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ANOTHER Giveaway Contest! Wedding Bliss
UPDATE {4.2.11}: VOTING IS NOW CLOSED! THANK YOU!
Know why I love giveaways? Because they create community. That’s right. My Next to Normal giveaway? It allowed so many people to share their stories about mental illness in a safe, supportive environment. And, hopefully, it helped them feel less alone.
Giveaways also allow the individual or group that’s supplying the goodies with a way of sharing their talent or gifts with others. I love that. Like, super a lot.
So when Pittsburgh-based wedding photographer Veronica Varos contacted me about doing a giveaway, I did a little shimmie of happiness–because Veronica’s heart is so huge, as is her talent.
Wedding season is right around the corner, and Veronica wants a deserving couple to have the memories of their special day captured by her…for free. And you, the SAL community, will get to pick the winning couple!
Here’s what Veronica says:
I truly believe that photography is one of the most important aspects of your wedding day. The photos will provide memories to more than just those in attendance for lifetimes to come. It breaks my heart to know that there are couples out there that, for one reason or another, are forced to forego booking a professional photographer at their wedding. This is the one day of your life that you are treated like pure royalty and every couple deserves to have photographs that reflect that.
I meet with many couples each month eager to book a photographer for the happiest day of their lives. The past few months, however, quite a few of my meetings consisted of conversations about personal struggles the couples have recently experienced or are currently experiencing. Although the recession is “officially over” – it seems that the financial effects are taking a serious toll on these newly engaged couples now more than ever before.
For this reason, Secret Agent L and I are teaming up to provide a full wedding photography package to one lucky and truly deserving couple. (Package includes 7 hours of coverage, high quality negatives on a CD, one 8×10 print, printing release, $20 print credit – valued at $2500)
TOTALLY AMAZING AND KIND, RIGHT?!
How to enter:
- Leave a comment {you can remain anonymous, but make sure you include an email address} on this blog post explaining why you/your nominee deserves to win a full wedding photography package.
- Nominate yourself OR nominate a deserving friend/family member.
- Please be detailed in your response.
- Please do not exaggerate.
Requirements:
- Couple must already be engaged and have a wedding date set or in mind.
- Couple must not already have a wedding photographer booked.
- Couple’s wedding date must be on an available date on the calendar.
- Weddings must take place within 35 miles of zip code 15201.
- Couple’s wedding must take place before December 31, 2012.
- Entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on March 24, 2011 to qualify.
Fine print:
- Three entries will be chosen by Secret Agent L and Veronica for final voting and will be posted on March 28, 2011. SAL readers will be able to vote for their favorite couple March 28th through April 1st.
- Winning entry will be announced/notified by email on April 4, 2011.
- Prizes are non-transferable and have no cash value.
- Previous and current clients of Veronica Varos Photography are not eligible to win.
- Veronica Varos Photography retains the copyright to all photos taken during the wedding. Winners, by their acceptance, agree to allow their photos to be used for commercial purposes by Veronica Varos Photography.
Blessings and love to everyone who enters!
45 Comments to “ANOTHER Giveaway Contest! Wedding Bliss”
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Wow what an amazing contest
I don’t qualify for this…I am engaged and I live in Pittsburgh.
BUT my wedding in in Edinboro, PA and on June 25th 2011 (booked date). So both of those conflict with the requirements 
I just wanted to say how awesome I think this is though. My fiance and I can not afford a photographer for a wedding so I can understand how much this will mean the world to some lucky bride and groom.
Ben (my fiance) and I met a little over 3 years ago. We have been really good friends and through that an interest sparked. We grew our friendship for a couple years and started officially dating about a year and 3 months ago.
Our faith and love is the cornerstone of our relationship and we have really tried to change our lives to line up with what we claim to believe. This relationship is so different than anything I have every experienced. I can truly say I am in love with the most amazing man I have ever met AND he loves me back. I feel so undeserving of such a wonderful gift.
