wedding wednesdays-the photographer

Let me start off by saying we LOVED our wedding photographer. Not only did we use her as our wedding photographer, but I used her for a project a few weeks before the wedding and am working with her right now on a project! 

We didn't do any research and meet with tons of options, she just kind of fell into our lap, so to speak. When we first started planning our wedding, one of our friends at work mentioned that our coworker's wife does photography and that she's really good at it. So we asked for her website, and after looking at her pictures, we decided to meet up with her. To me, the photographer is a really important part of your wedding. You want to be able to look back on your pictures and remember your day. You want them to tell a story and spark memories, they're more than pictures. 

When we first met with Nikki, Nikki Marie Photography & Design, we just clicked. Her style and vision as a photographer matched what we wanted out of our wedding pictures. She was friendly, laid back and confident in her work yet still humble. I think at our first meeting we actually ended up talking for over an hour! We booked her for our wedding shortly there after.

The day of the wedding she showed up right on time and got right to work. One of the things I loved about her, is that she blended right in. She got so many amazing pictures and captured so many moments, but she wasn't intrusive at all. To me, that makes a good wedding photographer. One of my biggest pet peeves of the photo taking process is the posing. I've been in weddings before where the family and group pictures take hours and everyone is posed in generic poses that tend to come out looking unnatural. I let Nikki know beforehand that I wanted basic group shots, but didn't want to spend all night taking them. She worked wonders because we got all the shots I wanted, no one looked unnaturally posed and we were done in less than 45 minutes! She also planned out a pre-wedding session called a first look. Basically, the bride sneaks up on the groom right before the ceremony and the photographer captures the look on our faces when we see each other for the first time. Now, it does break tradition, but I love having that moment captured on film and that the moment was intimate, not in front of all our guests. I highly recommend it to all brides.

first look

my bridesmaid, Casey, lending me her beer

Meli & Kiera, my step-daughters, tossing petals down the aisle

the ring exchange

the guys photobombing the girls

the guys being guys

Jax and his mom Cassie (my bridesmaid) dancing up a storm

Mike, a groomsman, being his goofy self on the dance floor

Looking back on our pictures, I love the amount of personality that shines through. I could easily post all 1,300+ pictures here, but I won't. Each picture reminds us of how our friends and family are, or reminds us about a story from our wedding day. She captured all the details, the candid moments, the important moments and she captured us.