Each year as we go through wedding season, many blog topics ideas pop into my head from meetings with clients, phone calls with vendors, event day experiences, etc. I always vow to touch on all of these topics once our season slows down but unfortunately, I don’t always remember, so this year, I kept a topic journal and i’m going to try and make light of many topics that I think are key when planning your big day.
The first one is Engagement pictures. I often get the question, “Will a photographer offer me a lesser expensive package if I don’t take an engagement session or bridal portrait?” And the answer is, NO not always! But I wanted to explain why. An engagement session is really a learning experience, for both our clients and their photographers. I work with many professional photographers that will not take on a wedding client, if they don’t have the ability to photograph them before the big day. It isn’t about the money, it’s about getting to know each other and the experience that they want clients to receive. It is mutually beneficial if you have a relationship with the photographer that is going to have a camera 6 inches from your face for 8 hours on what is arguably the most important day of your life. It is easy to spend the day with a loved one, or someone that knows your best side, that shares inside jokes with you and can make you feel comfortable. It is not easy, when you have to force a relationship with someone that you have met for one hour, in a sales meeting, 18 months ago. You want to be relaxed and stress free, getting to know your vendors and feeling the support around you will not only make you feel more secure but also will allow you to be more comfortable in front of the camera. In turn, this comfortable relaxed feeling will come across in your pictures.
Not only do you want to feel assured and trusting of your wedding photographer, you want to know how they photograph you. There are many photographers that I love across the nation, and that I have had the extreme honor of working with, however, that doesn’t mean that I love how all of these photographers capture me on film. It doesn’t mean that they are a bad photographer, it just means possibly the style in which they shoot isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing to you.
In 2010 I worked with a client that hired a photographer to photograph their wedding. They loved the photographers portfolio and felt that they had a great friendly chemistry. They spent the day taking their engagement pictures in gorgeous Williamsburg and when they received their pictures back, they were less than in love with the final product. It was not that the photographer didn’t do a good job, they just did not love how they were photographed from that photographers perspective. And you know what, That was ok! These clients were able to make a decision, based on their experience with their engagement pictures. They had ample time to find another photographer, and start the process again. They did take a 2nd set of engagement pictures with the newly hired photographer, they LOVED the way that they were captured through the new photographers lens and they were extremely happy with their engagement, bridal portrait and wedding images.
Here is the point to this entire post, wouldn’t you much rather find out before the wedding that you don’t “click” with a vendor, or that you don’t love something, than spend your money on a product that you aren’t going to be happy with. Buyers remorse, is not OK when it comes to your wedding!
Gallery image by: Bit of Ivory Photography
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