Choosing an Incredible Photography Experience – Not Just a Photographer

My end goal is always to create an incredible wedding photography experience for my couples! The thing all of my prospective couples need to know: what does hiring me to photograph your wedding look like? How exactly is everything going to go down on the big day? What exactly is my role as a photographer, and what can you expect from me? What do you need to provide me? I know that’s a lot of question marks, but choosing a wedding photographer isn’t something you should do lightly. These photos are going to be ones that you look back on for the rest of your life. It’s important to hire someone whose work you like, and that you connect with. So let’s chat about it!

Before the Wedding

The first step is getting in touch with me, either via DM or email. After that, we have a call either over phone or facetime (your preference).  This is your chance to tell me all about the big day!  I want all the details- your venue, the vibe you’re going for, what you’re most excited about and what you might be a little nervous about.  You’d be amazed at how many couples are truly nervous about the photography end of their wedding day. I also love to get to know you both as a couple. How long you have been together, what kinds of things you like doing together, all those fun details!

It is also a chance to dive into some of the logistics of my wedding photography packages. Conversations about things like coverage, inclusions, pricing etc. prior to booking are key!  Other than each other, the person you spend the most amount of time with on your wedding day is usually your photographer.  So getting a solid feel for eachother is vital to an incredible wedding photography experience.  

You’d be surprised how often a phone call with people can change their vision for their wedding photography.  Once all the details are ironed out, you’ll get an email from me that has a contract, an invoice with payment arrangements outlined, and a questionnaire. The questionnaire goes over a lot of the info we chatted about in your initial consultation call. It is super important because knowing you and your priorities is how I’m going to create a unique and curated experience for you during this whole process! I want to take photographs that are reflective of your individual personalities. I want to deliver a gallery full of images that you love, and connecting with you is the best way to do that!

Keeping in Touch

Now, people often book me over a year in advance. This is a LONG time, and things change. This is why I make sure to keep in contact with you from the time you book right up until the day of the wedding. You can expect regular emails about things like your engagement shoot, timelines, and other wedding details as well as regular check-ins so you know I haven’t forgotten about you! I will also provide an entire guide for you to help plan your day. From the timing of each part the day, all the way down to who should have the rings the morning of your ceremony!

Then, about a month before your wedding day we will have a final phone call to iron out all of the timing details of your day!  So many of my couples describe their dream wedding as stress free and enjoyable.  The best way to have a stress free wedding day is to make sure all of the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed.  So by ensuring I have all of the answers well in advance I can help keep that stress free feeling all day long! 

Engagement Sessions

Let’s jump back to engagement shoots for a quick sec. Did you know that my regular package comes with an engagement session at the location of your choosing? We meet for the session, and then the gallery is delivered to your inbox! You can read more about preparing for an engagement session here. Your engagement session with me is actually one of my best secret weapons for ensuring your wedding day photography experience is one that you look back on and LOVE! 

When we get together for your engagement session it gives you an opportunity to get to know me, learn how I use light, use posing and just generally work behind the camera.  We get to have some fun when there are no time constraints and really get to know one another.  So on your wedding day, instead of some stranger showing up, it’s like an old friend arrives to shoot.  *Another sweet benefit?  All those nervous jitters about how to act in front of a camera?  We’ll get those out of the way during your engagement session too.

Creating an Incredible Photography Experience On the Wedding Day Itself

The big moment – IT’S WEDDING TIME! My second photographer and I will arrive at the specified location(s) at the indicated time. My usual plan is to spend the getting ready time with the bride myself and send my incredible assistant to photograph your fiance. However this is up to you! We’ll take the “getting ready” photos, wedding detail photos and do things like the first look. Things like detail shots are great to include in your album to allow it to look more high end and put together. It’s always nice to remember all those little things you put so much effort into years down the road.  

Your Day, Your Way

We will photograph the ceremony, wedding party, and reception all based on the timeline we built together the month before! You can choose to do a first look with your partner. Or even your parents, your wedding party or anyone else you love. You can choose to do all the photography ahead of the ceremony so that the rest of the day can focus on celebrating. Alternatively, you can keep it more traditional and not see your partner till the end of the aisle. How things go is entirely up to you. If you have any questions or uncertainties about how to do it, the guide I provide can answer so many of those questions.  

Don’t want to take stylized wedding party photos in between the ceremony and reception? You don’t have to! Want to go to the beach to take some photos with just you and your spouse? I’ll pack my flip flops! Do things YOUR way, it’s your wedding! Don’t let other people’s opinions influence you. I also ask that all my couples include us in their head count for dinner. It’s a long day for everyone involved and a good meal is much appreciated! After your wedding you will receive some sneak peek images within a week or so of your wedding!  These are yours to share and love as quickly as I can get them to you!  You can expect your full gallery within about 6 weeks. You can also look forward to choosing wall art, prints albums and enlargements to show off your wedding photos!