Weddingbee Blog

First there was the final decision on having FFIL Dragon officiate, and now I’m happy to say we finally have a photographer.

I’ve been searching for a photographer since September with not a whole lot of luck. As I’ve mentioned, when it comes to pictures we’re definitely people with a beer budget and champagne taste. Unfortunately, when you’re looking at paying under a grand for a photographer there are a lot of bad portfolios to comb through. I thought I found the perfect guy for the job, a Kingston photographer who was quite good and would shoot the whole day for $500 plus travel fees and provide the images on disc, but after a week or so of emailing back and forth he confirmed he was unavailable for our wedding date.

After that frustrating event, I broke one of my own rules after spending a few hours sifting through photographers’ websites and posted an anti selective colour rant as my Facebook status. My friend/former schoolmate Rozy joked that she’d shoot our wedding for the cost of a plane ticket except she’d probably get eaten by a bear—and then I let her know we were actually getting married down south, not up here. A few messages back and forth later and, lo and behold, the search is over and Rozy is our girl!

The two of us survived two years of photojournalism school together, and after that she went on to study creative photography for a year. She’s never shot a wedding before, but she told me she’s going to research and prepare; I trust her to do an awesome job, having seen her candid action shots and planned portraiture many times.

I know that I’m comfortable being in front of the camera if she’s behind it, and I’m excited because I know her well enough to ask if I want specific shots (not that you couldn’t do that with any photographer—it’s just easier for me to work with people I know). All of that, we get her all day, fast turnaround time, and lightly edited photos with no selective colour or heavy-handed Photoshopping to be seen. What more can I ask for? And I get to sneak another friend onto our guest list.

I’ve been scoping out some inspiration shots to help generate some ideas:

Photo by Ben J. Haisch

Image from and photo by Izlas Imaging

All of our major decisions, for the most part, have been made with the signing of our contract with Rozy. I feel so excited and so relieved at the same time!

It turns out that our wedding is truly an effort of love because nearly all of the vendors are family or friends. The location? Mom Dragon’s backyard. The minister? FFIL Dragon. The flowers? Done by Mom Dragon. The food? To be handled by my Dad Dragon and my pro chef brother-in-law (more on that soon). Desserts? A combined effort between me, P. Dragon, and probably a few other helpful friends. And, of course, the photography will be handled by Rozy.

The only major vendors that will come from outside our little circle are the rental company for the tent, tables, and chairs, and whatever hairdresser I find to make me look good.

Are we crazy for relying so heavily on friendors? I don’t think so. We’re dealing in contracts where applicable (i.e., when it’s not a parent doing something for us, basically), and we know the people we’re using are good at what they do. That being said, we don’t have crazy-high expectations of our friends to deliver absolute perfection—my mantra has been, over and over, this is a casual thing. Most of all we want the day to be fun for everyone, including those who are splitting their time between wedding guest and photographer/baker/florist/etc. so if they want to kick back with a beer during the reception, we’re fine with that and we’ll likely join ‘em!

What are your thoughts on friendors? Would you hire a friend to handle part of your wedding?