Raleigh area vendor help

el_sundrop

I need some vendor help!  First, I don't know how to go about choosing a photographer-- it seems there are countless options in the raleigh area and I don't know how to sort through and make a choice. The tough part is that I don't have any particular specifications, other than the very obvious-- someone nice to work with who will take beautiful photos (but duh..). I'm sure most of the wedding photographers in the area fit that bill though, so how to choose from all those is the issue.
I'm from out of the area too (and so are friends and family), so I don't know anyone I can get a recommendation from based on their first-hand experience. That's where I'm hoping you ladies can come in and help!  How did you select/choose your photographer?  Do you think it's ok if I won't be able to meet with him/her in person prior to contracting? My wedding is at an odd time so I'm not too worried about availability, but I do want to book pretty soon anyway.

The other vendor help I could use is for hair and make-up. What are you ladies planning to do? Any recommendations on the best hair stylist(s) and best make-up artist(s) in the area?  I'm kind of stuck on this one-- planning from out of state means I can't do any trials anytime soon, but I'm at the stage where I should be booking these things or knowing who I'd like to book at least.

Thanks for any help!

shigaites

I recommend checking out Story Photographers and Martha Manning.

http://www.tellingyourstoryphotographers.com/
http://www.marthamanning.com/blog/

With both of them you get two photographers shooting your wedding

keserzan

Each bride has their own likes of photographer style - and believe it or not, just taking beautiful photographs is the opinion of the bride and photographer. One bride may think photographer A is too contemporary and loses the emotion of the picture, and  may think that photographer B is way too traditional and takes "posed" photos. All I can suggest is look through the NC Bride Bio linked in my siggy below to visit each site of the photographers listed to see examples of their work. And if you never meet the photographer, you won't know whether you'll actually get along with him/her or not.

For hair and makeup, check into Elizabeth Tolley. She does beautiful work, and will travel. Her information is in the NC Bride Bio too.

ashstwrt

For photographers, I just suggest following several photographer's blogs for a while to get a feel for their style. I also feel like you sort of get to know them through their blog posts sometimes, so that's helpful for someone out-of-town. My photographer is Kellie Kano (in Greensboro but travels) and I think she is incredible. Others that I love are Cheyenne Schultz, Millie Holloman, Whitebox, and Abigail Seymour. You also want to think about what you want as far as photography is concerned. Do you want a package that includes all of your edited images on a DVD? Do you want an album? Do you need them for a certain # of hours on the wedding day? Do you want engagement pics or bridal portraits? That might help you narrow the search too.

For makeup, Elizabeth Tolley is awesome. I'm having a trial with Jenny Raele today because she was recommended by another knottie. I don't have much to say about her right now, but check our her website (google: make up art by jenny). HTH!

Jemmessica

We used Story Photographers and couldn't have been more pleased. This is how we chose them....

I saw an ad Ashley had posted about wanting to do a shoot at the fair. I was interested. We went, did the shoot (used as our engagement photos). We loved the photos, their price was in our budget, so we booked them- never even looked anywhere else! It was really easy for us.

My advice is pick out several that you like their style and price, then go meet with them and see if you click with them!

dancr214

I think a huge factor in selecting a photographer is budget.  There is such a wide variety.  I used Martha Manning and she was absolutely amazing.  I highly recommend her.  I would also look at blogs, like someone else said.  Since you won't be able to meet the photographer before you book, I would make a couple phone appointments.  That way you can talk to them and get a feel for if you are comfortable with them or not.  For hair and make-up I have heard that people have used Ginger Mullins and Libby Mitchner.  They are both in Raleigh.  I went to Leah at Von Kekel Salon in Cary.  She has done my hair for a couple years and does a great job on my hair and does great makeup too.  I just got married in Raleigh in October and worked for a wedding planner so if you have any other vendor questions I would be glad to help.

wlfpkbride

I think the first thing you should do is set a budget. The price of photography can vary a LOT. I would follow the blogs of a few photographers that you're interested in. If you can, try to set a weekend aside to come meet some of them. You need to make sure you click with the photographer. Check out the NC Bride bio, there are a lot of photographers on there.

For makeup you can also check out Margo Williams. I would have used her but my date wasn't available. GL.

andrea01012009

This was such a trickly subject for me.  I had an awesome budget to work with thanks to my parents.  The thing I quickly discovered is that just because a vendor has a high price attached to their services, don't assume that they are worth that..in my opinion...

I saw quite a few vendors that just advertised to the moon and usually they were the most expensive but their work was lackluster. 

BrittanyJo22885

I'm using Caroline Ghetes. I searched and searched in the Raleigh area and couldn't find anyone who fit with what my fiance and I were looking for. She is based out of Charlotte but travels. Her work is like no one else I have seen in North Carolina. We actually booked with her before actually meeting with her! We exchanged tons of emails and such but we loved her work so much and her personality, it really comes through in her wording on her website's blog and her emails. We to a trip to Charlotte over Christmas and finally got to meet up with her and we were reassured with our choice. I have actually had some of my vendors tell me how excited they are that we are using them so they can have their work photographed by her.

Her work is very photojournalistic in style.
www.carolineghetes.com

I also looked at Cheyenne Shutlz, she is very well like among the knotties. Her work was really beautiful, just not really exactly what we were looking for.

Good Luck!

el_sundrop

You ladies are great!!  Thank you so much!  I'll look into all your suggestions.

The other thing is that my wedding is very small so I wasn't sure if it would be awkward to have a photographer for the whole time or not, but I think we will.  I guess finding someone we're comfortable around is probably the most important thing for us-- we're both pretty shy, in the whole disliking to be the center of attention type of way.

I was overwhelmed by all the choices and not sure where to begin, but I think once I devote more time to looking through each photographer's site/blog, actually getting in touch with them, etc. and focus on narrowing down my list it shouldn't be too tough! 

rgeddy

My fiance does wedding photography.  He only charges $800 normally.  He's shot many weddings before (and too bad he can't do ours!).