To help make the process a little bit smoother for anyone who is inquiring about my wedding photography services, I thought I would make an attempt at putting together a little FAQ containing the most frequently asked questions that I get with wedding inquiries.

1. Can you send me a price list? As someone who specializes in wedding photography, I put a lot more time and attention into the details and have packages that are customized for each of my clients, so there really isn’t a one size fits all list that I can send out without gathering some more information. What I can tell you is this… my packages begin at $2,700 (which is also the minimum investment requirement), purchases tend to average in the range of $2,800 – $$3,800, depending on the combination of products and services that are selected by each client. If you are comfortable working within that range, the next step towards getting an official quote is to set up a time to get together to talk more about how I can put together a package that fits exactly what you are looking for.
2. Do you sell the digital files? Why yes I do! I’ve actually never done a wedding for anyone who hasn’t elected to get the digital files. Along with having access to the files, you will receive a print release form that grants you lifetime permissions to make unlimited prints for your own personal use. I do still own the copyright, however, so don’t be surprised if/when you see your smiling faces on either to pages of my blog or featured in my portfolio.
3. Do you sell albums? Absolutely! In fact, I don’t consider wedding photography services to be complete without an album. A huge advantage to hiring a professional photographer is the access that you get to that photographers expertise in being able to visually retell your wedding story and the line of professional products that he/she offers to their clients. I personally offer three different lines of albums that help cater to different aesthetic preferences and price points. All of them are exclusively available to professional photographers and are absolutely stunning! I’m such a believer in getting an album in each of my client’s hands that my pricing structure is built around it. It’s the one and only way that I can guarantee that your photos will live on longer than your wedding day and that they will not just find themselves as an obsolete format of data that you may or may not be able to access as technology continues to evolve.
4. Do you offer “all-day coverage”? My coverage is based on putting together a timeline that works perfectly for you and your budget. I don’t have an option that is called “all-day coverage” because I truly don’t believe that it is necessary or provides a better product in the end. I say that after having offered an “all-day” product for the first two years of my business. I removed “all-day” coverage from my lineup for two tremendously important reasons: 1) Offering “all-day” coverage forced me to come up with a pricing system that attempted to average the number of hours that I would work on a wedding day. The result of that was that some clients wound up paying a higher hourly rate for me than others, depending on the actual number of hours I worked on that day. That didn’t sit well with me and I doubt that clients who came out on the wrong end of that scenario would be thrilled with the concept either. 2) I really do believe that too much of a good thing is just too much. I try to back into what will come of the photos that I take for you throughout the day, taking care to provide you with photos that each provide value to you. When a photographer is there for too long at either the beginning or the end of the day, you wind up with TONS of photos from portions of the day with less emotional value (like salon shots and dancing shots at the reception). These excess shots don’t provide the same level of value to clients as those from portions of the day with more emotional content and can get very redundant very quickly. Most people don’t want or need excess photos of those events so I prefer to allow my clients to customize their coverage by paying to have me there for exactly what they want me there for and only having to pay for exactly how long I was there.
5. Do you travel? Yes, I do. If your wedding is outside of Des Moines and/or Ames, IA travel fees will likely be incurred, however. I charge the governments standard mileage rate for all miles traveled in excess of 60 roundtrip miles and bill hotel fees back to clients if overnight stays are necessary. My general rule of thumb on whether or not an overnight stay is necessary is whether or not I am safely able to arrive and/or return from an event on a wedding day. Any drive longer than three hours requires me to stay overnight the previous evening in order to make sure that I am able to avoid any travel mishaps on the day of your wedding.
6. Do you offer a military discount? As the proud daughter of a United States Marine, the answer to that question is YES! I offer a 5% discount off of your total package. That generally winds up resulting in a savings of a couple of hundred dollars. All you have to do to get your discount is send me a picture of either your or your fiance in their dress uniform to prove that you qualify and I’ll get you all set up. This discount can only be applied at the time of purchase, so please make sure you mention it before your booking is complete.