We're going to answer these in the third person and pretend like our imaginary assistant wrote it. Actually no, that sounds really complicated from a grammatical aspect.
1. Why do you only shoot 10 weddings a year?
A few reasons. First, this is my (Brit's) main gig, but not Cole's, and since we do all weddings together I don't want him working every single weekend. Second, since we only take weddings from April-October, there are only 24 weekends and we also want to actually have a life during the nice weather months. When you shoot a wedding you are pretty much useless the next day and spend it sore, exhausted, and eating Chipotle.
2. Do you use other second shooters?
Nope. I agreed to shoot my first wedding when Cole and I were dating. We shot that wedding together and every wedding since. We feel this is the most ideal situation since we know exactly what each of our strengths are and we have a routine for the wedding day. When you're rotating in random second shooters, you have no idea what you'll get and they also don't know what we're looking for.
3. Why are you two so awesome?
We've yet to come up with a satisfactory answer.
4. How do you decide what weddings you will shoot and what ones you won't?
Since we only take 10 weddings, we want to feel inspired and excited for each one - that's everything from the venue to the style to the couple's personality. They need to feel comfortable with us just as much as the other way around. We need to share the same vision for how the day will go and what type of photos they want. It's not enjoyable for us to feel like we can't be ourselves creatively. We aren't looking for price shoppers or last minute "we just need someone" clients. We want people who value photography and came to us because they love our stuff.
5. Do you outsource any of your editing?
Nope. I edit every solitary photo - even though it's entirely tedious and time consuming. This is why you won't see any guarantees of "getting your photos back in two weeks" from us. I tried outsourcing ONCE, and it was a nightmare. I ended up redoing everything and so it took longer AND cost money. (eyeroll) I'm far too Type A for outsourcing. If you have a zit, I'll photoshop it out - they won't. Actually, I think you could add that last sentence to the answer for #3.
6. Will you show up all fancy for our wedding?
Short answer: nah. I know some photographers do. We aren't them. I will show up in all black as to disguise the enormous amount of sweating I'll be doing. It's not pretty when you're out in 90 degree weather with 100% humidity and carrying around heavy equipment for hours on end. Are you kidding me, like I'm going to add a necklace to that mess? Cole tries a bit harder to be fancy - I'm going to guess this is because he doesn't quite work as hard. I'd let him answer for himself, but I'm the writer so...
7. How involved are you in the planning process?
As involved as you want us to be. We know you've likely never been married before so you've got no idea how long it takes to do a first look or family formals. When you book us, we provide a plethora of tips and information to help you end up with the best photos possible. We have to have an appropriate amount of time to deliver the photos you are expecting from us based on our blog. We realized long ago, we can't control the day but we can help guide you to get better results. Most weddings don't have a coordinator, and so we basically write up the timeline according to what you want and let you know what time we need to achieve that without everyone being stressed. Ultimately, we want you to actually ENJOY the day -and we'll keep things moving along but in a laid back way. We aren't those photographers who will make you miserable. BUT that being said, you will do your photos during golden hour. OR ELSE!
8. Why don't you have testimonials on your website?
Because whenever I see testimonials on people's websites, all I can think is, "Yea, ahuh, I'm sooooo sure Sally from Utah said that." So I figure it's kind of pointless since it's non-verifiable. We get lots of amazing thank you notes from our clients that make us feel all sorts of sentimental, but we don't ask them for official reviews. However, we have had a few people request to speak to past brides we've worked with to get a feel for how we approach the day - and we happily hooked them up.
Some couples were sweet enough to have left us reviews around the Interwebs... head to our Reviews page to read our reviews from Wedding Wire and The Knot.
9. What's your backup sitch?
Our cameras have two memory card slots - so your photos are instantly backed up in real time. Cole carries the cards on his body all day, in case our equipment should get stolen by some horrible person. Once home, they are backed up on several different drives and ultimately, all your finally edits will be backed up online as well. Long story short: we're very Type A.