We made the choice early in our relationship that purity is something we wanted to hold in high regard. So our wedding day we will have our FIRST KISS. We have both been in past relationships so this will not be the first time we’ve kissed anyone but…it will be the first time we get to kiss each other
. It’s funny some people think I am crazy but I have never felt so loved or taken care of by anyone.
It’s funny with all the wedding planning…instead of thinking about all the details being perfect all I can think about it how I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with my soul mate
This is awesome and I am excited for whoever wins this generous give away.
Much love!
Desiree
I vote for Sarah and Matt!!!! Good luck and God Bless!!!
Leslie, (kims friend)
Hi! I heard about this contest through one of my good friends, Jaime of Weddobsessed. I immediately thought of my wedding situation! I am marrying my soulmate on July 23, 2011 in Gibsonia, PA. We are so excited to begin our life together! In 2010 we began a mission in Honduras together http://www.dreambighonduras.com, and have been focusing a lot of our time, efforts and money into this mission. Our reception is going to be a fiesta theme to show our love for the culture and people of Honduras. Also, we have recently decided to begin fostering a family of 3 siblings. Our foster care period begins this summer, before our wedding, and we intend to pursue adoption of the 3 children. We have so much on our plate! As far as photography goes, at this point an uncle who takes pictures as a hobby has offered to do our pictures. We are grateful to save money, but also want him to be able to enjoy our big day! This giveaway would be such a blessing to us and our growing family!
Thanks for considering!
Hello my name is Carla Haines and I am engaged to Lawrence McQuaide. We are getting married on August 17th 2012. Larry and I do not have a photographer and we aren’t sure that we will be able to have one. We are paying for everything on our own and we have been talking about trying to find a family member that could maybe do pictures but we don’t even have anyone in our family that can do them. We also talked about maybe having someone just take pictures at the church because of the costs of a photographer I would love to be able to have a professional photographer but we can’t afford it with the costs of everything else. I hope the most deserving person wins this contest good luck to everyone!!
Love,
Carla
good luck carla and larry!! thanks for voting on the last contest!! best of luck to you guys!
Thank you so much good luck to you on the other contest!
I am voting for Carla Haines and Larry. I WISH YOU BOTH CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD LUCK.
I vote for Carla and Larry;-)
Thanx,
Tina
Hi, my name is Mellisa and I am writing in for some good friends of mine. I read about this contest on the Weddobsessed website and thought of Dave & Alicia immediately. I will have the pleasure of being their matron of honor this summer. Alicia is a veterinary technician, but it is not just her job. It’s her way of life. She and her fiance do not have a lot of money, but she’s always picking up stray animals off the street and finding them homes or volunteering to help people who just don’t care about their animals. For example, a few weeks ago she saw that one of the cats in her neighborhood (who does have an owner) had gotten a scratch that had become infected. She took the animal to the vets and paid to have it taken care of. She then went above and beyond and paid for the cat to be spayed and have its shots as well. She then gave the cat back to the neighbor. She does things like this regularly and with no benefit to herself. She just cannot stand to see an animal suffer or be neglected. Her fiance fosters snakes, reptiles, and rodents of all shapes and sizes from people who get in over there heads and need to get rid of their animals. He brings them to their house and feeds and cares for them until he can find suitable homes. I just think they are a lovely couple for all the selfless things they do to help. I know it is a financial burden, but they will make sure the animals they are helping eat well, even if they don’t have the money to at times. I have watched them struggle with the cost of this wedding and know that having the photography taken care of would be a great bleeding. Thanks!
Opps, I meant blessing…. : )
Bummer! I was going to nominate my sister, but she’s getting married in North Carolina in October. Don’t suppose Veronica wants to take a road trip?
Anyway, I LOVE my wedding photographs. It sounds cliche, but my wedding was one of the happiest days of my life, and the fun and gorgeousness were all captured in the pictures we took.
Good luck to the winners. And thanks to you, SAL, for being so very generous, as always.
I am writing on behalf of my daughter Carla Haines and her fiancee Larry McQuaid. They are getting in August of 2012. They are both hard working, caring people. They are both Nurses Aides in a nursing home caring for our seniors on a daily basis.
