PRESS RELEASE

Rochester, NY – January 26, 2011 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, is thrilled to announce that PHOTOKISSES has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 for wedding photography!

Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation.

PhotoKisses stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud {Enter Your Business Name} for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.”

We are happy to announce that PhotoKisses is among the very best wedding photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for nominating us to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today. If you’d like to leave a review, visit this link.

For more information on the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

PRESS RELEASE

Rochester, NY – January 19, 2010 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced that PhotoKisses has been selected to receive the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for wedding photography!

The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.

PhotoKisses is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.

“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”

I am happy to announce that  PhotoKisses is among the very best wedding photographers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. I would like to thank my past newlyweds for nominating me for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™.

For more information, please visit my WeddingWire Storefront today.

Wow! What an honor and what an amazing way to start the New Year!  I have been selected as member of the month over at the [B] school, a nationally renowned learning and networking website for professional photographers from all over the world.  Check out the interview! It even has a video I made for them

The [B] School Interview with member of the month PhotoKisses

If you are a professional photographer and would like to enroll, just click the banner below:

A few months ago it came to my attention that one of our own, a (what I thought) very talented local Rochester photographer, Gary Ventura, had stopped delivering products to the brides after the wedding. I don’t want to delve into too much detail, but I’ll  just say he’s been having  “recreational medical”  issues.A few other Rochester photographers were trying to get him to release his files so they could help the brides in building their albums and what not, and that is how I first heard of Gary’s troubles.  Then this weekend, News10 NBC released the following disturbing story: Gary Ventura has left more than a dozen brides in the dust.

WHEC article on delinquent Rochester photographer Gary Ventura

Gary has the BBB rating of “F” and more than 20 clients are still waiting for albums and other products he promised over 2 years ago. The worst part is – HE IS STILL BOOKING WEDDINGS!!!! I can’t believe this. One of our own, a bad apple in the bunch. It leaves a sour taste in my mouth – his behavior is tarnishing all of our reputations.  Please, if you are a current bride looking to book a wedding photographer, do not book with Gary!!!  Or if you are a past bride of Gary Ventura, do all that you can to get files with usage rights from Gary, because that may be the only product you will ever receive.    I sincerely hope that Gary finds a way out of his troubles, because his past work has been absolutely stunning, his website is immaculate, and it’s no wonder that brides are still interested in booking him. He does not have a blog or a real-time online presence, so if you don’t know to search, it’s hard to tell that he’s been in trouble for a while now.

I am making this post as a warning, a word of caution, and some advice:

1) Always make sure you meet with your photographer in person. If you can’t, then keep in touch via calling and emailing, or arrange a video conversation via Skype or AIM.

2) Make sure that your photographer is producing strong and consistent work that is CURRENT. As in, updating their website, Facebook, blog, etc. Ask your photographer how you can see their most recent wedding (mine are posted in my online proof galleries)

3) Ask your photographer what the turn around time for products is. Whatever time they say is fine, but there needs to be an established timeline. I deliver proofs within a month of a wedding, and albums within the year. Don’t be afraid to prod the photographer every once in a while, gently remind them that you’re patiently waiting.

4) If Rochester NY is your destination location, and you’re booking photographers online, send a quick email to GRPP (Greater Rochester Professional Photographers) – membership@grpp.org  and ask if your photographer is a member in good standing.

5) If you question the photographer’s reputation, ask for references. Good photographers will have lots of happy brides, and will be glad to provide references right away. You don’t have to even check the references, just the fact that the photographer is willing to give the most recent brides’ contact to you should tell you something about their current status.

6) Finally, make sure you have a contract. The contract should have the package details outlined, and terms that are favorable to both parties, not just the photographer.

Best of luck to all the past and future brides! I hope you make the right choices and that your wedding day is spectacular!

I recently joined Wedding Wire, which is a national online service which helps brides pick and review their wedding vendors. I became awere of it soon after I got my iTouch, while searching for wedding planning applications I could recommend to my clients. I wasn’t listed on it, so I thought to myself – it’s a good app, I better get on it! A little while later my new friend and wedding planner Laura from Better Together Events sent me an email invite – and I finally signed up.

I am very happy to report that my new online presence at Wedding Wire is taking hold, and I’m already getting some AWESOME reviews! There’s nothing better than a little pat on the back – makes me feel like I must be doing something right! I couldn’t ask for better brides – thank you so much for all the good words ladies!

If you’d like to participate, you may review my services HERE. Thanks in advance!