There aren't enough words to properly articulate how much I loved the job Mandy and Jerry did on our wedding day. I loved their work so much, I'm already planning a 'trash the dress' session with her, which was definitely not in our original budget. But after seeing the final results from our wedding day, I now feel like I want to book their services for any excuse possible!
I am from the Chicago area, so when it came to booking a photographer, I had a lot of options to choose from - so many it was slightly overwhelming. I spent at least 6 months searching for the perfect photographer because we decided a long time in advance that photography was one of the most important elements for our day. Mandy was referred to me by a friend of mine in Indianapolis, so I reached out to her to see if she traveled. I'm so glad I did.
We met with many photographers, discussed pricing, and asked to see their entire portfolio because we wanted to see what we would be getting as a final results - not just the best of their photos. We also wanted to see how our personalities would mesh with the different photographers because meshing with someone that is going to document one of the most important days of our life was important. Our personalities meshed so well with both Mandy and Jerry that I felt like we were catching up with an old friend and I could tell they had such a passion for their work. Both of which were so important to us - so, we trusted our instincts and booked them!
The day of the wedding, Mandy was more than a photographer - she was a friend to me. At a certain point, some of my family was starting to stress me out (because that is just what they do, so why would my wedding be any different? haha) and she completely helped ease that stress. She kept everything running smoothly during 'formal pictures,' and at one point, reminded me with a big smile to just breathe and remember what the day was about - Ryan and me - I needed that! There was never an awkward "there is a camera pointed at me, what kind of pose should I make?" moment. Instead, I was able to completely be myself, twirl around in my wedding gown with a huge smile, and laugh with my husband and closest friends as Mandy and Jerry captured every moment, laughing with us.
The turn around time for the photos was outstanding! In addition to the photos she edited the day of our wedding for the 'day-of-sneak-peak' at the reception (which our guests absolutely LOVED and cannot stop raving about how unique it was), she had a few 'favorites' of hers edited within just a few days for us, the sneak peak blog was around 2 weeks, and she had our wedding fully edited and on a disc ready to go in about one month's time!
We ended up with close to 1,100 unique edited images from Mandy... and I honestly have no idea how I am going to be able to put any sort of album together because I cannot pick my favorites. I love them all!
In a chaotic sea of wedding choices to make, having Mandy and Jerry be a part of our wedding day was one of the best decisions we could have made in the planning process. Their positive spirit and love for what they do is conveyed from the first meeting and carried with them throughout the entire wedding day. Their work is captivating and I feel like I found more than the perfect photographer - I found a friend.
Thank you Mandy Leonards Photography for helping us relive our day in such vivid detail and perfection! You are truly diamonds in the wedding photography industry!
