The one where we choose our photographer

So, who did we pick? We'll get to that in just a minute but first let's discuss our options a little nit.

Both Red Apple Tree and R. Schindler Photography have styles that we really really love and would like for our wedding day. They are also both on the lower end of the spectrum price wise in comparison with the other photographers we checked out (but still far out of our original budget). Red Apple Tree is a two person operation which would mean we would have a second shooter while Russell is a one man show, although he mentioned he could find someone to shoot along side him if need be. Red Apple Tree is local while Russell isn't but we know Russell personally which would be a big plus.

In the end though, we decided that we would rather have Russell in the wedding instead of working at the wedding so Kyle instead asked him to be a groomsmen and we met up with Red Apple Tree at a local coffee shop to make sure we meshed. You guys, we ended up talking to them for two hours and it was natural and fun, exactly the feeling you want with a vendor. We decided to sign the contract that day and sent in our deposit later that week.

We just had our engagement photos done last month and I'll give you a little teaser before I post about our experience:



Coming up soon: gorging ourselves on cake and engagement picture extravaganza!!

A picture is worth...thousands of dollars? Oy.

Photography is one of the most important components of our wedding in our minds. While we originally budgeted low, we ended up blowing that out of the water and splurging because we knew that we would have these pictures forever and great photography is well worth the sacrifice to us. That being said, we did not have unlimited funds and had to stay within a certain price point. I'm confident that even if this wasn't the case we would still have ended up with our photographer.

I started my search by looking at the photographers listed on our venue's preferred vendor list but while the photos were great, they didn't make me feel anything. We really wanted someone who was going to capture moments and emotions, not just pictures. Next I turned to my good friend WeddingWire to browse through vendors on their site. We really wanted two photographers and to stay below $3000 so this helped somewhat in our search. After pouring over pages and pages of vendors and reviews and vendor websites/blogs, we finally narrowed it down to just one studio to meet with. Before I reveal who, I'll show you two of the stunners at the top of our list.

First up, R Schindler Photography:

R. Schindler Photography

R. Schindler Photography

I love love love all of his work. I'll also let you in on a little secret: Russell, the photographer is a friend of Kyle's and one of our classmates from college. His work is phenomenal and I love his style of photography.

Next, we looked at Red Apple Tree Photography

Red Apple Tree Photography

Red Apple Tree Photography

These guys are awesome. We loved their style and how great they were at capturing details and emotions at the weddings they shot. They're a two person operation which was also a plus.

What was your wedding splurge? Who do you think we chose?

Have your cake and eat it two

Yes, "two" as in we are having two cakes. I will regale you all of the cake tasting and how we chose our vendor later but I thought I'd kick off by showing you what our cakes are going to look like. As you all know we are having an October wedding and are really planning on embracing the season and incorporating it into our wedding. Early in our wedding planning (and by that I mean when I used to browse all things wedding before rocking this bling on my finger) I came across two cakes that I fell absolutely head over heels for and immediately bookmarked them.

Source

Source

When it came time to actually choose which cake we wanted, we just couldn't. So what did we do? We decided to get both! Now, these won't both be served at the reception. Instead, the first one will be our actual wedding cake and the second one will be served at the rehearsal. The only thing we're really changing will be the color of the birds on the wedding cake and the sign on the rehearsal cake. 

I cannot wait to tell you guys all about our amazing baker and fill you in on all of the delicious details of the tasting.

Are you having cake, or two cakes even? Or are you more of a cupcake or pie type of gal?

Bad Blogger, Bad!

I am so so so sorry. I know it has been almost a month since my last post but I had somewhat of a mental breakdown and just couldn't deal with it. However, I've realized quite a few things and I am getting ready to kick back into high gear. We are traveling this weekend but I will be back on Monday with a brand new post. I'm also finally starting on some DIY projects next weekend so I'll have plenty to talk about.

Hope you didn't miss me too much.

<3

EDIT: I lied :( I'll be back Thursday. Woopsie!