While going through our pile of magazines once more before they are recycled; I found this very interesting article from Fast Company magazine.  We may be in wedding industry and photography is our speciality, but we do not know all the facts and figures on weddings except for fact that June is the most popular month for weddings.

2,190,363 couples were wedded in the U.S. in 2008.

The world’s longest-married living couple, Zelmyra & Herbert Fisher of North Carolina, were, at press time, preparing to celebrate their 85th anniversary.

$707,051,028 worth of wedding cake and fondant frosting (more than 16 tons) was consumed last year in the U.S.

The average American wedding costs $28,704.

In frugal Mississippi the average drops to $18,562.

In spendthrift New Jersey that jumps to $36,113.

Behemoth David’s Bridal claims roughly 30% of the wedding-gown market, with dresses that start at $99.

Steel tycon Lakshmi Mittal spent an estimated $60 million on a five-day French wedding for his daughter, Vanisha, which included a 1,000 person engagement party at Versailles.

The discount chain Filene’s Basement has held its Running of the Brides event at dozens of stores each year since 1947.

At one store, shoppers cleared the racks of 3,000 marked-down dresses in a record 37 seconds.

In 1960, an American bride was typically 20 years old and a groom was 23. Today, they’re 27 and 29, respectively.

Six countries currently allow same-sex marriage: Belgium, Canada, Holland, Norway, South Africa, and Spain.

December is the most popular month to pop the question, accounting for one in five engagements.

\?pe-sk?-?ter-?-?n\

pescatarian or pescetarian: one whose diet includes fish but no meat

Etymology: probably from Italian pesce fish (from Latin piscis) + English vegetarian

What do pescetarians eat on Thanksgiving? Tofurkey? No, not this year, this Thanksgiving it’ll be curry fish head for us.

Have many of you wonder how Willi capture his images?  He  shoots high, he shoots low and don’t forget the Asian squat!  Don’t believe me!? Scroll down to see Willi, theStoryteller, in action during a recent pre-wedding photo shoot.

The images were captured by the future bride, groom, a friend of ours and yours truly using a smart phone, iphone, Canon G11 and Canon Powershot SD40.

A few of weekends ago; we met a little girl while shooting a Modern Lifestyle Family Portrait session.  By the end of the session Willi and the preschooler became buddies. 

Children are very observant and it’s amazing to see a child’s reaction to the new things and new events happening around them.  We told her to carry on as usual as if we were not in her home.  She was not at all shy with us nor was she shy in front of our cameras.

At the end of the session while we were putting away our cameras and equipment she quickly drew a picture of Willi.  She insisted on walking us out to the elevator.  When the elevator came she surprised us with the picture.

She drew a very handsome Willi with his camera on his hand.  She even noticed the way Willi has to wink his eye when he looks through the viewfinder.

I am very touched by the little girl and her drawing. It brings tears to my eyes each time I look at the beautiful hand-crafted Thank You note.  This is by far one of the best Thank You notes that Willi have received.

We want to take this opportunity to thank this little preschooler for making the Modern Lifestyle Family Portrait session so special for us.   We were there to capture the moments in her life, but in the end she captured our hearts.  I am sure that she made a greater impression on us than we had on her.  

Click here for expert advice from a modern lifestyle portrait photographer on getting the best photos from your family portrait session.

What is the typical age of a ring bearer? The younger the cuter! Must he be old enough to understand the importance of his role? No matter the age of the ring bearer, the rings are usually kept in the safekeeping of the best man. The trick is getting the ring bearer to walk down the aisle. More often than not; the shy younger ring bearer will stop after a few short steps and begins to look scared.

Don’t worry mommy is waiting at the end of the aisle with the arms open and candy in her hands.

Is it possible to plan a wedding in four months? Sure, why not? Listen to the story of Brooke and Michael and you’ll agree that anything is possible when there’s love and faith. Four months after their engagement they were happily married at The Castle at Skylands Manor.

Music playing in the slide show is by cellist, Chun-Hsin Chang, a former Willi Wong bride.

The Skylands Manor
90 Route 46 East
Mountain Lakes, NJ 07046
973.256.9380