TL;DR. Why Danette is the perfect choice for your wedding photographer: 1) extremely talented; 2) highly polished professional; 3) absolutely delightful person. I feel so lucky she was part of our day and would recommend her to anyone.
Danette Pascarella is everything we hoped for in a wedding photographer and more. From our first phone call with her, we could tell she was a lovely person who is passionate about her work, and we loved her work, so we decided to take the leap. In the run-up to the wedding, Danette went above and beyond in corresponding with us and making time to get to know our personalities and our backstory.
But where she really shone was on the day of the wedding. As someone who doesn't love having my photo taken, I'd been imagining that the photography part of the wedding would be something of a chore for me (the bride), a necessary evil. Instead, it was one of the most fun and joyful parts of the day. I loved having Danette there to photograph small, intimate moments like each of us getting ready and the "first look," the moment when we first saw each other all dressed up. Danette even helped me with some dress zipper issues and created a lovely moment with me and my mom that might not have happened without her there.
Then it was time for the photos of us as a couple, and Danette made it so much fun and so effortless that it was one of the most relaxing parts of the day. I felt like I was just getting to roam around our venue joking and making out with my soon-to-be-husband and I barely noticed we were also getting our photos taken. We felt like Danette and her assistant were friends hanging out with us even as they snapped away. She made us smile, she made us laugh, and she seemed to really "get" us and be having as much fun as we were.
After that, we did the group formals and Danette and her assistant breezed through them efficiently and speedily. Following that was the ceremony and I never even saw her there. We connected briefly after the ceremony for some shots, but after that, I was enjoying the dinner and dance party and barely noticed her presence except when she very briefly pulled us out of the party for an outdoor night shot. I wondered whether she had gotten enough photos, since I'd seen so little of her.
So about a month and a half later, when she sent us the link to our complete photos, I was absolutely blown away. Not only had she gotten tons of beautiful photos at every stage of the day, but she'd captured so many wonderful moments that I didn't even know had happened or had already forgotten about. The journalistic style of her photography is so vibrant and full of life--I had more than one person who wasn't able to attend tell me that, after seeing the photos, they felt like they were actually there for the wedding. And when my now-husband and I look at the photos, they totally take us back to the emotions and experiences of the day. Danette captured our families and friends so lovingly and beautifully, and she caught so many incredible little moments. But if you want the more traditional stuff, she's excellent at that, too--I couldn't believe how great everyone looked in the family formals, where it's so hard to get a big group of people in synch.
Everything Danette offers, she does in such a wonderful, classy way, like the gorgeous box of prints she sent us. Even the USB stick we got the final files on is a lovely keepsake.
I can't recommend Danette highly enough. I have only had one wedding (and hope to keep it that way), but it's hard for me to imagine any wedding photographer giving a couple a more wonderful experience than Danette gave us. read more