My husband, Carla’s father, was laid off from his job of 31years almost 3 years ago. At this time, he has not been able to find a permanent full time job. This, as
you can imagine, has wiped us out financially. As a result they have to pay for everything for their wedding themselves. With all the other expenses there will
probably not be any money left for a photographer. We are doing everything we can on our own to save money. From making the invitations ourselves to making the bouquets and the card box. But, none of us are good photographers. Capturing those precious memories may be lost to them. If you are able to make this happen for them we would be eternally grateful. Thanks for listening, Jackie Haines
My name is Dana and I am the maid of honor for Carla and Larry in their wedding here in Pittsburgh 8-17-12. Carla is my baby sister. Larry is her soulmate and bestfriend and I am thrilled for them. Well a lot of people have parents that can help pay for their weddings, we do not. Our dad lost his job 3 years ago and has not been able to find full time work since. So there just is not money for them to help with a wedding. Carla and Larry work as nursing assistants in a nursing home and are saving every penny to have a small cermony and reception. Winning this contest would mean the world to them. To all of us really. To have their wedding day captured by professionals would be an amazing gift.
Thank you,
Dana Haines
Matthew and I have been engaged for a little over 4 years and finally set our wedding date – June 4, 2011. With 2 brothers serving in the US Air Force it has been next to impossible to find a date that they would both be able to be home for – so this day will be well worth the wait to have our whole families together! We really wanted to have an out door tented reception but with such little notice on our date and other restrictions it was hard to find a place that was suitable – a family member graciously offered their beautiful back yard to serve as th perfect back drop for our day. We decided to go this route figuring it would be less expensive because we would be able to use our caterers and other vendors of choice – well this is running into way more money than we expected and with such little notice it is hard to find a venue within our budget and capacity, and one that we would be truely happy with. We both have big families – a cut down guest list of 250 and we are paying for everything ourselves. So now we have to cut out things such as professional photography amoung other things. Winning this giveaway would truely be a blessing. We’ve waited to long and worked so hard for this day I would love to have the memories left behind by beautiful photos!
Thank you so much for the oppurtunity!
Good Luck everyone! Not only with the contest but with your weddings and happily ever afters! xoxo
After 5 years of engagement and many dates set and then cancelled, Sarah and Matt are finally tying the Knot on June 4 2011, The reason for cancellation, well Sarah’s two brothers are in the military and after her and Matt would pick a date one or both brothers would be deployed to Iraq and could not take leave. As family oriented as they are Sarah and Matt refused to celebrate their day without her brothers there. Leave has already been requested and approved and the happy couple will soon be Mr. and Mrs.
If you have been fortunate enough to meet Sarah and Matt you would be nominating them, they both have winning personalities, great outlook on life no matter how many lemons are thrown at them and when someone needs help they are the first there and the last to leave. They consider everyone before themselves and are two wonderful deserving people. With hard times hitting both of their parents Sarah and Matt are paying for the wedding themselves. Both families are huge and their guest list could easily be over 500. With the cost of a wedding they have to scale down on the list and have been very resourceful on their planning. They have not contacted any photographers yet because we just don’t know if it will be in the budget they are willing to have friends share their pictures to make a photo album of the day, But we all know there is nothing to compare to a professional photographer. Pick Sarah and Matt and once you meet them you will know they are the most deserving couple.
This is a fabulous idea! I know, when my partner and I had our wedding almost twenty years ago, we had no money. The budget for our wedding was 500.00, total, dress and tux included. We rented a suit from a costume store, a friend made me a dress and we had a small wedding at our church right after another couple, who were kind enough to leave the flowers and such up if we agreed to dismantle everything. One of the things we missed was having a photographer. A friend snapped some shots of the ceremony, but I wished we had more photos.Twenty years later, gay marriage is still not recognized, but we keep hoping. When it is legal, we plan to do the whole ceremony over again… church, dress, formal kilt and all the trappings… this time with a photographer. Good luck to the lucky couple. I wish you, whoever you may be, the same happiness my partner and I have had. Remember the key to a happy marriage is laughter. Laugh at yourself when you do stupid things, laugh with your love and love every minute of his/her laughter.
