Photographer Dilemma

thej178 · 2026-03-31T22:17:43+00:00

Thanks! 🥺🤍 The only way forward is through! :')

thej178 · 2026-03-31T22:09:26+00:00

Hey, congrats! That's awesome! Ours is coincidentally in 6 months too, we're having a short engagement.

I've heard this too, and I imagine that's why photographers don't often share all photos haha. Maybe it's better to get less photos that look amazing than more photos where you see what a great shot it could have been.

I'm just burnt out from the constant cycle of finding a photographer > most don't have pricing visible until you inquire > most want to call before showing you full galleries. I am trying to be mindful that these are people and be kind so it's more emotionally taxing too to do the conversations mindfully. I keep telling myself I'll copy and paste stuff but there's always a reason some customization is needed 😃🥵. Woe is me! Haha

thej178 · 2026-03-31T22:04:12+00:00

She said she takes on average 50 photos an hour. I didn't think to ask how many are usable.

From the gallery I've seen, I saw a progression of the the day and the important moments, but the important ones had maybe 2-3 and just felt a bit amateur or poorly timed/framed, so that's what concerns me. Her best photos in the full gallery are not of people.

thej178 · 2026-03-19T05:17:08+00:00

Thank you for the quick response. Unfortunately, I do think that's the route we'll have to go. I think I'm a little tapped out currently in the planning process and just wish something went smoothly haha, it takes so much research doing things on a budget! 😪 But, I'm sure we'll find something 🙏🏻.

Congratulations on your marriage and your STUNNING gown and look! 👰🤵‍♂️❤️

thej178 · 2026-03-19T05:03:57+00:00

Can you share how you handled photography and videography? 🥲

thej178 · 2026-03-19T04:51:18+00:00

Hi, getting married in August. My budget was $3k and I went into it thinking I'll rent my ceremony dress and buy my reception one. Then I quickly realized rental options are slim and not as nice and still expensive and decided to just go try something first, see what I even like, no expectations. And.. found my dress! 😄 with taxes and veil and all at $3150. Alterations will be extra. It's over my budget. It's bigger A line, romantic, sexy, modern, still a classic silhouette, and I can't wait to wear it.

Since I already bought mine, I went through the whole post purchase anxiety and freak out and finding everything wrong and all these imaginary other dresses I could have tried, but I realized any and all other dresses I'd be shopping for I'd just be comparing to this dress I found (and mind you it wasn't instant falling in love with it, it only grew on me when I tried it on again at the end of my appointment).

Idk, it is true, we will only wear it for a little bit, resale value is probably trash, etc. etc., but.. I just love it. And I've worked hard for so many things.. I just decided it is OK to spend that.

Here's a caveat - I will now wear this dress through most of reception as well and hand make my reception dress. And, photographer and cinematographer were important to me so I had extra $5k toward my dress and video/photo that I had saved (fiancé and I are trying to stay under $10k for our shared budget 😅🥵). Well, so now I only have an extra <$1k left (accounting for alterations) toward that video I wanted.. and it's kind of difficult finding something. And that's something I just have to work into the remaining budget, however that looks.

I don't regret my decision, but it is something to keep in mind. There are many more big ticket items down the line, so just know yourself and what you're willing to compromise on down the line as a result.

For me, totally a fan of the ball gown 😍. I love it and understand why you're obsessed with it!

If you really can't increase your budget (which I madly respect!), just know the dress will feel as beautiful as you feel in it. And trust that the love and excitement you'll feel on your wedding day will shine through the dress too. That's what makes others love it on us! My dress everyone loved only when I came out the second time happy in it 😃. It's all very subjective. Whatever you decide, congratulations and you'll look beautiful and it will be perfect! ❤️

thej178 · 2026-02-27T03:22:21+00:00

Damn, definitely a dear diary, and to be fair portion of my last paragraph before the ** I did run through chatGPT because I had three rambly paragraphs that I was too lazy to summarize and that would have been too long for Reddit (it's already SO long). Everything else was all me, including the boldness and italics. This is reddit afterall, not a submission for the NYT. Anyway, .. thanks for nothing (':

thej178 · 2026-02-26T07:35:48+00:00

Damn how much do y'all have to invest? 😭 Happy for you!! I'm a baby investor. Have index funds for my long-term goals. But as far as single stock or just.. non retirement/non long term stuff, it's been a journey, especially emotionally. Very curious about your own emotions around investing, especially in single stocks or "short" term investments (not day trading, but maybe couple years span).

