I really wish I could give Arielle (& Nathan!) a 10 star rating (yes, out of a 5 star scale). I'm about as anal as it gets when it came to planning my wedding up in Petoskey this May (2016), and she exceeded expectations. She was our favorite w...edding vendor.
I liked the happy, traditional style of many photographers, but something about Arielle's photography kept me returning to her page over and over again. She showcased some really unique dramatic pictures on her website, and I just hadn't seen that anywhere else. So, being super type A - I wanted to meet my top 2 photographers. I met Arielle for tea & the other group for lunch. She was to-the-point, genuine, and I found out we shared a love for travel & good tea! I told her -'Hey this is my vision...could you do this?' and her response was 'Yes!' I just wanted to confirm that she could take both dramatic & fun, silly pictures. She showed me some examples of both, and I was all set to put the deposit down. The other group felt like every other photographer I had spoken to on the phone (but in person): - overly smiley (but it didn't feel genuine), cheesy, and spending the majority of the time telling me how THEY normally do it, not listening to what I had in mind.
During our emails back and forth leading up to the wedding, Arielle was professional, and willing to hear me out when I sent her questions/my ridiculous Pinterest boards. What I like about Arielle is that she is a good business woman in addition to being an artist - if she knew she wasn't going to be able to fulfill a request (because I can guarantee I sent huge requests), she stated it up front. That was huge for me, because I'm one of those brides that got very caught up in the planning, and it helped me to set realistic expectations.
On wedding day, she was right on time at the salon & her second shooter/husband-Nathan, was as well with my husband while he got ready. Our morning prior to the ceremony was just shy of a disaster because our salon seriously messed up, but Arielle remained calm & focused during the whole thing, and still got many great shots when there was a significantly reduced opportunity to do so - that shows some serious talent on her end. Her attitude helped me feel like everything was going to be "ok", even though on the inside I wanted to cry. (so THANKS Arielle!!)
From then on the schedule went smoothly, and she & Nathan were SO much fun to have with us along the way. They are also one of the cutest couples ever, so there's that. They just have a great energy that I feel like only a husband & wife team could have. Nathan came on the party bus with us & got lots of fun shots while Arielle got the gorgeous romantic ones at our various picture locations. So they really helped to make the wedding day awesome. We got our pictures back soon after (I think like 3 weeks which is standard), and I was just so pleased. They had everything I had hoped for - dramatic, fun, ridiculous. She really nailed it.
In summary, when you're booking a photographer, be aware of your personality, how you react under stress (because weddings are stressful), your style, & vice versa for them. Have realistic and/or adaptable expectations. Ask all your questions up front. That way, both you and your vendors will both be happy.
Now that you've read my review, why haven't you booked Arielle already?