Essence Photo & Video

I really wanted to wait to see photos until
I reviewed the company, but I am so distraught over my wedding photos that I can’t. We went with this company because we thought it was a safe choice, photos was at the top of the list of importance for us. We hired a second photographer and a videographer as well. We were not allowed to chose anyone, we were asked about out style and they were assigned to us based on their available photographers.
Our photographer started off strong and then fell apart. My guests and bridal party even took notice, I have people telling me how bad they feel for us that we didn’t get the wedding photos we should have. We got great shots getting ready but that’s where it ends, after the reception started it all went bad. I spent hours on the questionnaire they tell you to fill out on their online portal and made sure to mark all of the photos I wanted and any special requests. I think we only got ONE of the special request photos and that was only because I asked the DJ to make an announcement just to get it.
When you spend that much on photos and go with a trusted company, you aren’t thinking that you’re going to have to be the one directing the photography. After our ceremony ended and we took extended family photos, the direction from our photographer stopped. I have no posed photos with my husband, with my son, with my step father and father… I don’t need to wait for proofs to know that I didn’t even pose for any of those. Once we started dancing I wasn’t even sure where she was. We weren’t pulled out for any photos whatsoever at night like we wanted, no additional bridal party shots except for getting ready and up at the ceremony. I have cried every day.
*We even had a second photographer for 6 hours and we still have so many missed shots. How this even happened is so mind boggling to my husband and I, we just can’t believe it. We kept blaming ourself «how did we not get that photo!?» But when you pay a professional to direct you to take them, you shouldn’t have to be worried about doing their job. And NOTHING has been done on their end to try to talk to us about anything. We were just told that they feel they got the shots we asked for.*
I’m sure there were some beautiful moments captured, but there are so many I know I don’t have. Even without seeing one single photo from them we have already hired another photographer and plan on getting ready again, wedding dress and all, with my husband & son so we can have photos of our family on our «wedding day.» Even though it will never be the same as having photos from our actual wedding day, at least I will be able to have the memories I so desperately wanted.
In their defense, our first look did run late, but there was still no attempt to make up for any lost shots after the ceremony ended. I thought maybe I was being a crazy bride but to have friends and family comment on our photography, or lack there of, lets me know that something just wasn’t right. There was NO DIRECTION whatsoever. I’m actually regretting having an unplugged ceremony, at least my family would have gotten the photos you’re supposed to have.
It would have taken her maybe 15 minutes to pose us with the bridal party and get some couple photos of my husband and I. Yes there was lost time but there was no effort to make up for it. I have only ONE posed photo with my bridal party (and I don’t think they were even in their dresses yet) I have NONE with my groomsmen, and my groom has NONE with the bridesmaids. And that’s only scratching the surface of what I know was missed… How awful!
This has brought me so much stress and sadness, I can’t believe how much I regret choosing them. There is no way I can ever get those moments back and I am just praying that the candid shots that were captured make up for the shots that I didn’t get with my HUSBAND, on my WEDDING DAY.
Lesson learned the hard way… you don’t always get what you pay for. Trust me, you’re better off taking your money ANYWHERE but here!
–Almost forgot one of the best parts! It takes literally weeks to get a response through the portal or to get a question answered… but when your payment is due? Oh man! Then they definitely know how to contact you! The red flags were everywhere, I should’ve paid closer attention.-

My wife and I used this place for our wedding and reception. Never had an issue from start to finish. Employees were nice and remembered us every visit. We were definitely taken care of and the photographers and videographer we were assigned with made our wedding memorable.

I thought this is the best option for your money if you have a simple wedding.
Our photos did came out on time. The photographers were very nice though.
Lots of missed photo opportunity
The video however is what makes it worse!
First they said we need to confirm you address of which we did .
We were told it will arrive within a week this past due…
Then it didn’t .
We e mail about the missed package .
They said it was return to sender .
Then I asked them include that return to sender stamped enveloped so that I can address it to our mail system– then she back track oh we actually didn’t send it yet .
Ouch! One thing you slack off its another to lie .
We’re waiting for the video still as of this writing.

