Photographer & officiant/Justice of the Peace?

kayla2536

As far as photographers go, I really love candid pictures. I'm not a huge fan of tons of posey pictures, but at the same time I don't really want a camera in my face the entire time either trying to catch perfect moments. Can anyone recommend a good photographer who is also really good at capturing candid moments?

My fiance and I are NOT religious in any way and want a simple ceremony. We're not super serious people so would like a fun, short, simple ceremony. Any suggestions for an officiant?

SB1512

What's your budget like?  FI and I met with 3 photographers......HK Photo, Carrie Draghi, and RAW Photo Design.  We ultimately went with RAW as your photographers.  Carrie and RAW were both around the same price, while HK was a little more budget friendly.

calindi

Our photographers are good at candids, but I liked their posed photography, so I don't know if they're exactly what you're looking for - I do know that Keith (the husband of the husband-and-wife team) used to photograph musicians and concerts, so he's really good at live action shooting, which is basically what you want - someone who can capture the moments without interfering in the event.  Check them out, at any rate - Alexis Stein Photography.

Our officiant is EXACTLY what you want - I had the darndest time finding a JOP who would agree to absolutely zero mention of "God" or "Jesus" or anything religious (we're straight up atheist, so it would feel REALLY fake to have a religious ceremony).  When I spoke with Betty Allard, she said, "Of course!  My powers as a JOP come from the state, not from a church, so it would be disingenuous of me to portray myself as a religious officiant anyway."  She does same sex weddings, she does casual and spunky, she does formal and traditional.  I honestly am THRILLED to have her co-officiating our wedding (she also was very flexible having a family member share officiating duties, though she's the one with the powers to legally wed us).

So contact Betty Allard for sure!

kayla2536

Budget is $15,000 but for photography I don't want to cut corners there for obvious reasons. I love having pictures to look back at for any event and want really good ones for my wedding!

I will definitely be checking out Betty Allard (we're both athiests too!)

SB1512

Ok well, I would def check out HK photography.  Hubert and Alka are so so nice and they do beautiful work.  I no longer have their price list, but I think for under $5,000 you could get engagement photos, wedding photos, wedding album, rights to photos and printing, 2 photographers on wedding day and unlimited hours of wedding coverage.  The main reason we did not end up going with them is that they are not very "gear heavy" photographers, meaning no extra lighting that they lug around, and our wedding is an evening wedding and our venue doesn't have a lot of windows so we were concerned about the lack of light affecting how the photos turned out.  Carrie Draghi and RAW were more expensive than HK, upwards of $6,000.  Our package with RAW comes with an engagement shoot and making htose photos into our wedding guestbook, unlimited hours of coverage on wedding day with 2 photographers anda lighting assistant, a photobooth, all photos on DVD with rights to print and then I think something like 100 photos that are edited and retouched (ie: blemished removed, won't see beads of sweat if it's hot out or sweaty on the dance floor).  Also although I never ended up meeting with them, I also received several recommendations to check out Kiernan Photography.

MichelleBee773

I would suggest Eric Brushett for photography. He captures the moments in this amazing way. His candid moments are fantastic. I know he works with people on price, and you can kind of build your own package. www.ericbrushett.com

We are having a friend become ordained online. I am sure lots of women on the boards can suggest a good officiant, but if you have someone that is super special to you, you could consider having him/her marry you!

Good luck!!

cdbishop

I used Brooke Allison Photography.  She does some pose type items but is great at capturing the candid moments as well. 

mlperkins12

You might consider Lindsay Shaw Lehmann for your photography.  We are using her and really love her photojournalistic approach.  Here is here website:  http://www.lindsayshaw.com/#

calindi

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_connecticut_photographer-officiantjustice-of-the-peace?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:65Discussion:d4a8c8b4-ec9a-4256-9a86-833708b42babPost:148e8747-41fc-4f0b-9aec-1212f1a90232">Re: Photographer & officiant/Justice of the Peace?</a>:
[QUOTE]I would suggest Eric Brushett for photography. He captures the moments in this amazing way. His candid moments are fantastic. I know he works with people on price, and you can kind of build your own package.  <a href="http://www.ericbrushett.com" rel="nofollow">www.ericbrushett.com</a> <strong>We are having a friend become ordained online. I am sure lots of women on the boards can suggest a good officiant, but if you have someone that is super special to you, you could consider having him/her marry you! Good luck!!
</strong>Posted by Corkey450[/QUOTE]

Be careful with this!  I was advised it's not recognized in Connecticut.  Some towns may let it go, but others possibly won't.  We have a friend officiating, but when we heard it might not be recognized, we went ahead and hired a JOP just to make sure we crossed our t's and dotted our i's.

SteveAndSara2005

Marisa from Sassy Mouth Photography is awesome! She does tons and tons of candids (my favorite part of her photos) She's great and her rate is really good! We booked her year and a half ago though so I know her rate has changed a bit.

Out JP is Sara Carson, I read tons of reviews about her on the connecticut board. We met with her a few months ago, she is non religious (my FI and I are same situation as you) And she has a really good speaking voice, When she spoke I felt like people would pay attention to her.

Good Luck!!

Ddiva5

I wanted Claudia as my photographer www.fabuluxephotos.com She was booked for my wedding.  I am using a friend of a friend. 

Joyzie77

We are using LAM photography. He's in West Hartford. He doesn't do a lot of posed photos.

We just booked Renee Carle for our JOP. She's in Bristol, CT.


Good luck!

Abeja1226

I would check out Scott Perham photography  www.scottperham.com , he is extremely artistic and does a lot of candid and photojournalistic type photos.  He also uses a lot of different lenses so you have different styled photos and does a GREAT job!