Our Trip to Venice, Italy

Continuing on with our blog series on my trip through Europe last year, the next city that Andry and I visited after we left Switzerland, was Venice, Italy. Venice has to be one of my absolute favorite places I’ve eve been! I think it’s tied with Paris. Andry and I loved exploring the whole city by foot.

We could definitely feel the romance that Italy has to offer. We spent 4 days in Venice. We mainly spent our days exploring all that the city has to offer, such as the colorful ally ways and the unique shops, and we spent a lot of time taking in the amazing views of the canal. We were the perfect walking distance from everything in the city, with our hotel being right on the canal. Venice was so fun, because there are no cars, only boats. You could hop on a taxi boat to take you anywhere you wanted to go in the city. We spent our evenings eating amazing Italian Cuisine, having gelato for dessert, and taking the the stunning sunset view of the canal from the famous Rialto bridge. On our last night in Venice, we took a sunset gondola ride, which is something I’ve always wanted to do.

It’s true what they say, Italy really is one of the most romantic places in the world, and Venice would be the perfect place for a romantic destination wedding. Andry and I definitely loved our time there! My next blog post will be about our next leg of the trip in Florence, Italy, which I loved almost as much as Venice. Until then, enjoy some of my favorite photos from Venice, Italy.

Are you looking for a destination wedding photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! Send me a message over on my contact page to see if I have your wedding date available!

The Perfect Family Formal Shot List

What are family formals? These are the formal shots that the bride and groom take with their families on the wedding day. This is planned into the timeline, usually right before the ceremony if the couple has a first look or they can also be taken right after the ceremony during cocktail hour.

Around six weeks before the wedding day, I send my couples a questionnaire with all of the information I need from them in order to photograph their wedding day. One of the most important things I need from my couples is their family formal shot list. The reason I ask for this before the wedding day is so that, on the wedding day, when it’s time for family formals, I can just read straight down the list, snap the shot, and then move to the next shot. It’s easy, painless, and stress-free for the families. And families almost always tell me they love how efficient I am! In reality, the efficiency happens because the bride and groom planned ahead.

Family formals can easily become one of the most stressful parts of the wedding day if not planned for well enough. My biggest tip is to make sure that everyone knows where to be and when! In case anyone is missing, appoint a family member or close family friend to find missing people. Unfortunately, I don’t know what your family members look like, so I won’t be able to do this. You also need to double check with your fiance to make sure you’re both on the same page regarding the family formal list. This part of the day goes SO much smoother when I can just read down the list, instead of someone trying to figure out additional groupings they want on the fly.

When thinking about who to include in your family formals, think about which pictures you’re going to want to hang in your home and pass down to your children. It’s usually photos with your immediate family and your grandparents. Remember that you can always take photos with your aunts, uncles, cousins, and other extended family members during the reception after the formalities. Limiting the number of people included in family formals really helps to cut down on stress for the bride and groom and the time needed for photos.

After photographing over 75 weddings and seeing what works well, and which photos actually get printed, here is my recommended family formal list:

Bride’s Side

• Bride with mom

• Bride with dad

• Bride with both parents

• Bride and groom with bride’s parents

• Bride and groom with bride’s immediate family (bride’s parents, siblings, and siblings’ spouses and children)

• Bride and groom with bride’s maternal grandparents

• Bride and groom with bride’s paternal grandparents

Groom’s Side

• Groom with mom

• Groom with dad

• Groom with both parents

• Groom and bride with groom’s parents

• Groom and bride with groom’s immediate family (groom’s parents, siblings, and siblings’ spouses and children)

• Groom and bride with groom’s maternal grandparents

• Groom and bride with groom’s paternal grandparents

Both Sides

• Bride and groom with both sets of parents

This list takes approximately 30 minutes to complete if everyone is on time. Do you have any unique family situations such as an aunt who practically raised you? Or maybe step-parents need to be added in? Feel free to adjust this list as needed. This is your wedding day after all, and every family is different. I would just recomend trying to keep your family formal groupings to no more than 15. In my experience, this number tends to work the best. If you decide to add more than 15 groupings to your list, just make sure you set aside plenty of time (45 minutes-1 hour) for family photos at your wedding.

Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would LOVE to work with you! Send me a message over on my contact page!

