Unless you work in the wedding industry or have helped a friend plan their wedding, then wedding planning is uncharted territory for most. It can seem a little overwhelming when you first start on the journey, but remember that at the heart of it your wedding day is simply about marrying the one you love, celebrating the beginning of a beautiful new chapter of your lives.

In this mini blog series I'm answering some of the most common questions newly engaged couples, brides-to-be, (even those still waiting for him to put a ring on it!) have about wedding photography.

Q: How do I choose a photographer?

Some people know exactly who they want to photograph their special day. Perhaps they've been dreaming about it for years. Maybe they've seen the photographers in action and love their work, or maybe they even know a photographer personally.

Some couples though have never really thought about this aspect of getting married and so when they start searching for a photographer it can be overwhelming!

​I have two tips with regards to finding the right wedding photographer for you...

1. Be drawn to their work - you need to love the style of work a photographer is showcasing and producing because this is largely how your wedding photos are going to look should you hire them. Over the years I've met with couples who are actually looking for a completely different style than what I offer and I always point this out & encourage them to find someone who's work aligns better because the last thing I want to do is disappoint them. If you love trendy editing styles find a photographer that does too. If you love the formally posed style portrait look for this in a photographer's portfolio. If you love natural candids look for that in photography portfolios.

2. Meet with them & make sure you like them. It's easy to start seeing all the vendors you hire for your wedding day as transactions (sometimes big transactions!) but it's so so important that you actually like your photographer because you are going to be spending a huge part of your wedding day with them! It would be pretty annoying to find out on your wedding day that you clash with your photographer's personality and risk having that tarnish your happy moments.

There are SO many photographers out there. And this is great for you if you're planning a wedding! Finding a photographer that suits your needs should never be a problem these days. Some photographers are long time pros that started out in the days of film, there's others just starting out looking for any work experience they can get and then there's everyone in between. ​

Find more wedding information, from wedding day timeline templates to tips for a stress-free wedding day & everything in between, over on the Wedding Hub section of my website.

The Wedding Hub is a free resource for those planning a wedding, it's constantly being updated & added to and is a curation of years worth of experience from ourselves as photographers and also other wedding vendors including florists, celebrants, make up artists and more!

Unless you work in the wedding industry or have helped a friend plan their wedding, then wedding planning is uncharted territory for most. It can seem a little overwhelming when you first start on the journey, but remember that at the heart of it your wedding day is simply about marrying the one you love, celebrating the beginning of a beautiful new chapter of your lives.

In this new mini blog series I'm answering some of the most common questions newly engaged couples, brides-to-be, (even those still waiting for him to put a ring on it!) have about wedding photography.

Q: Why is there so much variation in what wedding photographers charge? And why the heck is wedding photography so expensive??

Okay so this is a very loaded question! But I know it’s something a lot of people think when they start looking at wedding photographers. Our own friends have actually said to our faces we must be creaming it as photographers when they find out how much we charge per wedding! (If only).

Wedding photographers can range from free to $10k or more! Prices vary so vastly because of a number of different factors; the level that photographers are currently at skill-wise, their perceived value of themselves, whether it's more hobby or business, how much they're in demand and many more reasons. It also doesn't help that each photographer has different ways of packaging up their services, some sell top end product, others don't offer physical product at all. Some photographers cover the whole day, others charge by the hour. Our industry has no standardisation and this can make it extremely hard for couples to know where to start when they're searching for a wedding photographer.

So why do we charge what we charge? First & foremost I consider the numbers because while we absolutely love what we do, we're also running a legitimate business that has to make us a living. The hours associated with prepping for a wedding, meetings & emails, shooting the wedding, then editing the wedding are staggering when you break it all down. I worked out once that we spend over 50 hours from start to finish working on just one wedding. Then there’s costs directly associated to each wedding; travel, accommodation if it’s not local, printing, framing, albums, that fun thing called GST. Then before I even pay myself (and Matt) there’s also all those other costs of doing business to factor in first; insurances, depreciation of gear, training, maintenance, website fees, licences, phone, Kiwisaver, vehicle costs, etc.

But I also can still remember what it was like as a bride to be, trying to juggle a budget and plan a beautiful wedding. Most couples have a budget they need to stick to for their wedding and whether that's a big budget or a small one my advice is to prioritise for the things that are most important to you. If the music is important, go big with the band and compromise somewhere else. It could mean using a cheaper venue so that you can have the dress of your dreams. And if having timeless photographs to look back on in years to come is important then don't skimp on the photography budget. Sadly I've heard too many stories of regret from couples who chose an amateur, just got a friend with a camera to take a few snaps or worse; hired a less-than-professional photographer and ended up getting burned!

If you're struggling with finding the right photographer for your budget here's my top tips:

• Choose a photographer who's portfolio you love (this is ultimately what your wedding photos will look like),
• Meet with the photographer/s & make sure you get on because they're going to be with you all wedding day!
• Be aware of the photographer's level of skill, experience and professionalism. Choosing a cheaper entry level photographer isn't a bad thing (we were all once there!) but have your eyes open about what to expect for your money.

Unless you work in the wedding industry or have helped a friend plan their wedding, then wedding planning is uncharted territory for most people. It can seem a little overwhelming when you first start on the journey, but remember that at the heart of it your wedding day is simply about marrying the one you love, celebrating the beginning of a beautiful new chapter of your lives.

I'm writing a mini blog series answering some of the most common questions newly engaged couples, brides-to-be, (even those still waiting for him to put a ring on it!) have about wedding photography. So let's get started...

Q: When should we look to book a wedding photographer?

ASAP. As soon as you begin wedding plans.

And I don’t just say that because I’m a photographer! I say it because photographers often book up fast, especially during the busy summer months. And some photographers will allow bookings a long way in advance. We take bookings up to 18 months in advance.

My tip for booking any wedding vendors is consider that if it’s the type of vendor that can only be in one place at one time then they will book up faster. For example venues can only have one wedding a day, photographers can only photograph one wedding a day, whereas your cake maker may be able to take on two cakes for the same weekend, or a celebrant may have two weddings in a day.

If you know the photographer you like then it pays to contact them as soon as you begin wedding planning to check their availability. We are always blown away when couples get in touch with us before they’ve even set their wedding date or venue yet just to find out our availability! In fact we’ve had a few couples who have contacted us the weekend they got engaged! That might sound extreme but if you know who you want then you know who you want.

2020 has brought about many changes to the wedding industry, heck just life in general! And so photographers are possibly not booking up quite as fast as usual which could be great news for you if you're planning on a shorter engagement. Couples also seem to be holding off making concrete wedding plans with all the uncertainty in the world right now and I totally get that! Some photographers are also possibly mixing things up with their packages, prices and what they're offering. We've just created a petite wee photography package for smaller, more intimate weddings.

Stay tuned for next week's Q&A blog post! And feel free to leave a comment or flick me an email if you have any wedding photography questions you'd like me answer :-)