One thing I’ve learned over the past seven years of photographing weddings is that the wedding industry can be a little heartless. There are certain vendors who approach the wedding industry as just that – an industry. Planning a wedding in Wyoming can be tough, as some towns have very few vendors in each industry.

Make sure you adequately vet your wedding vendors. Do you like this person enough to spend the entire day with them (especially in the case of your photographer or wedding planner)? It is for this reason that Liz and I try to meet all couples ahead of booking them. We want to make sure we click with our couples too, and we like to work with couples we feel like we can hang out with, wedding day or not.

Planning a wedding in Wyoming? Keep scrolling for more info on other wedding professionals below.

DJs:

Do you enjoy your conversations with a DJ enough for him to talk to an entire room of your closest family and friends all night? We’ve had some really uncomfortable moments at receptions where the DJ is downright inappropriate. Make sure you hire someone who knows how to read an audience and who has enough tact to only say things that will sit well with your friends and Grandma alike. Just as important is a DJ who can be assertive and who can hold the attention of a room. Your DJ is a Master of Ceremonies during your reception. Not only will he or she keep things moving, but he will set the tone for mood for the entire night.

Hire someone with experience. Yes, you should like the music he plays, but a good DJ should be able to read a room within the first 10 minutes of your reception and match that tone in how he or she speaks on the mic. Nothing makes me more crazy than a DJ who hems and haws over the microphone. Receptions need a confident, experienced DJ to guide them through the night. By the same token, we’ve seen some DJs become overconfident and obnoxious and make really inappropriate jokes about some of the bridal party or the couple’s family members. Cue the awkward silence and angry glances from guests. Be really careful on this one. If you’re attending friends’ weddings during your planning process, this is also the time to pay close attention to who they hired as their DJ.

DJs should also be experts in sound. If their only volume is extremely LOUD all night, people will likely want to escape the room. There is one DJ in town that if I see his name on the list for the evening, I know I better bring ear plugs or risk losing more hearing before the night is out. A DJ also needs to know the ins and outs of microphones. He should know how to adjust a mic for your toasts so that the quiet maid of honor can be heard equally as well as the loudest groomsmen. He also should know how to take care of interference. It’s painful for guests to hear loud screeches all night over the mic system.

A few DJs I really love working with:

GEORGE FROM ROCK ON WHEELS. George is a wonderful person and has been in the business for a long time. He is expert at reading a room, keeping things rolling and making a crowd happy. He will always be my top pick for a DJ in the Cheyenne/Laramie area. He’s professional, sincere, and awesome to work with.

JAY KACIK FROM STANDING ROOM ONLY. Jay is a true professional and does a great job with couples whose playlists may not be the Top 40 hits. For a couple who may not want the night to consist of all the typical dancing “standbys,” Jay may be your man.

 

WEDDING PLANNERS:

My list of qualifications for wedding planners goes something like this….over-organized, professional and assertive.

First and foremost, over-organized. Not just organized. This person needs to eat, sleep and breathe lists and timelines. They need to be the type of people who analyze all aspects of the day not only for what can go right, but for what could potentially go wrong. They also need experience of many, many different types of wedding days. A planner needs to have an accurate estimation of time needed for set-up, travel and various portions of the wedding day. A wedding planner is not just someone who helps you come up with pretty details and decorations.

A good planner makes sure all the decorations actually happen so that you don’t have to worry about it on your wedding day. They know when you need to be done with hair and when and where your Dad needs to be for photos. They have all aspects of the day under control, they know who is responsible for what, and they have a list of contacts ready at a moment’s notice.

Wedding planners often offer a tiered set of services, ranging from full-service planning (all details, vendors and decor etc) to partial planning (some details/decor and vendor selection) to day-of planning only. Most of our weddings in Wyoming opt for either partial planning or day-of planning only. A day-of planner sets your timeline, makes sure set-up occurs when it needs to and makes sure your day flows as planned. A planner also can help relieve stress when things don’t go as planned. They become a point person for helping make decisions like executing your Plan B when the weather won’t allow an outdoor ceremony, for example.

What a wedding planner is not is a keeper of all other vendors at your event. Good wedding planners respect professional roles of other vendors hired to help you throughout your day. Nothing makes me more crazy than a planner who follows us around all day asking us questions like, “Did you get a picture of the cake? Did you get one of that amazing table decoration I put together?” What this translates to me is….”I really want a picture of this for my blog and I don’t trust that you will get it.”

Our favorite planners to work with are the ones who let us do our jobs. They realize that their primary job is to make sure the bride and her family are not stressed at all. Yes, I do take photos of details and decorations, our brides and grooms know that they can trust us to capture the day, but I don’t need a planner following me around making sure I “got” something.

A planner also needs to be queen (or king) of calm, kind assertiveness. Planners need to be experienced and confident enough to execute a plan adeptly, provide guidance throughout the day, and be a voice of calm and assuredness if something goes awry and plans have to change. I’ve seen a couple planners absolutely frantic on a wedding day and this attitude is extremely unhelpful to the couple and their families.

