Wedding Bells Blog
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Capturing our Hearts
Photography courtesy Mike Latschislaw.
Various wedding magazines, TV shows and Weddingbells’ most recent Reader Survey informed me that the average cost to get married these days is around $20,000. As much of a dream as it would be to have that sort of money to spend, the reality for many couples, David and I included, is that we simply can’t afford it. Which is fine—the most important thing to us is having our closest family and friends share in the day we celebrate our love and commitment to each other, regardless of the lavishness of the decorations, or the poofiness of my dress! Cutting down on costs has led to many outside-the-box thinking sessions and DIY projects—watch this space!—but we decided the most important thing to actually spend money on was photography.
Long after the last dance has finished, the lights dimmed and the floors swept ready for someone else’s celebration, the photographs are going to be the one thing that will reflect the sheer joy, excitement and true emotion of the happiest day of our lives. Fortunately, I knew who’d be perfect for the job instantly—local photographer Mike Latschislaw, best known for his avant-garde, imaginative and highly creative shots in fashion, music, portraits and weddings.
When we saw this stunning engagement shot, the deal was sealed. I explored his website and found some of the most incredible shots I’d ever seen, reflective of not only the immense happiness of so many couples, but their personalities and individuality too. “I think that the most important thing is having fun,” says Mike. “And to shoot a mix of formal wedding photos (the ones mom and grandma want), and the artistic, photojournalistic photos. I enjoy capturing natural expressions—and often take photos during the day when no one is paying attention—to really capture the subtle moments.”
Photography courtesy Mike Latschislaw.
The happiness and emotion of the day are some of the most important things to capture, and in exploring the work of other photographers, I’ve noticed a lot of standardized, by-the-book pictures. With Mike, every wedding’s images are totally unique, and truly capture sincere joy.
I did mention that photography was something we were willing to spend a little more on, but that’s not to say Mike is pricey in the least. I went into our first meeting preparing to saw off an appendage or two, and was stunned at how reasonable (and flexible) his prices were! Not only will we be getting someone highly creative, who really takes the time to capture emotion and personality, but someone who really cares about his clients too. “I present to the client ALL of the processed photos. I burn them all the high resolution images on a CD, so that the bride and groom can print them, or I can help them to order albums and prints,” he says. “The best thing is the client keeps all of their images.”
He even threw in engagement shots, which we used for our save-the-dates. We teamed up and came up with something pretty non-traditional, and totally reflective of our style. Every girl’s fiancé is her knight in shining armour, and at the end of a tumultuous journey in love, David arrived in my life and showed me more kindness, more love, and more belief in myself than I ever could’ve dreamed of. What better story to showcase ours than a fairytale—we had a blast at his studio, and in creating Sleeping Beauty-esque fridge magnets! Our family and friends loved them, and I can’t wait to see how he captures our wedding.
For us, finding someone with this sort of a gift was crucial. We’re confident we’ll get an enormous variety of images, capturing our happiness, our personalities, and most importantly, our love. What qualities do you look for when searching for your photographer?
Tags: blogger bride, budget, diy, money, photography, save-the-date, traditional
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Hi! I just started reading your blog (found it from your posts on LJ in weddingplans community).
I just wanted to say how much I loved Mike’s work. I browsed the website and fell totally in love. That’s EXACTLY what me and my Fiance were looking for. But…. he is in Canada right :-( ..And we are in Cali. I was so moved by his shots that I shot him an email hoping he could refer me to someone at least half as good here in my state but I am not holding my breath. I wish we could afford flying him over here.
Mike! Hooray, you visited – I’m so happy to see all this positivity about your wonderful work :)
Shareen – you’re right, you will have to fly over here and snatch him up when you get married :)
Faye, Lisa, Catherine, Sandy – thanks for your support. It really means a lot to have you all on board and I appreciate it more than I can fully express here.
Jen – I loved the photos you showed me! I’d love to see more! :)
Jessyca – thanks so much! It was lots of fun making them (David even got in on the craftiness!)
