building trust with your vendors

This year has brought to me MANY amazing experience working with my beloved clients. But, I want to highlight two of them, in particular, that stand out in my mind as absolute gems of the year.

when it comes to your wedding, you’re IN IT for a long time before your wedding day. If I remember anything, it’s that when the wedding day finally arrives, you finally feel like you can let out a big exhale + relax! This is a great thing, and a great feeling to get to have with the people you love the most. I believe I can help you get a little bit of the exhale started weeks, maybe months, before your wedding day with this little bit of how to.

I’ve never been a big social media guy. I think that it’s just a glimpse, and I don’t have my phone out for reel-ing or BTS because what’s more important to me is being present with you. BUUUUUT. (ooof, did you expect that!?) this year I’ve found that the people who are the first likes on my insta…their weddings were extraordinary experiences for me, and for them.

What does it mean?! It means that what you can do to help build your own confidence in how smoothly your day will go is follow along on some level: Facebook, Instagram, Blogging, email, text…with the vendors you’ve chosen. Be invested in them. See the work that they do on a consistent basis leading up to your wedding…and then be confident in your choice to have them be a part of your day. Trust yourself to know you did your job + made a wise choice. Do not micromanage ;) Be the couple getting married, and fully immerse yourself in your wedding, while you let the things around you unfold beautifully!

does this resonate with you!? are you in your planning process? get in touch today, I’d love to serve you!

Jordan + Geoff | married at Revery

bride stands in Revery overlooking Columbus, Ohio skyline

summertime (+ the livin's easy)

The absolute DELIGHT of summer weddings is that you can basically get away with doing photos in short bursts anywhere until about 9pm. Is there anything better than that? Long summer nights make me happy unlike anything else in the world. Not even as a wedding photographer, but as a whole entire human :)

so what, right? WELL! Whenever I get to talking with a couple about their day, we’re, of course, going through the timeline. The hill I’ll die on includes: Make sure you ENJOY your wedding day and don’t just schedule everything around the photos, kay? I say this with the caveat that: your wedding needs to be a summer wedding ;) I know I know, FALL THOUGH! But hear me out.

The freedom that comes with a summer wedding means you can schedule your photo time in a way without getting overwhelmed. If you’d like to do a first look, do that (those photos? they’re the best because you require about ZERO PROMPTING).

What’s great about first looks, and, well, me is that I won’t make you do anything that doesn’t feel right. I can pretty much guarantee my prep will sound like, “ok, you’re in line together, now….take it as it feels right. Do it your way.” There is way too much pressure in how we live now + all the wedding images our eyes consume to be perfect. Guess what? You’re going to see each other, it’s gonna be perfect.

So once that’s done! You get to spend the day with your partner! Such a relief, wow! What I do next is assess the day. Is it hot? How are you feeling? ready to knock out some portraits of one side of the bridal party? Need a drink? SO MANY OPTIONS BECAUSE, you guessed it (!), SO MUCH LIGHT LEFT IN THE DAY!

When it comes to couples portraits, here’s a controversial take: there’s enough time in the day that everything you choose to do is actually your choice. I’ve seen photographers insist on golden light photos…but guess what? I’ll never make you do anything. Don’t want to rush out after dinner? Cool, we’ve gotten enough during the day! (but here’s some goodness that you just have to see!)

what do you think? Is it relieving to get to make your own choices in this digital world of doing all the things we live in!? If you’re here for winter wedding advice, I’ll get ya on that soon, too!

a return to myself

You know how, in life, you never know what you’re missing until you find it? Being a mom felt like that, for me. Finding a film camera (obviously not to the same extent) felt like that to me. When I picked up a film camera and shot ALL THE THINGS in 2016, it felt like I had finally started living a true version of who I was supposed to be. As I type it, it’s weird to feel such a sense of self entangled in this job that I do…but here we are.

