With a tagline of 'Capturing Life' - you can't help but fall in love with the amazing wedding photographs taken by Elevate Photography. We had the chance to sit down with founder, McCory James, and find out what really makes them stand out as wedding photographers. Besides being passionate about their jobs, teamwork is what really brings them up to a higher standard for their clients.

What is your favorite part of a wedding to photograph?

Weddings are great because you're capturing something that they're going to take with them and remember forever. To be able to have the honor to be a part of that is really fun.

For me, my favorite part of a wedding to shoot is probably the first look. I like those moments between the bride and the groom. Those photos of just the two of them are my favorite part of the day.

What is the first thing that you ask a bride and groom who come to you?

The first thing is we ask is what do they like about Elevate and our style - what attracted them to us. That way we can make sure we're a good fit and also make sure that the things that stood out to them and what they saw in our work - that we're able to do that for them. Most clients see something different. For some it's our post production and how the colors pop. For others, they feel like we really capture great candids of people, or maybe they saw a friend's wedding and loved the candids. Sometimes it's the intimate moments between the bride and groom and some people just like the overall story telling. Finding out what's important to them is kind of the first step so that we can figure out how we fit.

How would you describe Elevate's style?

Our tagline is "Capturing Life" so - we're really about telling the story of the wedding day in a way that is natural. We don't want to force things and make things happen. We want how the day goes down and who the people are personality wise - that's what makes their wedding them so, we want to capture that. That story telling is number one. Number two is just our imagery and really creating something that stands out and just has an edge to it that you won't necessarily see with a lot of other photographers. A lot of that is the work that we do after the fact in post-production and creating amazing albums. They walk away with something that is really a piece of art and that's how we look at it, as artwork for the client.

What makes you stand out from other wedding photographers?

I think a good team is definitely a big thing that separates us. The fact that it's not just me and that we have a talented team that is pretty unique - especially with the type of photography we do. We focus on the team aspect and the advantages of that. I'm the one who started it but, at the same time I couldn't have done it without them and they are all very valuable. We are always pushing each other creatively and that allows us to provide better customer service to our clients.

The other thing is our people skills and our relationships with our clients. For us, it's all about the relationship. We have the initial meeting, we have an engagement shoot, which we include in our weddings so that we get to know the couple better and have a lot of fun with them. Then we do a meeting before the wedding and go over final details. After the wedding we do a premier party so that they can see their photos for the first time on the big screen. We have wine and beer and it's all just a great fun party. Through all of that - we really get to know them well and they get to know us well.

Our Client for Life Program allows our clients to a one-time fee and in return, they get a photo shoot every year forever with no additional sitting fees. They can use it for their anniversary or as they start growing a family and having kids and know that those photos are taken care of. It allows us to continue to create long term relationships with our clients. It makes it easy on them because they know where they are going for their photography and they know what to expect. It gets to where we can really tailor things to them and meet their specific needs.

Any advice for brides and grooms on their wedding day?

Plan the day to where you can enjoy it and you can relax. A lot of that is making sure that things are on time. It's amazing how big of a deal 15 minutes behind schedule can make later in the day. Give yourself time in the day to where that stress goes away so that you're not running from one thing to the next and you can just take it as it comes.

Elevate Photography has many more stunning photographs! See more of everything that they have to offer here || Elevate Photography

Here at mywedding - we love our vendors! A lot of Elevate Photography's references are from other wedding professionals that they have previously worked with. Enter the mywedding Dream Team Photo Contest to celebrate your work and for a chance to win a prize package valued at 8,000! We love to see how you make a bride's vision a reality!

Don't forget to come back next Wednesday for more mywedding Musings with Sarah Roshan, Wedding Photographer!