What To Look For In A Photographer

It’s no secret that there’s a lot of wedding vendors out there… and I mean a lot. Especially when destination weddings/ vendors that travel are becoming more and more available, it can be really hard to narrow down which vendor team you want for your wedding. Here are some things that you can look for and keep in mind when you start inquiring and chatting with different vendors!

1. Quick response time

   • Obviously, give them some grace especially if you’re reaching out during peak wedding season, but also make sure they aren’t taking forever to get back to you.

2. Transparent on pricing

   • Most vendors send you a “welcome packet” of sorts that list out and describe their different packages and pricing. Everyone does this differently, so just make sure that you know what all comes included with what you’re paying for!

3. They make you feel comfortable

   • Being in front of the camera can be uncomfortable! You want a photographer that can help you relax and feel your best while in front of the camera, especially for important photos like on your wedding day.

4. They ask YOU a lot of questions

   • As a wedding photographer, a huge part of working with my clients is figuring out who they are as a couple. Starting out I love to ask how they met, where they got engaged (if I wasn’t there to photograph it <3), and other little questions like this to really start to get to know them personally and as a couple! This will also help the photographer with determining what you’re comfortable and not comfortable with pose-wise in front of the camera!

5. Willing to answer your questions

   • In this industry, we often get asked a lot of the same questions by our different couples, and it’s completely understandable! It’s a huge day with a lot riding on your vendor team, of course you’re going to ask questions! The response/ attitude of the vendor you’re inquiring with says a lot about them and how they work!

6. They can provide examples of their work

   • Nowadays most (if not all) vendors have some form of social media, whether it’s instagram, facebook, tik tok, or even blogs, where the clients can go and look at your past work. However if you ask a specific question about something, they should be able to send you past work to look at. This helps with their credibility and figuring out if you like their style or not.

7. Editing style/ style in general

   • With the growth of social media, there is also a growth in trends. This also can affect the wedding industry and its vendors as well. You are encouraged to look at different editing styles with photographers because they’re not all the same. Find a style that you click well with, and reach out to photographers within that style! Different styles can mean different posing techniques, different colored images, and different things to be focused on photographing.

8. They provide reviews/ testimonials from past clients

   • Double check and see if their website or The Knot or other credible sources like those have client reviews about the vendor you’re talking to! This also helps prove credibility by listening to what others have to say about their experiences.

Detail Shots! & Why We Love Them

We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again, each wedding day is so unique to the next. There are key components to each wedding day that make it so personal and unique, and it’s our job to document them! A huge example of this are your detail shots. These include your invitation suite, the rings, florals, perfume, jewelry, anything that holds ,earning to you, your dress, veil, shoes, etc. The things that make up your detail shots are the most personal and unique to you items, because they were all hand selected and designed by you with your wedding in mind. This is why as a wedding photographer, I love taking the time to capture these still moments!

There are no rules to detail shots, you can add in whatever you like! You can take the traditional route and add your something old something new, something borrowed, something blue or you can take a new route and put in something that has significance to you! There is no rhyme or reason. Whatever you come up with and give us to document is perfect, and we love being able to give you tangible memories of them.

Detail shots also let us get creative with the design and layout. It really shoes the photographers vision and creativity well because there is no rule book in how to document these. We take what our clients give us and turn it into a beautiful display of personal items!

These are just some of the many reasons why I love documenting the details! So much time and effort goes into planning a wedding, and no detail should go without being properly documented.

Son & Stanna- A Garden Estate Wedding

The Andrews Farm, Storme Blown Hair, Mint To Be Wedding, Florabella, Curated Events, Best Impressions Catering, Cease Fire Productions

April 20, 2024 was a beautiful day for Son & Stanna Hoang at The Andrews Farm! With a killer vendor team, a romantic estate on a farm, & perfect weather (that is until it was ceremony time, but we’ll get to that later!), Son & Stanna’s wedding day was absolute perfection.

