8.05.2008

Vendor Bender: Photography

So we booked our venue. Now its on to vendors... we started with photographers.. and not on purpose.

Let me start by saying this: Research research research.

That being said, I actually chose my photographer the morning after I got engaged on one persons' recommendation. I didn't book her until a few months later and LOTS of research, but in my head, all along I pretty much knew.

My crazy scavenger hunt proposal took place on a January Saturday (If you haven't seen the slideshow yet - Click and watch. It was amazing and I still want to share it with the world at every chance I get). Monday morning I told a friend at work (we'll call him Guru) and his response was
"Congratulations! Rae Leytham."
Me - "umm - no - my name is Michelle."
Guru "No, Rae Leytham is your photographer."
Me - "We don't even know where or when we are getting married! We only get engaged on Saturday."
Guru - "Doesn't matter. Rae Leytham. Here is the website. Here are my favorite photos. Hands down best photographers. Husband and wife team that also have the best equipment and back ups of everything. You don't even have to be there to understand the moment." (I'll explain that last remark in another post.)
Me - "Ok then. Rae Leytham it is."

A few hours later I go home to my now fiance:
Me - "Rae Leytham is going to be our photographer. And I got a few recommendations on great cake bakers in the area."
Adam "Don't plan the whole wedding without me!!" (This was one of my favorite real life love moments.)

My family was INCREDIBLY skeptical of my being so attached to the idea of one photographer before I had even researched the other possibilities. The next few months were filled with lots of research of prices, style, locations, styles, albums, personalities etc. And then in May - we signed the contract with Rae. =D Thank you Guru!

I promise my next few posts will detail the rest of the photographers we considered, and what really sent everyone over the edge for Rae.

Anyone else make a quick decision that ended up being fantastic?

4 comments:

Wes and Rae Leytham said...

Oh. My. Goodness. How awesome. I knew I liked that Guru. I can't wait to hear more about ME. LOL!

zoliepup said...

Wow! Again a similar story to mine... I didn't exactly have a friend like Guru pointing me in the right direction, but I did fall in love with a photographer (Annie X) on a first look.

I exhaustively looked for anyone else who might fill her shoes, and kept coming back to Annie. She's my big splurge for the wedding, and it seems that everything she's done is exceptional.
http://www.anniexphoto.com/index2.php

I'm a big believer in going with your gut reaction on the photographer! Congrats on finding one you love!

Anonymous said...

I LOVEEEE YOUR RINGGG! Very pretty! Finding vendors is hard. You can think that you have found THE ONE and then all of a sudden something else better hits ya.

uh_mandaR_hode said...

in looking for inspiration for my wedding i stumbled upon your blog and my goodness gracious i think i love you LOL creepy i know, but seriously you have such great ideas and i'm diggin your venue!!!!! i was just commenting for two reasons, one being, i saw on another wedding blog or photographer site or something (!!) that the men all wore starfish (not real of course) in lieu of boutonnieres which is a pretty snazzy idea based on your theme and color scheme. and two, please can you tell me where you found the design you have as your banner header. is it an invitation or stationary or something? if so, I must have it!!! Pretty please :)