We were recently interviewed by CanvasRebel and it made us reflect on our mission and the story of how we’ve got to where we are today. We thought it would be nice if we shared some of that interview here on our blog too!
What’s the Story Behind the Mission?
When we were getting married back in 2013 it was so hard to find the wedding vendors that we could identify with as a young black couple. Instagram and Pinterest were relatively new so the main way people were finding wedding vendors were through Word of Mouth and at very impersonal Bridal Shows. The photography aspect of our day was very important to us as we had started to become obsessed with photography in 2010 and were very passionate about our hobby. We knew that we wanted two photographers, we would prefer one of them to be male and the other female so that they could flow well with our day’s plans and of course make us feel comfortable in front of their camera so that we could have some amazing photos. A bonus would be if they could understand our culture and feel like family at our wedding. We never found exactly what we were looking for, even though we loved the photographer that we picked, we were surprised that what we were looking for just wasn’t anywhere to be found.
While on our honeymoon, we made the scary realization that we may need to step up and become what we wanted to see. A young black husband and wife team that’s excited to capture not only photojournalistic moments of the day but beautiful portraits that can stand the test of time. The only problem is that we’ve never shot a wedding before. We both took photography courses in college and Garrett was even featured in a local gallery. We did street photography and family portraits to help pay for our own wedding. Now that our wedding was over and done, were we going to continue with that? It had become such a big part of who we were then but would that be a part of our new married life? These were all things we debated while on our Honeymoon. We ended up agreeing that we would just let is play out organically without pushing it.
The week we returned from our honeymoon we shared our photos from our time in Jamaica together and my inbox lit up with wedding inquiries. We never mentioned that we were thinking of getting into the wedding industry but we had friends who wanted us to be a part of their wedding. Come to find out, my friends who were engaged were also looking for a photographer with the same qualifications that we were previously searching for. They saw that we could potentially be that for them if we were up for the challenge.
One thing about me and Garrett is that we’re always ready for a challenge.
We did additional research and rented way too much camera equipment and shot our first 8 hour wedding. And it was AMAZING! I fell in love with it the very first day and truly felt like this is what I was meant to do with my life. Capturing one of the best days of a couple’s life together and giving their family the gift of printed memories to be passed down from generation to generation is something that we’re obsessed with. Each wedding we strive to be even more creative than the last while practicing different techniques to make our couple feel more comfortable on one of the most anxious days of their lives.
Our first year of wedding photography we shot 6 weddings including a Zambian wedding and a Jewish wedding. We fell in love with learning about different cultures outside of our own and that’s really propelled us into what we do now. It’s been an exciting 9 year journey throughout the wedding industry and we’ve seen so much change for the better. We feel so blessed to be in this space and we’re excited to see where it will take us in the future!
I became a Full-time photographer at the end of 2018.
And right after that jump, We had our first and only baby in 2019 just to turn around and deal with COVID throughout 2020. This was a big experience for us and our whole business model changed through this process. Everything actually changed for the better and now were so much more streamlined and organized more than ever. So many of our clients struggled through that time so we made it a priority to make their wedding photography experience as easy as possible. We’ve stuck with that mindset and I think our clients really appreciate it.
We are a husband and wife photography and videography team based in Baltimore, Maryland;
however, we shoot weddings all over the world and love visiting new places. Together we are Fearless, Personable and Professional photographers passionate about building relationships and creating unforgettable wedding experiences. We are in love with capturing life-changing moments and crafting images that are dream-worthy, charismatic and timeless. But even more than that, we are dedicated to helping couples get the best value out of their wedding planning process.
We’ve been the bride and groom planning a wedding for the first time and searching for the perfect vendors for our day, We lived through it and now we’re here to help. We’ve studied the art of photography for 10 years and have been shooting weddings together since 2014 (right after we were married). Although we’ve started as Street Photographers, finding and discretely shooting moments that will never happen again, we are honored to bring that skill and our personal expertise to service engaged couples.
Love Deeply,
Megan + Garrett
Mike + Hali