If you are considering setting aside 30%+ of your wedding budget on professional photography (and I hope that you are!) then you definitely want to make sure that you are making the absolute best use of your photographer!  It is without a doubt a big investment and there are a few important things that you can do, that from the prospective of a professional photographer, can be the difference between an “ok” experience and final product and an incredible experience and final product.  It is all about making the most of your investment!

Here are my top 6 ways to get the most out of your wedding photographer!

#1 If at all possible, meet in person for your consultation. Even better, bring the groom!  Not only does meeting face to face with your photographer tell you WAY more then their website alone can, but it also gives your photographer the chance to see you two together in person before the wedding day.  Everything from what you wear to your consultation to the way that you and your groom interact helps the photographer to get a feel for your personalty and style as a couple.  All of this means that your photographer is even more prepared to capture what represents “you” most on your wedding day.

#2 Schedule an engagement session.  If it is at all possible to work into your wedding budget, schedule an engagement session with the photographer that you are considering hiring for your wedding day.  This can even be done before actually booking the photographer for your wedding.  Think of it as taking your photographer for a test drive before making the big investment of hiring them for your big day.  You will get to see how they work with you during the shoot, their turn around time on delivery of the images, and most importantly, you will get to see the quality of the finished product firsthand.  If for some reason you are not satisfied, then it is better that you figure that out before hiring them for the wedding day!

#3 Shift your coverage earlier in the day. If the number of hours in the wedding package that meets your budget do not cover the entire span of the wedding itinerary my advice to clients is alway this; opt to use your hours beginning earlier in the day as opposed to trying to get the entire reception covered. Trust me on this…you will not regret missing out on the extra 100-200 pictures of your friends dancing at your reception that will never make it on the wall or in an album.  What you will regret is never getting any detail shots of your dress or capturing that special moment when your mom walks in and sees you in your dress and veil for the first time.  Ideally, start your wedding coverage 2-3 hours before the ceremony start time. Coverage will still likely take you through the ceremony, through the “important” parts of the reception and will still leave time for plenty of fun dancing shots!

#4 Do a “first glance” and your bride groom session prior to the ceremony. Hear me out on this one…tradition (and grandma) have told us that seeing the bride before she walks down the aisle is somehow not as “special” and will take away from the big moment during your ceremony.  In reality, what is more special then getting to see your love for the first time on your wedding day in a beautiful, quiet and private moment instead of under the gawking eyes of all of your camera wielding guests!  You will be surrounded by family and friends for the rest of your wedding day – your bride & groom session is likely the only time you will have to stop and take the moment in. Sadly this inevitably gets squished into the remaining 10 minutes between the ceremony and reception after the craziness of family portraits and when you are already exhausted from the sheer adrenalin rush of the ceremony!

#5 Prioritize your Bride & Groom session! If seeing each other before the ceremony just isn’t your thing – and I completely understand, then prioritize these shots by allowing a decent amount of time after the ceremony for your bride groom session. Think about it – what are the wedding images that will end up on your walls?  Not the getting ready shots. Not the cake cutting. Not the picture of uncle Bobby dancing with his tie on his forehead.  When you look back on your wedding images it is the dramatic and romantic shots of you and your groom that become the most iconic.  These are the images that you remember.  These are the ones that get framed.  These are the ones the truly encapsulate this incredible time in your lives and inevitably, however… these are the ones that get prioritized LAST in the sheer busy-ness of the wedding day.  In 10 years you will NOT be disappointed if you missed the cocktail hour, you WILL be disapointed if you paid all of that money for your awesome arsty photographer and don’t have any incredible jaw dropping images on your wall to show for it because there was no time left to really create those images.   Consider setting aside 30-45 minutes just for your bride groom session on the wedding day.  As long as your guests are being fed at a cocktail hour they will not complain!  Again, it is about making the most of your investment in your awesome photographer by making that session a prioritized part of your wedding day experience instead of an afterthought.

#6 Finally, and probably most importantly, find a way to work a wedding album into your budget. Think about it, at some point in your life you sat down to look at your parent’s wedding album, maybe even your grandparents wedding album.  How incredible was it to be able to hold that little piece of history?  To smell the old leather as you turned the pages.  It is like looking through a window into the past.  The style of the clothes, those hideous bridesmaid dresses, your dad at such a young age. Digital photography has changed everything and as a result, “shoot and burn” wedding packages have become very popular.  Of course you want to have digital negatives to put up on Facebook and share online but 10-15 years from now are you going to crack open your laptop and pull up Facebook to show your children your wedding day?  Are you and your husband going to sit down on your 20th wedding anniversary and go through all 700 wedding images on iPhoto to relive the start of your life together?  The album is almost equally as important as getting the event captured because it is what adds tangible value to your investment which only increases with time.  The album should be as much as 50% of the photography budget.  If you have to, opt for less hours of coverage and have only the most important moments captured and then put into an album.  Talk with your photographer, there may be other album options available within your budget that he or she does not advertise but does have access to.  It is worth it and you will walk away feeling like you got more for your money than if you are simply shipped a disk of images.

