An Ode to Our Photographers (and more Pudding wedding sneak peeks!)

I have yet to receive all of the pro photos from our wedding, but if I had to choose one picture to sum up the whole day, it would be this one:

Top reason why I love this photo?  Sister Pudding having the time of her life!

We (and by "we" I of course mean Sister Pudding and I) hired our wedding photographers for two reasons:
First of all, they seemed to understand the style of photography we were going for (candid capturing of real
moments, with some formal shots thrown in).  Secondly, upon meeting Clint from Renaissance Studio Photography, we knew that we would get along with him, and that he would put us at ease.  Being that Sister Pudding and I (and the rest of our family for that matter) tend to be rather loud, very demanding, and quite strong headed, we really needed someone who would understand our "rough edges" and look past them.  When we received our wedding teasers a couple of weeks ago, we were very happy to see that there was absolutely nothing "rough" about them.  See for yourself:

Here's a little tidbit that most brides don't realize:  You actually spend more time with your photographer on your wedding day than you do with your husband.  Clint spent the morning with me (tense moments and all - will fill you in later), and practically followed me around all day long.  He was constantly by my side, so it's a very good thing that I actually enjoyed hanging out with him!  Our second shooter, Erin, was practically Mr. P's shadow, so he was happy to find out that she was quite enjoyable too!  Both of them were calm and collected, and up for anything (see the beautiful, serene shot above?  Well, we had to hike through some pretty rugged terrain to get it - all my brilliant idea.  It was hot and sweaty, and there were bugs everywhere.  My dress doubled as mosquito netting, and Clint suffered many a bug bite.  He did not complain one bit).

So here is my advice to all of you brides and grooms looking for the perfect wedding photographer:  Do not make your decision based on a website, blog, or portfolio alone.  Meet your photographer.  Chat with them about your vision.  Make sure that their personality meshes with yours.  The last thing that you will want on your wedding day is to be constantly followed by someone who annoys the stuffing out of you :P

Did you get along with your photographer as a person?