I found Lauren Lee Photography by stealing her from one of my bridesmaids, who was getting married about a month after me. I loved all of the wedding day detail photos on her blog and how colorful everything looked. She did an engagement shoot ...with us and our wedding photos.
The engagement shoot was way more fun than I anticipated. I thought it would be awkward because my husband is kind of reserved and quiet, but Lauren made him very comfortable and before long we were acting natural and having a good time. The photos themselves- stunning. Looking at our engagement photos was the first moment my husband started to get really excited about the wedding planning process. Lauren really 'got' us in the photos. We looked like us. And so happy and in love. We used pictures from that shoot on our Save the Dates, Invites, and Wedding Programs. They were so well done and fit beautifully with our theme!
Fast forward to the big day. Lauren helped keep us on track with the timeline we put together. Part of that time frame included shooting some of the special details of the ceremony and wedding. We had a really involved theme (bookish/literary), and she absolutely captured it. It was so much fun going back through all the photos after we received our full library of wedding pictures to see what she captured and how she did it. Let me tell you, she didn't miss a thing.
Our bridal party photos were so playful and fun. She captured moments of the day we didn't get to see ourselves, like this heartwarming photo of my husband's grandfather smiling at my husband right before I walked down the aisle. She helped stage a photobomb by my dad (a tradition) and so many other fun (but not cheesy) shots. But most importantly, she captured the emotion of the day. She was there when my brother saw me in my dress for the first time, and caught that look. She was there when my bridesmaids saw me the first time and caught it. And my mom too. None of those were planned by me, but as they happened she was there and ready. She caught the first moment my husband saw me during our first look. Seeing it gave me chills. It is absolutely priceless. She coordinated our sparkler send off to movie-still-esque results. She and her assistant were never in the way or obnoxious like some photographers. They were nearly invisible day of. How she shot some of the photos, I will never know.
I had a lot of dark flowers in my bouquet and was a little apprehensive about how clear they would show up in photos (as they didn't show up well on my phone), but each picture of my bouquet is striking and crisp.
So many of our photos look like paintings! She had a vision from the moment she surveyed our venue. Our venue had a decorated swing and the photos she took of us on it are magical. She utilized the glow of the sunset and knew what lighting would catch my gray wedding dress and my husband's burgundy tux beautifully. She has an incredible eye. Her artistry is unparalleled and I have been to my fair share of weddings.
We got our photos back less than a month after getting married. We stayed up until 3am looking at each picture and going back over every memory. She captured each moment of the day and how it felt to be there. I am so glad we found her. It was an honor to have her and her assistant at our special day.