hi there! i'm michelle, southern california based photographer and curator of the coco gallery.

welcome to my blog where i share my life, my latest adventures, photo projects, random nuggets and the occasional stray thoughts.

for clients: to view my portfolio just click on this link - theCOCOgallery.com. to book sessions please send me a message through theCOCOgallery.com or contact me via michelle@thecocogallery.com | 949.734.0604



Tuesday, March 29, 2011

mila | money woes + wedding pictures

the current economy is killing budgets across the country ... well, everywhere except for north dakota i hear.  it sucks to be an artist trying to make money right now because art is not a necessity for most.  it also sucks to be a bride planning a wedding.

curtis and i finally got married this month!  we kept it very very small and very very private.  to be quite honest, it was just a formality for us.  we've both been through this before and we really didn't want to do much OR spend much.  we would have opted for just a sibling each to invite since we needed witnesses but if you invite one you should invite all.  so four turned into sixteen but it was still beautiful, intimate, fun and memorable but very very chill and affordable.  it was a courthouse ceremony and a sumptuous dinner.  i'll have to share all the gorgeous details when the photos are ready to be shared which....as a photographer, it was the one thing i couldn't sacrifice.  and nobody should!!!  so i asked my good friend katie of katie neal photography to take our pictures.  she was the one who introduced me to the wedding photographer industry a LLLOOOOOONNNG time ago.  or so it seems anyway.

this process of planning a wedding in 2 months really made me appreciate that brides who want something simple and affordable don't have very many options unless they are willing to sacrifice quality and reassurance.  by that i mean that there aren't very many qualified photographers willing to book weddings far in advance for budgets under $2500.  i want to help this little segment of gals out so i have a proposal.  i'm going to offer 2 options to choose from at a magic price of $1500 for one 2011 budget bride a month .




WHY?
i was there and i get it and you shouldn't have to sacrifice your memories  *  you need help  *  i might be available 

WHAT'S IN IT FOR MICHELLE?
it fills my need to be generous   *   the economy sucks for all of us  *  it's limited time so i finish your wedding and i still get home to my daughter at a decent time    

WHAT'S THE CATCH?
i'm not doing this just for anyone  *  i need to know that you truly value photography  *  i will only do this for small, intimate weddings like mine or the brides that are real victims of the budget crunch  *  i need to know that the effort will be appreciated  *  i need to know that i'm choosing to help you instead of making money elsewhere or having fun with my family for a very good reason  *  you need to convince me that we are right for each other  *  i will only do one of these per month for the remainder of 2011  *  acceptance is subject to availability of course and is at my discretion   

WHAT'S THE FINE PRINT?  WHAT PRODUCTS ARE AVAILABLE?
email me and i'll send you all the details.

HOW TO APPLY
send an email to michelle@milaPhotography.com
 on the subject put WEDDING CRUNCH
tell me some details about your wedding and WHY i should consider you
expect a response at most after 3 days.  if i haven't responded you should follow up w a nudge of some kind.


please don't email me wanting in on this very special deal and then tell me you are expecting 300 guests or that you have a vera wang gown.  all that tells me is that you and i don't agree on the value of photography in which case i'll either send you my regular price list or refer you to a fellow professional.  please, this is a special deal for the people caught in the middle of a financial storm but still deserve to preserve memories of love.  

and now i would like to share a sneak peek of our own intimate wedding.  photos courtesy of katie neal.


1 comment:

  1. Oooohhhh! That photo of you guys on the stairs is AWE-SOME! LOVE LOVE LOVE!

    ReplyDelete