As Sarah mentioned in her comment, these two amazing young people have been engaged for 4 years and have remained hopeful and steadfast in their optimism that their day would come. With Sarah’s brothers in the service, it has been so difficult to pick a day where they’d both be home and family is so important to both Sarah and Matt. Also, Matt’s older brother, Mike, is getting married this weekend and this give-away would help so much to defer some of the costs that Matt and Sarah are facing with their wedding so that they could be in Mike’s wedding. I truly hope that Sarah and Matt will be given this gift and bless their wedding. They are so selfless and are constantly doing for others–what a great blessing this would be for them!
My wife told me about Sarah and Matt being in a drawing for their wedding and I wanted to write my own comment on behalf of these two. Matt has been a member of our church for a few years. What a great young man. He’s always ready to say “yes” to anything the church needs him to do. He went on a mission trip with our son, Casey, to Mexico to build an orphanage. Sarah is a baby doll who works in a home for those who don’t have the capability to care for themselves completely. These two loving hearts spread their love to others “just because”. They don’t ask for anything in return. I pray that they will be given this gift to make their day even more special for them. They could use the financial help and deserve good things to come their way.
Sarah and Matt are engaed to be married June 4th and I couldn’t be more excited! They have been working very hard on making the wedding just right for them. They very sweet, warm hearted, and determined. Winning this contest would amazing for them and their wedding. It’s time for Sarah and Matt to live happily ever after!
As of March 18th, 2011, my now fiance Kevin Michael, proposed to me. We set our date for May 25, 2012, that is the first day we made our relationship official. Also it just so happens to be a friday, which may make things easier to find inexpensive rentals. Being that most weddings are on Saturdays. That was the 2nd happiest day of my life. My first being the birth of my almost 8 year old daughter. I have been a single mother for the past 7 and a half years. Her father had moved to florida when she was only a year old. Hasn’t been in her life much since then. I was absolutely honored when Kevin had “proposed” marrying me to my daughter before me. It made me cry. It has only been 6 days since the proposal and I am still on cloud 9. We haven’t really looked into a budget for the wedding yet. As for right now we were just gonna have family take pictures. Although, photography is amazing to me and would like to go to school for it myself and the photographs above are beautiful. I would be honored to have a professional take the photos, so that years later my daughter and possible grandchildren can look in awe at how amazing the day we added to our family was.
Thank you for consideration, good luck to everyone. Also congratulations and I hope you all are as happy as we are!
What a wonderful gift for some young couple to begin their marriage!
I would like to nominate Sarah Taylor & Matt Bell. They have tried (more than once) to plan a wedding but the plans fell through when Sarah found out that one (or both) of her brothers would be deployed. Family is very important to these young people and they decided to wait. Well the time had finally arrived and I look forward to celebrating this June the marriage of Sarah and Matt with the ENTIRE Taylor Family!
Sarah and Matt have shown poise, patience and love while waiting for the stars to converge bringing her family together so this celebration could be complete. Winning the professional photograghy to document this long awaited occasion would be fantasic!
I would also like to nominate Matt and Sarah. They have been together for the longest time and are adorable together. They have been planning their wedding for a long time now and couldn’t set a final date because they both knew the wedding wouldn’t be the same without ALL of the family there. They would do anything for anyone, and expect nothing in return. I truly think that Matt and Sarah deserve this great opportunity
We love Matt and Sarah so much because they are such kind people. They deserve a dream wedding and we hope they get it! Winning this giveaway would surely help them achieve their perfect wedding!
Sarah and Matt are an amazingly beautiful couple. Watching them together is truly seeing two souls become one. Their love is so selfless. There have been struggles with life in general, then there are Sarah’s brothers who are both in the Airforce being deployed at different times, Matt working out of state, but their love has remained steadfast throughout. They have made so many memories together, through every obstacle that was thrown their way. Family is everything to them and with the date set, Dan’s leave approved and flight booked, it would be a shame to not be able to document one of the happiest days of their life together due to not having the finances for a wedding photographer. I would love for them to win this photographer and get the wedding they truly deserve so they can look back and treasure what they waited so long for. Thanks to SAL and Veronica for this opportunity:)
Hello! We are The Haydens of 2012.
