Just about every couple has "their" song.  Whether its a fun and funky dance tune, or a special romantic ballad, you and your sweetie can definitely play your song either at the wedding or the reception. But, as we all know, the music can make or break a reception, maybe even more than the food and drink! So, you want a little more than just your one special song to play over and over! 

I have a experienced DJ and friend, JOHN DRAISEY, who is collaborating on THE HOT LIST of wedding and reception music for the 2016 wedding season!  We are going to walk you down the Aisle, serenade guests, send you on a happy processional down the aisle as MR and MRS. Then we are going to have you and your guests dancing the night away to the what should be the ULTIMATE LIST OF DANCE MUSIC to keep your reception fun and exciting! 

Thanks to John Draisey, we have a comprehensive list for you to choose from! 

This list is just a very small choice of songs and is to help you to get an idea of the music you would want played for your special day. I have always found it best to have the Bride & Groom to pick atleast 30 songs that they love and make up a custom playlist for the reception, and so far in over 10 years of DJing it has worked out great.
"MUSIC LIST FOR WEDDINGS AND RECEPTIONS IN 2016"
Ceremonial Songs
"Canon In D" by Pachelbel
"Ariso" by David B. Hooten and The Kiev Symphony
"Bridal March" by Wagner
"A Thousand Years (Instrumental)" By Christina Perri
"Bitter Sweet Symphony" by The Verve
"What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong
"Con Te Partiro (Instrumental)" by Patriro
"Trumpet Voluntary" by Franz Richter Jonathan Hallson
"All You Need Is Love (Instrumental)" by The Beatles
"This Years Love" by David Gray
"Somewhere Only We Know (Instrumental)" by Keane
"Marry Me (Instrumental)" by Train
"The Luckiest (Piano Instrumental)" by Train
"Here Comes the Sun (Instrumental)" by The Beatles
"Ave Maria" by Schubert
"Wanted (Instrumental)" by Hunter Hayes
"Make You Feel My Love (Instrumental)" by Adele
 
Entrance Songs For the Bridal Party:
"Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars
"Forever" by Chris Brown
"Happy" by Pharrell Williams
"Time of Our Lives" by Pitbull and Ne-Yo
"Feel So Close" by Calvin Harris
"Bring Em Out" by T.I
"Get Up Offa That Thing" by James Brown
"I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas
"The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson
"Celebration" by Kool & The Gang
 
Entrance Songs For the Newlyweds:
"Crazy In Love" by Beyonce and Jay Z
"Best Day of My Life" by American Authors
"You Are The Best Thing" by Ray LaMontagne
"Signed, Sealed, Delivered" by Stevie Wonder
"Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf
"Beautiful Day" by U2
"At Last" by Etta James
"This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" by Natalie Cole
"Sugar" by Maroon Five
"How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" by Marvin Gaye
 
First Dance Songs
"Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars
"At Last" by Etta James
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Elton John
"Endless Love" by Dianna Ross and Lionel Richie
"In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel
"All I Want Is You" by U2
"I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz
"You Are the Best Thing" by Ray LaMontagne
"Thank You for Loving Me" by Bon Jovi
"Warm Love" by Van Morrison
"As" by Stevie Wonder
"Marry You" by Bruno Mars
"Wonderwall" by Oasis
"Unchained Melody" by Righteous Brothers
"(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warner
"My Best Friend" by Tim McGraw
"Make You Feel My Love" by Adele
"Wanted" by Hunter Hayes
 
Top 10 Father/Daughter Songs
1. “Daughters” by John Mayer
2. “My Little Girl” by Tim McGraw
3. “My Girl” by the Temptations
4. “Father and Daughter” by Paul Simon
5. "Daddy's Girl" by Red Sovine
6. “It’s For My Dad” by Nancy Sinatra
7. “I Loved Her First” by Heartland
8. “Have I Told You Lately” by Rod Stewart
9. “When You Need Me” by Bruce Springsteen
10. “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder
 
