Mark Romine

Hi everyone, I am relatively new to BDW board and a now paying vendor so I wanted to introduce myself and share links to my website and blog. Jacilyn invited me to join just a few short weeks ago. I must say there is a wealth of info here that could help just about anyone in an y situation plan their destination wedding. I an relatively new to wedding photography, I started my wedding photography career only 10 years ago in '99. Previous to that I had spent 18 years doing commercial and cooperate assignments all over the country from NYC to San Diego and many places in between. My first wedding was my wife's eldest niece back when we were still using film. We have come a long way since then with hundreds of wedding under our belt. Needless to say, we have lots of experience shooting in all kinds of conditions and locations, large and small events. I am located in Normal, IL (that is a for real name) out in the middle of the cornfields but I travel anywhere and would love to join you, your family and friends in capturing all the special relationship moments of your unique day. Drop me a note if you have interest or questions. Thanks, mark Mark Romine MARK ROMINE PHOTOGRAPHY 112 Merle Lane, Suite 201 Normal, IL 61761 309.862.2130 Mark Romine Photography - Documentary Wedding Photography Mark Romine Wedding Photography Blog

Quote: Originally Posted by nina1589 Huge families, not enough money, don't want any stress, romantic, and it's been my dream since I was little. These are just a few of the reasons I have chosen a destination wedding. I find your comments interesting because you live in a city considered by many to be a great destination wedding location. There are some great venues there. Some decent beaches, maybe not like Hawaii but not bad and great weather! mark

Congrats on the engagement! What an exciting time in your lives. Enjoy your planning and welcome to the forum. mark

Quote: Originally Posted by OPPRN Hi Mark - I just had a look at part of your portfolio and the Cabo wedding was stunning - I am very impressed! Jen Thanks Jen! That was a wonderful wedding, one of my all time favorite family group photos (#24) is from that wedding. Technically & artistically nothing to write home about but it simply captured the whole feel of the entire weekend. Both families and their friends having a great time. A wonderful human experience. mark

Quote: Originally Posted by tylersgirl BTW-your photos are stunning on your website. Great work! Thanks! We keep working to get better at it every year. Also, we have been very fortunate over the years to have clients who know how to have a good time! When couples are in love and when people are having a great time it is easy to bring home great photos. mark

Quote: Originally Posted by itsfinallyhere We choose a destination wedding because of a number of reasons. We went to visit before and loved the country. Which one? Quote: Originally Posted by itsfinallyhere Our gift is that they are there. People who really want to come will be there, and they are most important. We feel that this will give everyone extra special memories, from beginning to end. An adventure for us all to enjoy together! This is what it is all about! Sounds like a great time! mark

Wow, some great comments, keep'em coming!

Quote: Originally Posted by foolishfire Thanks! Naperville, actually, since we feared a downtown wedding would be too expensive for guests. Oh, lots cool things in Naperville, I was just up there earlier this month for a wedding & reception at the Lisle/Naperville Hilton. We did a few photos at the Riverwalk but three weeks ago it was still pretty cool outside so that didn't last too long. Have a great wedding! mark

Aaron, welcome to the party

Welcome fellow Illinoisan! Where are you getting married in Chitown? Hope the form gives you a few last minute ideas. mark

Quote: Originally Posted by MegaShay 4. We're not a couple that's into formalities and cheezy wedding traditions, so having a casual beach wedding is the perfect fit for us. Some very practical reasons! Over the years of all the weddings that I have photographed the best ones have always been those with less than 100 guests. Luv'em! mark

Quote: Originally Posted by BachataBride 1. If we were to have a traditional wedding it would have been in another province since that is where the majority of our family & friends are. Planning a traditional wedding from another province would have been a huge headache...not mention a huge burden on our family that is there! Planning an event like this from a distance is no easy feat. Quote: Originally Posted by BachataBride 2. We would have been expected to get married in a church and that is something neither of us wanted - the thought of taking marriage classes from a priest who has never been married is laughable to me! LOL, I have often wondered about this too but that a discussion for another board. Quote: Originally Posted by BachataBride 3. $$$ - Minus the cost of the "vacation", the cost of our DW was a quarter of what it would have cost for a traditional wedding "back home". We opted for a free wedding package where we just paid for the judges fees...we did not have to pay for a "by the head" dinner, or flowers, or ANYTHING...we literally had an all inclusive wedding! 4. We wanted to have a nice relaxing casual wedding - which it was! 5. As a plus, the backdrop is to die for!! I know you can get this in lots of other places, but not with the other things I listed above!! Sounds like you got what was really you! I bet you had a great time. Did you regret anything the way you did it?

