Unique Design Studios

From the moment I contacted Martha, she was disinterested and apathetic. She made no effort to get to know us or what we liked/wanted, and seemed annoyed by our attempts to do so. But her reviews were great and people I knew liked her. I have waited over a year to write this, trying to be fair and hoping that the sadness I feel when I look at our photos faded. It hasn’t, and it won’t. Martha was just as apathetic the day of our wedding, and our pictures show it. The few decent photos lack creativity and personality. Countless shots that I specifically asked her for are missing. For example, I had a mini first look with my Dad and nephews. Zero photos of that because the “lighting was bad.” I thought making sure the lighting worked was her job. My girls and I were wearing Louboutins. I specifically told her that I wanted photos of us together with the shoes on and the heels showing. The only photo I have of the shoes on a shelf is a still shot that she obtained from our videographer, even though she had hours to take one because my hair/makeup person ran late. No photos of me and the girls in our matching pjs or robes. No photos of the bride balloons and decor in our room. BASIC shots. I put on my earrings without thinking. She rolled her eyes at me. I told her I would take them off and she told me to forget it. That was the tone. It was clear that she didn’t like me, and didn’t care about capturing the moments or photos I had specifically requested. There are no formal pictures of my 80 year old parents. When I asked her after the fact, she said that the parents of the bride is not a shot she normally takes. No photos of us walking around saying hello to everyone at the reception-that was when BOTH her and her husband decided to have dinner, thus missing that entire sequence. I have no bridal portraits, maybe 3 photos of me alone. No photos with our officiant, a dear friend. Again, what we would all consider to be basics. I literally cried when I received the photos for the first time. So many moments missed. So many photos I specifically requested not taken. She literally argued with me that our welcome sign was never put out until I sent her a photo a friend had taken. She was never apologetic, only annoyed. We didn’t even do a wedding album because we couldn’t find enough good shots. We struggled to find a few to do a wall collage. Whenever I mention it to others, those who know her say, “wow, she seems like she had a really off night.” Except that “off” night was my wedding day, and I can’t get those moments that she didn’t capture back.