Hi, my name is Tanya Shepard and I'm with Azure Photography.
I'm Ken Shepard with Azure Photography.
And welcome to our home studio in Bobby, Washington.
The style of Azure Photography, we actually came up with a label for it.
We call it the illustrative style of photography.
And it's basically a blend between the best of the group photographs
and the best of the very photojournalistic, candid style.
The goal being to create very fun, very, very natural photographs
that really tell the story of the wedding day.
We're Justin and Jessica Fox.
We just got married at the Lake Union Cafe on April 5th, 2009.
So when we were first planning our wedding, photography was something that we knew
that we really wanted to splurge on, something that we wanted, you know,
it was really high as far as a priority.
Yeah, pictures were probably a number one priority, definitely.
But on top of that too, as far as in my mind was what type of an investment
it was going to get into, because I had no idea.
My name is Sharon Romento, and I'm one of the catering sales managers
at the Woodmark Hotel.
One of the top photographers on our list is Azure Photography.
We have their albums up at the front desk that we show when we sell weddings to people.
And they're always like, oh, who made this album?
And you know, I just let them know Azure Photography,
and I just let them know that I used them for my wedding.
You know, I met Tanya probably two years ago when I started working at the Woodmark,
and she did a lot of weddings.
I looked at her work, and it was just something that I've always wanted.
We started Azure and met us at the hotel where we were getting ready.
It was such a special time, especially with my mom,
because it's such a mother-daughter moment, you know,
when you're first putting on your dress and all your jewelry,
because I had some jewelry that was my grandma's and who's no longer with us.
And it was just really, you know, emotional, just bringing back, you know,
all those, all those thoughts of, oh, you know, it's just, it's so exciting.
Photography and videography was like pretty much the important, you know,
two vendors that we wanted for our wedding.
I mean, you have video and pictures the rest of your life.
I think just actually like seeing, I think in working at the hotel
gave me an idea of like how they work, like with their client.
You know, you have to like get along with your photographer,
because you're with that person the entire day.
They're, you know, like telling you how to pose,
they're telling your family, your friends how to do things,
and you want to have like that good relationship or rapport with them.
I think there's three elements that are the primary criteria.
Number one, they have to really be moved by the photographs.
They like need to end the albums.
The album is the end product, so it's not only the photographs, it's the album design.
The next criteria I think would be the person that they're working with.
They have to feel very comfortable with that person.
They're going to be one-on-one with that person their whole wedding date.
So that would be the second criteria, the third would be prices, obviously.
So it's a balance between those three elements, but probably one of the real important points
is that they feel comfortable with the person that they're working with.
You know, we really wanted to make sure that we had a connection with our photographer.
We wanted to make sure that it was someone that, you know, we felt comfortable with.
Someone who was willing to go out of their way to meet our needs.
And we totally found that with Azura.
Even when we were at the school, we, you know, took all these group shots.
And it was, you know, my bridesmaids, his groomsmen,
and just positioning us so that, you know, we actually look like we like each other.
We're not just, you know, standing there.
Because we've all seen awkward shots, you know, where people, you know,
they have their arm, you know, hanging out somewhere crazy.
But they're just very helpful and, you know, in directing, you know, who needs to be where.
We really want to capture that really natural look of them and who they really are.
That was really important.
And just from what I've seen before, you know, from working at the Woodmark,
I just knew that everything that she did was very, like, precise.
There wasn't anything that she left out.
Like, she took photos of every single detail.
Just extraordinary photos that I've seen.
And I knew, I knew exactly, like, what I wanted.
So that's why I chose Azura.
My favorite moment of the entire day was the first glimpse.
The first glimpse is when, you know, they see each other for the very first time.
Typically, a few hours before the wedding, you know, seeing them together
and just focused on each other for that first glimpse.
Everyone's crying.
They're crying.
I'm practically crying.
It was really just a very, very sweet moment.
Yeah.
So I saw him standing there and he had his back towards me.
And so I was just kind of, like, walked up and, you know, tapped him on the shoulder.
And then he turned around and he was just kind of like, you look beautiful.
And I was like, oh, it's like my baby.
When I first saw his face, you know, I just started bawling.
I just started crying and it was just so emotional.
She looked very beautiful, elegant.
I could, in a picture, you know, picture anything better.
From getting ready, we actually went straight to Cary Park in Seattle.
And that's where Justin and I saw each other for the first time.
And getting to see the look on his face, you know, when he saw me for the first time.
Because, of course, I was there in that moment, but actually seeing it, you know, from the photographs.
It was just, it was so great.
Azura took some photographs of her walking down the street and walking across the street.
Getting to see the smiles and the girls walking behind her.
Yeah, that was awesome because I had my back to them.
That was great.
And they set it up just perfect so that we just had that moment where we first saw each other.
Yeah.
Yeah, Azura did a great job with that, too.
Getting to SPU was probably, you know, very meaningful just because we met there.
We graduated from there and just going back and taking pictures from there and, you know,
and watching everybody around us, looking at us, telling you that you look so beautiful.
You know, it's just, it's cool.
Yeah, and they just have an eye, too, for just finding, you know, little places.
It may just be, you know, the side of the old building, but just the pictures, just looking at them today.
I mean, it just looks like artwork.
It's amazing.
I love most, honestly, is making women look beautiful.
It's so much fun to create a photograph that I know is the most beautiful, amazing photograph
of her that she's ever had taken.
I love that.
It's just, it's so exciting.
Creating images that are just absolutely beautiful on a day when conditions are not always the best for that.
It's still being able to come up with things that just absolutely amaze the couple.
Sometimes showing them on the event, the back of the camera, and their jaws drop,
and they go, I can't believe that you did that right here.
Because it was one of the areas, you know, in the wedding that we really wanted to spend some money on,
we just cut back in other areas and made it, made it work, and it's definitely worth it.
We really do feel like we have the best job in the world.
I joke it's the only job I could find where I always get hugged at the end of the day.
Yeah.
So, thank you so much, everyone.
We meet lots of great people and end up with friends afterwards.
Yeah.
That's great.
Thanks, Acira.
Thank you.
You guys are great.
You guys are awesome.
We love you.
Thank you.
