Tag Archives: Louise Michaud

LMP Wedding Planning Timeline (Part 2 of 5)

Six to Nine Months Before Your Wedding

Plan an engagement session with your photographer.

Louise Michaud Photographer, Salem MA Wedding Photography, Boston Wedding Photography

Create and send out Save the Date cards. Many brides and grooms choose to use one of their engagement photos for this, so it’s important to communicate with your photographer and give yourselves plenty of time for the shoot, photo editing, printing, and mailing.

Louise Michaud Photographer, Salem MA Wedding Photography, Boston Wedding Photography

Find and order bridesmaid dresses. Just like the wedding gown, your bridesmaids will need time to get alterations completed.

Order invitations and develop a wedding website. This ensures that your guests will have all of the pertinent information, including location, attire, accommodations, and more.

Begin planning the honeymoon! You’ll want to make sure your passports are up to date and flights and accommodations are all booked.

If you wish, begin taking dance lessons. You’ll need the time to get smooth on your feet!

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Three to Six Months Before Your Wedding

Find a rehearsal dinner venue. Depending on how many people are coming, you may want to give yourself plenty of time to find the right place.

Begin confirming with all of your vendors. It’s never a bad idea to touch base and make sure that everyone is on the same page, from florists, to photographers, bands, DJs, caterers, and more.

Shop for men’s formalwear.

Find and hire wedding day transportation—limousines, trolleys, etc.

Louise Michaud Photographer, Salem MA Wedding Photography, Boston Wedding Photography

Attend your wedding shower—usually planned by your close friends and family.

About three months ahead of time, order your wedding cake.

Louise Michaud Photographer, Salem MA Wedding Photography, Boston Wedding Photography

Two to three months out, have a deep-cleanse facial. (You never want to do this too close to your wedding—a deep cleanse can bring out toxins and make your skin look a little worse before it looks better.)

LMP Wedding Planning Timeline (Part 1 of 5)

We all know that after the engagement glow is over and the wedding planning begins, everything can seem a little daunting. With over 25 years of experience working with brides and grooms as they make their way toward their wedding days and down the aisle, I have plenty of advice to give to make sure that you get through it all.

One Year or More Out

First things first: find a venue site.

Louise Michaud Photographer, Salem MA Wedding Photography, Boston Wedding Photography

Most vendors will not book a wedding couple unless they have a venue chosen and committed. The reason is that without a venue, there could still be a change in the date—we need to know that we’re 100% committing to a certain day to ensure we are available on your wedding day.

 

Ask friends and relatives to be in the wedding party.

Begin looking for a photographer. You’ll want to find someone who matches your personality, style, and price range. This will involve meeting with photographers, reviewing portfolios, and then the planning. (More on the photographer in a later post!)

Nine Months to a Year

Pick a theme. Know the style of the wedding you want. This will help you when choosing the other key details of your wedding, from the gown to flowers to yes, even the right photographer.

Hire an Officiant.

Start looking for the right wedding gown. With the time it can take to find the “right one” to the time needed for alterations, you don’t want to wait too long.

Begin a proper hair, nails, skin care, and exercise routine. Brides and grooms want to look their best on their wedding day, and that means getting yourself started early on. Do you want your hair grown out for your wedding? Make sure you give it enough time!

Louise Michaud Photographer, Salem MA Wedding Photography, Boston Wedding Photography

Find the right hair stylist and makeup artist—vendors book up early, especially if your wedding date falls during the busy wedding season (May to October).

Research and find florists, bands, DJs, caterer (if not included in venue), and more. Again, vendors will book up quickly! You do not want to wait too long. Remember to consider your ceremony and cocktail hour as well—do you want someone playing during that time? They’ll need to know.

Your venue may take care of tents, linens, tables, etc. for you, but make sure that’s the case. If not, or if you’re doing this yourself at home, you’ll want to reach out to rental companies early on.

Louise Michaud Photographer, Salem MA Wedding Photography, Boston Wedding Photography

Have an engagement party—remember to register for gifts!

Research and reserve accommodations for out of town guests. Most hotels will book room blocks for your wedding at a special rate—make sure to contact them early to make sure they have the availability.

Fun Tip: A lot of brides and grooms seek inspiration from Pinterest—set up your boards early on and start pinning ideas that could bring your perfect day together.

A Great Review from a New Year’s Eve Wedding

I photographed Elise and Mike’s wedding on December 31, 2015, at the Peabody Essex Museum. As you can probably imagine, their New Year’s Eve wedding was great fun, and I was so happy to receive this glowing review from Elise on The Knot:

We had a fantastic time working with Louise for both our engagement photos as well as our wedding. Her and her assistant were great to work with – and fun. We were so happy with how everything worked out.”

And another on Facebook:

Louise and Mike are awesome!! So much fun to work with and the photos are incredible. A true professional, who we were so happy to have been a part of our wedding!

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A toast to the bride and groom! May their 2016 continue as wonderfully as it began.

A Kind Word

It is always so gratifying to receive wonderful feedback from a couple that we photographed. Liz and Jesse were a pleasure to work with. You can check out this past Facebook post for a little peak at what we did for them. This bouquet shot is still one of my favorite detail shots to date:

Louise Michaud Photographer, Salem MA Wedding Photography, Boston Wedding Photography

“This review is long overdue. My husband and I got married on June 27th, 2015. Louise was our photographer and she and her partner, Mike, did a phenomenal job. Our pictures are beautiful and they both did an amazing job capturing perfect candid moments as well as posed photos that came out beautifully and unforced. Louise was involved with our planning process, listened to what we wanted and did an incredible job making our “amateur” photo ideas come to life. Louise and Mike were also wonderful making everything happen the day of. My bridal party and I were running about an hour behind getting ready. Louise and Mike got everything done quickly and efficiently, without making us feel like we were out of time. I would recommend using Louise without reservation. The photography was beautiful and we will cherish the photos for the rest of our lives.”

Thank you, Liz and Jesse!

The 99 Faces Project is Coming to the Museum of Science

Some of you have likely talked to me about The 99 Faces Project, or maybe you’ve read about it on my website as I am one of three photographers participating in the project.

Louise Michaud Photographer, Salem MA Portrait and Headshot Photography, Boston Portrait and Headshot Photography, 99 Faces Project

Started by Lynda Cutrell, the project seeks to change the way we see mental illness in this country by photographing 33 people on the schizophrenia spectrum, 33 people on the bipolar spectrum, and 33 of the people who love them. As Lynda writes on the website, “A key to living well with any disability, is not to be burdened with fear of stigma, but rather to have both loving acceptance and inspiring role models.”

Participating in The 99 Faces Project has been fun and enlightening, and I’m so happy to be able to share with you that it has been approved for an exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston, expected opening is Memorial Day Weekend 2017. The exhibit will invite you and others to come and look at the faces for yourself and see the beauty in each individual. As soon as we have the exact dates, we’ll be sure to let you all know.

It has been such a pleasure working with Jennifer from Makeup Eden and Brandon from Salon Sage on this. We have had people from all walks of life be photographed and help with the project–it’s been truly amazing.

For more information about The 99 Faces Project, visit their website at www.99facesproject.com.