It has been exciting week for GTP! We’ve been working on some fun projects for our other photography brands. While weddings will continue to be our primary focus, we are expanding our portrait photography families, seniors, and boudoir. We’re also collaborating on some fashion projects, which really goes hand in hand with weddings, as there is a fashion and beauty aspect to how we shoot parts of the wedding day. So you’ll see more news about these projects on our Facebook page and here on the blog. We are looking for models, so if you’ve been wanting to do family photos or boudoir (or even want to start working on your modeling portfolio) shoot me an email at info@gwendolyntundermann.com.

But the most exciting news this week is that Biana & Gary’s beautiful wedding at One Ocean Resort & Spa was featured on The Wedding Yentas this week! Ah! That was such a fun wedding! So many great memories, and my heart melts every time I look at their tearful first look. Thank you to The Wedding Yentas for sharing their wedding!

While archiving some of our recent shoots I came across a shoot with did with OMG! Fashion Store. We shot several models around Old Town Temecula, which is such a fun and cute area. The shoot was for the launch of their new website, and we had a blast shooting different looks with each model! We’re getting ready to collaborate with the store owner, Melissa, on another fun shoot later this month. I can’t wait! But now that OMG! has launched their new website and moved into their new store location, we’re excited to finally share more photos from the Old Town Temecula photo shoot!

Today I saw an article Fitness magazine posted on Facebook about foods that reduce bloating, and I thought it would be great to share since I know how focused brides are about looking their best when they walk down the aisle. Here is a link to the article: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/weight-loss/expert-advice/quick-answers/foods-to-stop-bloating/

After months of travel (and, consequently, terrible eating) Matt and I are about to do a mini cleanse for the rest of May. We follow the rules for the Daniel Fast, which we do at the beginning of every year. It’s a lot of work to prepare the recipes and almost impossible to stay on if you are on the road, so that’s why we’re doing it when our schedule allows. Here are the things we avoid during our cleanse:

All meat and animal products including but not limited to beef, lamb, pork, poultry, and fish.

All dairy products including but not limited to milk, cheese, cream, butter, and eggs.

All sweeteners including but not limited to sugar, raw sugar, honey, syrups, molasses, and cane juice.

All leavened bread including Ezekiel Bread (it contains yeast and honey) and baked goods.

All refined and processed food products including but not limited to artificial flavorings, food additives, chemicals, white rice, white flour, and foods that contain artificial preservatives.

All deep fried foods including but not limited to potato chips, French fries, corn chips.

All solid fats including shortening, margarine, lard and foods high in fat.

Beverages including but not limited to coffee, tea, herbal teas, carbonated beverages, energy drinks, and alcohol.

You might be thinking – so what do you eat? The simple answer is tons of fresh veggies and fruits. Fresh juices, salads made with homemade (and preferably non-oil based) dressings, vegan dinners, and raw desserts. The first time we tried it, we thought we would never make it. Now that we’ve seen how good we feel (and we’ve found things we enjoy eating) it’s a lot easier to do. The longest we’ve been able to do this at one time is 3 months and the health benefits were amazing. Matt dropped 100 points off his cholesterol and 30 pounds! Maybe some day we’ll be able to commit to this full time, but it would be a huge lifestyle change. For now we can only commit to it for set periods of time.

But the biggest thing is exercising, and I know so many of our brides are pretty hardcore about working out leading up to the wedding! It’s not necessarily about shedding weight, but about toning up for those strapless dresses. We had a personal trainer leading up to our wedding, and she kicked our butts! I learned some great things from her, like the absolutely best exercise for toning arms (in those stubborn target areas). Exercising bores me to death, so I needed someone yelling at – er, motivating – me to keep going. It was worth it, because by the time the wedding came I went down by another dress size!

If you don’t mind exercising, we have a giveaway with some effective (and fairly simple) exercises that will help you look wedding perfect! It’s the book Buff Brides by Sue Fleming. A lot of these are exercises that our trainer had me doing, so I know they work. If you’re interested in winning the book (for yourself or for another bride to be that you know) just let us know your best fitness tip! It can be a favorite recipe, exercise, or an idea (like how to not get bored with your routine). Since this is a physical prize, you have to be in the U.S. to win.

