When I first started taking sponsors on APW a million years ago (ok, fine, three and a half years ago) my dream was to build a whole list of really no-nonsense, down to earth, talented, and hilarious wedding vendors. Partially, that's because I was up to my ears in the total bullsh*t of the wedding industry, and partially because building teams of no-nonsense, down to earth, talented, and hilarious people is pretty much my life goal (see my staff). And today I get to introduce you to brand spanking new APW sponsor and wedding photographer Amber Wilkie Photography, serving the greater Washington DC area. (WAIT! LET'S PAUSE! There are about a billion of you in Washington DC, and we've never had nearly enough wedding photographers for all of you, so I'm so thrilled to bring you Amber.) And the thing is, Amber Wilkie is just about the perfect fulfillment of my no-nonsense and hilarious dream. Which is pretty lucky for you.

Let's start with her pricing plan. First, it's not really a pricing plan. It's a price. For everything. She says you get, "Me and a second photographer for as long as you want us, high-resolution digital files and an online proofing gallery.  This costs $3500 and that’s not where it 'starts,' that’s everything."  She told me, "I have one price and it is for me and a second photographer all day, full-resolution images my couples can print anywhere, online proofing gallery and a small gift of print credit. Of course they can order albums or prints or gallery wraps, but they can decide for themselves what they actually want to buy and not have to juggle three different 'packages' full of crap they don’t need. I am constantly striving to make my business easier to work with. I want to bring my couples peace, not stress." Which is perfection. Also, she says, "Forewarning: I will call you dude. I will overuse the word actually. But I also promise to never refer to your photography package as an 'investment.'  We try to keep it real over here." Which made me do a spit take on my screen. Right Amber? RAD.

Plus! For APW couples, she's giving you a double print/product credit through the end of 2012. She says, "That’s enough to get a small album or a really big canvas or just a whole lot of prints." Why? Because she wants to, "bring your wedding photos into your lives, and not just your desk drawers. What a shame it would be to have a CD full of wedding images that only go on Facebook!" Which says to me she has your number and she knows what you value.

And boy, does she. Amber Wilkie Photography started advertising with APW in our Vendor Directory (not a bad place to start), and she told me this, "When I first advertised with APW, I didn’t have any actual APW clients. I do now and they are the freakin’ BEST. You know that feeling when you meet somebody and you instantly click and you could spend all day talking? That happens when I sit down with APW couples. My people are here. I think the best thing about APW couples is that they have thought about what they value and what they don’t value. And if they’re coming to me, they value photography (or else they wouldn’t throw down $3,500 on it). It’s really really gratifying as a photographer and business-owner to get inquiries from couples that care deeply about what their wedding photos look like. I think there’s also a draw for spunky people–and spunky women in particular–in this community." And really... that's all I want, in the end. I want you all to pair up with awesome wedding vendors, who are just as amazing as y'all, and love you for you. Which is, rather clearly, Amber.

And you guys love her right back. I asked one of her APW clients to tell me about Amber, and what she sent back was only the best testimonial of all TIME. She said, "Her images are crisp and clear, complex and simple, and highlighted everything I was looking for in wedding photography. Her images convey emotions and a presence in a way that make you feel you're sitting in a pew behind the bride with a 'kerchief stuck in your wrist, ready to dab at your falling tears. I sent her an email and she was just as lovely straight out the gates in a way you would imagine only an APW sponsor can be. After back-and-forth emails and a juggling of wedding dates I was thrilled to be able to meet her at the DC APW book signing. I walked into the book signing with a sadness weighing over me. My sister, my one and only sister, carefully chosen to be my Best Lady, called to say she couldn't come to the wedding. So there I stood in the tiny Arlington bookstore excited to met Meg, thrilled to lay my eyes on this talented and funny photographer and completely devastated that my sister would not be celebrating alongside my partner and I. And you know what Amber said, "I am so so sorry. I know your wedding is going to be awesome and everything will be ok." All I needed was encouraging words alongside my other favorite thing, VALIDATION and she delivered! This lady was beamed down from the heavens! She's a photographer and a comedian and a therapist? SIGN ME UP! Amber Lupin Wilkie is what Dan Savage urges us all to be in order to sustain lasting partnerships, good, giving and game. I begged for one thing on my wedding day and that is to take a picture in my dress on the DC Metrobus. She has promised to make that happen. I can hardly wait to see the magic we create!"

But beyond all that, let's talk about her work. It's excellent, emotive, clear, and beautifully composed. And I can guarantee you that Amber is on her way up... you can just sense it in her work. For starters, you need to go look at this Sikh wedding that Amber shot. I... ok FINE. I cried when I looked at the pictures. You got me. But whatever, you need to go look at them too. First, the pictures will blow your mind; second, you'll cry; third, you'll learn something.

Amber says, "My focus on a wedding day is storytelling. It’s the reason I offer 'all day' coverage. I don’t want my couples to have to choose which part of their day is important to document—it’s all important. So I tell my people I will show up for whatever they want photos of. For couple portraits, I give simple cues and try to bring out natural reactions. I know from personal experience the kind of images that couples want to hang on their walls—candid, creative, joyful—so that’s what I work on when I’m photographing the couple by themselves."

So DC ladies (and gents). I met you this month. I also met Amber Wilkie Photography (because yeah, she was totally at the DC book talk). And I think you guys are made for each other. Now, go make some magic and send me some pretty pictures!

Posted at 9:30 am

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