So many things have happened to you this year. You are in love, you got engaged, and now, you’re planning a wedding! Congratulations!! It’s amazingly fun, isn’t it?
I’m sure you were excited to hit up the local bridal shows and scooped up as much information and ideas as possible. Believe me, walking through a bridal show is inspiring, to say the least. But after you pushed through the crowds, signed up for as many giveaways as possible, grabbed flyers and pricing and chatted with everyone, what do you do? You have a huge bag full of information to sort through and it looks… daunting.
As soon as you can, go through the information and weed out the front runners. Since I am a wedding photographer, I will (of course) use that as an example. 🙂 Look through their package prices and offerings and see how they compare. Even if you weren’t totally hooked on any of them, reviewing the info can give you a good solid idea of what to expect from a wedding photographer. Go to their websites and see if there’s anything you like. Look through their portfolio, look through their blog, check out the testimonials. Once you have a basic idea of what your style of photography is, and what price-point you need to be looking for, start searching. The internet is your friend, here.
A few tips on internet searches: Don’t just go with the first page, or even the first two pages of results. The photography market is fairly saturated and as such, so are search engines. Take your time and find the photographer who speaks to you, and of course, one that you can budget for.
That being said, most photographers are booked well in advance, so don’t delay! Many brides book their photographer a year or more in advance, and for special dates or busy months – one to two years in advance. Email them, get price quotes and get that in person meeting. Your photographer is someone who will be by your side the entire day of your wedding. Make sure it is someone you connect with and who fits your personality style.
Happy planning!!