Good, but not great. Lots of Pros, but not premium quality (which is OK).
Pros: Tim was very easy to work with in our initial meetings, their Chicago office was convenient for us after work or lunch break downtown, their online tools were easy to use for pre and post-​wedding planning/​communication, they gave us all the digital copies (over 1600) of our photos right away after the wedding unwatermarked, the photo album prices were reasonable, and their pricing overall for our photo & video combination was reasonably priced in the middle of the pack prices compared to others reviewed.
We got married Labor Day Weekend and Ben was great to work with the day of shoot in that all the locations we went to were packed and it was hot. He kept us moving along quickly getting the shots we wanted and was jovial and fun to work with. We really appreciated how efficient he was. We had a second photographer added for a reasonable price for 4 hours for the ceremony and reception, also when videographer started.
Cons: Only real con is that the photos didn’t all turn out the way we hope. There were lots of good ones and some great ones, so overall we’re happy with our photo album as we selected 40 photos for that, just wished we had more stylish photos (admittedly those were from photographers that charged twice what we paid). It’s not that we rushed the shoot, the photos were all just a little too «formal» for our taste. Some came off as stiff. There weren’t enough good action shots of us/​anyone in motion, and the candid photos we liked from the party had the other photographer in the background. Overall, you get what you paid for and we would recommend Essence.

We went to a wedding and essence shot it. My wife and i were so impressed on how amazing of a job the photo and video company did. We looked at the picks on line and ask the groom if was happy cause we have friends getting married and they said amazing company.

They dIdn’t even make it to the first meeting. I had set up a meeting and confirmed via email that we would be there. We showed up to the Schaumburg office and sat there for 10 minutes waiting for someone to come see us. The front desk lady greeted us and said someone would be right with us. After 10 minutes she said that we did not confirm our meeting appointment and there was no one to see us. I immediately pulled out my phone and showed her my confirmation email response and she said «Oh well it’s our fault, do you want to reschedule?»
No, we don’t. If this is how the first encounter with your company went down then I don’t want to work with your company.
Also, a warning to anyone who is sensitive to strong smells, when we entered the office we were assaulted by some ungodly amount of cologne in the air. Not sure if it’s like that every day but I developed a headache in the 10 minutes I was sitting there because someone bathed in axe or cheap cologne that day.

My wife and I chose Essence for our photographs and video for our wedding in October. Sorry for waiting so long for the review. We couldn’t be happier with the service we received from Essence. We literally shopped around for months before choosing photographers. We went to over 7 different vendors and certainly chose the right one. We went to the same number of videographers and the quality is BY FAR better than any other vendor that we went with. Mike was our photographer and he literally worked magic. The angles that he was able to shoot were breath taking. He wasn’t worried about getting dirty, trekking through mud, laying down on the ground to get certain shots, or anything else. He did his job better than we hoped for! Mike B is the man! Sebastian was our videographer and did a fine job as well. Better than the service we received was the quality we received. The pricing was comparable to the others we explored but this was by far the best quality. We received a discount on video for booking our videography through essence as well. We seriously couldn’t be happier. After reading some of the other reviews I am surprised at the negative reviews but also feel even better that we had such a great experience.
Just to clarify — we booked through Essence in Naperville. Our Photographer was Mike Belec. Our videographer was Sebastian. I believe Eric helped us with photo and Ray with video. This combination equals a superb experience. Truly an A+! Thanks Essence!
UPDATE:
After looking at our photos we couldn’t be more in love. Both, my wife and I, agree that the service was impeccable and the photographers went above and beyond to ensure a great wedding. I have to share a photo of myself and a photographer… nobody within my party was helpful in pinning the boutonnière onto myself, the groom, other than the PHOTOGRAPHER! They even went as far as to help with jobs outside of their duties.

