Sweet Life Studios
Raleigh, NC 27612
(map) Phone: 919-389-7274
Reviews for Sweet Life Studios
GUEST
Simply amazing!! We worked with Sweet Life awhile back when we did our engagement photos and they got us so excited for our wedding. Elizabeth and Frank are so sweet and work great together. They were professional, creative and just plain awesome!! I did a lot of research when it came to a photographer and I am SO happy that we chose Sweet Life. I would highly recommend them to anyone who wants amazing photos that will help them remember their special day!!
GUEST
When I started planning our wedding, photography was a top priority. More important than my dress, the venue, the flowers… I really wanted beautiful photographs that would tell the story of our big day.
I did a lot of research, looked through a ton of portfolios, and planned to meet with three talented photographers in the area. Elizabeth happened to be the first one I met with. She was so easy to talk to and was very enthusiastic when I shared my vision with her. Time got away from us that day and I realized that I spent nearly two hours with her! I knew I was comfortable with her and that is really important when hiring a photographer. When I left their office, I had made up my mind; we were going with Sweet Life!
Elizabeth and Frank are amazing and we had a lot of fun with them – especially after the reception when we paraded around downtown Raleigh for some last-minute after dark shots. What I love about our images: they tell a story from beginning to end, with such great detail. I look at these images and can see and feel the emotion in every shot. Your wedding day goes by so unbelievably fast, I am thankful we put our trust in Sweet Life to capture all of it.
Elizabeth and Frank are so very talented and we could not be happier with their work. We have gotten countless compliments from all of our friends and family about the two of them and the quality of their photography. They made us all feel comfortable and they worked so hard the day of our wedding to capture every moment. We cannot thank them enough!
GUEST
I love Elizabeth and Frank!!!! They were absolutely fantastic to work with. From the moment we meet with them they made us feel comfortable and relaxed. Not only are they amazing people they also create amazing photographs. I can't say enough great things about them. If you need a photographer to capture all the moments on your special day, go with Elizabeth and Frank of Sweet Life Photography, you will not be disappointed!!!
GUEST
I do not have enough good things to say about Frank and Elizabeth! Through every part of our wedding planning, they have been absolutely fantastic! When we met with them a year before our wedding, they were incredibly easy to talk to, friendly and knowledgable. Everything from wedding photography questions to recommendations for the "day of" timeline to recommendations of other vendors, they had the answer (side note: SO GLAD THEY RECOMMENDED THE FIRST LOOK! What a great way to both have a private moment with your soon-to-be husband and relax the entire day's schedule). Responses to any emails were always prompt, and they were very flexible with our schedule. Most importantly however; OUR PICTURES WERE GORGEOUS! Sweet Life Photography was definitely one of the vendors we splurged for, and I have no regrets. We have a lovely wedding album and friends and family always compliment us on the great pictures. We have a great mix of both more formal portraits and candid/dancing shots, and it's actually overwhelming trying to pick my favorites to display at home - I feel like given the size of our home I only have enough space for about 5-10 without looking completely wedding crazy, and so far I've only been able to narrow it down to 300! I would (obviously) recommend them to friends and family (and coworkers, random people on online message boards, etc.) I keep telling my husband that as soon as we have kids we're going back to Sweet Life for family photos!
GUEST
Elizabeth and Frank were a dream to work with.
They were more than accommodating in rescheduling my bridal portraits on very short notice due to a delay in my dress delivery- and had the photos edited and on display at the reception!
On our wedding day, they captured amazing photographs, and my husband and I were never disturbed by their presence. We were able to focus on one another, our families and friends.
The pictures speak for themselves- they captured the joy and emotion, and are amazing mementos that we will forever cherish.
GUEST
Elizabeth was absolutely wonderful! We loved her from the start & she made everything so easy & comfortable. We were so amazed & excited when we received the engagement photo session... they are beautiful. We can't wait to see the wedding photos. Elizabeth and her husband, Frank, were a pleasure to work with and we would recommend them to anyone who is looking for professional, beautiful, and excellent quality photos. Thanks Elizabeth!
GUEST
We haven't even gotten back our photos yet and I can 100% recommend my photographer. Sweetlife was PERFECT! Elizabeth and her husband were professional, kind, and very easy going. Elizabeth did so much for us, including a free engagement session JUST because she wanted to! She spent so much time with us. On our wedding day, she was prompt and very organized about the photos she was going to take. She had a handle on every little thing she did which allowed me to feel at ease and destresed about everything!
