So many great photographers

You guys - choosing a photographer is so hard. There are so so many talented photographers everywhere in the world and if you're anything like me, you're gasping in awe at all of their websites. Wedding photography is so dreamy that I was immediately drawn to pretty much every website I went to. After I found out which of the amazing Seattle photographers were in or near our budget, I scheduled coffee meetings with a few of my favorites. To me, chemistry is super importatn because I want to feel as comfortable as possible on our big day. Plus, with our long engagement we're working with our vendors for well over a year, so its important to me to bring together a group of people I really trust and consider friends. But, after having 3 great coffee meetings, I was still loving all their work.

In order to help me make the decision, I came up with a little trick. I knew that part of me was swayed by website design and personality, so I wanted to do something to make it a little more objective for myself to compare back against the chemistry portion.

So I made a shot list, and pulled my favorite of that category from the photographer's website and then put them in columns side by side. Here's the list:

- Couple Close Up

- Couple Long Shot (showing venue and atmosphere)

- Bridal Portrait

- Ceremony

- Couple Kissing

- Venue

- "Fun" shot (Detail, Candid, or photographic trick)

- Engagement Portait

Sources: Carina Skrobecki, Lifebox Studio, Stacy Jacobsen Photography

For me, this was such a great way to see the photographers style all together without other distractions. I asked my wedding party to weigh in (not telling them who was who), and we had fun deciding which style would be best for Erik and I. As you saw from our introduction post, we hired Carina Skrobecki and we have been SO SO happy ever since. I think all three of these talented folks would have been great, but Carina captures images in a way that is perfect for us, and she has become a friend along the way. I can't wait till the day I can share how she captures our wedding day.

Photographer Shot List

One month countdown to my wedding! It is getting close and left on my checklist are the fine details. Not necessities, but the fun stuff!

My wise sister-in-law-to-be, who just got married, recommended I put together a shot list for my photographer. Something I wouldn't have thought of, but a great idea. Seeing all the beautiful shots out there, I know I want to make a list so I'm 100% happy when I get my photos back.

Here are some I definitely want in the mix...

Closeups of me with the bouquet.

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The details.

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The ring bearer and flower girl getting excited for their walk down the isle.

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Sun behind.

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Cute candids.

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Cool shots featuring the sky at dusk.

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Did you do a shot list for your photographer?

The Big Picture {capturing that one magical moment}

Being in the midst of planning insanity, it's really easy to lose yourself in which Pantone shade of twine you should order off of Etsy (don't judge me!). I've been trying really hard to ground myself in the fact that in less than 5 months, I am getting married to the man I've spent the last 9 years with. It's pretty incredible when I stop to think about it, and I am so looking forward to those amazing memories, and little moments we will treasure for years to come.

Sources: Nirav Photography, Nirav Photography, Max Wanger, Max Wanger, Shang Chen Photography, Shang Chen Photography, Ann Street Studio

Six Month Countdown {check-in}

I am officially less than six months away from my wedding date! I keep counting it out on my fingers, thinking I'm wrong :-) The wedding planning is continuing to move along, but I have a feeling these next six months are going to fly by, especially once the festivities start getting under way. This week I booked my bachelorette flight and can not wait to be in Palm Springs with my favorite ladies celebrating my last days as a 'single' woman!

This week I needed to step back and look at the bigger picture before I delve into the little details like invitation design, table-scaping and bride accessories. So, I thought what better way to 'step back' than to get inspired by images from my wedding photographer, Sean Morrison Photography.

Love these kinds of shots. Is it called a fish eye lens?

Close-ups.

Nature, laughs, and love.

How cute is she?!

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And some fun shots...

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Looking at these pictures has me excited to dig into my next few tasks on my to do list. Nothing like some great images to get the inspiration going. The thing I love about my photographer is that he does wedding photography because it's his passion, not just his job. During the school year, he teaches digital photography at a high school in Washington. It's great to know my photographer really loves what he does. I think that comes through in his work.

My To Do List for the next few weeks:

- finding my hair and makeup person/people

- florist

- bridesmaid dresses - coordinating the mix-and-match look

Do you have any advice for me in the six-month countdown? Are you getting married this summer? Would love to hear how your planning is going!

Picturing Our Future

So happy to say that we can now check wedding photographer off of our to-do list! This week, we booked the amazing  Hugh Forte to photograph our wedding. Hugh first captured our tummies with the mouthwatering photos he shoots for his wife's Sprouted Kitchen blog. After learning that he was an equally talented wedding photographer, we knew that we had found our match.

