photographer search (cont'd)

with Tanya Tribble still our number one contender, Thurston and i (or, at times, my mom and i) continued to meet photographers.

Gruber Studios

Gruber Studios has the advantage of being part of a studio. i found the idea of a built-in back up plan somewhat more comforting than the idea of working with a solo photog. although the style of Gruber was a bit less photojournalistic than Tanya's work, i was still happy with our meeting there. they had done their share of celebrity weddings (the Michael Douglas/Catherine Zeta-Jones nuptials being one example) and their price (with a 2nd photographer) was comparable to Tanya's, though a bit less. alas, i just was not over the moon after meeting with them. as i told my wedding planner--i would be more than happy with Gruber and, had we not met with Tanya, i probably would have booked them on the spot. however, i'm now comparing all photographers to this Tanya-based standard, which they do not meet.

the Tanya price point was still sticking in my craw (not to mention the craw of my poor beleaguered dad, who--like Thurston--just cannot comprehend the amount of money that all things "wedding" seem to cost). so the search continued...

Karen Hill

Karen's photography was wonderful, and her price point was a bit more reasonable. i really liked her work, and there was no reason *not* to book her, except for the omnipresent Tanya Tribble comparison. Karen's work was 100% photojournalistic and completely the style i sought. but there was just a certain chemistry that we did not have with her. nothing specific, and nothing negative about her-- i just did not have any strong connection with her and was concerned that that might play out in the photos from the wedding.

Lilian Haidar

pretty much resigned to paying more than we'd planned and booking Tanya, we met with Lilian. and loved her. love love LOVED her. her work captured the *exact* look i'd been seeking. and the price, though more than we'd originally contemplated, was less than Tanya's. plus, Lilian was fun, smart, and Thurston thought she had a lot of spunk. she really "got" my ideas without being obsequious--no small feat. and she seemed to somehow manage to be both an artist *and* a wedding photographer. like we found with bands, a true Photographer (capital P intentional) might not be able to do the table pictures that my mom so desired, but a wedding photographer might not give me anything beyond a Bar Mitzvah style album, that i so eschewed.

we booked Lilian and i can now sleep at night. for a while anyway...

booking florists comes next. what fun!