Just in time for Cinco de Mayo, we have a super fun wedding with a Mexican theme to share with you! Last weekend we traveled to fabulous Las Vegas for Kyle & John’s wedding! It was a festive and fun-filled celebration with a margarita tasting bar, Mexican food, and dancing! Though most of the evening was full of laughter and good times, there were a couple sweet moments when Kyle cried during her vows and a sweet dance with her grandmother. I think you can see what a fun time everyone had in these photos!

One of the highlights of the evening was a kissing game that Kyle & John included in the wedding festivities. At random times, a couple’s name would be called and they would have to kiss, and then Kyle & John had to kiss the same way. With margaritas freely flowing, it got pretty interesting!

I love doing day after sessions, and to understand why I think all you have to do is look at Kristine & Zachary’s wedding photos in Savannah! We had such a blast walking the cobblestone streets of downtown Savannah, filled with people showering the newlyweds with words of congratulations! We went to iconic locations like Forsyth Park and the charming River Street. At every turn there was something cool we wanted to use as a backdrop, and it was great not having to worry about what time the bus was leaving or when the cake had to be cut. The day after session is so chill, and at the end we all rewarded ourselves with a nice cold beer (I love a city where you can walk around with a beer in hand). It was truly wonderful to continue the celebration after an amazing wedding day, and I think the photos show just how much fun we had with this cute couple! : )

When I received an email from one of our brides last December asking if she could download photos from her gallery, I knew our current proofing site wasn’t the right solution for the future. I had heard of a system called PASS, but it wasn’t until I attended Justin & Mary’s “What’s Next?” tour in LA that I realized PASS was right for our business!

What exactly is PASS? It’s a cloud-based gallery that allows you to view, share, and download your photos! The dynamic gallery is stunning, and the interface is so easy to use! Here’s a brief introduction:

Gone are the days of worrying about losing or scratching up a DVD. PASS has you covered! With PASS, we can also get photos to you with lightning speed, rather than burning discs, packing them up, and sending them through snail mail. As soon as your gallery is up, the photos are at your fingertips! Share away on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest!

The PASS gallery is online for one year, with an option to renew at the end. If you choose not to renew, your photos are stored in the cloud in case you ever need to retrieve them again! Can you say that about a DVD?

We’ve been using PASS for all of our 2013 weddings and so far the feedback has been great! Aside from a few user error issues (on my end), it has been a fast an efficient way for me to deliver photos to our couples! The layout of the galleries is just beautiful, and I love that you can save galleries right to your phone. Our couples can literally take their wedding photos with them wherever they go! I save them all to my phone too, so it’s my portfolio on the go!

The best part about PASS is that I can deliver photos faster. We recently had a nightmare of an experience where a package we sent to one of our couples was lost in the mail for almost 2 months. With PASS, I don’t have to worry about photos getting lost in the mail, which is really great for our international couples and couples who live out of state. Once the gallery is up, they have their photos! I know this makes them happy, and it makes me so happy, too!

If you want to see PASS for yourself, check out this cute gallery I put together of some cute animals that Matt and I have taken photos of:

I think PASS has identified a real need in the photography industry. DVDs are becoming obsolete, as evidenced by many photographers moving to USB drives and my vendors sending me emails about new presentation cases for USBs. But USBs pose the same problem – you can lose them! I’m relieved knowing that my couples’ photos are safe in the cloud.

For those photographers who don’t deliver digital files, PASS gives you the option to turn downloads off (on paid galleries only). Yes, photographers can try out PASS for free with galleries that are available for 30 days. But when you calulate the cost of DVDs and the presentation case plus shipping (oh, AND the cost of a proofing site on top of all that) the gallery costs about the same, or in my case even less! For all the benefits it offers, I consider it one of the best investments I’ve made in our photography business!

Another plus for photographers is that you can see the reach of the photos. Our couples have friends and family all over the world!

