So, I think I’ve decided to go with Max Flatow. He’s a photographer in New York with some beautiful photos. I’m not very interested in doing those traditional, yet weirdly awkward photos.

Some of these images sold me on using him.

Hey, just wanted to let you all know that I got my wedding dress already. I bought it from David’s Bridal in Glen Burnie. It was on sale from $650 to $325. Yeee haw!!! No alterations needed. Just needs to be cleaned, have the under bustle ties added and steamed. I’m very happy about this because I hate shopping and I was able to find a dress I liked within 2 hours. Whew. There were women in there trying on their 15th and 20th dress. EEEEEK.

Here’s a sneak peak:

My wedding dress, from the front

My dress with the train out

My dress with the under bustle

I posted to craigslist for a photographer from New York who would be willing to travel to the Dominican Republic as part of their compensation package and have found some talented photographers who are worth the consideration.

My top three are as follows:

www.michaelminnig.com – Husband and Wife photography team
www.MaxFlatow.com – Professional photographer with a beautiful portfolio
www.momentsbykim.com – Professional photographer with a beautiful portfolio

The best deal is (of course) the husband and wife team because we get two photographers and they (together) are within our budget. I’m going to try to meet with these photographers next weekend after the holiday because I have to make sure that they are not creepy, and that they are indeed reliable, and that they’re going to give me what I have asked for…and actually show up.

Basically, what I’ve offered is 2 nights stay at the same resort that the guests are staying at, airfare reimbursed on arrival in DR, and a small stipend. And in return, I am asking for 2,000 or more photos taken over 2 days at about 7 hours worth of events with only 100 of those images touched up, the others can be raw. We don’t need any prints…we can do the printing ourselves when we’re ready.

Hopefully we can stay below our budget of $1200 since our reception cost is going to be less than $3000.

I have heard back from the photographer in Sosua, Felix Corona. His offer is a 4 person team to shoot the wedding with a deliverable of 250 photos on CD at the end. That basically translates to about 2 photos per guest. I do not like that deal. I don’t even have to know his prices to say that I cannot deal with that package.

What I’m looking for is someone to take at least 2,000 images distributed as such: at least 10 photos of each guest, at least 200 photos of us, and all the rest… go nuts! If you’re dealing with digital photos, you should be able to take as many photos as you need to get the shots. I do not want to say “okay” to 250 photos and be forced to trust that I’m going to have 250 shots that I want. I figure that out of 2,000 photos, I can probably find 300 – 500 photos that I love. And I don’t have to budget what the photos are actually taken of. Meaning, if I want 50 photos of my dog in his bow tie… then that should be an option. It shoudn’t mean that

So, I was looking at the website for Piergiorgio (the hotel we plan on getting married at), and the wedding packages that they offer basically gives you 14 prints from their photographer. But, what we are looking for is a real photographer…one that does finishing on raw photos and is available to work two days for our wedding. We’d like to have our Friday night party photographed as well as the wedding and the entire reception.

I’m starting to think that we are not going to find a wedding photographer in Puerto Plata who is going to be able to do this for a price we like and of the quality we like, so, I’m thinking about hiring an American wedding photographer and paying for their airfare and hotel if they work the wedding for free and provide us with 3,000 digital prints. So, basically, the photog is getting an all expenses paid trip to the Dominican Republic, and has to shoot my wedding for 2 days. Maybe three days.

I’m not sure where to post this contest because I’d need to see their portfolio as well…and I’d prefer to meet them. But, if they try to charge me ridiculous US prices, then that’s not going to work well.

The only photog I could find in Sosua is someone called Felix Corona (http://www.felixcorona.com/) and, oddly enough, the video he shows and some of the photography he shows was done at the same place we’re getting married. So, I’m wondering if he is in fact the photog from the package the hotel offers. If so, then I’ve seen his photog book when I went to speak to the people, and my boyfriend seemed to like them. So, that’s good enough for me. If he ruins my wedding pictures though… that’s going to be a problem.

Anyone know about Felix Corona? Anyone know of any other photographers in Sosua or around Puerto Plata who have wedding experience?

I contacted a guy I know who shoots for real estate, trying to see if he knows anyone who shoots weddings in the area, so, I’ll wait to see what he comes back with. He’s an American, but he shoots homes, not people…big difference.

These are the dresses I’ll be trying on in April.  Unfortunately, I’ll only have one fitting between the initial order and when I go for alterations and pick up.  So…. hopefully…it will all work out.

My wedding dress budget is about $500 because I just don’t believe in spending a fortune for a dress I’m only going to wear once.  I figure $500 isn’t going to break a bank, and it’s enough to make a lasting memory.

I’ve been referred to Sandi of Just Cakes in Sosua by multiple people on the DR1 forums. This is their website: http://www.freewebs.com/just-desserts/

After looking through the images on their website of cakes they’ve done, I’ve decided that I don’t like any of the designs they currently display.  I also was unable to find information about all of the flavors they are capable of making, and I am determined to have a strawberry shortcake flavored wedding cake.  Since my fiance only eats sweets when I eat sweets, I have been given the green light to select the wedding cake and all that entails.

Sandi emailed me yesterday, and I emailed her back, asking about strawberry shortcakes, but I haven’t heard anything in response yet.  The cakes seem to run around $300 – $500 dollars for around the number of people we’re looking to feed (80 – 100 guests), but I’m sure there’s room for negotiation in that price. I really do not want to pay that much for some cake!  In addition, I asked Sandi about submitting my own design, and want to hear what she has to say about that.  But, what we’ll probably do is just go over there to see her, do some tastings and work out a design together.

What their photos do show is that they are excellent at execution.  So, I’m sure that whatever design we come up with, they’ll be able to execute masterfully.  If you are looking for a wedding cake, you should definitely look at Just Cakes in Sosua, but you might be interested in coming up with your own design if you want to move away from the generic.

We’re going to be looking for a wedding cake topper with a brown bride and groom and a black dog.  Hopefully we can find one, even if it’s something we find over the internet that someone has to bring with them to the wedding!  I’m not going to give up my search for this brown bride and groom with a big black dog!  That is our family.

Here are some cakes I like:

Helloooooooooooooooooo

I just started a few blogs…this blog to talk about the wedding planning process in Sosua, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic; and another which speaks to my day-to-day life.

That blog is located here: rimley.wordpress.com

Enjoy!