I first met Aimee and Dustin Hatcher at a bridal show in April 2011. At the time I was planning…read moreour wedding for NY in June 2012 and already had a wedding photographer. However, I was drawn to their booth because of the beautiful work displayed. My father was a wedding photographer and my mother is an artist, so I really appreciated the work the Hatchers did and was actually a little disappointed they were not located on the east coast. Later that day there was a drawing and I won a prize! When I found out that is was $100 gift card toward any wedding package with the Hatcher Studio, I was excited and a little upset that it was a gift card I couldn't use. Dustin and Aimee then told me we could use the gift card toward an engagement session. I went home and told my fiancé that I found an incredible photographer and wanted to do an engagement session with them.
Fast forward a couple of months, July 2011, we were planning where to have the shoot. Aimee suggested a bunch of really nice locations but was also open to suggestions. I heard of this one location, and my fiancé and I went to check it out. On the 16th, we had out engagement session at the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Jose. When we got there, I felt a little awkward at first having some intimate photos taken in a very public place. However, the Hatchers had us quickly at ease and within 5-10 minutes I completely forgot about everything happening and just enjoyed the time. We received the photos within 3 weeks and LOVED every one! It was so hard to pick which ones we wanted to use, so I resorted to using most of them in a photo guest book for the wedding.
A couple of weeks later, my fiancé and I changed our wedding plans completely. We pushed the wedding up to November 2011, and moved it to the west coast. The first thing I thought of was to have the Hatchers do our wedding photos. As soon as we found out that the day we wanted for the wedding was free for the Hatcher Studio, we went ahead and booked the rest. Yes, I planned the wedding around having the Hatchers take the pictures (that is how much we loved them)! Once we had the venue picked out, Aimee and Dustin drove all the way down to Pacific Grove to check it out with us. We were able to show them the location for the ceremony and reception, as well as plan out some spots for the photos between. After that we had a nice lunch with them and discussed the details. Both Aimee and Dustin are very involved in the work as well as love doing it. It shows in the end result.
On the day of our wedding, I was so excited to see them. It was like having old friends there. After both of them took photos of me getting ready, Dustin went down to my fiancé to get him and his guys getting ready. Aimee stayed with me and got some really nice candids of my flower girl, bridesmaids and I. During the wedding, they both seemed to disappear, never getting in the way of the actual wedding, but still somehow managing to take fantastic pictures. After, we had our posed photos with everyone (the entire wedding, bridal party and family). They pictures with just my now husband and I. During the reception, they never missed a beat, and took all the photos I wanted and more.
It took a little longer to get our wedding photos because of the fact that there were tons of pictures and also the Hatchers went on a vacation (which we knew about ahead of time and were expecting to have to wait). By New Years, we were invited over to their house for an unveiling of our pictures. I loved every second of it. My husband and I were able to take 2 DVDs full of beautiful wedding photos home with us that night.
Overall, I would , and have, recommended the Hatcher Studio to anyone looking for an engagement, wedding, or family photographer! I hope that once we have a family to use them again.