Tuesday, August 17, 2010

thoughts on wedding photography

This is one of my favorites!!  I love the colors!!!  One Love Photo

Hiring wedding photographers was a big deal.  I all but agonized over it because our taste and our budget didn't exactly see eye to eye.  Awesome photography was important to me, and I searched high and low for artists whose vision made my heart pitter patter.  All photography is not created equal...and it took some real effort to find what we wanted and what we felt we could afford.  OK - not exactly...it took us one browse through of OneLovePhoto's blog to realize we wanted to work with them...it was the figuring out of how we could swing it that took a lil time.  The fact that we hired the absolute most phenomenal photographers in the country (One Love) is still a total mind blow...it was our splurge...(and yes, it was a splurge!) but it was our gift to ourselves and we made it work by keeping everything else super low key.  It was expensive, I'm not going to lie...(but to be honest...there were several local photographers who charged the same, if not more!)  Obviously, OneLove was worth every penny...umm...actually...they are worth more than they charge...way more.

The wonderful thing about hiring our exquisite photographers is that they took our very simple wedding and captured all of the joy and excitement and enthusiasm of the day.  We didn't have props, or lots of details to take pictures of...it really was a simple celebration as far as weddings go.  Our wedding location was perfect for great pictures, as downtown Flagstaff is quirky and rad...and then the forest and mountains provided beautiful backdrops as well.  The best part (well, next to the realization that they are mad talented) was that Heather and Jon were so fun and friendly (I leaned over to friends more than once throughout the weekend and whispered "I want to be friends with our photographers!  Aren't they so awesome!?" )  They belonged.  And you know what, they worked their butts off to capture it all (seriously...I have no idea how they juggled their numerous cameras and managed to be everywhere all the time!!  with smiles!!)


What we were left with are hundreds of gorgeous images.  Many of the pictures that I showcase on this blog are of Tommy and I (a lil narcissistic I know I know - but not all of our guests may be so keen on seeing their mug on a blog) .  However, many of my favorite shots of the day are the photos of our friends and family!  We will always have these pictures to cherish.  It was a day that can only be relived in our memories - our families and friends will never again gather in that magnitude to celebrate us, we committed ourselves to each other for all time, I will never again wear such a fancy shmancy dress, we may never dance a semi-choreographed dance in front of 100 guests again, and we certainly will never be 26 and 28 years old again.  This was a once in a lifetime event - and without a doubt, the most awesome picture op of our young adult lives.   Hiring them was the best wedding decision we made.

My advice?  Splurge on your photographer.  Have a friend make your cake.

15 comments:

  1. Your photos are absolutely stunning so definately the best decision!

    We spent quite a lot on ours too as we really wanted fantastic pictures to be able to look back on!

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  2. Jess - you look absolutely gorgeous in these photos! Unreal. Love it! We, too, splurged big time on our photographers. We hired Erin Hearts Court out of California. They were a dream to work with. I can tell that you had an amazing experience with your photographers. Well done! Congrats to you and Tommy.

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  3. I couldn't agree more! My photographer was a friend so I got a great discount...but it was still one of the most expensive parts of our day...but worth every penny!

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  4. your photos are seriously awesome. Some of the loveliest i've seen. And i totally agree on the splurge. Our wedding photographer was the only supplier (apart from the venue) we hired as we did the rest ourselves, and it was worth it. We love every picture he took.
    These pictures are some of my favourites - the colours are rad!

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  5. I agree 100%. Photographs are something you never, ever regret...regardless of the occasion.

    stephanie@metropolitanmama.net

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  6. Flagstaff is very quirky and rad! I just love the way One Love Photo was obviously so in tune with you.

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  7. Well, One Love Photo were our photographers too, so I obviously agree with you 100%.

    Also, a friend really DID make our cake. :)

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  8. I couldn't agree more. I thought everything would be fine having one of my best friends do our photography considering she wants to get into the business and takes great photographs but the day of she had another wedding to go to (just attend, not shoot) and was sick. Her work was less than phenomenal. In part I blame myself because I had wanted to make a list of everything that I wanted and I didn't get around to it. I also didn't insist that she come back for night shots. But, we did get a lot of amazing ones. She did great on almost all that she did so we do still have a good amount of great photos. Nevertheless, if I could re-do it I'd pay a couple thousand to ensure I got some amazing photos.

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  9. Close to tears here as I read this out loud to Jon. Thank you for all your support and kind words. We were so incredibly honored to be apart of all the love and wonderful memories up on the mountain that sweet sunny day! I hope our paths cross again and again. Your friends,
    Heather & Jon

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  10. Jes, I think you know I am so so jealous of your photography.
    Heather & Jon, they are perfectly gorgeous. and if you hadn't been booked, I would have hired you myself. I wish I had gone with someone you suggested, but I guess I was just super shy about picking a photographer so we went with a friend. Like Sarah Ann, I have some amazing shots but nothing, NOTHING, like your work. You're the best!

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  11. Ditto on One Love Photo, they are great :)

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  12. Awesome blog about getting and spending wisely on a hood wedding photographer. :)

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  13. More and more couples nowadays are craving something different when it comes to the images of their big day – something that goes beyond the standard look and feel of traditional wedding photos.

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  14. We love the photos and we are so glad you decided to "splurge" on the photography and cut corners with other parts of the budget. The photos are what you will look back on many years from now and you will be glad that you spent the necessary money and got great photographers to cover your wedding. Great decision guys and this is what we preach as well :)

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