Having no idea where to begin, I emailed the StO extra asking the community for recommendations on reputable photographers in the area. One woman, Tricia, was recommended several times and after seeing her name, I remembered that she did a beautiful job with Erica's Christmas photos. I sent her a message and she quickly responded to say that she was booked for August 3, but she gave recommendations of four other people/companies to try, including Krissy and Lauren B. I emailed all four women. One of them wrote back saying she, too, was booked but listed a few more options, including Lauren B. She must be good.
On Good Friday, I met with Krissy at Caribou in Northfield. She was great!! I honestly felt like we were old friends (turns out we know several of the same people), or maybe even distant cousins (we have similar features -- long brown hair, brown eyes, freckles -- live in the country, have "spouses" who recently left their full time jobs to work for themselves, etc). Right away she asked how Rob and I met and how he proposed. I appreciated the fact that she was so interested in our "story." After an hour of conversation about our wedding and reception plans, people we know in common and her photography business, we parted ways. I left feeling confident that Krissy could very well be our photographer and that she would do a wonderful job. What a relief.
Mom and I met at Bridal Accents so she could see my wedding dress (she hadn't seen it in person yet). She asked me to warn her when I was coming out of the dressing room so she could close her eyes for the full affect. Mom didn't shed tears the other times we went dress shopping, but this time she was speechless. I took that as a good sign. While we were there we committed to renting tuxes from Bridal Accents -- we just squeaked in for the March special which includes free shoe rental with all tuxes. And, of course, because we're renting 10+ tuxes, Rob's will be free. We had lunch at Jo Jo's Rise and Wine and I then headed for my hair cut appointment where Shannon and I talked all about wedding day hair, make up, etc. She cleared her schedule for the morning of Aug 3 and recommended a couple other girls who could do my bridesmaids' hair if they so desire.
I didn't have to work the Monday after Easter, so I met with Lauren B (Laurie) at Caribou in Minneapolis. She was great too!! We talked for an hour and a half -- she showed me a few of her albums, talked about her style and philosophy, and asked about our relationship. If it's possible, I felt even more confident about her ability. She's a full time photographer who has won several awards, including one recently where she beat several leaders in the industry. Said the only time she's bossy is when she's telling people what to do for photos. For some reason, I expected her prices to be higher than Krissy's, but when it came down to it, they're comparable. As Laurie said, it's tough to compare photographers because they're not apple-to-apple comparisons.
How will we decide? Of course I felt a connection with each of them because they're friendly, talented and have an interest in our wedding day. :)
That night, Rob and I sat on the living room floor with each photographer's pricing information. Next, he wanted to look through each website to get a sense of their work. After reviewing all information and wedding photos, Rob thought about it for a couple minutes and then said, "I think we should go with Lauren B." That simple.
Honestly, I was relieved. As we looked through all the information, I was leaning toward Lauren B because of the quality of her photos. But I felt a sense of responsibility / loyalty toward Krissy because she's local and we have small personal connections. Rob didn't meet either of them, which, thankfully, made the decision less personal for him.
We emailed Laurie the next night (in time to get the "booking gift" she offered) and told her the good news -- we want her to be our photographer!!
Smiling,
Jill
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