Nashville weddings

There are many different kinds of photographers in the wedding world. Some have been married; some have not. Some have been in the business for awhile; some have not. No matter who you choose, you should pick someone that you trust and can get along with.

Kristyn Hogan is one of those photographers. I had the pleasure of meeting her at Weddings: The Bridal Show on January 17th. Not only does she take beautiful photographs, but she is a joy to talk with as well. And, if you have been drooling over our ad in HER Nashville, Kristyn Hogan, lifestyle photographer provided the stunning wedding images for the collage.

Kristyn is a lifestyle and documentary wedding photographer capturing the story of fabulous weddings in Nashville and around the world. She has been involved in art since she was a little girl. “When I was 9 years old I picked up a camera and fell completely in love. I even dressed my 3 year old baby brother up in a suit, wrapped a white sheet around the neighbor girl, and took them into the backyard to take their ‘wedding photos‘.” Now, that sounds like true passion to me!

Kristyn loves weddings. She especially loves capturing moments in a life that will be cherished forever with generations to come. “I love creating art out of life. I love stopping motion and holding onto it forever.”

Vendor Spotlight: KRISTYN HOGAN lifestyle photographer

How did you get started in weddings?
I picked up a camera when I was about 10 years old and never put it down. A friend asked me to photograph their wedding when I was 18 years old, and 6 years later, I just never stopped! Since then I’ve photographed over 100 weddings all over the world from Nashville to Iowa to the Caribbean.

What do you like most about weddings?

I am a photojournalist and a romantic at heart so weddings are really the perfect place for me to be, capturing real moments and real love, weddings are just full of them!

What’s your favorite wedding pic and why?

This is such a hard question! Even narrowing it down to 15 drives my husband nuts because I can never decide! So today I’m going to pick 2. I love these because they are at the core of what I’m about, capturing emotion and moments on a wedding day.

I love this first because it tells such a strong story of the bond between this bride and her friends. I feel such a strong connection to all these girls because later the maid of honor crying here as she watches her best friend say her vows became one of my brides as well and I was able to experience as they all celebrated again on her day!

I love this photo because of the joy and spontaneity of the moment. This was my 2009 Hurricane Ida wedding that I shot in Mexico and on their day after photo shoot we ran to the beach during a break in the rain and before I even had a chance to do anything the groom picked up his bride and ran her into the ocean. You can’t pose moments like that.
 

What is your service philosophy?

Tell the story. And tell it well!

What are your strengths compared to others in your category?  / Why should a bride hire you?

I am consistently inspired and moved by the people that I photograph and feel so blessed to be given the once in a lifetime opportunity to photograph a woman’s wedding day.  To me, that is such a high honor.

Who are your 5 favorite Nashville wedding vendors – helpfulness, professionalism, style?

Nashville is truly like no other place I’ve been in that we are teeming with amazing people serving the wedding industry and I have so many friends that I am blessed to work with! Hillary at Brocade is magnificent. For wedding planning, I don’t think you can find better than Mary Alice from A Delightful Day and Kristin from Simply Stunning Events. 2Duce2 rocks it in the cinematic videography house. And lastly, I’ll defer to my favorite source for Nashville vendors, read below.

Who do you recommend when you’re not available/not a fit?
I am blessed to be a part of the amazing StudioWed Nashville which is filled with amazing hearts in the Nashville wedding industry. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of us.

What do you read/watch regularly to stay on top of wedding/event trends?

Well, I’m not going to lie, I have seen every episode of Say Yes to the Dress. What can I say, I’m a sucker for wedding dresses! But to inspire my work, truly, I watch people. I don’t necessarily want to capture the trend, I want to capture the real moments that are timeless and true and will be cherished forever. And there is no inspiration like the inspiration of the people I photograph.

Let’s discuss current wedding trends -

What trend do you love?

Infusing a wedding with the couple. I love when a wedding day reflects the bride and groom and things aren’t done just because a wedding is “supposed” to look or be a certain way. Oh, and I love when brides wear fun colored shoes!

What trend do you hate?

I’m not a big fan of the tradition that family photos have to be stiff and on the altar. Does anyone ever actually like the way those look? I completely love doing family photos and I love when brides want relaxed portraits with their family in a location that is actually nice for pictures. And 10 times out of 10, even traditional grandma ends up loving them.

Past trends -

Trend I’m glad is gone?

The 80’s :). Source: Google Images.

Trend I’m sad is gone?

Ancient times when the groom had to protect his bride by fending off attackers on horseback? That could be interesting to photograph :)  Source: Google Images.

What are your favorite wedding websites? / Neatest wedding find?
It’s amazing how many online resources we have today for planning weddings. Even when I got married 2 ½ years ago there weren’t nearly as many as there are today. A few that I have enjoyed recently: Style Me Pretty, Southern Weddings, The Bride’s Café, and Etsy for all sorts of amazing finds!

Advice for brides?
Have fun, put as much emphasis on your upcoming marriage as on the planning of the wedding and hire a wedding planner, trust me, you’ll need one! Oh, and hire an awesome photographer : )

Today’s blog was written by Cassandra, ABG’s newest bridal blogger.  She is also a Nashville bride-to-be and writes from her unique perspective!  Read more about Cassandra’s here.