Today, I'm super thrilled to write about Kara Shultz, Storyteller, serving the Chicago, Milwaukee, and Lake Geneva areas. First off, I have to say, Kara is just one of those no-nonsense, get-it-done people that you want to have as a friend... or, even better as your photographer/wedding day best friend. Kara had a baby on Christmas Eve, and she selected, and then re-sized images for this post within an hour of me asking for them. One handed. During a feeding. Which leads me back to the inevitable conclusion that new mothers are slightly magical, but I digress.

Kara Schultz describes her business in a way that always kind of profoundly delights me. Maybe because I'm also a super-doer, and I'm just thrilled with the idea of you having someone like this at your side on your wedding day. She says, "I am… a timeline goddess, a pro at zipping and lacing up dresses, expert at removing stains on different fabrics, never hesitant to sew your bustle back into place, always willing to fix your hair or put your veil back into place, not afraid to mix you a drink in the limo if I have to, willing to lay on the ground to get that shot, happy to sacrifice my clothes so you can sit on a bench or on the ground, an expert dress bustler and know all the types, speech writer extraordinaire, willing to talk you down when you're on the verge of a meltdown, the reassuring voice that everything is wonderful on your wedding day, there to help you in whatever way you need, your sounding board and confidante, the one who makes you dance with your wife/husband at the end of the night, a comedian to make you laugh. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure your day is yours." I LOVE THAT, you guys. I seriously love it.

But more than all that, I want to talk about how Kara's work has grown by leaps and bounds in the past year (but her pricing totally hasn't, so you should snap up this deal now). I mean, girlfriend is on FIRE. Her portfolio is full of super clear, emotional, and compelling shots. And all of it is sort of, cough, no bullsh*t. Kara doesn't go in for trends or frills. She just delivers rock solid photographs that tell a clear emotional story in one frame, over and over again.

And let's talk about her excellent pricing. First, she offers a special no frills APW package for $2,300. And, she's also offering y'all a free 16X20 canvas gallery wraps, because she thinks everyone deserves wall art. Most of all, you. You can see more about her pricing here, but seriously, snap this up Chicago and Milwaukee, because these rates are too good to last.

But beyond all that, Kara just loves you guys. She says, "I love working with APW people because we get each other. It's an easy relationship to have and they're realistic. They understand that, at the end of the day, the wedding isn't about the stuff at the wedding. It's more about the people. That's how I photograph primarily. I love photographing people, not things; I'm a people photographer, I love the interaction between them. My goal is to show who the couple is, and it's what I love to do. Whether they're silly or romantic or anything in between, that's what I like to do. I love to capture their love in the moment and their friends and family that surround them. My primary focus is to give the couple that lovely piece of wall art that they can cherish for years to come, and to give them art that they can use to tell the story of their love on the wedding day. In the end, it's the couple that's most important to me." Which, I mean, right?

And when I asked her about her artistic philosophy, well, I'm just going to give you her verbatim answer, because it's hilarious, "Be yourself. Have fun. Wang Chung tonight. (wee what sleep deprivation does to a person???) Ok seriously though, my philosophy is to focus on the couple and give them amazing images, so they can blow them up and display them on their walls. I'm also everything for them on their wedding day from counselor to best friend to emergency florist to DOC to medic. I try and do it all!"

I mean, basically? I think Kara Schultz is who you want to have on your team. I mean, when was the last time you read a sponsored post where the photographer offered to be your medic, if things suddenly went awry? That is good people right there, and that's not even talking about the photos. (Oh, the photos.) So go! Play! And, well, obviously you're going to have fun, so you really should send me pictures, just to be fair....

Sometimes, I think that the UK has the most phenomenal luck when it comes to wedding photographers. And that never seems to be more the case than when I think about Lauren McGlynn Photography in Scotland. The full story about Lauren is that she's an American who moved from Austin, TX to Aberdeen, Scotland just over a year ago. The sort of miraculous thing is that it was you guys, Team Practical, that helped allow her to pick up stakes and move her business whole sale to another country. You trusted her artistry, you invited her to share your weddings, you invited her to your weddings and your book clubs and your lives, and she repaid you a thousand times over with gorgeous, quirky, and emotive pictures of your weddings.

And the best thing about Lauren is how much all of you just like her. I routinely get dispatches from Scotland about what good people she is and how fun she is to have a drink with. I mention this, by the way, because I think it's extremely important to want to get a beer with your wedding photographer. Under no circumstances should you hire someone to follow you around on one of the more momentous days of your life that you wouldn't voluntarily spend a night at the pub with.

