Shutterbrugs Photography- A+++ wedding photographer!

Melidell · May 16, 2010

I just got back from our wedding in Santa Maria Cuba this week and I have to put up a review for our amazing photographer. We used Mandie from Shutterbrugs photography ShutterBrugs Photography - Award Winning Photography, Wedding, Portraits, Maternity, Children, Event Photography She was absolutely incredible in every way- bringing her along with us was the best wedding decision we made, hands down.

Before our wedding I was nervous about trying to hire a photographer "long distance," but I live in a remote area and I knew the chances of me meeting with our photographer before we left were slim. I did a lot of research and looked at so many different destination wedding pictures before I narrowed it down to Mandie. I already loved her (amazing) work before I contacted her but it was her personality that really won me over. She put me at ease right away when we spoke over the phone- she's positive and friendly but very professional as well. What really struck me the first time we spoke was the pride she takes in her work- it sounds like a cliche but she's extremely passionate about what she does and it shows. The first thing I said to my husband once we'd wrapped up our phone interview was "this is it- we NEED to hire her." It didn't hurt that we found her prices very reasonable, and her package was really generous as well. Plus she's had a lot of experience doing destination weddings- it was a good feeling knowing that she really knows what she's doing.

From then on it was smooth sailing! We kept in touch with emails and the occasional phone call leading up to the wedding. This was great because by the time we got to our resort I felt like I knew her and we were on the same page. My husband and I sat down with her a few days before the wedding and went over all of the details and we were good to go. Mandie had a lot of great ideas and input for us and I knew we were in good hands.

On the wedding day things could not have gone better. She really put us and our guests at ease- I was amazed at how well she could gel with our group without having met any of them before! She was great at giving direction when it was needed (like for those group shots where you're trying to get everyone together and it's like herding cats ) and also really good at fading into the background during more personal moments (when we were exchanging our vows). It was a good balance. Most of the time, though, we felt like she was just another one of our guests (she just had a WAY nicer camera).

The highlight of pictures for both of us were our "Fash the dress" sessions. Yes, sessions, we ended up doing two! We did a really fun shoot in the water- we played in the ocean, the sand, the showers and the pool at the resort- it was a blast! I didn't think anything could top that, but I was wrong! The next week we travelled into some of the smaller communities off of the resort with a couple that we were "sharing" Mandie with and that was amazing! We all wanted something different than your typical beach pictures- something that would show that we were in Cuba, not just at a resort. What we got was absolutely incredible- I've been looking at my teaser pictures all day and I can't believe that those are actually MY wedding pictures. It's almost surreal.

To wrap it up- getting Mandie to do our pictures was the best investment that we could have made. She was a pleasure to work with and went above and beyond what anyone could have expected to make sure we had a great time and wonderful, beautiful pictures. Pictures are so important- once the wedding is over those are one of the only things that you get to take home with you. I would have been nervous trusting something that important to just anyone, but with Mandie I didn't worry for one second. I would recommend her to anyone in a heartbeat- and I know we'll be going out of our way to hire her again for any other big moments that life may bring us.

Feel free to check out her slideshow of our wedding- I think it speaks for itself:

ShutterBrugs Photography Life, Wedding and Portrait Photographers in the GTA

JENISE · May 16, 2010

Awesome pictures. Love the black accent on your dress and veil. Your trash the dress pictures look great too. Your photog did a wonderful job. Congrats on becoming a Mrs.