When it comes to finding a wedding photographer, you might be looking for someone you can send a contract and deposit to and then not chat with for eight months, or you might be looking for someone who is all in with you from the beginning—answering questions, inviting you to coffee, getting to know you and your wedding plans, and so on. If the latter is your dream, then allow me to introduce you to New England’s Kelly Benvenuto Photography, a longtime APW sponsor who is all about her people (and with rates starting at $3,490, you should probably be all about her, too).
If you’re wondering why Kelly goes the extra mile in getting to know you, it’s because her priority is photographing people—you, your partner, your people, and the story you’re creating together—over pretty Pinterest details. As she told us:
APW readers are kind, generous, and thoughtful, and their weddings are so full of intention, crafted to be true to them as a couple, and fun and welcoming for their guests. I want the images I create for my clients to honor them as people, the folks they’ve invited and chosen to celebrate with, and the day they’ve created. For me, the wedding and the photography starts with the people—the love, joy, energy, and emotion between the couple, and also within their community of guests. Weddings are so full of moments; they simultaneously feel like a feast (all of the expected moments) and a treasure hunt (all of the unexpected moments). I want to gather them all in images for couples to relive later, wrapping them in the warm embrace of these memories. It’s in the spontaneous hugs; the heads tipped back in laughter; the way your dad looks at you when you walk down the aisle; the glances you exchanged during the ceremony; your friends, cousins, and grandparents all on the dance floor; and your friend holding your hand and telling you just how happy he is that you two have found each other.
For Kelly, substance comes before style—although you can tell from her photos she’s got plenty of both—and her goal for every wedding is to tell the complete story of the day through the people and their interactions, light and location, and yes, details. Because her focus is on your wedding, you can’t pigeonhole her photography style: it’s not “light and airy” or “dark and moody” or whatever other words you want to push together to appeal to current trends. Her style is simply about capturing moments like this:
And definitely this:
Now that you’re in love, let’s chat about the details. Kelly’s pricing starts at $3,490 for 7 hours of wedding day photography, and includes the high-resolution images with a personal use release, plus a complimentary engagement session to get comfortable together and in front of the camera. Extras like a second photographer, rehearsal dinner coverage, or albums are available as add-ons to any package. Packages include travel within 75 miles of Boston, and Kelly is also available for travel farther afield. This, according to one happy client in Michigan, is well worth it:
Kelly is simply amazing. We discovered her through APW (the sanest corner of the Internet when it comes to weddings), where she had a guest post describing her philosophy as a photographer. Instead of mimicking the latest trends on Pinterest, Kelly has a knack for capturing even the subtlest feelings of the day. She accomplishes this in part with her secret ninja skills. As someone who is normally incredibly self-conscious in front of a camera, I could honestly say I barely noticed her there. And when we reviewed all the photos for the first time, our most frequent reaction was, “How did she manage to capture that?!” It’s like she was in many places all at once—and there were few (if any) posed smiles in any of her wonderful candid photographs.
Although we wrung our hands about it at first (after all, we kept thinking, couldn’t we have found a similar photographer more locally?), we flew her out from Boston to Ann Arbor to capture the full weekend of events (welcome dinner, wedding, and farewell brunch), and had absolutely no regrets. Kelly was a calming presence throughout all of our interactions, collaborated well with our videographers, and was meticulously organized. Since we had an ethnic wedding, there were a lot of traditions and moving pieces that were perhaps unusual to her, but she was completely cool with it all.
And the resulting photographs? Absolute works of art! We made photo books as Christmas gifts, and they were a huge hit. (Definitely find some way to print them, because they deserve to be brought to life outside of a USB drive!) We’re still making more prints and thank you gifts (it’s been six months since the wedding), and we keep finding something new with every pass of the photo books. Her work inspired our family so much that my sister-in-law is flying her out to San Francisco for her own wedding this year! Book her now; she is absolutely worth every penny.
If you’re in New England and looking for a wedding photographer who is everything you are—kind, generous, thoughtful, and smart—contact Kelly Benvenuto ASAP. Your photos will be full of intention and completely true to you—and at the end of the day, that’s what you need.
BOOK Kelly within the next 4 weeks and get $300 off your package, or an extra hour of photography!
