Why I chose Stacy Smith for my Destination Wedding!!!
This review is lengthy, but if you're a bride in search of a great photographer please read this in it's entirety. You won't be sorry! Stacy Smith is AMAZING!
Hiring wedding vendors is ...an overwhelming process to say the least! Where do you even begin!?!? I searched and searched for photographers and then I heard about Stacy through a friend who hired her to photograph her wedding and raved about her photography work. I then heard about Stacy again from a friend who is a small business owner who met Stacy at a small business event and had nothing but wonderful things to say about her as a person. This girls name just kept coming up with such good reviews, so I decided I would give her a go for our engagement photos. I knew it would only be for the engagement photos because we were having a destination wedding and I automatically assumed that we could not budget in to house another person besides ourselves while in Mexico.
So we went to the engagement shoot not having a clue what to expect, and let me tell you, we had an absolute blast with Stacy! She is fun and outgoing and is willing to do whatever it takes to get a good shot! She made us feel so comfortable and relaxed while in front of the camera. We laughed so much, I swear we almost forgot she was even shooting pictures! We had only just met her, but felt like we'd known her for years! We maybe spent an hour to 90 minutes with her and on our way back to the cars asked her what it would take to get her to accompany us to Mexico to shoot our wedding!
Before the big day, I decided to have Stacy shoot a boudoir session with me as a gift for my husband. What an amazing experience that was. Stacy made me feel sexy and confident while in front of the camera. She gave me tips ahead of time on how to get a good shot as well as provided me with the option to have my hair and makeup done by a professional at her studio before the shoot. She went above and beyond in helping me prepare and in the end provided me with a gorgeous leather bound book filled with photos for my husband to enjoy. ( He LOVES it BTW!)
Fast forward to our big day, in Mexico. We decided that we did not want to hire the photographer that the resort provided. We felt that not getting to know them ahead of time would never allow us to feel comfortable in front of the camera and we would never have the opportunity to connect with them on a personal level. For those reasons, I felt our photos would suffer and I decided against hiring anyone but Stacy! And to be honest, the price to bring her was compareable to the photographers prices there at the venue! Needless to say...Stacy came! Stacy spent a few days in sunny Mexico with us and we were given the opportunity to work with a unique photographer that we've gotten to know on a personal level. She knew what we liked and didn't like in photos, she knew how we interacted with one another as well as how we interacted with her and the camera. We felt 100% comfortable while she photographed us because by the time our destination wedding rolled around, we felt close enough to Stacy to be able to call her our friend. The day of our wedding was much like the day of the previous photo sessions we had. Lots of laughing, fun, and being ourselves! Stacy had scoped out the resort to find a perfect spot for our "first look" photos, she laid in the White sands of Mexico to get the perfect shot of our group toast, and even participated in a push up challenge with our best man! We had an absolute blast!
The day after our wedding we went out for a sunset trash the dress session. We trekked through some rocky beach water to make our way to a secluded area that provided indescribable scenary for our shots. Stacy showed no hesitation in bringing all of her equipment out there with us. She was willing to do what she had to do to get the most amazing shots imaginable. What I love most about Stacy, is how passionate she is about her job. She LOVES what she does and it shows in her work. She gets so giddy and excited when reviewing photos scanning for blinking eyes and imperfections. It is a joy to watch her master what she truely loves to do.
We feel truely blessed to have found Stacy, grateful that she was able and willing to travel outside the country to shoot our wedding, and privileged to have her artwork showcase some of the greatest moments in our lives. Our wedding will NOT be our last photography session with Stacy Smith Studios!
We have zero regrets in our decision to bring Stacy to shoot our destination wedding! And you won't either!