I once had a bride who emailed me a 25-page spreadsheet of every single photo she wanted taken on her wedding day. Photos such as: Bride. Bride and mom. Bride and dad. Bride and mom and dad. Cake. Cake and champagne flutes. You get the idea.

My heart sank for this poor bride who undoubtedly had way better things to do with her time than create this insanely long list of obvious shots. So, I picked up the phone and had a conversation with her because I wanted to understand what prompted her to spend all that time making such a detailed list.

She explained that she had read on all of the wedding websites and blogs that you should always provide your photographer with a shot list. Naturally, she didn’t want any of those photos to be missed, so she was just doing what she thought was best.

However, my answer to the question “Do I need a shot list?” has always been a gentle “no” for these reasons:

LEAVE IT TO THE PROFESSIONAL

You can trust the knowledge that comes with an experienced photographe...

When a couple hires me, I am given the honor of capturing their wedding vision, whether it’s a light and airy, rustic afternoon or a sleek and stylish black-tie evening. However, one of the questions that often arises during our initial phone conversation is, “WHAT IS YOUR STYLE?”

This question always catches me a little off-guard, because in my mind, my style is YOUR STYLE. Let me explain…

There was an article published last year on a popular wedding blog called “Which Wedding Photography Style is Perfect for You?” The article gave examples of photographs of five different styles: Fine Art, Journalistic, Traditional, Dark + Moody and Adventurous.

Of course, all of these images are beautiful. And upon first glance, they fit into their given categories. However, my question is, is this really the style of the photographer or is the photographer just capturing the style of the client?

For example, the Fine Art photo and the Traditional photo are both of bridesmaids. Aside from the fact that...

When I began my photography career, shooting weddings was something that had never crossed my mind. I was doing headshots, photographing houses for realtors and doing architectural photography. All perfectly fine things to photograph.

One afternoon, a friend called me in a panic. Her friend’s wedding photographer had cancelled on them, one week before the wedding. They asked if I would shoot their wedding, to which I quickly replied, “Absolutely not.” I had no clue how to photograph a wedding and unlike buildings and houses, there were no do-overs! I couldn’t fathom that kind of pressure and I had no idea how to pose families, shoot in a dark church or how to direct a bride and groom.

But, they talked me into it. They were desperate and they assured me that they had no expectations and just wanted me to get something - anything - to document their wedding day. I brought my husband and 20 rolls of film, and as we pulled up to the wedding venue, my heart was beating out of my chest. I thin...

Many couples ask me "Do I really need a wedding album?" and my answer is always the same: "Yes! Absolutely! Without a doubt!"

Let me explain...

Every day we sit with our smartphones in hand, swiping through thousands of photos. We hop on Instagram before we’ve even gotten out of bed. We scroll through Facebook posts, breezing through photo after photo. Snapchat. Pinterest. We are overly saturated with images on our desktops, laptops, and iPads. We sit at office desks in office chairs and click away. And at a certain point, we don’t even really see the photos anymore. They’re just passing through our eyes like cars speeding on the freeway.

But now, YOU ARE HIRING A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER TO CAPTURE YOUR WEDDING.

You are making an investment in photographs that will become treasures, images that will become part of your family history. Images that don’t deserve to get lost in the shuffle of your over-crowded hard drive. Your wedding photographer will create stunning, artistic, beautifully...

When I got married in 1999, there was no such thing as The First Look. The first time my fiancé saw me in my dress was as I walked down the aisle on our wedding day. Now, if I do say so myself, I was looking pretty amazing that day. All of those months I spent envisioning my dress, my hair and makeup, my jewelry and shoes, all of the details that I secretly fantasized about, had all come together and I felt truly beautiful. I imagined his reaction and my heart fluttered in anticipation as I began my walk toward my groom.

But, all I got was a big smile. A smile is nice and everything, but with a grand total of 3.5 seconds before the ceremony began, there wasn’t time for him to really appreciate how stunning (he later told me) I looked. The officiant began speaking and before we knew it we were headed back up the aisle, quickly enveloped into the loving arms of all 125 guests. And then the martinis started flowing and the dance floor was buzzing and suddenly it was 3am, at which point, we...