MARILYN RAY PHOTOGRAPHY LLC
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TRAIL LESS TRAVELED
​Wedding Blog 

Tis the Season

11/29/2021

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COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS AS WE WRAP UP THIS YEAR! 

We carved the turkey, Now all that is left to do is wrap the gifts, decorate the tree, bake the cookies, for santa, and buy the champagne and flutes! Here comes the new year!

​As we are wrapping up our year, we are looking back on our success this year! During the pandemic we slowed down a ton. People just weren't getting married, or having gatherings. It hurt so many of us, including the client. We stopped last year and thanked our blessings as we still had 10 weddings and over 150 regular sessions. This year will be no different for us. We still have one more wedding under our belt to tackle and 2 more Christmas mini days but our days are coming to an end quick but our numbers for this year are no short of a blessing! With 14 weddings and over 200 regular sessions, 2021 brought us great success in traveling more, meeting new faces, falling in love with new places and booking weddings in other states for next year as well. We can't thank ya'll enough for this. We are so incredibly excited as we have taken a turn in our location as well as our photography path and are praying for the best possible outcome. We hope each and everyone of you find true happiness and success as we head into 2022. We are looking forward to meeting new people, seeing new locations, hanging with our new brides, and falling in love with the job at hand all over again! We will end this blog with a few photo's of our upcoming bride and of course a chant from GLORY GLORY "GO DAWGS!" 

DANI AND MATT  ceremony date 12.12.21

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November 10th, 2021

11/10/2021

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WE LOVE MAKING FRIENDS WITH OTHER BUSINESS OWNERS AND MAKING A VISION COME TO LIFE

In November we collaborated with a business owner who has a vision that seriously calls to me! She is the owner of "Campfires and Tailgates" and owns a GLAMPING tent, a camper, and offers other services that involve the love of the outdoors! If you haven't checked out her business, you should! It is the perfect theme for birthdays, anniversaries, engagements, etc. (if you have a surprise engagement idea, let us know.. we can help!) Angela and I came together and knew immediately that our crafts, love of the outdoors, and visions, could be used together to make magic and catch some very unique and fun pictures! So ... we did! 

Meet Angela! The owner of "Campfires and Tailgates"

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Angela started this business about a year ago and it has really taken off! People love the tent and other services she has to offer. She is a genius when it comes to this type of business. If you have a vision or a request... Angela can bring it to life!

And then there is ME! The owner of Marilyn Ray Photography

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I first heard of the Campfires and Tailgates when I was looking for a tent themed birthday party for my daughter. I wanted a "glamping" party for her and her friends but I wanted it in my yard... with a click of my keyboard, I found Angela and her business. I was so impressed with her cute set up. It was huge hit with the kids and the adults alike. With my love of the outdoors and all that includes, I couldn't get my brain to shut off about the tent and how I could incorporate it with pictures. So I reached out and we set up a session day! We had so much fun with these sessions and lets not mention how awesome the tent looked as a backdrop! ​

It is so important to me as a photographer to deliver pictures to a family that are unique, fun and show who they are. I do not think posed pictures in front of a wall is offering everything you are as a family or couple. Your personalities should show in your photos. That is why I feel that offering these type of sessions is so important. Having options for you and your family to show off who you are or what you love doing. Pictures that would be hung on your wall for display and not just put on social media. My suggestion for you if you are looking to have pictures taken is to see if anyone in your local area is offering special themed sessions. If so, see if the theme fits your style, if so, go for it! Those pictures will probably end up being your favorite ones yet. All because they were unique, fun, and fit your personality! 

Angela and the tent were perfect! She set it up so pretty and the pictures, I believe, show how much everyone loved it! If you want to rent to the tent for ANYTHING.... let us know! We can help! 

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Let us know if we can help you with any kind of outdoor session! Our love for adventure and the outdoors shines in our business ventures! 
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Finding Vendors!

