When we were planning our wedding, the vendor that we put the most thought and effort into was our photographer. It isn’t that we did not value the rest of our team, we just happened to be lucky and find excellent professionals quickly and easily. Our photographer was a little trickier. The first one or two that were recommended by friends were booked already. Then we met with one and for whatever reason we just didn’t feel it. We were up to more than three strikes by the time I stumbled upon Joe Payne. Yes, Joe PAYNE. The second I saw his name come up in my Wedding Wire search, I clicked. I was pumped. How cool would it be to have a Payne capture me becoming a Payne?!
As I perused Joe’s site, I got really excited. I’m not a huge fan of posed photos. In even the best shots, at least one person always looks unnatural and awkward. We wanted our wedding photos to reflect the emotion of the day. Joe’s philosophy lined up perfectly with what we envisioned. Though we posed for more photos than I ever hope to take in one day again, we had a lot of fun and still had tons of time to enjoy our celebration. Joe didn’t miss a second but he was never crashing our special moments with loved ones and one another. Plus he is fun and has a killer accent that is a genuine pleasure to listen to – even as he is telling you to, “look here, turn here” over and over again.
Today Joe posted this sneak peek of our wedding photos on his blog and I could not be more pleased. I love them all! My favorites are the portrait of the two of us I included in this post, my sister’s face in the picture of us kissing with the bridesmaids (I know she is saying something sarcastic and funny), my dad and I laughing with our heads together and Luke and me with my grandparents. My grandparents have been married for 63 years so that was taken after they ran away with the anniversary dance.
I have heard over and over again that our wedding day was filled with so much love and happiness – that you could feel it in the room – and these photos capture it perfectly. I can’t wait to see the rest!