Intimate Summer Wedding at Laurel Hall

These wedding photos were taken at Laurel Hall all the way back last June! I’m glad that I’m finally getting a change to blog them, because I loved this romantic couple and the intimate ceremony and reception set up’s in the solarium at Laurel Hall. Laurel Hall is the perfect venue for beautiful natural light. The solarium is filled with huge windows on three sides of the room. It’s very elegant, and it’s my personal favorite place in the whole estate at Laurel Hall. The Solarium at Laurel Hall was the perfect room for this intimate summer wedding.

I was actually lucky enough to photograph two weddings at Laurel Hall last June. Lucky me, because Laurel Hall is one of my favorite venues in Indianapolis. The pink, purple, blue, and crystal theme for this wedding was so unique, and perfect for the venue. I loved the simple greenery arch by the amazing florist, B. Eloquence.

I love that both the ceremony and reception had very unique set ups compared to any other weddings I’ve photographed at Laurel Hall. Laurel Hall has so many options for how you can structure your ceremony and reception. You could set up your reception facing multiple ways in the solarium, you can have your ceremony out on the lawn, you could set up your ceremony on the terrace, or you could also use the little white chapel on the third floor. For your reception, the most common set up is using the formal dining room, but you can also use the solarium, you can use the terrace, or you could set up a tent out on the lawn.

Enjoy a few of my favorite photos from this intimate June wedding at Laurel Hall!

The Vendor Team:

Indianapolis Wedding Photographer: Rakoteet Photography

Venue: Laurel Hall, Indianapolis

Coordinator: Magical Moments Event Planning

Florist: B. Eloquence

Calligraphy: Eb Paper Co

Hair & Make Up: Something Blue Stylists

Rentals: Violet Vintage Rentals

Linens: Linen Hero

Dress: Blue House Bridal

Mensware: DC Tux

Elegant September Wedding at Daniel's Vineyard and Winery

Things have finally slowed down a little bit for me. Usually the winter in general is a little bit slower, but this year, I had some stunning winter weddings in December and January. Now that all of those weddings have been edited and delivered, I have a little bit of extra time in my business to work on some fun projects that have been on the back burner for awhile. And one of those fun projects is blogging some of my favorite weddings and sessions that I photographed last year before I started this blog.

If you guys follow me on social media, then you know that I love wine. Like, I love the history of it. I love learning about how it’s made, and I love visiting and touring vineyards in different parts of the world (I’ll be sharing about my winery tour in Tuscany on the blog later this month). SO it should come as no surprise, that vineyard weddings are some of my absolute favorites weddings. Now, you might think that as an Indianapolis wedding photographer, that I wouldn’t have as much of an opportunity to photograph vineyard weddings as a California wedding photographer or an Italian wedding photographer, but we actually have a lot of amazing local wineries right here in Indianapolis, and all over Indiana. I’m on a mission to visit them all!

Some of my favorite wineries that are also wedding venues are The Sycamore at Mallow Run, and of course, Daniel’s Vineyard. Early September is the most beautiful time of year for vineyards here in Indiana, because the grapes get harvested in late September or early October. Check out some of my favorite photos from this black and burgundy wedding at Daniel’s Vineyard last September.

Indianapolis Wedding Photographer: Rakoteet Photography

Venue: Daniel's Vineyard​

Tablescapes & Rentals: Uncommonly Styled​

Floral and Styling: Knox Flowers​

Invitations, Paperie, & Signage: Interprintations​

Linen: Linen Hero

Dress: LUXEredux Bridal​

Hair: Allison Linnae Hair​

Makeup: Gina Valentine​

Tux: Jim’s Formal Wear

Cakes: Nétta Sweet​

Ring Boxes: The Mrs. Box​

Silk and Ribbon: The Lesser Bear​

Our Trip to Switzerland

This is the second post in my blog series about my trip through Europe with my husband last year. After Paris, we continued on our trip by heading to Switzerland. It had been a long time dream of mine to visit the Swiss Alps and to venture to the top, and we did just that while we were in Switzerland. This country is so beautiful with its majestic mountains and quaint villages.

While we were visiting Switzerland, we stayed in Lucern, an adorable village at the bottom of the alps. We were only in Switzerland for two days, and we ventured up into the mountains both days. On our first day, we went to the top of Mount Pilates, which you can get to via an hour-long cable car ride from Lucern. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much of a view from the top, because we visited on a cloudy day, but on the way up, we saw some of the most beautiful views! Our cable car ride started our with views of the city and the lush green country side, but as we made our way up, the views became completely white and snow-filled.