Upon our first meeting I was in love, but after I saw the photos they took of my wedding I was utterly devastated. Not only was I cropped out of several of our first look photos, but all of them had terrible lighting and shadows all over our faces. The first dance had pictures mostly from my shoulders up. I was further crushed that pictures I had asked for were simply not taken, the rings, cute pinterest ones, ones of my husband holding up my dress so you could see my killer sapphire heels, and so on. Not only did I not get the quality I wanted, but it took them over a month before I was able to review the photos. I also got duped into buying albums before they would release the pictures. I was in touch with the company and was promised that corrections would be made to the colors, now 4 months later, I finally have the new retouched photos, Still no albums though! As a bride, there is so much to worry about, and it can be easy to just jump at the first smiling vendor you meet with, but I wish I had spent more time really looking into this. If you meet with Essence, think long and hard about how important your wedding pictures are to you.

Unfortunately I have nothing good to report. Paid a ridiculous amount for mediocre work on the video and photography. Of the two thousand photos they took, ten were «ok» and we loved NONE of the shots. The video of our ceremony was plain awful… it looked like we were watching a surveillance video. My wedding was beautiful but unfortunately I only have my memories to reflect that. Avoid the disappointment and go elsewhere! You only get married once hire a company that appreciates that and their role in documenting it!

Starting with this business I was super excited and I liked the pictures I was shown at the original meeting. We decided to book. What they do then is have you choose from 3 different photographers on their website based on the pictures they provide. While this is probably less timely, it would have been nice to actually meet the photographers before choosing so that you get a feel for their personality and if they’re going to mesh with you or not. We chose Paola and read great reviews on her. It turned out that after booking we no longer were able to use her, so we went back and looked at 3 more photographers images and went with Noey (who was great to work with at the wedding.) We also booked a 2^nd photographer (highly recommended).
Now, the day of the wedding everything went great. Our photographer and videographer worked well together being from different companies. So no complaints there.
The issues came when it was time to get my actual pictures. My wedding was 8÷1÷15. They say 4 – 6 weeks for pictures. I received them at week 7. I looked through my pictures and I was SO UPSET to find red eye, ALL flash photography used for my bridesmaids walking down the aisle as well as me. They just look like my mom used her flash on her own personal camera to take them. Also, I have 2 PICTURES…2…of me and my mom walking down the aisle… one of the pictures I was looking most forward to. Neither are worth framing. I had to go back and forth SEVERAL times to get my pictures edited properly since many of the outdoor pictures were washing my face out because of the light. I fixed it myself on instagram, this should be an easy fix for Photoshop… Finally the Design Team gave up I guess and Karen fixed my pictures. Yes, she did a great job at fixing them and I am very grateful for all the work she put into them. I also have to add that there wasn’t a single black and white photo from the design team, so Karen added a few in there.
I am very upset about the ceremony pictures. I was going to frame a picture of my mom and I walking down the aisle and I really cant based on the pictures I got. I am really not sure why only 2 pictures were taken during that whole time down the aisle, especially with flash alone.
Overall, most of my pictures are great, but those most memorable ones that I wanted just seemed to be missing.
I didn’t get my pictures OFFICIALLY done and downloaded until 10÷15÷15, over 3 months later. I didn’t receive any compensation for my stress and overall grief either.
I don’t think I will use Essence again.

Kathy was our rep and matched us with our fantastic photographer!!! We and all our guests LOVED Eric!!! We can not say enough nice things about him!!! He was absolutely awesome… along with Vanessa (we hope that was her name)…they were fantastic!!! We are so excited to see the proofs. We are sure they are going to be fabulous!!! We would recommend him (and Essence) to anyone!!! Eric will always be part of our wedding day story!!! We would give him a gazillion stars!!! :-) A perfect match for us!!!

