First Dance Songs at Weddings – Colbie Caillat

While you can’t photograph music, it does set the mood, and nowhere is mood more important than the all-important first dance at your wedding. We’ve already looked at Frank Sinatra and Michael Bublé as possibilities, so we figured it’s time to look at some female vocalists to consider. First we’ll turn that spotlight on Colbie Caillat.

While there is music in Colbie Caillat’s genes (her father is producer/sound engineer who’s worked with acts like Fleetwood Mac, The Beach Boys, and Frank Sinatra), her rise to superstardom comes thanks to her MySpace page where her songs first generated lots of buzz. We’ll focus on three songs by this bright young singer that may capture the feelings you have on your special day.

“Bubbly”

This is the song that started it all for Colbie Caillat and one that you’ll instantly recognize when you hear it. It’s a sweet little tune, and the word “bubbly” describes it perfectly.

Sample: “Bubbly” from Coco

“Magic”

There’s a certain magic that comes with being deeply in love, and this song is all about that feeling. Like “Bubbly,” it’s got a California feel. While “Bubbly” is like a beach during the day, “Magic” is like that beach at sunset.

Sample: “Magic” from Coco

“Lucky”

We haven’t featured any duets with male/female vocalists, so this Jason Mraz/Colbie Caillat song seems like a good place to start. This song is summed up in one line: “I’m lucky I’m in love with my best friend.”

Sample: “Lucky” from We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.

More wedding songs and wedding tips to come in the near future. For now, check out our wedding photography gallery to sample our work. It will show you why we’ve got a reputation for great wedding photography in Denver and Northern Colorado.

Posted on June 27, 2009 in Sherri Barber Photography, Wedding tips

Wedding Portraits After the Wedding Ceremony But Before the Wedding Reception

If you’ve kept up with our blog, you’ve probably found that we wedding photographers can be a great resource for good wedding ideas and can help filter out the bad wedding ideas. And, let me tell you, that advice comes in handy when it comes to those portraits taken after the wedding ceremony has been completed but before the wedding reception has begun.

How Long Should These Wedding Portraits Take?

On the one hand, you don’t want to keep your guests waiting too long between the wedding ceremony and the wedding reception, but on the other hand, it’s important to get perfect portraits of the bride and groom and their families. We’ve heard stories of these wedding portraits taking 90 minutes or more with some wedding photographers. Taking that long means that many of the wedding guests may be stuffed with hors d’oeuvres by the time the bride and groom have reach the reception.

Bill and I are full-time professional wedding photographers. That means we do excellent work in a reasonable time. When taking wedding portraits right after the wedding ceremony, we generally shoot for 40 minutes to 50 minutes, and never shoot for more than an hour tops. This way we are able to help pose people and set up our professional lighting equipment, enabling us to take beautiful portraits of the bride’s side of the family and the groom’s side of the family as well as the bride and groom together.

How Many Wedding Portraits Should Be Taken?

We had one bride in the past who wanted us to shoot 90 portraits (yes, 90!) between the ceremony and reception. She wanted individual portraits with aunts, uncles, numerous extended family members, and certain guests. We stressed to her that taking that many wedding portraits meant we would have to skimp on the quality of the portraits or that we would have to take hours shooting all of those portraits.

What we recommend is focusing on the immediate and important family members (mothers, fathers, siblings, and grandparents), and then the bridesmaids and groomsmen as groups. We’ll work off a list of portraits with the bride and groom and make sure we get those portraits completed and looking great.

You may wonder “What about photos with members of the extended family or friends?” Bill and I think it’s best to take those sorts of photos during the wedding reception. It’s also a big reason we do wedding photo booth slide shows.

I hope that wedding advice was helpful. More wedding advice to come. For now, take a look at our wedding photography gallery to learn why we’ve developed a good reputation for quality wedding photography in the Denver and Northern Colorado area.

Posted on June 22, 2009 in Sherri Barber Photography, Wedding tips

First Dance Songs at Weddings – Michael Bublé

Bill and I have been doing wedding photography in Northern Colorado and Denver for some time, so you can imagine we know a lot about what works at weddings. We’ve been turning our attention to wedding music lately, particularly for that important first dance between the bride and groom.

In our first post on wedding songs for the first dance, we covered the immortal and classic Frank Sinatra. We’re back again to look at another fine voice with worldwide stardom, a great deal of class, and who also loves his Sinatra: Michael Bublé.

Michael Bublé is an international superstar who sings both jazz standards and pop standards. Playing him at your wedding means you won’t have any complaints, regardless what rendition of a song you want to play. We’ve picked a sampling of five songs from Michael Bublé that might be a good fit for your wedding.

