I understand as well as anyone what its like to be a bride and be a part of the wedding industry. Logan and I got married almost 5 years ago..whaaaa… but even now I remember being completely overwhelmed with all the wedding industry lingo. Do I need an album? What is a gallery wrap? How do I plan a timeline? HELP ME!

So after my weddings and realizing these are really common questions I decided to form my business around meeting the needs of each bride and giving an open outlet to help the wedding process. Because for real, it’s overwhelming.

With each wedding package I offer I include several different pieces of product. I have designed each package to gain the full experience. A question that I get asked a lot is whether or not I can remove parts of each package. I don’t, and the reason is like I just said. I want the experience with me to be the very best and each package helps make that happen. With my top package you receive: an engagement session, 16×20 canvas, a certain allotted milage, all day coverage, 600+ edited images, twenty five 5×5 square prints, a second shooter (shoutout to Jan), an online gallery, a jump drive, and an album. Plus each bride, no matter the package, gets a bridal guide to help with the planning process!

These were all things I didn’t know mattered until I became a bride. The bridal guide is something that I’m most proud of. In short, its a book/magazine that includes all images that I have taken and breaks down a wedding day. It even talks about the engagement session! It goes into detail about each part of a wedding day and gives little tips on how to make your wedding day the best ever!

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I include an engagement session with each wedding package and always strongly urge couples to schedule one. I always explain that the engagement session is so much more than just a an our to take pictures. It’s a chance for us to get to know one another and get comfortable. Being photographed is weird. I know this. Posing is awkward. I also know this. That’s why I push engagement sessions so we can have a chance to get the awkwardness out of the way before the wedding day! Plus, I like hanging out with new people and making new friends! Ha! I’m a human version of a Golden Retriever.

The best part about booking with me…other than hanging out with me, Jan, and my bun, is all the fun products that come with your package. I mentioned I include a 16×20 canvas. That is yours to choose. You can select whichever image you want for it. I have even had some brides pick an engagement picture to put at the wedding! You also get 25 5×5 square prints. These are super cool! I found an ordering company several years ago that make the most gorgeous matte paper prints. So beautiful! I actually order them for Logan and I after each trip we take. Along with the prints and canvas you’ll get an album. Yes, an album!!! And not the kind with the slide in pictures. Like I printed kind! I love these so much and have the best time creating them!! It’s a 10×10 album with around 100 images from the day. It doubles as an album and “coffee table” book!

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One of the most important parts, in my opinion, is the storage and presentation of the images. I am sooooo particular in how I store and give your images. Which is why I include a jump drive and an online gallery. I know it may seem like overkill but here’s the reason I do it. I know I sound like a “doomsdayer” but I’m convinced the internet could just blow up at any minute. Which would result in losing all stored images online. That terrifies me. And I don’t know if you know this, but once a wedding day is finished, there’s no going back and doing it over. So I include two sets of images for you. One copy is one a jump drive and the other is online. The jump drive is merely a “hard copy” of the images. A backup if you will. My least favorite part about the jump drive is that it displays the images at random throughout the day. I prefer to view images in chronological order. Which brings me to the online gallery. Here I can upload all the images and organize them into sub galleries. This way it is much easier to find a particular image!

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P.S. Please print your images. I know this sounds like such a photographer thing to say, but it’s so important to have tangible images. Ok, rant over.

In conclusion, ( I feel like I’m writing a high school research paper) it is important to know what you’re getting when you hire a wedding photographer. Even if it isn’t with me, check with them to make sure you’re getting the very best. Ask questions! If I had a motto it would be something along the lines of “relational over transactional”. I want to have a relationship with each couple that books with me. Weddings are such an important milestone in each couple’s life. I want to be there and make sure that it’s everything that you dreamt it would be. I never want to be a transactional photographer that merely takes the images and goes on with life like it never happened. When you book with me your booking a photographer as well as a friend. See, Golden Retriever. I hope this quick little blog lets you in deeper on how I run my business and the lengths I go to make sure you feel the very best on your special day!