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Miss Ramen, Phoenix Age and Occupation: 26, Optometry Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Industrial Designer Engagement Date: January 3, 2009 Wedding Date: December 2009 Venue: Phoenix Art Museum About Me: I'm an SF-born, Seattle-raised girl, transplanted to Phoenix where I'll be getting married, and planning all the way from Orange County where I go to school (yes, it feels as crazy as it sounds). I loooooove Yogurtland, am slightly very obsessed with all things paper, am heavily addicted to wedding blogs, deeply desire a puppy, thoroughly enjoy cooking, cry when I watch (almost all) movies, thrive on solo car-karaoke, can't stop being sarcastic, am neurotic about taking pictures of almost everything I eat before I eat it, and aspire to travel the world. My super-talented fiance and I are attempting to DIY a majority of our massive (~350 guests) "clean & modern, yet romantic, but completely unexpected, with a teeny dash of vintage" wedding, stay within our not-so-massive budget, and somehow get a really luxe (but still fun!) look/feel at the same time. In music terms (since we're both really into music) think Coldplay meets Motown meets Kanye meets Sinatra.
About Miss Ramen

Snap Happy!

September 29th, 2009 @ 11:35 am by Miss Ramen

Back in the day, when I started reading Weddingbee on a regular basis, I would read about all of these wedding photographers - Scott Robert, Jessica Claire, Jose Villa, Jen Skog, etc… and I started to check out their blogs on a regular basis. One of these amazing photographers was Lunaphoto, whose work I quite quickly fell in love with. I then tried to persuade myself to not love them, since I knew that they HAD to be totally outside of any photography budget I could fathom.

After hearing COUNTLESS married friends tell me they wished they had splurged on their photography, I was determined to get the most bang for our buck. Once we were engaged, I started pounding in the doctrine of splurging on photography to Mr. Ramen. Being the designer that he is, he was completely on board - although he was a bit astounded at the amount I wanted to splurge. I told him I was willing to cut out other things, like a videographer and a DJ, in order to have my dream photos! When I grew up and realized that $10K was unrealistic for our wedding, we began emailing photogs to see if we could maybe afford to squeeze into one of their smaller packages. But our list of requirements was long! We wanted at least 10 hours of coverage for the day-of, an album, an e-session, and the digital proofs from our wedding. I bit my nails, seeing if we would ever find the perfect photog that would be willing to work with 2 aesthetic-crazed, empty-wallet students.

Re-enter Lunaphoto. After making Mr. Ramen look at a million different wedding photographer blogs, only one really stood out to him - yup, it was LP. I quickly emailed them, and so began our relationship with them. We loved their style, their concept, their grasp of lighting, the classic clean lines, the crisp vivid images, the romance, the ultra-modern and sexy, yet still traditional style… and once I saw this image, I was done; there was no way we could choose anyone else:

I scheduled an appointment to meet up with Mike and Paula in their San Diego studio/loft, where I fell in love with their GORGEOUS home. Once I saw their Barcelona chairs, the same ones that Mr. Ramen had been pointing out to me, I knew we had found photographers who had the same aesthetics as we did. They offered us a package that fit our needs and we could afford! We were overjoyed that things worked soooo smoothly, and quickly booked them.

Mike and Paula are in incredibly high demand and get to travel ALL over the world to shoot weddings (I’m totally jealous of their lives!). Since Mr. Ramen and I aren’t based in SD, and because the Lunas are jet setters, we decided to do a day-after shoot in lieu of an engagement session. This actually works out PERFECTLY, since we will be more relaxed, I get to wear my precioussss a second time, I get to have my desert photo session that I’ve been dreaming about, and we won’t have to be all stressed and rushing around to take photos on our wedding day!

I’m super excited to work with Lunaphoto and I could go on and on and ON about how awesome they are, but I’ll just let their work speak for itself. These are just a FEW of my favorites (can you tell that I looooove B&W???)! Enjoy!

Ramen photography tips:
  • Personally, I feel this is the one area to splurge - even if you don’t splurge on flowers, you want amazing pictures!
  • With that being said, there are a TON of up and coming wedding photogs that are awesome AND super affordable. Sister Ramen did tons of research and found a relatively new photog who fits within her budget and still is going to provide the look and style that she wants.
  • Make a list of what is most important to you - an E-session, albums, prints, hours. Keep these in mind when you are contacting photographers.
  • Make sure you get everything spelled out in your contract, including hours, # of prints/proofs, travel costs, etc. It’s always good to have everything on paper for weddings!
  • Getting married in the “off-season” worked for us; although Oct-Feb is the high season for weddings in AZ, its the low season for most photogs in more milder weathered states. Because it’s slow, some photogs will consider discounts! So don’t necessarily rule out a photog just because they’re in another state and are in high demand!
  • If you MUST have an expensive photog, consider hiring them to only shoot the ceremony and part of the reception, and asking a talented friend or a photog that is just starting out to shoot the getting-ready and later-reception shots.
  • Make sure you factor travel time into your day-of photo shoot schedule!
  • Meet with your photog in person before signing a contract! Personality matters A LOT when you are being “watched” by a person for 10+ hours. And this goes back to that whole “clicking” with each other-thing. You’ll know.

How did you know you had found the right photographer?

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23 Responses to “Snap Happy!”

1.
Mrs. French Bulldog
Bee
Mrs. French Bulldog (message)  6,067 posts, Bee Keeper

Gorgeous photos! So glad you got the photog our your dreams :)
P.S. Does the bride in the first pic look just like Miss Poodle to anyone else?

