Tell us about your company.

We are Andrea & Renata, a pair of best friends who strive to create fresh images and fun experiences for the people who invite us into their stories. We met in high school and our friendship has grown over the past 13 years, 5 of those years shooting weddings together. We photographed our first wedding in 2008, on Valentine’s weekend, and since then it’s been our privilege to capture over 100 weddings and engagement sessions. We truly believe that we’ve found our niche in the world with wedding photography.

Photo: Natalie Franke Photography

How did you find yourself in the wedding industry?

On New Year’s Eve 2008, a friend asked me if I’d photograph her wedding Valentine’s weekend of the same year. As a seriously amateur photographer who just purchased a DSLR, I obviously said yes. :) I knew I needed someone to come assist and immediately thought of Renata. We shot that first wedding scared out of our minds with two cameras and a lens each. We loved it. After that, we committed ourselves to learning about the industry and the craft. We practiced tirelessly, found mentors, took business classes and blogged our little hearts out. We became Andrea & Renata officially in 2009.

What inspires you or your work?

Though it seems an odd answer, our families really inspire us when it comes to wedding photography. When we first started, we were both newlyweds, fresh off the wedding experience and could completely relate to couples in the planning stages. The importance of capturing those moments for other people weighed heavy as we had just lived them in our own lives. These days, we find ourselves thinking a lot about our kids during weddings. We’re actually helping to leave a legacy for the families we serve and that fuels our work ethic and passion. Legacies are our ultimate inspiration.

What do you love about working weddings?

Hands down, the people! We have been so blessed to meet such incredible people, be it our clients or other vendors. We’ve made lifelong friends through this industry that we certainly wouldn’t have met otherwise. It’s such a privilege to hear other peoples’ stories and be a part of them.

What’s your favorite part about a wedding?

Always always always photos of the bride and groom. There’s this great pressure when we’re shooting just the couple; we know it’s very likely that one of the photos we take will be displayed on a mantel for years and years as a memento of when their family began.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your field?

Wedding photography is not just about photos; it’s also about the experience and not everyone is a good fit. We tell every couple we meet with that there needs to be chemistry between us and them. If they find us annoying or something is just off, it doesn’t matter how much they love our photos, what they’ll remember is that time our talking got on their nerves. In the past we’ve taken on clients that we felt weren’t the best fit and, while the photos were gorgeous and the couple fantastic, there may have been another photographer out there as a better fit for their expectations. We love our clients and, of course, want couples to hire us, but not at the risk of being disappointed with their photos!

A good piece of advice you can offer to brides and/or grooms to be:

Do an engagement session! We actually require an engagement session for all of our couples because of the benefits. As I mentioned before, a big part of wedding photography is the experience of having your photo taken and it’s crucial to be comfortable with the person photographing you. Engagement sessions are a no pressure, laid back time to break the ice. On your wedding day, we want to show up and feel as if a friend were taking your photos – that’s how you’ll look your best and like yourself!