dancing and having a good time on the dance floor. I love the people part of photography, that is why my motto is "Life.Passion.Art" because there IS an art in the way I try to capture my photos and it is a passion of mine and I want to showcase people just loving LIFE! 

BCG: Do you only do wedding photography?

Fola: No I do weddings, lifestyle shoots (i.e. maternity sessions, baby shoots, proposals, family sessions, etc) I don't do much of club parties or business shoots or anything like that. I'm more focused around family life, weddings, and events.


BCG: What is your favorite thing to shoot? Weddings, maternity, families? What do you LOVE to photograph?

Fola: My favorite things to shoot are engagement sessions and weddings. What I really love about engagement sessions is that it's like no other thing. It is an opportunity for a future bride and groom to kick back and have fun. They get to have fun at their favorite location, not worried about rushing to the reception or anything like that. It's a great  opportunity for the couple and the photographer to get to know one another and become comfortable with the way I take pictures and stuff. I'm a very laid back photographer so we just go in there and freestyle. I always tell my couples to be themselves and act how they act on a regular day, however u touch, play fight, show affection, whatever you do on a day to day basis, just do it! I'll just be a guy standing around with the camera documenting it, LOL! That really is when the best pictures come forth, in my opinion!  With weddings it is THE day, your beautiful day! It is a day everyone looks forward to, so there are certain emotions that are evoked this day that you wont get any other time, so it's important to get them on camera. Even sometimes when I'm shooting I'll get chills like "wow that was powerful" so it really is a unique experience. 

BCG: What motivates you to pick up your camera every day and shoot!

Fola: First thing is the passion! I just love to do it, regardless of how much you pay me to do it, I started off doing it for free so paying me is just a bonus. I just enjoy taking pictures so that alone helps me go through the thousands of pictures I have to edit and lug equipment around. I love to do it so that fuels me. Also, I love having the ability to create something that will make my client happy for a very long time! That motivates me to do my best work on EVERY single image before my client sees it. I hate to disappoint so I always try to go above and beyond, so that way if it is not what the customer might expect I feel okay knowing that I did everything I could for them.

BCG: Who would you say is your dream client? Who would you LOVE to shoot?

Fola: I would love to shoot for President Barack Obama! That would be an opportunity I would leap at. He's something like royalty and I'd love to be remembered as the guy who photographed President Obama.

BCG: What would you call your photography style?

Fola: It is definitely photojournalistic. Which is more of a documentary style because I just follow the day as it progresses. If you see a slide show or blog post I want you to be able to tell exactly what was going on, I want it to tell a story. I don't like when there is a disconnect between pictures so I like for the pictures to have some sort of sequence and I want the emotions of such a beautiful loving day to come out. 

BCG: What is some advice you would give readers that are currently looking for a wedding photographer?

Fola: Well my advice is to know EXACTLY what you want! Every bride is different so I know everyone is not going to want the same thing, one bride might prefer a traditional photography style as opposed to a photojournalistic one. But it is important for the couple to sit down and do research to get a feel for what you want. Once that is all taken care of it is important to go through all the avenues to find the right photographers. Make sure to read reviews and interview your photographer. Honestly as a couple you have to LIKE your wedding photographer, you have to be able to get along and laugh and joke in order to have the best pictures. You don't want a photographer that is too pushy and will mess up your sparkle on that day. For example, a more laid back photographer will not mesh well with a bride who WANTS to be told what to do and is looking for a more authoritative photographer. A couple who wants to be free to be themselves, act normally will want to hire a photographer who is less structured and is just good at capturing life as it happens. I would also say to planning couples try not to use price as an indicator of quality. There are some photogs out here that WILL charge an arm and a leg and will not do as good of a job as someone who doesn't charge as much and vice-versa. It's all about getting someone who is passionate for you and will do the best for you not because someone has a celebrity brand name or on the other side, because someone is really cheap.

BCG: Where do you see Fotos by Fola in the next 5 years?

