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This is your day, and if you need or want to meet with the photographer, you should be able to. I sit with my clients as often as they wish. I want them to feel comfortable with me, and me with them. The more comfortable you are the easier it is take the photos. As on a marriage chemistry is everything.

Carl

I would personally want to meet my photographer way before the wedding day. Just to get a sense of their style/personality and to make sure that person or persons can capture the wedding the way you would like. I think the pictures are one of the most important aspects of the day. But with that said...I went to a wedding last year in MA and the bride and groom used Bella for their photos. The pics came out really great! I guess the answer is that it all depends on what makes you most comfortable. Go with your gut feeling! Hope this helps!

Bella Photography tried to recruit me but i turned them down based on the impersonal nature of their business. They randomly assign you one of the freelancers in your area without any thought towards whether that particular photographer matches your style. I think that if you want to meet with your photographer you should be able to, so that you are comfortable enough with them that you don't have to worry about your photography at all on the day of your wedding.

Personally I prefer to meet with the bride and groom a couple of times prior to the event, if possible, so that they become more comfortable with me and will relax when i'm basically following them around all day at their wedding.

Whatever you decide to do, i wish you all the best.

Ciao-
kelly embry

Hi there, I personally need and want to meet with my photographer. I need to know who is taking my pictures and let them know what my needs and wants are. It's your day and you should be able to meet with him/her. Goodluck! :)

Hey Megan, I don't know how far Cohassett is from Beverly, MA, but if you need a recommendation for another photographer, my sister used Megan Jones and her website is http://www.meganjones.com. She was really frendly and took some amazing pictures of my sister's wedding. I don't know what she charges, but they were recommended by Misselwood where my sister had her wedding at July 5, 2008. If she asks you how you heard of her just tell her Becki, Pam Sheridan's sister recommended you.

That is an incredibly bad idea. You really need to feel comfortable with the person that will be with you and your family all that day. Companies like this deal in high volume, not high quality. They are like a wedding machine trying tring to pump out as many as they can. They hire people and "train" them how to work the button on a camera but that does not necessarily make them good photographers. You could get lucky and get a good one that day, but really it's a roll of the dice because they'll just send whatever employee is free that day. Your photos are too important to leave to chance. Consider finding a photographer who's style you have seen and like and who you feel like you click with.

Think of it this way. Is that unknown photographer really invested in making the images of wedding as good as they can. I meet and shoot engagement pics with all of my clients. More often than not we become friends before the wedding. By the time the wedding rolls around, it's a really comfortable situation to shoot in.

I personally had previously been booked with Bella, their outstanding reviews and fabulous pictures originally had my sold. It wasnt until I really started working with them that I found them very "generic" and not geared towards individual weddings but towards the wedding industry as a whole. I absolutely hated that I was not going to be able to meet my photographer before the wedding and that I was not able to view their work prior to my event... I didnt like that I felt like my wedding was going to "processed" rather than photographed... and I really didnt like that a different section of the "company" was going to handle each separate aspect of my photography along the way...
I actually ended up going with a local guy I found on wedding wire... I get 2 photographers all day instead of one and I have already had the chance to meet with them and see many examples of their work. The photographers also do all the retouching and editing themselves which was a big deal to me...

I think it is an absolute must to meet the photographer and get to know him/her. We personally meet with all of our couples multiple times prior to their wedding. I want to understand my clients personalities and get to know them and focus on providing the type of products & services they are looking for.
Personally, I do think it is a bad idea to not be able to meet the photographer at least once prior to the ceremony. I suggest looking into another option.
Best of luck,
Valerie Morrison
Expressions by Lightwave Foto
www.lightwavefoto.com

I don't like the idea of seeing your photographer the day of.

It is your wedding day. Think who whould you trust your memories to? Get to know your Photographer,Videographer, & DJ, so you can relax and enjoy the day without stress and regrets.

Congratulations!

We not only meet you before your wedding, we include complimentary engagement photos in your package. We take your engagement photos anytime up till the time of your wedding, at just about any location you choose. We like to know how you smile, if you blink, if you like the camera, etc. so that on the most wonderful day of your life we know all about you. We love weddings.
Nina Bishop Photography
2155346580

NEVER EVER, book with ANY company that you cannot have a personal relationship with PRIOR to your Wedding day!

Saving money on a Photographer is a very bad idea! I am a professional Photographer and I get contacted by Brides on an almost daily basis who are distraught about who did their Wedding Photography. Rule of thumb, Hire a Company that has an established Commercial space in your local area and who does the Wedding themselves!

Stop in and seee them from time to time and say hi. I love getting to know my Brides before the Wedding day!

I hope that this has helped. If I can be of any firther assistance, please contact me.

It's been said a handful of times already, but I'll repeat just so you can hear it one more time. You have every right and should expect to meet the person who will not only capture your day, but that you will most likely spend the most time with during your wedding(except the hubby of course). You need to be connected with his/her style of work as well as his/her personality. We meet with every client before doing a wedding to ensure that our personalities are a good fit; this is more the norm than the exception.
Good luck - and stick to your guns.

Hi Megan
I always meet with my clients. That is because I want them to be comfortable with me and vice versa. We will not book a wedding if we feel there will be a problem with a couple. It saves us the stress of having to be uncomfortable during an extremely long and stressful day.

you are going to be spending the day with this person and you should have some connection - you WANT that person there with you!!! I wont go of on a rant about large wedding 'studios' and why they do that---but there are SO many excellent photographers who will give you one on one attention - and whose work you will actually receive in the end! ( how do you know what someone who shows up the day of's work will look like?) do your self a massive favor, and keep looking!!!

I always meet with the client beforehand. When we meet they also do their free engagement session photos and then I send them the next day by email and they are very happy. I would be happy to fly up to Boston to shoot your wedding :) I am doing two weddings in Boston (best friend and her sister) in August and December.
www.creativetampabay.zenfolio.com
Kristine
727 645 9965

Megan,
I'm personally mystified why anyone would use Bella. What is the appeal of such a massive cookie-cutter wedding mill?
It's got to be the illusion of value for price, right?
Please somebody clue me in as to why they survive.

Megan,

I think it really repends on how important your photography is to you. In ten years, the photos may be the only thing you have left from the wedding, so you need to heavily consider this.

In the years that I have been photographing weddings, I have discovered that meeting each other ahead of time is very important for the quality of the photography and the happiness of the client. by meeting ahead of time we not only build up a rapport with one another (which definitely shows in the photos) but we get a chance to look over my portfolio in person to discuss what about my photography they are most drawn to, what they want their photos to reflect, who the important people are that day to be sure I get candid photos of, who has trouble with giving "canned" smiles or no smiles. All of this information helps me to deliver the best photography possible.

Good luck and let me know if you need any help :-)