maxum’s blog

Photos your photographer won’t take at your wedding….unless you ask for them!

It has been my experience, with 40 years as a wedding photographer, that the most forgotten people when it comes to photos at a wedding are often the individual parents of the bride and/or groom.

Most photographers will be sure to include the parents in photos with the bride and groom, but most will never think to inquire about doing groups of the individual dads of the bride or groom with all his brothers and sisters who are present at the wedding. And of course, the same is true with the individual moms of the bridal couple, too.

While you’re getting these photos taken, be sure to include any parents and grand-parents of those brothers and sisters that are there, too, to capture their entire core family group in photos.

A wedding is almost the perfect place to take these kind of photos with the individual parents and their siblings. Everyone in the families has gathered for the big event, many times from far flung regions of the country.

Their child’s wedding may well be the first time the brothers and sisters have gotten together in years. It may be many years in the future before they are ever together again. If the opportunity to take these group photos is passed over because nobody thought much about the importance of this fleeting opportunity, then those photos may end up never being captured. These photos often turn out to be the most important and most appreciated of all the photos I take regularily at the wedding.

I’d be willing to bet that less than 10 percent of wedding photographers plying their trade today know to get these photos for you. You will have to specifically ask for them to be taken, or they just won’t be done!

Other important people that most photographers will probably overlook photographing for you at the wedding, unless you give them your written photo request list, are the bride and/or groom’s god parents, groups of the bride and/or groom’s co-workers, high school friends, youth camp friends, fellow fraternity and sorority members, fellow sports team members for high school or college.

The one thing no wedding photographer can do is look at a room full of total strangers and figure out how they interlock with each other just by looking! I gave up trying to do that after photographing my very first wedding 40 years ago! Now I send each bride an email before the wedding requesting exactly this sort of information, so that I don’t end up missing anyone of importance to the bridal couple on their special day.

You will want to see to it that your wedding photographer is thoroughly armed with this often overlook information, so that they will get these photos for you. Remember, your wedding

photographer can’t read your mind when it comes to who among those present on your wedding are important to you and need to be photographed with you.

You might also help make getting these photos easier for your photographer by making sure that the people who are going to be included in these special group photos are told to be available for the photos being taken when the other groups are done…either before or immediately after the wedding ceremony.

You will not want to be trying to pull these groups together at the reception, because getting them all together at the same time at the reception is often one of the most difficult things you’ll do on your wedding day. It is better to avoid doing these photos at the reception altogether, if possible and get them done early in the day.

Also, be sure that all the people to be included in your photos know to stay in the room the photos are being taken until all the groups are done. If someone slips off because they think they are through being photographed and it turns out that they are needed for an impromptu additional last minute group request, everything grinds to a halt photo-wised, until someone tracks them down and brings the back.

If you aren’t careful, this could be repeated over and over again as various people slip
outside for a smoke or to use the restroom after their group as been taken. When this happens, it can extend the time needed for the photos by as much as an extra half hour…and that time is probably cutting into your reception time, too.

A lot of churches today have church services scheduled pretty soon after the wedding concludes, so many times the photographer ends up being rushed timewise on getting the group photos for you. I’ve had priests tell me immediately after the receiving line concludes, “You have only 20 minutes to get all your groups done. We’ve got a church service starting soon.”

In my email to be bride before the wedding date, I always try to avoid having this happen by asking if there is a church service planned for after the wedding…and, if so, how soon will it begin after the wedding . I point out that everyone will need to RUSH back in immediately if we are crowded for time by the church. Don’t let others complicate it for your photographer by them slipping out of the room before all the group photos are taken.
Ericka Smith, Write Couple Wedding Documentaries, http://kissthebride.tv/

After the last year or so that you’ve had—what with all the preparations and planning that goes into a wedding—there’s a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of a long-awaited vacation that’s otherwise known as a honeymoon. And why not choose a honeymoon destination where you and your new spouse can frolic in the sand and surf? Why not head for a Caribbean location?

There are so many top quality islands and resorts to choose from one of the only ways to get even some of them in is to go in alphabetical order starting with Aruba. And since your honeymoon is a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, why not go all the way and stay at one of the biggest and newest resorts on the island? The Aruba Marriott Resort is the first in a $40 million renovation that guarantees guests a peaceful resort atmosphere that includes the latest high tech gadgetry as well as a lagoon style pool.

