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Picturesque…. that’s the one word I would use to sum up Sam and Yoshi’s wedding, if I was forced to use just one word, because the location at the Scripps Seaside Forum, in La Jolla, California is just beautiful. The west coast of the United States will always have something that the east coast never will: beautiful beaches alongside treacherous cliffs with a setting sun. Yes, the east coast has beautiful beaches and you may find some cliffs (in Maine), but never with a setting sun. We have amazing sunrises on the east coast, but our sunsets do not compare to those on the west coast.
A beautiful location for all of their friends and family to enjoy, that’s all Sam and Yoshi wanted for their wedding! They could not have asked for a more perfect day! The sun was shining, the temperature was just right. And the day was filled with so many laughs, smiles, friends, family and love! Even I felt it!
Because of weddings like this, I may just move to the west coast! 😉
I just want to say Thank you to Sam and Yoshi for having me as their photographer! I truly enjoyed photographing your wedding day!
Venue –Scripps Seaside Forum
Wedding Coordinator – Dejah Urbanovitch
Hair / Make Up – Joan Latonio
DJ – DJ Smiles
Videographer – Maicol Chavez
Photographer – Esvy Photography & Films
Catering – Continental Catering
This wedding was actually earlier in the summer, but due to a number factors, we were not able to post the photos until now. But I remember it like it was yesterday! It was that much fun and filled with so much love! People traveled from as far as New Zealand and Australia just to be there for their friends and family! Everywhere you turned, you felt the love. Even my 2nd photographer and assistant commented how much they felt the love, as well. It was a pretty perfect day for everyone.
Venue – Beth Tzedec
Make Up – Vanessa Funtera Makeup
Hair – Anna Barseghian
Entertainment – It’s Pure Entertainment
Florist – Mum’s Garden
With this week being Thanksgiving in the United States, I’m truly truly thankful for all of the wonderful clients and couples that we get to photograph. Most of our clients are straight up wonderful people, with kinds hearts and great families! We are really lucky!
And thankfully that trend of great clients continues with Laura and Lonnie! Two super laid back, fun loving people! And their wedding was a blast! Laura was like a little energizer bunny running around and dancing up a storm! I wish I could dance like her! The day went off pretty perfectly! Great weather! Lots of wonderful people! And tons of fun!
It was the “BEST DAY EVER!!” (See the photos to see what I’m talking about) 🙂
Venue: Carlyle On The Green
Hair – Jolene Daniello
Make Up – Jamie Seader
DJ — Hank Lane: More than Music (DJ Lou)
Cake – Dortoni’s Bakery
If you’ve ever read “The Great Gatsby” or seen the movie, you know that it’s set on Long Island’s Gold Coast. And there is no venue on Long Island that embodies the spirit and elegance of Gatsby as Oheka Castle. It’s a one of kind venue and serves as a location for many shows, movies, music videos and, of course, weddings. So when Michelle first contacted us about photographing her wedding at Oheka, you know it’s going to be an an elegant affair.
The day was pretty much perfect! Blue skies, warm temps and everything pretty much went exactly as planned! Michelle & Frank could not have asked for a more perfect day.
Michelle and Frank are also 1 of the sweetest couples! They were so chill and relaxed for much of the day! They also have 1 of the cutest flower girls that we’ve ever photographed at a wedding! And I’m so glad that they chose us to be their photographer and cinematographer! I wish all clients could be as cool as them!
When you’re a 1st generation American or you emigrated to the States and you’re getting married, you often have to honor your parents and your native culture while mixing in the American/Western traditions and making them your own. Every culture is different. And for Jolie and Hayden, they hit a home run with everything! It was a great mix of East and West.
If you’re not familiar, oftentimes, the Groom has to arrive at the Bride’s residence with offerings and gifts. And in Hayden’s case, he and his groomsmen had to pass a few “tests”, hence all the zaney antics after the getting ready photos. And they really made it with their own this little things like Mickey & Minnie on the car or entering the reception led out by a child dressed as Darth Vader and the Imperial March playing as their music! And they even had little games/contests during the reception to see if the bride and groom could identify each other while blindfolded. It was so much fun to photograph!