Couldn’t have had a better photographer! Chris was amazing!!! My guests were talking about him after the wedding because he was that awesome! He studied my Pinterest board of examples of wedding pics that I wanted so I didn’t have to worry about missing a certain shot. Prices were reasonable and everyone I talked and worked with were just great! Kathy took our engagement pics and she is so nice and fun! Our videographer was great too! I’m so lucky to have essence work with me on my wedding and capture all our moments! Thank you so much for everything! You all are wonderful! I highly recommend!!!
Chrissy & Rocky

We found Essence at a bridal show, and were pleasantly surprised that they took the time to speak with us and made us fall instantly in love with their business. We selected our photographer almost 2 years prior to our wedding. They kept in great contact with us throughout the time we signed our contract and our big day. Our photographer showed up a little early and was the best all day. Paola was amazing, she had a great attitude and just helped us immediately feel at ease taking the photos. We got some amazing shots and can’t wait to see all of the rest! We didn’t even notice Paola snapping pictures and were able to have the most amazing day ever. If you are looking for a photographer for your big day you HAVE to work with Essence, Tim and Karen are amazing and will answer any question you may have. And request Paola! You will not regret your decision! She is the absolute best! I want to get married all the time just to repeat the service we had with Essence and our other vendors!

ok so i got married back in early april, and am just now getting to writing my reviews on all my vendors. its busy being a new wife!
i cant say enough nice things about the folks at essence photography. from beginning to end, they seemed to actually care about me and my wedding, and made me fell really important… which is what every bride wants, even if we dont want to admit it ;)
i had done a lot of research for photographers and videographers before making a few select appointments for consultations. essence was my third, so i felt i «knew the ropes» walking in. i actually ended up learning so much!
my meeting was with mike, in the schaumburg office. it turns out he is the owner! all the other places i had visited, i kinda felt like… i was being sold something? it was just a person, trying to get me to book. this was so different. mike explained everything so thoroughly, and talked about the fact that essence is a family company, not some big nationwide place, so that they can actually take the time to get to know what you want, because every wedding and every bride is different. that really hit home with me. i was able to look at photographer demos right there. i booked my photographer on the spot… something i NEVER do. i was actually a little in the dog house with my fiancée (now hubby, yikes!), because he didnt get to go with me.
the cool part was, they have this website thing, they call it a portal. when i got home, i was able to log in and show my sweetie everything that mike had showed me at the meeting. we sat together and watched the demo of the photog i had picked. by the time i got home, there was a note from karen, the photography director, waiting in the chat box, welcoming me to essence and letting me know if i needed anything, to let her know. how cool is that!?! lets just say, after that, i was out of the dog house!
about a month after i booked, my photographer called me to introduce herself. we chatted a little about the wedding, but just about normal stuff too. it was nice to get to know her a little. she was very nice and i really got a sense of enthusiasm for what she does, which made me fell very secure.
i had about 8 months to wait until the wedding, but every now and then, a little message would appear in the portal, asking if i needed any help planing, letting me know next steps. i was also able to talk right to my photographer in the portal, it was really convenient, as i work weird hours sometimes.
as the wedding approached, karen was able to help me with some timing questions, and gave us a tip on a great little park to take pictures at right by my reception.
the big day arrived, and my photographer arrived early, and in a suit!!! how classy!
she took charge right away, scoping out my moms house, moving some stuff around so it wasnt in the way, and directing us for pictures. when she was done and left to go the the church, even my mom was like… that was fun!
we got to the church, and the videographer came up to introduce himself… he was in a suit too! he told me that i probably wouldnt notice him, but to know that he would take good care of me… and he was right. throughout most of the day, i had no idea where he was, and yet, he was always there… my video is amazing.
the ceremony was a whirlwind, i think i said «i do» and then i was out the door, and into the cool trolley. the pictures at the park are amazing. the whole rest of the night kinda went by in a blur, but my photographer was always at hand, snapping candids and capturing all the fun stuff that happened.
it took just a few weeks for the pictures to be ready. they have this neat online viewing system, where you can look at all the pictures. i got lots of emails right after the wedding, giving me instructions on how to use the online system, and how to order my album and everything. it was pretty easy… i picked the pictures that i liked, put them in a folder, and a few weeks later, i got an online copy of the album. there were a couple of things that i didnt like about the album, so i called the office. they were very helpful in making the changes, and the next copy i got was IT. my wedding album!!! it seemed to take forever for the actual album to come in the mail, but i think it was only about 6 weeks, which is fast. my album is gorgeous, and filled with some truly beautiful pictures. my video was ready at about the same time. its on blu ray, and… i look like a movie star. i cant stop watching it, and i think im probably driving everyone that knows me crazy trying to make them watch it too… sorry everyone!
all in all, from the beginning to the end, essence made my wedding very special. i didnt just feel like another wedding to them, i felt like a person.
i recommend essence to everyone i know getting married.