Perhaps the Bahamas is more to your taste. The islands there cater to the romantic in everyone, especially with the Atlantis Paradise Beach Tower that is part of a complete resort on the Paradise Island. This resort includes more than twenty swimming pools,a health spa, and a twenty four hour casino. There you’ll be able to unwind from the whirlwind that was your wedding and reminiscence about all your family and friends while lounging in one of the tropical décor guestrooms that all feature dinette sets.

The Caribbean offers something for every taste and something it would seem to fit every honeymoon budget. Take Grenada for example. The island offers everything from the grandest of luxury hotels to guest houses that specialize in that personal touch. There are even places there that would make you feel right at home while you’re on the island. Take the Candle Glow apartments for example. This is an ultramodern apartment complex located five minutes from the Point Salines International Airport. These apartments offer studio as well as one and two bedroom apartments and they are all within walking distance to shopping malls and transportation. But you shouldn’t think for a moment that you’ll be roughing it up if you decide to stay there on your honeymoon in Grenada—all these units are fully furnished and air conditioned for your convenience.

Ericka Smith, Write Couple Wedding Documentaries: www.kissthebride.tv

Why is that and why don’t we do the same?

It is very important that you know the answer to this question as the laws that regulate the dispensing of drugs on the internet are very specific and very serious matters for all of us.

Indeed, there are a number of web sites that offer drugs that they legally should not be offering. Many online pharmacies that do not comply with DEA and FDA regulations have been seized, shut down and prosecuted during the past three years. Many more are still on the DEA’s list of illegal pharmacies. Here’s how it works..

Prescription medications fall into different categories, and each category has strict regulations regarding HOW and WHAT is required in order to legally dispense certain medications.

Class One and certain Class Two medications (substances categorized as Scheduled medications, which include drugs like Ambien, Phentermine, Soma, Prozac, Valium and hundreds of other potentially dangerous medications MAY NOT be prescribed online! Purchasing, selling or shipping such drugs without the purchaser FIRST being personally examined by a license physician is a felony, and is punishable by serious fine and imprisonment.

Unscheduled medications - such as the medications we make available on the CDRX web site are medications that do not require a physicians physical exam (office exam etc) of the purchaser prior to prescribing the medication. Unscheduled medications must still be prescribed by a licensed physician, but prescribing them does not require that the patient be personally examined by the physician. Instead, such medications can be dispensed upon a licensed physician reviewing and approving the purchasers answers to the questionaire that is

completed by the purchaser at the time the order is placed.

The reality of it is that CDRX Amerimed complies strictly with DEA, FDA and federal regulations. Because we do this, we and our affiliates operate 100% in compliance the laws that govern our industry. That is why our web sites include the seals of (both) the Joint Commission On Accreditation Of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and The Council For Responsible Tele-Medicine.

Undoubtedly, there are still a number online pharmacies that offer what appears to be a larger variety of prescription medications. However in truth, they do not comply with federal laws. Typically, the owners of such operations locate offshore - hoping that they cannot be prosecuted in the U.S.A. On the good news side of it, the number of these illegal pharmacies is decreasing as the DEA arrests and prosecutes operators of illegal online pharmacies.

You should also be aware that any resident of the U.S. that tries to order medications from any source outside the U.S. is committing a felony, and any pharmacy that sells class one scheduled medications via prescriptions that are issued online without a physical exam of the patient is committing several federal crimes. CDRX would never consider such illegal actions, and we know that our affiliates don’t want that either  so we stay only with popular medications that can be legally dispensed via the Internet. There are always two choices available to all - the legal way and the illegal way. In the interest of doing what is right, CDRX abides by all state and federal laws governing pharmacies.

About the Author
Affiliate (Todd Garlipp)
http://www.consumersdiscountrx.com/tpg/

These 5 common advertising mistakes cause you to lose sales.
But you can easily avoid these mistakes once you become
aware of them.

1. STOP AND GO ADVERTISING

Many businesses reduce their advertising when they are
getting plenty of sales. Then they increase their
advertising when sales decline. This pattern of stop and go
advertising creates a repeating cycle of high sales volume
and low sales volume. It also prevents the business from
growing.

Develop and follow a plan of regularly scheduled advertising
regardless of your sales volume. Continuous advertising
produces steady growth. It also reduces the time you have to
spend on making advertising decisions.