Kelly and Jackie – I really appreciate your concern and the fact you’ve taken the time to actually read my personal blog too! Honestly that means so very, VERY much and your kind words just touched my heart. (Sorry to be cheesy but it’s totally true!!) I am not 100% sure how the voting will go this time around but it will be in July, and we just have to believe the best of people, and that everyone will remain honest :) Thank you so much for your support!!
Wedding bells staff, I would like to agree with Kelly – how can we make the contest fairer because I too can see how this lady deserves to win.
Emily glad you found such a good photographer, I’m sure your photos will be great and you and your fiance will cherish them for years to come.
Very beautiful and great touch with the fairytale theme!
I can’t see how anyone couldn’t love those magnets!
wedding bells staff: have you ever had a blogger with such consistent high responses and interest? I hope you take this into consideration when the winner is picked. i voted back in 2009 to get emily into this round and have to say it wasn’t a great way of doing things. if you had hours to spare you could make as many accounts as you liked and vote all day. i know this girl is a hard worker and an honest soul and i believe the response she has gotten so far in this contest shows that she is a true “blogger.” it is my sincere hope you will have some pro bloggers have a say in who should win because clearly the most deserving girl is here.
emily: you write fabulously and if anyone has any doubts they should visit your own blog. how many other contestants have one that is full of such thought and compassion. or have one period. you are the best girl to win this and you know i will be voting for you come whenever voting is again. stunning shots, fabulous photographer, can’t wait to see yours.
kel xoxo
Well-written article Emily! I love your photos and save the date magnets, they are very original. I’ll have to keep the name of this photographer, just in case I take the plunge someday myself and get married. I’m looking forward to reading your next blog. Love Sandy
Great article Emily!! I agree that photography is one of the most important aspects of your wedding day. I really like your engagement photo and your save the date cards, both are very original. I am looking forward to reading your next blog! Love Sandy
I was huge on photography, too. I wanted some traditional and some fun ones, too. Luckily, I had a friend who takes great pictures who did it for us at low cost. She gave us all the pictures, too. Since we got married at Bellagio, they assigned us a photographer, there I just wanted someone who would take cool pictures with the Bellagio background so I just trusted them. Your photographer looks like a lot of fun…and you’re lucky David will go along with everything! Chad was a good sport but after a few hundred pictures he was getting tired!
Wow Em, you’ve picked an amazing photographer… I’ve never been jealous of anyone getting married, but now… I’M JEALOUS!!!
They are gonna be some stunning shots… and I totally agree with the spending more on photography… note to self, IF i ever get married, I must have this Latschislaw chap do my photography…
Good choice Em… And, I’m loving these posts keep it up :D
YAY em another great post!!! Agreed wiv everyone else & can’t WAIT to see your wedding pics. what a talent!!! I rly hope everyone (yourself included) can see how much support you’ve got. if anyone else wins its a fix CLEARLY your the fan fav.!!! (& with good reason) keep up the great posts love
Faye xxxxx
Another very well written post. Am enjoying your blogs so far. The photographer is very talented, and I believe you will have wonderful wedding photographs. I’m glad he read the positive feedback, too. Best of luck.
Those photos are out of this WORLD. Glad you found someone so awesome but SUPER jealous lol =D
So many ppl think they’re going to save on cost by getting the cheapest photog. they can find and end up miserable at the fact they don’t have any great shots of the BIGGEST DAY OF THEIR LIFE. Hope your fellow contestant read this post. Awesome that you lucked out with cost too! Really hope we get to see your shots.
So many wonderful comments :)
A photographer should feel privileged to shoot what is to be one of the most important memorable days in ones life.
Nilsa was so right mentioning that a couple is “spending more time with your photographer than anyone else”
I can honestly say I’ve enjoyed every single wedding I’ve been honored to capture. I don’t consider myself an overly sensitive guy, but the time I don’t get just a little choked is the time I stop shooting weddings.
Sooo looking forward to this one David and Emily!!!
I’m so excited! I hope Mike is reading all the lovely comments about his work, haha :) Elizabeth & Krystal – I’m so sorry you found out the hard way :( I’ve heard it so many times from friends that have got married and how they wished got photos they really loved. I’m sure your days were beautiful, though :) Kier – I thought you might like it! A Tim Burton theme would’ve been tonnes of fun, too, but maybe slightly less romantic, haha. Brittany you make me laugh :) Tabitha and Saida, thanks so much!