10/18/2021

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If you are planning a wedding, you are probably needing and looking for different vendors 

And if you are planning an elopement or small intimate wedding not local to you, you are probably needing help on which vendors to pick.  I am sure you have researched a ton and things can get a little overwhelming with all the options you have to choose from. I always tell my clients (of course, after I give them a list of vendors I recommend) to really listen to their gut. Vendors are people who love the industry and love what they do. Their passion and love will shine through in their work and most will have reviews that say just that. (although all vendors can not please everyone but that is a blog for a different day) If a vendor catches your eye.. rather it be through their website, pictures on social media, a billboard, etc, then that is usually who you need to look more into and research. I tell my clients, "try not to give yourself more than 3 options per vendor." 
It gets to be so overwhelming the more options you have. If you came across three vendors that have really captured your attention, then stop there and try to pick one from those three. 

NOT NEEDING A LOT OF VENDORS

The beauty of having a small intimate wedding or elopement is that the vendor list is extremely small, so less decisions have to be made. The dress, the caterer, the venue, etc., are all vendors you don't HAVE to use when having a small intimate wedding or elopement. We rented an AIRBNB with a  beautiful lake view and a dock and used it as our venue. We spent $300 for the location and were able to stay there the whole weekend. My husband already had a suit that fit the occasion and worked really well with our colors and I bought my beautiful dress online at a boutique. It was gorgeous and I got so many compliments on it! I spent $60.00 ... yes you read that correctly! 
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VENDOR MUST HAVES

In my experience as a wedding photographer and from having my own small intimate wedding, the vendors that are a must have for a small wedding are the photographer, the florist, minister (depending on location), and a baker. I used a local baker who makes amazing beautiful cakes. She didn't specialize in wedding cakes but when I asked her to bake me a simple wedding cake, she delivered whole heartedly and it was absolutely delicious! I just bought the topper to go on it to make the final touches. Of course having a cake is optional for you (especially if you are having an adventure elopement and don't think you need a cake at all) I just liked the thought of having something traditional to have to celebrate. 
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ALLOW ME TO HELP BOOK YOUR VENDORS

The other good news about having a small intimate wedding or elopement is that, when you book me, you have the option of letting me help you with your vendors. I have access to everything you need and have a list of vendors that I use regularly and have relationships with. So if planning a small intimate wedding or elopement gets to be to much, you can just hand over the reigns and allow me to take it on (with your approval of course). We just sit down or talk on the phone and go over all the details you are looking for and then I become your planner, friend, and photographer. 

HAVING A HARD TIME CHOOSING STILL

Listen to your gut as your heart knows who it wants to work with. I have booked clients just because of the name of my business. It attracted them, and once they started communicating with me and found out why I named it that, they fell in love even more and booked me. I turned out to be the perfect fit for them all because I caught their attention and their instincts really wanted to reach out. So listen to yourself when it comes to picking vendors. Your gut usually doesn't lie. ​​

HAVING A SMALL INTIMATE WEDDING LOCAL TO COLUMBUS AND NEED VENDORS?
​I HAVE LIST THAT CAN HELP YOU. 
(send me a message and I will be glad to help)

PHOTOGRAPHER: MARILYN RAY PHOTOGRAPHY
FLORIST: DENHAMS FLORIST
BAKER: HOMIES BAKERY
VENUE: OLD TOWN CHAPEL, SEVERAL AIRBNBS, CALLAWAY GARDENS, GAZEBOS, OVERLOOKS, WATERFALLS, ETC.
D.J.: DAN BLANKOWSKI
LET US HELP
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  • Home
  • MEET MARILYN RAY
    • Meet Marilyn Ray (owner)
    • Meet Leslie Thornton (assistant)
  • WEDDINGS
    • Small Wedding Information
    • Small Wedding Investment
  • ELOPEMENTS
    • Adventure Elopement Information
    • Adventure Elopement Investment
  • TRAIL LESS TRAVELED
    • Trail Less Traveled (wedding blog)
  • SHOP
    • Featured Sessions