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Wedding photographer

gabbertcgabbertc
First Comment
in Illinois-Chicago
I have been looking for months for a photographer and am not having much luck. I looked into using Bella and Studio One but keep hearing mixed reviews. Has anyone used them before and if so how was it?
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Re: Wedding photographer

  • kthamekthame
    1000 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    I haven't used either, but you should give Yelp a try. They're another great place to find reviews.
    imageimage
    Finally...we are Mr. & Mrs.!!! WooHoo!!!

    Planning Bio
    Married Bio (Work In Progress)
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  • JayandStephanieJayandStephanie member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Don't trust Yelp or yelp reviews...

    http://www.yelp-sucks.com/
    http://yelpsucks.blogspot.com/
    http://digg.com/odd_stuff/The_SAD_Truth_About_Yelp_and_Why_Yelp_Sucks

    I suggest Yahoo Local or for bridal only reviews I suggest Onewed.com.

    HTH
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  • jessNlane52804jessNlane52804
    1000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    My photographer, Kara Schultz has 8 days open for 2010. We have received rave reviews on our engagement pictures.

    www.karatography.com
    Married on 8/7/10 My Bio
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    Anniversary
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  • kthamekthame
    1000 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    WOW! I never heard Yelp to be bad! Ouch.
    imageimage
    Finally...we are Mr. & Mrs.!!! WooHoo!!!

    Planning Bio
    Married Bio (Work In Progress)
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  • lawandorder2010lawandorder2010
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    Check out their reviews on weddingwire.com
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  • TatiMarieTatiMarie
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
     I would take the reviews on Yelp with a grain of salt.  Sometimes they are super helpful, but other times I think it's people trying way too hard to be a critic--but I will say the reviews for wedding stuff on Yelp is pretty helpful.  As far as Bella goes, they have a lot of mixed reviews on the board.  I'm pretty sure Bella contracts other photographers so you may get lucky and get a good one or you may not.  I personally knew I wanted to know who my photographer would be for the day of.  Good luck!
    image
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  • catherinerbirchcatherinerbirch member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    The photographer we're using is Victoria Sprung. She's really nice and reasonably priced and I liked the pics on her website and others that she showed us in our meeting. Her website is www.sprungphoto.com.
    Personally I use Yelp for a lot of things, including posting things myself and haven't had a problem. But I have heard from vendors that if you don't keep your account updated then your review is deleted.
    HTH!
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  • duckie1905duckie1905 member
    Fifth Anniversary 1000 Comments 5 Love Its
    edited December 2011
    We inteviewed Studio One and didn't book them because the rep was so pushy and demanding.  She kept insisting we sign a contract immediately and said there was no need to see samples of different photog's work.

    The worst part was that they still (to this day, almost a year after my wedding) call me and try to sales pitch me on their services.  It is annoying as hell and don't seem to understand I'm already married.
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  • gabbertcgabbertc
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thank you all so much! This helps!
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  • lornlorn
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I've heard too many mix reviews about Bella.We used Dennis Lee Photography. He flew with us to LA. He did a great slideshow and wrote such a nice blog about us.
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  • edwinajonedwinajon member
    10 Comments
    edited December 2011
    We interviewed with Bella and didn't select them because of the fact that we would not be able to interview and meet the photographer they matched us with.  The representative from Bella did mention their 100% satsifaction guaranteed or your money back but for us, you don't get a "do over" with wedding pictures.

    We ended up going with Gerber + Scarpelli but here are the other photographers we interviewed with that were good but out of our pricepoint:

    Chris Guillen (Oak Park)
    Real Weddings (Chicago)

    I should note that our wedding photo preference was photojournalism versus "posing".

    Good luck in your search.
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  • TheDohertysTheDohertys
    100 Comments
    edited December 2011
    I am not sure if my photographer has any dates left but you can give it a shot. Her name is Heather Parker and the website is Heather Parker Photography.
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  • January BrideJanuary Bride member
    Sixth Anniversary 100 Comments Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    What is your budget?  My two favorite Chicago photographers are Life on Prints and Dean Thorsen.  I also love Katie Ryan, Uncaged Photography, Jeremy Lawson, etc.
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  • conpao042010conpao042010
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We booked an amazing photographer from Weddingbee. He is currently running a promo package for $650. I thought it was too good to be true because his works looked great and for a fairly inexpensive pricing... but once we met with him I felt comfortable and know that he will be a steal!.. Check him out. link of his promo here.. http://classifieds.weddingbee.com/topic/650-wedding-photography-2

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