On our second day in Switzerland, we took a train to the top of the Alps. The summit we went to was called JungFrau. Again, we visited on a very cloudy day, so we didn’t have any view from the top of the mountain, but we still had some neat experiences. The train ride to the top had beautiful scenic views, and once we reached the top, we had to walk through an ice tunnel to reach the top of JungFrau. Overall, it was a really cool experience.

Now that I’ve seen the beauty of Switzerland for myself, I’m dying to photograph a wedding here. Any takers?

Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! Send me a message over on my contact page to see if I have your date available!

The One Thing Brides Always Forget in the Wedding Day Timeline

I always offer to create a customized wedding photography timeline for my brides and grooms, and I send them a recommended photography timeline as part of my “Bridal Guide” as soon as they book with me. Most of my couples are super organized, and already have their timeline planned. When I look at their timeline to see if I need to make and changes or give any recommendations, there is almost always one thing missing from the timeline: a designated time for reception detail photos.

Let me explain why this is important. My brides and grooms spend a lot of money on their wedding reception details. They’ve spend countless hours with their florists and/or wedding designers planning their centerpieces. They’ve spent extra money on fancier chairs and beautiful linens. they have the room arranged perfectly. And they’ve picked their wedding venue because they love the way it will look when it's all set up for their reception. I think all brides and grooms see the value in making sure they have photos of the reception details, but many couples think that their wedding photographer can take these photos during the reception. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Once your guests enter your reception, there will be bags and coats on the chairs, drinks and cell phones on the tables, and I won’t be able to get a clean shot of the room or the tablescapes. This is why I tell my couples that we need to plan for these photos in the timeline BEFORE guests are allowed into the reception.

There can be a few logistical challenges with making this happen. First, we need to make sure that the entire reception will be set up before I’m scheduled to take photos of it. Check with your venue, your caterer, and your florist to make sure set up will be finished in time. If your ceremony and reception are in the same venue (which always makes for WAY easier logistics the entire day), then I can photograph your reception details in the 30 minutes before the ceremony while the bride is in hiding. If your reception venue is driving distance from your ceremony and we don’t have any photos to take after the ceremony (because of doing a first look), then I can send my second shooter to the reception venue towards the end of the ceremony to take photos before guests arrive. If you’re having a separate location for a cocktail hour, this gives us a little more wiggle room. If you’re doing a room flip or using the same chairs for the ceremony and reception, unfortunately, I won’t have much, if any, time to photograph the reception fully set up, but I always do my best to take as many photos as possible in the small amount of time I have.

I promise, it’s always worth it to plan reception detail shots into your wedding day timeline. If you don’t believe me, check out some of my favorite wedding reception detail photos below.

Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! Send me a message over on my contact page to see if I have your date available!

Laurilyn Farms Florist Branding Photos

I first had the opportunity to work with Lauren and Jerilyn, the sisters that run Laurilyn Farms when they were the florist for Dakota and Richmond’s wedding last June at The Loft at Walnut Hill Farms. I was so impressed with their work. They took the simple concept of white and greenery and turned it into something so creative and unique. Ever since then, I’ve been following Laurilyn Farm’s work and loving everything they do.

One of my favorite things about Laurilyn Farms is that they’re not just a wedding florist. They also have their own flower farm where they grow a lot of the flowers that they use. Lauren runs the florist side of the business, while Jerilyn runs the farm side of the business. How fun is it that these sisters get to work together! I always love getting to take photos for florists, so I was thrilled when Lauren and Jerilyn asked me to do their branding photography for their new website by Lauren Taylar of Taylar Digital (the same designer who designed my own website).

Lauren and Jerilyn really wanted photos that showed off their personalities. Their photos included wine, champaign, coffee mugs, and a few flower and farm accessories. We had planned on including flowers in the session as well, but unfortunately we are currently experiencing a polar vortex here in Indianapolis, and it would have been way too cold for the flowers to survive. The location for our session was my favorite wedding venue in Indy, Laurel Hall.

Laurilyn Farms received their full gallery of 148 photos less than 24 hours after their session. Check out a few of my favorites below. These two were so fun to photograph!

Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! Send me a message over on my contact page to see if I have your wedding date available!

Our Trip to Paris

Sometimes, editing personal photos is the very last thing on my to-do list. That’s why it’s taken me over a year to FINALLY edit some of my photos from our trip to Europe. I’ve been dying to get some of these printed, so I finally forced myself to take a break from working 24/7 on my business, and do something for me.

