Wedding Bells: Choosing Your Wedding Photographer

So now you’ve booked your date and venue, one of the most important things to nail down is your wedding photographer.  The good ones get booked up *really* far in advance – we started looking 18 months in advance and one of our first choices was already booked on the day of our wedding.  Mental.  However, there is a lot to consider when thinking about the mementos of your day as wedding photography comes in all shapes and sizes.  So what do you need to know when you’re researching a wedding photographer?

Price

Ahh the all important cash conversation.  The world of weddings swings around money.  It’s best to have a budget in mind – we thought we might be able to get a photographer for the day for around £1,000 but we were prepared to be flexible with that figure as we consider photography to be one of the more important parts of the day.  We ended up spending £1,500 but got two photographers for that price!

Photographic Style

As I mentioned before, photographers come in all shapes and sizes and styles vary hugely.  Looking at photography in general, what kind of styles do you like?  Classic photography?  Artistic styles?  Black and white portraits?  Bear this in mind as you look through portfolios.

One other important consideration is that these pictures are meant to last a lifetime.  Yes we may look back on our parents photographs and laugh at the perms and the shoulder pads, but I’m sure our children will look back on ours and laugh at the horribly out of date hairstyles and dresses.

The photography is meant to be a memento of the day and will prompt your memory of those special moments way into the future.  If you’re going for a more artistic style then make sure you don’t end up with 1,000 photographs and none of the guests, you and your Mum and your Dad giving you away.  Sure, angled shots of feet, shoulders and hands look super cool but you have to balance that with the special moments you want to remember in 30 years to come.

Do You Actually Like Them?

As you start to meet with photographers, you will get a good idea about whether you like them as a person – something which might sound obvious, but is so important.  You want someone who is prepared to give advice, but also listen to your ideas.  Who you don’t mind being with you at some of the most intimate moments of the day.  Someone who won’t offend you or your guests.  (My brother’s wedding photographer told me I had knobbly knees, so I tried every pose to hide them, meaning I looked like I was holding in a wee on almost every picture.  Cheers mate.)

Share some of your ideas with them as you chat and gauge their response – maybe take along examples of the work of theirs you’ve seen that you like.  Ours even offered to send out a wedding checklist of suggested shots that we can work from.  I love that they want to help us get the best shots that will work for us on our day and not just do what they always do.  One of the reasons we love them is because of their creativity and I can’t wait to see what they come up with for our day.

Our Photographer

So after all of that, we chose North East based photographer sisters, The Twins.  I can’t exactly remember where we came across them, because all the flicking through magazines and looking online has blurred into one, but I’m so glad we did.  As I mentioned before, we actually get two photographers for the price of one almost – meaning both Andrew and I can be filmed getting ready and there are two perspectives on the day.

I hope that has helped.  If you’re planning your wedding, give me a shout in the comments below!

♥ JH

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