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We’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions for your convenience. If you have other questions, please do not hesitate to ask. We are happy to answer any and all inquiries!
Frequently Asked Questions
Style & Quality
What is your photography shooting style?
We love being both interactive and discrete throughout the wedding day. There will be times during the day when we will need to be in control - this is to ensure we accomplish everything that needs to be done while staying on schedule. Eg. extended family portraits. There will also be moments when you shouldn’t even know that we’re there, such as the time getting ready for the big day, then the ceremony, dances and toasts, etc... We teach our couples how to pose, model, and interact during their engagement session so they are naturals on the wedding day and can just enjoy celebrating their day.
What is your photography editing style?
Being an artistic creative, we see photography trends come and go. Our editing style is bright, clean, and true to life. We showcase your wedding day exactly as all your friends and family witnessed it. We only focus on the moments - not trendy filter or other photographic styles. Our goal is to make your images timeless - just like your love for each other.
Do you deliver every image you take?
Together, we typically shoot thousands of photos on a wedding day. We do not deliver any pictures where we are testing our light, we are changing our settings, the subject is making an unflattering face, or it is not up to our standards of photographic quality. We do however typically deliver 100+ images an hour on a wedding day.
Do you edit all of our photographs?
We edit all the images we deliver personally for correct exposure, color balance, and crop. All images that will be delivered will be no less than the excellent standard seen on our portfolios and blog.
Do you deliver black & white images?
We love classic black & white images. Sometimes certain moments and emotions lend themselves to a beautiful B&W image. Don’t worry - we will also send along the color copy of every B&W as well.
Service Questions
How long have you been in business? How many weddings have you photographed?
We began our business in 2013 and have photographed over 150 weddings!
Why hire a husband and wife photography team?
We can relate to each of our couples because we were just in your shoes a few years ago! Working with the same person for over 150 weddings allows us to know how we work best together and how to relate to both sides of the wedding party. Plus, we have a ton of fun doing it! It’s like a date night, we get dressed up, we have a great meal, there’s music and cake. We just happen to also be working.
Do you shoot Family Portraits? Events? High School Seniors? Anniversaries? Showers? Proposals?
Absolutely! We especially love when past clients come back to us again and again to document their growing families. Portraits sessions begin at $550.
Do you provide videography services?
We love photography so much that we couldn’t imagine adding another service. Although we do not have videography offered in our wedding collections, we do have a list of videographers we have worked with previously and do work that we love. We only recommend friends that love their clients as much as we do and we would be happy to pass along their information to you - just ask!
Do you shoot destination weddings?
Absolutely! We love to travel and experience new venues, cities, states, and countries. We have already knocked a few states off our list and would love to shoot a wedding in all fifty and beyond!
Have you shot at our venue previously?
Perhaps! There are thousands of wedding venues in and around Chicago. If we haven’t shot at your particular venue, no worries at all. We are confident we have more than likely what have shot at a similar style of venue. We’ll always scout the best locations for portraits, bridal party shots, and sunset photos beforehand.
How many weddings a year do you take?
We take a limited number of 20 commissioned weddings a year.
Do you have an assistant?
Typically it is just Marc and Mindy, however, if you have a very large guest list or large bridal party, we are happy to add an assistant on to your collection to help with the day.
Do you need to attend our rehearsal? Do you need to do a venue walk through?
While it is not necessary to have us at the rehearsal to ensure a flawless wedding day, we can attend any additional wedding celebrations (showers, engagement parties, rehearsals) for an additional hourly charge.
When should we book your for our wedding?
Since we only take a limited number of weddings each year, we suggest reaching out to us as soon as your have your date and venue selected.
What do your wedding photography packages include?
All of our wedding collections include an engagement session, 2 wedding day photographers (Marc & Mindy), digital high-resolution files delivered in a private online gallery, 10 year wedding gallery backup guarantee, and up to 10 hours of wedding day coverage. Contact us for more details!
What are your rates?
Our wedding collections begin at $5.200. Portrait session begins at $550. Contact us for more detailed pricing information.
We are interested in learning more, what’s next?
Fill out a contact form or shoot us a direct email. We would love to learn more about you and your love story - we’ll set up a meeting to get to know each other. We want to ensure our personalities match and we are the perfect fit to capture your day!
Equipment & Process
What type of cameras and equipment do you use?
