Favorite Vendor Day 3- Michelle Walker

Our next oh so fabulous photographer is the very talented Michelle Walker! We are so excited that she is guest blogging on our week of Favorites as she truly is one of our most favorite photographers! Michelle has worked with us on so many weddings I can't even count them all and she was even my wedding photographer for my wedding! I could not have imagined my wedding without her! So without further Adieu....Let's Welcome Michelle Walker~




Hi! I’m Michelle Walker and I am a wedding, portrait, & travel photographer based in the SF/Bay Area (and I travel worldwide for gigs).
People never ask me how many weddings I’ve photographed – why is that? The answer is (drum roll, please)… 375. That’s A LOT of weddings! I love weddings and still get (absurdly) excited for each one (just ask my girlfriends). Weddings inspire and move me and I’ve cried every single one.
Instead of a boring old BLOG entry, I want to do something fun and tell you about my 3 very favorite things that I’ve seen at the weddings I’ve been to:
1. A few years ago at a wedding at Villa Montalvo (which is one of my very favorite places on the planet), a fabulous couple did a tango as their first dance. It was sexy, sassy, and totally unexpected given the formality of this wedding. I’ve never forgotten it.
2. A beautiful bride I photographed at her family ranch in San Juan Bautista wore her mom’s dress. I’ve often heard of this, but I had never seen it actually done. She had it retailored to a more modern style, but kept most of its original design. Mom cried, the bride cried, I cried. It was beautiful.
3. My bestest friend (Amy) and I have developed an addition to my photography package called SnapShot. Our tagline is, “Let Their True Personalities Shine”, and boy does it! We set-up a portable photo studio at your wedding. Not one of those photo booths, but a real portrait studio with lighting, umbrellas, custom backdrop, and everything you need to make sure your guests take fun, candid & whacky photographs of themselves. Your guests will LOVE it!
And I sometimes get asked, “What was the favorite part of YOUR wedding?” When I was married (on 2.2.02), a friend of ours serenaded us to “What a Wonderful World” - A Cappella. It was truly magical. Now my husband and I do this really cheesy thing… wherever we are in the world, whatever we’re doing, whatever time it is, we call each other when we hear that song. I’ve been in a smoky club in Havana, the desert in Northern India, and at many a wedding when I’ve called him. It connects us and reaffirms our feelings about each other.
I hope you can get some inspiration from the ideas above. In the years that I’ve been photographing weddings, the best are the ones that reflect the couples personalities & style – not something that a magazine or friend tells you to do. Follow your heart and you’ll never go wrong.
Michelle Walker
Michelle Walker Photography
http://www.michellewalker.com/
michelle@michellewalker.com
(415) 235-5400