My fiancée’s daughter had Essence shoot her wedding last year and we plan to use them for our wedding next year. The pictures, album and video were excellent but there were other unique reasons why this company provided such a good experience.
(1) Family owned Chicago company — we were always dealing with the owners not a sales person. We did a lot of the advance work for the kids and this was very reassuring to be dealing with the boss.
(2) The online portal was extremely time saving and useful to the kids who are both in the Navy and traveling the world. Everything from viewing photography demos, to ²⁴⁄₇ chat with Essence (huge help), detailed day planner and approving album design was all on line — accessible from anywhere any time and very convenient.
(3) Never felt car salesman or pushiness throughout the entire experience. In fact everyone we dealt with was down to earth and actually very fun, including the photographer who had people laughing all day and got hugs at the end of the night!
(4) Even though there’s quite a few photographers in the group to choose from, and more organization and backup than you’d get with a single independent photographer, we always felt like we were dealing with a small local group rather than a big company or franchise, which we liked. The service felt very personal and heartfelt. The Essence folks were there for us at all times and made everything easy.
(5) Essence backup system is to rotate their regular photographers on call, which was great for us because there was an emergency and the kids did not get their original photographer. We were worried at first but forgot all about it on the day as everything went very smoothly. I think because of the online planner and saved chats the new photographer had complete information and was prepared.
(6) All the photos were a big hit with family and friends as was the album, and the kids had fun and loved that there were lots of moments captured that they missed on their day (we told them that would happen!)
(7) Finally the price was under $ 2,200, which we thought was a great value for what was provided compared to other wedding photographers we shopped. That included 12 hours of photography, extra locations, the album and getting ownership of all digital files.
The video came out great too and we liked that you hardly noticed the shooter and it didn’t turn into a side show.
I’ll be sure to update the review as we plan our own wedding, but knock wood — it’s good to have at least one wedding service where we are confident and don’t have to shop!

Pretty much a hack job.
1. they had us fill out a questionnaire that took a good 2 hours. You basically outline every ‘must capture’ photo opportunity. They do this so you don’t miss the most important photos in the choas of your wedding day.
We documented that we wanted a picture of the bride and her dad and the bride and the flower girls… amongst other obvious photos. We didn’t get them. Originally, i put the blame on us. How could we not tell her to take the photo. But in the chaos of the day and ALL the pictures you take, you just assume the most important ones are in there.
Anyways… we complained good and hard and got a decent amount of our money back.
hindsight being 20÷20… you get what you pay for.