I feel most like myself when I can tell a story. My mode isn’t paper and pencil or computer..it’s my camera. Not my phone, man I hated when the pandemic hit, and I stopped shooting film. It’s the dark ages of our family’s history. And there’s nothing wrong with digitally recording life, it just isn’t my mode of doing it. As I’ve been feeling something shift in the past few months, it’s felt like home. Picking up a camera and working to get the light reading in my head, getting the shutter stop and aperture set before I look through the viewfinder..that is a meditation sort of exercise that keeps me present in moments, in ways I didn’t even begin to understand!

from a “work” point of view, what I love about film is that it lets me feel like I’m capturing the feel of my clients. It doesn’t have to always be clean and bright…because sometimes life, and love, are blurry and fuzzy and remind you of the way the warmth was in that moment…plus, now that I’m developing at Midwest Photo Exchange (vs. sending to a lab across the country, holla for supporting local!), I have my film scans back the next day. THE NEXT DAY! WILD!!

So while I know digital is still queen, I’m so glad to once again WANT to see your world through a film camera + hope you see the light in that, and bring me along!!

a post that deserves a repost: let's talk first looks!

It’ll be interesting to go back to what I wrote about this a few years back + see if my opinion has stayed the same….but here we are in 2022 and I want to give a little education session about what it means to consider a first look on your wedding day. I think often couples find themselves in the “MEH” opinion about first looks…meaning, they can be persuaded to do or not do them on their wedding day. I like to present the facts, unbiased, then..and let them see how it changes the vibe of their wedding day. Why? Because a lot of you’ve never been married before, and your wedding preparation involves scouring the internet for opinions and advice.. and it’s a lot! Know what’s right for you on your wedding day? what feels right for you. Now, here’s where the educating comes in: by looking through a sample schedule including a first look, and not including a first look, will help you figure out what the feel of your wedding day will be like. buuuuuut. THIS IS A BIG BUT! ….

if you’re getting married in late fall / winter…you don’t have a lot of wiggle room with your timeline for photos. so..you’ll have to take my unbiased education into consideration what season you’re working with.

Let’s get going!

SO let’s say you’re planning on NO first look, my advice to you is to minimize the amount of “work” you “have” to do following your vows, I could give a few reasons why…but my real why is so that you can actually make a decision about what you want to spend your cocktail hour doing. I will absolutely 100% never tell you what you have to do. HA in this very next sentence I’ll easily say what I think you should get to do during cocktail hour - either step away with your new spouse to spend a few quiet moments together OR socialize because it’s what you want to be doing. Your wedding day, NO FIRST LOOK, looks like this:

• photographer arrival for final getting ready photos 1.5 hours before ceremony time

• complete posed photos with both sides of bridal party, separately, finished by 30 minutes to ceremony time

• ceremony

• 20-30 minutes following ceremony: family portraits for both sides

• 10-30 minutes following those entire bridal party photos/couples portraits (so basically all of cocktail hour)

• introduction into reception / into first dances or into welcome + dinner

• you’ll be fed first, so I’ll usually check to see if you’d like to take a quick step outside, as this often corresponds with golden hour or sunset time, to shoot some photos / have some alone time while the rest of your guests finish their meal

• back to the party for speeches/formalities

• PARTY! with maybe another step outside for final night time portraits

PHEW! a lot right?

ok, so here we’ll look through a wedding day that INCLUDES a first look

• Photographer arrival about 3 hours before ceremony time for final getting ready.

• first look, about 10 minutes to be alone with your partner before the madness of the bridal party / family comes into play!

• ALL the bridal party shots, including travel, if necessary

• finish with pre ceremony shots: bridal party, couples, family if possible about 30 minutes before ceremony to refresh and rest.

• ceremony

• remaining photos with missing family members, etc.

• you can choose to join cocktail hour / hide away for a snack / quiet time!

• 10 minutes of couples portraits as your guests are lead to sit for dinner

• DINNER - you eat first, I’ll usually try to grab you for 10 minutes or so if it corresponds to golden hour

• YOU ARE FREE! PARTY!

SOOOO what do you think? Do they read differently to you? Does one give you a feel that you want to feel on your wedding day?