ISES Spends An Evening With Award-Winning Designer
The Evolution of Wedding Photography
Officers & Board of Directors
ISES Spends An Evening With Award-Winning Designer
By Christa Hovis and Kristi Martin, ISES Charlotte
On April 27, the ISES Greater Triangle Chapter hosted an evening with event designer Sasha Souza in the new Cobblestone Hall in downtown Raleigh. The evening was complete with great food, a unique venue, wonderful floral arrangements, beautiful orange linens, and a great speaker. Souza is one of the premiere event designers and a top innovator in the wedding industry. She’s one of only a handful of wedding designers who have been named a Master Bridal Consultant, the highest designation given by the Association of Bridal Consultants. Souza is the recipient of numerous awards including the Special Events Magazine Gala Award winner for Best Dining Tabletop Design, Event Solutions Magazine Designer of the Year, and three ISES Westie Awards. She’s also been featured in numerous publications.
Souza’s presentation focused on emerging trends and how she stays up to date on the latest color and event design trends to wow her guests and take their events to the next level. She walked us through what’s hot while providing us with an approachable event design methodology to help make each of our events more successful. After hearing her speak, it solidified our long-time belief that brides buy “people.” They are not always going to select a vendor only on their product. They’re emotionally connected to their wedding day and they want to make sure they’re surrounding themselves with individuals who have great opinions and attitudes, good experience, creative ideas, and, most importantly, are going to listen to them and care about personalizing their event to reflect their styles.
Out of all of the overall trends for weddings, there seems to be one underlying message: emotion. Weddings need to feel good, not just look good or taste good. Many brides and grooms are incorporating memories of the past to include their childhoods and families. They want approachable design and elements to their event that are not over the top and wasteful, but that look great and are tasteful and comfortable. Souza reminded all of us as event professionals to focus on personalizing the events we do particularly for weddings. “Really challenge and encourage your brides and grooms to infuse as much of their favorites and memories as possible. Doing this keeps their event from being just another wedding and more memorable for their guests.”
All of the case studies she took us through during the evening were from her new book, Signature Sasha: Magnificent Weddings by Design. Although there were many clever ideas shared, one we both liked is how she has begun offering butler passed desserts at her events.
As we have moved into the digital age, many professions have been changed forever. One area that has been transformed in the last 20 years is professional photography.
Since the arrival of digital cameras in the early 1990s, the way photographers have taken, produced and distributed photos for their clients has evolved from an extremely tedious and time-consuming process to something that can be done quickly and easily. Gone are the days of showing clients 4” x 6’ proofs after their event.
Of course, as helpful as technology has been to the world of photography, any professional knows that skill and artistry remain more important than the technology.
To discuss the evolution of wedding photography, ISES met with Casey and Drea Cunningham at their Cunningham Photo Artists Studio for their May meeting. As pointed out at our April meeting, the events/wedding industry is under attack by non-professionals. Casey enforced this declaration by observing, “Never has the wedding industry been more accessible.”
The increased availability of quality digital cameras has made every Joe Schmo with a DSLR believe they are a pro. The Cunninghams advised that, in a world full of imposters driving down the cost of quality photography, “Raise your bar, but don’t devalue yourself.”
True professionals understand the camera is only a part of the equation. The photographer must have vision to capture each client’s moment. With digital photography, no longer are photographers looking for good pictures -- they have to be perfect. Discussing future trends, Casey noted that more clients are requesting video recording.
So what should event planners look for in a photographer? Drea had one word: “Authenticity.”
Thanks to the following companies for their participation in ISES’s “Evolution of Wedding Photography”
Party Reflections
The Wow Factor
Cake Design
Crawford & Company Florist
Passion 8 Bistro
Charlotte Chapter of International Special Events Society
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On April 27, the ISES Greater Triangle Chapter hosted an evening with event designer Sasha Souza in the new Cobblestone Hall in downtown Raleigh. The evening was complete with great food, a unique venue, wonderful floral arrangements, beautiful orange linens, and a great speaker. Souza is one of the premiere event designers and a top innovator in the wedding industry. She’s one of only a handful of wedding designers who have been named a Master Bridal Consultant, the highest designation given by the Association of Bridal Consultants. Souza is the recipient of numerous awards including the Special Events Magazine Gala Award winner for Best Dining Tabletop Design, Event Solutions Magazine Designer of the Year, and three ISES Westie Awards. She’s also been featured in numerous publications.