Weddingbee Blog

One of the biggest things I learned from my last wedding is that not every photographer is the same. Well, in all fairness, I knew this BEFORE my last wedding. But because the last one was paid for by my very gracious parents, most of the decisions (or at least the ones that had to do with costs) were not left up to me. Photos are one thing that is very important to me. I was THAT girl in high school—you know, the one that ALWAYS had a camera and had hundreds (yes, hundreds) of photos taped to her wall. So, clearly, I knew what type of photos I wanted from my wedding. And, basically, I got the COMPLETE opposite. I definitely get my quasi-frugality from my dad. I am always looking for a bargain or the best deal, but one way my dad and I differ: I’m willing to splurge if it’s worth it, whereas, typically, he’s not. And for my last wedding, photography fell into that category, and, err, luckily(?) for me he “knew a guy.” Well, I could tell by this guy’s portfolio this was not the photographer for me (think completely staged family reunion or soccer team photos). My dad, however, had different plans; because according to him, this was the guy. Retrospectively, now being divorced, I don’t care that the photos look like completely staged prom photos. But now that I’m doing this for REAL, I want photos that I can look at in 50 years and still love just as much as I love Mr. B. And thankfully, even though paying for the whole wedding sometimes sucks, this is one of those cases where it definitely does not.

A friend I had growing up is just starting out with photography, and looking at her website and Facebook portfolios, I started to think that she was the way to go. Her photos are beautiful. So, shortly after becoming engaged, I contacted her about doing our engagement photos. She was just as excited to shoot us as we were! We scheduled our engagement shoot for October 2011, and being the impatient person I am, I couldn’t wait to get the photos back. I got my sneak peek later that day, and I knew we had made the right decision. I loved all the photos! They were exactly what we wanted from our engagement photos, and once we had looked through all of them, and Mr. B approved, I asked her to do the wedding. We’re so excited to have her document our big day!

All photos by Quartiano Photography

Was finding a photographer that shared your vision a priority to you? Or are photos something that you were willing to compromise on?