Last November, Andry and I took a big two week trip through Europe. We started in Paris, continued on to Switzerland, and then visited Venice, Florence, and Rome in Italy. Traveling is my favorite hobby. I LOVE to see different parts of the world, and I especially love to get to see the world with my husband. That’s part of the reason I love destination weddings so much. I really resonate with couples who love traveling together and want to celebrate their love in another part of the country or world.

I’m sharing our Europe trip in a series, starting with our first leg of the journey in Paris. We only spent 3.5 days in Paris, but we really made the most of our time there. I had a photoshoot that’s been published multiple times (I’ll share that shoot on the blog soon for those who haven’t seen it). We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa. We took a boat tour of the city. We went to Sacre Coeur, and saw an amazing view of the city. We visited the Palace of Versailles. We toured Notre Dame. And of course, we ate so much amazing food in the Parisian cafes.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from our time in Paris!

Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would absolutely LOVE to work with you! Send me a message over on my contact page to see if I have your wedding date available!

Why You Need To Take Sunset Photos On Your Wedding Day

One of my favorite parts of any wedding day is sunset photos. I get so excited every time a couple plans 15 minutes for sunset photos in their wedding day timeline. These photos ALWAYS end up being my absolute favorite bride and groom portraits from the day, and they are always my couples’ favorite photos as well. I talk about sunset photos on social media so often that my brides tell me things like “I know how much you love sunset photos, so I planned it into my timeline.” My couples are the BEST.

Even one of my couples who gave me an hour for bride and groom photos after their first look still made time for sunset photos during their reception as well. Golden hour photos or photos taken right at sunset have such a different feel to them than photos taken earlier in the day. If the first look is at 1pm, the sun will be super harsh at that time. We’ll have to be careful about where we shoot and which direction we face to make sure the lighting is flattering and not causing weird shadows. However, at sunset, the lighting is amazing. It’s soft and beautiful and flattering.

The timing of sunset photos will depend on the season that your wedding is in. Just google what time sunset is on your wedding day, and we’ll start sunset photos about 20 minutes before that. For my summer weddings, this tends to be around the end of the reception. For my winter weddings, this could be right after the ceremony.

Not convinced that you need sunset photos on your wedding day? I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves.

Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would LOVE to work with you! Just send me a message over on my contact page!

Couples Session at the Central Library in Downtown Indianapolis | Amy and Hansen

Today, Hansen became a U.S. citizen! I was so excited when Amy asked me to photograph his citizenship naturalization ceremony. I’m not sure if many of you know this, but I’m also married to a non-U.S. citizen. Andry is from Madagascar, and we’ve been going through the immigration process as well. He is eligible to apply for his citizenship this coming June, so it was so fun to get to experience and photograph a citizenship ceremony to see what it’s like. After the ceremony, we drove to the Central Library in downtown Indianapolis for a short couples session.

The Central Library is one of my favorite spots for couples portraits and engagement sessions. If you’re looking for location ideas, you can check out my full list here. It was nice that it was so close to the immigration office as well.

I loved getting to work with Amy. She was actually my mentor at my first corporate job out of college back when I was a financial analyst. Ever since we both left that company, we haven’t gotten to see much of each other, so it was amazing to get to catch up with an old friend.

Amy and Hansen are so adorable together. They’ve been married for about 4 years, so it’s always fun to get some new couples photos after you’ve been married for a while. Especially when you’re celebrating something exciting, like your husband becoming a United States Citizen!

Amy and Hansen, I loved getting to celebrate with you two! I can’t wait to send you your full gallery! Congratulations again on becoming a United States Citizen, Hansen!

Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would LOVE to work with you! Feel free to send me a message over on my contact page. I can’t wait to hear from you!

Why You Need an Engagement Session

I LOVE engagement sessions for so many reasons. Most of my couples love them just as much as I do. Two of my three wedding photography packages include a complimentary engagement session. This isn’t only a benefit for the couple, it’s a benefit for me as well. But every once in a while, I’ll get a request from a couple who wants to book me saying that they don’t need an engagement session, so they’d like me to either swap it out for something else or reduce the cost of the package. Well, first of all, the engagement session is complimentary. Therefore, It doesn’t have a monetary value to be subtracted or traded. It’s my free gift to my couples that they can choose to use or not. In this post, I’ll explain why my hope is that all of my couples take advantage of their complimentary engagement session.

Engagement sessions are such a great way for me to get to know my couples before the wedding day. The couple gets to learn my posing and directing style while we chat about all their wedding details and planning. This is such great practice, because once the wedding day comes along, my couples already know all the poses. And they already know that they loved their engagement photos, so they don’t have to worry about whether or not they are going to love their wedding photos. They already know that I know how to make them look as amazing on camera as they do in real life, and they already understand that they don’t have to stress trying to come up with poses, because I take care of all of that.