We use professional Nikon equipment. We also have backup equipment with us on a wedding day to ensure we don’t miss a beat if there is an equipment mishap.
How can we insure our wedding images are safe and backed up?
We are IT nerds at heart - That’s how we met, working at a software company. Our cameras write to two SD cards. Which means as soon as we snap an image, there is already a backup. We meticulously back up images when we get home and always ensure your images are backed up not in one location, but also a secondary off site location. If for any reason you lose your wedding images in the future, let us know. We keep your wedding images backed up for 10 years!
Payment & Booking
Can you hold a date for me?
Wedding dates are reserved on a first come first serve basis. Although we cannot reserve a wedding date without a contract and retainer, we will be happy to let you know if any other couples inquire about the same date.
What is required to reserve our wedding date?
A signed contract and a $1,200 retainer is required to save your date. All of this can be completed online.
Do you charge travel fees?
Additional travel fees may apply to weddings beyond 60 miles of the metro chicago area.
Is there an additional fee if we pay via credit card?
No.
What is your payment schedule?
A retainer of $1,200 is required to reserve your wedding date. A second payment of $1,200 is due 6-months prior to your wedding. The remaining balance is due 30 days prior to your wedding.
Are sales tax included in the collection cost?
Yes! We like to keep it simple - the price is the price.
Do you offer any discounts on Friday weddings, Sunday weddings, or weddings in the off season?
We are so fortunate to be at a place of our business where we are able to fully book to our capacity each wedding season. For this reason we do not offer a discount for wedding collections. We do offer hourly coverage for city hall weddings and small elopements, contact us for details.
Is there a discount if we pay cash?
We are big believers in living life debt free (thanks Dave Ramsey!) We do offer a small discount for cash payments, please ask for details.
Engagement
Do we really need an engagement session?
We suggest all of our couples have an engagement session. This is why we include it in all of our wedding collections. It gives us an opportunity to get to know you before the big day. The more we know each other, the more natural, organic, and candid your wedding photos will be. We teach you everything you need to know at your engagement session so when the wedding day comes around, all you have to do is enjoy yourselves!
When should we do our engagement session?
Most of our couples schedule engagement session 6-8 months before their wedding date so they may use the photos for save the date cards. However this is totally up to you!
What days of the week are you available to shoot engagement sessions?
After your wedding date is reserved we will start planning your engagement session. Typically, since we usually shoot weddings on weekends, we photograph engagement sessions on Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Although, depending on the date, we may have a weekend day available.
What should we wear to our engagement session?
This can be one of the most worrisome things for brides and grooms to be. We know - we’ve been there too. Because of this, we created an Engagement Style Guide. Once we have selected your engagement session date, we will be sending along our guide to help choose the best outfits, locations, and some helpful tips as well to prepare you for your session.
How long are engagement sessions?
Engagement sessions typically last about 1.5 hours - time really flies by when we are having so much fun.
How many images are delivered from our engagement session?
On average 100+ images are delivered from your engagement session. You will have a hard time choosing your favorite for your save the date cards.
When can we expect to see photos from our engagement session?
Approximately three weeks after your engagement session your images will be ready in your online gallery.
Can we just hire you for engagement photos?
Absolutely! If you are just engaged and haven’t selected a date or venue yet, we can absolutely just book an engagement session. If you decide to choose Marc & Mindy to photograph your wedding as well, we will put your engagement session investment, towards your wedding collection.
Wedding Day
Do we really need two photographers for our wedding day?
Lucky for you we are a husband and wife team. Having two photographers provide more photos, more candids, and more coverage of all the wedding day fun. In the morning, Marc will be able to capture the guys hanging out with all their antics and hijinks - Mindy will be chatting it up with all the ladies as they ooh and ah over the dress and all the beautiful details. When you walk down the aisle, Mindy will be capturing that special moment with you and your father (or special someone) while Marc is capturing an epic shot of your wedding dress train from behind.
How much coverage will we need on our wedding day?
For most of our couples, 8 hours of coverage is a perfect starting point. This typically covers some of the getting ready shots all the way through about an hour of guest dancing at the reception. Sometimes there are reasons to add more coverage - if you are having a longer religious ceremony, if there are long travel times between venues, or if there is a large amount of time between the ceremony and reception. We can discuss these details and let you know what we think will be the best fit for you when we initially meet.
What’s a first look and do I need one?
