In my opinion, a photographer is the most important vendor choice for your wedding.  You can pick a perfect place, but who cares if the food is perfectly cooked?  Ten years down the road, while you may remember if the food was good, you’ll definitely remember if you chose the right photographer.  (And, yes, I’m praying my food is perfect too!)  It’s the photographer’s job to capture every intimate moment… and the traditional one’s too.  Pictures are the things you can show your children and your grandchildren down the line.   

Let’s just say, this is one area where I wanted to splurge… but Kenny didn’t.  And he’s wonderful, don’t get me wrong, but I think this is something he won’t agree with me on until after the wedding.  But, by then, it would be too late… So, I guess you can say, I got a bit creative.   Actually – I’ll spell it out what I did.  He’s paying the price we agreed upon and I’m making up the difference.

I started scouting out photographers in mid-August.  One thing you don’t really think about is that this person will literally be in your face on your wedding day.  I don’t mean that they’ll be intrusive during your intimate moments, but they’ll be there asking you to do this or that.  Yeah - They really are part of your day, so there has to be a little bit of chemistry with you, your fiance and your photographer.  It makes sense, right? (The last thing I wanted was some squirrely photographer who made me feel weird on my wedding day!) 

So, you’ll never guess where I went to look for potential Detroit photographers?  The Knot.com… who woulda thought since I’m now obsessed with the site!  They have a ton of Detroit-area photographers to choose from.   And, I looked at every single site, through all of their sample wedding images, their pricing and services.  I started to differentiate the cookie-cutter photographers from the true artists.  The ones who I define as artists are the ones who evoke emotion – They not only capture the moment, but they capture the feeling.  (And, I was not PMSing when getting all teary-eyed over some strangers wedding pictures!)

detroitphotographers.com

Source: detroitphotographers.com

I think it’s important to note, I was not looking for a traditional photographer.  I wanted someone modern, someone edgy and someone fun.  And, I wanted to stay away from those national-wide photographer vendors – I wanted someone who built their reputation themselves.  Here’s some photographers that matched my criteria:

 

Abbey Rose Photography – She is awesome.  Very edgy.  Very cool.  She was unavailable, but she did suggest Heather Saunders to me. 

Amanda Williams Photograghy – Her photography is stunning.  And, she has crazy-reasonable prices.  Seriously, I think I shed a tear when I found out she was booked for my wedding date.  (This is like a 13 months out!)  Check her out!  You might wanna book before you get engaged!  

Heather Saunders Photography – When I first saw her photography, I was blown away!  I had to have her as my photographer.  Initially, I didn’t look at her site on the Knot, because she had like a million dollar signs next to her name.  (Ok, maybe it was three $$$)  But, she is an artist.  And she WILL be so worth it.  Meeting with her cinched the deal.  I cut my deposit check and was on my way! 

Mike Greer Photography – My brother actually used him for his wedding photography in September of 2007.  He’s very creative and very edgy.  Very impressive, but his photographs don’t have the same emotion behind them as an Abbey or Heather. 

Sam Sarkis Photography – Ah, Sam.  The images on Sam’s website are a mix between traditional and edgy.  He actually has four other photographers who shoot wedding for him as well.  When I met with him, he showed my his work which leans on the more traditional side.  But, I did take a look at his associate Kathy’s wedding album.  Now she has some cool images. 

Wally Spice Photography – Wally is great. She and her daughter make up the Wally Spice duo.  She is very urban and captures some great Detroit city wedding images.  I was really impressed with her and she’s really easy to talk with on the phone.  Not as creative as a Heather, but still hits it outta the park.  

All the above photographers have two photographers shoot the wedding. 

Yeah, Heather Saunders is going to ROCK!  Kenny and I have our engagement session next month, so I’ll post the images when I get them back!  Stay tuned!