Source of All Photos: Hugh Forte Photography

With so many talented photographers, narrowing it down to one was a surprisingly long and critical process for us. What I hear the most from recently married friends is that your wedding day is one of the quickest most surreal days of your life. You entrust your wedding photographer with documenting all the special moments that fly by so quickly. If your photographer can't capture the moment, it will be gone forever. Yes, I am being a tad dramatic, but really it is an amazing amount of pressure.

Source of All Photos: Hugh Forte Photography

How did you pick your photographer?

Photography {time is of the essence}

This week we booked our photographer! Soooo excited and relieved to have that checked off our list. More on photography in a future post! This week, along with the photography, I have been thinking a lot about the wedding day timeline. I came across a great article that spoke to this and was happy to see that my day-of timeline was in line with their recommendations, phew! Here is a list of their ten common wedding day timing mistakes:

1. Not scheduling enough time for hair & make-up.

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2. Attending your final dress fitting alone. This has to do with your ladies understanding how your dress works and therefore saving some potential headaches...the hooks and buttons can be hard to navigate!

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3. Not having everyone get dressed early enough. This is about making sure people are dressed before you are so that your mother, father, bridesmaids, etc. are lookin' their best when the photo ops come up.

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4. Too much distance (between where you want to get ready and the ceremony location). For my wedding we'll be getting ready about a 30-minute drive from the wedding site. Even this somewhat short distance has proven a little tricky to plan around when we start thinking about things like hair and makeup time, pictures, and transportation.

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5. Not planning out time for family pictures. The article makes a great point that it's not often you have so much of your family in the same place with a professional photographer.

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6. Cutting it too close with the limos (or any transportation you are using). If you are having transportation like us, you know this all too well. We kept trying to figure out how to cut down the hours, but finally realized the extra money would be well worth it to have things run smoothly on the day of the wedding.

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7. Not scheduling time to mingle with your guests.

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8. Too little time between the ceremony and the reception. This doesn't apply to those of us having the ceremony and reception at the same place, but a good thing to consider for those who have two locations. This article basically says, don't worry about having time between the two. Guests will have plenty to keep themselves busy.

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9. Not doing a "first look."

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10. Failing to give yourself a "cushion."

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See the full article here.

My fiance and I decided to do a "first look" for several reasons, one of them being the day-of timing. We really want to be relaxed and have plenty of time to do the photos with each other, our wedding party, and our families and not feel like we are missing out on the party! And since our ceremony and reception are at the same place, we won't have time in between to do photos.

Do you have any wedding day timing tips? Did you do a first look?

Photographic Memories

This week we have been on the hunt for our wedding photographer. I thought that picking a wedding photographer would be one of our easier decisions. After spending hours and hours pouring over wedding photographer websites, I now know that finding someone who can take the candid photos we love is not an easy task. I'll be the first to admit that I can look super awkward in photos.  My fake smile looks forced and I look uncomfortable (because I am!). So, finding a photographer who can capture our wedding story with candid photos like the photos below is very important to me.

First Look

Sources: Sarah Culver Photography & Kyle Hepp

For more amazing first look photos, check out this article.

Happy Tears

Source: Sarah Culver Photography

After all of this photographer searching, I have learned that there are primarily three different approaches to wedding photography: traditional (more posed), photojournalistic (more candid) and artistic (clearly more artsy). We want a photographer who is primarily photojournalistic who can capture the entirety of our special day from the mascara application to the last dance of the night.

Sources: Future Weddings, Wild Flowers Photography & Sarah Culver Photography

I finally feel like we are starting to make some headway. We skyped with one photographer yesterday who we absolutely loved, but happens to live across the country. I also discovered the Wedding Photojournalistic Association which has been a great resource because it provides pricing estimates and lists photographers by region.

Sources: Future Wedding, Adria Lindquist & Lulu Photo

How did you decide on your wedding photographer? How many photographers did you meet/Skype with before you found THE one?

Candid Photography {worth a thousand words}

This week I'm looking at photographers and discovering I'm drawn to all the amazing candid shots. Don't get me wrong, I love posed photos just as much as the next girl, but I think what sets great wedding photographers apart are the moments they are able to capture when no one is expecting it.

Sources: all Style Me Pretty

This week I'm going to Mexico for a friends' combined bachelor/bachelorette party. Finding a photographer will be next on my list when I return from vacation. I can't wait to keep looking! I am hoping photographers will be open to Skype meetings, at least until we narrow it down.

Follow up to last week's post - while I loved the dresses at Amy Kuschel, I don't think I found the dress for me, so the search continues!

Until next week!