For those of you who have not been through the torturous wonderful process of planning a wedding, you have absolutely no idea how stressful truly fantastic and involved gratifying the entire production can be. Although I may have made things more difficult on myself considering my admitted perfectionism (and the fact that we will be traveling around the world for the 5 weeks leading up to our reception), there are about a million things that must be taken into consideration before the big day. While I have been pretty great about finding bargains for everything from our reception centerpieces (Ikea vases + wholesale flowers = awesome) to my wedding dress (Ebay, baby!), there is one thing that I absolutely refuse to cut corners on: Wedding Photography.
As soon as Mike and I nailed down our official wedding date (after numerous instances of failure), I began to hunt for a photographer that fit our needs with regard to style, personality and budget. This may sound like a simple task; however, there are about a million photographers out there who are either too traditional, too uptight, too expensive or all of the above. After perusing about a million wedding blogs and contacting a handful of potential candidates, I stumbled upon an exciting piece of information. My friend Tanya from high school (a fantastic writer with an outgoing personality and great attention to detail) and her husband Ian (a professional photographer with an eye for just the right shot and passion for traveling the world) had decided to enter the wedding photography business. Although Mike and I had met up with Tanya and Ian for dinner in Paris a few years earlier (completely coincidental), I knew very little about Ian’s photography abilities, so I decided to do a little research. Off to Google I went. A few clicks later and I found my way to Ian’s websites: www.IanGrantPhotography.com and www.DistinctPhoto.com
Not only was I instantly blown away by the images that flashed before my eyes, but I could tell by the blog entries and overall style of the site that their approach to wedding photography possessed a certain effortless appeal that I had been looking for all along. I sent them an email immediately and crossed my fingers that they were available to fly across the country from Los Angeles to photograph our wedding reception near Philadelphia (and that we could afford such a proposition). I received a response within a few hours (sweet!) and Tanya was happy to answer all of my crazy, stressed-out bride questions (phew!) and give me a price quote that didn’t make me roll on the floor laughing (one photographer sent me a quote for nearly $30,000 and I laughed for nearly a month). While I was 99% sold after looking through Ian’s photos online, my emails back and forth with Tanya officially sealed the deal. Through our conversations, it quickly became clear to me that Tanya and Ian don’t just click, print and cash the check. They become as emotionally invested in the wedding photography as the bride and groom. To them it is not just a business. It’s a passion and way for both of them to use their talents in a manner that really showcases the beauty of each couple and each wedding that they photograph.
So, although the stress of wedding planning has kept me up many nights writing lists and having nightmares about things that could possibly go wrong, I know that the images of our “big day” will be a beautiful reminder that we picked the perfect photographer to capture it all. One click at a time.
