Every wedding is different. Every photographer is different. Every business has different booking deadlines. So where do you start?

My recommendation is start looking for a photographer whose style you like as soon as you are engaged. Start chatting with them about weddings, their favorite shots, what they enjoy, and what they prefer wedding clients do in terms of booking. Because I promise you we have a preference for how we like to do those bookings whether it is ever vocalized or not.

Most photographers are looking to book a year or two in advanced, this guarantees them a full schedule and it gives their wedding clients an opportunity to pay in installments leading up to the day so they aren’t incurring the cost of wedding photography in a lump sum.

That folks is also something to consider when booking a photographer, weddings are time consuming, stressful, and a ton of work, therefore they are not cheap. The longer you wait closer to your big day to hire a photographer the more expensive it will be. Or you will likely be settling for a photographer that may not be your number one choice, who shoots in a style you may not particularly love, or is the only one you can afford.

Think about your must have shots! Every photographer has a different process, every package is different as well. But this is your wedding day, you have dream images in mind before the wedding is the time to communicate that information to your photographer.

Many photographers will have shot lists, I myself have my wedding couples rank must haves especially if they book a package where I am not bringing multiple photographers with me and have more limited time doing single coverage.

Finally, know that all photographers will only cover so much of your wedding. Most put time blocks in their packages and this is because once prep starts we are on. We arrive for the rehearsals, we shooting everyone getting ready and everything in between so at some point we have to wrap up. That means the reception isn’t going to be full coverage, maybe an hour or less.

Schedule first dances, cake cutting, and other reception events early in the evening so you can party hard with out a camera in your face afterwards because photographers do bow out after they have what they need. If you want dancing pictures, make sure the dj or band plays songs early on, because once we leave there are no do overs.

And remember be vocal and be honest about what you want and expect. Answer questionnaires from photographers truthfully because we will use your responses to plan the shooting of the day and execute it.