Another benefit of the engagement session is it’s a great opportunity for my couples to communicate their hopes for their wedding photos. Maybe they get the images back and they realize that they loved the twirling photos, and want more like that on their wedding day. Or maybe they didn’t like the sitting photos, and want to skip those on the wedding day. This is another reason a trial run is so important!

Not to mention, my couples get awesome photos of the two of them that they can print and frame. Most of my couples (even the grooms) have a blast at the session. It’s like a date where you get to snuggle up to and flirt with your favorite person. What could be better?!

Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would LOVE to work with you! Send me a message over on my contact page!

How to Choose The Wedding Photographer That's Right For You

Choosing a wedding photographer can be overwhelming. There are SO many options. I’m sure you have multiple friends with “fancy cameras,” but maybe you’re wondering if you should find someone on the Knot or search hashtags on Instagram. Sometimes for non-photographers, it’s difficult to tell what the difference is between different photographers in order to make a decision. I hope the list below helps you figure out how to decide which wedding photographer is right for you!

Do you LOVE the photographer's style?

This is first on this list, because it’s the most important thing you need to decide on when choosing your wedding photographer. And this means everything from editing, to lighting, to posing. When you look at a photographer’s images, can you see yourself and your fiance in those exact photos. OR do you look at the photos and think “These are great, but I would want different poses or slightly different editing.” OR maybe you only see natural light images in a photographer’s portfolio, but your wedding is going to be outside at night. If so, that person is not the photographer for you. You can’t hire a photographer and expect them to be able to give you a product you’ve never seen in their portfolio. Most photographers aren’t willing to change any aspect of their style, and even if you find one who is, they won’t be as good at it, because it’s not what they do. Find someone who specializes in EXACTLY what you are looking for!

Are you excited about the experience the photographer offers?

Does the photographer send a bridal guide to help you prepare for your wedding? Do they have blog posts that help you with wedding planning? Is your wedding going to be on their blog or possibly published in a magazine? How does the photographer deliver photos? Do they sell prints or albums? Do they offer a print release? Do they help you with your timeline and day-off photo plan, or do you have to do that on your own? How many time do they meet with you in person before the wedding? Do they try to do everything online for convenience and planning around your work schedules? Do they help you at all or just show up on the wedding day? These are all parts of the client experience that will differ from photographer to photographer.

Do you feel comfortable with them?

You spend more time with your wedding photographer on your wedding day than with your spouse. It’s important to find someone whose personality you like. Do you click well with them? Would you like to work with them for a year or so during your wedding planning and on the most important day of your life?

Is the Photographer in your budget?

Of course, this one is important, but I hope it’s one of the last factors considered. I see too many brides making decisions based on price alone, and they end up very disappointed by the outcome. Your wedding day goes by so quickly, and you’ll only have two things left when the day is over: your marriage and your wedding photos. You’ll have your wedding photos for the rest of your lives, and you’ll even pass them down to future generations. You deserve photos you’re in love with and you deserve the perfect photographer for YOU!

Have you found a photographer who meets all of these criteria? Make sure you ask them these questions before hiring them!

Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would LOVE to work with you! Send me a message over on my contact page!

Winter Wedding at The Mill Top Noblesville | Abby and John

It all started back in Elementary School in Ohio. That’s when Abby and John met. But they didn’t really connect until they both found themselves in Indianapolis after college. Four years after they got reconnected, this adorable couple was married in a beautiful winter wedding in the middle of a snow storm at The Mill Top in Noblesville.

All of Abby and John’s wedding details were so on point! It was a wedding photographer’s dream! Their theme was modern, edgy, and romantic for the wedding with lots of jewel toned colors, and geometric shapes. I love how they incorporated so many unique details to show off their personalities. Check out the amazing florals by Bokay Florist! I’m obsessed!

One of my favorite parts of Abby and John’s wedding was photographing their first look. Remember that post I made about first looks? Well Abby and John were a great example of tearing up and having such a sweet, emotional moment for both the first look AND that coming down the aisle moment.

Abby and John, you two are so sweet and so much fun, and your wedding was incredible! I loved photographing your wedding SO much, and I hope you had the best day ever! Enjoy these sneak peaks while I finish editing the rest of your photos! I can’t wait to send you the full gallery!