A couple planners I would trust with any wedding day:

CASEY WITH A PINK DIAMOND EVENT. We watched Casey adeptly rearrange a wedding day flow on the spot when a monsoon hit Cheyenne and halted plans for an outdoor, backyard prairie wedding. The couple did not want to get married inside, and Casey was able to move the cocktail hour up and rain delay the ceremony without batting an eye. Additionally, she was calm, collected, and friendly all the while. We really love working with her, and you will too.

HEATHER WITH CALLUNA EVENTS. We recently worked with Heather at Brush Creek Ranch, and I was so impressed with her impeccable attention to details and her genuine connection with the couple and their family and friends. She is a lovely person and is far and away, one of the best in the business.

FLORISTS:

This one can be super tricky. Florists can have a really great eye for putting arrangements together while not knowing how to keep the flowers healthy-looking all day long. Our favorite florists know how to do both. They give our brides guidance on what’s readily available and in season and help them come up with arrangements that fit their taste. The right florist also knows how to keep blooms beautiful from the morning to the end of the reception. We’ve seen some flower disasters, and if you’re going to hire someone to do this, I would recommend splurging on someone who really knows what they are doing.

Here are a few florists we trust:

POPPY’S IN LARAMIE. I have to admit that when we hear Poppy’s is the florist at a wedding, we are extremely happy. Their arrangements are unique and they have an incredible eye for blending different colors and textures. They are also really creative with accents they choose to add pops of color into arrangements. We really, really love them.

 

KILLIAN FLORIST IN LARAMIE. Killian’s just recently came on our radar, but they have been in business for a very long time. They seem to be the University’s preferred florist, and I can definitely see why. Their arrangements are gorgeous and they hold up all day long. I was so impressed by their work at a recent wedding we did in Laramie. Side note: they have magnet boutonnières (no pins, no drawing blood)! A recent Bride told us Killian’s listened well to what she wanted, rather than being set on doing things “their way.” They did a wonderful job with bouquets and table centerpieces at her wedding.

UNDERWOOD FLOWERS IN CHEYENNE. This shop tends to be more on the traditional side. We’ve seen some beautiful arrangements for brides who opted for all white roses like the ones you see below. I loved their simplicity and the added greenery. They definitely know what they are doing in terms of keeping flowers healthy all day. I would just be very specific about what you want when you are ordering.

PHOTOGRAPHERS:

While I’d love to say that we are the best photographers for any wedding, I have to admit I don’t truly believe that. I’ve been shooting weddings for seven years now. I will be the first to admit that a bad fit between a couple and a photographer helps no one, myself included. The most important thing to do is determine if a photographer’s style and approach matches your expectations. Admittedly, when I sit down with a couple for the first time, this is also my mission. I want to be sure that my approach is truly what a couple is looking for. I also want to be sure our personalities are a good fit. We’ll be around you for the majority of your day; I want to know if we can hang out for 8-10 hours.

Liz and I are storytellers. We want to immerse ourselves into your day and capture authentic, genuine moments. There are photographers who will coach you through poses and “standard shots” of every single part of your day, from the moment they arrive to the time they leave at the end of the night. We are not those photographers. Spontaneity is our goal, and we are junkies for truth. We love the “background” moments that happen throughout a wedding day just as much as the big moments. For this reason, we try to hang back and be photojournalists for a good part of the day. We’re less interested in “Pinterest” poses and more interested in genuine emotion that occurs on its own.

Truth be told, I’m a little terrified of interjecting my own story into the story of your day. I want the story I tell to be yours, not mine. That’s not to say I don’t pose you at all. I do at times throughout your day. I’ll tell everyone where to stand during bridal party and family portraits. I’ll place you in the prettiest light for portraits and situate your feet, hands etc. But I may also tell you to pull each other in close and “cuddle” during couples portraits. A little vague? Maybe, but I’d really like you to show affection in the way that you are most comfortable.

A really great way to learn about this approach is by doing an engagement session prior to your big day. So many couples start the session saying, “We’ve never done this before and we are REALLY bad at photos.”  By the end of the night, they are telling me a different story.  I’ve had couples send me notes after engagement sessions telling me how surprised they were that they had fun during their session. And truthfully, I’m not that fun. But I think what has happened is that they were surprised that I allowed them to be themselves. I allowed them to be quirky, to interact genuinely and to be together in a way that feels natural to them as a couple. What results is an experience that feels truthful and that shows who they really are as couples and individuals.

Long story short, our couples tend to be genuine, lighthearted and playful. The family and friends who gather to celebrate with them are the most important “details” of their day. They are less interested in Pinterest shots and more interested in the authentic moments that made them laugh and cry all day long. Our couples aren’t afraid to get dirty and they love being outside. They treat us less like the “hired help” and more like part of their friend group. You may find Liz chatting with your best friend’s dad at the reception, listening to a story about you when you were six. You may find me getting teary when your dad sees you in your dress for the first time. This is so much more than a job for both of us.

We are starting to book 2019 weddings, so please get in touch early if you’re planning for next summer or fall. If we are already booked, we do our best to send you to someone else we trust.

Ok, that’s it! I hope this series has helped you in your process. Get in touch with me if you have more specific questions. Thanks for stopping by!