Hi Everyone! Happy Thanksgiving Week! Every year Aimee & I promise ourselves not to join the crazy hustle & bustle and that Holiday “sense of urgency” that comes over us every year at this time…and yet, here we are…stressing about last-minute arrangements and recipes for Thanksgiving. *sigh*…but, it’ll be good. And there’s always next year to live the zen life that I have in my mind. Well…I actually didn’t come here to confess my personal shortcomings (although it is ridiculously cathartic), but I *DID* come to share the absolutely lovely Brittany & Trenton Pollok’s Poth Wedding.
I initially met Brittany at the Bridal Extravaganza (if you’re visiting the one in January, HERE are a few tips to maximize your trip!) We set-up an in-person consultation with herself, her mom and her mom’s best friend (always nice to have an entourage!) Mom used to be a wedding photographer (which is always kinda flattering to be chosen by another photographer) and we hit it off right away. Brittany grew up in front of the camera and has NO problem posing for pictures…she let us know that Trenton, on the other hand, dreaded it. Her mom shot some engagement pictures for the to send with their Save The Dates and she said he hated every minute! 🙂 (**Side note – her mom did a great job on the pics…you never would have known!)
And, as I’m sure you would have guessed, we get this a lot. Either the Bride or the Groom has a hard time being in front of the camera…they would rather do ANYTHING than take pictures. But, they still want nice, creative, flattering shots of themselves 🙂 No pressure. And we talk about this extensively in our consultations but as you’re reading this, if you feel like you or your partner fit this description then please, please take extra time as you are choosing your photographer. Don’t *ONLY* book someone because they’re the cheapest, or because you liked their display at a bridal show, or they have a nice website…ALL of these things are great. I’m not disparaging any of them. You absolutely have to find someone in your budget as well as someone whose brand impresses you. But the most important thing is how impressed are you with the chemistry you have with them in person! Here’s what I would tell my little sister if she was getting married : when you sit down with someone selling their art, you aren’t dealing with just a sales person, or an entrepreneur…you are dealing with someone who has made a career from exposing themselves intimately in order to create, then asking for you to judge them and hopefully choose them over others doing the same. It’s a tough job feeling so exposed on their end. And what you are dealing with is a lot of “feelings” and “personality”. And while I would never tell you to go buy a car this way, when you are choosing an artist, you HAVE TO CONNECT WITH THEM…your feelings and your personality have to align in order to ensure the vision you have for your wedding memories will be respected and preserved properly. So when you sit down with someone, even if everything looks good on paper, you listen to your gut when interviewing an artist. Who excites you…who inspires you…who makes you smile…who impresses you? Listen to your gut and it will give you red flags when it’s not a good fit.
Because when it is a good fit, the photographer helps you relax and feel natural and you aren’t worried about a big camera in your face any longer…you’re thinking about your fiance, or about the moment…we’re helping you to create memories instead of focusing on the drudgery of shooting portraits. See the difference? And that takes someone emotionally connected to you.
If you feel this way about taking photos, but you’ve already chosen your photographer…then the above isn’t very helpful to you 🙂 But, my advice would be to take control of the relationship between you and your photog and slowly start to mold it from a transactional relationship (where you pay him/her money and they show up to perform a service) into an emotional relationship – where you know each others background, you have shared stories and feelings with each other, you know their passions and their priorities, and they know yours. You do this by emailing them questions about their business…or calling to comment on something they posted on social media, or asking wedding advice. Sure, all of these things may be a bit contrived, but you want someone as close to you as your photographer on your wedding day to be…sincerely…close. Not artificially close, that’s weird and disingenuous. I know that puts some pressure on you (when it should be on the professional you hired), but it’s your wedding day, not theirs. So take ownership and make sure you have the desired level of intimacy with your chosen artist so you can be comfortable at your wedding.
Anyways, I’ll shut-up now and let you look at the pretty pictures we created! 😛 As you can see, Trenton was handsome and charming…and much more excited about marrying Brittany and having a great wedding than he was worrying about taking pictures. Here are a few of our favs – I hope you dig them!
Yes, you like? I think they turned out really well. Wasn’t the reception set-up nice? They did that all themselves on their land – we absolutely loved it.
So thanks a ton to Brittany and Trenton (and their families) for choosing Moments & Milestones for their wedding. We were truly honored and I hope these pictures are cherished forever.
And a special thanks to *YOU* for checking out another blog post…especially getting through my soapbox above! If ever we can be a resource to you, don’t hesitate to REACH OUT at any time. We’d love to serve you in any way that we can. Or, if you need further info on our wedding services – CLICK HERE – or feel free to leave a comment on this blog and we’ll get right back to you. Until next time ~
Cheers everyone…