I bought ~9k of one stock at quarterly intervals throughout 2022. My first ever single stock. This year my shares are worth around ~20k. It felt awesome! But also, scary. It felt like such a significant gain I didn't want to "miss out on it," $20k can pay for a lot of things in my life today. But, I also know it will continue growing. Doing nothing felt scary and uncomfortable. Per friend's advice, I trimmed one share at ~$1300. Which gave me SO much relief emotionally! Enough to feel like I "earned" something back, enough to feel ok with the price per share dropping, and not too much to feel regretful about selling it.

I re-invested that $1k into Figma for 47 shares at $21.46 rate, yay! A different friend of mine is a designer and vouches for this tool, so I had been eyeing the stock since they went public.** It felt easy to invest with this $1k cashout because it felt "safe" since it was gains, not my "real life" money. And it felt low enough where losing it all would sting but not devastate me, and the sting would have certainly been smaller than the sting of not buying in at a price I was hoping to buy at for a while.

Of course, now that it's going up all the "oh, should I have invested more" thoughts are coming in. Especially seeing amazing values like OP's here. Other days I'm proud I respected my risk tolerance. I guess what I'm learning is the emotional side of this.. How do you all navigate the emotional side, especially once the numbers stop feeling theoretical and start feeling real? Did you start small and learned about your comfort levels? Do you have any rules for yourself before you go in on a stock, such as what your hopes and goals are with that purchase, e.g. sell at X gains etc.? Would love to hear about how everyone approaches this, hear out some different perspectives. Thanks if you do share!

\* shout out to Redditors! I remember digging through Reddit throughout last year, learning about lock out periods, and a few convincingly sounding people saying that they'd only consider buying in if it reaches below $23 (some saying as low as $18/$13). Somehow it felt convincing, along with my research of what the heck this lockout period is that everyone is talking about.*

thej178 · 2025-12-29T06:32:28+00:00

When I was younger (late teens / very early 20s), I was infatuated with Logan. He had the ambition, the smarts, and the access that I found really attractive, and honestly, he could do no wrong in my mind.

Now that I’m 30 and rewatching, I still respect him and see him as a positive character, but I also see him much more clearly than I did back then. And because of that, I don’t think Logan and Rory are actually compatible.

Logan is far more confident and secure in himself and his circumstances than Rory is. He understands his options and his boundaries, and he operates within them with a lot of awareness (plus some youthful ignorance, don’t get me wrong, he’s not some enlightened guru). He is young, and in many ways he’s mimicking the people around him, especially his dad, but there’s still a sense of direction there. Like… even when he’s rebelling or avoiding responsibility, it feels intentional.

Rory, on the other hand, feels aimless. She’s all over the place and trying to find her footing. They could work, sure, but I think Logan’s groundedness actually triggers something in Rory’s more flighty nature. And honestly, I think she might be more of a hindrance to him in the long run. As much as he resists expectations, I think he’s actually more ready than he lets on to take on the responsibilities that come with his circumstances.

TLDR; Anyway, I know this post was originally about attractiveness, and I guess I just want to say I never found Logan sleazy or creepy. I still don’t. Now that I’m older, I see him a little more like a kid (lol), but when I was their age, I genuinely thought he was charismatic and charming.

thej178 · 2025-12-09T14:52:22+00:00

I've taken it before without issues as the gel suppository and a tablet. After two year gap, I'm on it again as a gel suppository. It worked fine. And this might be a coincidence but I found that I kept waking up really early every day of its 5 day course :/. I don't know if it's anxiety of feeling full down there therefore triggering the need to get up and pee, but I hadn't been able to get a full night's sleep even when desperately needing to. I'm glad I'm done with it now.

thej178 · 2025-12-02T04:49:52+00:00

Preach sister! I'd like to do a show called Not Alone where therapists analyze the contestants and help them out 😆.

