gwynemark

Hey Cher, make sure you ask Amanda about your wedding ceremony location photography rules. I had just posted on another thread about this problem but so many of these stops take advantage of their customers. They require them to use their venue photographers and they are NOT any good and even if you bring your own photographer, they take all the available time away and your photographer never gets a chance to photograph you after the ceremony. If you tell them you are bringing your own photographer they are more than accomodating. However, what they dont tell you is that they still give you a resort photographer for free. This is where they steal all the time from your paid photographer. LOL tricky people. Just ask a lot of questions. We have had 2 clients in the past who hired us to go and be their photographers, get shafted. Fortunately we were on the cruise with them and we were able to get amazing shots on other stops. best of luck, Gwyne and Mark

Hey guys, best of luck with your cruise weddings. We are wedding photographers and have shot several cruise weddings and we have a few tips for you from lessons learned. First off, if you are getting married off the ship and they require you to use their photographer, think twice. When a resort requires you to use theirs then they are typically underqualified, low paid employees. You will not be happy with your images and they will pressure sell you images before you ever walk away from the photos being taken. Its crazy! If you are bringing your own photographer, make sure your venue off the boat knows you will NOT be using theirs, even if they insists there is no additional charge. Here is why. These venues want to sell you photos. So they make sure their free photographer takes up all the available time while your paid photographer is required to wait their turn. By the time the FREE photographer is finished, you don't get any time with your paid photographer. This has happened to us twice. The free photographer was horrible and then he spent 20 minutes pressureing them into buying his images and guess what, it was time for the bus to head back to the ship. We make sure its in the contract that we are the only photographers allowed to shoot during and after your wedding. Be very clear and blunt with the venues when booking. They will try to sneak it in somehow. Best of luck everyone on your cruise weddings. So much fun. Gwyne and Mark

The humidity in the area you are getting married is not nearly as bad as it is up in Northern Florida. June is hot but I would think you are safe and it wont be overwhelming. We are photographers in the Destin area and it really isnt "TOO HOT" until July and August. Have your ceremony about an hour to an hour and a half before sunset and things will be much cooler. If your reception is outside, I highly recommend the tent. Not because of heat but because of rain. Its very common to get late afternoon and early evening showers in Florida and we have seen many receptions ruined because they didn't have coverage. Even a 10 minute sprinkle can cause issues. Best of Luck, Gwyne and Mark

Hi, we are photographers in the panhandle and shoot a lot of weddings on the beach so hopefully my advice will help. In our area which is Walton and Okaloosa Co. there are a different set of rules. Okaloosa County: Any event on a beach that will attract more than 49 people (including vendors) requires a permit from the County. Cost is $250 with $100 being refundable 2-4 weeks after the ceremony. Walton County: Permits are required regardless of size. Fees are around $100 Just google walton or Okaloosa county beach wedding permits and I believe you should be able to find the appropriate office to contact. Best of luck, Mark and Gwyne www.gwynemarkphotography.com

Highlands House is pretty nice and we have shot many weddings there. However, I can tell you that they wont let you have reception there without renting the house. They require you to rent the entire house in order to get married and have a reception there. We have photographed many, many weddings there and we do think its a great location. Its nice to have the green and the beach to utilize. Gwyne and Mark Gwyne and Mark

Hey Olga, Yes, the SD Hilton is expensive for receptions for sure. For a party of 25 such as yours I suggest renting a beach house instead of going somewhere large like the Hilton. You can find some great deals at VRBO is Vacation Rentals By Owner Good luck and if you have any further questions about our area just send me a note. take care, Gwyne and Mark

Awwww!!!! BLUSH!

Hey Laybar, the links seem to work fine. Do you have flash on your computer? Do you get the little window on the black screen to appear? If you can get that far but the video wont play then you can at least look at the photos individually. Just select the little arrow in the bottom righ corner and then select the little rubiks cube looking button next to it. All the photos will be displayed in a gallery at that point and you can browse through them.

Alyssa, did you ever get all the sand out of dress? Kona sand was thick and relentless to say the least.

Going to Hawaii for 2 weeks takes a toll on the EMAIL inbox as well as the VOICEmail box. Geesh, been working non-stop just to get back to people. Our dang AUTOREPLY on our email didnt work so nobody understood why we didnt write them back for 2 weeks. HA! None the less we are catching up and will be working HARD on Alyssa's photos this week and next. I may send her a few more teasers over the weekend. HA! isnt that a tease in itself. GOD I LOVE MY JOB! Anyway, let me tell you something that Alyssa's review doesnt say. Alyssa and Karrem are just flat out amazing people. Heck, everyone in the wedding party was a lot of fun and great people. Treated us like family. thanks for a great time guys!

Hey girl, we have them and love them. So conveinent. Just beware of wear and tear. One of the plates locking KNUB is wearing down and sometimes slips off when lifting. Not good if its overhead. HA

awww, thanks Alyssa..... (blush)

Hey Tammy, I am not sure about Maui but a great photog who lives on the big island (does travel to maui) is James Rubio. We are photographers and hired him to do our wedding renewal this Sept. Big Island Wedding Photographer, Hawaii, Hilo, Kona, Big Island Wedding Photography | James Rubio HIs prices are very reasonable and he does great work. Good luck!