Fola: I definitely see great things! I see us continuing to get better, exceed expectations and just growth. I hope to be able to grow as far as energy, quality of work, and just everything. I want to know we are on the way to being a great global brand. Where as if you say my name in Nigeria they will know "Oh yeah I know Fotos by Fola!" LOL! So yeah I'm just really all about planting seeds right now and watering them to grow and getting better and better in my craft so that all other things will follow. 

BCG: Do you have any other parting words to share with our readers, anything I might have missed??

Fola: Yeah, just for anyone who is interested in getting into photography just follow your heart and stay focused. Try to get better everyday and link up with people that are good at what they do and try to feed off the knowledge they have to offer. There are a lot of photogs out here but if you have the eye and passion for photography, there is nothing stopping you!

Thank you SOOOO much Fola for sharing your time with us here and our readers! We pray you continue to increase and grow in your craft! May God bless you! Leave any comments here for Fola let him know what you think!! If you would like to contact Fola you can reach him through these various ways!!

404.886.1330 mobile
706.634.4004  fax

 info@fotosbyfola.com email
 www.fotosbyfola.com/blog blog site
 http://www.fotosbyfola.com/ web site

http://www.twitter.com/fotosbyfola twitter
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fotos-by-Fola/175176135843281 facebook
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/steve-sogunro-mba/1/91/35a linkedin 

Stay Beautiful My Loves,
Memi

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Beauty Sightings: Out of the Box Wedding Invitations!

Hello Everyone!! Today I am showing you guys some really different and quirky wedding invitations! Most people go with the classic, elegant, wedding invitation something like this:

But today I'm going to introduce you to a couple of other wedding invitations that add a different twist and another element of FUN to the wedding experience for you and your guests! Let me know what you think!!

All the pictures above were taken from this TUMBLR site

What do you think of the invitations? Would you want something more classic or something different?? Talk to me!!

Stay Beautiful My Loves,

Memi

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How To Thursdays: Guest Blogger!!

Welcome back guysss!!

Today I am featuring a How-To Thursday sent to me from a fellow wedding blogger Kelechi!! Her blog is called Naija Wed n More! Check her out! Thanks again Kelechi for allowing us to feature you! 

Her post is about wedding crashers and what you can do to avoid them!!

Wedding Crashers…What To Do…What To Do

                           

The bane of any African wedding is planning for wedding crashers. 

Or really, planning to prevent wedding crashers from appearing at the wedding that you have excruciatingly planned for however many months.

I once heard about a Nigerian wedding in Houston that had 500 invited guests. By the time you actually considered the amount of crashers, there were 800 guests at the wedding. I can’t even imagine how you would have had enough space or food for the amount of people when you haven’t planned for it.

Some brides are indifferent about wedding crashers. The simply calculate them into their total guest number and don’t give it a second thought.

Other brides (myself included), refuse to treat their wedding as the neighborhood block party, annual family or college reunion, or local church gathering.

As I continue to plan my “small” (200 invited guests) African wedding, I’ve come across several different ways to minimize wedding crashers

1.    Promote “Strictly Invitation Only”

Tell everyone, their mom, and cousin that your wedding is strictly invitation only. Put in your invitation, on your save the date, or on your website. Make sure the word gets around through your family as well.

2.     Keep the wedding talk with uninvited guests to a minimum

Quite a few brides enjoy talking about different aspects of their wedding especially to anyone who will listen. However, if you talk incessantly about your wedding to someone you don’t intend to invite, they may feel slighted that they don’t get to see your wedding vision come to fruition. Keep wedding talk to a minimum.

3.     Have a guest list at the door with security

If you aren’t promoting to your guests that your wedding is invitation only (or even if you are), you may want to have a guest list at the door with security available to prevent crashers from entering the venue.

4.     Request that your guests bring their invitations

Inform your guests to bring their formal invitations. Of course, wedding crashers won’t have formal invitations so this will help to keep them at bay.

5.     Require guests to RSVP

It’s quite common for African guests to not RSVP and just attend a wedding because they were formally invited. One could require their guests to RSVP and also let them know if a RSVP isn’t received, a seat will not be reserved for them.