And what magic she's done with your weddings. This year alone we've featured her APW-er collaborations with Eva & Tyson's crazy Austin dance party wedding, Sarah & Steven's Edinburgh wedding during a riot (I met Sarah at the NYC book tour party, and she is rad. Hi Sarah!), Anne & Alex's simple and stunning church wedding, Nora & Luis's Welsh foodie wedding, and the wedding where Lauren first discovered APW, Devereaux & Justin's kick ass wedding. So to say that Lauren loves and understands you is really an understatement. She actually adores you.

Lauren told me, "Me and APW couples are like peas and carrots, or neeps and tatties if you will. We always genuinely really like each other, which helps me to take extra special wonderful pictures. I think that I became a better photographer in 2011 (Editors note: She totally did. So 2012 couples watch out!), and that is thanks in great part to the magic that happens at APW weddings, but it's also because APW couples trust me enough to give me the freedom to be creative. Most of the weddings that I have booked so far for 2012 are APW weddings and I couldn't be more excited because I'm feeling really inspired. I did a round up post of my personal work in 2011 too, and in it I said that 'My aim for 2012 is to create images that are beautiful and interesting and honest. I want to continue to evolve as a photographer, and yet hold fast to my authenticity.' I'm really sincere about that, and excited about it too. I think that APW weddings are perfect for making that happen because they posses all of the qualities that I'm after: beauty, honesty, and authenticity." Which basically means, I can't wait to see what you guys create together.

And. Lauren McGlynn Photography is so thrilled to work with you (as ever) that she's offering a special offer if you book with her soon. She says, "To celebrate my wonderful first year in the UK, I would like to offer a 20% discount to APW couples who book me within the the next six weeks for weddings in 2012. That means that they can get a full day's coverage, with a disk of all of their retouched high-resolution files, starting at just £960, and I don't charge travel fees for the UK. BAM." And that, my friends, is an amazing deal. One you should be jumping on right this second.

And that's not even mentioning all the other things Lauren is up to. She does a phenomenal photobooth (with a long time APW reader). She's been shooting an amazing portrait series, including this really lovely one of a couple who's been married more than sixty years. And her round up from 2011 weddings, and portfolio, will make you feel totally magically in love with her work. And that's not even mentioning her excellent prices. So go have fun together. I can't wait to see what 2012 brings....

Before we get to the Big News part of this post, I just want to take a time-out to say how thrilled and excited I am to get to write a post for Hart & Sol Photo. It might or might not be the case that I basically yelled these ladies until they gave in and started a photography business. But it's definitely the case that Hart & Sol Photo started with essentially zero money and a whole lot of faith in APW sponsorship and you guys. And you repaid that trust over and over and over. But what has been truly amazing for me to see is how Hart & Sol Photo has repaid your trust in them with a tireless dedication to their artistic work and building their business in an organic and meaningful way. And now, a year later, their portfolio is totally different, and totally awesome. Their work is growing so fast you can't quite figure out how it's happening. And that's amazing.

And heck. As you know, I like the women (Maddie & Monica) behind Hart & Sol Photo so much that I hired one of them to be my right-hand editor on APW. And, I've worked with them in real life. Maddie recently came with me to shoot my excellent hair stylest (Wes!) and when she gave me the pictures, I was totally blown away. Her work has grown so fast and so hard that I didn't even know what hit me.

Which brings me to the big news. If you've been paying attention (even just to this post) you probably noticed that things were changing for Hart & Sol Photo. Up until now, Hart & Sol were a Tri-State Area based operation. But then in November, one half of H&S (Maddie) moved out here to San Francisco. Well! I'm delighted to be the one to get to announce that Hart & Sol is going bi-costal. That means that both the East and West Coasts can get the Hart & Sol artistry, humor, awesomeness, and affordable pricing. That. Is. Amazing. Bay Area: you've been warned. Awesome is now in your corner (and LA: Maddie will totally travel to you for the cost of a flight). Now, let's talk details. (Oh! And the West and East photos are the photos taken by the respective West and East photographers, and you can roll over the pictures to see who took them.)

Hart & Sol West

From Maddie: When I first heard the news that my husband had gotten a job in California, my initial thought was, "OMG how am I going to tell Monica?!" (Which, by the way, is not the appropriate response when your husband has awesome news, FYI). Over the past year, we had worked so tirelessly to create an amazing brand, and you guys rallied so hard around what we were doing. You were excited about our vision, our art, and our partnership. And you made this company something awesome. So when we were faced with the challenge of splitting ourselves up over a few thousand miles, we felt it would be a complete injustice to the faith you put in our budding business to call it quits right then and there.