And Dawn – sorry I hadn’t got back to your question! We ended up making them by ordering round adhesive magnets from eBay, we got about 100 of them for $10 and they were really nice, thick and strong. We printed sheets of 10 just at a colour copy place, laminated them in 10 mil (the thickest laminate, so it was sturdy and not flimsy) and then cut them and stuck the magnets on the back. They turned out really nicely (they are about business card sized) and lots nicer than the floppy ones you can print onto yourself :)
I have tot totally agree with you! The photographer is the one thing I won’t cheap out on. :) Those photos look amazing!
Excellent post! Photographers are really important, which we found out the hard sad way at our wedding. Good luck!
Wow Emily! That save the date picture is wonderful, and yes, the fairytale theme is very appropriate!
I’m loving this blog and yes, you’re definitely right about photographers. My sister’s one wa a nightmare. Didn’t realise who I was and was so rude. She turned to me and said “And… YOU are?” Grrrrr. Not good that I was carrying an umbrella in my hand, was so hard to avoid temptation… lol.
Lovely blog entry, keep ‘em coming!
Dude.
That makes me what to get married.
And I NEVER thought I’d say that.
Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous.
I am LOVING your Save the Dates, and how awesome that you found a spectacular, unique photographer for a price you won’t be sobbing over for the next ten years. :) Lovely post!
i could not agree more that spending money on photography is the most important! i had a horrible horrible photographer and always regret it :(
wow! this dude is from Winnipeg?! Gorgeous pictures!! I’m so glad you post this. Not that I’m getting hitched anytime soon but I used to work in bridal, and the photographers that would try and advertise with us were bland and boring, so I thought there would be no hope for when I would get married. And I agree that photo’s are the one thing a bride and her groom should splurge on, and you definitely got your money’s worth.
He’s very classic and contemporary all at once. I LIKE HIM! Your pictures are going to turn out perfect!
Oh wow I just got back from work to see all your lovely comments!! Thank you SO much for taking the time to stop by and read and offer your words :) BIG hugs to everyone. We were so happy we found him (and he’s super cool to work with, too!), we’re really excited to see what he comes up with for our pics :) LOL I didn’t realise my betrothed was reading too – yes, that was a very tight prince jacket, hahaha :)
You’re all wonderful and I really hope I get to share the pics with you!!
Great photos and so outside of the box. I love the creativity in these shots, not your typical photos and for that reason I adore them.
Best,
Hannah Katy
What a beautiful save-the-date picture! And it appears I’m not the only one who’s hoping to see some of your wedding photos in December. I bet they’ll be amazing. The photographer’s work looks great.
awesome awesome photos. wow I’ve never seen anything like them!!!! soooooo creative and original I can’t wait to see your wedding pic’s!!!! you really lucked out. with our wedding its my only regret we didnt shop around a bit we just found someone who fit our budget which was rather small and yeah we have some shots from friend’s cameras etc but our wedding photo’s are just pretty standard. yours are going to rock my dear!!!!
So awesome!
SO JEALOUS
I’ve heard time and time again the one thing that is worth all the money is the photographer at a wedding!
LOVE your save the dates! So cool and original!
OH. MY. GOD. How jealous I am of your photo!! ::SQUEELS:: I have to agree, I loved our photos — LOVED THEM and its the only thing you really “keep” in that sense, so its worth the cost.
HOWEVER, I wish we’d shelled out a bit more for a cooler photographer who was a bit more artsy and unique. So good choice!
Whey we got married, photography was the one area I wasn’t willing to negotiate. We rejected the idea of a videographer, making our photographer that much more important. Like yours, our photographer had an amazing artistic eye. Oh and we really clicked with our photographer, the person. Because you know what? You’ll be spending more time with your photographer than anyone else on your special day, so you best get along with him/her/them!
Oh wow! I am so glad you found a photographer that works for you. It’s so important to find the right fit.
I do think photography is the one area where people should be willing to invest. I can’t wait to see your wedding photos!