We are best friends. We are absolutely, madly, crazily in love. We are engaged to be married in June of 2012 at an arcade located on Pittsburgh’s South Side. We are Team Awesomesauce!
I’m Jes. I met Bryan through a mutual friend at a bar – something I never thought could possibly happen to me for two reasons. One, I am not your standard bar scene girl – I’d much rather be at a concert, reading a book, playing volleyball. Two, I had recently decided that if I ended up being alone for the rest of my life that would be fine. And suddenly here was this man who had the sweetest heart, the best sense of humor, honesty like I have never experienced in another person my whole my life, and so much intelligence! Like any relationship, there are hard times and adjustments to be made. We are constantly communicating and improving what we have. He leaves for Sweden for three months for his work this coming Saturday. I have never been away from him for more than a week and that was only once. It’s going to be tough, but I have so much trust and faith in our love for each other that I know nothing can shake us.
I’m Bryan. For the better part of my short adult life, I couldn’t have been more anti-marriage. I avoided relationships like the plague. And then one night while out on the town with some friends, I got the urge to buy a drink for this girl that caught my eye. I got her number later on that night, and for a week I couldn’t get her out of my mind. She invited me to a party that weekend and for the first time in as long as I can remember, I was nervous about everything. I think to myself, “What are these butterflies in my stomach doing? I never get nervous!” We meet up, chat a little bit, and games start. Team Awesomesauce was born that night. Jes gave me a feeling I had never felt before. I can be myself around her, and she never judges me for it. Relationships were never my thing, but when I’m with her, I get the feeling that nothing in the world can ruin the moment, even if that moment is something as innocuous as driving to the grocery store. When I leave on Saturday for my international work assignment, I know I’ll cry. I won’t get to wake up to her smile, I won’t be able to cook delicious meals with her, and I’m going to miss all of those little moments just as much as the big ones.
Most couples try to make themselves fit the ideal wedding – high-priced, extravagant, expensive. However, our wedding plans include everything that makes us the couple and individuals we are – creative, fun-loving, laid-back and, well, cheap. We’re saving up our money and paying for everything ourselves since the parents on both sides are not in the best of monetary situations, all the while we’re saving money to buy our own home. We’re very responsible about money and in order to save for surprises in life and to really showcase the type of couple we are, we’re having the ceremony and wedding at an arcade so that everyone can celebrate our love while playing games! To keep the budget low, we’ve asked either friends or family members to DJ, help with makeup, act as the bartender, provide the cake, perform “Our Song” as their wedding gift to us. It’s completely about the celebration and having family and friends with us. Unfortunately, the only service that we can’t find a friend to provide – and that we really would love to have done professionally – is the photography. We know that the day will fly by, and it is so important to us that we have beautiful photos to remember the best moments of the day. We are by no means a fancy couple. Jes is not a “Bridezilla,” and Bryan keeps mentioning that he should wear a T-shirt with a Tuxedo on it for the wedding. I know the fun, creativity, and beauty of Veronica Varos’ photography will help showcase the kind of couple we are!
Thank you and congratulations and good luck to all these happy, deserving couples!
They are an amazing couple and deserve to win this generous prize. They have managed to keep up-beat about all their wedding plans even with some set backs and changes. They know that they can have the best wedding that is so very “them” all while staying in their budget. A photographer would really help them out!
I’m not entirely embarrassed to admit that reading Jes and Bryan’s testimonial may have brought a bit of a tear to my eye.
I’ll be a groomsman in their wedding, but more importantly, I consider them some of my best friends. I first met Jes a few years ago after I moved to Pittsburgh, and quite frankly, of all the things I love about the city, she’s one of the best. Without her friendship, Pittsburgh just wouldn’t be the same.
