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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

A Weight Off Our Shoulders!

Hi all! Since I last left you, I was in a conundrum about photographers. We had met with 2 amazing people, but alas, we can only choose one. The person we picked is Katy Batdorff! If you recall from my last post, she was the $850 option. So far, I have LOVED talking to her and discussing our ideas for pictures. She is very laid back and has a beautiful eye for the art of photography.

We chose her because, after many many discussions with many people (because apparently I need at least 200 people to agree with our decision), I realized that of all of the wedding decisions we will be making, photography is probably the most important one. This is how we will be remembering our wedding day for the rest of our lives. And it's super-duper important to me because I do it myself! Sure, I want good food, good music, pretty table deco's. But all of those things will not be remembered in 50 years. It will be the people we spend it with, and the pictures we can look back on. Therefore, we are willing to spend a little more to get that extra special feeling for our pictures.

Next step...engagement pics! We decided we want to do ours on the pier and beach in Grand Haven. Mr. Spaghetti proposed on the pier so it would be super meaningful to have some done out there. We are hoping to have them done either this weekend or next. Stay tuned for sneak peeks!

What factors helped you decide on a photographer? Any tips or ideas for awesome beach photos?

Happy planning!
Miss Spaghetti

Monday, August 20, 2012

Photographer Update

Well in my last post I was somewhat, um, distraught, about photographers. Since then, I've googled just about every single photographer in the state of Michigan. I've gotten some quotes all over the board, from $450 up to over $2500, and I've scheduled meetings with my top 2 contenders!

First up is Katy Batdorff Photography, a local photographer with an artistic flair. I like the perspective of a lot of her shots.

And the second meeting will be with Huisman Photography, also from the Grand Rapids area. They are a husband/wife team that has a more traditional, but beautiful, style.

Before I give you the quotes I received from these wonderful studios, I'll explain what I was looking for in a photography package:
  • engagement session
  • 5 hours of coverage
  • cd or dvd of full-resolution images with no copyrights
Based on my request, I was quoted $450 from Huisman Photography and $850 from Katy Batdorff Photography.  There is a small (big) gap in the quotes, and although price is a huge factor for us, having a photographer whose personality and style really fit with us is most important. Therefore, the decision will depend on how each of the in-person meetings go. And if neither really seem like the right fit for us, I do have a backup...

Alivia Duran Photography quoted $900 for a package with my specifications. She does stunning work and I would definitely be interested in meeting her, however she is out of the country currently and we won't be able to do so quite yet. We'll see how this weeks meetings go.

Happy planning!

Miss Spaghetti

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Wedding Photography Woes

According to my handy little checklist, now is the time that I should start looking for a photographer. The problem with this is, I am a wedding photographer. My mom and I have a small side-business doing wedding photography. There are many things in our wedding that I am planning to DIY...wedding photography is unfortunately not one that I can do. Nor is it one that Mr. Spaghetti or  any family members would let me do (believe me, I've mentioned it once or twice and gotten quite a bit of flack).

So my dilemma lies in knowing how much it actually costs to photograph a wedding, versus how much people pay for it. I will tell you that the prices my mom and I charge are considered "budget", and are on the low end for our area. But so far the lowest price I can find is $700, and that is basically 5 hours of shooting and a DVD of all the pictures, copyright free. I'm not saying that wedding photographers don't deserve every penny they get, I know it is a lot of work. But average prices around here are $2000-$2500. I just can't justify that. Nor would I ever pay that!

Is there anything in your wedding that you couldn't justify spending much on? How did you handle it?