Vendors We Love: Red Fly Studio

Visions absolutely loves wedding photographers, so we’re excited to be able to work with so many! We always want to get to know the person behind the lens, especially so we can share their story with our readers!

We got the chance to work with the lovely ladies of Red Fly Studio after we found a gorgeous image we later used for one of our amazing inspiration boards! They’re based out of Georgia, and definitely have Southern hospitality! Their photographs are stunning, and we are so happy we were given the chance to get to know Cristina and Molly, who met in college and sparked a friendship which led to the incredible Red Fly Studio. They even shot each other’s wedding photographs! They describe their photography style as “modern and photojournalistic,” and they love trying new and exciting things with their clients to create one of a kind, amazing photographs!

We asked these two about their dream vacations, favorite memories, their favorite wedding cake flavor, and so much more! See what they had to say!

About Molly and Cristina:

Why do the two of you work so well together while photographing together?

Cristina: “Gosh, I don’t know where to start. I think it begins with trust and knowing that neither one of us wants to let the other down in any way. We want our clients to love our work as much as we do. When we shoot together, I feel like we can feed off each other’s visions. If we one of us has an idea for a shot, but there’s something missing while setting it up, usually, the other can see what’s missing and make it even better. When we first started working together, we were still in college and really didn’t know each other very well at all. We’ve been working together for almost 8 years now and I feel like Molly is my sister and it’s wonderful to work with someone who you love and respect.

Molly: I think it has to do with learning from each other and building off of each other. Cristina is the sweet one, the one who is going to put a couple in a pose that makes me think “Where is she going with this?!” and it always turns out fantastic. I’m the one who gets things done. I’m the one who will speak up if I need to and joke around when appropriate. I’m looking for ways to make the client happy and get the job done. She cannot cull a wedding to save her life because she gets attached to every image, but she can put together a beautiful thank you basket and I cannot. Basically, she’s the yin to my yang.

What would be your dream venue to photograph a wedding?

Cristina: I have been dying to shoot a wedding in Ireland, somewhere on a cliff or a rolling hill. This would be a very simple, intimate wedding, with a few soft, lovely details. Then, the reception would take place outdoors, as well. Maybe a small pavilion, with everyone throwing out quilts for a few folks to picnic and maybe a few picnic tables. A few people flying kites and an Irish band playing in the background. If anyone wants this, please take me with you! Ha ha! Seriously;). No, but seriously, I’m a total nature fan, so anywhere natural and beautiful is my cup of tea. We are very lucky, although, the South is HOT, usually during wedding season, we do have some lovely plantations, with wonderful oak trees and Spanish moss. We are just a couple of hours away from the gulf, so we love beach weddings. The marshes are always whimsical to me, as well.

Molly: Good lord, Cristina’s answer is long. My dream wedding is simple. Somewhere warm with a good breeze, an ocean, and beautiful lighting with just a few important people.

If you could take an all-expense paid vacation somewhere, where would you want to go and why?

Cristina: These are tough questions. I’m very torn. Either Scotland or Italy. I think Scotland wins because of the breathtaking landscapes and cooler climates. In second place, Italy, because of the tasty food and the Italian culture.

Molly: I’ll go to Scotland with Cristina, because I’d love to see the landscapes and castles and learn about my history… or Bora Bora because it’s warm and relaxing!

What is something a client has said to you that you will never forget?

Cristina: I would say something I always will remember is how one couple said how they met. The bride said she met her spouse by accidentally almost hitting him with her car. That’s a question that I love asking to all the couples we meet. “How did you meet your spouse?” It fascinates me! So many fun stories!

Molly: I’ve remembered the grooms who have thanked us and told us they had fun. It’s rarer coming from the guys.

Tell us about your own weddings, and how was it photographing each other’s big day?

Cristina: So, we both got married within our first year of business. I got married in Thomasville, at the Big Oak. The Big Oak is a very old oak tree in Thomasville that has a very small park with a gazebo and a large yard. The Big Oak is across the street from my dad’s office, so growing up I would hang at The Big Oak after school and play with my friends there and it’s always been a place that seems like home and special to me. So, my husband and I decided to get married at the gazebo. Also, it was super cheap use that location for the ceremony. It was free! We just had to get a permit from the city. So, a hundred and fifty of our friends and family watched us get married at the gazebo and then one thing that I’m glad we did was, made everyone crowd up together after the ceremony for a huge group shot of everyone who came and everyone who was a part of the wedding. One thing that I love is, Molly placed everyone in the sun and so everyone is being blinded and had squinty faces and some people were covering their eyes, but Molly captured her and her husband’s shadow in the photos, which I love. She was on a ladder directing everyone. I loved that she is somewhere in the photo, even if it’s just a shadow, because she’s like family now. I know that sounds super lame, but I don’t care. After the ceremony, Jeremy and I walked a couple of blocks to our downtown and we had our reception at the top floor of the Business Exchange Building. This Venue At that time we were still developing our skills and styles. Our shooting style, editing style, everything has changed since then. So, I know both of us love our images, but know that each of us would rather our present selves capture our weddings back then than our past selves. Ha ha! But, I still love what Molly captured on our wedding day. Lots of wonderful moments! I was nervous photographing Molly’s wedding, it was the first wedding I had photographed by myself. It went fine, besides a bit of hair trauma 😉 Molly knows.

Molly: I was nervous photographing Cristina’s wedding too. I think that, at the time, we were so used to brides who did everything in a certain way that we had an idea of how weddings were “supposed to be”. There was no pinterest or mason jar fascination. I think that knowing what we know now, we both would have done things a little differently- photography wise and planning. Cristina’s wedding day was extremely bright and a little spread out- so we walked a lot through the town. She had a few special requests, but mostly it was a roll-with-the punches kind of thing. My favorite image that I captured of her was her dancing with her dad, because I know how special he is to her. My wedding day ran late because of the hair fiasco, but there were also much less guests. It was a beach wedding, so everyone pretty much hung out on the beach while we did photos afterwards, and then we walked to the reception.

What are your favorite wedding cake flavors?

Cristina: Chocolate! Yum!

Molly: I agree with Cristina.

Which celebrity would you want to be best friends with?

Cristina: If I had to pick one it would be Taylor Swift! She just seems so put together and just a nice person! But, honestly, I really have some wonderful friends and wouldn’t trade them for any celebrities. I don’t get to see them all as often as I want, but they’re the kind of friends that I could go months without seeing and when I do, we can just pick up where we left off. I don’t feel like we drift away, we know that we’re special to each other and love each other always.

Molly: Ellen. Because she cracks me up, and I feel like we could make up some fantastic stories. Also, I’m really not into celebrities…I didn’t even know who Kim Kardashian was until this past year and I’m not really sure I spelled her name right. I constantly describe celebrities like this “he looks like the guy in the movie with the camp fire and he had brown hair”….usually Cristina knows who I’m talking about.