Overall, things just went well; the flowers were beautiful, the food was tasty, and the photographer was fabulous. Any doubts Matt had about dropping the amount of money we did on the photographer were gone as soon as the portraits started. She was friendly, quick, and took beautiful shots (what I saw on her camera, at least). The proofs should be ready in about 4 to 6 weeks, and I can’t wait to see them. I’ll post the link once they’re ready, so everyone can check them out.

I just got the photo CD from my sister of all the pictures she took that weekend; I’m expecting another CD from mom & dad any day now, with the pictures they took. Once I get them all cleaned up and weed out the less fabulous shots, I’ll put them up at the gallery. I need to finish up the honeymoon pictures, too, and post them; expect a barrage of photos in the near future.

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The day after the bridal shower, we had a surprise baby shower brunch for Nikki & Mark, since their baby is due about a month before the wedding. Apparently she had no clue, even when she walked into the restaurant and saw Mark’s family there. She was under the assumption that the brunch was for Matt & I, and was terribly confused as to why her in-laws would be at our brunch.

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Option #1 is Classic Photography by Kim Knauf, who came recommended by the wedding coordinator at the reception hall. I’ve looked at her sample photos on her website, and I like her style. She does proof CD’s, which I like; I anticipate putting up a copy of all the pictures on my gallery, once we get them. The only problem is, the package we would likely do, including the proof CD, would be about $2,200, which is a bit more than I was hoping to spend. And she would need $950 as a retainer to reserve the day, and I don’t keep that kind of cash just lying around.

Option #2 is Bosman Photography – his card showed up on Matt’s desk at home, so we’re not entirely sure who put it there. I’ve looked at the sample photos he has on his website, and his style isn’t bad, but I think I prefer the look of some of the photos from Classic Photography. His prices are much more reasonable, though; the package we would likely do would be between $1,400 and $1,650, depending on which proof CD or DVD we would get. I’m not sure what he requires for a deposit, either.

So therein lies my dilemma; I think I prefer the look of Classic Photography, but I’m not sure I’m willing to pay her rates. I am willing to pay the rates of Bosman Photography, but I’m not totally in love with his samples. What to do?

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Digital Negatives? This is included in large wedding packages. We try to keep very tight quality control and with weddings where only selected images have been retouched, it means we’re releasing copies of our work to potential low-quality output. Since we are a full-service studio, we like to keep our quality high through all stages.

Translation? We charge a hell of a lot for photos, and we’re not going to give you the negatives (so you can circumvent our outrageous prices) until we feel you’ve purchased enough photos. Maybe I’m being cynical, but I don’t think so. They HAVE a price list posted on their website, but in his email his said they didn’t. Perhaps it’s not the price list for WEDDINGS, but there’s a price list up. I’m hoping to get in touch with the first photographer, even if she is a bit flaky, just because we’re on a tight budget, and I think this second photographer is going to be out of our price range. Two of my co-workers actually do photography on the side, so I’ll also have to check them out and see what they charge.
My other frustration is people that don’t use email. I generally prefer email to just about all other contact mediums; it’s faster than mail, easier than arranging a face to face meeting, more productive than phone tag, and you can do it at any time of the day or night. Case in point – I’m trying to get in touch with the coordinator at the reception hall. I’m trying to arrange a meeting, in order to iron out a few details. I called her yesterday, and leave a voice mail asking to set up a meeting, with my phone number and other details. She calls this morning while I’m still asleep, and leaves a voicemail, with not much detail other than “This is so-and-so, call me back.” I call her back like an hour later when I get up, and she’s out of the office, and I leave ANOTHER voicemail for her. If she’d just used e-mail, she could have gotten my message, seen that I wanted to set up a meeting, checked HER schedule, set up the meeting and gotten back to me. But no, now we’re in that frustrating limbo stage.

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Flowers

• Flowers by Jo Ellen – In the process of contacting her. Emailed her, if no response, will call
• Andilou’s Floral Design
• Seivert’s Floral

Photographers

• Sandy Vander Tol
• Christine Wedding & Portrait Design
• Jonathan Thrasher – not bad, but out of our price range, I think
• Details, Etc. – They seem to be a bit more reasonably priced
• Terii Gillis – Not bad, but out of our price range I suspect

I am having severe issues with what some of these photographers charge. I was hoping to pay about $1,000 for the photographer and the photos, but that seems like maybe it’s terribly laughable. I know I want either the negatives, or a digital copy of the negatives, as I plan on putting them up on the gallery. Quite frankly, I feel if I’m paying them that much to take photos, it shouldn’t be an issue – I don’t want to pay a ransom for my wedding photos.

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• the dress
• the reception hall
• the church
• the dj

We still need;

• flowers (bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages)
• invitations
• cake
• photographer

Currently I’m going through paperwork mom sent down – one of her co-workers had a daughter get married in Grand Rapids, and sent down the names and information of everyone they used. Thankfully the florist and photographer have websites, as they are fairly visual and I’d like to check out their work a little before I decide if I’m interested. The people I’m checking out right now are as follows;

• Photographer (Jonathan Thrasher)
• Terri Gillis Photography
• Sandy Vander Tol Photography
• Shelly’s Designs – supposedly she gives a great discount if you get the flowers and invites, which is convenient, as I have neither
• Flowers by Jo Ellen – currently the site is down, though

Mom is down Thursday and Friday, so I’m trying to get as many appointments in that time period as possible, so we can check things out. Hopefully I can get an appointment at Shelly’s Designs for Thursday, because if we like her that would take care of the flowers and the invites.

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