Without much of the stigma it once held, elopement marriage is rising in popularity among budget-conscious couples.  Adele and Clark decided to get married on their own terms!  The focus was on the couple and their wishes—not on the extravagant extras, which can be costly. However, in the same way a traditional bride and groom select the wardrobe, flowers, food and music that best suit them, a unique venue can make an elopement memorable. Lucky for us, the Sarasota area is so centrally located that there are several world-class elopement destinations nearby.  The city, hotels, parks and as Adele and Clark chose, the beach!  With a few surprises and an abandoned house around the corner.  See more of the photographs in the “pages” section to the right.

For Elopement and Destination Packages, I recommend working with Sand Petal Weddings:

http://www.sandpetalwedding.com

Discussing these 5 question with your fiancé before the wedding will give you a jump start on ‘happily ever after.’

“Many brides and grooms to be focus on the wedding day preparations and plans, spending more time on planning one day than on considering the commitment to each other that is going to be made on that day. While the wedding day is a lovely, special time of celebration of your love for each other, it is only the start of your marriage. Asking these five questions and discussing the answers with each other before you say “I do” will help you both to prepare for the marriage, not just the wedding day.

Question 1 – How will money be spent? Many couples end up fighting over how money is to be spent. Discussing the issue before you get married helps you to avoid many arguments and upsets within your marriage. Decide whether all income will be shared and placed automatically into joint bank accounts, or whether some money will be allocated for individual’s discretionary spending.

Discuss the priorities for deciding how money will be spent in the future including who has responsibility for ensuring bills will be paid. Discuss a household budget and consider how much money will be allocated towards savings and investments. Talk about money issues now and save arguing in the future.

Question 2 – How will disagreements be sorted out?
Right now, you are very happy together and cannot imagine having major disagreements. However, even two people who are still deeply in love with each other will find that sometimes disagreements occur. You will not always agree on every single idea. What happens when a disagreement about what age your child should be allowed to go shopping, or which holiday is better to take the family on?

Decide on some rules for solving disagreements right now, before you actually say “I do”. One good rule is to keep to the issue at hand, and do not bring in old arguments or fights. Some happily married couples advocate discussing the issues until a compromise can be reached, others suggest not fighting in front of the children. Decide now what you will do when disagreements occur and prevent the disagreements turning into full blown fights.

Question 3 – How many children will be ideal?
If one person does not want children at all and the other one is dreaming of raising a football team, there will be plenty of arguments. Before you get married, discuss how many children you both feel would be ideal. Also discuss when you would like to start trying for children – from the honeymoon, or a couple of years later?

Question 4 – How will children be cared for?
Your marriage may not automatically play out like your parents’ marriage did. Your fiancé was raised in a different family and will have a variety of expectations about how children should be cared for, that may well differ from your own views. You may not agree on everything now, but having some similar ideas about how children will be raised will show compatibility in your marriage, whether or not children eventuate.

If you strongly believe that one parent will stay at home to provide child care, this will need to be discussed early on. Remember that this decision has financial implications for the household, such as living on one income. Discuss ideas about raising children now, such as private versus public school and expectations of parenting roles.

Question 5 – How will household chores be accomplished?
This is probably one of the most important decisions you can make as a couple. Who will cook, clean, mow the lawn, and maintain the house? Discuss the division of labour now, so that you both have clear expectations of what you need to do.

Often newlyweds have difficulties because these tasks are not clearly discussed, and each individual expects that the other person will automatically complete the task. Just because your father always mowed the lawn and your mother cooked every meal, does not mean that this will be the way household chores are divided in your new family. Discuss how the household chores are distributed, especially if both people are working full time.

By asking these five questions and taking the time to discuss your answers with each other before you actually get married will help you to decide if you really do want to make that commitment together. These discussions will also help you work through the process of learning to compromise and to live happily together as one family unit.

Your marriage relationship is more important than getting the right flowers or dress for the wedding day, so spend some time putting into place the guidelines and ground rules for your relationship. Enjoy your entire marriage, not just the wedding day, by putting some time in planning and discussing these important relationship issues now.”

By Hayley Hunkin

Jumping for Love

Photographing weddings is such a joy for me.  I have a passion for telling stories with my images. I will photograph your story using an attentive eye to anticipate and feel the moments that become the image. I use my camera as a tool to turn a heartfelt moment into a photograph.

For the last 10 years I have worked with families who value the art of photography and who have planned the creative and sophisticated wedding.

The photos that I strive to take are emotional. Each person is unique and the energy that he or she exudes is very distinct to that individual. A group takes on it’s own energy that is very unique and distinct to the people in it. It is my desire to express that energy in a photograph, so when someone looks at the photograph, they can feel it with their heart, not just see it with their eyes.

Living in Sarasota, Florida is a treat for the eyes. As a Sarasota wedding photographer, I know a lot of special places in Southwest Florida that can be used as stunning, unique and amazing back drops for engagement sessions, and bridal shoots as well.

I have had the privilege of working and creating art at these fine places: the Ritz-Carlton, Crosley Mansion, Hyatt, Ringling Museum, Siesta Key, Boca Grande, Saint Petersburg, Longboat Key, Anna Maria, Lakewood Ranch, Montana, New England, Ireland, Barcelona.

I am passionate about each wedding I get the privilege of shooting!  Treating each and every wedding individually… I love to be creative, spontaneous, and adventuresome, making it my goal to try new things at each event, as it is those special images that are YOU, and no one else!

Estilo Cubano

I took this shot in Island Park, Sarasota 2008. The young couple and their wedding party were more fun to work with than anyone I had photographed to date. The reception was in a park in Sarasota. I am continuing to photograph the bride a year later.