WeddingWire recently announced it’s Bride’s Choice awards for 2010. The Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by over 500,000 newlyweds. Being a recipient of this award means that TwoFoot Creative is among the top 5% of all wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community! This is our third year in a row receiving this designation.
Jessica and Nick were married at the beautiful Lovett Hall at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI. Fairytale Productions captured their day on video, which you can see the highlights from above! Congratulations Jess & Nick!
How long has ShutterBooth been in business?
ShutterBooth was born & bred in Royal Oak, Michigan in 2007. Since then, we have successfully assisted in creating lifelong memories for over 1300 clients - just in the Southeast Michigan area. We have also been voted the “Best of Detroit” in the Rentals category for two years running now and couldn’t be more proud! Finally, we were named the 2009 Photo Booth Partner for TheKnot.com and are proud to say we have been named the 2010 Partner as well!
Why did you decide to start ShutterBooth?
I was searching for a great gift for my brother’s wedding. In my search, I found that a Hollywood celebrity, Christina Aguilera had an old fashion photo booth at her wedding. In the hopes of procuring one for my brother’s wedding I hit a road block. At this point I set out to create my own. Here we are today.
What areas of Michigan do you cover?
Between our offices in Southeast, West, and Northern Michigan we should be able to cover it all! Please call us directly if you have any questions about which office would be handling your special event.
I live in Michigan but my wedding will be held out of state - do you have operations elsewhere?
We are currently in 24 markets throughout the country. Feel free to visit our website at www.shutterbooth.com for a complete listing of the areas we currently service.
What should I expect to pay for a ShutterBooth at my wedding?
That really depends on what you’re looking for! We allow you to create your own custom package based off of your specific needs, that way you aren’t paying for something you don’t need or missing something you were wanting. For an accurate price quote, give us a call and we’ll work with you to discover your specific needs and will create a package just for you!
I have seen some lower cost options out there, why are you worth the money?
I would hope our quality, experience, hosts and reputation speak for themselves! There are other photo booth companies out there, however, we pride ourselves on being the premier photo booth company, while still maintaining an affordable price point - we are not the most expensive, but we are not the least expensive either.
We feel the number one thing that sets us a part is our experience. We know we can assure you a quality product and promise to be a positive reflection of you before, during, and after your wedding. However, all of this would mean nothing if we didn’t have the longstanding track record to back it up.
Reputation in industry, good or bad, can follow you around for a long time. We’ve been around for three years now and have over 1300 happy Michigan clients who would be glad to tell you how much they enjoyed ShutterBooth on their special day!
The next most important thing that sets us a part is our professional hosts. Our hosts are specially trained to entertain and interact with your guests. If you think about it, no one will interact more with your guests one-on-one than your ShutterBooth host will (and YOU of course) - and we recognize this!
We know our hosts are a reflection of you during your event which is why we are so selective in our hiring and our standards. Our hosts recognize the importance of giving your guests a great experience and being a reflection of you; which is why we call them hosts and not just “attendants.”
Lastly the experience we can create for you long before and after your event with, Save the Date photos, Video Booth, ShutterFlips, ShutterBooth i-App, ShutterYou, Eventis, Live from ShutterBooth and the list goes on. We provide you options so that we can work together to customize your experience. Once we know we are on your team anything we offer is at your disposal, so at any point if you want to change things around or add to the experience we can do it.
What are some of the extras with ShutterBooth that you offer to couples?
The greatest “extra” we are offering for our ShutterBooth couples is access to ShutterYou. ShutterYou is our unique, event-driven photo-sharing website which our clients get access to the day they book. In addition to their ShutterBooth photos being hosted on the website, clients and their guests can add their own photos from before, during, and after the event. Learn more on our website.
An extra we also offer couples is exceeded expectations on quality and service. We truly go above and beyond to make sure our couples are treated like royalty on, leading up
Did you have a photo booth or similar “fun” element at your wedding?
Unfortunately, we began our ShutterBooth adventure after our wedding. However, we did decide to have fireworks which were a huge hit that hadn’t been seen before and served as a special moment for Nolan and me.
Are there any new and exciting things to come in 2010?
We absolutely have new and exciting elements in the works for 2010. The first new addition to our ShutterFamily is ShutterYou, which I talked about above.
Next, we are excited about our launch of VideoBooth which allows guests to record a short video clip in the photo booth with their message to you. We compile all the videos into a priceless memory from your special day.
Of course, there is more in the works which will be revealed in due time - but for the updates on the latest and greatest, feel free to follow us on Twitter or become a fan of us on Facebook!
What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
I’m a phenomenal singer, but I only break it out for Christmas carols!
I recently booked my first wedding to be held at Sharon Mills in Manchester, MI. The bride sent me a link to photographer Amy Carroll’s blog, who did a wedding there that just looks like so much fun!
All the catering at Sharon Mills is provided by Food Art, who I worked with a few years ago at Vici and Guy’s wedding in Ann Arbor. The food was amazing then, so I am sure it will be wonderful in September for this upcoming wedding!
I just love the look of menus written out on chalkboards - and they work so wonderfully with tented, outdoor receptions!
Lawn games during cocktail hour! Why not? They make for great photo ops, entertainment for guests, and you get to take advantage of a beautiful day to be outside (as long as the Michigan weather cooperates, right?).
