A photojournalist can document your day as it really happens, and get the formal poses you and your families will want. But you must hurry. Many of our dates are already reserved.

Your wedding day will be a sum of the choices you make in preparation for the one of the biggest days of your life. Some of the choices you have made in the past resulted in wasted effort, disappointment and failure.

But you probably can think of a few choices that have paid off in spades-those that produced results far beyond your wildest expectations.

I’d like to help you make one of the most important choices anyone could ever make in planning a wedding. Every bride and groom needs a wedding photographer they feel comfortable with, and will be happy to have chosen long after the bridal gown has been packed away and the thank-you’s posted.

You won’t have a second chance to look so good. It pays to trust this all-important day to a studio that creates a storybook you will be thrilled to own ... of a day that was uniquely yours ... and photographed in that way.

Our service is so comprehensive, and creative style so unique that each year we find more and more of our brides coming from referrals. The reason for this is simple: we love to photograph weddings.

Michael’s work is award-winning, and our clients remain our friends years after their wedding day is done.

Michael is one of the few photographers in the Pacific Northwest to enjoy the status of Certified Professional Photographer. This means he has passed a series of tests examining his creativity, technical expertise and business integrity.

That may sound impressive-but it’s only important to you if it means a wedding day that’s fun and images that are awesome. You’ll get all that, and more.

• You’ll absolutely love your storybook. When your portrait collection leaves our studio, it won’t be just a bunch of pictures taped in an album. It will be a storybook: every time you turn a page, those two pages will journal one part of your day.

Visiting our studio is the best way to see exactly what we mean. We spend more time designing and assembling your album than we do photographing your wedding!

• You’ll look great! At Anastasia’s our passion is to portray who the two of you really are, capturing real expressions, and posing the two of you in ways that are natural. Michael’s artistic skill and craftsmanship flatter you in every way. His discernment and calming presence help bring out the best in those when they’re in front of his camera.

• You’ll have fun. With most of our wedding portrait collections we offer generous amounts of time before and during the wedding. That means we can go to scenic locations (for example a park or a viewpoint). We can take the time to make sure you have fun. If weddings aren’t fun, something is wrong.

• You’ll be relaxed. Because we don’t limit our time or film, you don’t have to worry about us taking care of you. And because we love weddings, you guests will enjoy being around us. From start to finish our goal is to cover weddings in a way that is fun for everyone yet professional in every way possible.

• You’ll know exactly what to expect on your wedding day. We have a special system so everyone included in your wedding photography knows exactly where to be and when to be there.

This isn’t based on a cookie-cutter list of poses that we do for every wedding. This list is specially customized by you and our staff to meet your exact needs.

You’d be hard pressed to find this kind of service anywhere else. Ordinary studios simply couldn’t afford to live up to it. I photograph every wedding we book; no one else will show up at your wedding and tell you they’ve been subcontracted to create your wedding images.

My assistant and I work as a team, with the sole purpose of telling your love story-a blend of classical portraiture and contemporary photojournalism. From start to finish our purpose is to create a wedding album your friends will fawn over.

So when you choose Anastasia’s for your wedding portrait design, you’ll have the confidence that you’ll get what you want, when you want it, with no hype, no double-talk and no excuses. Ever.

Some brides make the mistake of selecting their photographer without researching what they’re really getting for their money. At Anastasia’s Portrait Design, you always get MUCH more than what you pay for.

That’s the kind of business philosophy that offers clients true value. The real value in our wedding photography is the confidence that such important images will turn out well, our creative style will capture the real you, we will help the day run smoothly, and you will get an album that you will be thrilled to show off.

We make this promise because of our philosophy. We believe wedding photography is more than different combinations of the same groups of people. It is telling a story that is uniquely yours. A color, a mood, an essence that is yours and no one else’s. They are moments in time that unfold throughout the day. Fleeting memories preserved on film forever.

This is our philosophy of wedding photography. But more importantly, what is yours? Is it all right if the photographer ignores the little things that make your wedding different? Is it okay if he rushes you through the reception photographs because he has to be across town in fifteen minutes to start his next wedding? Do you mind being charged extra if you think of additional poses you want during your wedding day? Do you want your wedding images to look like everyone else’s?

Every wedding is different, and you are the best judge of what is right for you. These practices never happen at Anastasia’s and you have our guarantee that you will be thrilled with the portraits that we create for you.

(Note, this is supposed to read "After..." not "Adter...")

