Back in September, I was poring over craigslist, looking for a wedding photographer with the following qualities:
1) Takes photos with some verve and personality, capturing candid shots of the guests as well as the couple
2) Willing to show mercy to a laggard groom who put off getting a photographer until a month before the ceremony
3) Won't cost more than the entire rest of the wedding and reception put together (which was the case for a lot of the folks I found on yelp!)
And that was how we ended up calling Herrick.
Herrick talked with me several times before the ceremony, learning about the schedule, choreography, and guest list, and asking about particular shots or types of photos we wanted him to get. We were holding our ceremony in Golden Gate Park's Fuchsia Dell, which is not a standard wedding setup, but he took it in stride. He even helped us straighten out some photography permit issues with the city, which wasn't part of his job -- just one of the ways he went above and beyond to help us have a great wedding.
At the wedding, Herrick and his supporting photographer did everything we could have hoped for. They came early, communicated with us, and were friendly and polite to everyone. They did an especially good job of taking the photos we asked them to, but also staying out of the way and using their professional judgement when we didn't have specific instructions.
After the ceremony, they scouted out a lovely, slightly secluded area for some photos of the two of us. After a while we told them we wanted to get back to our guests, and they were fine with that too (I've heard stories of wedding photographers who were not so agreeable when a client questioned their artistic vision).
They emailed us the medium-size photo files just a day later, and sent a DVD with the full-sized ones shortly after. They had some wonderful pictures of my wife and me -- lively, intimate, and genuine. They also had at least one good photo of each of our guests.
Overall: friendly, professional, good rates, and a great photographer. I'm happy to recommend him!