michaelwachniak

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum! I used to work as a photographer on the Coral Princess and the Crown Princess!! I have been to 2 of the 5 places you mentioned and have shot a few weddings as a Cruise Ship Photographer! I even know the layout of grand class ships like the Carribbean Princess (Crown Princess is very close to the same!)! If you have any questions at all please let me know! I am more than happy to help you out, and I am SO jealous of anyone going on cruises, as not only I worked on them but my girlfriend did too (Hairstylist in the spa)! In fact thats how we met! PM me if you have any questions or leave it in the thread, it could be useful to others!

Congrats and welcome to the forum!

That was AWESOME!!!!! That TOTALLY made my day! I drove 6 hours through a blizzard yesterday into the mountains to 2nd shoot a wicked wedding, and then just got home now, and to sit down and read that!? AMAZING! Quick reminder guys and gals, tomorrow is the last day to enter!! I am closing the deadline at midnight PST tomorrow night (Dec 23rd 2008 )!! Tell as many people as you can, even if you are already married but still frequent the forums, I am sure there are TONS of people you know that will not want to miss out on this contest!! Happy Holidays!! Michael

Amy that was awesome that your fiance contributed lol! nibsmom, i wouldn't worry TOO much, there are TONS of great photographers here, you will find the perfect one for you! Us photogs are good people

Quote: Originally Posted by Roxyk05 This is an amazing contest! What a great way to get real answers and opinions from the heart about the one and only reason we are all here in the first place!! LOVE!! Perfectly put!!! So true!!! Thank you for your wonderful entry!! Good Luck!

Tybee Island, GA? I just googled it and would totally have a blast shooting there!! What kind of weather does Georgia have in May? Is it REALLY hot, or just nice or what? I would LOVE to have another contest like this next year! We'll have to see how this one works out, but so far I'm game for an 'Encore Contest'!

lol Yari, you rock! Erika and Shannon, those were amazing Real Love answers!! So many good entries to choose from, this should be an interesting week!!

Hello Tracy! Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum!

Congratulations! Welcome to the forum!

Happy Planning Tricia!

Welcome Bob! Congratulations!

Absolutely! We would just have to double check flights for the way back home and make sure we are home at a reasonable hour on Friday! PM'd you as well. Good Luck Rachel!

Aw thanks everyone! *blush* I thought I'd comment on a question that I was just PM'd, maybe it will help out a bit with some of you: In the event that your wedding is a few days before a wedding I am already booked, I would still recommend entering the contest anyways. As long as I am guaranteed to get back early enough the day before the next wedding then we have more than enough time. Of course I will take into consideration each and every entry, however in cases where your wedding is overseas (ie Europe etc) and I have a wedding two days later back home, we unfortunately won't be able to accommodate the entry. I hope this helps a bit! now, off to go play in the snow! Happy Sunday everyone! Michael

Welcome to the forum!

Ok for some reason I can't figure out how to edit my original post to add my 2009 availability, so if anyone knows please PM me and I can fix it tomorrow. For now I will have to post it here: Current Dates I am NOT available in 2009: Feb 14th-20th (In Vegas for business, but I am free so far before and after these dates, so this could help some of you!) May 16th June 20th June 28th-July 9th (I will be in Germany and Italy shooting a wedding ... but since I will be in Europe at this time, this could help some of you!) July 4th July 11th July 12th July 18th August 15th August 29th And local inquiries at the moment mean I am also potentially booked July 25th and Oct 10th. Hope this helps!

Hey Amy!! I am indeed available April 26, 2009! So feel free to enter! You also brought up a good point, I am going to edit my original post to include my availability (so everyone doesnt have to hunt for it!). Good Luck!

