Hurry and send your photos in!

Hurry and send in your photos for this contest! We've gotten a lot of great pictures and we'd love to see yours, too! There's no catch to this game either! Just send in your photo taken with your camera phone and send it on in to hello@cantinalight.com.

Have a great weekend!

Cheers,
Samantha

Game on!!

It's the Pink Game!!

We know that planning your wedding can be stressful so why don't you take a few moments for a little fun!

Want to win a $25 gift certificate to Nordstrom, a pair of movie tickets or some other cool prizes for practically just doing nothing?! Follow these steps!!

1) Get your fiance/fiancee
2) Get your cell phone w/camera
3) Point it at the two of you
4) Snap a picture of the two of you but MAKE SURE SOMETHING PINK IS BEHIND YOU!
5) Send your picture from your cell phone to hello@cantinalight.com
6) And wait to see if you've won a prize!

Our panel of judges will determine a winner by the end of the week. Be sure to include your name, email address, and of course your photo so we can contact you if you won! The more creative, the better!

Good luck to all!

Cheers,
Samantha

My Friend Tim Bishop...

...is a an amazing artist who specializes in using most if not all of Adobes creative utilities to make the very best illustrations he can for his clients to use in helping their company market, advertise, and brand their products and services.

Check out his work Tim Bishop

Top Wedding Hairstyles

Is your wedding day just around the corner and you STILL don't know how to style your hair?? Here are a few styles that you may be wearing on YOUR wedding day!

For the other hairstyles, view the source.

Happy planning!

Cheers,
Samantha

Source

The honeymoon for sports lovers!

Of course when it comes to honeymoon destinations, Hawaii is usually at the top of list. Who can blame them though, Hawaii is a beautiful place! However, if you want to do more of a non-traditional honeymoon, I have an idea that was relayed to me from one of my fellow sports fans. Try this on for size:

One of my fellow Angels fans (go Angels!) was telling me that whenever she gets married, she wants to honeymoon with her new hubby at all 30 of the Major League Baseball cities and attend a game. Imagine that budget! That sounds more like something you should do on your first year of marriage, right? But hey, it's an idea that actually sounds really fun!

I told her to be a little bit more realistic and maybe just go to a few cities rather than 30 because that will definitely put a hole in her and her future hubby's wallets! Still she was very adamant about visiting all 30 cities! Now THAT'S a true fan!

Wherever you choose to go for your honeymoon, make sure it's somewhere BOTH of you will enjoy. Hawaii is a popular spot but some people may not like the beach. Consider the options and have fun!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Cheers,
Samantha

THe Eagles Nest

We constantly meet new people and discover new locations on a regular basis and thought we'd write about The Eagle's Nest Club House in Cypress, CA. The Eagle's Nest is the restaurant/facility at The Navy Golf Course. The structure is beautiful and the amenities are everything you would ever want. They are putting the finishing touches on the area used for ceremonies and when done it will add an extra element to the already charming venue. The meals are very good as I have been fortunate to have experience after several rounds of golf at their Destroyer Course. By the way, an interesting facet to the golf course itself is that it holds the honor of being a course that Tiger Woods played quite often having grown up nearby. A dubious task for every golfer is to try and hit their tee shot to the "Tiger Tree" on the 18th hole (you'd need well over 300 yards to accomplish that task). Coming back to the Eagle's Nest....I would have to also mention that Pam and Gina are very pleasant to speak with and will assist in any way they can to help you make your event a wonderful experience. The Eagle's Nest is a venue that will certainly be catching the interest of many in the upcoming months if not already.

Just engaged? Congratulations!

Are you a couple who just recently got engaged? Congratulations! Here are a few simple tips in making the wedding planning successful:

1) ORGANIZE! Chances are you will be meeting with a plethora of wedding vendors whether it be florists, banquet facilities, photographers, or what have you. It's smart to shop around but make sure you can keep track of which company offers what! Keep a folder that will allow you to jump to each category quickly. I advise something like a 3-ring binder or one of those accordion files.

2) Write everything down! BECAUSE you will be meeting with a bunch of wedding vendors, you're going to want to write everything down. Write down the tips, quotes, referrals, or anything else you may think is important in making your wedding planning a lot easier.

3) Plan ahead! Your wedding may not be until March 2009 but it's never too early to start the planning! Your bridesmaid dresses may not be available until November, invitations could be lost in the mail, or one of the groomsmen calls you and tells you he can't make it because he missed his flight (or whatever!). Plan ahead!

4) Shop around! Don't just book with the first vendor you meet with. They may say that their price and product is the best out there but you can't be sure unless you shop around. Lucky for Cantina Light Pictures, we ENCOURAGE our clients to meet with us so we can provide the evidence they need to make the smart decision (subliminal message: go with Cantina Light Pictures! haha)

5) Have fun! This is the advice that I'll probably give you all the time! When you get stressed, try and just relax. I know, easier said than done, right? But please, have fun!!

Once again, congratulations to those who just recently got engaged! Have a great time planning your wedding!

