Who: Emily of Emily Merrill Weddings
Why: One of the first things I noticed about Emily Merrill is that on her website, her contact form says “tell me about yourselves.” Not “tell me about your wedding” or “tell me about all the details you planned on Pinterest.” YOU. And that’s a lot more telling than it probably seems. Because it means she’s not here for a certain kind of wedding, or a certain kind of couple. She’s all about what makes you, your partner, and your wedding unique. Of her everyone-and-everything approach, Emily says:
I’m an outdoorsy, kumbaya around the edges type of person. Expect lots of trees, big skies, rolling hills, and flowers to show up in pics. I’m a city gal too, so cityscapes, busy hotel lobbies and elevators are wonderful places to shoot in. (I do my best to avoid tourists and random strangers wanting to take pics of you.)
When it comes to my working style, I’ve been told I’m a “very professional sweetie pie.” I think my work is classic enough to be timeless but not cheesy. I want to photograph you as you are, but in the best possible way that makes you look amazing. I direct when appropriate and pull back and let it all happen without any interference when it’s necessary. I’m adaptable to photography requests, and really shine when I have the freedom to work in the moment.
Your Mom and Dad will be over the moon with your portraits, and your friends will love looking back on their crazy dancing skills. Oh, and flower girls and ring bearers ALWAYS listen to me.
Where/how much: Emily Merrill Weddings is based in San Francisco, but travels all over the region. Her City Hall/Elopement package is $1150 (2 hours of coverage, a password-protected online proofing gallery, and USB of the high-resolution photos) and wedding coverage starts at $4000 (and includes face-to-face consultation, location walk-through, 8 hours of wedding coverage, a password-protected gallery, and the USB of the high-resolution photos). BONUS: there are no travel fees for Santa Barbara, the Central Coast, and Connecticut weddings.
One of the more frustrating aspects of the wedding industry, is that it often works in extremes. There are photographers who are ALL ART EVERYTHING, and photographers who think it’s still 1985 and it’s cute to pretend you’re dragging your partner to the altar. Which means that if you just want classic wedding imagery, with maybe a little art thrown in, it can be a really frustrating experience trying to find a wedding photographer who can do both. But Emily Merrill Photography is all about balance (girlfriend contains multitudes). Yeah, she comes from a Fine Arts background and has not one, but two BFAs (one with a focus on printmaking and silk screening and the other in photography), but she also loves fitness crazes and hiking. And since she doesn’t want to be put in a box, she won’t put you in one either. Her only priority? “When you look back at your wedding photos, I want you to feel fabulous and proud.”
Emily also has range—physical range, since she lives on both the East and West Coasts (which means no travel fees to Connecticut and minimal travel fees in the rest of New England). But also artistic range: she’s super comfortable shooting portraits, working with kids, and happens to specialize in nude photography. In fact, most of her wedding couples initially find her via her Boudoir photography services, and after the wedding they return when they’re expecting their first child. Where can you see that artistic eye the strongest? In fleeting moments like this:
As the couple above put it:
Words can not express how much we LOVE the moments you captured from our wedding day. Moments which we can now treasure always! Working with you was an absolute joy! You took my oh so long shot list and delivered more than we could have ever hoped for. We didn’t just receive amazing wedding photos, we got to meet a truly talented artist who we now consider our friend!
Emily’s favorite type of weddings to shoot are wine country affairs, but she also excels at small, intimate celebrations and elopements at city hall. You can see more of her wedding work and her portrait portfolio, and when you’re ready (which is basically right now), get in touch to book her for your wedding.
As a special for APW readers, EMILY MERRILL is honoring her 2015 prices for all 2016 weddings. so go ahead and GET on that today!
