I took a gamble and it paid off!

I can't remember if I've posted about our photography plans or not, but I got some really great news today!

But let's provide a bit of background shall we?

About a year ago, when we were first hashing out our budget and realizing that paying for a wedding was uber expensive, I knew we were going to have to "get creative" in order to keep things within a reasonable cost. Photography is one of the most expensive elements of a wedding (after the reception costs) and as I was doing my research I discovered that the average cost of a professional wedding photographer in the KW area is around $1,600 -- and those were last year's prices! So I set out to try and find a deal, while at the same time knowing that photography was important and hoping the "deal" wouldn't backfire...

Sometime in late April 2005 I emailed an acquaintance, who happened to be a professional photographer to see if she would mind providing me with some tips. At the time I was thinking of posting an ad at the colleges to see if there were any senior photography students that could shoot the wedding... My photographer acquaintance didn't think this was a great idea. We discussed budget and length of time needed, and came up with a goal of $500 for 3 hours of photography, which she assured me was doable and that she would get back to me.

BTW -- I've since discovered that this acquaintance is one of the most sought after and frequently recommended photographers in local wedding circles. She shoots in a photo-journalist style, which I love, and gets so much word-of-mouth business it's insane. You can check out some of her current work, here. Her current base price is $2,100 for 6 hours of wedding photography, and she's already booked up halfway through 2007! But I digress, back to my story...

So I waited several weeks with no word, and then early in June of 2005 I got the news that her assistant would like to shoot our wedding -- yay! -- and that we would touch base closer to the date.

A couple of months passed, and our wedding plans changed, so I emailed the photographer to give her a quick update. She wasn't convinced that her assistant could handle the new locations, but once again assured me not to worry -- she'd figure something out.

Several more months passed, but I didn't want to be a pain, so I managed to wait patiently for word from the photographer. Then one day in late October 2005, I got an email that said "great news -- I have 2 new assistants and I'm going to send both of them to shoot your wedding!" Sweet!! Now we were getting 2 assistants, fully trained by this professional photographer, to shoot our wedding. It was left that we should meet this spring to go over more details, so once again I set out to wait patiently for word from the photographer...

Five months passed, and I was starting to think about timelines for the wedding day, but needed more information about photography so I emailed the photographer to see where things were at...

Today I got an email back and it said:

"Hey Jen -- Looks like your the luckiest bride [around]! I'll be shooting your wedding after all. I have a new assistant that wants to become a main shooter and I want her to get the experience. But it will only be her second wedding. So I'll be the main shooter and her the second."

Holy crap! I nearly fell over when I read the news. We're getting one of the most sought after photographers in the area, plus an assistant, to shoot our Saturday wedding (prime time) for only $500!!!

I'm almost afraid that writing this down will jinx it, but what can I say? I took a huge gamble and it paid off! I never expected that she would be shooting our wedding, and I am SO excited -- all that nerve-wracking waiting, half expecting to hear the news, "Sorry, I can't find anyone after all" was apparently worth it!