Now that we've had time to review our actual photos, we sadly have to update our initial review…read more Going into the wedding we were so excited to work with Chris. But once we really took a look at the photos, we realized we got very little of what we wanted. Before the event, Chris seemed meticulous. He met with us twice and asked detailed questions about our family trees, and we explained who the really super important guests were, aka the guests we wanted lots of photos with. Looking back at the pics, it seems like Chris either didn't hear the majority of our requests, or he heard them and was just too overwhelmed to handle them. During our meetings he stressed a few really important photos, like one with the groom's parents and the bride and groom, one with the bride's parents, photos of the elderly relatives whose presence at the event we'd want to cherish...also his personal favorite of the bridesmaids all looking one way and the bride, in focus, looking at the camera. Somehow, Chris failed at delivering those photos at a high quality - the ones he was passionate about. Most of them are unusable. Chris is definitely a nice guy, but his work quality wasn't what we were expecting, especially for a wedding that was essentially all in one building (no frantic driving across town, searching for parking, etc.). If you are looking for someone to shoot a very, very low key event or a wedding without many moving parts or complications, working with him will probably work. Anything higher stress than that I would recommend working with someone else.

I had the pleated working with Katie Jean and she made the whole stressful experience so much fun…read moreand gave me so much thought into how to get the most out of my day. My wedding was out of state and as you could imagine so much more stressful. She was my rescue. She shot my whole day and brought so much joy. This was the best decision I made. I would recommend to anyone.

We loved working with McKenna! She is so friendly, kind and made us feel better through all the…read morejitters and even more excited through our joy! We did a small micro wedding in an art gallery and she was so flexible in working with us even though all the details didn't come together until right before! I would definitely recommend.

McKenna did an amazing job wrangling even the rowdiest family members for extended family photos…read more She did a wonderful job reminding us to stay on schedule, but was relaxed and flexible enough to let us enjoy every moment. Her attention to detail was spectacular. She was accommodating through multiple postponements due to Covid-19. She brought fun energy to both our engagement pictures and wedding day while still remaining very professional. All expectations were stated and communication was easy. Most of all, our photos are so dreamy- they capture all of the sentimental and funny moments of our big day in a way that is polished but still so authentic to us.

If you want unique and gorgeous wedding photos: you want Brian. We've received tons of compliments…read moreand I highly recommend picking him for your big day. - Throughout the entire process, Brian was very professional and had an answer to every question. He's experienced, and has a backup plan for every scenario, which made us feel very confident in him. - Brian was very easy going and open to suggestions during our engagement shoot. He made us feel much less awkward than we did going in. - Our wedding day was a blast and Brian and our second shooter (Luke) went with the flow for the sudden weather changes (which made our planned outdoor locations less than ideal) and were quick to adapt for every lighting scenario in our mostly dark venue. They made everyone feel at ease, even this high-strung-but-trying-to-be-chill bride. Brian and Luke got some amazing shots and did some really awesome edits / tricks with lighting which made for some very memorable photos. (We've gotten a lot of compliments!) - We got previews of our photos and the photos themselves very quickly after the wedding (within a month we had all the photos digitally, and only a couple weeks after that we had our little highlight video). And we received a thumb drive in the mail with all our images as well. - The Video Fusion add-on is something I'm so glad we decided to do with Brian. While we didn't want to pay for a full videographer, the video fusion gave us a four minute little highlight reel to capture the joy of the day in such a cool way.

We had a large family Christmas party that was going to include 4 generations all together in one…read moreplace - the activity room at my grandmother's senior living facility. Brian was flexible and accommodating throughout! Family was running late because of snow - no problem, he popped out to see his grandmother for a bit and then came back. The surroundings in the activity room were less than glamorous - no problem, he figured out shots that did not accentuate the flowered carpet. Some family members were having trouble because of the large numbers of people in the activity room - no problem, he took pictures out in the hallway. He even hung out and ate soup after the pictures were done AND agreed to pose in a picture with my aunt (which I took and made the final cut!). Brian delivered a beautiful and thoughtful assortment of pictures that included every single family member multiple times and really captured the mood of the occasion. I am so grateful!

Our family photographer we have been using for years decided to pursue another career which left us…read morein need of someone else for our yearly family pictures. Wendy was recommended and we couldn't have been more pleased with our session. She was great to work with and got my son who doesn't smile in pictures to smile for one of the best pictures of him.

