Official Rules for Martin Renee Photography Facebook “Like” Sweepstakes

Clients: Tell your friends about our Facebook page and every friend that likes it, gets you one entry in a drawing of one 20×24 canvas print of your choice valued at $270
Friends: Tell your friends about our Facebook page and every friend that likes it, gets you one entry in a drawing of a portrait session valued at $270

No Purchase Necessary. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning.

1. ELIGIBILITY. Martin Renee Photography Sweepstakes (the “Sweepstakes”) is open only to current and past clients of Martin Renee Photography as well as Facebook friends of Martin Renee Photography Page that are current legal residents of the United States, who are at least 18 years of age as of the Sweepstakes Start Date (“Entrants”): You have to be a client or friend of Martin Renee Photography as of Sweepstakes Start Date to be eligible to participate.

Sweepstakes is sponsored by Martin Renee Photography, 103 Dover Grn, Staten Island, NY 10312 (“Sponsor”). Void where prohibited by law. Employees, shareholders, officers, directors, agents, representatives of Sponsor, the promotion and advertising agencies of any aforementioned entity, and their immediate family members and those living in their household, and each person or entity connected with the production or administration of the Sweepstakes, and each parent company, affiliate, subsidiary, agent and representative of any aforementioned entity (“Sweepstakes Entities”) are not eligible.

2. SWEEPSTAKES PERIOD. The Sweepstakes begins at 12:00 a.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time) on May 9, 2012 (“Sweepstakes Start Date”) and ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on May 31, 2012 (the “Sweepstakes End Date”) (collectively, the “Sweepstakes Period”).

3. HOW TO ENTER. Suggest for your friends to like our Facebook page. Every person that is your friend and likes Martin Renee Photography Facebook Page during Sweepstakes Period qualifies you for one entry in a Sweepstakes. You can share Martin Renee Photography status update, write your own status update, write a note, comment on a picture posted on Facebook, send Facebook message, invite friends.
Entries must be received by the Sweepstakes End Date, as determined by the computer time on Sponsor’s server. None of the Sweepstakes Entities are responsible for late, incomplete, void, corrupted, garbled, misdirected, or otherwise unintelligible Submissions and for any problems, bugs or malfunctions Entrants may encounter when submitting their Submissions. Incomplete, garbled, corrupted or otherwise illegible Submissions are void and will not be accepted. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Sweepstakes or violating these Official Rules. Entries generated by a script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified. Sponsor will not verify receipt of submissions. In the event of a dispute as to the identity of a winner, the winner will be deemed to be the person in whose name the Facebook account governing the Facebook account was opened. In the event a dispute regarding the identity of the individual who actually submitted an entry cannot be resolved to Sponsor’s satisfaction, the affected entry will be deemed ineligible.

4. ODDS. Odds of winning depend on the total number of eligible entries received.

5. DRAWING AND NOTIFICATION. Each qualified entry will be entered into random drawing for prizes to take place on or about June 10, 2012. There will be two (2) drawings, 1 for group of clients, 1 for group of friends. 1 winner from each category will be announced.

The Selected Entrants will be notified by phone or email or Facebook message in Sponsor’s discretion. The Selected entrants will be required to respond (as directed) within 72 hours of attempted notification. The failure to respond timely to the notification may result in forfeiture of the prize and, in such case, Sponsor may randomly select an alternate chosen Entrant from among the remaining eligible entries. Except where prohibited by law, Selected Entrants must allow Sponsor to use his/her name, likeness and hometown for marketing purposes. The Selected Entrants’ names may be published in any Martin Renee Photography publications, as well as any affiliated publications, websites and/or social media pages in the form of a first/last name and hometown. An alternate Selected Entrant may be randomly selected from among the remaining eligible entries if a Selected Entrant: (i) cannot be reached; (ii) fails to sign the Release and to return the documents in a timely manner as required pursuant to these Official Rules; or (iii) cannot accept or receive the prize for any reason. The prize will be delivered by U.S. Mail, overnight carrier (i.e., FEDEX, UPS) or client meeting within Sponsor’s sole discretion, to an address provided by the Selected Entrant, within approximately thirty (30) days of Monthly Drawing Date (exact timing subject to change based upon availability of Prize). Assumed notification by caller ID and any subsequent returned calls do not constitute a winner.