2. ONE SHOT ADVERTISING

Businesses often devote all of their advertising efforts to
attracting new customers. But they devote little or no
effort to cultivating these prospects for future sales.

Most prospective customers will not buy the first time they
hear or see your sales message. But many will buy later if
you follow up with them. Your follow up can be as simple as
contacting them periodically with a new offer.

TIP: Customers are prospects too. Stay in contact with them.
Find or develop other products or services you can offer
them. It’s easier to make a sale to a previous customer than
to someone who never bought from you.

3. COPYCAT ADVERTISING

Businesses often copy their competitors advertising ideas.
This can be effective for a short time. But results quickly
decline as more and more competitors copy the same idea.

Instead of copying your competitors advertising ideas,
improve on them. Create something better - something your
competitors cannot copy.

For example, give your customers a reason to buy from you
instead of from a competitor. This can be as simple as
including a unique bonus only you can offer - or providing
the personal attention your competitors are not willing or
able to provide.

4. SCATTER SHOT ADVERTISING

Many businesses get poor results from their advertising
because they reach too many prospects with little or no
interest in what they are selling. This often occurs because
they choose the cheapest

advertising instead of looking for
low cost targeted advertising.

Take some time to research and plan your advertising
efforts. Look for ways you can reach concentrations of
prospects likely to be interested in your product or
service. Then design your message to appeal specifically to
their interests and needs.

TIP: Look for alternative media your competition may be
overlooking. For example, many online marketers have started
using direct mail postcards to generate traffic to their web
sites. It’s a low cost way to bypass the heavy competition
online.

5. SELF FOCUSED ADVERTISING

Advertisers often promote facts about themselves or their
products in their advertising. But facts don’t sell.
Benefits sell. For example, which of the following has more
impact?

1. “We provide complete marketing services for starting your
own business”
2. “No more time clock. Work when you want. Take long
vacations”

The first focuses on the company and describes the service
it provides. It’s boring and unattractive. The second
focuses on the benefit provided by that service. It attracts
attention and creates excitement - and generates more sales.

These 5 common advertising mistakes cause you to lose sales
How many are you making? Apply the information revealed in
this article to avoid these mistakes - and maximize the
results you get from your advertising efforts.

Bob Leduc is a Sales Consultant with 30 years experience in
building successful businesses. He just released a revised
and completely updated New Edition of his manual, “How To
Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards”, and
several other publications to help small businesses grow
and prosper. Email: BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: “Postcards”
Phone: 702-658-1707 after 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV
About the Author

Bob Leduc is a Sales Consultant with 30 years experience in
building successful businesses. He just released a revised
and completely updated New Edition of his manual, “How To
Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards”, and
several other publications to help small businesses grow
and prosper. Email: BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: “Postcards”
Phone: 702-658-1707 after 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

Written by: Bob Leduc

1. Give Testimonials
When you purchase a product or service and it exceeds your
expectations e-mail the business a testimonial. Tell them in the
testimonial the benefits you got from the product or service.
Give them permission to publish the testimonial on the web site
if they include your sig file at the end.

2. Leave A Message
When you visit a web site with a discussion board leave a
message. You could post a question, interesting content or a
compliment about their web site. Include your signature file at
the end of the message. Some discussion boards let you post
your banner ad or text link.

3. Sign Guest Books
When you visit a well designed web site leave a compliment on
their guest book. You could give them a compliment on their
content, ease of navigation, graphics etc. When you post your
compliment include your sig file so other people will see it
when they sign the guest book.

4. Write A Review
When you visit a web site you enjoyed a lot write a review
for the web site Write about the benefits you gain from the
site, the web site design, interesting online services it offers
etc. E-mail the review to the web site. Tell them they can
publish it on their web site if they include your resource box
at the end.

5. Send An E-mail To The Editor
When you read a good article or enjoy a certain e-zine, e-mail
a compliment to the editor. Give the editor permission to
publish the compliment in their e-zine if they include your
signature file at the end. The editor may post it on his or her
web site.
E. D. Zuck is the owner and operator of 10 Dollar Specials - Your Source For Quality Software & Ebooks At Discounted Prices, as well as captez.com - A Unique Source For Web Related Content, Software, and Ebooks.

Written by: E. D. Zuck