frequently asked questions
welcome to
Ivory Grove
We are so thrilled you found us! We founded Ivory Grove because of our love of people, weddings, and storytelling. We believe that beautiful wedding photography and videography should be affordable and stress-free. We have handpicked our management team and photographers/videographers to include only those that share our love and passion for an excellent client experience and beautiful wedding imagery. Please feel free to reach out with any additional questions you have. We are always happy to help!"
-Lindsey and Forrest Parker
Owners
most frequently asked questions...
How does your company work?
Carly Heaton is our Director of Marketing & Sales. A former wedding photographer who just tied the knot herself, she specializes in answering all of your questions and helping you pick just the right package to meet your needs. She loves talking through timelines and learning all about you, your partner, and the special day you are planning. When you are ready, she'll send you a proposal that will contain our contract and invoice. It's super easy to sign and pay online.
Lindsey Parker is our Director of Client Experience. She loves to organize, communicate, and plan weddings! She will be your main point of contact once you officially book with us. Carly lets Lindsey know all about you and your event so she can pair you with the best photographer and/or videographer for your wedding. She will keep in contact with you, mostly via text and email, throughout the whole process and is always available to answer questions, provide helpful resources, and help in any way she can.
Alice Ferrell is our Director of Fulfillment & Finance. She uses her years of experience in event planning and team management to keep everything in the background organized and running smoothly. She is the head of our editing team and works tirelessly to get you your edited media as quickly as possible. She is also the head of our team of photographers and videographers. She makes sure they have all the training and resources they need to provide you with the best possible service and quality of work.
We have a small, local team of photographers and videographers. We often get asked, "Who will be my photographer/videographer? Do I get to pick?" We are happy to show you portfolios of our individual team members! But also keep in mind that there are companies out there who book weddings and outsource to random photographers/videographers. THIS IS NOT US! All our team members go through our onboarding program/training and often start as second shooters for us. We will not send a photographer or videographer to your wedding whom we do not have 100% confidence in. We are real people! Here are a few of our photographers and videographers:
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What if I do not like the style of the photographer/videographer I am paired with?
All of our team members are trained to shoot in our Ivory Grove style. They all are very experienced, professional, and have similar equipment requirements. Additionally, ALL photo and video editing is done by our in-house team to ensure the look you see in our portfolio on our website. Whether you are paired with photographer/videographer A, B, C or D the end result will be very similar.
If for any reason you are concerned about your team, we will gladly reassign. (This rarely happens!) Really, they are all excellent. Your team will contact you within one week of being assigned and will set up a zoom or phone call to get to know you and go over all the important details with you.
Why are your prices so cheap?
This is a question we get asked A LOT! Our goal is to offer high-quality media at an affordable rate because we believe everyone deserves to have beautiful wedding media. In the industry, there is quite a large markup on photography and videography services. (I’m sure we don’t need to tell you this because you have seen it!) Unlike individual photographers and videographers, our overhead expenses are split between hundreds of weddings so we do not need as large of a markup on our services. Don’t worry, just because our prices are more affordable does not mean you will sacrifice quality. In fact, if you were to book with our team members independently from us you would pay significantly more. So why do our team members shoot weddings with us for so much cheaper than they charge on their own? Because we handle all the marketing, booking, and editing (all the really time-consuming aspects that photographers and videographers don’t always love)! Our team members love filling up their calendars, we love being able to offer the best prices around, and you will not have to break the bank to get the wedding media you want and deserve. Win, win, win for everyone.
Will I have the same photographer for my engagement session and wedding day?
Yes! Having an engagement session is a great way to get to know your photographer before the wedding so you are comfortable with each other. We LOVE to do engagement sessions. Such a fun way to get to know you and build a relationship before the big day arrives.
How many photographers & videographers are included in my package?
Our standard packages include one photographer and one videographer. A second shooter can be added to any package for $100/hour with a four-hour minimum.
Can you help me plan out my timeline?
Of course! We love to help with timelines. Your wedding timeline is as unique as you are. We know that trying to decide how much time you need for photography & videography can be tricky to calculate. Know that we are very flexible and if you need to change the number of hours as you get closer to your wedding day and your plans become more set, we are happy to help you adjust that. We can also build you a custom package to suit your individual needs. Send us a message, and we would love to share with you our sample timelines and best tips to make your day go smoothly!
Do you have insurance?
Yes! We are happy to email proof of insurance to your venue upon request.
How much is your deposit?
We have two options for the deposit.
1. 50% now and 50% due the week of the wedding
2. 15% now and the rest divided monthly until the wedding
We are also happy to set up a payment plan that best supports your needs and budget.
How do I book and what forms of payment do you accept?
When you are ready to book, we will email you a customized proposal. When you open the proposal, you can review and electronically sign your contract and pay your deposit via debit or credit card. (There is an option to set up automatic payments.)