6. PRIZE. Clients: One 20×24 canvas print of your choice valued at $270, Friends: One portrait session valued at $270 scheduled at a distance no more than 20 miles from Martin Renee Photography location, Images from session posted to online gallery, no product or digital copy included in portrait session. Prints or products can be purchased through online gallery.
Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of Prizes: five hundred forty Dollars ($540). Selected Entrant is not entitled to any surplus between actual retail value of prize and stated ARV and any difference between stated ARV and actual value of the prize will not be awarded. No substitution, transfer, or cash redemption of prize, provided however that Sponsor reserves the right to substitute the prize with another prize of equal or greater value should the advertised prize become unavailable for any reason. Selected Entrants are solely responsible for all federal, state, and local taxes on the Prize and other unspecified expenses related to the Prize. All activities related to the Prize are at the Selected Entrants’ own risk and subject to whatever restrictions are imposed by the entities that govern activities. All Sweepstakes entries are subject to verification prior to awarding of any prize. If prize is awarded but goes unclaimed for a period of 30 days or is forfeited by recipient, the prize may not be re-awarded, in Sweepstakes Entities’ sole discretion.

7. CONDITIONS. All federal, state or other tax liabilities (including income taxes) arising from this Sweepstakes will be the sole responsibility of Selected Entrants. Except where prohibited by law, the Selected Entrants’ entry and acceptance of the prize constitutes permission for Sponsor to use said winner’s full name, photograph, likeness, statements, biographical information, voice, and city and state address for promotional or advertising purposes in connection with this Sweepstakes on a worldwide basis, and in all forms of media, now or hereafter known, in perpetuity, without review, permission or further compensation. This Sweepstakes is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws of the United States. By participating, Selected Entrant agrees to be fully and unconditionally bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of Sponsor and waive any right to claim ambiguity in the Sweepstakes or these Official Rules. Selected Entrant also agrees to release, discharge, indemnify and hold harmless Sponsor, Martin Renee Photography, Sweepstakes Entities and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, representatives and agents (“Releases”) from and against any claims, damages, disability, attorneys’ fees, and costs of litigation and settlement, as well as any liability due to any injuries, damages or losses to any person (including death) or property of any kind resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from redemption, acceptance, possession, ownership, misuse or use of any prize or participation in any Sweepstakes-related activity or participation in this Sweepstakes. Releases shall not be liable to the Selected Entrant for failure to supply any Prize or any part thereof, by reason of any acts of God, any action(s), regulation(s), order(s) or request(s) by any governmental or quasi-governmental entity (whether or not the action(s), regulations(s), order(s) or request(s) prove(s) to be invalid), equipment failure, threatened terrorist acts, terrorist acts, air raid, blackout, act of public enemy, earthquake, war (declared or undeclared), fire, flood, epidemic, explosion, unusually severe weather, hurricane, embargo, labor dispute or strike (whether legal or illegal), labor or material shortage, transportation interruption of any kind, work slow-down, civil disturbance, insurrection, riot, or any other similar or dissimilar cause beyond any of the Releases’ control. The Releases shall not be liable for: (i) late, lost, delayed, misdirected, incomplete unreadable, inaccurate, garbled or unintelligible entries, communications or affidavits, regardless of the method of transmission; (ii) telephone system, telephone or computer hardware, software or other technical or computer malfunctions, lost connections, disconnections, delays or transmission errors; (iii) data corruption, theft, destruction, unauthorized access to or alteration of entry or other materials; (iv) any injuries, losses or damages of any kind caused by the prize or resulting from acceptance, possession or use of a prize, or from participation in the Sweepstakes; or (v) any printing, typographical, administrative or technological errors in any materials associated with the Sweepstakes. Sponsor may prohibit an Entrant from participating in the Sweepstakes or winning prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines such Entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes in any way by cheating, hacking, deception, or any other unfair playing practices of intending to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other players or Sponsor representatives. Use of any automated system to participate is strictly prohibited and will result in disqualification. Sponsor may disqualify at its sole discretion any entries it believes are created by an automated system.

Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, modify or suspend the Sweepstakes should a virus, bug, computer problem, unauthorized intervention or other causes beyond Sponsor’s control, corrupt the administration, security or proper play of the Sweepstakes. You may not enter with multiple identities or use any system, bot or other device or artifice to enter or obtain more than the maximum number of qualified entries. Unclaimed Prizes will not be awarded. Disputes regarding these Official Rules and/or this Sweepstakes will be governed by the internal laws of the State of New York CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE SWEEPSTAKES MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION FROM PARTICIPATION IN THE SWEEPSTAKES. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK REMEDIES AND DAMAGES (INCLUDING ATTORNEY FEES) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

8. PRIVACY. All personal information collected by Sponsor will be used for administration of the Sweepstakes. In addition, Entrants shall receive email correspondence from, or on behalf of the Sponsor, subject to the Sponsor’s privacy policy. Sponsor uses reasonable commercial efforts to comply with federal CAN-SPAM guidelines, and Entrants may subsequently opt-out of receiving further emails by following the opt-out instructions contained in the email. Any questions regarding privacy matters should be directed to the address set out below.

9. WINNER’S LIST AND SWEEPSTAKES RULES. To obtain a copy of these official rules or a winners’ list within 90 days of the close of the Sweepstakes, send your request and a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Martin Renee Photography 103 Dover Grn, Staten Island, NY 10312. The Selected Entrants’ list will be sent once the Selected Entrants have been verified and all prizes have been awarded.

9/10/11 seems like a very easy date to remember, right? Well, that’s the day that Jenna and Doug picked for their wedding, and I’m pretty sure that both of them will have no issues remembering their anniversary date, or the day that Doug proposed to Jenna during  a METS game! For their engagement session, Jenna and Doug picked Wagner College in Staten Island as their location because of the long history associated with that place (Jenna graduated from Wagner and is actually working there now) and its close proximity to Clove Lakes Park baseball field :). Both share a passion for baseball and are devoted METS fans! Here are some pictures from their engagement session.

Looking forward to 9/10/11 for their wedding day!

Can you tell that they are Mets fans?

From the very beginning we met Joiada and Chris, we knew that their wedding day will be a one to remember! Not a lot of people in the North East of US want to gamble with the weather predictions and plan their wedding for March. Especially after the last two winters, you could expect anything. For Joiada and Chris the gamble paid off with beautiful blue skies and sunny day. It was just barely above the freezing point, but even the cold temperatures couldn’t damper Joida’s spirit. I must admit, she must have been one of the most anxious brides we had so far, literally counting down months, then days, followed by hours to their wedding day. On March 25, Joiada married her soul mate Chris. We had a wonderful time spending Friday with Joiada and Chris and their families, friends and fantastic wedding party. Some of the guests of the wedding we already knew from Jamie and Carmine’s wedding last November. The wedding ceremony was held at the very beautiful Sacred Heart Church in Staten Island followed by a brief visit to Prospect Park for pictures, only to be followed even faster by the arrival at the wedding reception: Giando on the Water. Even though the outside temperatures were cold, inside the wedding hall, things were on fire. Stunning bridal couple, beautiful people, amazing atmosphere produced one memorable night. Here are some pictures from the day.

Joiada got to wear her amazing wedding dress again when the temperatures warmed up a bit… We shot a day after session couple of weeks ago. Check the Blog often for pictures of Joiada and Chris in warmer setting.

Hair and Makeup: House of Trends

Ceremony: Sacred Heart Church

Reception: Giando on the Water

Ceremony was at a beautiful Church of the Assumption in Staten Island, the church that has seen a lot of family history since Carmine’s grandfather. The Reception was at a wonderful Vanderbilt at the South Beach. Great place to get married right on the beach front in Staten Island. Great decor and impeccable service, paired with stunning centerpieces from Camile and up-lighting made the Vanderbilt a exquisite location for their wedding. The last day of November was so cold but our brave groom and bride and the entire bridal party like troopers were holding strong. Thank You Jaime and Carmine for allowing us to be part of your special day and sharing it with you. Here is a little teaser.

