Tips on Choosing A Wedding Photographer

Oh the joy of wedding planning. It starts off with that special moment when you are proposed to ( or proposing to someone ), the non-stop admire you have for your gorgeous sparkling ring.  That smile you wear on your face constantly.  Tho "ooh's" and "ahh's."  Why yes it is all so exciting and enchanting.. until..you begin to realize all the work involved in planning and designing a wedding.
Don't stress out so much darling. There are ways around becoming a Bridezilla, and ways to avoid any Horrible mishaps and things gone oh so wrong.

First things first.. RESEARCH.
You have got to start somewhere, and you might as well really get to know what your looking for, and what questions to ask. Check out my post on Important Questions to ask your venues  HERE
(http://showeredwithdesign.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-beginning-of-wedding-planning.html)
You may get an idea on what to ask your other vendors for your wedding, and get an idea of how it all works.

I started off by Writing down the MOST Important things I MUST(want)  have:
1. Venue- including food
2. Coordinator- ( My Venue requires)
3. Photographer
4. Flowers
5. Officiant

Then I made a list of Additional Things I would like to have, but unsure if they will all work with our budget.
.DJ/ Lighting
. Photobooth
.Candy Bar

This list is not COMPLETE, there are many other little details I will go over on a later date.

I first researched every possible venue in Orange County-(Where I live). As I said in my previous blog post, I made a separate wedding email account so I can organize my emails from my personal life. ( Trust me- it made things so much easier!)
I went on the websites to check out the photos of the location to see if it was one  I was interested in, and would write down all the ones I found intriguing.
The ones I found to be of my liking, I inquired to find out the pricing. ( This really helped me narrow them down)
I made time to visit the locations in person( I started with a certain city, and moved on to the next) to see what they really looked like in person and if I was interested in learning more. If I was interested in that venue, I would make an appointment with  the venues sales coordinator.

I ended up narrowing my top 3 in a matter of days. ( It really helped by visiting all my possible options- some had aMazeballs photos, and in person looked like a dump.- Don't judge just based on photos alone!)

I made an appointment with the hotel I chose to discuss and take a tour of the ballroom, the ceremony locations, the ballrooms, and where the cocktail hours would be. I fell in love instantly when I found the right place! Now all I had to worry about was the price!  Luckily my dad was able to talk down the price.  So don't just settle! It doesn't hurt to ask. Although she wasn't able to give us a direct answer that day, because she had to speak to her managers, but she got back to us within a week!

Now that I got the venue picked out, my next step was to research a photographer for my engagement photos and for the wedding day. The best advice my friend gave me was  "Ask the Photographer to view an entire wedding album"
You'd be surprised even with professional photographers don't know how to capture an amazing photo without the help of touching it up later with Photoshop.

-Really ask your photographer questions. How long have they been shooting weddings. If they knew how to operate a camera before all the digital madness, then they might just really get the photos you admire. Really research the photographers, and the wedding albums they provide.
I put together a list of the BEST advice on choosing a photographer from a Professional Photographer- who I recommend if you live in the OC area - Michael Jonathan - prices are extremely reasonable as well :

-How long have they been in the business?
-Ask to see an Entire Wedding Album from start to finish- not just 5 pretty pictures on the site that have been heavily photographed (If they can't provide that.. thats a red flag)
-Check out the photographers blog, see how often they are shooting, if you only see a few images from a blog post, somethings up.
-Really ask questions, be prepared to know what you want.

Hope that helps! I haven't chosen a photographer just yet ( I still have 18 months before my wedding, so I have about 8-10 to really decide) but he is number one on my list.



Thanks for being a part of this journey with me. As I go through the many phases of wedding planning, I will discuss and come up with tips to help you. Any questions please just ask! We are all here to help each other out, right?