A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER + A BRIDE

We’re literally a week away from getting married.  Husband and wife.  F’life.  It’s so surreal, so anticipated, so EXCITING.  I’ve only been engaged for six months, so my journey as a bride has been very short, and I’d like to keep it that way.  I’m not in this for the “bride” thing, I’m in it for the wife thing.  Some of the process has been exciting, but mostly it’s gnawing stress + anxiety-filled panic.  SO yes, ready for it to be done.

It’s interesting though, as a wedding professional, to experience this.  It has given me SO much insight into my brides and I believe it’ll make me better at what I do.  And I’m starting here…this is a longtime coming, but I wanted to share my thoughts about wedding photography, as a wedding photographer, and more specifically…as a bride.

I don't know if I could trust just anybody the way I trust Josh and Meg.  When we chose them as our photographers there were no doubts.  In fact we went further than that...we chose our wedding day around their availability, we paid a fifth of our entire budget to hire them, and we picked them even though they live 7 hours away.  And because of this, I have NO reservations and NO fears that our wedding photos will be incredible. Same thing with my other vendors!  They are all spread out over the Midwest but they are amazing so WHO CARES??!!  I won't have any stress that day over whether or not we hired the right people! 

Let me tell you something,…I’m going to go on a rant here…don’t pick your wedding photographer for ANY of these reasons…

1. They're trendy.  Trends die.  You think you're gonna give two effs about smoke bombs in 5? 10? 15 years?!  No.  You're gonna care about moments and memories.  So look for that in their work.  There's a difference between artistry and showboating.
   2.  They're cheap.  THERE’S A REASON. 
   3.  They're local.  Really?  You think their address has an effect on your photos?  Don’t let that be your deciding factor.  A lot of people don’t charge for travel anyways, I don’t!
   4.  All the couples on their blog look like freaking models.  I’m sorry, but I’m NOT a model.  And I’m self conscious AF.  So if I don’t see some real life normal humans, I am not going to feel comfortable.
   5.  Rotation crisis.  If it looks like couple after couple, put in the exact same poses, over and over again, that should be a red flag.  If you don’t feel a connection with the images, if they don’t seem real, if they all look the SAME…don’t do it, you need someone who finds the uniqueness in each couple and displays THAT, if you look at those images and feel yourself wanting to be IN them, they’re doing something right.  Go off of good + honest vibes, you should FEEL something.  You need to see MOMENTS, not poses.

That’s two of my 100 cents, probably.  I wanted to be honest + share my thoughts with all of you.  As the week goes by I will, I’m sure, have some panicked moments…but I’ll tell you right now, it won’t be about photography.