“The Best is Yet to Come” and “The Way You Look Tonight”

Last time we shared Frank Sinatra’s takes of these standards, but since they are both such good songs for weddings, we thought it would be best to give Michael Bublé’s renditions so you can figure out which fits your wedding best.

Sample: “The Best is Yet to Come” from Call Me Irresponsible

Sample: “The Way You Look Tonight” from Michael Bublé

“You and I”

Here’s Michael Bublé giving his take on a beautiful Stevie Wonder song about staying together with your true love. As with the Sinatra songs, both takes on this tune are delightful.

Sample: “You and I” from It’s Time

“Wonderful Tonight”

Here’s another one of Michael Bublé’s renditions of a pop song, this time one by Eric Clapton. Bublé is joined by Ivan Lins on this smoky, bossa nova take on the song.

Sample: “Wonderful Tonight” from Call Me Irresponsible

“Everything”

We go from jazz standards and pop standards to a more contemporary-sounding and charming Michael Bublé original. This acclaimed song is about the person you care about being everything in your life. Very fitting for that important first dance.

Sample: “Everything” from Call Me Irresponsible

We hope this gave you a good taste of Michael Bublé’s versatile style. More wedding songs in the near future. In the meantime, we encourage you to browse our wedding photo gallery to see what we can offer you on your special day.

Posted on June 17, 2009 in Wedding tips

First Dance Songs at Weddings – Frank Sinatra

A little while ago we talked about why having a DJ at your wedding is important. Now we want to focus on something else music related.

We’ve been doing wedding photography in and around Denver for some time now and we’ve heard lots of different songs for the married couple’s first dance. We thought it would be fun to mention some songs we like and that couples enjoy for that important first dance that the bride and groom share. And who better to start with than with Frank Sinatra?

Sinatra’s music is classy and classic at the same time. You can count on a Sinatra song to please friends and family regardless of age. Below are five songs sung by Frank Sinatra’s that people just love to play at their weddings.

“The Best is Yet to Come”

A fitting way to christen your marriage is with this Sinatra song. The title says it all. The wedding is just the beginning of something better.

Sample: “The Best is Yet to Come” from Nothing But The Best [The Frank Sinatra Collection]

“The Way You Look Tonight”

There’s just something about this song that makes you feel the love in the room and the love between the bride and groom. A lot of it has to do with Frank.

Sample: “The Way You Look Tonight” from Nothing But The Best [The Frank Sinatra Collection]

“Fly Me to the Moon” and “Come Fly with Me”

If your love feels like flying, then you have some options. If it’s like soaring through space, you have “Fly Me to the Moon.” Or if it’s like dancing in the air, you can consider “Come Fly with Me.”

Sample: “Fly Me to the Moon” from Nothing But The Best [The Frank Sinatra Collection]

Sample: “Come Fly with Me” from Nothing But The Best [The Frank Sinatra Collection]

“It Had to Be You”

Like “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Come Fly With Me,” this is one of those instantly recognizable tunes closely associated with Frank Sinatra. It’s a great fit for a wedding on top of that.

Sample: “It Had to Be You” from A Voice In Time (1939-1952)

Hope you’re not Sinatra’d out (it was hard to pick just five). We’ll look at some more wedding songs soon. While you’re waiting to hear more, take a look through our wedding photo gallery to see what we can offer you on your special day.

Posted on June 11, 2009 in Wedding tips

Wedding Photos and Turnaround Time

Hi there, everyone. It’s Bill here.

One of the concerns a lot of our clients have is about turnaround times. Sherri and I have heard stories where couples have waited three or four months after their wedding just to see the proofs of their wedding photos. We’ve even heard from a couple that they waited six whole months to get their wedding photo album.

There’s really no excuse for anything to take that long.

Sherri and I are really on top of turnaround times where wedding slideshows, proofs, and wedding albums are concerned. If you want to look at a wedding slideshow, we will have the slideshow online the day after your wedding reception. We only need two weeks tops to get a couple their proofs. The timing works out great since newlyweds are usually coming back from their honeymoon at that time. As for the customized wedding book (which we have crafted all the way in Italy), couples will have those within a month of layout approval.

You shouldn’t have to wait so long for your wedding photos, and Sherri and I understand that. Since we’re full-time photographers, we are always working to make sure you are happy. We’re prompt because we’re technically proficient and are well-versed with the latest imaging software.

It’s going to be a busy month, but we’ll keep checking in with more wedding advice and more thoughts about wedding photography. For now, I encourage you to look through our site to learn about our wedding photography services in Denver and Northern Colorado. This will also give you a chance to view our wedding photography gallery and get a good taste of our work.

Posted on June 5, 2009 in Photography, Sherri Barber Photography