Whose Table Is It Anyway?

A few weeks ago I attended the Society of Wedding Planners, Whose Table Is It Anyway event at the Phoenixville Foundry. The Foundry is a beautiful space for an event - the architecture is amazing and I just love the light fixtures :). Definitely check it out if you need a venue for your next event.

At this event, some of the industry's hottest designers and florists create table designs in four different categories - Weddings under $10,000, Weddings over $10,000, Theme and Rising Star.

J. Scott Catering provided the food for the night. There was a sushi station and a delicious mini sliders (beef, portabella and crabcake), french fry and milkshake station. I may have had two milkshakes ...

Entertainment for the night was provided by Brandywine Valley Talent. Also contributing to the wonderful evening was Frank's Wine Mart, Sound Choice DJs, Shutterbooth, Blossom Productions, Wegmans Collegeville and Party Rental, LTD.

The tables were absolutely beautiful. I had a hard time deciding who to vote for - there are a lot of talented people in the Philadelphia area.

Winner in the Rising Star category was Laurie Sasko Designs.

Winner of the Theme category was Passion for Petals.

Winner of the Weddings under $10,000 category was Blue Moon Florist.

Winner of the Weddings over $10,000 category was Christofer + Janesson/Ilonka Floral Decorators.

It was a great night - SWP raised over $800 for the Gift of Life Family House.

Thanks so much to the talented Lindsay Docherty of Lindsay Docherty Photography for the images!

-Becky

Beverly and Charles

May is a busy time of year for me. Wedding season is in full swing and I am back in the groove of getting people to dance every weekend. On May 7, 2011, I had the chance to work a wedding at the Radisson-Plaza Warwick Hotel. What a great venue it is - with an intimate, yet spacious floor plan, great food, a big dance floor and it's in a great location with plenty of places for pictures nearby.


When I originally met with Beverly and Charles, I wanted them to really get to know me so they felt comfortable with me and what I do. I like to get creative with mixing and make sure that the music is perfect. Beverly and Charles were on board from the moment they left our office and they gave me a great set list to work with. I managed to work in songs like “Give Me Everything,” “Pump Up The Jam,” and “On the Floor.” The DJs at Synergetic always try to incorporate 2-3 songs at weddings that will make people go, “Wow! These guys are good!”

Charles and Beverly also added on up lighting. As you can see in the pictures it adds a little something extra to the room as well as the images. Plus, your photographer will thank you.


With a team of professionals like the one at Beverly and Charles wedding - it was bound to be a great wedding. Lindsay Docherty was the photographer, and I don’t think Lindsay ever stops smiling! And the pictures she took, yeah, they're really good.

And I know we always say how much we like working with wedding planners, but let me tell you how much easier it makes my job! We had the pleasure of working with Lisa from Proud to Plan and she allowed me to do what I do best, spin a great wedding. Please consider hiring a wedding planner or at least go meet with a few, you won't be disappointed.


If you are still looking for a DJ, make sure to call Kelly and see if I am available. I would love to come in and meet with you - and if I'm not available, the other Synergetic DJ's aren't too bad either :).

Congratulations Beverly and Charles! Thanks for including us in your special day!

Also, a big thanks to Lindsay Docherty for the beautiful images!

-Matt Bowyer

{Guest Post} Wedding Lighting from a Photographers Perspective

Lighting is kind of a big deal for photographers. Scratch that, lighting is EVERYTHING. (Hello … the prefix “photo” means light).

Not only can lighting make or break the feel of your wedding, it can do the same for your wedding photography. It’s something that can transform and personalize a venue and give you images unlike anyone else’s – even couples who were at the same place last week. Ambiance is more than turning down the chandelier.

A few important things to note … go with a company that knows what it’s doing. You want someone who will lead you in the right direction – matching tones and ideas with your venue, colors, and style. Lighting can take you anywhere from classy and subtle to more energetic and upscale lounge-y. A good company can also shift your lighting as the night progresses from ceremony to cocktail hour to your reception. It’s all about knowing the crowd and leading them into the party with the cohesion of light and sound.

From my experience, up lighting can change a room from “oh, how pretty” to gasp-inducing “oh, holy cow” like nothing else. It makes the room yours. Period.

Pin spotting is a great way to focus attention on those incredible centerpieces that you agonized over for 3 months straight or the cake that you fell in love with after your statewide hunt for the perfect confection. You can have the most expensive hand watered Tazmanian orchids in the world, but they’re not going to really impress until you highlight them properly.

Washes are another gorgeous option. It’s like infusing texture into your lighting – they give off a rich depth and drama that you can’t recreate any other way.

Another important piece of this is hiring the right photographer for the job (*cough* Lindsay Docherty Photography *cough*). A good photographer is able to capture the ambiance of any situation - from wine cave ceremony to jazzy reception. Photographers who only use room lights will blast away all of the other lighting in the room. You’ve seen this – you go to a wedding that has been given an incredible purple wash on the dancefloor or a romantic amber candlelit ceremony but the pictures don’t show any of this. All you have is crisp, stark lighting that does a great job of showcasing the venue, but has completely overpowered the subtleties of the room. Experience, creativity, and flexibility are key to handling the myriad of lighting situations on any given day.

Can you have a wonderful and happy wedding without springing for additional lighting? Of course! Will supplementary lighting push your event over the edge to extraordinary? Definitely.

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Thanks so much to our friend Lindsay Docherty for writing this post and giving us a photographers perspective on event lighting.

Lindsay shoots people. She is the owner and primary photographer at Lindsay Docherty Photography, based out of Philadelphia and available worldwide for blissful couples and incredible events.

If you're looking for a photographer for an upcoming event check out Lindsay's site. She's highly talented and incredibly sweet. You won't be sorry!