Dawn Binz Photography

My first experience with Dawn Binz photography was actually second-hand.  She appeared at my father's store that he owned at the time, a florist that employed survivors of brain injuries and those with other disabilities.  The store provided these individuals with vocational training and life skills as well as a pleasant work environment and a daily routine.  When Dawn had moved to Connecticut and heard about the store, she wanted to help out.  She went to the store, introduced herself to my father, step-mom, brother, and store mascot Molly and took some pictures to promote the business, thereby also promoting her photography business in the state she now resided.  Here are some photos from that day.

Dawn also has a facebook account.  You can look her up by name.  These photos are from the album entitled "Supporting Local Business".

When I was looking for a wedding photographer, my father suggested I give Dawn a ring.  He said I would like her.  She was bubbly, energetic, and talkative.  I didn't realize just how talkative until our consultation meeting, which lasted 2 hours.  Although it was long, we got a lot accomplished.  Dawn let me know that no matter the circumstances, she would be at my wedding shooting, rain or shine.  Since it was a backyard wedding, this was a big deal.  She also let me know not only was she not a fan of traditional photography (especially the "fan" formation of wedding parties at weddings) but she tended not to shoot that way.  She considers herself a "non-traditional urban journalist" according to her About Me section on her facebook page.  This was fine by me.  I tend to be the kind of person who enjoys taking candid shots of people in social situations because they show raw emotion and they aren't posed, read: fake.  I knew after that meeting Dawn would be a great photographer for my wedding.

Also at this consultation, she provided me with a thank-you gift bag which I thought was really special.  It included things such as candles, chocolates, and an eye mask that said "breathe" across it (which was exactly what I did not stop to do when planning my wedding!)  She really made me feel cared for and her personality was so warm.  I saw some samples of her work at the consultation, loved them, discussed the options with my fiancee, and we decided to pick her to do our wedding.  We definitely made the right choice.

Dawn told me she would start shooting the day of the wedding when hair and makeup were being done, and she would stay until the cake was cut.  If we needed her to shoot anything after that she would stay but it had to be stipulated in our contract and otherwise after the cake cutting her job was done.  I let her know there would be a bonfire at the end of the night, and she told us she would definitely be there to shoot it.  She was.

The day before the wedding, since she did not have any other shoots booked, she actually came by my bridal luncheon at The Hills in Waterbury, CT.  She took some shots with me and my two soon-to-be sister-in-laws, as well as shooting everyone else who could make it to the lunch, including my mother, my fiancees mother from Russia, his cousin from Ukraine, my grandmother from Florida, and a friend of his mother's who had taken my fiancee in to live with her when he moved to the United States on his own.  It was an important meeting, a time when gifts were given out by me, the bride, to my girls and to the mothers, thank you cards were distributed, and bottles of wine with our own labels were given to those who were in the wedding.  She showed my mother a photo she had taken of her while she was sitting at the table and my mother was so touched and stunned at the way she looked in the photo that she was brought to tears.

That night, Dawn also came to the rehearsal dinner at my father's house.  This helped her to know where she needed to be when the ceremony was going on, as well as where the tents would be set up with tables, chairs, and food, and how the day's events would go.  She shot pictures here as well.  She got a photo of my grandfather from Florida, who I don't get to see often, with the biggest grin on his face.  I don't know how she captured this moment, nor can I remember a time when his smile was bigger.

The day of the wedding, and also Dawn's birthday, true to her word, Dawn was at my apartment where all the ladies were getting ready.  She took photos of hair and makeup and also of my crazy cat eating my makeup artists makeup and brushes.  She had us all toast with my signature cocktail which made for some great photos of everyone in different stages of getting ready.  We headed over to my father's and her husband, who is her assistant, was already there getting photos of the guys setting up and getting ready.

She shot all day and got awesome photos of the wedding ceremony, the bridal party, family and friends, dancing, the wedding party jumping into the pool afterwards, and the bonfire at the end of the night.  She was so amazing that I had my mother, who made the wedding cake, make Dawn her own smaller cake and after my husband and I cut our cake we all sang happy birthday to her. This brought tears to her eyes.  We all liked her so much that one of my sister-in-laws took off the pair of earrings she was wearing that day and gave them to Dawn as a gift since Dawn liked them so much.  The day of my wedding, Dawn Binz became a member of our family.

After the wedding, she had an album of preview pics posted on facebook for everyone to enjoy within three days!  I was amazed I got to see some of my pics so quickly!  Also, she did separate albums and posted them for my DJ, Todd from Jock in the Box in Wallingford, CT, and also my makeup artist, Katherine Roll, who has done makeup artistry for both MAC and NARS cosmetics in New York as well as in CT. http://www.jockinthebox.com/Welcome.html

The day of my wedding was also the hottest day of the year.  Due to this fact, we took a million photos (in reality, she shot almost 3,000) but there were few of just me and my husband.  Because of this, we did another shoot this past weekend, just the two of us.  We met Dawn at her studio in the morning.  She did my hair and makeup, as promised, and made me look fabulous.  I wore my wedding dress, and she drove us o a few nearby locations to shoot.  We came back to her place, did a hair/makeup/dress change, and went out to shoot some more.  We had lunch, did hair/makeup/clothing change again, and went out to shoot some more.  During one of the sessions, my husband and I had brought a bottle of Prosecco to use as a prop for photos but the three of us also toasted with it while Dawn's husband, Chase, took photos.  It was an amazing day.  Dawn is such a professional and yet such a warm-hearted, kind, caring, and respectful person.  I still feel as though she is family.  I can't wait to see the photos from the second shoot!  I know she won't let us down :)

To those of you who have met Dawn, please feel free to comment on your experiences in working with her, for example, those of you who were photographed at my wedding.  I know many of you were extremely pleased with photos she took, even though you may not have known she was shooting you ;)