Can anyone recommend a photographer in Florence for wedding next May?

Chandi at http://www.sogniitaliani.com/ will know.

No photog referals here, but would love to hear the details of your upcoming wedding!

Thanks for the referral Judy.

As far as the wedding plans: I am trying to plan a small wedding for two (this size may increase to 4 or 6 depending on parents making the trip). I am using a wedding planner just outside of Florence who has booked the Palazzo Vecchio for 12:30pm on May 20th (Saturday the 22nd was already booked and there is a waitlist of Florentines!) We are arriving in Florence on the 16th and staying at the Hotel Silla until the 19th, and then staying at the Hotel Lungarno (balcony room overlooking the Arno) on the night before and the night of the wedding ceremony. We are also supposed to get the following as part of our agreed package: flowers and music for ceremony, car w/ driver for 8 hours the day of the wedding, hair/makeup at hotel room morning of wedding, photographer, and dinner for two (or possibly six) with small wedding cake and champagne). On the 23rd, we leave Florence for a five day biking trip through Tuscany (south of Siena) and then plan on spending the last 2-3 nights in Rome (haven't worked out all the details for Rome yet..
So far, my wedding planner has not provided specific details for each aspect of the wedding day other than a brief description of what services we should expect...getting a little nervous now and thought that if anyone had used a photographer in the area (this is the most important part for me since most of my family will not be making the trip)that they would recommend, I would ask the planner to try to book. May is a very busy time for weddings in Florence so I am getting a little antsy!!

norahe - sounds as if you may be using the same wedding planner I did for my wedding. what is the name - I may be able to quell your fears. as for photographers - the sogni suggestion is a very good one - I have another friend married in italy who used them and I would feel very secure in hiring them. trust me, I know you may feel anxious that details do not seem worked out - or that your planner is not forthcoming in terms of giving you details - but don't forget that europeans are not as obsessive about weddings as americans - it is not the virtual industry that it is here and they do nto get wrapped up in year long planning adventures. good luck and have a wonderful wonderful wedding!

Thanks DiGiuseppi, I guess leaving all the planning in the hands of someone else is a little tougher than I thought it would be. I am using Annie Adair who is based out of Voltarre. This will be her first wedding in Florence. She actually e-mailed me last week with the name of the photographer...it is Damiano Dainelli (he doesn't have a website so she has offered to send me some scanned pictures so I can see his work). Who did you use? How did everything turn out for you?

hello again norahe - I used a woman by the name of Jinane who works for a larger planning company based out of....Padua I want to say. Initially Florence was our choice and as we investigated photographers friends who had married there suggested sogni. In the end we had to switch locations altogether and ended up in Venice - which is essentially of no help to you (sorry!). The photographers we used were found by family members who live in Italy - the photos were fine I suppose, most of our friends and family made it to the wedding so the photos were secondary, but if I were to do it again I would definitely go with any number of the photographers that our planner - or any planner - had suggested. Truth be told, they really do know best - the people they provide will know how best to capture not just the wedding - but more importantly the surrounding scenery. If you still feel unsure, check out some other photographers based in florence and get their rates for working with your planner - you can easily do a search, I came up with about six different photographers by typing 'wedding photographer florence'. One word of advice - in italy the 'traditional' (trendy) thing to do is for photographers to create a 'wedding book' - difficult to describe, it is usually a leather bound book that the photographer puts together to 'tell the story' of your wedding - a single photo on each page, sometimes very well done, but more often than not a little cheesy - gauzy photographs that bleed into the paper that has odd superimposed illustrations on it that encircle your head with doves tying bows above your head..... While many people appreciate this sort of service - some photographers assume this is the only finished product you may require. Be sure to pay the extra money to get your negatives and single photos back so that you can create your own 'wedding story' without doves and love gnomes jumping all over the page. Generally, with a tasteful professional who is on the higher end fo the pay scale - this whole wedding book will not be an issue - but make sure to mention it to your planner. I wish I could be of more help with Florence specific questions - if there is anything you think I might be able to answer please feel free to post, I will keep a watch out! - but have faith in your planner - very few things in italy are done in poor taste - you are sure to have a simply magical wedding! auguri!

Hi DiGiuseppe,
This has been very helpful!! Our photographer wants to give us the film directly so we can develop when we get back to the states. Although I like the idea of having the "film", we are taking five day biking trip through Tuscany (south of Sienna) and I am nervous about carrying the film in case something should happen to it or it gets lost. I have requested that the photographer do an album which would ensure that we have pictures to show when we get back. We will also be given the negatives. I guess it is a pretty good deal since most photographers do not hand over the negatives. Thanks for all your help. I will post all details when I get back from Italy to let you know how everything turned out.

norahe, you're doing the right thing in getting the photos developed while you are abroad. We renewed our vows in Venice this summer and had our photographer (who was fabulous, by the way) develop ours. He had them back to us in albums the very next day, along with all negatives.

I was too worried that something would happen to the undeveloped film on the return trip, so I'm so glad I went this route. We then got enlargements done at our own pace. I would also strongly suggest having your photos and negatives in your carry-on baggage for the trip home. That's how I carried ours and thank goodness I did, since our checked bags got lost in Paris.

Good luck and congrats!