My sweet friend Andy was just in town to keep me company while Graham was away working.  I love Andy because not only is she a fabulous graphic designer but she loves God, she can play bass, and is literally a trivia extroidennaire with a brain like a steel trap. While she was here I took her to one of my favorite spots in St.Pete to check out Mazzaro’s italian market for coffee and chocolate croissants! YUM!  If you have never been, you have to check out this authentic italian market!  While you are there make sure you try the fresh mozzarella cheese that they make daily and (if chocolate covered meat floats your boat) try to chocolate covered bacon.  Blegh!  Glad I tried it once.  Will never try it again. haha. Anyway, on the way to the airport we pulled over in Ybor for literally a 10 minute photo shoot because every girl deserves a fabulous picture:)  I love you Andy!

This morning my husband pointed out a great article in the local newspaper called “The airbrushed cover and the damage done” which featured a comparison cover shot of Faith Hill before and after photoshop retouching.  The Redbook cover shot was recently featured on Jezebel, a popular blog geared to women 18 to 34 with more than 200,000 readers each day.  The creator of the blog, Jessica Coen has made it her goal to fight for girls everywhere by bringing to light the absolute ridiculousness of the media photoshopping trend and its deceptive brainwashing of women of all ages.  The end of her article really hit home with me, she quotes Coen who says, “I would say to older women, ‘You have an obligation to put this out to girls…Every time your daughter sees a woman’s photo that you know isn’t real, you can ask her, ‘What’s wrong with this picture?’”  The article finishes, “As a mother, I learned the propaganda kicks in early.  I still remember the first time my daughter looked at herself in the mirror and said, ‘Mommy, this coat makes me look fat.’ She was 5.”

The whole thing just leaves me with a pit in my stomach as I watch Chloe soaking in every detail of her environment. This is a challenge to make sure that our children, both girls AND boys are able to tell the difference between what is real and what is the impossible and undesirable standard of beauty propagated by the world.  I did some digging on the Jezebel blog in her “Photoshop of Horrors” regular feature and came up with a few images worth sharing.  Sometimes I think that I have even grown so accustomed to seeing these things that it doesn’t even occur to me that something is not right with the images that I am seeing in the checkout isle.

And…I kind of secretly hate writing blog posts.  Ok there I said it! I just don’t think that I am the witty, Starbucks sipping, Anthropologie wearing super cool blogger type BUT I am trying to change that…(I would love to sip Starbucks and wear Anthropology…maybe that will come too:)  So, in an attempt to put myself out there a bit more here are a few things about me that you may not know…in NO particular order.

* If I had to choose only one store (and had limitless $$) to shop at for the rest of my entire life it would be J.Crew.  Yes…I have thought about this…and although my wardrobe is currently made up of less than 3% of actual J Crew clothing I have decided that they have the perfect outfits for every occasion and as trends come and go, their clothes always look timeless. (I told you I didn’t list these in order of importance)

* My favorite foods include goat cheese…and lamb…while this may make me sound like I often enjoy swanky dinners and have cultured taste, don’t be fooled.  But I will be the first to admit that for better or worse, I do have expensive taste in food…much to my husbands demise.

*Did I mention that going out to dinner is my #1 favorite thing on earth.mmmkay.

*I really really love my husband.  We have been together almost 8 years…married for 5 of those years,  and he genuinely is the most incredible, kind and genuine man that I know.  He is a great husband, a great leader in our marriage and a great father.

*I love Jesus.  My husband and I moved to FL from VA a little over a year ago to help plant a college church at USF called Aletheia Church (www.aletheiatampa.com)

*I own Jeggings.  Its true.  I won’t even tell you where I bought them from because you would totally think less of me. haha but once this Florida weather drops below 95 degrees I will most certainly be rocking them.

*I am currently reading a book called Crazy Love which is literally changing my life.  As in, I am almost afraid to read each next chapter because I know that once I do, I will have to make some serious life changes.

*Current life change that I am working on: Being able to say that I have enough.  Enough clothes, enough house, enough gear, enough, enough, enough.  I have been convicted that we are literally drowning in materialism and don’t even realize it – myself included.  I’m working on that.

*One of my pet peeves is open shower curtains.  If I walk into someone’s bathroom and their shower curtain is open, I will close it.  Is that weird?

*I love chai tea lattes. LOVE.

*I am currently obsessed with watching Kandee Johnson’s makeup and beauty tutorials on YouTube. I just think she seems like a fun, sweet AND beautiful person…and that is hard to find these days:) http://www.youtube.com/user/kandeejohnson

*This past year has been both one of the best years and also one of the hardest.  I am learning a lot about myself and about God.  I am grateful that my faith is being tested and that I am learning more about how God provides so sweetly.

Ok, enough about me…I also love getting to know new people…and other photographers….and especially over Chai tea lattes:)  So lets plan a latte date!

Chloe’s been helping me go through the mail before we head out of town for a few days…

A few days ago I had the pleasure of  meeting and photographing event designer Shawna Berger of Flawless Occasions!   She wanted a mix of fun images that she could use personally and professionally.  I really love doing these kinds of shoots  I mean…every girl deserves to have beautiful portraits whether its just for Facebook or for a professional portfolio! Here is a peak at some of my favs from the session!

No doubt about it, Shawna of Flawless Occasions rocked it out this morning!  Check back next week for more images from her fabulous shoot!