When Jes first met Bryan and invited him to the aforementioned party (at my house!), their connection was obvious from the start. It’s been fantastic to see them transform from that cute awkward pair who were still getting to know each other into one of the most vibrant and well-suited couples I’ve ever seen. Most importantly, they do life their own way, which usually involves being unconventional and hilarious.
Being around them reaffirms my faith that while love isn’t easy, it’s completely worth it. I couldn’t be happier for both of them, and not just because I get to play arcade games at their wedding and help perform their song for their first dance on guitar!
Jes said it better than I could – friends and family are all pitching in and providing our services and talents to make this wedding affordable, but we still need photography. And we’ll all be looking at photos years later to remember just how amazing the day was, so a true professional is very important.
I’m not sure how many weddings take place in an arcade, but I do know that Veronica Varos’ photography from Jes and Bryan’s wedding will be truly unique, exciting and filled with love. What more could any couple possibly ask for?
Matt and Sarah have been engaged for over 4 years. When you see the two of them together you can how much in love they are with each other. They were finally able to pick a date so that both of Sarah’s brothers would be home on leave to help them celebrate their beautiful day. Their dream is to have an outside wedding not realizing how expensive it would be with tents, a dance floor, tables chairs etc. They are paying for their wedding themselves and it seems that they can’t afford a professional photographer. They are both so wonderful and good hearted and would do anything for anyone. I always said, if I had to pick a wife for my son Matt, it would be Sarah. They started out as friends and fell in love. I hope you consider these two beautiful people for this great opportunity. It would be so wonderful for them to be able to look at the beautiful pictures and remember the wonderful memories of their perfect dream wedding.
Thank You.
Thank you all for your love, support and kind words.
I love each of you and can’t wait to share our
Special day with everyone!
Matt and I dated briefly in highschool-i wanted more than he did….he was the “jock”..his male fraternity ways were more important than the younger girl trying to win his affection…fast forward 18 years…lots of in the mean time relationships…a ordinary day checking facebook (2010)…a message…many messages back and forth on facebook..he convinced me to meet him for a drink…i did reluctantly…he NEVER forgot me and had been “google-ing” me on facebook for information to see if I ever married….etc,…we are getting married 9-3-2011…my best friend…soul mate. Facebook has made this all possible!
We are having a small initmate wedding honoring our families (his father just past in december 2010) his dream was to see his “baby boy” find his soul mate..we are funding the wedding and keeping if family based….even growing most of our flowers!
I couldnt imagine having someone (a stranger) donating their talent to assist someones dreams come true!
god bless,
julie
[...] behind. Nevertheless, I’m pleased (nay, THRILLED) to announce the three finalists for the Veronica Varos Wedding Photography Package Giveaway. It was incredibly difficult to choose, as everyone’s stories truly touched our hearts. We [...]
MY VOTE IS FOR SARAH AND MAT
My vote is for Matt and Sarah…. good luck and blessings to you both
I think matt and Sarah should win this. After years of delaying for family and now they finally have a date. i think this would be the perfect way for them to start their new family.
I vote for Jes and Bryan!!!! Just read their post above… How often do you find two people who couldn’t be less interested in love and end up finding love in each other?!?!?! Not to mention, they are doing the wedding they want, their way! Hats off to them and hope they win!!!! They could really use it!!!!!
I vote for Jes and Bryan!
Jes and Bryan
Jes and Bryan!
My vote is for Sarah and Matt!! Totally deserving!
Wish you a lifetime of joy together 
GOOD LUCK!!
SARAH AND MATT ALL THE WAY! GOD BLESS YOU TWO!
I am voting for Carla Haines and Larry McQuaide Hey i hope u get the free photographer i know it can be a serious expense Congrats on the wedding
Sarah and Matt!!
[...] HOURS of counting votes (hundreds of them, mind you!), we finally have a winning couple for Veronica Varos’ Wedding Photography Package Giveaway! Woo hoo! We received a total of 804 valid combined votes between the blog posts and the Facebook [...]