Thank you Jolie & Hayden for having me as your wedding photographer!
Not every wedding has a to be a big affair with lots of family and lots of friends. Although, I will admit: having the positive energy, vibes, and buzz of having a lot of loved ones around can make your day overflow with wondrous love and energy. It’s quite an amazing feeling to experience when you’re a photographer working a wedding. When I can feel those vibes, I know the couple are 2 special people.
But witnessing love amongst 2 people, with me, their photographer, as their only witness, there is something just as, if not more, magical. To witness 2 people get married without the weight of friends and family is quite amazing. Literally, it was just the bride, groom, and me. 3 total people. Well 4, if you count the City Hall Officiant. I feel truly honored and privileged to be their witness and photographer.
Congratulations to Natsumi and Hansen!
As the business grows and continues to gain traction, I find myself having more and more fun at weddings. And I think it’s b/c we do a better job of connecting with our clients and getting to know them. And when I met Kelly & Tim, I knew they would be a great client for us. Kelly & Tim are such great people! B/c of their kind hearts and calm & cool personalities, I really felt like we connected and really really really wanted to hit a home run for them with the photos (and video).
And on their wedding day, b/c of the super hot day, they could have easily been grumpy, but they weren’t! It was over 90 degrees outside! They were so chill and enjoyed every single moment of their day! And it’s weddings like these, that really remind me that I love what I do. Their families and all their friends are super amazing and fun! I mean, who brings bagpipe players to their wedding? So much fun!
Thank you Kelly & Tim for having us as your wedding photographer and cinematographer!!
(Stay Tuned, tomorrow, for their highlight reel)
Ceremony: Our Lady of Hope
Reception: Water’s Edge
Photography: Esvy Photography
Cinematography:Esvy Photography
Florist: Friend
DJ: 2nd To None
Hair: Bliss Spa by Massie Tahiri
Make Up: Kristin Mavroson DeRosa
Fun would be an understatement when I describe what it was like to photograph Nicole & Greg’s Wedding. I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun, photographing a wedding. And I’ve photographed some pretty fun weddings! This wedding was just an absolute blast!!! Do people still say that? Or am I showing my age? Either way, it was a really really good time! Everyone so full of positive energy. The day was not rushed and everything pretty much worked out the way it was supposed to. And both families were fabulous! And it shows in both Nicole and Greg, both wonderful people! I wish all weddings and couples could be this awesome!
So how do you go about to choose your wedding photographer? Personality? Location? Experience? Style? Number and Quality of Online Reviews? Referral? Price? Amount of time on the day of the wedding? Hopefully, it’s a combination of all these factors. But let’s go through what I feel are some of the more important, from a photography perspective.
PRICE
Let’s get straight to it, we all work hard for our money and we want it to go a long way. But to be honest, price should be the least of your concerns. There’s a saying that “You get what you pay for.” Meaning, if you pay a budget price, you’re going to get a budget product. And if you pay a luxurious price, you should be getting a luxury product. And after all is said and done with your wedding, the only thing you will have left from your big day are your memories and your photos (and maybe a video). So if you’re going to spend all of that money on your wedding (flowers, dress, catering, lighting, design,etc), don’t you want to remember all of the amazing moments that made the day so special and serve as a reminder and great memory as to why you married your partner.
And as you’ll see from the items below, price should not matter. If your photographer hits these major points, you’ll be happy with your decision regardless of price.
