Just got back from WPPI- the Premiere International Wedding and Portrait Photographers Convention that was held in Las Vegas, Nevada. We were very fortunate to have had 7 of our prints earn an “Accolade of Excellence” Award this year! Learned so much over the week and meet so many wonderful people! I am totally inspired to start the 2009 wedding season! Can’t wait to get out there and document your wedding days. I wanted to specially thank the beautiful couples that are represented in these award winning photos. Lookin’ good! Below is a press release from WPPI:

Mike Kehr of Chadds Ford, PA, has received special honors in the WEDDING & PORTRAIT
PHOTOGRAPHERS INTERNATIONAL (WPPI) 2009 Awards of Excellence 16×20 Print Competition.
Designed to recognize outstanding photographers, the judging was held in Las Vegas, NV on February
14 and 15, 2009.
“Untitled”, “Tender Kiss” & “By the Pond” each received an Accolade of Excellence in the Bride and
Groom Together category. “Untitled” received an Accolade of Excellence in the Bride or Groom Alone
category. “A Tear and a Smile” received an Accolade of Excellence in the Wedding Photojournalism
category. “Ring Me!” received an Accolade of Excellence in the Wedding Details category. “Sunset at
Zion” received an Accolade of Excellence in the Landscape / Nature category.
Mike competed against an international field of photographers to win such honors.
The Awards of Excellence 16×20 Print Competition awards are presented each year at the largest trade
show, educational platform and convention in the United States for professional photographers. The
2009 competition included 2717 prints in 19 different categories submitted by photographers from all
over the world.

Mike Kehr     ”Untitled”

Mike Kehr     ”Untitled”

Mike Kehr     ”Untitled”

Mike Kehr   Sunset Over Zion

Jana Bannan   ”Ring Me”

Jana Bannan     ”A Tear and a Smile”

Jana Bannan    ”By the Pond”

Here are more of our beautiful couples from Summer 2008! Thanks for making working with you fantastic!

Danielle and Stefen are featured in the Real Wedding section of the Philadelphia Magazine.

Would you like to see your wedding featured on this site? Click HERE

As a special thank you to all our special couples we have created a gallery of images from all of our weddings from 2008. We will be posting these galleries in four parts, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. We appreciate so much that you selected us to be a part of your special day. We wanted to express just how much we enjoyed working with not just you, but all of your families and friends also! Photography is a true passion for us and making that passion come alive with you is an incredible feeling that only you could make happen. The moments, the joy, the tears… are all here…. enjoy!
Thank you again for a making 2008 happen!

Mike, Jana and Angeligue

Julie Harms to Richard Galbraith
The Seaview Marriott Resort, Galloway
By Gena Ansell-Lande- NJBride

Julie Harms readily admits it was her husband Richard Galbraith’s New Zealand accent that initially sparked her interest. And after a three-year courtship, the couple made their love official with an elegant wedding held September 14, 2007, at the Seaview Marriott Resort in Galloway. Julie, a project manager from Marlton, and Richard, a director of Corporate Information Technology from New Zealand, found their way to one another with the help of some mutual friends. Their courtship was an unforgettable one, which culminated with Richard proposing in front of the Eiffel Tower. “We got engaged over Thanksgiving while on vacation in Paris,” says Julie, “and had just ten months to plan the wedding.” Luckily, she enlisted the help of wedding planner Kristin Rockhill of Details of I Do in Princeton to help with the planning.

Julie had envisioned an understated yet elegant wedding. “I wanted everything to be casually elegant and very low-key,” she says. Using a palette that included soft, muted colors like peach, pale pink, and ivory, she was able to make her vision a reality. However, it was her selection of floral arrangements that made a lasting impression on the guests. Kristin incorporated a variety of antique-inspired flowers for the bouquets. “We used peach and pink avalanche roses accented with sweetpeas and wrapped in the fabric from Julie’s dress,” says Kristin. A small locket containing photographs of Julie’s grandparents adorned her bouquet. The bridesmaids carried large bouquets of clustered antique-green hydrangeas with pink tips. Julie wore an ivory Monique Lhuillier strapless lace gown, which contrasted nicely with the black strapless dresses that she chose for her bridesmaids.