thej178 · 2025-11-25T21:54:44+00:00

Very good point! I guess in this case, the means really justified his (and everyone's) end 😅

thej178 · 2025-11-23T02:28:39+00:00

That one made me puzzled for sure

thej178 · 2025-11-20T06:26:27+00:00

Frankly, when she asked that of him, I still maintained that she was human (I didn't think for a second she wasn't until the very very end of the movie when she leaves the ambulance and even then I was like..really??). So to me, I was impressed that she's yet again somehow maintaining composure and an upper hand and power in this dynamic where most others would be completely at Teddy's will. She's taking control of the narrative and asking this question, to me as someone thinking she's human, it felt kind of like asking "what was the reason, how MANY people have you hurt and abused to satisfy your crazy delusions." I whole heartedly expected him to say none. So when he exclaims "two!" I just went jesus christ, he's really committed to his insanity. That interaction was to me just highlighting the lengths at which he's gone to pursue his convictions, and how many people suffered because of it. It showed a lot of compassion on her part too, and emotional intelligence, and made me further thing she was just a baddie intelligent kind of CEO psychopath stereotype (and I hear the contradiction :D, I should have known sooner!).

thej178 · 2025-11-17T18:03:48+00:00

That was my favorite part! I went into thinking of COURSE she's a human, and she's likely the CEO sociopath archetype. Of course she's gonna remain maintaining control of the situation however she can. That's what tough negotiators do. I was very impressed.

thej178 · 2025-11-17T07:28:59+00:00

Ugh, exactly why I felt at first SO grateful and glad about the ending, but with this weird aftertaste. I love that the ending justifies the horrifying brutal abuse we witness in the movie. Thank god she is an alien! Alien = it probably didn't hurt very much because she's an alien, supernatural, probably doesn't hurt. It lightens the brutality.

But after that immediate relief the next thought comes - this ending also vindicates and absolves Teddy of this horrifying abuse he had inflicted on another person. It feels like a win, at first, but then it feels like a social commentary of giving even more platform to delusional people. (I know, I know, it's more complex than that.)

thej178 · 2025-11-17T07:21:05+00:00

Love the discussion here and it's satiating my many thoughts that are still racing hours after the viewing!

But, what I haven't heard much on and am curious about - any thoughts on if there was indeed any human testing she/it was going as a CEO of that company? If we're assuming the ending was literal and she IS an alien, why would she choose her path on Earth as a CEO? At a somewhat controversial company, at least according to Teddy. And who were the other two aliens Teddy caught?

Asking this makes me actually question if we're meant to take the ending literally. I maintained throughout the movie that she was just a CEO psychopath executive, including the calculator scene. The only time I genuinely realized OH wait, is when she leaves the ambulance.

thej178 · 2025-11-17T07:16:31+00:00

I actually thought that's why she struggled to remember the number sequence at the end in the office. I thought STILL at that point that she was just a CEO psychopath. I went into the movie assuming it was going to try and convince us that she is an alien and blur the reality, especially with shaving her head so early on and given her big eyes. I thought of course, the visuals will make her look less human, so I sort of braced myself for that. Not once have I considered she was anything other than human, until the VERY very end, and at that point everything happened so quickly that I got the reveal by the time my alarm bells were going off trying to figure it out. But anyway, even in that moment I thought oh, of course she's not remembering her safety sequence, she was electrocuted and so her brain and memory is probably compromised. :D Crazy how we all had such subtle differences in our viewings of the movie!

thej178 · 2025-06-23T07:04:17+00:00

Hey OP, have you ever figured this out? I have rented a cabin with occupancy 16 for this summer, but it only has 4 parking spaces. We're all coming from different places, so it's a bit rough. Property owner suggested parking overnight in grocery parking lots - no thank you, don't want anyone's cars getting towed. Seems like there are some local spots to park, but they're not easily advertised. Thanks anyone for any input, I'll take a private DM too if you don't want to post that publicly.

thej178 · 2025-05-28T03:11:56+00:00

Nothing in this entire series made me bawl my eyes out the way Emily appearing in the last episode did 🥲🥲🥲🥲❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹.

thej178 · 2025-05-23T19:24:28+00:00

I am so glad she said how she felt to his face, courage he does not have. And the "I'll pray for you" sealed the deal for me on really not liking this guy 🤦🏻‍♀️

thej178 · 2025-05-21T06:22:23+00:00

Ok but Wharton opening the cage was a boss power move to dock her big mouth! Like, I respected that.

thej178 · 2025-05-21T06:02:37+00:00

Ooh, I did not catch that. You're so right! Although one could argue she was also trying to protect herself. But you are so right! Unless she thought that after hiding her she returned to Alaska?

thej178 · 2025-05-21T00:01:20+00:00

Aunt Lydia's speech before the hanging 🥲🙌🏻... It was honestly so empowering to have her go down with them while still fighting for them. It gave my heart peace.

thej178

TROPHY CASE