I Want to Thank my clients for their Trust!

2017 First Year

2017 was my first year working in Rochester, Minnesota as a wedding photographer. I used to come in Rochester, Minnesota, during the winter period (the best), and I went back home (in Paris) for the wedding season. But after a couple of summers far away from my wife, I decided to stay in the USA with her and establish my self as a photographer in Rochester, Minnesota.

It’s a new Adventure

It was a new adventure for me! I had to start everything from scratch. After creating this website, I started to search for new clients. And only then I realized that Minnesotan wedding market is not the same as in France! Indeed, here, wedding photography is a very famous job, especially for people seeking professional reorientation! A lot of people are bored with their jobs and passionate by photography, so they become photographers. I was extremely surprised to see the very high number of photographers normalized to the total number of Minnesotans! The market is saturated. And, given that American culture is really good at marketing, a lot of “photographers” manage to have a few“correct” pictures and to create a website that can easily fool a non professional.

It was great Great Wedding Season (mostly in Minneapolis and Saint-Paul)

That said, it was a great season for me. Most of my clients were people working in the image field or close by (photographers, designers, communication-related professionals, art directors). And at the end, I did more weddings than I expected! So thank you for your trust!
With no surprise, I work more as wedding photographer in Minneapolis than in Rochester. Indeed, most of my weddings were in the Twin Cities, or around, which provided me with the opportunity to visit Minnesota! I have even been in Duluth once and in Wisconsin twice!

I have discovered Nice Venues

Nevertheless I hope that next year I will be luckier and be able to finally discover the nice Venues of Rochester . I wish to cover some weddings at the Mayowood Stone Barn, the Plummer House, or the Barn of Glory.
So, if you are looking for a wedding photographer in Rochester, I hope you will consider hiring me! Call me, let’s share a coffee and tell me what you are looking for.

What I have learned this year, similarity between French and Minnesotan’s wedding

American and French traditions regarding weddings are almost the same. Nevertheless, and thankfully, there are still some thin differences that I notice:

– Bridal party and family session
– Second shooter
– No city hall
– Speeches all the time
– Bride and groom exit from the party

 Bridal party and family session in Rochester, MN

Bridal Party pictures concept is not the same as in France, where the group pictures are done after the ceremony and with every guest. Maids of honor don’t wear the same dress. In the better situation they wear the same color (or almost the same color, since each one buys her dress by herself).

Second Shooter for a wedding in Minnesota

Second shooter was a very frequent question this year. First, I believed it was a must have. So for the first time in my life, I worked with some second photographers here in Minnesota. Surprisingly, even for a professional photographer like me, they were very hard to find among the high number of amateurs! My conclusion is what I expected: in most of the cases, a second shooter is really not needed. I recommend hiring second photographer only for specific situations. But to the client, it’s a super good and easy marketing argument, it gives them the feeling they will have twice more pictures. That is absolutely not true (especially with photographers who come with their spouse or friends as second shooters). If you want to know more, read my article about the second shooter.

American rarely go to City Hall to get married

In Minnesota almost anyone can acquire a permit and become a wedding officiant. So in fact, you don’t need to go to the city hall to get married! That’s more convenient, It is a big time saving! And when it’s a member of your family, it’s even more friendly!

Bride and the groom like to do a grand exit

In Minnesota, there is usually an official time for the end of the party. And, not always, but often, the bride and the groom will plan a special exit. For example by using sparkles! That is extremely exciting and makes great pictures! I really love that!

Mostly Toast during your diner and barely games

I guess, the tradition differences between France and USA are more obvious during the diner. I won’t speak about food, but about the speeches. In the USA, there are always some speeches followed by games (that you barely do in the USA). And that, I think, is really great! Most of the time they are good talks, and make the bride and the groom very emotional. I believe that among the entire wedding, speeches are maybe the moments with the higher level of emotion!

What to expect in 2018 

In 2018 I hope to discover other Venues, in Rochester or in the Twin Cities. I also know some very nice Venues the long of the Mississippi. This year, I hope to have some amazing weddings, with special identities!

In 2018 I want to develop the After Day Session (or Trash the Dress session). By the way, I won’t use the “Trash the Dress” name anymore, I think it is frightening for brides who don’t want to trash it. And actually, I have never had a bride who trashed the dress during this session!

Last point, but not the least, I created some packages that include wedding albums. It makes it easier for the bride and the groom. Indeed, I have noticed, with regrets, that only a very few number of people finally made a wedding album. And that’s quite sad, because, the real final object of a wedding is the wedding album, not a folder of images sleeping somewhere on your computer. It is a little bit like a movie who would have been entirely filmed, but never released!