5 Mistakes Brides Make When Booking their Wedding Photographer

Hiring a wedding photographer can be one of the most stressful parts of planning a wedding! After all, this is the person intrusted to capture one of the most important days of your life! So let’s take a minute and review some of the top mistakes to avoid to ease your mind, and decrease stress!! All of these mistakes come from brides I have spoken to myself! It’s time to learn from the brides that came before you!

1) Not Booking Enough Hours!

This is probably the number 1 mistake that brides make when they are on a tight budget. They will opt for the 5-6 hour package that saves them a few hundred dollars and end up wishing they had skimped on other aspects of their wedding, such as flowers and decorations, instead of their wedding photographer. In fact, one of the reviews that I have on my site the brides says “My only regret is not booking her for more hours”. Remember when the day is done and the guests have gone, the only thing that is left are the memories and the photos and video that captured the day!

2) Booking a Photographer with Little to No Experience!

This is a big one for brides that are on a budget or want to just hire a friend. The groom from a wedding I photographed on January 25th admitted that his family tried to talk him out of hiring a professional photographer. They insisted that he use thier friend photographer they had a year ago…whom they still haven’t received the images from! I was just sick over that, and so happy that he went with his gut! In the spirit of transparency, I would like to share a couple of photos from 2016 vs my photos now! You will notice a few things. First, the quality overall is just so much better now, and second consistency! On the left, is my 1st wedding I was the lead photographer for on 4/1/2017, after being the assistant photographer for 20 weddings. Now after shooting 60 weddings, you can see the difference right?! This is just one of the many differences between a novice photographer and a more experienced one.

Wedding Photography Then and Now

3) Not Asking enough Questions!

It is so important to know all the essential information! The policy in case of cancelation or postponement. What is included in the packages and so much more! If you’d like to know my top 5 Questions to Ask a Photographer Before Booking, please visit my blog, it has some important tips! Know one wants an unexpected surprise before or after their wedding, at least not one that might cause you more stress or money!

4) Booking them before you have vetted them!

Google has a plethora of information about anything and everything! If you have followed my advice and booked an experienced photographer, they should have at least 10 reviews between Google, Facebook, Yelp, Wedding Wire, and the Knot. If a photographer has 15 reviews they have probably photographed many more than that! We are all so busy that only 1 in every 3 brides or so write a review, it’s unfortunate but understandable. As long as your wedding photographer has a good 10 reviews you should be able to get an idea of what it will be like to work with them! What’s even better than reviews? Recommendations from friends who have used their services! The key is to make sure they are 100% honest! My friends used a photographer that was recommended to them by a mutual friend who had used her for their wedding….she neglected to inform us, as I was the one who thought she was a good choice, that the photographer didn’t deliver their photos for 6 months!! Often we don’t want to speak ill of others, but confidential honesty is important when making choices such as these!

5) Not Being Realistic with Your Budget!

This is a big one! Do your research! Find out what experienced photographers charge in your area and what is most often included! The median price for an experienced photographer that provides a full-service package is around $3,000-$4,000. If you are looking for a fine art photographer who might incorporate film into their work, expect to pay over $5,000 but realistically the grand total may be over $10,000. The photographer couple that I plan to book for my future wedding charges about $15,000, and are worth every penny!!

Hopefully, I haven’t scared you away! I want all couples to be well informed when planning their wedding! Just keep calm and carry on!!

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