After a full day of beautiful weather and bright blue skies, thirty minutes before the outdoor ceremony was supposed to begin it started pouring! Son & Stanna (and their guests) were such troupers about it and did their ceremony in a slight drizzle. I love the saying for when it rains on a wedding day “a wet knot is harder to untie”, and I thought that the Hoang’s were a perfect example of that! No matter the rain, the ceremony was still beautiful!

Just after the ceremony, the rain stopped and the sun popped back out in time for the party! Dinner was served, the cake was cut, and the dance floor was jam packed! It truly was such a great night celebrating these two beautiful people!

Also, can we talk about how amazing these traditional outfits were that they changed into?! Obsessed!

Being able to document and celebrate with my couples is such an amazing thing and I feel so blessed to be able to do this! Congratulations again to the Hoangs!

Finding the Perfect Exit Item for Your Wedding

We know there’s a lot that goes into planning a wedding and there are so many little details to figure out! We wanted to help with one detail - your exit item! An exit item is some kind of prop you give your guests to use to see you out on your way after your wedding. The options can be endless for this, so let’s get into the different kinds that we’ve seen!

Probably the most popular exit item we see is sparklers! They always turn out so good in photos- but some venues are starting to not allow them because they can be detrimental to the venue (or intoxicated guests!) if not put out properly! Don’t fear if your venue doesn’t allow sparklers, we are about to give you so many more options!

Option #2 is bubbles! These are so cute and fun, and don’t need to be cleaned up afterward! These work best when there is lighting behind you, so just keep that in mind! But bubbles are a perfect exit item!

Kayla & Eric used glow sticks! These were so fun because they can also be used on the dance floor before the exit as well! They also incorporated rose petals which brings a traditional element into it as well!

Loved these blue ribbon wands used after Meghan and Eric’s ceremony! This was a great exit item!

Another great option that can be used instead of sparklers are cold sparklers! These can be used inside or outside, and have no worried about damaging property or guests! They also make for amazing photos!

How cute are these fairy light wands?! Loved these at Alyssa & Mitchell’s wedding- they’re so fun to photograph!

There’s also streamer guns! These are very cute and fun but also very messy! It’s easy to get tangled up in them, but worth it for the pic!

We hope this blog post was able to give you a couple of ideas for an exit item you would like to have at your wedding! And remember- your exit it’s, can be whatever you want it to be even if you didn’t see it in this blog!

Why You Should Have a Professional Photographer Document Your Wedding

Let’s face it- we all know weddings are expensive. Vendors like planners and photographers put so much time and energy into your wedding, and their prices reflect that. There are a lot of things that couples decide to cut out of their wedding day to stay under budget, and I might be biased, but here’s some reason why a photographer shouldn’t be one of them.

1. Wedding photographers know the best spots to photograph from during your ceremony, reception, etc. This guarantees you’ll have those Pinterest worthy shots all day long.

2. We know how weddings work. Need to know where you need to be? We can tell you. Who has the rings? We can tell you that too. In addition to your planner, we are your next in line to help with things you may need during the day.

3. We have a timeline and sheet of what photos you want, who is taking pictures with who during family photos, and things like that. This way you can have your photos over and done with in time to mingle with your guests.

4. Who doesn’t want photos to show your kids and look back on?

5. We document those fleeting little moments you may not remember because the day is so emotion filled- that hug between a bride and her dad, that tender moment between a groom and his best man, the mom of the bride and mom of the groom holding hands after the ceremony, we capture it all.

6. Odds are you’ve put a lot of time and effort into planning your big day. Choosing the layout of your reception space, deciding on florals, designing your table settings, picking out a color scheme, etc. We will document all of those details for you too! Photographers photograph your invitation suite, your ceremony and reception spaces, and all of those other little details you meticulously planned during your engagement season!

7. We will tell you how to pose! Trust me, pretty much everyone has no idea how to pose themselves for wedding photos. We know what looks good, and we’ll get your photos looking exactly how you want them!

Again- we might be biased on why you shouldn’t cut a wedding photographer out of your budget, but I think this blog makes a pretty good argument on why a wedding photographer is so necessary!