Thanks everyone! The best part about having my girlfriend there all day is that she can do hair touchups for the photos! Its going to be so awesome, I can't wait! {

Hello everyone! Tis' the Season for giving, so I am extremely happy to announce my 2009 Destination Wedding Contest! I have been SO STOKED for this moment to come and I am extremely excited to share this with all of you!! If you are having a 2009 Destination Wedding and are still in need of a Photographer, listen up! All you have to do to enter is post your wedding date and location in this thread, and finish this sentence as truthfully as you can: "To me, Real Love is..." . It can be as long or as short as you want, but it MUST be posted here for everyone to see. In the next little while I am reconstructing my presence, both in Business and being physically here on this beautiful planet, and one of the things I am strongly focusing on is the awareness of Real Love. The best way to explain is by asking if you have seen the movie "Love Actually"? The message is essentially that Love is All Around, and the more we strip away the hussle and bussle that has become greatly known as LIFE, the better this world will be. If all of the 'contestants' post what Real Love means to them, then for the next few weeks that this thread floats around, maybe we can all have a place to come and be reminded (if necessary) that Love really is All Around. Ok, well, all of you came to see what the contest includes! Here we go! The winning couple will receive: - unlimited coveraged on all wedding events (welcome party, rehearsal, wedding day) - edited photos on DVD with printing permissions - online gallery for 6 months (for viewing and family ordering) - online slideshow (with option to buy on dvd) - choice of either TTD, Day after session, or engagement session (with photos on CD) - edited photos, and slideshow guaranteed to be online within 2 weeks, and CD to be sent after 3-4 weeks. - Photography by myself (and my girlfriend, the 'photographer-in-training')...let me explain in addition to the photography (and the real COOL part that should set this contest away from others) is: the winning bride will also receive free hairstylist services for her AND her bridesmaids (if time permitting) on the wedding day from my girlfriend. She is a master hairstylist from germany with 16 years experience and has done TONS of weddings, but has only recently started with photography. She is amazing at that too, so I thought the best way to get her more experience in photography is to include her directly in this contest. She obviously wont be able to shoot during the time of styling hair, but the bride will have option to decide if she wants 2 photographers at that time or 1 photographer and 1 hairstylist after the hair is done, my fiance will take off the hairstylist hat and put on the photographer hat I of course will be a photog all day! - and finally, when all is said and done, the Bride and Groom will receive 15% off album purchases. The Bride and Groom in return must pay for all flight+hotel costs, as well as any other costs like food and water, transportation, misc fees etc. Basically any necessities should be paid by B+G within reason of course. If B+G book flights etc. for us rather than sending us the money so we can do it, a $500 deposit is required as a security deposit. The full amount will be returned once we arrive to the destination. (this is just to ensure that we are protected as well) Now, the winner will be chosen simply based on location. Don't get discouraged, Italy doesn't always win LOL (besides, I'm already shooting a wedding in Italy next year, NOT to say that I wouldn't go back a 2nd time lol!). My girlfriend and I have done a lot of travelling (we worked on cruise ships for 2 years, thats how we met!), and we have our favorites, but we also are very open to places we have never been. I would just really like an exotic location with an amazing couple that isn't afraid to express Real Love. Your photos will be amazing! This contest is EXCLUSIVE to the members on this forum! Please check the availability on my website for 2009 before entering. ***Edited to add: Current Dates I am NOT available in 2009: Feb 14th-20th (In Vegas for business, but I am free so far before and after these dates, so this could help some of you!) May 16th June 20th June 28th-July 9th (I will be in Germany and Italy shooting a wedding ... but since I will be in Europe at this time, this could help some of you!) July 4th July 11th July 12th July 18th August 15th August 29th And local inquiries at the moment mean I am also potentially booked July 25th and Oct 10th. Contest runs from today, December 12th 2008, and runs until December 23rd 2008 at Midnight PST. Contest Winners will be announced on Christmas Day! How awesome would it be to wake up Christmas Morning to a Free Photographer Package for your wedding?! and to get things started, here is MY kick-at-the-cat for the Real Love question: "To me, Real Love is waking up warm and smiling." Good Luck to all!

Welcome to the forum!

Congradulations! You are going to LOVE Las Caletas!!! My first time there was this October and I loved every minute of it!

Welcome to the forum! Glad to see a fellow Canadian!

+1 on the crocs! Not only are they great for nurses (my mom works in the ER and swears by them) but they are great for everyday! Also great slippers for around the house! kinda nerdy but SO comfortable!

Congradts! I used to work as a photographer on cruise ships and went to Ocho Rios literally like 25-30 times or so... I LOVED it there! You are going to get some amazing photos! Welcome to the forum!