When planning for our wedding, my wife and I were skeptical of having just anyone be a vendor for us. We like to have fun, but know when to be serious, and those traits exemplify John LoConte! From our first meeting, he was nothing but a plea...sure to work with. His photography portfolio, which is on display at the main office, was great. He definitely has a keen eye for his craft and knows how to get the right photo, regardless of the situation.
We did not need the engagement shoot, and he offered to roll that time over into extra coverage during the wedding. We were so grateful for that because we wanted shots of us getting ready beforehand, and my wife and I were in two separate cities.
In terms of his visibility during the ceremony and the reception, the man is over six feet tall, but must have some sort of invisibility cloak. We hardly noticed him except for the planned shots. He had us write down a list of family/friend shots that we wanted ahead of time, and we were able to take the majority of them prior to guests arriving. The rest he was able to knock out during the first 15-20 minutes of the cocktail hour. We were so ecstatic about that because it gave us time to mingle with our guests, which meant that we were both able to actually sit down to have dinner since we saw everybody by the time dinner was served to us.
In terms of working with the videographer, Franco Valverde, also of 617 Weddings, they worked seamlessly together. We have not received the video yet (just a statement, not a gripe by any means), but when looking through the photos that John touched up for us, 383 to be exact, I can't remember Franco being in any of them. They are a great team, and they both knew where to position themselves in order to get the best shot for themselves and, more importantly, not interfere with the others' shot.
If you want someone serious, and also seriously fun, then John LoConte is the right photographer for you. My wife and I couldn't be happier, especially since we got our photos while we were on our honeymoon, less than a week after the wedding!!