New Wedding Guest Book

The Image Guest Book is proving very popular with our Brides and Grooms. It features five 8x10 images taken from your Engagement Portrait session in a beautifully hand crafted leather bound album. Guests leave their congratulations and messages to you using silver Sharpie markers on the black pages that face each of the five photographs. The album will become a great talking piece on your coffee table for years to come. Additional blank pages are available for weddings with a larger guest count.

Amanda and Erik

October 10, 2010 - Turned out to be a spectacular day for Amanda and Eric. Their wedding at the Cloisters Castle in Lutherville, Maryland was bathed in wonderful sunshine and filled with surprises, including a visit from the 'The Bird' of Oriole's fame. The ceremony was officiated by the Cloisters very own Annie Applegarth. Catering was supplied by the Manor Tavern. For the second time in a month, I had the pleasure of working with the very professional Tom Gavin of DJ Delights. Here are some more images from the day.

Brittany and Loring

Last Saturday's wedding of Brittany and Loring took place at the lovely Cloisters Castle in Lutherville, Maryland. The ceremony took place in beautiful sunshine outside in the Cloistered courtyard. Reception followed inside in the main building. Squires Catering provided the wonderful food and service. The happy couple had a great send off in a 1954 mint condition Ivory and Classic Bentley from Lasting Impressions on Catonsville. The following are some images from the day - hope you enjoy them.

Amanda and Dale at the Cloisters

I had the pleasure of photographing Amanda and Dale's wedding at the Cloisters Castle recently. This is one of my favorite locations in which to photograph a wedding with its many unique settings and scenes it makes for great photo opportunities. Both the ceremony and reception were held at the same location. Amanda and Dale had 125 of the their dearest family and friends in attendance and I was honored to help them capture their special day.

Diana Venditto of Eventi Planning, did a wonderful job coordinating the wedding and Tom Gavin of DJ Delights provided great music throughout the night. It was great working with them both. Craig Hasslinger and his team from Hasslinger Golden Clipper Catering provided the delicious food and service throughout the evening. Please enjoy some images from the wedding:

 

 

 

 

Michelle and Tim at Historic Oakland

August 28, 2010.

Michelle and Tim celebrated their wedding at the beautiful Historic Oakland in Columbia Maryland. The ceremony took place in the small garden to the side of the mansion under the large oak trees. Reception followed in the mansion with Simply Elegant Catering providing the delicious food and great service. Shelly's Blossom of Baltimore (410-961-4199), provided the spectacular floral arrangements and the cake was supplied by Sugar Bakers. Music was provided by Chris Uhi of Absolute Entertainment. The following are some images from the day.

 

 

 

 

 

Receiving Lines - do you really need one?

Is it absolutely necessary to have a receiving line?
I always hate having to wait through them when I attend a wedding reception. Isn’t there a better way? A receiving line is usually in order for a very formal wedding; otherwise, there are several more relaxed alternatives. One very nice custom is to have the bride and groom, as well as the other members of the wedding party, “float” around the reception, speaking to each cluster of guests. Another custom, rather new but quite enjoyable and comfortable for the guests, is to have the guests remain seated in the church or synagogue until they are personally greeted and dismissed by the bride and groom themselves. This could be called the “lazy man’s receiving line” because the guests remain seated until it’s time for their row to stand and file past the bride and groom, hugging, kissing and wishing them well as they exit their pews.

Disposable Cameras - Are They Worth It?

This question keeps popping up on both bride's internet sites and in my meetings with prospective clients. Will these cameras give you worthwhile quality photographs? Let's think about who will actually use the cameras - most likely either kids or somewhat inebriated guests are the ones drawn to them. As a rule neither of these groups make good photographers.

Lets look at the true cost of these cameras: 
Each disposable camera will cost you about $6.
Let's say you have 15 tables at your reception.
Total cost of cameras:  6x15 = $90

After the event or wedding each of these cameras will have to be processed and printed. The average cost of processing and printing each camera is $8.
Total cost of processing:  8x15 = $120

Your total cost for purchasing and processing 15 cameras is therefore $90 + $120 = $210

This may not seem like a lot of money, but think about this for a moment. What kind of a quality image do you expect to get from a $6 camera, made of plastic with a plastic lens and a flash that has a range of about 5 feet? The answer is NOT GREAT! You will be very fortunate to get 3 good photographs from these 15 cameras - which, if you break the cost down, works out to $70 per photograph!

My advice - DO NOT WASTE your money on these cameras. Your professional photographer uses equipment valued at thousands of dollars to capture you looking your best and will certainly do a far better job than these disposable cameras.

Maryland Wedding Album Photographer of the Year 2009

 

Michael Dunphy receiving his award for
2009 Maryland Wedding Album Photographer of the Year
from Nizam Mohamed, Print Competition Chair
for the Maryland Professional Photographers Association

 

Hi Everyone,
What a week! This past Wednesday I was awarded the Maryland Wedding Album Photographer of the Year Award for 2009 from the Maryland Professional Photographers Association. This is my third year in a row to receive this award. I want to thank all my great couples for allowing me to enter their albums in the competitions held throughout the year. As always I am indebted to my great clients for allowing me to record their most important moments.

Best wishes,
Michael