A first look happens when the couple sees each other before walking down the aisle. Doing a first look allows us more time in the beginning of the day to capture most if not all of your portraits before the ceremony. This allows our couples to enjoy cocktail hour with their guests. We understand that this is this is such a personal choice and completely understand our couples who wish to have a more traditional down the aisle reveal. Whichever you choose, we will be sure to help you make a wedding day timeline that best suits your preference.
We have downtime between ceremony and reception does this count in our hours?
Hours of coverage are continuous. We often use this time to capture candids, portraits, and details.
What do we do if the timeline runs late on our wedding day?
It happens. Although we do everything in our power to make sure the day runs on time, sometimes things are beyond our control. We work extra fast, and make sure all the vendors on your team are on the same page as we are. Often we can make up time at some point of the day. We will never leave a wedding until we check in with you and ensure everything you need and want has been covered.
What happens if we go over the contracted amount of time?
An invoice will be sent to you after the wedding for the additional hourly rate as stated in your contract. We request any overtime invoices be paid before final delivery of images.
What if it rains on our wedding day?
Oh.. the dreaded word on a wedding day. Sometimes mother nature has plans other than 75 and sunny. If that is the case, we will be sure to be in contact with you in the days leading up to the wedding so we can ensure we have a plan B prepared. A little rain has never stopped us before from producing beautiful wedding day images.
What do you wear to photograph our wedding?
We pride ourselves in dressing like a guest - Marc will wear a suit and tie, and Mindy is typically in a dress.
Products & Delivery
How are our images delivered?
After your engagement session or wedding, your high-resolution images will be delivered via a private online gallery. These images can be downloaded, saved, printed, shared etc. All of your friends and family that you share the gallery link with will also have the same privileges.
How many wedding images do you deliver?
On average Marc & Mindy deliver 100 images for every hour of wedding coverage. For a typical wedding day with 8 hours of coverage, our couples typically receive 800+ images.
How long after the wedding are images delivered?
Typically wedding images are delivered within 8 weeks of your wedding date. We will be sure to share a few sneak peeks along the way!
Are digital files watermarked?
No way!
Can I order prints?
Yes, we love to see when our couples hang their wedding photos as artwork on the walls of their home. Ordering prints is easy - they can be ordered right from your online gallery. Your gallery is tied to our favorite professional print lab! This way we know our print lab will provide you with the best quality and that is truest to the colors we edit. Prints, canvases, and photo cards can all be ordered online. Friends and family can also order prints and have them shipped directly to their home.
How does the album design process work?
If you have chosen to add an album to your wedding collection, congratulations! Besides your wedding rings, you are creating one of your first family heirlooms to be passed down for generations to come. After your wedding images have been delivered, we will sit down and discuss your options for choosing the images in your album. Either you can favorite all of your images you wish to include, or we can help curate the perfect mix of images to highlight your day. From then we will design your album from the front to the back cover and every page in between. We will then provide you will a link to review and make revision suggestions. We include 2 rounds of revisions in your album design. Once you are happy with your final revision, we will discuss available upgrade options for size, and cover type. As well as if you would like to add additional parent albums to your order. Once your order has been finalized - it goes off to print. Our album company will return your finished product in approximately 9-12 weeks. Then we schedule a time to meet so we can deliver your beautiful family heirloom.
Legal Questions
Do you have insurance? Can you provide our venue with a certificate of insurance?
Yes we carry limited liability insurance and can provide it to your venue upon request.
Who owns the right of our images?
We retain the artistic copyright of our images. However you will have personal rights to allow you to print, share, and download all of your images.
If we cancel the wedding will we receive our retainer back?
Unfortunately no. Retainer fees are used to reserve your wedding date. Once we’ve reserved your date, we do not accept any additional client work for that day.
If we change our date, will we be able to use our retainer fee towards a future date?
Generally no, but this is usually taken in a case by case basis.
What happens if you can’t shoot our wedding?
We have been shooting weddings since 2013, we have not missed one yet, nor do we plan to. You have placed your trust in us and we keep that trust in the highest regard. If there were an emergency where we could both not be there, we would send an equally talented replacement to photograph the event. We have many close friends in the wedding industry that we highly regard and trust. We would then edit all images in our personal Marc & Mindy style.
The Wedding Experience
From the Tiniest Detail to the Grandest Moment, We Want to Tell Your Story.
Reserve your date now
