Congratulations! You’re engaged and looking to hire a wedding photographer! But where do you start? How far in the process should you be? How far in advance do you book them?

All great questions and hopefully I can answer them for you well!

As a general rule of thumb here are the 3 things you should have figured out before hiring your wedding photographer

1. Wedding Venue / Location

Your wedding venue is one of the most important pieces to figure out before booking your other wedding vendors. Why? The location of the venue may determine where your vendors are coming from.

For example, if you live in Milwaukee, WI and you’re getting married in Denver, Colorado it may make more sense to find a photographer in/near Denver, Colorado than it would to use a local Milwaukee, WI photographer. Often times this can save you on travel fees but also narrow down the list of vendors to those within the surrounding area of your venue! This also can be helpful because that local photographer may know all the secret spots to go to, etc.

Now if you have the perfect photographer in mind and that person is your must-have, then hell ya absolutely book them! Just about any photographer, including me ?, will travel for couples in love.

2. Wedding Date

Some couples have their ideal date picked out months ahead, whether it’s a meaningful date like an anniversary or just a cool grouping of numbers like 10/10/2020 (this was a hot date) but depending on your location you may be limited to that venue’s available dates.  If your wedding date is set in stone, it limits what venues are available. But if your venue is set in stone that can determine the available wedding dates.

Whenever I talk to my couples about their wedding I always say, it comes down to your preference. If you have a date on your heart and you can make that happen, do that! But if your venue is top priority then let that determine your date! If both are a factor than sometimes that takes some extra figuring out!

3. Editing Types

This is another VERY important piece to be aware of and really ask yourself. What kind of editing do you like? Film vibe? Dark and Moody? Bright and airy? True to color tones?

But now you may be thinking, how do I know what editing I like?

Go to Pinterest or Instagram and see what kind of photos you gravitate towards. Look specifically at the greens, the blacks and the whites in a photo.

• Greens: Do you like the green really desaturated or do you like them to be super green and stand out?
• Whites: Are the white SUPER bright or a little bit more muted?
• Blacks: Do you like dark blacks in photos? If so, cue a little more of the dark and moody.

Do you like your blacks to be really light and your whites even whiter? Then you may lean more bright and airy.

Do you like more of the motion blurred photos with a little grain? You may be more into the film vibes

At the end of the day, no answer is wrong. It’s your preference.

If I had to bucket myself, I am true to tone with a touch of dark and moody. I try to keep my photos about 90% true to the day with a little grain to give photos that timeliness feel. My greens are a little more true to tone but also have a bit of warmth to them.

Final thoughts: Once you have the venue, the date and what editing type you like you can start narrowing the list of photographers down from there and see who is available for your date!

Obviously, you can do any of these in whatever order makes sense for you and your day.

Again, if you require a specific photographer then obviously you have to coordinate dates between your desired photographer and venue to come up with the best scenario for you!

Personally, I book weddings 15-18 months in advance so if I am your perfect photographer, fill out my contact form and get me booked asap! Can’t wait to hear from you! I hope you found this helpful!