Photographer review: Denko Imaging

Let me start by going over the reasons why we went with these particular photographers..

First, they are a husband and wife couple so it's basically two photographers for the price of one. Most photographers charge a whole lot more money to have a second photographer, where Denko is always the both of them.

Second, their pricing is reasonable. Again, two photographers for price of one. And we got an engagement session included in the package for only a small bit more. Still, much cheaper than a lot of other photographers we looked at. On top of that, we only had to pay half of our bill before the wedding. The other half isn't due until we get the pictures! One less things to pay off before the wedding.

Third, they had no time limit. Most photographers we looked at were only 6 hours with the option of paying hourly for more time. Therefore, if you had the photographer go with you while you're getting ready in the morning they're probably cutting out of the reception hours before it's over.

And lastly... because Mike wanted them. Most things with the wedding Mike just let me do whatever I wanted. Choosing photographers was different. He had very strong opinions about who he liked and didn't like. I did agree to go with Denko because their work is very good. I talked to other people I knew that had used them or been in weddings they have photographed and they all said good things. So I let Mike have this one.

Now, onto the review!

We got our "sneak peaks" a couple weeks ago and I was really impressed! The pictures that we got turned out great! We got the rest of our proofs last night... 1179 unedited photos! That's a lot of pictures. I will say that we got some really good pictures, however, I am a little disappointed in the pictures that we didn't get. We took very few family pictures... and when I say a few, I mean, one with my parents and one with Mike's. No pictures with grandparents. No siblings. No pictures with family members that came from out of town. That was really disappointing to me! Anyone that knows my brother knows that he does NOT dress up. This was the second time I saw him in a suit EVER! The other time was my aunts' wedding when he was about 10. There are pictures of him with the groomsmen since he was in the wedding but none with my sister and I or just myself. I did get a few pictures with my sister since she was in the wedding party though.

We only took TWO group shots of the whole bridal party! TWO! Yes, it was freezing and we were trying to take them on the balcony.. but there is no reason we couldn't have done more inside. We did get a few pictures of me with the bridesmaids and Mike with the groomsmen though and those are good. To go along with the lack of bridal party pictures, we didn't get any pictures of me with the groomsmen or Mike with the bridesmaids.

Maybe it's my fault for not making sure these pictures were done, but seriously my head was spinning. I was being pulled in a hundred different directions so I don't think it should have been up to me to make sure these pictures were done when they are pretty standard to every wedding.

So, would I recommend Denko to someone else? Sure. BUT, I would tell them to make a list of every family picture and the different bridal party pictures you want so that you can make sure they get done!

We didn't even dance

Evan's dad was supposed to pick Evan up from the reception around 8:30-9pm (the reception was over at 9)... However, he was having car trouble that day. Fortunately, one of my friends lives near him and offered to take Evan to his dads when he left. Shortly, after dinner the friend that was to take Evan to his dads was not feeling well and wanted to leave. I REALLY wanted Evan to stay. I mean, it's my wedding.. it only happens once and I knew I could find someone else to take him to his dads after. But, since Evan knew there was a possibility of going to his dads he wanted to go. As much as I wanted him to stay I knew that if I made him stay he would be in a bad mood, and I didn't want that either. So I let him go.

Mike and I aren't able to go on our honeymoon until June since I am in the middle of the semester, so it was back to work and school the following Monday. When Evan came home from school that Monday, he was in an awful mood. That mood continued through Tuesday. We could not figure out what was wrong. I called his dad and asked if Evan had said he was upset about something and he didn't. I called his nana who gets him off the bus since I'm at class and he didn't say anything to her either.

Then, Wednesday Mike text me while I was at work and said he knew what the problem was. Evan had said that he didn't even get a chance to dance with me at my wedding. For months, Evan and I have been talking about dancing at the wedding and since he left early we didn't get a chance to. Tears instantly filled my eyes. I hadn't even realized. I was off the next night and had a talk with him about how he was feeling.. and how it made me feel. I explained to him that I really wanted him to stay but it was his choice and he chose to leave. And that you can't expect to get everything you want to do done if you leave early. I told him I was upset we didn't dance also.

So we came up with a solution! Well sort of... obviously we can't go back to the wedding and dance but we are going to another wedding this weekend. Evan doesn't usually go with Mike and I to weddings. Mostly, because he's with his dad but also because he doesn't want to go. The wedding this weekend is my cousin's wedding so there will be other kids there he knows.. and we'll get to dance.

We also decided we don't really get to see eachother enough right now because at night I am either at work or school. So, once a month Evan and I are going on dates. Just him and I (Mike is not allowed). We went in both October and November and both of us are really enjoying it!

Finally the big day!

October 22, 2016 was finally the big day! The day we had been planning for 10 months! And even though the day was amazing, I must admit that it wasn't what I thought it would be. Now don't get me wrong, it was one of the BEST days of my life! It was the day that I got to marry my best friend and the day that the three of us officially became a family. But when you dream of a day for what seems like your whole life, it's easy to be somewhat disappointed.

I am not typically a nervous person, and as the day went on and the ceremony grew closer I became a nervous wreck! I don't like to be the center of attention and I especially do NOT like to talk in front of people. So the thought of standing up in front of 200 people made me extremely anxious. After the ceremony, I was no longer anxious about being in front of people.. my mood changed to stressed. I felt like I was being pulled in 100 different directions at once. I couldn't eat... I tried, and every time I took a bite I thought I was going to throw up. Matter of fact, I did throw up 2 or 3 times. Looking back on it, I really wish I could have just calmed down. I definitely would have enjoyed myself more.

Besides being anxious/stressed, the weather was something that we were not sure of for the entire week before the wedding. The ceremony was supposed to be outside, and although it did not end up raining we pulled the ceremony inside because it was so cold and windy. This would have been fine, however with the way it was set up people at the tables could not see the ceremony. And no one told my dad that there was chairs set up right in front of Mike and I for family (to make sure they could see).. so after walking me down the aisle my dad went back to his table and couldn't see the rest of the ceremony! Fortunately, the ceremony was only about 5 minutes so people really didn't miss a whole lot!

Throughout the whole thing, I kept a smile on my face! I really did have a good time and it was so good to see friends and family that I had not seen in a long time.

30th Birthday/Bachelorette Party

So I'm behind.. like way behind! 2 months to be exact... My birthday/bachelorette was a success! So much fun. We ended up not going on a wine tour which was fine since I would not have seen Mike the whole day if we had. Instead, just a few of us went to 3-4 wineries (Mike included)... Then the guys dropped us girls off at Tony R's for dinner to meet the rest of the bachelorette party. From there we went to a few bars on Market St. I, however, cannot hang like I used to and was ready to go home by 8:30pm! I looked at Tara and told her I wanted Mike, so after some convincing she called him and he came to join for a few and took me home!