Quote: Originally Posted by GracieBebe Also, everyone who has a local wedding says that they spent so much time having to meet and greet on their wedding day/reception, they barely had a chance to eat/dance/talk/enjoy their day. We did not want that. We want to thoroughly enjoy our day. So by doing a DW, we have already spent some time with everyone who is going to be there that we can just enjoy the party! Excellent points, I se this so often on the wedding day that the bride ands groom just really do not get to enjoy the day. I recently photographed a local wedding with over 400 questions. lovely affair but the bride and groom were just running around crazy all day, greeting hugging, shaking hands etc, I don;t think they even knew what day of the week it was. Quote: Originally Posted by GracieBebe Hope that helps! Excellent comments! France will be a killer place for a wedding, awesome food and fantastic photo oops. I am working on a 2010 wedding for Ireland and I am so stoked about it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! mark

Quote: Originally Posted by Kara&Ryan Because of the swine flu Sunquest Vacations has canceled all flights until June to Mexico.... meaning : MY DREAM WEDDING IS CANCELED. I am in shock right now.... I dont even know what to think So how does this work when a TA, Airline, resort etc cancels an event? Are all monies returned? Do they allow you to chose another date? What an awful thing! mark

I am just trying to get a little insight into the reasons and thinking behind why couples want to do a destination wedding. This may in turn better help me in my approach to what I offer in the way of photography services to perspective clients. Is the primary reason for wanting to do a destination wedding simply for the reason of the location? If it is for a beach wedding, then why not the beaches in Florida, South Texas or SoCal? Do you feel that the beaches are that much better in Mexico and the Caribbean? From a logistics point of view it would seem somewhat easier to plan a beach wedding state side and the choice of vendors would be greater. I would also think that if there were problems with a vendor that your legal recourses state side would be greater too. Just thinking out load and maybe none of these things enter into the equation. Or does cost/budget become a large determining factor? If you are only doing a small immediate family and the very closest of friends say 20-50 person event does this mean that you will forego a reception back home to keep your costs down? Or do many of you still do a full sized reception when you return. Maybe there are other factors too, like you have to get married in the winter because of work, school or deployment (if in the military) and getting married in Duluth or Buffalo in Jan doesn't cut it. Anyway, I would love to hear any and all reasons if you would be willing to share. Thanks, mark

Lots and lots of info here, don't be afraid to ask questions along the way. By all means have fun planning! mark

Quote: Originally Posted by Erika J Thanks I just got this app. My sunset time for Nov 6th is 5:38. Great! Then it will also tell you when twilight ends (or darkness begins) assuming it is a clear day. If it is cloudy it will dark even sooner. mark

Quote: Originally Posted by melinda234 Mango productions does the work at the RIU, but at 470$ hour Im not interested! Most photographers charge far more by the hour than if you purchase a wedding package so you might look into an option of a package. Just an FYI, for comparison purposes I charge #350.00 per hour and that covers both myself and the second photographer. mark

Generally speaking, the resort photographer only spends enough time to do the obligatory photos in the purchased package. If you want really creative photos either hire a local non-resort photographer on fly one down with you who has experience with the whole travel, visa, work permit thing and you will end up with much better photos. mark

Quote: Originally Posted by DRBride52209 ....Riu is just stunning. If it is anything like the one in Cabo your photographer will have a fantastic time. There are pics on my web site of the Palace in Cabo and the photo below is from one of their infinity pools You are going to have fun! mark

Quote: Originally Posted by sunshine1888 Hi everyone, quick introduction. My name is Sarah Wallace, I am a wedding/event coordinator, Minister and work full time at a government job. Wow, you wear allot of different hats! mark

Something that many destination brides do not consider when selecting their photographer is the subject of a final product, will that merely be a few reprints to be used in decorating around your home or are you thinking of having an album designed and created that will tell the story of your wedding day? Additionally, once you do return home will you be having a reception for all those that could not go with you to your DW? Thus, will you be wanting to hire a photographer for that too? Here is the dilemma that this creates if you decide that you want to crete and album using photos from the two photographers. If you hire a resort photographer to cover your wedding and then a local home photographer to cover your reception which one will you have crete your album? Whichever one you chose it would require that the other photographer would have to release the photos to the other photographer and grant them the rights to use them in designing your album. Many photographers will not do this, they will not want their photos in an album that was designed by someone else. Additionally the photographer who is selected to design the album will not want to put the photos from another photographer into the album that they are designing because their studio name will be on that album. Lastly, anytime you select two different photographers who are not accustomed to working side by side with each other you run a risk that the two styles will be so different that they will not look good together when put into the same album. Best case scenario, take your photographer with you and use the same photographer to photograph your engagement session, DW and dinner, TTD session and home reception. Then you can also use them when and if your family grows in size to photograph your pregnancy, babies and toddlers. Just some things to consider. mark