6.     Have a destination wedding

If you want to keep your guest list to less than 100 people, any resort in the Caribbean can help you plan your wedding day. This method is the best way to foolproof your wedding from any and all crashers.

7.     Protect your venue location information.

As African wedding websites have become more and more popular, it’s also a way for wedding crashers to get information on their own. The best way to avoid this is to not list the ceremony/reception venue on the website.

What I chose to do is password protect the section with the ceremony/reception information. Although, I know some couples decide to password protect the entire website.

8.     Have your wedding on a not so popular day

Most couples choose to get married on Saturday as it’s most convenient for themselves and others. If you can help it, have your wedding on day like Friday or Sunday which will help minimize random people just looking for something to do, deciding to hang out at your wedding.

All of these methods can definitely help to minimize if not completely prevent having wedding crashers at your wedding. I’ve actually decided to employ several methods which include having my wedding on a Sunday, a guest list at the door, and require that my guests RSVP.

At the end of the day, you may not be able to prevent wedding crashers from appearing at your wedding, but you can definitely do what you can.

Can you think of any other ways to help minimize wedding crashers?

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Beautiful Wedding Time! Moji & Olu

Heyyyy guysss!! It's time again for another Beautiful Wedding feature! I present Moji and Olu! There wedding was simple, chic and FAB! Let me know what you think! They've also answered some questions for you to get to know them a little better as you glance at the pics!

Names: Olu & Moji Akinsola
Age: 30 & 25 years old respectively
Occupation: Physicians In Training
Location: Philadelphia.

      
How did you meet? 

We met in medical school on the very first day of orientation.

      
What do you love about your spouse?  

Moji: I love his character and his love for God. 

Olu: Her fiery spirit and dedication to her spiritual life in Christ is what I love most.

     

What was the most stressful part of wedding planning? And how did you deal with it?  

Moji: The stressful part was having our parents add last minute guests to their guest list. We dealt with it by creating more space for their guests to seat but it wasn't an easy or cheap task. 
Olu: I would have to agree with my beloved; dealing with our parents adding guests at the last minute was especially frustrating at times.

     

What's the best part of wedding planning? 

Moji: I enjoyed planning everything about our wedding. It is the only opportunity to plan a day around the two of you, to show others who you both really are.  It is also a great chance to focus on what it really means to marry someone else, i.e. pre-marital counseling. 
Olu: I loved the idea of working with my best friend to create something luminous. In a way it's very indicative and symbolic of what happens in the marriage itself; that is two worlds, two personalities, and two souls coming together to become one unit.  

 

Would you do anything different?  

Moji: I would have chosen a different vendor for transportation. 
Olu: I would have gone with a different vendor for transportation as well and a different vendor for stationary. 

   

Favorite part of your wedding? 

Moji: The ceremony and dancing were so much fun!!! I loved every second of it!
Olu: Even though I was crying at the time, seeing Moji for the first time in her wedding dress walk down the aisle in the church was by far my favorite part of the wedding. I still replay that moment in my head over and over.

     

Any advice for planning brides??  

Moji: Put God first, focus more on the marriage that is forthcoming rather than the wedding day itself. 
Olu: Always keep God first in everything that you do, start planning early (it's never too early to piece things together) and make sure you plan for what happens after the wedding day as that lasts for eternity. 

     

      Photographer : Fola Adewole Photography and Ealvarez Photography

      Videographer: Clair Pruett Videography

      Make Artist: Segun Gele International

      Event Decor/ Wedding Planner: JGarner Events (jgarner5@gmail.com)

      Disc Jockey: Lowe Productions  (drewsunpro@aol.com)

      Master of Ceremony: Royal Priesthood Global Entertainment

      Florist: Royal Designs Flowers and Events

      Website: NK Designs

      Wedding Location: Philadelphia 

      Date: 5/21/2011

Beautiful Right?!?!? I loveddd the decor, the church venue, her hair, her dress and ESPECIALLY the Loubs!! Haha! This is a GREAT example of a Nigerian wedding done with taste and elegance! Good Job Moji and Olu! Your wedding was BEAUTIFUL! What do you guys think? What do you love?

Stay Beautiful My Loves,

Memi 

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