Things turned around a few years ago when I was moving back to Seattle from DC (my second stint in the city) and I was looking for apartments to view while I was in Seattle for 4 days for a few interviews. Everything was too expensive and I was about to give up when I read a posting titled, "3 bedroom apartment, North Beacon Hill $1000." If that wasn't enough, the only picture on the listing was of a dragon made from tile. It said that the dragon was part of the custom designed bathroom. I called immediately and made an appointment for Saturday morning at 7am. I was getting in at 11:30pm on the Friday. The apartment was better than I imagined. We not only have 3 large bedrooms, but also 2 bathrooms, lots of closets, tile in both bathrooms and bamboo floors though the whole place. We moved in 2 weeks later and have been there ever since.
Over the years, Craiglist has provided me with amazing deals. $1000 leather coach from Ikea for $200? Check. Brand new brother sewing machine for $50? check! So when I needed help staying within my itty bitty budget, I went to Craigslist.
My first find? The Photographer. I posted an ad online looking for a photographer in the $300 range. I targeted people in or just finishing photography school and second shooters hoping to branch out on their own. I didn't think I would get much of a response but I was wrong. I got 250 bids the first day! I had to pull the ad after 8 hours. Some work wasn't very good, some people weren't very nice, but there were 4 people with great work at the right price. I gathered all the great photographer interview questions everyone sent in to Weddingbee and condensed them down to 8 key points.
We met with 4 people last weekend and finally decided on Jess Carmichael. His pictures were lovely, his enthusiasm infectious and the package was perfect. He's doing 9 hours of work for $300! That doesn't include the time he'll need to touch up and edit pictures. He's amazing. He's just starting out but hopes to never charge more than $500 for his services in the future. He's hoping to provide affordable photography for those on a budget. I couldn't share all his pictures in this posting as they are protected, but I managed to put up one. More can be seen on his website.
We mailed out deposit today and couldn't be happier! We're the 11th wedding he's booked for this year. Craig came through again. Actually, there were so many talented people who contacted us. It was really hard to pick from the 4 that we interviewed.
Our next craigslist find? My hair and make-up artist. Stay tuned to find out more!
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