Went dress shopping
Yup, that picture kind of says it all. Ladies, I have bad news for you. If you want to wear something that does not involve a 50lb train or a million tiny beads and you have any curves at all, you are SOL. Ugh! The entire day was this tiny little woman trying to shove, squish, and jam me into a series of white marshmallow monstrosities. Kate and Sarah were an amazing help. They not only assisted with getting me into and out of the princess traps, but made jokes and were totally supportive. Really those ladies were the only thing that kept me from crying out of frustration.
Save the dates-finally finally found navy envelopes (after scouring the area and then ordering paper samples online) JAM Paper had them and they were really reasonably priced. We ran out of big leaves and Michael's stopped carrying them, so Steve ordered a couple packs online (not the right size). Uh so if anyone needs fall leaves for a DIY fall project you just let me know, our kitchen table is covered with them. 
We are going to use a couple of the medium leaves instead and Steve only has 15 more to go. Then we are just waiting on the envelopes and will be sending out the save the dates. Looks like approx a month later than we planned. Thanks to everyone who helped us track down addresses! I think we are all set in that department. I hesitate to tell you this, but current guest list is at 121.
DJs- This aspect of the wedding is driving me crazy. I feel like all of the DJs on our list are terrible and unprofessional and I'm not sure what we can do about it. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.
Photographers- So, we had a list of 13, quickly to 12. Larry Spencer of Spencer Photography is one of the worst vendors I've dealt with, ever. We had two appointments to chat and he stood me up both times. The first time he said he confused the times, but called a 1/2 hour late which doesn't make any sense. The 2nd time he was again late and then we had a hostile email exchange. I'm starting to think wedding vendors in Ohio don't actually want to make money.
1. Spencer Photography- horrible & rude
2. Ken Love Photography-so cheesy it hurts to look, check out this canned email he sent me
well I am open that day by some miracle. I already have 40 weddings booked for 2010. All I have left is sunday's and fridays. Below is my info. I'll work with ya if I can. Lets talk about it. I also have video guy that's pretty cheap and real good.
I'd love to discuss your wedding with you. Below is info on me. I believe my pricing is much lower than many other photographers and at the same time very fair. Quite simply I book 100 + weddings a year for my associate and I for a reason and that reason is no one shoots quite like us or works harder than we do. I'm everything the other guys are not. I do what I do because of my passion for photography not the money. In other words when you do something for the right reason the results are unbeatable.
Here is some wedding info about me and my business. I'm a nationally award winning photojournalist and former Akron Beacon Journal photographer with 22 + years of experience working for 5 different newspapers and several national magazines. Don't let the lower price fool you.. I have lower overhead than the other guys and I do a lot of weddings plus many other kinds of photography so I don't have to charge inflated prices or try to sell you proof albums like in the 80's and 90's.. to try to charge you more money. It's a digital world. I give you all the photos on disk and it's super easy on shutterfly to make a wedding book. Save your money and only pay for what you really need which is my award winning photography. Or have me make your wedding book for a little extra.
I'd love to discuss your wedding with you. Below is info on me. I believe my pricing is much lower than many other photographers and at the same time very fair. Quite simply I book 100 + weddings a year for my associate and I for a reason and that reason is no one shoots quite like us or works harder than we do. I'm everything the other guys are not. I do what I do because of my passion for photography not the money. In other words when you do something for the right reason the results are unbeatable.
Here is some wedding info about me and my business. I'm a nationally award winning photojournalist and former Akron Beacon Journal photographer with 22 + years of experience working for 5 different newspapers and several national magazines. Don't let the lower price fool you.. I have lower overhead than the other guys and I do a lot of weddings plus many other kinds of photography so I don't have to charge inflated prices or try to sell you proof albums like in the 80's and 90's.. to try to charge you more money. It's a digital world. I give you all the photos on disk and it's super easy on shutterfly to make a wedding book. Save your money and only pay for what you really need which is my award winning photography. Or have me make your wedding book for a little extra.
3. Shane Wynn Photography- Jen was really nice, but looking through their galleries I saw very few pictures that didn't look like something a friend would have done
4. Riverfront Photography- good mix of drama, humor and clean crisp details- strong contender
5. Drobny Studio -you know you are in trouble when the first bride in his gallery looks like Night of the Living Dead-seriously the image you put on your site are all we have to go on
6. Memory Productions- this is the guy our amazing florist recommended, he's pricey but still a strong contender
7. Affordable Wedding Portraits- pictures are decent, but clearly they don't take touch ups seriously and none of the pictures are as good as Memory or Riverfront
8. BCR Studios- some great photos, they seem to lean toward some special effects with blurs and color splotches, but definitely in the running
9. Catherine McKinley Photography-She's very friendly and I thought her pictures were very well done, Steve wasn't as thrilled, but I think she's still and Excellent possibility
10. Cirino Photography- average photos, but they did not respond to my note to them, so they're out
11. LCD Photography-beautiful photos and love the look, but am a little nervous that they are used to doing much larger, much more expensive weddings than ours
12. Lindsey Beckwith Photography-again tough to see what they are doing differently than a friend with a camera would have done
13. Z Media- some interesting and pretty shots, definitely in the running.
So there you have it, a month later and we've got a top 5 for photographers, no dress prospects, a diappointing DJ pool, no menu, and a table full of leaves. I think it's safe to say we are going through a bit of a rough patch in the wedding planning dept., but I have high hopes for November.
My name is John Hall and I own and operate Drobny Studio. I invite you to visit with us and see what type of people and photographers we are. Just because you found a photo on our website does not mean we are not very good at what we do. I am also curious which photo you made your comment about.
ReplyDeleteHi John,
ReplyDeleteI commend you on your use of social media tracking. Great to see a small company so engaged and on top of their buzz.
The picture I mentioned is under gallery, in Weddings1 and is the very first picture. I'm not sure if it's the angle + lighting or just the way this woman looks, but it really doesn't make for an inspiring wedding photo. I certainly don't want you to think that we judged your company on a single photo (though lots of people would which is why there are many pictures on your site that shouldn't be).
In Weddings1 alone:
picture 3 (a posed shot, so your photographer must have given some direction)- the bride is off center and minimized (they're standing in front of a staircase, why on earth would they not have used levels here), one bridesmaid has her elbow hyper-extended creating a black hole on the right side, another bridesmaid (poor girl)is so contorted that it's creating a double roll beneath her bow.
picture 10: yes, the bride is overweight, but your photographer could have given her a little advice on arm placement and made this a completely different shot
Well, I could go on and on and that's not really necessary. I am sure there are plenty of couples who are looking for the "candid" unvarnished style Drobny offers, but we really want a photographer who will work with us like a partner, ensuring that we get the best shots possible.