Amy Rizzuto Photography » The Official Blog

If you follow my blog, you have met Mekina Saylor by now.  You already know she is a fabulous wedding planner, my second shooter, and a great friend!  But do you really know what this girl is all about?  I have brought Mekina on as a guest blogger today so you can learn more about the incredible woman I call my secret weapon!

When did you fall in love with weddings?

This is embarrassing. I don’t ever remember not loving weddings. I was 4-years old when my mom caught me having thumb weddings, 12-years old when I started doodling wedding dresses, and 14 when my dad started sending me wedding magazines instead of teen ones. From there it kind of just spiraled into what I really feel is my passion. Now more than ever when I walk into a space my mind goes wild with ideas for a rehearsal dinner, ceremony, and almost always a reception. 

 

What do you love most about being a wedding planner?

In the beginning it’s just a vision.  A wedding: the rehearsal, ceremony, and reception are all just thoughts in a Bride and Groom’s head.  They may have the same idea of what they imagine this day to be like, or they may have completely different ideas.  That’s what I love.  I love imagining with them what they want as a couple, not just the bride and not just the groom.  I want to help actualize what they want represented on their special day.  At the end of it all, I love seeing the whole picture.  A timeline hopefully executed perfectly, months of preparation leading up to the love of the happy couple, and a celebration surrounded by all their loved ones.  It just doesn’t get much better than that.  

What goes into this process?

A lot of pre-planning and communication with the bride and vendors.

What do you love most about being a wedding photographer?

Besides working with you? I love having the opportunity to witness and capture the love of two people.  Each chance I get to step behind the camera I come alive.  I love styling shoots, seeing poses come to life, and getting to know who I’m shooting.  At the end of the day if I can look through my pictures and see that I was able to bring out and capture their happiness, I feel like a success.   I want to so something that brings me joy and I love that photography brings that to my life. 

How did you get involved in both?!

I have always loved the planning side, but for some reason, about  5 years ago, I began looking at photographers instead of planners.  I have found that photographers really know how to market themselves and I loved being able to see the different styles represented with each wedding or engagement shoot.  I quickly found what worked and what didn’t.  I wanted to pursue it in some way but I didn’t know how.  During this crazy stalking photographers stage I started hanging out more with Amy.  We immediately dove into wedding talk and shortly thereafter began shooting together.  Now we are working on trying to see our BIG dreams become a reality. 

Your favorite moment on the wedding day is…

I have many, but one of my most favorites, in which case I tend to tear up, are the vows.  Two people, standing in front of God and their loved ones, promising to spend the rest of their lives together.  This is something no one can take away from them. The looks represented on their faces are always full of hope, love, and an excitement for what’s ahead. 

First, more weddings! Second, Picture This Plan That! Third, going full time and continuing to love and have a passion for planning and photographing weddings for what will hopefully be the rest of my life. 

One thing you want readers to know about you?

Not everyone is going to like me or my style, and I want you to know THAT’S OK!  But I also want everyone to know I have dreamt about weddings my entire life, not my wedding, but yours. And we haven’t even met yet… how many people can say that?  Besides wedding related things, you guys should probably know I have a little problem called chocolate.  Hopefully we’ll get to know each other and while I’m learning about you, you can learn a few things about me too. 

 

It’s amazing how much we can accomplish when we come together.  Last night, nine photographers in the New York City area met for dinner at Mappamondo to laugh and learn from one another.   I can honestly say it was one of my favorite nights as a professional photographer. Being able to talk candidly about the challenges and great rewards that come from starting your own business with others on the same path was incredible.  So incredible that we sat chatting at that little restaurant in the West Village for FIVE HOURS!  No topic was off limits.  We covered everything from what inspired us to become photographers, to advertising and brand development.

There are some out there who might think we are CRAZY for meeting up to share all of our secrets.  I couldn’t disagree more.  By coming together with the intent of learning from one another, we are able to grow 10 times faster than we would alone.   I am so happy to have met this amazing group of people and I can’t wait to see how our friendships continue to develop in the years to come.

Mappamondo was adorable and SO delicious.  It turned out to be the perfect place for us all to meet up.

Can you guess what brought this group together?  The fabulous Jasmine Star of course!  We will all be attending her workshop called theFix next Friday in NYC.  If you are a photographer in the tri-state area, I hope to see you there!