Blogfest post #3: Our amazing Photographer

Josh and I were already pretty sure about the photographer that we were going to be going with. We liked his work, his style, and his philosophy. Then we went to a wedding of a friend of mine that he shot and - while we still liked his work - we decided to keep looking for a photographer that was closer to our area, and more "us". That's when I decided to hit up weddingwire.com. It's a site where vendors can put up their info, and brides and grooms can post about their experiences with said vendors. This is something that I really appreciate since, in an environment that's as emotionally charged as wedding planning, no one wants to take chances so you'd better believe that if someone has a bad experience with a vendor I'm considering, I want to know about it. And honestly, the odds are that if I see a bad review (unless there are quite a number from other clients counteracting it), I'm going to nix the vendor right away.

We narrowed down our list to about six photographers that we wanted to take a closer look at. One of the ones that I loved right away but didn't think we could get or afford was Stout Photography (http://www.stoutphoto.com/about.php). I remember reading something about only doing 30 per year, etc. etc. But such glorious work. Truly, truly exceptional.

The time came to start emailing vendors for pricing lists and meetings and whatnot. Almost on a whim (I couldn't help myself) I emailed Stout. What came back very soon after was a lighthearted message about what you'd expect - pricing, etc. It made me giggle. A little trickle of hope appeared when I got a look at their pricing list. I held my breath. Oh my....we could afford this!!! It turns out that she (Jessica, the lead photographer for Stout) was only $300 more than the same package with the guy we'd considered before. And we LOVE her!

Not only is her work fantastic, but she's extremely, extremely nice and passionate about what she's doing. She was completely energetic when we met, and was so happy to have us in her home.

Needless to say, after meeting with another photographer there was simply no comparison. We clicked so well and this morning, we paid her retainer. We can't wait to begin working with her!