Right now we are offering an opportunity for any of our past GTP clients to try out PASS with a free one year gallery! If you would like us to put your wedding or portrait photos on PASS, please shoot us an email at info@gwendolyntundermann.com! : )

We just returned from Kyle & John’s destination wedding in Las Vegas! We are still recovering from a fun-filled weekend, but we had to post a little teaser! Of course, the first pic HAD to be a wedding photo in front of the “Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas” sign! When we got to the sign there were tons of people, and people were waving and congratulating the newlyweds on their nuptials! More to come soon from this very festive wedding celebration! Congrats Kyle & John!

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Wedding Wednesday post! I have a ton of topics ready to chat about, so I thought I’d get back into it with a fun contest!

Matt and I LOVE wedding movies, and last night we watched our favorite one, 27 Dresses. It was on TV, but whenever we watch it we like to watch the “Bennie and the Jets” scene twice. And just saying, Matt usually holds the remote, so he’s the one who started that tradition. We just snuggle up on the couch and laugh so hard at that movie. Katherine Heigl and James Marsden are the perfect example of how opposites attract!

And speaking of Katherine Heigl, she’s in a new wedding movie coming out this week called The Big Wedding! It has a terrific cast, including Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Amanda Seyfried, Robin Williams, and the list goes on! It looks absolutely hilarious, and we want to send YOU to go see it!

So here’s the contest… all you have to do is comment below and tell us your favorite wedding movie and we’ll choose a random winner to receive $25 in Fandango bucks! And as a bonus, if you are the first one to list that movie, we’ll give you an extra chance to win, so uniqueness counts! You have until midnight tonight to enter. The winner will be announced on our Facebook page tomorrow!

Good luck! : )

UPDATE: The winner of the contest is Carolyn, who chose “Father of the Bride” as her favorite wedding movie of all time! Keep checking back on the blog and our Facebook page for more contests! : )

I love southern weddings, and Kristine & Zachary’s sweet destination wedding in Savannah makes everything so peachy! From the adorable bridesmaids dresses and groomsmen attire to the reception decor and even to the flavor of the vodka, everything was inspired by Georgia’s favorite fruit! And we are so glad, too, because this wedding is full of pretty details!

Kristine & Zachary met in Seattle and now live in North Carolina. They chose the Savannah for their destination wedding because of its charm, history, hospitality, and all the fun it offers (guests took part in a ghost tour!). They held their wedding at Whitefield Chapel at the Bethesda Academy. A long road lined with mossy oak trees led to the sweet little chapel, where the aisle was lined with mason jars and a colorful assortment of flowers. The evening continued with their reception at Vic’s on the River, a fantastic venue in downtown Savannah overlooking the river. Guests enjoyed southern dishes like fried green tomatoes and shrimp and grits, along with signature drinks of Peach Sweet Tea Vodka and Arnold Palmer’s (made with with sweet tea vodka) served in mason jars. But the best part were the favors! At the end of the night they had a biscuit bar with a variety of toppings, from peach preserves to apple butter. It doesn’t get much more southern than that!

I don’t know about you, but this wedding makes me want to be back in Savannah! It truly is one of the best cities in the south, and we had a great time capturing this beautiful wedding there! We’ll have more wedding photos from Savannah later this week when we share their day after session!! : )

We are so excited to share the wedding of a very special couple, Kenzi & Jeff. They chose to have their destination wedding at Beaches Negril Resort & Spa with their closest family and friends. The rain delayed the ceremony, but it didn’t stop them from having the wedding of their dreams. They were married in a beautiful garden setting under a white gazebo and had their reception on the beach along with a beautiful sunset.

There were many tearful moments, but my favorite part of the day was when Kenzi couldn’t help but say how in love she was with Jeff. Actually, I think her exact words were “I am so butt-ass-crazy-in-love with that man.” It was funny, but also revealed how helplessly in love she is. And it may be the best quote I’ve ever heard at a wedding!

Everyone danced the night away, including some of the Beaches staff who joined in the party! There were also some wedding crashers. Even during the ceremony everyone came out to watch from their balcony. The whole resort celebrated with them! What a wonderful way to start your new life together!

Congrats cousin! ; )