Cheers,
Samantha

In Between Weddings

Took a break from wedding and commercial photography to shoot the CIF prep boys basketball championships this past weekend at the Honda Center. Being on the floor and underneath the basket was very cool as we came up with some very nice pictures while almost getting stepped on by some pretty big kids (I think these kids are much much bigger now than I was when I was their age). The state championships are in Sac at Arco Arena. Above is an image of Jrue Hoilday, top prep standout who recently committed to UCLA.

Shooting sports is a welcome change. Interestingly enough the same principles apply to shooting sports as it does to shooting weddings. Waiting for peak action is almost the same as waiting for that one special moment.

Have a wonderful weekend! Don't forget spring ahead....daylight savings!!!!

Your wedding party

When it comes to choosing who will have the honor of standing beside the bride and groom during the wedding, the traditional maid of honor, best man, bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girl, and ring bearer come to mind. Nowadays you'll see wedding parties with about 10 bridesmaids, 10 groomsmen, 5 junior bridesmaids, 5 junior groomsmen, 5 flower girls, 5 ring bearers (yes, I said 5!) and so on. And while the photos for this massive wedding party will look phenomenal, it also can delay a lot of things.

First of all, it's really hard to get all 40 people to smile at the camera at the same time! Now maybe my example was a bit stretched but hopefully you get where I'm coming from. A big concern, too, is the small children. They look adorable walking down the aisle but it's hard to get them to stand still during the ceremony and for photos. If you're going to bring in small children, make sure they can stand in front of the ceremony location (whether it be a church, beach side, or what have you) without distracting from the ceremony itself.

What I would recommend is to keep your wedding party relatively small: less than 5 bridesmaids/groomsmen, 1 flower girl, 1 ring bearer, 1 maid of honor, and 1 best man. Keep it simple. I promise you your wedding will be just as fantastic as it would be with 40 people in your wedding party!

Cheers,
Samantha

Time to choose tuxedos for your wedding?

I don't know about the rest of you women out there but I personally love a man in a good suit--or tux! To help out your sweetie pick out the perfect tux for him and his groomsmen, why don't you follow a few of these tips:

1) Like I recommended for the bride and her bridesmaids, make a day out of choosing and getting fitted for tuxedos! Men may not be as into this as women would be but it would never hurt to try and put something together, right? That way, if everyone goes to the tux shop on the same day, the bride and groom will have less to worry about!
2) Don't be afraid of color! If the color theme of the wedding is lavender, pink, or some other color the men may not want to wear, try to convince them to do so! The pictures will look FAB and it's not like they'll be walking around 3rd Street Promenade with them on! So men, don't be afraid of the color! And here's a tip: women swoon at men in tuxedos! ;)
3) Go with a vest. To me, cummerbunds seem a little dated (but that's just my opinion!) so if you had to choose, I say go with the vest.
4) Don't forget the cuff links! A good tux is incomplete with cuff links! Groom, you may even want to buy this for your groomsmen. Just a thought!
5) And just like I suggested for the bride and bridesmaids, PLAN AHEAD! This should be self-explanatory. :]

And of course, have fun! Trust me guys, you WILL look good on the day that your buddies get married. Follow these tips and you're golden!

Cheers,
Samantha

Time to choose your bridesmaid dresses?

Can you believe it's already March!? Where is the time going!? Well for us in the wedding industry, now is the time when it starts to get busy because weddings seem to take place in April, May, June, and so on. But we love being busy!

Is it time to choose your bridesmaid dresses? Here are some tips and random trivia all about bridesmaid dresses!

1) What we've been seeing a lot more lately is bridal parties wearing a two-piece dress. This is especially popular in the spring and summer weddings because it has the "springy/summery" look. So hey, when choosing what style to have your bridesmaids wear, consider the two-piece look!
2) Two-toned dresses are also very popular. One particular wedding that sticks out is this wedding from last year. The bridesmaids wore black dresses with hot pink trims here and there. Don't knock it, it was actually a really cute color theme! One of my friends getting married this summer has the baby blue and brown color theme so that's also something to consider.
3) It's okay for your bridesmaid to wear different styles of dresses but still keep the same color. I've seen this a few times and this actually works! The bridal party would all wear, say for example lavender, yet instead of wearing the same dress, everyone wore a different style. Like I said, it works.
4) I know that the wedding day is all about the bride (sorry, guys!--I joke. hehe) but ladies, when choosing a color, consider what your future hubby wants! He may not want the red, blue, green, purple, or whatever color you want. And men, be nice and let her choose what she wants. ;)
5) MOST IMPORTANTLY, PLAN AHEAD! Don't wait until the month before your wedding to get this done. Some stores may not have enough dresses to accommodate your bridal party so give them enough time to have it shipped and all that good stuff. Also, make sure that the bridesmaids get their dresses altered as necessary. You don't want anyone tripping down the aisle and stealing your thunder!

I lied. This is the most important part: HAVE FUN! You only get married once (maybe?? hehe) so have fun with this! Make a day out of it. Invite your entire bridal party to the dress store (after setting your appointment, of course) and have fun! (Am I being repetitive? haha) Wedding planning is as important as your big day so make fond memories with whatever you do whether it be shopping for a florist or choosing bridesmaid dresses. Make the memories last forever!

Cheers,
Samantha