One of the hardest parts of wedding planning is the emotional work it takes to accept that some things are just out of budget. That no matter how much Googling you do, you aren’t going find that perfect, high-quality wedding photographer who fits your vision and costs less than $2,000 if that person simply doesn’t exist. EXCEPT. Except today, that person does exist.

But all that is why when I first looked at Marj Merges’s images and then read her pricing, I hit my desk with my fist so loud it scared my co-workers half to death. Because how could the photos be this good, for $1,700, in Colorado (with free travel to Portland, Oregon to boot)?

Because here’s the deal: it is nearly impossible in this world to find a wedding photographer with Marj’s talent (girlfriend shoots film even) at $1,700. Yeah, it happens. But, man, I’d go email her right this second, because I have a feeling she’s going to be booked up for 2018 by the end of this post. (Especially because Marj is also offering $300 off to any couples who book her before October 31st.)

Now, let’s talk about some other reasons you’re going to love Marj Merges: a daily reader of APW, she threw a backyard wedding in 2010 before it was cool. Meaning, she gets your problems, because they used to be her problems. On the other hand, she’s got just enough distance to help you keep perspective on the day of. She says:

I have the grounding experience of being several years removed from the wedding planning process personally. I can appreciate the details that are so meaningful to the couple or their families; the necklace worn by both bride and mother on their wedding days, the one thousand paper cranes laboriously constructed by the couple and their closest friends, the Star Wars cufflinks gifted to the groom from his partner. And I can appreciate what a wedding means not only for the couple being married but for their parents. I find myself getting nostalgic during a father daughter dance, imagining my own daughter, River, dancing with my husband on her wedding day.

All this to say that I aim to tell the story of not only the wedding day but of a family at one moment in time.

I’m not crying, you’re crying.

Mostly, though, I’m super happy for you. Because I’m guessing that some of you had already accepted the fact that you weren’t going to be able to have the kind of wedding photography you wanted. Oh well, that’s life, right? And now the universe is basically delivering magic into your lap (magic that also travels for free to Portland, Oregon, and at cost anywhere else. And who would rather set up a tent at your camp wedding to keep those costs down than sleep in a fancy hotel room). And it’s not very often that we get to do that. So go now. (Really, go email Marj five minutes ago.) Because one should never look a gift unicorn in the mouth.

MARJ MERGES PHOTOGRAPHY is offering $300 off to any couples who book her before October 31st. Click here to get in touch!

Image CreditMarj Merges Photography

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