PERSONALITY
This is a big one for me. When I’m on the phone or in a consultation with potential clients, I’m reviewing them, as much are they are reviewing me. At some basic level, we all need to get along and like each other, right? Not all photographers are as professional as you’d like them to be, either. Ideally, the couple and the photographer are people that I would invite to a weekend BBQ at my house or at least maybe grab a drink with during happy hour. The point is that the photographer is the only vendor that is with the couple the entire day and will be there for all the ebbs and flows of the day. We, photographers, wear many hats and have many responsibilities on the day of wedding, in addition to making beautiful photos. If you don’t have a day of coordinator or planner and something goes wrong, we have to be a stand in therapist and problem solver. If you’re running behind schedule, we have become the coordinator and become more efficient and get you back on schedule. During portraits, we become a stylist and maybe even an emergency hair and make up person. And depending upon the photographer’s personality, they can either be a pain or a great help on the wedding day.
For me, there are some clients that I really want to work with and others that I would not go near. After about 10 minutes of chatting with most clients, I can gauge what type of bride/couple they are going to be. Bride-zillas really do exist! But thankfully none of my previous clients have been one.
And bad personality (jerk / a–hole) photographers also exist. Some photographers can be real divas and care more about their portfolio than delivering a complete wedding day story, to you, in your album and web gallery.
Don’t select one that will make your special that much more stressful, either. It should be as if your photographer is just a cool guest at your wedding, that enhances your experience on your special day and makes it that much more fun.
STYLE
Do you want more staged portraits? Do you want more candid? Do you want more photojournalism? Do you want a film look? Do you want more B&W? These days with digital photography, everyone is a photographer with a camera on their cell phones. And with Instagram everyone knows how to use filters. But not everyone has the right eye. And while each photographer may be pretty similar in look, their styles are always a little different. Some things that you may notice is that some photographers are more about the big scene and less about the intimate emotion. Can you spot the difference when looking a the different websites? Or are you just in awe at the pretty photos and getting really excited about your wedding?
Today, you like a certain look to your photos, meaning a kind of filter, style, or process on your photos; but how will they look in 20 years? Will the filter/look feel dated and super old-fashioned in the future. This to me is the very important. Much like fashion, imaging trends come and go, but certain things will always be classic. The heavy photoshop and/or Instagram look is cool now, but I can bet your $5 that it will feel dated pretty quickly.
Whether you choose us or another photographer, I always advocate for a more classic look that will stand up better over time. That way, the only thing you will criticize in the photos is the poor fashion choices you made for the bridesmaids dresses. 😛
EXPERIENCE
I think this kind of goes without saying, you want your photographer to have photographed at least a few weddings. Yes, they might know how to use a camera or read a book on how to operate one. But that does not mean they are able to handle all of the little things that come up in a wedding day. Will they be able to think on the fly and become an active problem solver? An experienced photographer means that they will not contribute to the stress on your wedding day and actually help to make things run smoother.
Now, what about experience at a particular venue? This is not a big deal to me b/c photographers, at least in a local area, can always scout a location ahead of time and do their homework, so that they are prepared. On another note, if a photographer has worked a venue before, they may not be as creative, they may just snap back to what they have done previously and not look for that amazing photo. Whereas, a photographer that is new to a venue may try new angles and perspectives that no one else has seen before. it can go either way, really. It all depends on how your photographer sees the world through their camera.
ONLINE REVIEWS
Obviously, the more positive reviews, the better. But be wary of the photo studios that have 1000s of reviews. Those are more usually just the cookie cutter studios that don’t provide personal attention and in some cases they just outsource the photography. You should be looking for photographers who have anywhere from 10-200 reviews. Those are the individual photographers or studios that are doing well and running a reputable business.
LOCATION
Generally you want a photographer in your general geographic area, but it’s not a deal breaker. If you love a photographer from another state or even another country, that should not prevent you from booking them. You may love their style or their personality. Chances are they will arrive a day early, scout the locations and deliver amazing photos and go that extra mile for you, just b/c they are traveling. Photographers like to travel just like everyone else. And when I get a wedding outside of NY, it’s great! And just like any business trip, they employer should be prepared to cover the travel expenses.