A huge thank you to the amazing vendor team:

Photographer: Rakoteet Photography

Venue: The Mill Top

Florist: Bokay Florist

Cake: Classic Cakes

DJ: Brian Whitis

Hair and Makeup: Maggie McCalley and Maggie McCalley

Catering: MBP Distinctive Catering

Bride’s Gown: MB Bridal

Bride’s Shoes: Bella Belle Shoes

Engagement Ring: Dahlkemper's Jewelry,

Wedding Bands: Shane Co.

Groom’s Attire: The Black Tux

Invitations: Tiger Lily Invitations

Videography: Unsilenced Films

Officiant: Veronia Maximo

Second Shooter: Cassie Dunmyer

Favors/Gifts: Handmade by the Bride and Groom

Photo Booth: JNP PhotoBooth

Winter Wedding at INDUSTRY | Leah and Devin

Leah and Devin both crushed on each other in high school, but never told each other. Then one day in college, Devin asked Leah to play Tennis with him. They had so much fun that they ended up staying out until 4am just talking. And the rest is history. Two years later, they won a beautiful winter wedding at INDUSTRY.

A few of my favorite things about Leah and Devin’s wedding were when Devin teared up during the first look AND when Leah walked down the aisle, and he could barely say his vows through the tears. The whole day was so emotional and sweet. I also loved Leah’s gift to Devin. She made him a scrapbook of all the the memories they shared since they started dating.

This wedding was entirely put on by the venue, INDUSTRY, and the vendors, which are linked and listed below, for an event called the REAL wedding. Leah and Devin really got married, and they got to invite their closest friends and family as well as choose their bridal party. But in addition, “wedding crashers” were also invited. Anyone could purchase a ticket to the wedding, just like a bridal show, so they could see the vendors in action and see how the venue set up the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception in their open concept floor plan.

Leah and Devin, you are such a sweet couple, and I’m so glad you were the winners of this beautiful wedding. Enjoy these sneak peaks, and your full gallery will be on its way soon!

The Vendor Team:

Wedding Photography: Rakoteet Photography

Venue: INDUSTRY

Coordinators: 828 Coordination

Catering: Jacqie’s Gourmet Catering

Live Ceremony Music: DEOC Ensemble

DJ: Lights Out Entertainment

Florist: Molly & Myrtle

Hair and Makeup: Something Blue Stylists and Esthetics with Ashlee and Kayla Davenport

Cake: Classic Cakes

Donuts: General American Donut Co.

Calligraphy: Laura Reilly Calligraphy

Videography: Kae Marie Videography

Rentals: Violet Vintage Rentals

What to Wear to Your Engagement Session | Outfit Inspiration

One of the most common questions my couples ask me before their engagement session is what they should wear. So today, I’m sharing the advice that I share with all of my clients.

I always recomend that my couples bring two outfits, one formal outfit, and one more casual outfit. The casual outfit is the one that you should show up to the session in, so you can save your formal outfit for sunset. For both of your outfits, you should coordinate with your fiance, but not match.

I know the tendency is to go for darker colors, especially for your formal outfit, but for that light and airy look, lighter colored outfits really help to achieve that aesthetic.

Here’s a great example of a perfect casual outfit.

Here’s an example of a more formal outfit that Andry and I wore to our own couple’s session. I bought this outfit from Amazon and would highly recomend it. The skirt comes in almost any color. You can find it here. You can find the lace shirt here. Andry wore a white button-down shirt, a tie that matched my skirt, jeans, and a sport-coat. This is my favorite outfit that he wears!

If you come from a culture with unique traditional clothing, that would be a great outfit to wear to your engagement session.

Button-down shirts tend to work really well for grooms and go well with both their bride’s more casual and more formal outfits. I loved Michael’s outfit shown below.

Here are a few more awesome outfit ideas that my couples have worn to their engagement sessions. I love how many of my brides wear white for their session. It’s so bridal! AND I love when my grooms wear full suits for that formal look.

Amanda’s hat was the perfect accessory in the photo below.

One last tip - when in doubt, overdress. You already have so many photos on your phone of you and your fiance dressed casually. Your engagement photos are special. You’ll look at them for the rest of your life, and you’ll print them and hang them in your home. You’ll love seeing photos of yourselves all dressed up.

Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would LOVE to work with you! Send me a message over on my contact page!

On the cover of Indianapolis Premier Weddings Magazine!

One of the best surprises of 2018 was when I found out that, not only were my photos from Cam and Chelseigh’s fairytale themed Laurel Hall wedding going to be published in print, but my photo was also going to be on the COVER of Indianapolis Premier Weddings Magazine!

