Allow me to introduce to you Carolyn Troadec of Troadec Photography. Carolyn took my fabulous business head shot a few years ago and I have first hand knowledge of how wonderful it is to work with this lady! Not only is she calm, kind, and a great photographer, she was model in her past life and is very helpful with the gentle directions that so many of us women need (“shoulders back”, “chin down”, etc). Enjoy!
A. I am Carolyn Troadec of Troadec Photography – a boutique photography company that values quality over quantity. With every contact with my clients, from the first meeting to final delivery of images, I want my clients to feel valued and important. I do not outsource any part of my artistic process, as my business model is all about personal touch. My experience as a model and my training in retouching has given me a reputation of making my clients look like rock stars. In my eyes, they ARE rock stars!
Q. What is it like working a wedding without a wedding coordinator?
A. If there is no coordinator at a wedding, best case scenario is that the photographer becomes the coordinator. Worst case scenario is you have a very stressed out bride, confused guests and utter chaos. I think people just don’t see the big picture. They see all the work they themselves must do before the wedding, but don’t realize that on the day of, all of that minutae comes into play – all at the same time. Consider a wedding coordinator as insurance – stress insurance.
Q. What makes for a good coordinator?
A. A good coordinator’s best quality is a since of calm and grace. The calmness is a cue to everyone else to just take a deep breath, the pro has arrived! A sense of humor is also essential, as well as a sense of teamwork – all of us vendors are in this together and if we look out for each other, we can all do a better job and enjoy even more what we do .
Q. What makes for a bad coordinator?
A. A bad coordinator – well, I’ve only met one, but I’ll tell you about her. Due to her stress and personality issues, she was the entire center of attention all day. She commanded everyone what to do, from the bride, to the photographer (me), to the family by literally grabbing people’s arms and leading them around. It was ironic to me that the bride was so happy, exuberant and stress free – while this coordinator seemed to make every attempt to make everyone stressed out. It was like being backstage at a Broadway play. My favorite part was when after the cake cutting, she thrust glasses of champagne into their hands, forced them physically to link their arms around each other, and literally put the glasses up to the bride and grooms lips. I thought a simple “hey guys, how about if you drink your champagne now?” would have sufficed. My second “favorite” thing she did: continuously interrupting the bride and groom during candid moments to say “hey, look at the photographer!”
Q. Do you have any funny wedding stories?
A. I guess I shared a few funny stories above – how about the time when the electricity went out for the whole block, 2 minutes before ceremony time, because a squirrel had gotten into a transformer and electrocuted itself, shorting the system? The bride took it all in stride, they lit a bunch of candles, and got married anyway!
Thank you for your insight, Carolyn! And because I just can’t help myself, here are some engagement photos that she just took of my lovely clients Nicole and Rocco who are getting married next May at the Athenaeum in Pasadena. How cute are they?!
