Randy and I have gone on our fair share of meetings with potential brides and grooms over the last few years. Usually if we have gotten to the point of actually sitting down with a wedding client, it’s a matter of making sure our personalities jive. We are BIG believers in hiring a photographer you actually want to be around, because we will spend more time with you than you will spend with anyone else on your wedding day. And not just that – but we try to spend time with our brides and grooms even BEFORE the wedding – grabbing pancakes together, hanging out for your engagement session, even coming to the rehearsal dinner; that way, when we show up to weddings, we’re working with friends!
But at the initial get-to-know-you client-vendor “dating” stage … there are a few questions that we just love to be asked. To us, these questions mean you are serious about working with us and becoming a lifelong friend, and that you really care about photography for the most important day of your life.
5 Questions To Ask Your Wedding Photographer
Do you have any vendors you’ve worked with, that you’d love to refer? We LOVE referring out trusted vendors, and knowing that our brides and grooms will be taken care of. If we refer a business out to our brides and grooms, it means that not only means that the couple trusts us and values our opinions – but we also know that their wedding is going to be amazing because they’re going to have a GREAT team to work with.
Can we see a full gallery? While yes, we have done a careful job of curating images for our blog and portfolio, we LOVE that brides and grooms care enough about hiring us to see a full gallery. Here’s a great article from F-Stoppers about why you should always ask your wedding photographer for a full gallery but basically the gist of it is – we typically deliver 90-100 images per hour of coverage, but we only share 5-10% of the wedding on the blog.
Do you have a sample wedding album we can see? The wedding album is how people are going to look at your wedding photos in your home; it’s how your grandchildren are going to be able to hold a little piece of the love story that started their whole family. You want it to be high quality, and timeless. We LOVE showcasing our albums! It gives brides and grooms the chance to feel a piece of what we offer right there in their hands.
We aren’t the best at posing ourselves – will you help us? First off, everyone is nervous in front of a camera. We all act dorky, and don’t really know how to pose ourselves. It’s our job to make you look your best, and to capture not only your dorkiness – but also the real, genuine you. The first 15-20 minutes of any session is going to be awkward while you get used to being with each other in front of the camera (which is one of the reasons we now shoot engagement sessions for all clients).
What happens if we book with you, and you can’t make it to the wedding for whatever reason? This is SUCH an important question, because it means you’re thinking ahead, and dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s. And if the past few weeks have taught me anything, it’s the value in having a back up system just in case something were to happen. Always make sure your photographer has a back-up plan!
Until next week! xoxo