So we have exciting news.

Monica and I have decided to franchise our business and will now be offering services on the East and West Coast. Today marks the official launch of Hart & Sol West and Hart & Sol East, and we could not be more excited to share the news with APW first. And while we'll technically be running our own mini Hart & Sols on either coast, we are still very much partners (there are weekly conference calls), and you still very much get the Hart & Sol experience when you hire one of us.

And, since we could never officially call ourselves separate, we are still available to shoot a select few weddings together if you book early!

About Maddie:
I'm not one of those people who has had a camera in her hands since forever. But I am the kind of person who was always looking to take pictures of people in love. Actually, my poor mother has this 24x36 print in her hallway of some random couple sitting in central park that I took my freshman year of college and gave to her for Christmas because I just LOOOOVED it so much. (You're welcome, Mom). So. I've stopped pretending that I'm not an emotional person. I am. I mean, not disruptively so, but still. I care. A lot.

Because I'm so, ahem, in touch with my feelings (I'm a Cancer, I can't help it) my goal as a photographer is to take whatever you're feeling at a given moment during your wedding and translate that into a picture. Sometimes that means fuzzing things up a bit. Sometimes that means giving it to you straight. But I won't be satisfied until you can look at a picture I took and be transported back to your wedding day. Because it's like Meg says, "You're not going to remember what your wedding looked like. You're going to remember how you felt."

Hart & Sol East

From Monica: When I think about our new business venture, I keep coming back to the idea of mitosis. We came together and created the brand that is now called Hart & Sol. And even though we're now operating on separate coasts, and while we're still obviously distinctly different people, we can't help but carry the DNA of the other with us when we shoot. So, whether you're booking Hart & Sol East in NYC or Hart & Sol West in San Francisco, you're still kind of getting both of us. And we think that's pretty awesome.

About Monica:
A few years after he passed, I was gifted my grandfather's massive amateur photo archive. As a total photo nerd, I was in loss of words and feelings when it came to losing him. I sifted through about twenty boxes of color slides and unfolded an unbelievable photo-prologue to the couple who I would lovingly come to call, "Granddad and Grandma," back when they were just William and Beverly.

The first couple of boxes held images William took while enlisted as an army cook during the Korean War. The photographs were not Time Life material by any means, but a slice of life as he lived it... rough, dirty, on the ocean, on edge, in the unknown, and... away from his new wife, my grandmother.

The second half chronicle his return, William and Beverly reunited, looking young and svelte. He traded his tattered uniform for a pair of fantastic horn-rimmed glasses and she wears a dress I am pretty sure I thrifted at the Salvy sixty years later. They are glamorous and hip, a pair of Madmen extras... and just as romanticized as I could continue to pine on, but I slowly realized that the William and Beverly in these photographs were real—the same grey haired miniature enthusiasts that smelled of coffee, expensive dryer sheets, and untreated lumber.

(So why am I telling you this story?)

I've never been a hopeless romantic, in fact, I've been rather realistic when it comes to love. So let's get real: I want to create your photo-prologue. I want to supply you with a stress-free wedding vendor experience (Do those exist?) that leaves you with photographs that will usher your granddaughter into a whole new respect and love for you.

I want to fix your dress or boutonnière if it's lookin' crooked, and keep you in full supply of Clean and Clear oil sheets on hand, in case you're lookin' shiny. I hate getting my picture taken, so I know where you're coming from, but I promise you—you're beautiful. Hart and Sol mitosis gives birth to H+S East, based in Brooklyn, but willing to travel. We will continue to use a mixture of digital and film to document your day as it unfolds. You can find us at the corner of Art and Schwank.

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And before we go, I have one final Hart & Sol story for you. It pretty much sums up why I love them, why you will love them, and why they are the most APW photographers ever. It might, however, make you teary:

A note about this couple above: They were not our clients. We were shooting a wedding at city hall for a different client, and these ladies came up to us and told Monica that their witness had bailed and they weren't going to be able to get married that day if they couldn't get another witness. So two awesome things happened. First, our amazing clients (these lovely people):

agreed to let Monica leave their wedding to be witness to these women. And then of course Monica not only played witness to these ladies, but photographed them for free. Best. Day. Ever.

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I know right? Maddie and Monica are your people. So I'm beyond proud to get to introduce the world to Hart & Sol West, serving the San Francisco Bay Area (but willing and ready to travel), and Hart & Sol East, serving the Tri-State Area (but totally willing to travel farther for you guys). You're going to have an amazing time together. I know this, because I've talked to past Hart & Sol clients, and it's nothing but love and more love....