I was about half way done with my last review when I already reached the character limit. While I have a laundry list of problems that my wife and I had with Essence, I’ll try to break things down in a concise manner. My wife and I booked Essence for both Photography, Videography, as well as Trolley service.
Front Office:
Mike (salesman) and Karen (photographer director) made sure they did a fabulous job to talk things up and promise you the world. As soon as we signed the dotted line, it became apparent that they had no interest in going out of their way to please us. Mike was always quick to call us whenever a deposite was due, but my wife had to make multiple phone calls before they were get back to us when it came to talking about how things would work on our wedding day. I remember when we told Mike that we may need the Trolley for an extra hour or two and the first thing out of his mouth was that we’d need to pay him a certain amount extra. Almost as if we were expecting to have it for free. When we initially met with Mike and booked, he did his whole car salesman show, which isn’t what got us to book. We did our homework and found so many positive reviews that we though we couldn’t go wrong. We also liked that we had a discounted price from attending a Bridal Show, as well as discounts for booking all three services they offer. My wife did a lot of homework and was explicit on what she was looking for in a photogrpaher. She even went so far as to posting Pinterest photos that she would have liked for them to replicate. When it came time to discussing these things, we couldn’t talk to our Photographer face-​to-​face. Everything had to be done through Karen, which, as I said earlier, she was absolutely terrible with returning phone calls. Half the time she wasn’t in the office and when we asked for her to call back, we never heard from her. Dealing wtih Mike just became irritating. Maybe it was his voice, or just the fact that he became magically available when it was time for us to pay them another deposite.
Photographer:
Long story short — we were not impressed at all. We felt that we were perfectly clear what kinds of shots we wanted. Out of the 70+ Pinterest pics my wife «pinned» our photographer may have used 2. We picked out beautiful locations in Chicago and it was not taken advantage of. We had plenty of shots of me dipping my wife and kissing, but that became old very fast. We were expecting more creativity. Our second photographer for later in the evening seemed like a college intern. Very few of our special moments were captured, and we hardly have pictures of any of our guests. Our little studio area she set up in the foyer area of the reception could have been nice, but a few of our pictures the people are situated outside of the backdrop. It just looked trashy and not professional.
Videographer:
Again, like the second photographer, seemed like a kid with a summer job. His attire was sloppy, which should have given things away for us right there. Our whole wedding ceremony was of video shot behind us. The problem with that is that all we see on our video for that portion is our backs. Were the second camera was during the ceremony we don’t know (it was in our contract that two would be there). Absolutely terrible video. The video of the wedding reception didn’t look like we were expecting, either. No video of people sitting at their tables or maybe a few people saying something special to us. Just a stationary camera for most of what we have, and the other parts didn’t impress us. We were so disappointed that we would have asked for our money back if it wasn’t in the contract that no refunds would be given.
Trolley:
The only portion we really liked and would recommend over the typical limo service for transportation.
All in all we were very disappointed with the level of service we received. We would definitely not recommend them to anyone. We were very happy with all other vendors that were involved in our wedding, which is a shame because they received so many good reviews. My recommendation is to give your money to a photographer company that is self-​employeed and that doesn’t work for a larger company. They’re willing to work with you more and we feel will strive to make sure you are 100% happy. After all, they’re depended on your business to feed their family. Not so with Essence. We had 6 month baby shots /​Xmas shots done with Vito & Julia in Vernon Hills, IL and were very impressed with dealing with them and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them in a second. They even hand delivered our Christmas cards, so that we could send them out in time. That’s how you run a business.

The Essence team is amazing! The entire team works together so well, they’re always in communication with the bride and groom, and they offer great services for fair prices.
Our lead photographer was Eric Lipe-​who we absolutely LOVED! Eric showed up early for our meeting and on the big day. His photos are really great and he’s talented in managing the family and friends of the couple to ensure the great shots are not missed. Lisa was our secondary photographer and she really worked well with Eric and our whole wedding party-​awesome duo! Our video turned out great, as well.
Essence was great to work with and had our photos, album and video to us before they were due-​so awesome. Great people and great company!

I worked with Essence this past weekend as a wedding coordinator. I can’t say anything for the customer service, pricing, or their set up process, but on the day of the wedding, they were top notch!
My bride chose 2 photographers and a videographer. The lead photographer, Eric, was fantastic. He was personable, kind, easy to work with, and creative. The bride and her girls didn’t have to do all the same ol’ poses as they were taking pre-​wedding photography. It was an EXTREMELY windy day, so unfortunately we couldn’t take pictures outside, so he used what we could to get some great photos. Great eye for different light and placement.
Videographer was no-​intrusive. Some weddings have «that videographer» that is in your face. Bride’s choice was great. He seemed to just fade into the background.
I would happily recommend Eric to anyone. I actually contacted my 3 engaged friends to see if they had signed with a photographer because I was so happy working with him thus far.

