HI.

Lately my life has been neither extraordinary or ordinary, really. I’m stuck somewhere in between. I feel a bit whelmed, as  described here. As I mentioned in my previous post, Bryan and I are making a large purchase and as a result, my serotonin levels have been suffering. Coupled with the fact that I am also planning a wedding has made my brain into a 24-hour-a-day, non-stop machine. With no off switch.

Usually, when I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me I drink a little vodka and buy lipstick. This routine has now become totally blasé. I find myself needing just two simple things. The first thing keeping my mind in the sane category is maintaining a neat and tidy home. I feel the need to banish crumbs, vacuum on the hour and take out the trash when it’s a quarter full. Perhaps it’s the sight of the perfectly proportionate mist from the Windex bottle kissing the hairspray stains on the  mirror. The soft thud of the Honey Nut Cheerios I have swept up into the dustpan hitting the garbage can liner. My worries are wiped away and taken out with the trash. I LOVE IT.

The second theraputic means, I am doing right now! Spewing my thoughts onto the interwebs, in a journal, on a paper towel, WHEREVER – has always calmed me down. List making is another good one. So it is here, where I will attempt to bring solace to my unrelenting case of the worries.

Now it is time to talk about wedding photographers, k?

I have gone through a bit of a journey here. Searching the Wedding Wire directories got me lost and confused in the foreign land of tiered “packages”, photo-journalistic styles and high-res/low-res discs. I know the difference, btw, but where I start getting all messy boots is when I begin to compare one photo to another.

Which is better? How important is a photographer? I quickly learned the answer:

VERY

Another annoying habit of mine is figuring out what “style” is fitting. Trends like the Pinteresty washed-out look, to the use of fancy wide-angle lenses and crazy contrasting brings up tough questions. Which is “us”? Which is timeless?

Pinteresty

Contrasty

Photos courtesy of Pinterest.

I looked at a million pictures and made a few phone calls. It’s kind of like online dating. YEAH. Where’s the match.com for people to meet their wedding photographers?

Of course (especially with me) price plays another huge factor in this decision. Photography costing upwards of 6-7K these days, it’s no wonder people lose their sh*t over weddings. Yes, it’s your wedding day and hopefully, (unlike 50% of the population) you will only have one. When else will you hire a brigade of (for lack of a better word) minions to order around to do  your makeup, curl your hair and let your dress out another inch because you couldn’t say no to all that pie?

Wedding websites suggest 10-12% of your budget should go towards photography. But with $7,000 price tags, how many of us are shelling out 60 grand for our weddings? I’ll tell ya one thing: WE’RE NOT.

If it’s not already painstakingly clear, I needed help. I dreamed of a wedding photographer consultant – a fairy godmother of sorts, who will wave her magic wand and poof! A smiley, perfectly groomed wedding photographer would appear and take the perfect mix of photos. All while capturing the moment and keeping an immaculate schedule.

Too much to ask?

Luckily, such a person does exist (thanks Alisha!). I am beyond thrilled to have made this decision. Now, onto the other 712,1238912 decisions.

ALSO – More news on the big purchase is coming soon, promise.