DJ – Sound Explosion
Florist – Floral Sentiments
Video – Mike Leto
Limusines – Romantique Limo.

One early November morning we met with Jaime and Carmine just a week before their wedding. We had a complete blast with them as we explored the grounds of the Notre Dame Academy in Staten Island. Although sunny it was a chilly day, this awesome duo braved the elements and pulled out all the stops for us during their fashionably fun photo session. Jaime and Carmine mentioned earlier to us their passion for ATV’s so we stopped by Carmine’s house for some fun with off road four wheelers :)

It was a beautiful October afternoon when we met Joiada and Chris on the Brooklyn Promenade. Both Joiada and Chris are very energetic and fun people which makes them great couple. Joiada is one of the people that is not afraid to climb, jump, run, lay down on cold cold grass or just simply sit and look beautiful. They both exude such a positive, wonderful energy that just being with them is a pleasure. We can NOT wait till their wedding in March. We can only imagine the things that will go on during the photoshoot and the memories we will capture during their wedding day.

Three days after we came back from our Destination wedding in Europe we had a pleasure photographing a wedding of Debbie and Dom here in Staten Island. We left ourselves plenty of time for any last minute changes and complications but were still nervous coming back since the Iceland’s Volcano interrupted all airplane traffic over Europe earlier in the Spring. The ceremony and reception were both at the Old Bermuda Inn but we took all their photographs in the Conference House Park. Debbie and Dominick had a very emotional and family oriented ceremony. Debbie walked down the aisle with her daughter Amanda while her brother in law John sang a solo of “The Prayer”. They were married by her best friend Danielle in a special family unification ceremony, blending of the sand. Congratulations guys.

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This past summer we were asked to photograph a destination wedding but we really wanted to attend it instead because we have known the bride for many years. While shooting in Europe in the Spring we saw all the preparations for that wedding and we knew that it was going to be fabulous. We wanted to be a part of the wedding for a change. So when we presented the idea to the bride, she had tasked us to pick a wedding photographer for her. No pressure right? How to pick a wedding photographer that is over three thousand miles away and you know that will do justice to the bride and groom photographing their amazing wedding?  Thank God for internet!!!! After days of extensive research we (both Renee and I) came up with a list of possible candidates for the occasion. We were working on the lists separately, as not to be influenced by one another. We were both looking for creativity, originality, artistic eye and overall a genuine person.  On top of both our lists was: Darek Szubinski from FotoSzubi. Our bride agreed with our pick and soon we would have a chance to meet Darek in person. Picking a photographer over the internet without meeting first is very difficult but our professional senses did not fool us, the minute we met him we knew that he was good choice for bride and groom. What a relief of stress for us :) Darek did an amazing job capturing the moments and memories of their day. Thank You Darek. You can see the results of his wonderful work of this wedding in his blog.

After the wedding, bride – Ola  asked us to photograph her and her new husband. All we had to do now was to convince the groom – Marcin to go with her plan since from the beginning he was not thrilled with the idea of more pictures and putting his tux on again. After two days of newly wedded bliss Ola got her way. We were going to  shoot their bridal session.

We love shooting bridal sessions especially if they are after the wedding so there is no time constraints and stress involved in a wedding day. Relaxed and fun was the theme of the afternoon. Between some old barn, airport, sunflower field, driving convertibles, historic downtown and antique bicycle we had a blast taking their photographs. Here is a small sample from their day. Thank you Ola and Marcin for allowing us to be a part of your wedding and the privilege of photographing you.