Please use her, she is amazing, I'd almost bet all my wedding pics on her :)
GUEST
I love, love, love Elizabeth! She is such a wonderful photographer. She absolutely loves her job and is so easy to work with. I recently got my wedding pictures and I showed them around. One girl looked at the pictures and said it was the most beautiful wedding she's ever seen. She got married a month ago. Elizabeth really brings the best out of the people she's photographing and the objects that are in the pictures. She takes such good care of the pictures and wants the best. There was no rush to receive my pictures and she didn't want to rush her processor because she wanted my memories to come out flawlessly. I can't wait to work with Elizabeth again for our Fearless Bridal Session.
GUEST
We loved working with Elizabeth and Frank at Sweet Life Photography for our wedding. They captured all of the special memories of our engagement, wedding and reception! We recommend them highly to anyone planning their wedding. Elizabeth is such a sweetheart and makes you feel special and unique. She photographs each couple in different ways so that you feel like her style of photography fits you and your spouse perfectly..
Elizabeth and often her husband Frank as second shooter are amazing to work with. They are easy going and flexible as well as very talented and knowledgeable and are everywhere getting beautiful photos for couples during the pre-ceremony time, the ceremony and afterward. I really enjoy working with Elizabeth and Frank and can highly recommend them as wedding photographers.
Elizabeth at Sweet Life takes beautiful photographs and really puts her clients at ease. She has such a sweet disposition and laid-back demeanor, that she's easy to work with and brides are able to relax and be themselves for their photographs without worrying about looking perfect. She is great at sticking to a timeline so that the couples are able to get their photographs and get to their ceremony and reception on time! We absolutely love working with her!
Sweet Life has worked with us on several events. They are amazing and send us incredible images for our blog! Love them!
While designing a wedding cake with a bride, I spend a lot time learning their personality. I am always just blown away when I see a photo taken by Elizabeth how she has captured not only the personality of the bride, but you can almost see the love between the bride and groom. She doesn't do the "canned" shots of the wedding...sometimes I swear I hear the laughter in the engagment shots, the music in the dancing photos and the oos and ahs of the bride walking down the isle.
About Sweet Life Studios
Sweet Life Photography is the husband-and-wife team of Elizabeth and Frank Myers. Elizabeth is a full-time photographer and the heart-and-soul of this small, customer-service-oriented boutique photography studio based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Originally a portrait photographer specializing in babies, kids and families, Elizabeth fell in love with wedding photography after photographing her grandmother's second wedding in 2003. In 2006, after apprenticing with several area wedding photographers, Elizabeth began focusing on wedding photography full-time.
Frank is Elizabeth's trusted second shooter, business manager and technical guru. A veteran sports and nature photographer, Frank is a master at action shots and can often be found out on the dance floor during the reception shooting from the
hip and having more fun than should be legal at work.
Together, Elizabeth and Frank excel at documenting the wedding day from start to finish. Elizabeth's focus on emotional candids, beautiful details and exceptional portraiture skills
blends seamlessly with Frank's technical mastery and experience capturing all the action, reaction and interaction taking place on the wedding day.
FAQ for Sweet Life Studios
One: Build in extra time for pre-ceremony preparations. Ask any minister for the most common reason weddings start late and I'll guarantee you he or she will answer with one word: hair. I've seen it happen many times myself: the hair appointment takes longer than anticipated. If your stylist says it will take one hour to do your hair, allow for an hour and a half. Same thing for nails and make-up. Get it done early! Hair can be re-pinned, make-up can be touched up before the ceremony. If you end up with extra time on your hands, use it for a little deep breathing.
Two: Put your gown on early. You've dreamed about this gown for so long...put that baby on! So many brides don't want to put their dress on early for fear of something happening to it before the ceremony. Getting dressed early will ensure that there's plenty of time for wedding day portraits. This is especially crucial if you decided against a formal portrait session before the wedding. If you're running behind, it's no fun to have to throw your dress on, then rush off to the ceremony. Plus, there will be no time for fun pictures with your bridesmaids and the formals will be rushed if there's time for them at all. Besides, you only get one day to wear your wedding dress! Getting ready early will also allow you to take advantage of Top Ten Tip number three.
Three: Plan to do as much photography as possible before the wedding. I've yet to meet the bride and groom (let alone their family members) who enjoy hanging around endlessly after the wedding at the church getting dozens of pictures taken. It's no fun to be dragged off the dance floor right when the DJ spins "Superfreak" because there wasn't time to do pictures with your Mom's side of the family before the wedding. Let members of the bridal party and your families know that the bulk of your photography will be done before the wedding in order to get them to the reception even sooner and they'll be more willing to show up early with smiles on their faces.
