Recently a friend of mine, who shall remain nameless but whose name rhymes with Mike, told me he wanted to get engaged to his partner. He wanted to get married to her, but the thought of planning a wedding was really putting him off. I will tell you what I told him…

I have never been married, even though I think I would be REALLY good at it, but I have seen firsthand what goes into planning and creating a wedding day. As a wedding photographer, I am in regular contact with my clients. Not just as their wedding photographer but also as a point of of general contact and support. I want them to know they are not alone so I hear all the stories of the “WEDMIN”, supplier conversations, the stresses as well as the stressors and of course the family opinions of what the wedding should look like. Everyone has an opinion.

 

Planning a wedding is not easy and if you have never been through the process before it can be more than a little overwhelming. This blog series is designed to help guide you through that process by sharing not only my experience, but also that of my industry colleagues.
Each post will focus on a different aspect of your wedding with advice from suppliers who offer those services

 

I wanted to start by talking to you about wedding photography. So let us begin…

 

There is no one part of your wedding that is more or less important than any of the others. All of the elements come together to create the occasion. As suppliers, we are an orchestra, all playing our specific piece of music to create the symphony that is your special day.
However, wedding photos are one of the few things that you are left with once your wedding day has finished. With that in mind, I want to share my advice on what I would do when it comes to choosing your wedding photographer.

Where do we even begin?

Some people already know who their wedding photographer will be, they have known for years and will reach out to them before deciding on any other part of the wedding.  Some people who aren’t even in a relationship have already chosen their wedding photographer!
(In case you’re wondering, Yes I have – KT Merry) Some people have no idea and even less of an idea where to begin.

Recommendation is always a good place to start, but personally I would start on social media. Instagram is the perfect place to see work from a whole range of photographers. A simple hashtag search allows you to look through work form hundreds of different suppliers. Don’t worry too much about choosing someone at this stage, just get a feel for what is out there and see what kind of styles you like.

Take your time and create a shortlist of people that you like based on the work that you have seen.

 

“That’ll do” is not for you

When you look at images from each photographer do love them? Don’t you think you should? If it’s more “meh” than “hell yeah” keep looking.

I say that because these images are the record of your most important day. They are forever and you could be looking at them for the rest of your life. I would want to make sure I love the images that my photographer creates. Wedding Photographers have a style, a way that they take photos and by looking at the work they have on their social media and website, you can get a pretty good feel for the results you can expect.

Get to know them

I always talk about the importance of this point. Get to know your wedding photographer. Have a face-to-face conversation so you can understand who the person is behind the lens.

Do you like them?
Are you happy to spend all day with them?
Do you trust them?

This supplier will be interacting with all the people you love most in the world, are you comfortable with that? Is this someone that you would happily introduce to your family and friends?

Don’t dismiss this, it’s an important thing to consider.

What is their plan?

So you love the work and you like the person, do they have a plan for the big day? I always say to my clients that us working together is a collaboration. Find out what your photographer has planned for your day, how they going to approach the photography, and what are their ideas.

It shouldn’t be a deal breaker that they haven’t worked at your chosen venue, but what is their plan to ensure they are fully prepared?

Do they devote time to capturing images of your family and friends? This might be the only time in your life when all these people are in the same room at the same time. Wouldn’t it be nice to look back and remember who you shared your wedding day with?

What is important to you about the wedding? What are the things and the people you would want to remember? Or are the essential moments you want captured? Can this person do that for you?

Ask all the questions

Finally and most importantly, ask all of the questions. Anything and everything that you want to know. There is NO SUCH THING as a silly question. Have several meetings with them if that is what you need. I have had telephone, video and face to face conversations with some clients, I once had a zoom call with a Bride a Groom and both sets of parents.

This is a big decision, so whatever you need to do to be comfortable, do it. Someone who cares about your day as much as you do will be happy to speak to you as often as you need.

 

I remain at your service,

Marc