So you’re engaged ~ Congratulations!!

As a Miami wedding photographer for over 25 years – I have had the wonderful opportunity to capture the love and wedded moments of hundreds of couples. Telling their story – knowing that for generations my legacy is what my eyes have captured and those that gaze upon the photographs will get a glimpse of their amazing experience. But these years of insight also give me an opportunity to engage in so many wedding planning details from the very beginnings of an engagement that I thought I would share with you some great advice.

A quick note that each engagement photo below is a link to their engagement session Blog post ~

You said YES  ~ called your Mom, best girlfriends ~ Grandma and shared the great news! In less than 24 hours you purchased the latest wedding magazines and you start to put your wedding dreams into motion. Now some things should be on your to do list ~ you may have already thought about some of these, but I would imagine that there are a couple here that may surprise you~

• Enjoy being engaged! Savor this time and realize that the wedding is another chapter in your Book of Life.
• Get the ring sized perfectly as you wouldn’t want to lose it!
• Get the “rock” insured!
• Set a time of year that you’re thinking about getting married because you will be asked ~ When is the wedding? Be prepared with a response like “We like the idea of a fall 2013 wedding?” or “We are planning on an early 2014 date!” This also will give you a sense of direction in your planning.
• Now how do you see your wedding day? Are you thinking black tie formal, a casual beach soiree, vintage, modern? I have spoken of the value of 5-6 simple words that best describe the kind of wedding that you both want to have. Those words can range from formal to casual, traditional to contemporary, elegant to relaxed, fun, crazy, sophisticated ~ you get the idea but think of what makes this wedding a reflection of you and your fiance. I think you’ll find decision making regarding anything to do with the wedding a little easier.
• Inspiration! Aside from the magazines, check out Pinterest! Here you can search for every desire and you’ll find it ~ create your own Pinterest wedding page and “pin” the things you love. These are great tools to share with your florist, photographer, cake designer ~
• Create a budget! This is a big one as it will help you determine all the other elements of your wedding.
• Start creating a guest list and ask your parents whom they would like to invite ~ realize that this list is going to be quite large at first but it’s a starting point. Once you have this preliminary list created you’ll have the opportunity to review and decide just how big a wedding you want. Wedding Wire has a great guest list builder to get you started!
• With your budget and guest list started you can now start looking for a venue that can accommodate your budget and guests list. I know that you have many choices for searching but if you take a good look at Roy Llera Photographers Blog you’ll be able to take a look at hundreds of weddings ~ where they took place, the details i.e. the dresses, flowers, cakes etc.

Now you have been to a few weddings but did you take notes? Probably not, so this is where a wedding planning checklist comes in and I have found a great one! ~ Wedding Wire Wedding Checklist. This will give you a great sense of calm knowing that with this great tool you’ll be able to manage your dreams, track their progress and even help you delegate these projects to your Groom, Maid of Honor,  family and friends that no doubt will want to help. And it’s free!

I think this is major ~ seriously think of getting a wedding planner! They’ll relieve a lot of stress, guide you in thoughts and ideas that you may never have considered, help you find your ideal wedding team and allow you both to enjoy your dream wedding.

So who you are going to trust to capture all this amazingness! Selecting a Miami wedding photographer that you are passionate about should be high on your list of to dos. You may have noticed that I am a fan of Wedding Wire and I wanted to share with you our page on this great wedding resource Roy Llera Photographers Reviews on Wedding Wire Here you will read what our couples are saying about their experience with our Studio!

You saw their engagement session above now below you can get a glimpse of their Miami wedding experience! Each photo below is a link to their wedding experience ~ Enjoy!

Engage Me! I want to to take care of capturing your Miami wedding experience!

Roy ~ Contact Me