Decide up front what type of photography you want. The new trend right now is storytelling photography or photojournalism photography. Your other options would include the more traditional posed photography or even a combination of the two. Talk with your fiancé prior to meeting with photographers so that you know ahead of time what type of work to look for in your photographer.

Ask friends and co-workers for recommendations for photographers. Many people you already know who are married probably had wedding photographers and would be a great place to start when looking for suggestions for photographers.

Meet with photographers and view their work. Ask to see a complete wedding album of one single wedding rather than an album with 20 different weddings with 1 or 2 images from each wedding. You want to make sure that your photographer can capture an entire wedding beautifully rather than just being able to get off a lucky shot or two throughout the day. Try to meet with at least 2 or 3 different photographers before making any decision. Photographers are trained of course to close the deal before letting you out the door, but if they have really done their job and impressed you, waiting through a few more interviews won’t hurt.

Ask lots of questions. Trust me, photographers are used to this. I do warn against using pre-made “questions” that you can download off of wedding websites. These are generic and probably don’t answer anything that you are really concerned about anyway. Ask questions that you really want to know the answer to and will make an impact on your decision. Is it really going to matter to you if a person has been photographing weddings for 10 years versus 15 years or what school they went to? Probably not. Instead look for the answers to things like “How do you handle major changes in the day such as people running late or the wedding not starting on time” or “Have you ever had to deal with severe drunkenness at a reception?”. You want to know that their work is beautiful, that it’s emotional and they know how to handle themselves at a wedding under any circumstance.

Be sure that you “feel good” about them. No other wedding vendor will be with you more on your wedding day than your photographer. If you don’t get along with them, it will be a major damper on your wedding. Make sure the rapport is there and you actually like the person you are considering hiring. If you are a reserved couple, your photographer shouldn’t be a clown and if you are a fun energetic couple, your photographer shouldn’t act like he runs the local funeral home. Make sure your personalities go well together!

Make sure to choose the right package that fits your needs and your budget. You might wonder why price wasn’t the first thing to consider on this list but the truth of the matter is, the price of your photographer should NOT be the first thing to consider. Price can sometimes be deceiving when it comes to wedding photography. You might go with the cheapest guy because he costs less and risk losing that emotional connection in your photography or worse…dealing with someone who really doesn’t know the first thing about capturing a romantic wedding.  Price is about books, paper and hours. Do not base the decision on your photographer purely on price or you will be sure to be disappointed.

Be sure that you understand your contract and payment requirements before leaving the table. It’s standard practice to pay a deposit or retainer at your contract signing and many require the balance to be due prior to or on the day of the wedding. You should ask questions or see if they are addressed in the contract about issues that arise such as a change in date or if the photographer is sick. There should always be a backup plan in place. Remember the contract is your standing ground if something goes wrong. It doesn’t matter what he told you during your consultation, it only matters what is on the contract. Make sure you understand it all.