Wedding Blog

We finally booked our photographer! With only five months before the wedding we are feeling behind, so I definitely breathed a little easier once I was able to check off “find photographer” from our To-Do list.

I have to admit; deciding on a photographer was probably one of the hardest decisions we had to make. For some reason, everyone knows a photographer! People were sending me links left and right. And they were all very talented, in their own way. Mr. Martini and I also have very different tastes in the type of photography we prefer, so it was a bit of a challenge for us. The way we found out about our different tastes however, is pretty interesting.

(image courtesy Bella Pictures) 

Very early on in our photographer search, I made an appointment with Bella Pictures. Their prices were very reasonable and they were also voted Knottie best. We did not book with them in the end but I wanted to write about my experience with them, because it was a very good, but different experience.

Bella Pictures does things a little differently. What they do is provide high end photographers at a lower cost – by taking away all the work from them. Photographers love it because they get to spend more time doing what they love doing – which is to take pictures. Wedding couples love it because they get to hire great photographers at a fraction of the price. As far as albums go, you have full control, spending time with a specialist that will help you design one your way. You also receive ALL the digital photos that the photographer took, which was something that was important to us.

Worried you might get matched up with a horrible photographer? Before you make a decision, you review a portfolio of the photographer’s original work, and decide from there. If you change your mind, you are simply set up with a new one. If you decide you no longer want to work with Bella Pictures, you have until 30 days before your wedding date to get a FULL refund. It was a total, no strings attached deal.

The first thing our consultant Suny did was to provide an album with different styles of pictures taken by different photographers. Based on our responses to them and our comments on them, she would match us up with a Bella certified photographer that fit what we were looking for. This process was actually somewhat of a revelation for us. We realized that I preferred edgier, modern shots while Mr. Martini thought edgier shots were too crazy and preferred more traditional pictures.

For example, for our engagement pictures, I pictured the Meatpacking District or the west village area with yellow cabs and splashes of red brick. Mr. Martini wanted foliage in Central Park. I wanted our wedding pictures to be totally photo-journalistic and also include artistic, angled shots and bright colors that looked like they came out of a magazine. Mr. Martini was partial to the straighter edged portraits. We realized then that we needed someone who could do both.

To be honest I didn’t know what to expect in our appointment. At the time I had my heart set on another photographer (who we ended up not hiring in the end either), so we made the appointment with Suny just to see what else was out there. We walked out loving her. Mr. Martini and I both agreed that she was someone we could totally be friends with. Although she was not the photographer but instead someone who would help set us up with one, she was very honest, personal and didn’t try to sell us at all. Bella may or may not be for you, but if you feel that it’s something you might want to check out, I recommend contacting Suny Chang if you are in the NY/NJ area. I haven’t spoken to her in forever so she has no idea that I’m even writing this, but we did have a great experience with her.

Bella Pictures
Suny Chang
Photography Consultant
suny.chang[at]bellapictures.com
Direct: 201.892.3887

To be continued - Our Photographer!