Hiring Virginia Raike as our wedding photographer was hands down the best decision we made -- if you have the opportunity to do the same, take it! Virginia is an incredibly talented photographer, with a beautiful eye for composition. Her years of professional experience lend her work a mature and tasteful style, and her pictures are gorgeous, classy and vibrant.

Virginia also has personality and professionalism in spades. You need someone who can gently but firmly corral people together for pictures, who isn't phased by others' stress and anxiety, and who can flexibly work around the fact that even the most carefully planned weddings depart from how they are supposed to go at some point. In other words, you need a photographer who can be the eye of the storm. At our wedding, Virginia was all of this and more: her presence was enthusiastic yet calming and reassuring. She was attentive and engaged every minute that she was on site -- in fact, she even got there before I did and started photographing our setup! Virginia's passion and dedication make it clear that she loves what she does. We weren't the only ones who noticed this - several of our guests commented that they were so impressed with her professional and calm demeanor.

It is hard to express how gorgeous the final pictures were, or how well they captured the raw emotion of the day. It suffices to say that we couldn't have imagined anything better. Virginia's attention to detail and narrative shine through in the collection. Each picture is masterful, and not a single event or person was missed. We are looking forward to looking back on these flawlessly preserved memories for many, many years to come.

I think it is probably rare for a couple to come away feeling that they were just plain lucky to get the photographer that they got. Hire her, if she's available: she really is exceptional and will do an exceptional job.