Weddingbee Blog

I recently received an email from a reader asking me about how I found our photographer and I realized I never shared the story with the hive!

Source

I started stalking photography blogs after the very talented Jessica Claire photographed my friend Tiffany’s wedding 3 years ago.

Photo by Jessica Claire

This is when I discovered photography blogs, and teaser photos, and all of that. So, when I began my search, I knew I wanted a wedding photographer with a photojournalistic style and a blog (although I would never have admitted this aloud). I wanted teaser photos and all of that!

My first stop in finding a photographer was the Weddingbee boards. I posted a thread in the Orange County Boards and the San Diego Boards and got a ton of great recommendations. I emailed every one of the photographers that were suggested. Some were booked for our date, some were too expensive and some took too long to respond. I did find a couple possibilities, but none were local to San Diego, so I was also looking at a travel fees.

Then one day reader sal75 recommended her photographer, Melissa McClure. After looking around her blog I contacted her right away. Not only were her photos great, but I knew with her cherry watermark, we were kindred spirits.

Quick, where is the closest field to my venue?

Sadly, Melissa was already booked for our date. (SAD FACE!) But, she offered to help us find a photographer. (HAPPY FACE!) She asked me to email her exactly what I wanted and what our budget was and she would email all her photography friends to see if anyone was interested. (SCORE!) So, I did, and she did. The next day I got an email with a list of everyone who had responded and a sentence (or two) of what she knew about them. As I was about to start looking at all their websites and blogs, Melissa emailed me again with 2 more photographers. One of those photographers was Ohana Photography, who had done Melissa’s engagement photos.

Dang it, someone find me a field! (Source)

Confession: I started to tear up. Ohana Photography was exactly what I was looking for! And, the extra bonus was that I didn’t have to email them and ask them if they were available on the day of our wedding because they already knew our date. AND, I didn’t have to fall in love with their images only to find out they were out of my budget, because they already knew my budget. I called David Baxter with Ohana that night and spoke to the nicest, most energetic guy on the phone, and I was sold.

I later found out that Melissa had done all this for me the week of her wedding! In between getting married and leaving for her honeymoon cruise, she helped me find a photographer. Who does that? Apparently, Melissa and girl who “Tweeted” her wedding…

Check out her bridal outfit! HOTNESS! (Source)

Now, Melissa is one of my Twitter friends and we’ve arrange an after wedding bridal shoot. We’re hoping to talk Mr Frenchie into coming with a 6-pack of beer and I think it may work.

How did you find your wedding photographer?