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From Our Family to Yours.
Happy Holidays and Prosperous New Year

To all of our past and future clients, Thank You for trusting us to capture your timeless memories from the most important days of your life. Enjoy the time off with your families and friends.
For all Your, Your family and friends Professional Photography needs please visit Martin Renee Photography

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Church: St Joseph Church, Passaic NJ
Reception: Royal Manor, Garfield NJ
Entertainment: Simone Band

We had an amazing time at Justyna and Jack’s wedding, they are such a fun and outgoing couple. Even thou it was a humid day we still had a great time taking pictures in the park, and a care free time when the newlyweds went to the playground. There was plenty of romance, laughs and all around fun with the wedding party. Jack even tried to play a guitar for his lovely bride under the trees at the park. His inability to play anything did not get in a way of us capturing great and relaxed pictures. The wedding reception venue welcomed us with an elegant and delicious polish and american food. The decor was modern but simply beautiful.

Images from the wedding can be viewed at Martin Renee Proofs Gallery

It was a pleasure photographing your wedding and we can not wait to see your tiny addition to your family soon. Congratulations Justyna and Jack.

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Here is another from Nashville.

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I was very fortunate to be in Nashville TN for a convention with few photographer friends when we organized a bridal portrait session in Tennessee Central Railway Museum and we moved to a cathedral church for some indoors photographs.

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We did not have a chance to shoot an engagement session for Basia and Adrian so we opted for photo session after their wedding. We wanted to do something different for Basia and Adrian that we could not do on their big day because it was dark and raining. So we went to the riding academy and had a beautiful horse to use for some of the photographs, and then we moved to a nearby beach where we started our shoot as a bridal session but ended as trash the dress in the water. We captured great images for Basia and Adrian, here are the few favorites.

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This wedding I had a pleasure working with Scott Bush, a very talented and fun wedding photographer from New Jersey.

Here are some of my favorite images from the day.

Church: Corpus Christi Church in Mineola

Reception: Watermill Caterers in Smithtown

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It feels like I have not been writing here for a long time. Wait!… Its a fact, I have not been here for a while. End of the wedding season is always the busiest time of the year. Between shooting weddings, engagement sessions, kids portraits, maternity portraits, boudoir sessions and designing albums, printing canvas prints and framing portraits we have our hands full of work. And then winter, which in any year before was slow, this year was full of business travel, conventions and workshops and making great photos. I don’t even know where to pickup the slack with the blog. We are in the full swing wedding season 2010, bookings for 2011 are coming at a steady pace. I’m already excited for the weddings we have booked for 2011, Its going to be a great year. Our studio family is growing larger; two of our 2009 brides are pregnant – Congratulations guys, so I’m excited for them as they embark on a new experiences in their life together. Can’t wait to photograph the kids.

OK, Getting back to the subject…

Flowers

Flowers are pure magic for the senses, their vibrant color, their unique scent, their ability to transform an ordinary space and set the stage for your wedding and lets not forget their romantic significance are key part of your day. From the bridesmaid’s bouquets and groomsman’s boutonnieres to the decorations around the altar or chuppah, flowers will appear everywhere and play a significant role setting a look and style of your event. The flowers need to play with the overall style of your wedding just like the color palette, stationary, accessories and even the dress. The bridal bouquet is the ultimate floral accessory. You want one that compliments your gown.

Flowers for your event need to align with your wedding style. You want to consider their color, size, shape, season and scent. Not all flowers are available year round so if you love a flower so much and have to have it, you need to look at scheduling your wedding when blooms are available or importing them just for your event which requires spending more money. When it comes to bouquets their shape is equally important to the choice of flowers because the shape is what will ultimately establish its look. For ceremony, flowers can be attached to almost anything, they also can be suspended from tree branches or an archway,  they can be tied to the columns or placed in a majestic tall vases. From stunning table decorations to fresh blossoms on the wedding cake, receptions are the ultimate floral showcase. Table centerpieces are important focal point. The range of sizes, styles and arrangements is simply a matter of personal taste and design. Centerpieces can be tall and narrow or low and wide but never to obstruct the view.

Its important to remember that a stylish event is not about how many flowers you have but how the blooms enhance your wedding style and overall look of your big day.

Anyway, surround yourself with the flowers you love.

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