...We really begin to go to work. This is what makes an Anastasia’s album really shine. Before you arrive to see your wedding images for the very first time, we design the pages from an artist’s perspective. Remember the storybook concept we mentioned earlier? We spread the pages out on tables, in order, so you can view your album all at one time. Your album will tell the story of how your day unfolded, from start to finish.

Viewing your album this way is so special that we usually leave the room while the two of you linger over your wedding images.

The two of you will actually relive your wedding day. You’ll be amazed at what you forgot or didn’t even notice on such a timeless day. With every page open at the same time you are able to easily go back and forth over the storybook. Designing a perfect album has never been so easy!

After you’ve taken everything in you’ll make whatever changes to our design you like. It’s fast, easy, and you’ll get an album you will enjoy showing for generations to come!

Your wedding portraits are probably the most important photographs you’ll ever have taken. Certainly, they’re much too important to take chances on. And besides quality, you should make sure the photographer you choose is someone you are glad to have at your wedding. When you select Anastasia’s, you never have to worry. Here’s why:

Reason #1: You Will Look Your Very Best

By using a special portrait camera that has the appropriate lens length and film size for the most flattering facial perspective, I will make certain you look good. For formals (especially if you choose to have us bring backdrops), only flattering, diffused light is used to let this medium format camera expose your image onto high definition film.

During the ceremony and reception I use the same lens many photojournalists use that you see at presidential press conferences. This lens allows me to maximize the amount of light indoors.

But even better, I have complete freedom to cover your ceremony and reception with a journalistic feel. I can zoom in from the other side of the room to capture natural expressions, or I can photograph something nearby that might happen spontaneously. (Before I had this equipment I missed a lot of shots because I was busy changing lenses).

What this means to you is great candids! At the reception I can be back far enough that your friends and relatives often won’t even know I’m taking their picture. And because I don’t limit the film I shoot, you’re certain to end up with wedding images that have natural smiles and a very unposed feel.

Reason #2: You’ll Get A Style That Is Uniquely Yours

We don’t charge extra for Black and White Coverage. (I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t use Black and White for my photojournalism wedding photography!) And because I use a lot of film, you’ll have maximum choices after the wedding to choose the images that reflect just the mood you want.

Reason #3: Don’t Be Left Out

We tend to book half of all our weddings about six months in advance. Each year we set a limit on how many weddings we want to photograph. Taking action now will ensure you get the photographer you want!

Not only will you have one more detail for your wedding day secured, you’ll enjoy incredible value in the free consultations, the get-to-know-you session, the custom style and coverage, the unlimited film budget, the unlimited time before the ceremony (with most portrait collections), and most importantly, an album that really tells the story of your day.

What’s not to like?

Reason #4: An Exclusive Lifetime Guarantee

No doubt, you have pictures at home, (either yours or your parents) that may have some of the color fading. And no matter how important they may be to you, if they’re fading, you are out of luck. There’s nothing you can do to save them from further fading.

All portraits created by Anastasia’s Portrait Design come with an exclusive lifetime guarantee: if your wedding photographs should ever suffer from discoloring or fading at any time you own them, they will be replaced. Free of charge. Without hassle of any kind.

We offer this guarantee, in part, because we are members of Kodak’s Promise of Excellence. We use the Kodak films made especially for portrait photographers, and our professional lab uses the finest papers and chemicals provided by the Kodak company.

Also, you’ll go home with instructions on how to safely care for and display your portraits to minimize deterioration.

But, more importantly, in the unlikely event something should happen to your images, it’s nice to know that I just plain stand behind my work.

The really neat thing about our pricing is that it is risk-free: you choose only the pictures you want, in the sizes and quantities you'd like after you see your finished photographs. We've found that every wedding is different. Most brides don't know how many

Your day is a love story waiting to be told. There's no way we can anticipate how your wedding images should be properly sized until we can lay them all out and view them all at one time. This is what custom design is all about. After your album portraits are selected, you can use your remaining balance to choose the number and sizes of images you want.

Thanks for reading through this entire letter. Given our excellent quality, reasonable rates and customized service (even after the wedding is over), is there any reason to wait any longer?

Because you'll be selecting your images so that your album will tell a story, it's impossible to give you a price in advance, but we do have information under "pricing and collections" that serve as starting points.

Cordially,

Michael D. Wade, CPP
Anastasia’s Portrait Design

P.S. Because our availability is limited, we can’t guarantee your wedding date will be available if you wait too long. Many dates are already filled.