We are trying to pick an all-inclusive for a week over New Years. We have neveer been to Dreams before so I thought to ask you ladies. Would this be a good place to celebrate the new years without our kids? If not, any other recommendations? We have shot several weddings in Jamaica and the Bahamas so we want to try somewhere else for a vacation.

Good news! We had booekd through Continental orioginally so they were the host airlines for all the flights. They had booked us on 2 Aloha flights and you guessed it, an ATA flight from LA to Maui. Oh what a pain when I first called. The lady on the phone said I would have to pay a change fee and the increased fare to get on another airline for our flight from LA. UGHGHH! So I then talk to Alyssa and THAKFULLY! they got their wedding moved to the Big Island .WOO HOO! I called back and got another person with continental and they not only changed all of our flights with no change fees, but they sent us a wopping $60 is vouchers because the rate went down a bit. HA! it just goes to show you that not all customer service agents are the same. The first girl could have cared less about our problem yet the 2nd guy went out of his way to accomodate us.

Well since we booked direct with Continental we had to go through them. Aloha is one of their team airlines I guess. Anyway, they switched our flights without our knowledge to Pacific Wings Airlines and the return on Hawaiian airlines. I was going to ask for a refund but not sure they will give me one now. Hopefully Alyssa can get the wedding on Maui so we never have to leave the island .We fly into Maui from the Mainland 3 days prior to the date we were arriving on Molokai. If the wedding is on Maui, we will just need to get from Maui to Kona since that is where we were flying to after the wedding. Nothing a one way cheap ticket cant solve. This totally sucks for A&K to have 2 bad things happen to the plans. However, I totally agree with the poster on the wedding site disaster thread that something always great happens when things seem to go bad.

Hi, Saint George Island is about 2 hours from me as well. Look up Appalachacola as thats the main city near St. George. It is beautiful but just to give you some FYI, the sun sets on the NON beach side of the island so if you want sunset shots, its not the best place in the world. As for a cake, definetely contact Cakes by Tanis, she did our wedding cake and oh my, not only was it beautiful but it was the best tasting wedding cake ever.........Wedding Cakes By Tanis Panama City Beach Florida she is in panama city which is an hour from St George but she will travel to deliver.... good luck

if you want something different but so amazing, check out Welcome to Volcano Rainforest Retreat: A Distinctive Volcano B&B each bungalow is stand alone and the location is beautiful. No, its not on the beach but its up in the mountains near the volcano national park.

Welcome to the site and good luck in Scotland. What an amazing place to get married.

Quote: Originally Posted by Heidi we were thinking about having ours at the Coyoba River Gardens in Ocho Rios: Coyaba River Garden and Museum and Mahoe Waterfalls, Ocho Rios Jamaica That place is actually right next to Shaw Gardens so the view and scenery should be just about the same. Either way, if you are up on the hills overlooking the bay where the cruise ships dock, you are in a great location.

Hey, we just got back from photographing a wedding at the Shaw Park Gardens. Its about 10 minutes from downtown Ocho Rios. Anyway, it is absolutely perfect for a TTD. Tons of amazing banyon trees, palms, a waterfall to die for and shallow creaks and ponds everywhere. Depending on what you are aiming for, I would check it out. We unfortunately didnt have time to do a TTD since we were stopped from a cruise to do the wedding. The ship leaves when the ship leaves. HAHA! Good luck.

Hey there, we just got back from Photographing a wedding at the Sunset 2 weeks ago. It was a really nice place but nothing overly fancy. It was especially perfect for our bride and groom because we came over on a cruise ship. The ship just so happened to be docked directly across the bay from the wedding site. So their ship is a great backdrop in the photos. I will post some once we get them edited. The resort has a great pool setup and there are some really nice places to do photos. They were married in the garden gazebo but we wish they would have been married on the beach gazebo which was much, much nicer. If you have a choice, pick the beach gazebo. They selected the garden gazebo because of space for their party which was close to 100 people. We also just got back yesterday from another Ocho Rios wedding which was at the Shaw Botanical Gardens. It was one of the most beautiful places we have ever been to. If you have time, take a cab and your photographer up the mountain to Shaw. The waterfall is breathtaking and the rest of the gardens are right out of a movie. We will also post some from there soon as well. Feel free to ask any questions about the area. Gwyne and Mark

So dreams Tulum does not charge a fee for you to bring an outside photog? Thats good to know. That place is really nice, you will love it.

Wow, interesting thread! Well here in NW Florida....you cannot buy liquor in grocery stores. I didn't know UNTIL this thread that grocery stores in other places sold liquor. You also cant buy any alcohol here until after 1pm on Sunday. So....we have to wait until church lets out? *scratches head* Now the delivering alcohol to your door....that rocks. NO one does that here. We have to go to a liquor store to get the hard stuff. You gotta love New Orleans, you can order a drink at the SAME place that you get your 5 am egg sandwich. lol. As for our drink of choice tonight...as we'll be staying home with all of our kids....lol I'll be drinking my own concoction of malibu rum, banana rum, and pineapple juice with a splash of hpnotiq. Mark will probably be drinking whiskey and coke. *smile* Happy New Year ! ~G

Awww, I was confused as to which of you mentioned the Photobucket book. Yes, Asuka is a great book. We use them for some of our weddings and they always look great. Definetely get the ex or lx books though. The others are not much better then the Photobucket books. Good luck to both of you and dont forget to share some of the photos.