We’ll start from the top here. Hang tight. This is going to be a long one:
Essence has several locations. I used the Chicago office on Elston for my wedding photography (no video).
A family member recommended Essence to me because she used them for her wedding and said they were fantastic. They were one of the cheapest packages out there, which is why I hired them. I’ll admit that there were some red flags when we were booking them that should have made me run in the opposite direction, but because I have never worked with a photographer before, I didn’t know any better.
The manager at their Chicago office was totally pushy. We booked more than a year out, but he kept telling us we had to deposit NOW or we would lose the photographer we wanted. I told him that we were definitely planning on booking and we’d have the deposit to them within the week (I just had to find time to get down there with the money), but he still wouldn’t hold the date and photographer for us until he had money in hand. It was literally 3 days, which I find absolutely ridiculous. Red flag 1.
We were able to see the photographer’s portfolio, but we weren’t allowed any contact with the photographer until a week before the wedding (Red flag 2). We wanted their senior photographer because his portfolio was great and he definitely had the photojournalistic style we were looking for. We ended up getting him, paid our deposit and pretty much lost contact with essence until a few weeks before the wedding. I definitely started to rethink our decision on the photographer by this point, but we had already paid the 50% deposit, and I couldn’t afford to lose $ 850.
About a month before the wedding, I get an email with the information sheet they want us to fill out asking us to indicate the wedding party and immediate family members. It also asks you to mark which pictures you want so the photographer knows which pictures are needed and other info about the day.
Ten days before the wedding the 10 day forcast came out calling for rain, so we needed a back up for our outdoor shots that were planned. I called Essence to see if there was anything they could do to help us come up with an indoor location for pictures. Nope. There was nothing they could do. We had to figure it out on our own, from finding a place to getting the permits. Everything. Essence was no help whatsoever. We ended up paying $ 100 for an hour to take pictures at the Lincoln Park Conservatory (which ended up being a waste because it didn’t end up raining, so we went with our original plan. Oh well).
Our photographer called us three days before the wedding to confirm the details. It was a 10 minute conversation.
I’ll say this: On the day of the wedding, the photographer was on time, dressed well, polite to our guests, unobtrusive, patient with a nervous bride and respectful to everyone there. He was a really nice guy and was there with us from 10 in the morning until 10 at night, snapping pictures the whole way through.
Unfortunately, that’s where my compliments end.
Let’s start with the pictures: Of the 900 pictures the photog took, I liked maybe 6 of them. The rest were on par with the pictures our family and friends took with their personal cameras. The portraits at the front of the church are off center, the angles were horrible (that’s great, yet another picture of the back of my head. Fabulous). Our ceremony was in a very large and beautiful Catholic church, and he failed to capture any of it.
We made it clear that we weren’t fans of having our picture taken and needed a little direction. There was none of that.
In the forms we submitted before the wedding, we noted all of the brothers and sisters and wedding party members. Out of 900 pictures, there were 14 pictures of my aunt, who is a very lovely woman, but considering there was not a single picture of either of my husband’s two sisters with the exception of the off-​center family portraits taken after the ceremony (seriously. Not a single one), we could have done with less pictures of Aunt Nancy. My mother’s husband is no where to be found except in the formal portraits, which made up about 5% of the pictures. There are no pictures of my in-​laws at the reception. None. If the photographer didn’t understand who the immediate family members were (even though they were the ones that stuck around after the ceremony for formal pics), I wish he would have said something.
Moving on to the process after the wedding: What a nightmare.
So, our package came with a 10 page photo album and a canvas of a picture of our choice. We were also able to order pictures online. We had to order all of these things separately. There was no single process to complete our order. It was all a big pain.
There are a million independent photogs out there who will give you great pictures and great service. Stay away from Essence. They were horribl