So, earlier in the week, I was prepared for three meetings with wedding photographers. I had one scheduled for Monday, another on Thursday and the last for this evening. One (and only one) meeting later, I am starting over from scratch. Harrumph.
What happened? Here's the breakdown:
The meeting on Monday was with a photographer whose work I absolutely love. She has pictures of a wedding at my venue featured on her site and I found myself looking at them over and over, replacing the bride and groom with myself and the FI (we looked fabulous!). She has tons of close-up, artsy pics of the details I'm looking for: beautiful hanging dress shots, cakes aglow with sunlight, etc.
The only problem? While reading through her FAQ's, I found her tone to be a bit short, bordering on rude. Not a big deal, I thought; some people aren't great at communicating through written word. Sarcasm doesn't translate well, etc. Plenty of excuses were found b/c I loved the pictures.
Ok, so there was another slight problem... Someone else, a wedding related professional, knew of someone who had had a not so great experience with this photographer. The photographer had left the wedding without letting anyone know and missed several important picture moments ( the father/daughter dance being one of them).
In my mind, I had already decided against hiring her. I can't get past the idea that pictures are the one tangible thing that lasts beyond the actual day of the wedding (ignoring the marriage, of course). I'm just not willing to take any unnecessary risks. But, I drove the 45 minutes to her studio for the meeting anyway, perhaps hoping that she'd blow me away with albums and charm. Alas, no such luck.
So, one photographer down... I tried to think a bit more logically. I made a spreadsheet detailing what was included in each package and at what cost. After looking closely at the numbers and going back over the website portfolios, I decided that I was probably not going to hire Photographer #2, who I was supposed to drive another 40 minutes to meet with on Thursday.
After deciding on Photographers #3&4 (the third meeting was with a married couple who shoot together), I emailed #2 to say that I had made my decision earlier than expected and would be cancelling our meeting.
Fast forward to sitting on the couch with my FI, watching some Thursday night TV, an email comes across from my chosen photography company: they're cancelling the meeting b/c they've been booked. WHAT?!?
Heartbreak sets in and I frantically start visiting the links of recommended photographers they sent with their cancellation. Some are good. All are less expensive. So, I've filled out a bunch more information requests forms.
Now, I wait... And, maybe do a bit more searching online... And, consider the possibility of student photographers? Eh, we'll see.
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