Your wedding is one of the biggest days of your life. In most cases you have planned it for at least six months to a year. One of the things we tell our clients is, after all the guests have gone home, the cake is eaten, the flowers are dead, the tuxedos have been returned, and the wedding dress has been packed away in a box in the closet, there will only be a couple of tangible things left from that day. They are: your love for your new spouse, your dress, your wedding pictures and video. Therefore, this is a pinnacle moment that you don't want to leave to a photographer whose only goal is to just fill his or her calendar and take a big chunk of your wedding day budget.
Price should not be the only thing you look for when booking your wedding photographer. On the day of your wedding, your photographer is often your wedding assistant as well. He or she will work with you or your wedding coordinator to make sure that the day goes as planned and as seamless as possible. This takes both experience and teamwork. The photographer helps to organize the timeline, establish best positions for photos/video taking and the guests' best view of the action. In addition, my partner and I have fixed dresses, stitched rips, moved chairs and tables, assisted elderly guests and do what it takes to help make sure that the day goes well. All without missing a shot! You might say, "this is not what I hired you to do", but we would rather you look at a picture and see how wonderful the shot is over saying,
" My husband had a rip in his jacket in our pictures."
But even these things aren't the reason you hire a photographer. You want someone that is going to do all these things and give you an experience that reflects the day you have envisioned. If your photographer is not in line with your vision, then your pictures will not be all you hoped for. Your vision and his or hers have to match. Therefore, it is important that you clarify what your expectations are, and how he or she will execute a plan to make your wedding day photo dreams come true. While we tend to meet many of our clients through social media, we like to have a face to face meeting if possible, or at least a phone conference to just talk about the day. This way everyone is on the same page. The other thing we do to make sure that your wedding day is perfect is attend the wedding rehearsal. This way we get to meet the entire wedding party and family to become familiar with each other. This breaks the tension that many people have when the camera comes out.
Finally, all of this has to be paired with great photography. Many of our high end clients have their ceremonies at places that do not allow lights and flash photography during the ceremony. It is easy for a photographer to post pictures of sunny days and beach weddings, you'd have to leave your camera at home to miss those shots. But the reality is, most venues have poor lighting and no ideal place for the photographer to stand, so he or she will have to be both technically sound and light on their feet. Don't get sucked into the sales pitch, ask many questions before you give the deposit.
See you on your wedding day,
Laurie
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