Are there travel fees?
It depends on your location. If your location does require an added travel expense, it will be clearly listed on your customized proposal. Also, please let us know if there is a specific place you want to take engagement photos. We will let you know if there is a travel fee for that location. Otherwise, we expect the engagement session to be taken within 25 miles of the nearest major city to your venue (St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Columbia or Chicago). We do not believe in hidden travel fees!
I did a lot of research and Ivory Grove was the most fair price I had seen for AMAZING QUALITY & FANTASTIC photos & videos! Lindsey really was a TREMENDOUS help with all the reminders & I appreciated the communication so much! Really made me feel special, well tended to, and makes sure you’re staying on track for a perfect wedding day! I really could go on about how pleased & happy I was with them but that would take forever! Out of all the vendors I had for my wedding, Ivory Grove definitely gave the best & the most, I’m truly happy & grateful for them! Photos & videos were the most important thing for me & they really hit it out of the park! HIGHLY recommend getting engagement photos with your wedding package! If you’re nervous about taking photos, getting a chance to take photos with your photographer before the wedding day made a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE!! You get a chance to 1. Practice posing that you’ll more than likely use on your wedding day & 2. Meet & get comfortable with your photographer! ABSOLUTELY Loved Danielle for our photographer & Larry was just so awesome! They vibed so well with our group and they really made the whole experience so much fun! I will be recommending them to anyone & everyone!
-Tara H.
Will my photos have watermarks?
Never! You have full printing rights with no watermarks.
What songs will be used for my video?
We want this to be YOUR video, so we encourage you to choose the music for your video but are happy to choose the songs for you if you'd prefer. Copyright laws are very strict regarding the use of music in wedding videos, so we have subscriptions to music sites from which you may select your songs. Send us a message and we would be happy to help you with the song selection process!
Can I have the raw video footage?
Yes! All of our packages include raw footage! The raw files will be available for download through a Dropbox link after we deliver your final, edited media. Be advised that raw footage is "as-shot" and may be in slow-motion, real-time, or a mix of both. It isn't synchronized, edited, or color graded. It may or may not have audio matched to it. All available audio files and movie clips will be included in the folder for you to access. Raw footage time will be much less than your total coverage hours because we are not continuously recording the whole time. We focus our shooting on getting the right clips for your highlight and teaser films. Your raw footage is not meant to be a documentary-style film with every single moment of the day recorded. There are limits to what one videographer can do...remember that we are used to seeing Hollywood productions with 20-30 cameras and 100s of additional technicians. If you would like a documentary-style edit that provides more continuous coverage, we are happy to provide that for you. However, additional videographers are required, and this offering is an additional cost and subject to availability. Please contact us if you have more questions!
When can I expect to receive my wedding media?
Our standard turnaround time is 30 days. Of course, this can vary a little during our busy season, but generally speaking, we have all media delivered within 30-60 days. The turnaround time on our engagement sessions is typically 2-3 weeks.
How will my media be delivered?
Your photos will be available for viewing and download via Pixieset. You will receive a link to your album that will allow you to scroll through the different sections with ease. Pixieset will allow anyone with the link to order professional prints and download all photos in full resolution. Since you retain the printing rights, you can have them printed anywhere you prefer (although we do recommend professional labs for the best results).
We will give you a Vimeo link for each of your videos. This link makes it so easy to share your videos with everyone you love! You can also download the original file right from Vimeo.
Exactly what we wanted! Captured every important moment ❤️ They were so easy to communicate with and made our day perfect! We even made a few last-minute add-ons, like videography the day before the wedding, and they delivered perfectly!
-Melissa M
Better than anything we could’ve imagined! It was such a smooth and painless process, and the event manager, the videographer, and especially our photographer made our wedding planning and day so much more enjoyable working with wonderful people, also knowing that our photos and videos would turn out perfect!!! We couldn’t have imagined working with anyone else for our big day!
-Kasey R
Ivory Grove did an incredible job for our wedding video! Bree, the videographer, was so much fun and easy to talk to that it made it easier to act natural in front of the camera! We ended up with the exact footage that we wanted and our video turned out absolutely incredible!! They even gave us the raw footage of the entire day and that is something I felt was extremely important because I was able to look back and see the entire day the way it went! We searched through several videographers and most of them were so expensive but I have to say Ivory Grove was still affordable and worth every penny that we spent!!
-Megan W
We used Ivory Grove for our wedding photography and could not be more pleased! We dealt with Lindsey and she was amazing to work with, provided several very helpful tips throughout the process, and held very good communication with us throughout the entire process. Never once for a second did we worry about how smooth this aspect would go and sure enough, after receiving the final product, we were taken away by the quality. Couldn't recommend enough!
-Blake H.
did we mention...
we LOVE engagement sessions!
where can i find more reviews for your company?
what if i have more questions?
