First off, you have to understand going in that when you sign up with Chris and Wendy that you are getting the absolute best value that money can buy. I would recommend them for any and all photography needs that you will ever have again. I got married two months ago, and at first my fiance and I chose them because they impressed us by replying to our email with a personal video message they made just for us! We met up with them at a soda shop and they wowed us with their warmth and honesty. Just the icing on the cake was that they were from Portland, OR, a place we had recently moved to. Plus, they were two for the price of one, which we thought was a fabulous deal.
They explained to us what they were about, and seemed to know the exact questions to ask us about what we wanted, and we left our first meeting, and every other Skype meeting held, feeling very satisfied that we had both communicated very clearly and were having a complete understanding about what we were going to get out of our experience with them. Our particular tastes demanded an 'fly on the wall' approach to photos that day, in all moments save for posed family photos, which I knew in advance that my large Mexican/Italian family would need a lot of strict and loud directions.
Obviously, my family like many families, is not devoid of drama, and I knew that my wedding day was going to be a rocky one. I don't know how I got through without Wendy especially. She was a good sport when my mom had the makeup artist set her up in the MIDDLE of the bridal room, blocking a good chunk of my 'getting ready' shots. I had made known to Wendy beforehand that these were important to me, and she made it happen through all odds. Her husband went off to take photos of my fiancee, and they made magic where the most stressful part of the day happen, and we got some glorious photos through some witchcraft of theirs, I still don't know!
They had previously asked us on numerous occasions if they were going to be the only photographers there and my fiance and I had repeatedly assured them that they were. Lo and behold once we get to the ceremony site, there's idiot cousin Mike with his mother's Canon getting in their way everywhere! Even through this embarrassing obstacle (I had my brother tackle him as soon as I got wind of this), we still got awesome walking down the aisle shots through more Chris and Wendy magic talent.
After the ceremony during posed family photos, Chris and Wendy pull out a ladder from their top hat and start acting like ringmasters, as was EXACTLY the right timing to do so. For the most part, it goes off swimmingly and right on schedule.
Then my mom starts getting fussy with me about random family friends not having their chance at photos with the bride and groom (when this was supposed be a closed family picture time). I'm not awesome with posed photos anyway, and my stress levels shoot through the roof, I whisper to my hubby that I'm getting overwhelmed. He passes the message on to Chris, and amazingly before my eyes, he and Wendy herd all my family away from me within seconds! It was like a miracle!
We got couples photos after that, which turned out fitting for a magazine catalog, if I do say so myself. All credit goes to them, I assure you, because I've never been very photogenic.
All and all, our experience with them was fantastic. When we spoke, they listened, they were intuitive and gracious, and everything we needed them to be, when we needed them to be it. They seemed very concerned with making us feel comfortable, and even after our wedding, met up with us to get ice cream and hear about the honeymoon. These are strangers to us, mind you! But not anymore, that's for sure. They went out of their way to make a great time and comfortable atmosphere for us. My money was never spent better, and if I could afford to pay them every day for the rest of my life I would, because their pictures are priceless and our precious memories will live on forever now, thanks to them. read more
