Who: Carly of Two Spoons Photography
Why: Because you’re into emotion-driven, feminist wedding photography and so is Carly. If Carly of Two Spoons Photography sounds kind of familiar, it’s because she’s pretty intensely plugged into the feminist wedding scene: in addition to taking incredible wedding photos on the regular, Carly is the co-founder of Catalyst Wedding Company (aka the world’s first feminist print wedding magazine) and works part-time as a member of Gloria Steinem’s staff. What does that mean for your wedding photos? It means Carly will capture your wedding without adding a Boy-Meets-Girl twist to it, and it means your wedding photos will feel like a celebration of love and community, not of ideals. Oh and no weird gendered posing. Because awkward.
Where/How Much: Richmond, Virginia, and around the world.Elopement packages begin at $2500 and wedding packages (which include a badass second shooter) range from $5500 (7 hours of coverage) to $6500 (all day and all night, plus an album)!
Carly Romeo of Two Spoons Photography is a woman after our own heart (and probably yours to). Which might be because she’s been around APW since she started planning her own wedding. As Carly told us:
When I was starting to explore options for my own love party, APW was the only online resource using the terms “feminism” and “wedding” in the same article. I come from a feminist background (in education, work, and activism) and was immediately drawn to the tone (and topics!) of the advice I found here. Once I started my own photography business, I realized that other ardent feminists who were navigating the tricky world of weddings would likely also be looking here for guidance and vendors! I think that couples who are working through the complex intersections of feminism and weddings have some of the most beautiful, truest celebrations of love—and those are the celebrations I want to document.
But Two Spoons isn’t just about feminist ideals. It’s also about creating authentic images that are a product of your relationship, not wedding industry standards. Here’s what she says most of her couples are looking for when the hire her:
- Spontaneity and realness in your images: Carly is self-taught, and she embraces shooting on the fly without over composing. It works.
- Photos that actually look like you (aka no weird Photoshopping)
- A photographer who feels like a friend (and the five star raves don’t lie!)
- No bullshit. Your wedding doesn’t have to be the day you’ve been dreaming of forever, and she won’t tell you it is. Like she said, “I believe weddings are awesome, giant parties celebrating love (romantic AND community love) but I don’t think they are the be-all, end-all of life.”
- Adventure! If you’re for someone who will be out-of-the-box, she’s game.
Carly‘s work is largely driven by emotions—yours, hers, everyone’s. It makes sense that the clients she works with have appropriately emotional responses to working with her, like this recent client:
Finding Carly…was an epiphany. I was immediately impressed by her talent. She has a warm, classic style that maintains a modern edge. Her work is evocative without being sappy. She has an excellent sense of what small details are meaningful, so you won’t end up with 50 photos of your empty shoes when you really wanted more of your family doing the YMCA.
Working with her was like hanging out with an old friend we hadn’t seen in a long time. If you hate having your picture taken or don’t think you’re photogenic (like me!), you’ll change your mind after seeing yourself the way Carly does. She has a way of making you feel so comfortable in front of the camera, you forget it’s there. We had no doubt that our photos would turn out wonderfully. I was especially pleased with how she handled the posed portraits our families wanted – we looked happy, natural, and not Olan Mills-y at all.
Carly is full of creative suggestions to answer any questions you might have. She was particularly accommodating of the special requests we made, and discretely navigated family dynamics and big personalities in a way that put everyone at ease. She worked seamlessly with the other vendors at our wedding to help everything run smoothly. She’s basically a wedding doula.
It’s one thing to find a wedding photographer who walks the feminist walk. Two Spoons Photo…dances the feminist walk and then does a feminist sprint. You can find out even more about Carly right here, and if you’re looking for an amazing way to spend an hour or two, her portfolio is so good you’ll end up in tears. Once you’re ready for all the goodness, send an inquiry her way and get booking!
Attention APW: mention this post when inquiring and Carly will hook you up with a $150 print credit.
