In over a decade of photographing
weddings I've seen plenty of times what works and what doesn't
work. I do know that I prefer to be involved in an event that is
in the hands of experienced professionals like myself who know
how to make your day run smoothly.
Although you may
or may not pay a little more to utilise the
experience of these service providers, your day will run more
smoothly and be less stressful. Ultimately this means that
you'll enjoy yourself more and that your photography will be
better since we are better able to
focus on creating beautiful memories of the
love that you shared on your wedding day.
-Bruce
We recommend the following services:
Videographers
We've recommended
Greg for wedding video to many couples
over the years and have always received very positive feedback
on what a great job he does. Having worked closely together over the years Bruce
and Greg have developed a kind of symbiotic relationship where
each "fires" creatively off the other. The photography and video on your
day will also run more smoothly. This means even better results for
you.
Wedding Celebrants
Two celebrants we can highly recommend
are Bruce McGrail and Chris Mullane. We've always enjoyed their appearances
as both bring something quite special to a wedding ceremony.
Both have, in our opinion, the perfect combination of humour while respecting the
solemnity of the occasion.
www.brucesceremonies.com
cmullane@xtra.co.nz
If you prefer a female celebrant
Sheryl Mungall JP is someone who we can also highly recommend.
Her website is
www.memorable-ceremonies.co.nz
Wedding / Reception venues
We're always asking
our customers for
feedback on their reception venues. Having photographed hundreds
of weddings over the last 10 or more years, we get a pretty clear
picture of what is good and what is average.
Wedding Venues we can highly recommend in the Auckland area are: Gracehill Vineyard and Restaurant (Kumeu)
www.gracehill.co.nz,
Pinot (Orakei) and Pontoon (Westhaven)
www.relishgroup.com, Mantells (Mt Eden)
www.mantells.co.nz, Duders and McHughs (Devonport)
www.mchugh.co.nz
We also photograph lots of weddings on Waiheke Island and some great spots there are:
Mudbrick
Vineyard and The Dunes
on Onetangi Beach
Wedding Flowers
Shooting close in detail shots of
wedding flowers, Bruce has become very aware of the varying
quality of wedding flowers. Many, unfortunately are not at their
best on the wedding day - for example brown edges or damage on
rose petals are surprisingly common. Most of your guests won't
notice but we often use these detail shots blown up quite large
in our award-winning albums and its kind of annoying when the
flowers don't look their best.
Two florists that
have consistently impressed us with both the quality of their
arrangements as well as the absolute freshness of their flowers
are Flowers After
Hours in Parnell -phone 303 1038, 523 Parnell Rd: and
Orlando.
Wedding Cars
For classy wedding cars in Auckland
we
recommend First Class Classics:
www.firstclassclassics.co.nz. We're always seeing them out and
about and they do add a very stylish edge to your wedding day.
Long range weather
forecasting
Want a long range weather forecast for your wedding
date? Visit
www.predictweather.com Ken Ring's weather forecasting system
is based on lunar cycles. No weather forecasting method can be
100% accurate but this may help you to choose between potential
wedding dates.
Web design
Andrew at
www.OnTheInternet.co.nz recently upgraded this website and
we think he did a great job. He's also done the webdesign
for other photography websites including
www.christraillphotos.co.nz and also offers webhosting
services.
Speaking of webdesign, F1 Web Design are a small Kiwi
webdesign team who build and host websites for small to
medium-sized businesses and sports clubs. Check out their
portfolio at www.f1.co.nz .
Winners of the Golden Web Awards 2002-3 and 2003-4
Other
Photographers
We
work closely with, and highly recommend other of
Auckland's top wedding
photographers including
Steve Sharp of Shots Photography.
NZIPP
You'll find more information about the NZ Institute of
Professional Photography at their website
www.nzipp.org.nz. NZIPP
is the only organisation in NZ that runs a qualification program
for wedding photographers.
Additional Links:
You may find the
following services useful
www.silvergroves.co.uk
"Finest silverware online" have a wide selection of silver
wedding gifts including glass and barware, vases, cutlery and
clocks.
www.justweddings.org
A wedding info site that offers weddings through the ages,
wedding music and wedding stories about wedding-related topics.
www.sharethedream.co.nz is a local non-profit organisation
that Fine Photography supports. Share the Dream is a charity auction, the
proceeds of which go towards helping Downs Syndrome children and
their families
www.marketingtool.com
is a useful international business directory of creatives.
Wedding Accessories Weddings With Class carries one of
the world's largest (if not the largest)
selection of wedding accessories and wedding gifts.
www.findaband.co.nz specialise in wedding music,
entertainment, party bands and bands for special functions -
rock, covers, jazz, dance, retro hits, string quartets and more.
Bands for your wedding reception, party, Christmas function or
school ball throughout NZ
www.platinumweddingphotos.co.uk
Devon Wedding photographer
covering the Lake District and Cornwall in England
www.nzweddingdirectory.co.nz - directory of wedding related
supplies in NZ
www.weddingauctions.co.nz - like a trademe of wedding
related items
www.dentalonraffles.co.nz is one of Hawkes Bay's foremost
dental practices. Services include teeth whitening, root canal
treatment crowns etc
www.thedifference.co.nz Auckland-based caterers provide
exceptional catering for every occasion
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