“We felt them as much as we saw them”

This is probably the most gracious wedding photography review I’ve ever received. So thankful.

Of every decision we made for our wedding, the photographer was the most agonizing. This (practical) stranger would not only shape our memories of the event, they’d choose the only way most people would see it at all. Plus, for everything else in the wedding, we could have a back-up plan. But the photographer…we’d simply have to trust that on one day, whatever else was going on in their own life and headspace, they’d “get” us—our wedding, our vision, our heroic imperfect selves—with no possibility of do-overs.

To complicate things, we had fearsome aesthetic, technical, and logistical criteria. We wanted beautiful documentation with no posed shots. The wedding would last a full day near Austin and we’d have to arrange everything from across country. The ceremony would be onstage in a dark theater. We were showing a movie after and, yes, we wanted pictures of that, too, but we didn’t want disruption or a bunch of deer-in-the-headlights shots. Although we had a fair budget, we knew we were asking a lot. In our search, we considered, and rejected, dozens of wedding photographers. Few had experience with dramatic lighting or live-action shots. Some had no eye. And then there was the pink. So much frilly silly pink. Time was running out.

We pressed friends and families for referrals, Googled for hours, pored through wedding forums and … finally found Eric. His wedding portfolio was smashing! His wedding shots were so…human. We felt them as much as we saw them. There were, of course, the usual wedding things; but mostly the people were amazing: active, diverse, funny, sweet, exhausted, thrilled—all of it. And then I saw Eric’s events portfolio: his talent for capturing action and light blew me away.

The rest was so easy…as easy as any miracle, at least. Eric was totally charming, professional, available, and affordable. He drove in from Waco with his son, Daniel, and they were everywhere at our event. Less than a week later, Eric sent us the photos. They were epic. We laughed and cried, reveling in the joy, ceremony, consultation, sober elderly advice, and, absolutely, kissing. Eric caught our game faces and our private moments. His photos are journalistic in their honesty, and also lovely. More than the way we remember our wedding, they are how we want to remember it.

Looking at the photos a year later, I also see how lucky we were. Eric is a great, rarely talented photographer. It was a joy to work with him, and I’d recommend him to anyone.

Bounce Brewer

Seattle, 2014