From the owner: I'm a photographer serving Milwaukee and the Northshore suburbs including Fox Point, Bayside,…read moreShorewood, Glendale, Whitefish Bay, Mequon, Cedarburg, and Grafton. My favorite thing to do is to take photographs, and my photo sessions are fun and relaxed, and emphasize emotion and connection. I won't force anyone to pose in a way that makes them uncomfortable and I'm really good at getting reluctant children (and husbands!) to cooperate! I love all types of photography and I offer family,  maternity, lifestyle newborn, high school seniors, documentary, headshots, and special event photography including birthday parties. I'm also a licensed teacher and absolutely love working with kids. A little more about me: I'm a wife, and a mother to two young girls who are growing up too fast! I also have a tortoiseshell cat who is the most photographed subject in our house! I live in the Northshore suburbs and our family loves taking walks and going on bike rides together. I'm originally from New York but I've lived here for over 20 years.

Jessica is amazing! The best photographer I have experienced! She had creative ideas; was succinct…read moreand deliberate when she took photos (didn't waste your time); was efficient and allowed for many poses and settings; was pleasant , professional and friendly. I cannot saying enough great things about The Refinery Photo Studio!

I was long overdue for updated head shots and I am very glad that I chose The Refinery for this…read moresummer's session. I was able to book several weeks in advance and lock in a time for an outside shoot. In terms of the studio, the place is very cozy and the "dressing room" area even features R+Co Hair Products which are awesome! Jessica is an excellent photographer and the outside session has fun and nicely paced. Afterwards, we went back up to choose the ones I'd like to keep and have as final products. In under two weeks, I got the link to my gallery and I am quite happy with the array of finalized images. I highly recommend the work of Jessica and Ryan.

Shopping for wedding vendors is a stressful experience, and Sound By Design didn't make matters any…read moreeasier for us. We had to wait more than four weeks to get an appointment at a time that worked for our work schedules, though Dylan was very friendly and personable. He asked questions that were more than just the surface queries about music styles and the venue, and we enjoyed the meeting. Having met with other DJs previously, Sound By Design came in a bit higher than the other quotes, but we really liked the overall vibe. We asked if they could match the price of our other leading vendor and received no reply. At all. I fully expected to hear that they don't negotiate their prices insert generic policy language here, I did not expect to be ghosted by the company like a bad Tinder date. For argument's sake, let's say that the interwebs failed and they did not receive the email in which we inquired about negotiating on the price. In that scenario, wouldn't Dylan have reached out after not hearing from us? His line of questioning had us with the impression that the personal connection was important to Sound By Design, but I fear that is just lip service. In the end I went two stars since their lack of answer made a potentially difficult choice that much easier.

We hired Sound By Design for a photobooth and specialty lighting at our wedding. The photobooth is…read moreincredible, amazing lighting and high quality images that look professional. The photos can be texted to your phone and there is a viewable online gallery that can be accessed by anyone with the link and you can see every photo saved. I love that I am able to look back on all of our guests photos! My only complaint were the props provided but I was told it was a coincidence. We specifically told our planner we loved Michael Jordan and that Space Jam is our favorite movie but ended up having props from the new Space Jam and a bunch of Lebron props. We are not Lebron fans so we quickly got rid of those when we noticed. No biggie though. I docked a star because we had paid for specialty lighting after the dinner and we had to track down the coordinator for this because they didn't switch the lights over. The lights were supposed to be multicolored throughout the venue and change to the beat of the music but they didn't start this until a while after dancing had started. We had to actively search for the vendor coordinator to figure out what was going on. We thought the stage lighting was supposed to change too but they kept those lights normal and bright and then eventually changed the rest of the venue's lighting. Overall, I definitely recommend the photobooth but if you have specific props you want, maybe coordinate that better with the vendor. If you choose to hire them for lighting as well, establish a timeline and plan for it so you get the most of what you are paying for without any hiccups.

Sarah was a dream come true photographer! We used a different photographer for engagement photos…read moreand hated the awkward poses and how rigid we felt. Luckily we found Sarah with fresh frame by word of mouth. She really listened to what we wanted for our wedding photos and always made sure that we felt comfortable along the way. She was so flexible and caring. The day of our wedding she made taking photos fun and easy! She has an incredible eye at catching the light and finding the right spots to make incredible photos. Our entire bridal party commented that taking photos was not a stiff or awkward, but rather fun and light-hearted. We just received our photos and I am truly amazed. She was able to catch such beautiful moments to make the most perfect memories. Our photos look amazing. The only problem now Is figuring out which to frame!

From the owner: Documentary Style Wedding Photography, Senior Photography, and Infant Photographyread more