One of my major goals with my photography for 2018 was to get published in print. I accomplished that when a shoot that I did at the Crystal Gardens in Chicago was published in a local Chicago magazine. I did have a goal of someday being on the cover of a magazine, but it wasn’t a 2018 goal, because I didn’t think I would be able to achieve this until a little later. I guess I learned that I need to set my sights higher and not doubt that I can achieve my goals sooner than I imagined. It’s so fun when you check off a goal as accomplished, because then you can make new ones and keep striving to be better and better.

I couldn’t have done it without Cam and Chelseigh’s amazing wedding, and their entire vendor team. You can check out some of my favorite photos from their wedding here on the blog. They got married at one of my all time favorite venues, which is one of the most beautiful venues in Indianapolis in my opinion. And they had amazing florals including a floral arch, and huge centerpieces for the head table. Cam and Chelseigh were one of my favorite couples to work with! They took all of my suggestions on their timeline, and gave me so much time for details photos and portraits, which is why their wedding photos are some of my favorites that I’ve ever taken.

Thank you so much to Cam and Chelseigh, their vendor team, and Indianapolis Premier Weddings Magazine!

Are you looking for a wedding photographer? I would LOVE to work with you! Send me a message over on my contact page!

Why You Should Consider a First Look with Your Groom on Your Wedding Day

Let’s start at the beginning. What is a first look? It's a special time where you and your fiance get to see each other for the first time on your wedding day in a private moment before the ceremony. I highly recommend them! A first look not only allows more time for photography and a smoother timeline, it's also a sweet intimate moment for you to share with your fiance before the craziness of the day. If you aren’t sure about the tradition, this blog post will help explain why it would be a romantic addition to your wedding day. 90% of my couples have a first look, and they absolutely LOVE it!

Andry and I did a first look on our own wedding day three years ago. We both agree hands down that it was our absolute favorite part of the entire day. We were both so nervous the entire morning, but when we finally got to see each other, all those nerves went away. We shared such a sweet special moment, just the two of us. We didn’t even notice the photographers. BUT our photographer captured our priceless reactions, and I have a framed photo of our reactions hanging in our bedroom. They are some of our favorite photos from the whole day. Not to mention, after our first look, we got the spend the entire day with each other! We didn’t have to wait until the 6pm ceremony.

Many couples don’t want to consider a first look, because they get caught up in how “non-traditional” they are. But the digger I deep, the more I realize what is most important to my couples is the reaction of the bride coming down the aisle, and the photos of the reaction. Well, I can tell you after photographing countless first looks, that first look reactions are so priceless. I’ve witnessed so many tears by grooms. But those reactions to the first look don’t change the fact that even though the groom has already seen the bride, they always still have an amazing reaction, tears and all, to their bride walking down the aisle. If anything, I think the first look helps the walking down the aisle reaction, because all those nerves are gone, and true emotions can express themselves.

When you have a first look, you and groom get to embrace each other when you first see each other. You get to cry together, laugh together, and KISS each other! You get to take a moment for yourselves. You get to be TOGETHER and ALONE (besides the photographer who you won’t even notice). You don’t have 50-300 pairs of eyes on you. After your first look, you get to move casually into portraits. There’s no time crunch, no DJ reminding us that guests are waiting, and there’s plenty of time for photos. We get to take all of your bride and groom photos, bridal party photos, and family photos BEFORE the ceremony. That way, after the ceremony, you can head straight to your own cocktail hour to spend time with the people you love the most. Think of it this way, when you do a first look, you get DOUBLE the amount of portraits.

I would never want to pressure any of my couples into a first look if it’s just not for them after they’ve looked at all the pros and cons for having a first look or not having a first look. I ALWAYS respect my couples’ wishes. However, if there is no first look, we’ll either have to cram all of the portraits into 1-1.5 hours between the ceremony and reception (meaning we won’t get as many photos or as much variety), or you’ll keep your guests waiting for quite a long period of time if we use the entire 2-3 hours that I generally recomend for capturing a wide variety of bride and groom, bridal party, and family photos. Just remember, that these portraits are the ones you’ll frame and hang in your home, and these are the photos that will be passed down for generations.

I want the BEST for all of my couples, and after shooting over 75 weddings, I’ve been able to figure out what works really well. I love to give my couples’ all the advice I possibly can, because most of them have never been married before, and I’ve been a part of SO many weddings at this point.

