Written by Julianne Cuomo, our Director of Celebrations.

Reminiscing about your wedding – days, weeks, and even years later – is always a fun thing to do with friends and loved ones. And, this almost always leads to pulling out the photos from your big day! Because of this, it’s no surprise that finding a good wedding photographer is at the top of most brides’ wedding priority lists.

Much Different than Picking a Cake

Choosing a photographer can be a hard task for some. It’s not like picking out a cake, where you can physically see and taste it beforehand so that you know what you’re getting. It can be a scary thought that the person behind the lens only has one shot at capturing those perfect moments on your special day. Selecting a photographer requires a lot of faith, trust, and most importantly, research.

2 Important Questions

There are two basic questions you need to ask yourself when it comes to choosing a wedding photographer:

1. What is my budget?
2. What vision do I have for my wedding photos? (Do you want your photos to look traditional and resemble that of your parents? Or, do you want a more modern, edgy look that is non-traditional?)

Look at some packages that various photographers offer to see which pictures they do and do not include. Compare prices to make sure you are getting your money’s worth and that you are comfortable with including this price in your budget.

Once you’ve answered the budget question, you can begin your research. ALWAYS research your potential photographer by looking at their portfolio of past weddings they have done. This is a great indicator to see if you and your photographer have the same vision for your big day.

Photo Credit: Laura Ross Photography

A great way to “try” a wedding photographer is to have them do your engagement photos. By doing this, you are able to spend some time with the photographer and see how you interact with each other. This will give you a good feel of what to expect on your wedding day and you’ll have more trust in your photographer after seeing your printed engagement photos.

If you have a wedding planner, be sure to ask them for their advice. They will more than likely have recommendations and valuable information to share with you. At Golden Ocala, we have a preferred list of photographers that we trust and recommend to our brides.

Stay Tuned!

Lately, we have seen a few new trends involving wedding videos. Ever seen a wedding trailer or an indie-style wedding video? What a great way to relive one of the best days of your life by watching it all in a short movie! Stay tuned for our next blog about wedding video trends!