You’ve booked Arastasia Photography… now what? FAQs inside

Hello sunshine! Arastasia & Marah here! We are Cleveland based wedding photographers, and the creative gals behind Arastasia Photography. We’ve created this FAQ guide for any inquiring couples, or couples that have already booked us! Keep reading to learn all about our process and to gain some insight towards working with us!

How do payments work?

After you’ve paid your booking deposit to secure your date, all other payments will be automatically sent to you to complete if you choose to pay in payments. If not, the remaining balance will be sent to you the month of your wedding date.

How do we book our engagement session?

Typically, after booking, the next step is planning your engagement session!

• First, choose your engagement session time frame based on what season you want. For example, if you booked me in winter but you want summer photos, we would wait till it was closer to summertime to start officially planning. IF you would prefer to set a tentative date, we definitely can but we never know how the weather will pan out haha. 

In the meantime, I encourage you to brainstorm on what kind of vibe you’re going for. 

Here’s some suggestions I’ve given in the past that seem to really help! 

• Do you want your session to be like a date night? If so, think of how you guys like to spend your time together! Whether it be activities, breweries, wineries, hiking, etc. 
• Is there a certain aesthetic you have in mind? For example, romantic sunset photos, edgy city photos, woodsy photos, etc. 

[related: Engagement Photos Ideas around Cleveland, Ohio]

• Keep in mind the time of day is really going to affect the look of your photos. If you want that glowy look, we’re going to have to do it in the late evening or very early sunrise.
•  If we wanted to do a city with lots of buildings and shade, I would recommend a bit before afternoon or late afternoon. 
• Our busiest season is fall since it’s wedding season! If you’re interested in having a fall engagement session, please keep in mind we are not available weekends. Even weekdays- sunset times will fill up much quicker than other time slots. 

• Think of outfits! I recommend checking out my style guide, I have some great pointers in there. 
• Do you need to bring anything? I personally feel like props take away from photoshoots, BUT there are times where they help! If you want to bring a blanket for a picnic vibe, cute glasses for drinks or snacks please feel free to do so! 

How do we decide where to do couples portraits on the wedding day?

There’s going to be a few determining factors for where you take your portraits…

• There’s a chance your venue will have an ideal location on site that would make for beautiful photos! This allows us more flexibility in the schedule since we wouldn’t have to load into a bus and head somewhere else.

[related: The PERFECT Fairytale Wedding – Jackie and Butch]

• If that’s not the case, picking a outside location depends on how much allotted time we have. Obviously, you have to be back on time for the rest of your evening, because your wedding will not go on without you. We can’t go very far from the venue, and still have time to photograph everyone if given a short time frame.
• Finally, the aesthetic you’re aiming for again. If you’re looking for city photos, or wildflowers and greenery, or a sunset near a field, etc. Get an idea of what your vision for your wedding day looks like to help you narrow down your options… and then decide what works best for your time frame!

How do we sort out our timeline?

Things to take into consideration:

• What time your ceremony starts
• Are you having a first look or not?
• The amount of people in your bridal party
• The season you’re getting married in
• If you want sunset pictures

When I recommend a first look:

• When you have a later ceremony, that doesn’t allow for a lot of time in between ceremony and reception.

• When you have a late fall or winter wedding, as there are less hours of light in the day.

• Additionally, I also recommend a first look to couples that want extra one-on-one memories with each other. First looks really give you an opportunity to embrace a moment, without anyone else present, and share a memory that is only between you two.

I always suggest my couples leave at 2 hours of time put aside for photos. This includes your one-on-one photos, family photos, bridal party photos and any other specific pictures you want!

When do all the details have to be confirmed?

A few months before your big day, we will send out a questionnaire asking you ALL the important questions we need to know. You’ll simply fill that out and send it back over! If some of those details change before your wedding day… no worries! We always follow up about two weeks before to make sure we are still set on everything that was discussed.

I hope some of these helped! We are so excited to work with you, and make your vision come to life! Have fun planning and we can’t wait to see you on the big day! Love, the creative gals at Arastasia Photography