 
2.
Jessie516
Hostess
Jessie516 (message)  4,030 posts, Honey bee

Wow, those are awesome photos! I can’t wait to see what these amazing photographers do with your wedding pics!

 
3.
LatteLove
Hostess
LatteLove (message)  4,097 posts, Honey bee

Wow just a “few” of your favorites! :-)
you snagged some talent, girl!

 
4.
tea
Member
tea (message)  2,645 posts, Sugar bee

wow those are some amazing shots! you definitely score on this one!

 
5.
Bee Icon
Bee
Mrs. Bruschetta (message)  5,553 posts, Bee Keeper

What an amazing portfolio!

 
6.
MrsSl82be
Member
MrsSl82be (message)  1,472 posts, Bumble bee

I am also a lover of B&W, thos pics are gorg!! Can’t wait to see what your wedding will look like :)

 
7.
Lillindy
Hostess
Lillindy (message)  4,268 posts, Honey bee

Being on the other side I totally agree with really splurging on photos, so I’m glad you ended up with a photographer you love! And I can totally see why, all of their pictures are amazing!

@Mrs. French Bulldog: She does look a bit like Miss Poodle!

 
8.
Ruby Slippers
Member
Ruby Slippers (message)  482 posts, Helper bee

I also stalk lunaphoto! Aren’t they fab? I’m so glad you found a photographer you love!

 
9.
kmattso2
Member
kmattso2 (message)  990 posts, Busy bee

Looks like you picked a winner, their pictures are gorgeous!!

 
10.
RecessionistaBride
Member
RecessionistaBride (message)  3,405 posts, Sugar bee

Wow amazing shots! I love that you’re doing a day after shoot too :)

 
11.
thefuturemrsjewell
Member
thefuturemrsjewell (message)  1,533 posts, Bumble bee

wow! what incredible photos! lucky girl!!!!

 
12.
fiftyfootbride
Member
fiftyfootbride (message)  3,779 posts, Honey bee

Beautiful! Congrats on finding a great photography solution. :)

 
13.
MexicanGirl
Member
MexicanGirl (message)  644 posts, Busy bee

great find! i bet your pics will be amazing!!

 
14.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Ramen (message)  259 posts, Helper bee

i forgot to mention this, but i think it goes without saying that all of these images are from lunaphoto’s website, with permission!

 
15.
Bee Icon
Bee
Mrs. Mouse (message)  3,330 posts, Sugar bee

These are great photos. I love the idea of a “day after” shoot, too! And in the desert! I’m so jealous. :)

 
16.
lauralou852
Member
lauralou852 (message)  286 posts, Helper bee

Loove their work!!

 
17.
Member Icon
Member
Charlenie (message)  24 posts, Newbee

I splurged on my photo’s as well. I totally blew my wedding budget, but the photography was the MOST important detail of the day for me.. I have seen a few sneak peaks of my wedding day pics and they are amazing.. I cannot wait to see what else they have done!
http://www.beyondordinary.net

 
18.
ColorCoated
Member
ColorCoated (message)  951 posts, Busy bee

wow - you’ve got a good one!

 
19.
Amethyst
Member
Amethyst (message)  9 posts, Newbee

Wow, I love Lunaphoto. Can I ask how you made that happen? They are so amazing and in demand. I stalk their blog wishing my budget had more room.

 
20.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Ramen (message)  259 posts, Helper bee

@Amethyst: i think it just came down to reallllllly great timing! I had emailed with several diff photogs as well, and I had just spelled out what I was looking for and what my budget was, that I really loved their work, and if they had any suggestions for how we could work something out. Sort of like med school rotation matching - they had what i wanted (obviously) and for whatever reason, they wanted to work with us.

Please keep in mind that many photog have different pricing for each year, the type of weddings they want to shoot (ex: some photogs really want to get into destination weddings, or build their portfolios for certain things), and also depending on the time of year and the demand they get. Keep that in mind! My motto is it never hurts to ask!

 
21.
Bee Icon
Bee
Mrs. Espresso (message)  1,064 posts, Bumble bee

You are going to have some seriously awesome wedding photos!

 
22.
Guest Icon
Guest
Andrea

Great photos- but if you’re going to consider having more than one photographer at your wedding, most pros have a “sole photographer” clause in their agreements and generally won’t include someone else’s photos in their albums. Like you said, make sure it’s in writing.

 
23.
Guest Icon
Guest
Engaged! And Definitely Not Underage. Part 1 | Weddingbee

[...] our photographers? The globe-trotting ones who are insanely busy? Well, since we had this whole long-distance [...]

 


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Miss Ramen
Miss Ramen Miss Ramen, Phoenix Age and Occupation: 26, Optometry Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 23, Industrial Designer Engagement Date: January 3, 2009 Wedding Date: December 2009 Venue: Phoenix Art Museum About Me: I'm an SF-born, Seattle-raised girl, transplanted to Phoenix where I'll be getting married, and planning all the way from Orange County where I go to school (yes, it feels as crazy as it sounds). I loooooove Yogurtland, am slightly very obsessed with all things paper, am heavily addicted to wedding blogs, deeply desire a puppy, thoroughly enjoy cooking, cry when I watch (almost all) movies, thrive on solo car-karaoke, can't stop being sarcastic, am neurotic about taking pictures of almost everything I eat before I eat it, and aspire to travel the world. My super-talented fiance and I are attempting to DIY a majority of our massive (~350 guests) "clean & modern, yet romantic, but completely unexpected, with a teeny dash of vintage" wedding, stay within our not-so-massive budget, and somehow get a really luxe (but still fun!) look/feel at the same time. In music terms (since we're both really into music) think Coldplay meets Motown meets Kanye meets Sinatra.
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