Top 10 Mother/Son Dance Songs
“My Wish” by Rascal Flatts
“What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong
“Letter to my Mother” by Edwin McCain
“Child of Mine” by Carole King
“93 Million Miles” by Jason Mraz
“Then They Do” by Trace Adkins
“You Raise Me Up” by Josh Groban
“Forever Young” by Rod Stewart
“A Song For Mama” by Boyz II Men
“I’ll Always Love My Mama" by Intruders
 
Just a few songs for the reception
"Timber" by Pitbull featuring Ke$ha
"Happy" by Pharrell Williams
"Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
"Sugar" by Maroon 5
"Cupid Shuffle" by Cupid
"Soul Train Line" by Cupid
"Cha Cha Slide" by DJ Casper
"Hit The Quan Dance" by Heaven King
"Wobble" by V.I.C.
"Copperhead Road" by Steve Earle
"Freak It" by Lathun Grady
"Bikers Shuffle" by Big Mucci
"Marvin Gaye" by Charlie Puth (ft. Meghan Trainor)

Photography and the science of light continues with ISO. ISO is part of the Exposure triad or triangle, and works with Aperture and Shutter Speed to determine how your image is exposed. ISO in a nutshell is how sensitive your camera is to the light. I have already written about Exposure, Aperture, and Shutter Speed.

A lower ISO- 100 means the camera sensor is less sensitive to light. This setting is used in bright light situations to prevent overexposure. Bright midday sunlight, settings with bright light reflecting snow, etc. are times to use a lower ISO. Higher ISO settings are for situations with less light; cloudy days, dusk, when the snow is setting, nighttime, and indoors where there isn't a lot light. 

Increasing the ISO can work well in low light situations to allow you to use a faster shutter speed and smaller aperture to get good crisp focus and deeper depth of field. However, Using a higher ISO can increase the "noise" in your image, making it grainier and foggy looking. 

Below you can see the same shot with the only setting changed being ISO. I started with a low light situation with no flash. I wanted to show  how increasing ISO increases the light in your image. If you enlarge each image, you will notice the increase grain in the photo as the light increases as well.  My settings were f1.8, ss 1/60 and I adjusted ISO from 100 up to 6400. 

 I am an Amazon Affiliate. Blogging and sharing information takes a lot of time and effort! So if you are so inclined, follow my link to learn more about Exposure on Amazon! The link below will take you to a search for a huge selection of books all about photography exposure, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. 

I am snuggled up in sweats and fuzzy socks and as I sit binge watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and watching it snow outside my window, I am wondering just how much hot chocolate my bladder and blood sugar can handle. I may end up in a diabetic coma and weeing myself when I slip in the ice covered steps while taking the dogs out. My brain is turning to mush as I cry with Kyle over Kim's demise and recent arrests. Okay, it could be from 2 seasons ago and not really recent. But, a more important question is, When is Lisa Renna going to STOP with the botox?! One more treatment and those lips will blow up enough to float her like a balloon to the next girls night out! 

So, why is this snow day so sucky? Well, I would love to be out taking beautiful snow day pics of the dogs and lovely scenery. But, No, It's still sleeting, snowing, and spitting from the sky! Who's taking their camera out in that? Not this girl!  So instead, I will snuggle with my dogs, munch on bad for me snacks and wait on the hubs to come home. 

I could be out running errands, but No. North Carolina CLOSES, SHUTS DOWN, and literally FREEZES when it snows. Very few businesses will be open. If ya ain't got your milk and bread, too bad. There's none to be had in North Carolina. So I am sitting here in my comfy warm clothes, settled in my huge recliner, warm and toasty, facebook stalking some of my favorite photogs, THERE WILL BE A POST ON THAT! 

​Plus to top it all off Hubs came home early! He brought me cool ranch Doritos too!

What do you Hate about Snow days?

I don't understand it. I look in the mirror and my hair is long and straight, hanging with little style. There are these funny little things under my eyes that look a faintly like moon shaped marshmallows, and not the kind small enough to fit in a bowl of lucky charms! These bad boys are just right for a campfire 'n smores kinda night. And they come with there own little wings out to side. Little hanger ons like barnacles on a old fishing boat. I'm talking about those shhh....don't say it...crows feet? Oh my god! When did I become my mother, aunts, and grandmother all rolled up in one?