Details, details… Food Art creates some amazing fruit-infused beverages and appetizer displays - presentation means a lot to them which is great for any foodies out there!
If your guest list includes those who might think 3-inch heels are a good idea on grass - a flip flop bin is a great way to rescue their day! Old Navy has sales on these after the summer season for about $1 a pair - and they are always huge hits!
Photo booth props also make for great pictures, and a lot of fun! This is a great alternative to favors as well - guests get to take home a strip of 4, personalized with your wedding date, names, monogram etc.!
Many brides wonder what to get their parents to thank them for all their help leading up their wedding day. Choices for parent gifts are often wedding albums (photographers can make a smaller version of your album), engraved frames, a weekend trip away…
Erinn’s mom Helene wanted something to remember her daughter’s wedding flowers by - and chose to have a painting from CurlyArt done for herself (above) as well as for Erinn (top). Included in the paintings is lace from Helene’s wedding dress - a wonderful touch to personalize the painting just a bit more!
Flowers used in the paintings include delphinium, roses, hydrangea, lilies, gerbera daisies and lisianthus.
Molly and David were married back in May of last year, and somehow I missed their video preview on Castle Video Productions’ website! Congrats you two!
Katie and Jared were married on January 27th, 2008 and celebrated their reception at the Inn at St. John’s in Plymouth. It was a beautiful wedding with so much emotion, and they were a wonderful couple to work with. Congratulations on 2 years of marriage Katie and Jared - we wish you many, many more!
RECEPTION|The Inn at St. John’s|PHOTOGRAPHY|Dionne of The Shooting Gallery|HAIR & MAKEUP|Kari of Posh Brides|EVENT PLANNER|Ana of TwoFoot Creative|MUSIC|Kevin of Rent-A-DJ|INVITATIONS|Tifany of Gourmet Invitations
1. How long has Mike Greer Photography been around, and where are you located? We have been in business since 1998 and are located in Farmington Hills.
2. How did the company get started? I actually got started experimenting with digital imaging in 1987. In the mid 90s when the internet started to take off, I was recognized in the world wide internet community as a digital imaging expert. I started teaching imaging and photography a few years later, then went into commercial work from there.
3. What is the most important question that couples you meet with forget to ask - and how would you answer it? “Why are wedding photography prices all over the map?”
Answer: In a nut shell, experience and creativity. With modern day digital cameras, almost anybody can produce a technically good photograph under the right circumstances. It’s the “under the right circumstances” that is the key. With weddings, unless shooting outside under good daylight conditions all day, rarely are the circumstances right for good results for a photographer with little to no experience. On the wedding day, the photographer is constantly challenged with varying lighting conditions. So he/she has to be constantly be making adjustments as the day progress. It requires experience and attention for consistently great results. In addition, creativity must be applied while this is happening. Mastering these disciplines takes lots and lots of experience. With an experienced wedding photographer, the couple is making sure that their images will not disappoint. But photographers with this level of experience are usually running full time businesses. Therefore, the compensation must be such that the business can be viable.
4. Do you work alone at weddings, or do you bring a second shooter? My wife and I work as a team.
5. How far in advance do you typically book a wedding? Typically 2 to 18 months out.
6. What other types of photography do you offer that might be of interest? We also photograph high school seniors and infant babies (up to 1 year old).
7. What are some of your favorite locations to shoot? We like downtown areas. Downtown Detroit, downtown Plymouth, and downtown Birmingham are three of my favorite spots.
8. What makes a location less desirable for a photographer? For this photographer, I don’t get very excited by parks and flowers. Why? Because everybody likes parks and flowers! On the wedding day, I LOVE the contrast between the formal bridal wear and the bricks and mortar of a downtown area.
9. What makes Mike Greer Photography different from other companies out there? Part of it is answered in the previous question. But also, I have an eye for the unusual. Places that others would ignore, I take our clients and produce great and unique imagery. We also know that a couple’s wedding day is their wedding day. It’s not a day for us to get them to do what we want. We go with the flow, are totally laid back, yet still are able to produce images that our clients love with that approach.
10. What is something that people would be surprised to know about you? They are surprised that we are older than we look. I like to think we have a youthful approach to photography that keeps our work imaginative and creative, but the wisdom and responsibility that comes with age such that our clients know they can trust us.
I am absolutely in love with Susana’s painting from CurlyArt! As you might be able to guess from the above picture, her bouquet did not actually consist of flowers. However, she wanted something for her parents to remember the wedding by, and asked Betty from CurlyArt if she would be willing to paint her bouquet as a way to preserve it as a gift for them! The detail at the bottom of the painting was taken from a photo of Susanna’s veil.
TwoFoot Creative served as the Day of Coordinator for Susana and Josh’s wedding at the Ann Arbor City Club. For more pictures of their wedding, visit here!
Corey and Danny had their gorgeous engagement pictures taken by Wendy Martin Photography - who will also be shooting their June wedding at Villa Penna!
The first part of the session took place at Cranbrook.
Then they headed off to downtown Royal Oak where Corey and Danny first met!
Planning their wedding has been so much fun - we are looking forward to June!
Make sure to visit Wendy Martin’s blog for more pictures, she is wonderful!
