We hired photographers! We went with Alex Studio... and got the best of both worlds - we didn't get cheated with the price (we did have to pay a steep minimum price because we're getting married during the peak season... but we're getting quite a bit for that price), and i loved their portfolio. so i'm happy.
Photography was one of the most stressful aspects of planning the wedding for me, largely because i know what i'm looking at when i look at a photo. I know what a good composition looks like... but photographers who do it well are also very expensive. so it was tough to find one where i was happy with both the price and the quality... but i did it!
We're done with all of the big decisions, i think. the only vendor left to find and hire is a florist, and that shouldn't be a big deal. We're already getting some flowers through the Quarry for the buffet tables and such... we're not doing big floral centerpieces on the tables (we're making cool oil lamps out of old chianti bottles instead)... so the biggest thing the florist will have to do will be the bouquets.
on that front, i've vetoed the idea of using dahlias. i'm a total nerd about all of this, i know, but i can't help it. i don't want to invite bad luck, real or imagined... and i recently obtained a book that discusses the symbolism of flowers. Unfortunately dahlias have a rather unpleasant meaning: treachery and instability, sterility and misrepresentation.... that's not exactly the kind of thing i want to include in the celebration of my marriage. i have had my heart set on using peonies in my bouquet since i first started looking at all of the images of bouquets... fortunately they're associated with a very appropriate meaning: happy life and prosperity, happy marriage and virility. more power to me, eh?
--Chrissy
Photo taken by Cindy Rickett
