Keech Photography » Keech Wedding and Lifestyle Portrait Photographers. Serving The Syracuse Metro Area and All of Upstate New York.

Couple: Mike and Amanda
Wedding Date: June 9, 2012
Wedding Venue: Tin Pan Galley, Sacketts Harbor NY

Many times when a guy and girl get engaged they are so happy to start this new adventure in life, but really have no idea where to start. When Guy and I started talking about getting married we were floating on cloud 9 thinking about the most random wedding day things you could imagine. We didn’t have a clue as to how to begin the journey. From venues to centerpieces to a honeymoon we were clueless. All I knew was I had that diamond ring, I liked the color blue, I wanted to get married outside, I wanted good food, and I wanted a good photographer. I am writing this blog not to tell you how to find and decide on all of those things (I will get those later), but on two very important wedding day elements; a venue that suits your personality and the size of your wedding.

I understand that as soon as you get engaged all of the parents involved start making the enormous lists of guests to invite (including Aunt Sally you met when you were 2). We have all been there to some extent. I will remind you that if your parents are the ones paying for the wedding they obviously will have some input as to how large the guest list will be. Just take a moment though and forget about everything but yourself and your fiance. What suits both of your personalities? A small, intimate gathering, a huge 300 guest party, or something in between. Guy and I had a large wedding because we had a lot of family, church family, and friends we wanted to celebrate with. One thing is though, I never thought that a small wedding was an option. Now looking back, I wonder if I would have enjoyed a small wedding in a garden with lots of flowers, appetizers, live music, and little artistic details even more than what we had…not that I didn’t absolutely LOVE my wedding day and everything about it:)

The photo collage posted was a beautiful, intimate wedding that took place at one of the couple’s favorite restaurants, The Tin Pan Galley in Sacketts Harbor, NY. They knew they wanted a vintage, quaint wedding, with their closest family and friends at a delicious restaurant. That’s exactly what they got. Everything for preparing for the day was the same as one would do for any wedding. A small wedding does not mean easy and cheap. It just means small. Amanda and Mike still had to book the restaurant, pick and send invitations, dress and tux shop, get a hair dresser and make-up artist, flowers, favors, cake, details…it was a lot of planning still. The difference is they were planning for an intimate set wedding rather than a big, extravagant ordeal. I am not saying one is better than another. The point I am trying to make is that you do have a choice as to how you celebrate your day. If you have a small wedding, you can always have a big clam bake at mom and dad’s place to celebrate with the rest of your family at a later date.

You can take input from close family members about your big day, but you need to remember it is your day. Think of your personalities, and do what’s right for you both. Do you like the country and rustic settings, or the city with lots of lights and style. I will blog at a later date in more detail about how to incorporate your personalities into your wedding day. For now meditate on the size of your wedding and enjoy planning the day that you will share with your family and friends. Oh, and if you need an awesome couple to photograph your love…give us a call!