the Gift of Photography: Extended!

As some of you may know, in March we began a program that would allow us to give a couple experiencing hardship the Gift of Photography. Unfortunately, when the story submission deadline came around, we had only received a handful of entries, none of which panned out. But, we are determined to give a local couple a free wedding! We are advocates for our community and believe we should all help each other, especially in our current economic crisis. Are you a couple in need? Do you know someone who is? Will you help us get the word out? We've extended the deadline to May 30th and included the program details below. If you or someone you know qualifies, please submit a story or help us out by spreading the word!

As we all know, personal hardship and tragedy can strike any of us.  Many times it comes with no prior warning.  These hardships can hit right in the middle of anything, even planning your wedding. This can result in a couple not being able to follow through with the wedding plans they have either already made, or the dreams of what they had hoped for on their special day.  While Phipps Photo can't control all aspects of the wedding plans, one thing we can help with is the photography.  As the one thing (other than videography) that will capture your wedding day forever, we think it's a crucial element for every couple.  Starting April 23rd I'll begin collecting stories from all over Greensboro of engaged couples who are in need due to various circumstances (losing a job, family tragedy, other hardships) and won't be able to have a professional photographer shoot their wedding.  Phipps Photo will read over each and every story and then choose one couple that we feel we can help out best, and offer our services on their wedding day for free.  We will shoot the wedding and give the couple a disc of high resolution digital negatives at no charge.

Here are the guidelines for how the program works:

• Send all stories by using our contact form with the subject line as: "the Gift of Photography" 

• All stories must be submitted by midnight on May 30th, 2009

• You must provide the couple's name, contact information, wedding date and location

• You may send in your own story or the story of a couple that you know

• All names associated with stories will remain confidential unless permission is granted

• Incomplete or entries that don't qualify as hardships will be discarded

At the end of May the couple we feel we can help the most will be contacted.  They will be required to meet with me us in person and will have to sign a written contract (as any client would).

The chosen couple will receive the following:

• FREE Complimentary wedding coverage by Phipps Photo on their wedding day

• A FREE complimentary high-resolution disc of the images with a written copyright release

Submissions for this program are open from April 23rd - May 30th, 2009.  To qualify for this program, you can send us your story with the above information by letting us know here.  If you know of a couple who has experienced hardship and you would like to refer them to us, you can submit their story (with their permission) here.   For more information or questions, feel free to contact us.