Still on the fence? Check out some of my favorite first look photos!

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Bridal Party Gift Ideas

Your bridesmaids and groomsmen are some of the most important people in the world to you. They’re there for you throughout your lives as well as on the biggest day of your life. And they often put in a lot of work to help make your wedding amazing, whether they’re helping you research vendors, working on your DIY projects with you, or just celebrating with you! Have you thought about getting each of your bridal party members a small gift to say thank you? It doesn’t have to be extravagant or cost a lot, but a small token of appreciation can mean a lot to your bridesmaids and groomsmen.

I recently discovered an online shop called Bridesmaid Gift Boutique as well as their sister company for groomsmen gifts, Groovy Guy Gifts. There are so many unique and inexpensive gift ideas for both bridesmaids and groomsmen in their shops! They sent me the necklace below, which is adorable, and you can customize the initial, the metal type, and the thank you note. I think this would make a great gift to surprise your bridesmaids with on your wedding day.

I also love their personalized stemless wine cups! For groomsmen gifts, some of my favorite items in the shop are these whisky stones that you can customize to say whatever you want and this billfold in a box. They also have some super unique gifts on both websites that involve a caricature artist! I wish I had known about these gift ideas back when I got married! I definitely recomend checking out these websites. Browse around through the different options to see if there’s something you may want to give your bridal party members as a little thank you gift!

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My Trip to Mexico

For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to take a week off in the middle of my busy season to take a vacation to Mexico with my sister. I happened to have a weekend that I still hadn’t booked around 5 months out, and flights just happened to be super cheap that weekend. Nicole and I have been wanting to take a sister trip for the longest time, so this was the perfect opportunity.

Before this trip, we hadn’t vacationed together since my senior year of high school school when we went to South Carolina with our mom. During that trip, I had mono and Nicole spent the whole 13 hour car ride home with car sickness. Needless to say, we didn’t have the best vacation memories before this trip. Since then, we’ve grown to be best friends, and I was so happy that we got the opportunity to take another vacation together, just the two of us.

We chose this vacation, because it was super cheap, but we seriously felt like we were living in luxury for a week. All-inclusive Mexican resorts are definitely the way to go for budget vacations! We used my favorite travel agent, Suz Haire to find the perfect resort, El Dorado Seaside Suites. This resort is adults only, and has the most amazing view! Every balcony has a jacuzzi that overlooks the ocean, where you can see the beautiful sunrise each morning.

I didn’t take as many photos on this trip as I normally do, because I wanted to focus on the experience and time with my sister. The photos I did take were more focused on the two of us and less focused on the scenery. I did this because the one thing I regret most from my Europe trip with Andry last year is that all of my photos are of the gorgeous architecture and beautiful scenery, but there are no photos of us in these stunning locations.

If only Nicole and I had a third person with us to get photos of both of us! But I’m sure we’ll be back in Mexico together some day. Maybe even with our future families! But for now, enjoy these photos from our recent trip!

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Behind the Scenes of the Allison Mansion Styled Wedding

Yesterday, I posted a few of my favorite photos from our styled shoot at Allison Mansion at Marian University here on my blog. These are some of my favorite photos that I’ve ever taken, so definitely go check it out if you haven’t seen that post yet. I also got to the shoot way before I actually started shooting the model and set up, so I could take behind the scenes photos for the vendors. Most wedding vendors, even us photographers, don’t have very many photos of us in action, and these can be such fun photos to have. Plus, I think clients and potential clients love seeing these types of photos.

It was so fun to watch Chrissy from Special Occassion Designs create the amazing bridal bouquet and floral arch. She is so good at what she does! I don’t think I even realized how obsessed I was with the bridal bouquet until I got home yesterday and started editing. I love the shape that Chrissy decided on, and she always chooses the most fun colors. I also loved taking behind the scenes photos of Lora and Amanda from Magical Moments Event Planning and Erica from Pickle Prints setting up the tables and stationary.

Enjoy a few fun behind the scenes photos from yesterday. If you scroll all the way to the end, you’ll even see a photo of me with the flowers.

The Vendor Dream Team:

Photography: Rakoteet Photography

Planning: Magical Moments Event Planner

Florist: Special Occassion Design by Chrissy

Dress: Blue House Bridal

Hair and Makeup: Something Blue Stylists

Linens: Linen Hero

Venue: Allison Mansion at Marian University

Stationary: Pickle Prints Custom Paper Creations

Model: Kay Insley

Cake: Nothing Bundt Cakes

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