Quote: Originally Posted by Olivianyc hey everyone, I just joined the BDW community - My fiancee and I are planning a DW in Kauai on October 10, 2009 (eeps only 6 months away). we're totally excited and would appreciate any advice/tips. A paradise wedding, all I can say is have fun planning! mark

Quote: Originally Posted by saragrayphotography If you've got the villa, you can feel free to bring in some of your own food, let people stay and go when they please and you'll be the one calling all the shots on the vendors you use and the time everything takes. Good luck! This is an excellent point plus the service is so much better at the smaller villa's. Watching my clients deal with the staff at the big resorts they were frustrated because there just wasn't enough staff on hand to really give them the service that they were used to experiencing back in the states. mark

Quote: Originally Posted by michelle08 Just curious....How long did your pics of just you two take? I'm only getting the photographer for 3 hrs (maybe 4) and wondering if an hour is enough time to give for pics of FI and I (we will probably do them before the ceremony) and then maybe the 45 min cocktail we could take a couple sunset and family and friend pics?? I know most people are having their photographer for longer...but FI really hates pics and isn't really into all those posed pictures and frankly neither am I. I don't have the patience...so I just want a few and then alot more of us in action being natural (i think is called candid?). Here are some things that you might consider that may help you to decide. I will list them first and then talk more at length underneath. 1. Budget 2. Your photographer's recommendation 3. After Products 4. How important are photos 5. Travel time 1.) Obviously, the budget (that 'b' word that everyone loves) plays a huge part in how many hours you decide to book for your photographer. Even the most wealthy have a limit. You can only afford what you can afford. But with good communication with your photographer they can help you to make the most of your package. 2.) Communicate, communicate, communicate with your photographer. Do not go simply on what everyone here is telling you. No two photographers shoot in the same manor or style. What can be done in a half hour by one photographers is not the same as another photographer. There are other factors too, for example, how large is the wedding party, the number of guests and what you what for after products (see more below). Your photographer knows best about what h/she can do in a set amount of time. No one here can tell you that for sure. Your wedding and expectations are entirely different than anyone else. Please, talk with your photographer make it a joint brainstorming production. One of the worst things you can do when dealing with a creative vendor like the photographer, is to treat them like a vendor. The more your photographer is in tune with your wants the more successful the creative results will be. 3.) What do you want in the way of products after the wedding? This can have a huge effect on the amount of time that you hire a photographer for. Do you only want a few enlargements to decorate your home with, will you be scrap booking your own album, maybe using a photo on your thank yous. In this case a couple hours will be plenty. If you want an album that will tell the experience of your entire event, then how much of that story do you want to include in your album, will determine how many hours you will need for the coverage. If you are going to a hair saloon either on the resort property or off site, do you want this in your album? What about pre-dress photos, the dress, shoes, flowers and other details before you even start to get into the dress? What about the guys will they be doing something in the morning, a round of golf, drinks at the pool or some other fun activity like jet skiing, if so do you want this in the album? Obviously the ceremony, then do you want or need to cover the reception? If so, how deep into the reception and are you doing any planned activities that you want covered? Full day coverages to create an album that tells the story for me are no less than eight hours, ten hours works better but you may need more if travel is involved or special activities are planed at or near the end of the reception. Again, talk this over with your photographer. 4.) How important are the photos to you? Only you can answer this. Are family events big in your family? Are you planning a family? Sharing your wedding day photos with your daughter, how can you put a price tag on that? 5.) Never under estimate travel time. Couples tell me all the time that it is only twenty minutes to the church, but they have never gotten into and out of a limo in a wedding dress before. Like last Saturday, it's 25-30 minutes to the reception, wrong, it was 45 minutes. Be realistic, for one limos generally travel at much slower speeds than you would in your Vet. So get real times, this can have a huge impact on what can be done if you do not have real times. In most of the cases here on this board everything is taking place on the resort property. If it is a large resort do not underestimate how long it takes to walk from point A to point B in a wedding dress, walking from your room to the beach can easily take 15 minutes, easily. If you want to go from one location at a large resort to to another location for photos, again it can take 15 minutes to walk there. Factor these things in. For me I can generally do all family photos in 15 minutes, larger families in 20-25. I like to get an hour photographing the bride and groom alone, especially in locations like some of these resorts. Anyway, just some ideas of thins to think about, I could go on and on. But your best bet is to talk with your photographer as opposed to listening to what others are suggesting. mark