If you are too young to remember Madonna before she was a mother and still singing to her papa not to preach, You are too young to know what I am talking about! Jennifer and Jack were just getting together, Now he's dead and she looks way older than me! Bo and Hope were a couple for the FIRST time, Steve was still called Patch.Then we watched the Original  BH 90210, Team Dillon, all the way. 

We wore skinny jeans so tight we could barely get our feet through them. In fact, I had a couple of pairs that were so tight at the ankles they had to have zippers in them. Shoulder pads were in every shirt, sweater, dress, and jacket I had. I even had some that I could put in things that didn't already come with them. 

A night out meant 2 hours of primping. An hour of that was spent on using 3 sets of curlers, 2 curling irons, and half a can of Aqua Net. I killed more than my fair share of Ozone, believe me. Blue eyeshadow AND blue eyeliner. Neon Pink Lipstick, WET 'N WILD, baby!
Now a night out is, me asking the hubby "Do I HAVE to put on Makeup?"  I'm more impressed about how EARLY I got to bed, instead of how LATE I was out! My friends and I have decided we are much better at "bar sitting" than "bar hopping." But, good grief, we're in by 10!

When did this happen? Yesterday, I was not this old! 

Funny, It takes me just as long to get long, straight, and with very little style as it did to get BIG hair.............. 

The shutter speed on your camera can do several different things. It can affect the quality of the focus in your image. It can allow more or less light into your image. It can show motion and action. Or it can freeze a moment in time. Learning to adjust your shutter speed to affect the Exposure of your image can be tricky for beginners, but I am going to share some important ways shutter speed work for your image. If you are interested in Exposure and how the different pieces of the Exposure triad work, you can read more in my post Exposure: A Basic Explanation for Beginners. I give a basic tutorial of aperture in Aperture: A Basic Explanation for Beginners.

Exposure is determined three things:  

1. The amount of light allowed in to the camera. (APERTURE)
2. The length of time that light is allowed into the camera. (SHUTTER SPEED)
3. The sensitivity of your camera to that light. (ISO)

Shutter speed determines how long light is allowed to enter the camera. It is expressed most commonly in fractions of seconds. 1/60 shutter speed means the shutter is open a longer amount of time than 1/125. This means that if I have a darker situation, I might use a slower shutter speed, 1/60, to allow more light in to the camera. If I have a very bright situation such as full sun, I may use a faster shutter speed, 1/250 or even 1/640. 

In the examples below you will see a difference in the vibrancy of color and depth of color, just by speeding the shutter speed from 1/250 to 1/640. This was a bright clear afternoon. Even with a shutter speed of 1/250 on the left, the image appears washed out and less vibrant. By speeding my shutter speed to 1/640, I achieved more vibrant and deeper color. 

Fair question. It's easy to understand that if you have something moving fast and you want to "FREEZE" that motion, You will speed up your shutter speed to freeze the motion. If you want to show motion and have a motion blur, you will slow your shutter speed. 

I typically try to use at least 1/125 shutter speed and normally 1/250 shutter speed for portraits. It helps get a clean crisp focus with less motion blur. 

Below are some shot I took with a 1/125 shutter speed because I was shooting objects that will move quick! ANIMALS AND KIDS. I wanted to Freeze them, before they moved! All of these shots were inside with indoor lighting. So, with my aperture opened up to let in light, I was able to use a faster shutter speed to compensate for wanting a sharp focus on my moving targets! For full disclosure, I did use on camera flash for these as well. Notice that bokeh or shallow depth of field? That's because of the wide open aperture. The two of my sweet baby boy Teller, were shot with a 35mm AF-S Nikkor f1.8 lens. My handsome nephew's picture was taken with an 85mm AF-S Nikkor f1.8. I rented both of these lenses from Lensrentals.com. You can read about my experiences renting lenses on these posts HERE.

Full disclosure: The links above for my amazon affiliated link. Blogging and keeping this adventure going is time consuming and I decided if I could make a penny or two, then what the heck? Links will be for items I have used or want to use and review! Thanks for using my links! I appreciate the help!