Mike was awesome – I don’t think I would have crouched in a way-too-small purple velvet prince jacket for anyone else!
I love, love, love your Save the Date photo, Emily! And I honestly can’t wait until December to see all of the photos from your wedding; I think your photographer is going to take some amazing shots!
Wow, I love how creative your save the date photo is! Usually, the invitations are on pretty stationary with the information which I always think is nice but yours tops everything!
Whenever I think of weddings, I think mostly of the bride and groom, but also the pictures that are taken. I think those are the most special and I think when I do get married, a good photographer is something I would be willing to spend some serious cash on.
In a photographer, I would look for someone who I’m comfortable around, has good vision for what kinds of photos they want to take, and also willing to take some of my ideas and turn them into beautiful photography. I would also want someone with experience, who knows their way around camera and weddings, and can capture those moments nobody else is able to.
I love those pictures! I think you’re photographer is gonna capture your day beautifully!!!
I have never put much thought into a wedding…my wedding. But, I think the most important thing for me would be if the photographer truly understood what made us the most happy and could capture those little special moments as well as the traditional “posed” pictures!
Those pictures are stunning! I think a photographer that works with your personalities is so important. Especially when they are willing to step outside the box.
There is a photographer I have in mind for ours, but it all depends what we end up doing.
Your save the date is gorgeous!
Apart from food and alcohol, our photographer was our biggest expense. We wanted casual photos – we wanted an album full of candid shots.
Wow…what else can I say…simply amazing.
I agree that photography is the one place to splurge on your wedding. You only have one chance to capture those moments that you will cherish forever! A great photographer is worth every penny. Pick a photographer that can give you what you want; do you want a photo-journalism style or a candid realistic style? My partner and I wanted different styles and our photographer agreed to do a mix of both using one style with each of our families. BTW, you both look fantastic in all of those pictures, amazing work Latschislaw!
I LOVE YOUR SAVE THE DATE!!!! I have never seen one SO creative!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE.
I’m into artsy photos as well so I think this is just great!!
Stunning! His work looks so unique and I’m excited to see what he does for your wedding.
I agree with all your statements: Mark and I also decided that photography would be the one area where we’d consider “loosening our purse strings”. There were two qualities that we looked for when searching for a photographer were: a)creative use of lighting, background and post photography editing b)the feeling of “meshing” with our photographer. I’m happy to say we’ve found both in ours :).
I love your save the dates, they’re so unique and so romantic! Aww you’ve found your Romeo!
His photos are to die for!
Hope you get through so we can see what I’m sure will be GREAT photos.
It’s so refreshing to see some nontraditional creative work.
I just can’t wait to see your pictures =)
Photography is the most important thing to us as well!
Glad you found one that you love so much!
His work is outstanding – and so not cookie cutter! He shot my friend’s wedding and they said they had so much fun! Congratulations!
What a beautiful photo of the two of you and what fun his photo’s are. That engagement shot is spectacular. I agree in hoping that you will share your wedding photo’s with us as judging by these, they’ll be incredible. Was planning on voting for you anyway (of course, hehe) but if it means we’ll see some of these great shots I’m doubly certian you should win!
So great! I agree that photography is something worth spending a bit of extra money on. I’ve heard from people who have cheaped out on this and nearly all of them were terribly disappointed with the shots of their day.
I totally still have his business card in my car!! I loooove that you guys did that for your save the date magnet!! Looks amaaaaazin! i can hardly wait for your wedding day!
He does some AMAZING work!! I’d never heard of him before, but after checking out his site…you’re going to have awesome wedding photo’s!!
wow firstly those are some STUNNING photos, looks like you found a great photographer! i was reading another contestants post recently & this just goes to show that even if you are on a budget there are some things that you just don’t want to skimp on and i’m sure he is going to capture some amazing photographs. i hope you share them with us!!! bonus that he wasn’t that expensive too. how did you make the fridge magnets? neat idea – this lovely photo is undoubtably on display now in many homes!!! another great post em, love your writing as always.
I LOVE Mike’s work, and you are so very lucky that he will capture your “winter wonderland” wedding. I can’t wait to see the photos. Lisa Burns