In true fairytale fashion, the couple exchanged vows under a big tree with flower balls hanging from weeping branches. Julie provided some comic relief for her guests when she accidentally said, “for Richard or poorer” instead of “for richer or poorer” while reciting her vows. As guests moved on to the reception, they were met with black-and-white toile linens in a room highlighted with pink accent lighting. The centerpieces consisted of unique glass vases with white branches, hanging flower balls, and glittering jewels. The four-tiered cake was decorated with green ribbon and the same antique-green hydrangeas the bridesmaids carried. Julie’s favorite part of the wedding was getting everyone together to celebrate. “Richard’s family lives in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and our friends live all over the country so it meant a lot to have everyone travel to New Jersey for our big day,” she says.
In lieu of favors, the couple made donations to the ALS Association as well as the Cancer Society of New Zealand. After a two-week honeymoon in the Maldives, they are now at home in Marlton.
Story by: details of I do

UPDATE: 1.23.09   Lots of Philly vendors are getting involved! WOW! This is going to be an amazing event!

Know of a friend or a loved one serving in Iraq or the Middle East?

As part of giving back to the community and to the proud soldiers serving in the military, mike(mk Photography) will be donating his services to a very lucky couple. This donation will include myself and an assistant photographer, all day wedding coverage, library bound proof book, all images in a HTML gallery on a CD, website hosting and a full size wedding book! I feel very strongly that I need to give something special back to a very select group of people who are standing by and fighting for our country, so we can live free in a democracy.
All you need to do is share your story, tell me how you met your fiance. We REALLY want to hear from you! We will be reading your emails and picking the most compelling life story. Only one of you needs to be currently serving. There is a very good chance that your wedding day pics and story will be featured in one of Philadelphia’s top wedding magazines. People need to hear from you. We all take for granted what you are doing for us!

Please email me your story with pics and information to: mike@mkphoto.com We will be choosing the winner March 1st, 2009

Thanks,

mike

The Value of Wedding Photography?

It is very hard to put a value on wedding photography or completely understand just how important it is to hire a creative professional on your wedding day. That “value” becomes a harsh reality when you realize you hate your wedding day photos! Or they are just OK! And after it is too late, once of a lifetime moments were missed, you don’t like the way you look….. Where are my family shots? I hear it over and over from couples that made a wrong choice when hiring a photographer… The disappointment sets in and the term “you get what you pay for” repeats to you over and over. Why did I not make photography more of a priority and spend a little more?
Looking for a wedding photographer is now harder than ever. Just open any magazine and you will be overwhelmed with just how many choices there are. And to make the decision even harder, most ads and websites look pretty good. A photographer’s experience and reputation needs to play a huge part when making your decision. Look at other weddings he or she has documented and look for consistency from wedding to wedding from photo to photo. Consistency being a photographer’s ability to capture and document moments, wedding after wedding with excellent and consistent results. You don’t want to hire a photographer that has one good wedding to show you, look at many photos and make sure the photographer you are hiring will produce those “sample” images for you that you have seen in his/her portfolio and albums. Make sure you really look closely at the album design and that the photographs in the album tell a story and you love what you see. You should be able to imagine yourself in those photos. If you don’t, and you are not moved by them, move on and look at another photographer.

Ask how long will it take to get your finished wedding album? Get the terms in writing. Make sure you feel comfortable with the album production timeframe. We get calls all the time, “can you do our wedding album, our photographer has gone out of business, and we don’t have any photos” Referrals are also VERY important, ask around, ask your friends and gauge who was happy and who was not. Hearing a photographer’s name in a positive light over and over again is a good thing! Photographer’s who work venues several times become familiar with those properties and have the experience to work with the staff. They scout the best locations and creative angles/perspectives for those awesome photos you are looking for. Remember, EXPERIENCE, TALENT and REPUTATION…. are very important elements to think about when deciding which photographer will document you big day!

Hiring the right wedding photographer for your wedding day is one on the most important decisions you will make when planning your wedding. You can’t take away the band, the flowers, the food or the venue…but you can take away the memories from one of the most important days of your life. Those memories will be in the hands of the photographer you hire…. choose wisely and remember wedding photography needs to be a priority on your wedding day, it only happens once! ONLY ONCE!

Thanks to Jon Gangwer of Well Spun Weddings for getting our images up on one of the Hottest wedding Blogs! Style Me Pretty , A blog “For The Style Obsessed Bride” We provided Jon with these images to compliment Isa and John’s beautiful wedding day film.
Check out Isa and John’s Style Me Pretty Blog Posts Here:
Isa & John Part I
Isa & John Part II
Isa & John Part III

Here they are- Ashlee & Timothy a featured couple in “Real Weddings” in the new The Knot-Pennsylvania and Delaware Spring/ Summer issue! It is available at Borders, Barnes & Nobel and news stands now! The wedding was held in Rehoboth Beach Country Club in Rehoboth Beach Delaware on September 9th. Congratulations to an amazing couple. If you would like to read their wedding story,see more photos and find judt who were the behind the scenes “their ingredients” on this amazing summer beach wedding click on this link. The Knot Online