Four: Consider -- just stay with me now -- doing couple pictures before the wedding. Nobody likes it when I suggest this, but these photos are the most important ones of the day and too often, I'm rushing to finish up just when my creative juices really start flowing. Plus, pre-ceremony couple pictures gets you to the reception even sooner (possibly avoiding a costly cocktail hour). The whole "don't see the bride before the wedding" tradition got started ages ago because marriages were typically arranged by the bride's and groom's families. Often, the bride's family was afraid the groom would refuse to go through with the wedding if he saw her face, so he didn't get to see her before the actual moment he accepted her as his wife. Click here to read more about the origins of wedding traditions. You know that's not the case for you and your sweetie, so why cave to societal pressure to conform? (I'm kidding. I know you want that special moment when he sees you for the first time, but I promise you we can capture "that" moment better if we shoot it before the actual ceremony!) If you really don't want to see each other before the wedding, yet you want those gorgeous, intimate portraits as husband and wife, you must set aside some time -- a minimum of 30 minutes -- either after the wedding or during the reception for couple portraits. If you're still with me, let's move on to Top Ten Tip number five.
Five: Communicate, communicate, communicate. With your photographer, your parents and families and your bridal party. Talk to your photographer about your priorities for your wedding photography. Better yet, show him or her pictures from bridal magazines that you love. We won't be offended! It really helps us get a sense of your style and what's important to you when it comes to your wedding pictures. Talk to your parents about your wedding day photography priorities and the schedule you've agreed on with your photographer. If you don't want a lot of post-ceremony formals, tell your parents. If they want those traditional photos, compromise by setting aside time during the reception. Talk to your bridal party about the photographs you'll be doing before the wedding and why it's so important for them to be on time, dressed and ready to go. Make sure everyone knows where they need to be and when. Better yet, arrange for a family member or close friend who's not in the bridal party to do this for you.
Six: Don't forget about the guys! Too often, the groomsmen get short shrift in wedding day photography. If it's important to your groom to have some cool pictures with his guys, make sure you appoint a time and place for them all to meet for photographs. I think because the guys don't always get dressed at the same place the way the bride and her bridesmaids are likely to, they often just show up at the church twenty minutes before the wedding. That leaves next to no time for photographs. Now, I'm aware that no guy wants to put that tuxedo on any sooner than he has to, but it's as important for the groomsmen to get dressed early as it is for anyone else being photographed. If the wedding starts at 4:00, tell your groom and groomsmen to be ready for photographs with corsages on (if possible) by 3:00 (earlier if they will have to travel to the wedding site from the photography location). Better yet, tell them 2:30. That way, when someone is late, and someone is ALWAYS late, it won't throw a monkey wrench into the schedule.
Seven: Appoint a photo wrangler. Got someone you'd like to include in the wedding, but can't add any more bridesmaids or groomsmen? Ask that person to be the photographer's liaison. This person knows what the wedding day photography priorities are and acts to keep everyone on schedule, whether that's gently encouraging the bride to go ahead and get in her gown, locating members of the bridal party who are running late, helping the photographer to identify family members who need to be included in group shots and keeping people from drifting away from photography locations while waiting to have their picture taken.
Eight: Seriously consider hiring a wedding coordinator. You know it and I know it: weddings are expensive. Many couples choose to economize by doing it all themselves and see wedding planners as an extravagance. Many brides love the entire wedding-planning process, want to be in control of every detail and don't see the need to hire a wedding planner. But professional wedding coordinators are worth their weight in gold when it comes to keeping things running smoothly on your wedding day, including keeping the photography on schedule. Photographers get distracted too, especially when pulled in several different directions by family members who don't know what the bride and groom's priorities are for photography. Most professional planners have different packages to choose from that allow couples to select exactly how involved they need or want their planner to be. Tracy L. Adams of Adams and Events has a package for "those who plan the entire wedding, but need help on the actual day of." For more information on the many ways a professional wedding coordinator can help on your wedding day, check out the Triangle Bridal Association's website.
Nine: Remember, when it comes to wedding photography: "Cheap is never good. Good is never cheap." If you choose to economize by hiring your photographer to shoot for a few hours only, please don't expect him or her to dash around like crazy trying to cover everything in a brief window of time. A great wedding photographer needs time on your wedding day to craft beautiful photographs that will tell your story. Decide early on how important your wedding day photography is and be willing to pay a professional to capture all those details you've worked so hard on, all the friends and family gathered to celebrate with you and especially, the moments that will pass by too quickly.
Ten: Feed your photographer. It's a long day. We start to drag around hour four. And save us the biggest piece of wedding cake. We need the sugar rush to get us through the bouquet toss and sparkler send-off. A glass of chardonnay doesn't hurt either. Happy planning!
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