full transparency no bullshit wedding guide

Welcome Guide

Full Transparency, No Bullshit

hello from
So Tender

We like to make things easy. Whether we’re your perfect match or not, we want you to feel good about your decision. So here’s our Full Transparency, No Bullshit Welcome Guide. We’ve compiled all questions we could think of in one page so you don’t need to wonder what it’s like to work with us or what the next steps are.

Why So Tender Is Humanity?

After documenting weddings for a long time, under the tried and true Last Name Photography Studio, we wanted a name that is a better window into the experience that we try to create with every session. A late evening, libation-fueled creative session led us on a path of self-discovery that we are now eager to share with the world. It’s not just the change of name, we’ve changed too. So Tender represents what we value in people and photography – deep connection, kindness, nonconformism, vulnerability. We don’t want to create “pretty pictures”, we want to make people feel deeply, feel it all.

why should we hire you?

It depends, because maybe you shouldn't. For many couples we may not be the perfect match. We rebel against the wedding industry standards of "picture-perfect" details and "luxury" trends. We promise, however, to be transparent throughout the entire process, guide you on this journey, work our assess off, push our creative boundaries, connect with you, document the shit out of your wedding, and put countless hours in making sure the final gallery is real, expressive, and authentic. But there are certain things we are not good at and thus, we don't do - we don't stage moments, rearrange furniture, we are not editorial photographers, and our job is not to replicate someone else's images. We shoot how it feels, not according to industry/family/Pinterest standards.

Packages, fees, extras?

Our packages range from $4,500-$7,500, with $6,200 being the average couples spend for a full day coverage, 2 photographers (Alex & Anastasiia), an engagement session and a highlight video. No extra fees, hidden costs, or bullshit. We do offer weekday and winter dates discounts, and can also customize a package depending on what your vision is for the wedding day. Our travel rates are super reasonable for destination weddings. We offer payment plans. And if you generally feel like we are the only photographers you want to hire, drop us an email and we'll do our best to accommodate different budgets and weddings. If we know the budget you're working with, we can create a custom package for you.

What else?

We provide high res files and printing rights (you can print your photos with vendor of your choosing). We will show up to your wedding no matter what unless we drop dead. If we die, we'll make sure we have a highly capable backup photographer booked in advance. We do not plan on retiring from photography any decade soon. We do not give RAW files. We only provide copyrights for a fee. We have backup gear. We backup all the photos immediately after the wedding. We do have vendor recommendations. We do not mind if your uncle wants to take photos. We will not make anyone look 'skinnier/younger' on all photos, but we can edit a few select photos with Photoshop on request with no additional fee.

Our Packages

Hiring Alex and Anastasiia was easily the best decision we made for our wedding. You can obviously look at their photos and see for yourselves that they are incredible photographers — their thoughtfulness, artistry, and technical skill is second to none. More than that though, they’re just incredible, kind, and funny people who are great to have around. They navigated through the hustle and bustle of our wedding day with ease and big smiles.

Alex and Anastasiia are absolutely incredible humans and photographers. Honestly, the pictures came out better than we could have ever imagined. If we didn't know it, we would have thought there was a team of 10 taking pictures of us the day of our wedding, but it was just the two of them.

Alex and Anastasiia are an absolutely dream to work with. Every single one of the photos they delivered in our wedding gallery was gorgeous. Some of them are gorgeous art, and others are wonderful candids that capture all the joy and love from our wedding day. If you're looking for kind and joyful photographers to capture you and your family as the most lovely versions of yourself, Alex and Anastasiia are the team for you!

Alex and Anastasiia are INCREDIBLE! My husband and I will never be able to say thank you enough for the absolutely STUNNING memories they captured for us. They are such a fun, friendly, awesome couple to work with. They made us feel welcomed, comfortable, and like we have been working with them for years.

The following packages were inspired by Jack Johnson. Because he's cool.

There are so many decisions to make when hiring a wedding photographer: hours of coverage, engagement session, albums, etc. We don’t believe in making things more difficult and we get overwhelmed ourselves with complicated pricing packages. We like transparency and we care about you having the best experience possible. Which is why we’ve come up with the following packages. A wedding day is a full day commitment to us, regardless of how many guests you have, where your prep is, or how long you want to party for. We show up with all we’ve got and we prepare for it like for a marathon – we get a good night sleep, don’t take any other commitments the day of, we charge a lot of batteries (including personal ones) and we drink a lot of water! The following packages provide the full experience and if that’s what you need – you won’t need to pay anything extra on top.

Love Song #16

$4,500

Full Day Coverage by Alex & Anastasiia
(up to 7 hours)
Printing Rights
Online Gallery with High-Res Files
Engagement Session w Alex

Better Together

$6,200

Full Day Coverage by Alex & Anastasiia
(up to 9 hours)
Printing Rights
Online Gallery with High-Res Files
Engagement Session w Alex
Highlight Video (5-7 Min)

Banana Pancakes

$7,500

Unlimited Coverage by Alex & Anastasiia
(no hour limit on the wedding day)
Printing Rights
Online Gallery with High-Res Files
Engagement Session w Alex & Anastasiia
Highlight Video (5-7 Min)
Full Recording of Ceremony & Speeches
$500 Album Credit

Welcome Guide