How to Search for the Perfect Wedding Photographer for Your Wedding
If you’ve just started your search for a wedding photographer, you may be overwhelmed. There are so many wonderful resources for wedding photography, so where do you start? Here’s our best advice for a successful search:
National Blogs
Style Me Pretty, Green Wedding Shoes, Ruffled, Grey Likes Weddings, Wedding Chicks, 100 Layer Cake, and Junebug Weddings are a start. Pick three that align with your wedding’s aesthetic and regularly read them for good tips and vendor recommendations. Having an upscale hotel ballroom wedding? Look at Style Me Pretty and Martha Stewart Weddings. Like doing it yourself and handmade weddings? Check out DIY Bride. Looking for alternative wedding inspiration? Try Offbeat Bride and RocknRoll Bride. For every style, shape, and size of wedding, there is a blog that you will connect with. Be sure to search vendor listings for local wedding photographers in your area, or fly someone in from another area if you can. This is a great way to find vendors that meet a specific style.
Insider Tip: When you search the national blogs, make sure you are seeing real weddings. The trend toward styled shoots is meant to inspire ideas but it’s not a realistic way to find vendors that can handle your specific wedding, as real wedding days are not as controlled as a planned shoot.
2. Local Blogs
Google "DC wedding blog" or "Baltimore wedding blog" and you will find top-ranking blogs in your area. These are great resources and listings for wedding professionals and will showcase local wedding photographers and good examples of recent, real weddings. You'll also be in the know for any upcoming events and showcases. Some local favorites for us: United with Love, District Weddings, Capitol Romance, Washingtonian Weddings, and Baltimore Weddings’ Local Love.
3. Google
You won’t get a curated search result if you just Google “DC Wedding Photographer.” You’ll be given a listing of wedding photographers who paid to have those keywords ranked in their sites. Instead, try searching “your venue + wedding photography” or “your venue + wedding photos.” Your search results will give you a good idea of who has worked at the venue and how often. It also helps with comparing different styles since you'll see the same scene photographed by many different photographers.
4. Magazines
A great resource for local wedding photographers is your local city magazine. You might think this goes against how tech-savvy the world has become, but there is validity in something that has been around for longer than the life of a blog post. In most cases, these vendors have been tried and tested and have proved their worth. Some magazines offer lists of professionals they recommend. These are a great place to start and as you go through the list, check out the vendor's online presence as well. Even the advertisers are worth checking out. If a business has enough money to put into an ad, then they have done something right to get them to this place.
5. Vendor Directory Websites
The Knot and Wedding Wire are probably the most widely used of these kinds of sites. Zola is another of these resources. These sites are a great way to see an entire listing of all the vendors in a certain category who offer their services, and they can be searched by price and style. Use a discerning eye to whittle down the list to fit your style. Be sure to research these companies aside from looking at their website to see if there is any additional information about how they have interacted with former clients.
A word of caution: Craigslist
I do not recommend hiring a professional from Craigslist, even if you are on a very small budget. You would do much better by asking one of the established photographers whose work you love to recommend someone. They may know of less-experienced, up and coming, photographers who might be willing to offer a lower price for their services. No matter what, have a signed contract! You’ll need to protect yourself.
