Hey guys!

In case you were TOTALLY counting…….. (not)….. we are *only* 627 days until our wedding!!!!!

Hahahahahaha yes, really.

I am so grateful for our long engagement because it has allowed us to take our time choosing vendors for the big day and not rush any major purchases and/or decisions. Another main perk? Pretty much every vendor is still available! We get freeeeee ranged pick of the lot.

So far in the wedding planning process we have chosen our date (October 11th, 2020) and our venue. I’d like to keep the venue a secret for a while but I’ll let you know that it IS in Raleigh. We’re embracing our new home and see ourselves here for years to come so it only seems natural to share this new place with all of our friends and family. It’s a destination wedding for… pretty much everybody other than us. Oops.

In addition to the date and venue, we also just signed our contract on our photographer. I have been thinking about the photographer for my wedding longer than I have thought about any other major details like the cake or even my dress! I am a photographer at heart and I follow quite a few professionals that I’ve loved since I first picked up a camera. I wanted to bring you all through my inspiration of styles for photographers that I love.

Firstly, I had to start off with Jordan Voth. He’s located in the Pacific Northwest but in 2011 he did a road trip around the country and I was going to have him do my senior portraits for high school. Unfortunately, I was on a family vacation when he came through my area but I always told myself I’d think of him first when I got engaged. I did not end up booking him for the wedding but not for any reason other than distance. All of the photographers I am showcasing here today are ones I’ve followed for years but are not local to Raleigh. The photographer we did end up booking is INCREDIBLE and is also a local! A total win-win.

Here is some of Jordan’s work:

Next is another photographer that I discovered around the same time as Jordan. His name is Taylor McCutchan and he is insaaaanely talented. In addition to his near-perfect photos and impeccable edits, he does some really cool double exposures that you’ll see an example of below:

A more recent discovery of mine is Duke Moose. He’s based in Utah and, well, his location speaks for itself. He captures people in Utah’s unbelievable scenery so majestically. It’s really unfair that all of America doesn’t look like it.

Here are a couple of my favorites by him:

Last but certainly not least for my inspirational photogs is the first-ever wedding photographer that I followed. I remember being a freshman in high school, sitting in the corner of the computer room of my school’s photo lab. I had just discovered Shannon Nicole Smith (now: Vine and Light Photography) and fell in love with her work. It was the first time I’d seen candid wedding photography where people look happy, lively and NORMAL. I’ve kept tabs on her in the years since and felt it was a necessity to include her in this post.

Now for the real deal! I wasn’t sure I was gonna share my vendors as we booked ’em but honestly….. how could I hold back on this one? We booked Three Region Photography and let me tell ya– I am so freaking happy I decided to look local because if I hadn’t, one of the photographers listed above would have been booked and I would have missed the magic that is Jessica’s work.

I try very hard to separate photographic skill and “the eye” from post-processing work. I haven’t always been this way and really only recently learned that anyone can slap a Lightroom preset on a photo, call it a day and look impressive. I now appreciate someone who can capture a perfectly crisp image in a scenario that is ever-moving and quickly changing. Jessica recently posted something on her Instagram that I thought was so incredible, as it was very different from my personal experience as a (hobby) photographer and think it exudes the confidence in her ability: she said instead of shooting on burst, she sits and waits for the moments that need to be captured. I believe she likened it to being a Nat Geo photographer waiting for a specific action of an animal in the wild and I think that speaks to her incredible work tremendously.

Now, let me back up and say that editing IS important. That is what initially caught my eye with Three Region. There’s a slight moodiness that never leans too dramatic and her work just feels grounded. It’s not bubbly but it still exemplifies joy. It’s not stiff but you will still get all of your necessary, more posed shots. Simply put: it feels real. She is everything that I wish I could be as a photographer and I am SO excited to have her photograph our big day.

That’s all for today’s Wedding Wednesday! I believe the next major detail that’s up for choosing is…… THE DRESS!!!!!! See you all then 🙂