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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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[...] about Dalek cake toppers, pouring raw eggs all over my head, how my bridal party abandoned ship, dressing up as Sleeping Beauty, and counting our blessings. The competition has been stiff – another finalist had a circus [...]
Aw, Jack & Nico, thanks for stopping by!! :)
Lyndsey – it was the first thing we booked, because the good photographers book up (so I’m told) a year in advance – I think when I spoke to Mike in January he already had most of the year booked up! What city are you in? I think the good thing about bigger cities is that there are lots of options – I really hope your friend finds somebody wonderful, but I’d definitely start looking right away. I also think price depends on the city as well – for Winnipeg, I’m seeing everything from $1,000 – $5,000 – but Mike offers lots of versatility; we can pick which parts of the day we’d like captured, it’s not just a set 10-hr package or anything – so we can make sure it’s totally reasonable, and just choose the parts we want to have captured (I’m not really too worried about getting shots of me looking like a lion while my hair’s being done :)) I hope your friend finds somebody wonderful!
After just discussing photography with my best friend who is planning her wedding for July, I’m wondering how far in advance most photographers need to be booked? I’m a complete rookie at this as I’ve never been a MOH before so what sort of price range do most photographers come in?
These shots are SURREAL (in a great way, too) – very good choice to put priority on photos!
Way to go Emily. Haved enjoyed reading about your experiences. All the best
Awwww thanks you guys!! :) Sam – actually we were trying to recreate a picture I’d fallen in love with:
http://bit.ly/9onLvy
So it was just variations of that. And trying to balance on pillows on a table and look elegant, haha. We had a separate engagement shoot with a photographer friend of mine involving red balloons and running around in the park one afternoon :)
Love the photog’s style. I’m looking forward to seeing your wedding pictures. Were there any different shots you got from the engagement shoot?
Oh, how awesome! I loooove your photos! It looks like you guys must have had the best time. I am with you–I think photography is the most important element of a wedding, it’s the most solid and last part of it, the part that will literally bring the memories flooding right back to you! I am so happy you get to have an awesome photographer, one that you feel totally suits your needs! That’s rad. :P
You continue to impress me with your posts. I love that you found such a unique and talented photographer. You’re right, photos are the one thing that will show all the emotion of the day and it was the most important thing to us to really find someone who’d do a good job too. The Save The Date is wonderfully original, thank you for sharing it.