Northern California Wedding Planner | Choosing Your Wedding Photographer

Hey there Spring! It's been an exciting last few weeks of wedding prep for our spring weddings and now that we are in full on wedding mode we also have planning sessions for our fall 2018 weddings and our 2019 couples.  So what that means is we are working on finding the perfect event partners for our couples from caterers, florists, bakers, DJ's and everything in between.  

If you've been reading our blog you know that we feel strongly about connecting with your wedding team, and that when you are making these decisions it truly is not just a matter of price.  Photo and video teams are going to spend a significant amount of time with you on your wedding day so it's important to vibe with them.  

Photo by Felix Russell-Saw on Unsplash

Regardless of how many months or even year(s) out you are from your wedding day, you may start hearing this phrase quite often "it is your day" or "whatever you like" because it's true we can't simply pick a list of people that we like and expect it to match all of your specific preferences.  However if the process of making all of these decisions feels overwhelming than by all means ask your wedding planner to give you their narrowed down preferred vendor list.

For this example, we will assume you are starting from scratch in the photographer search and we will take you through our process for finding the right photographer for your wedding!
 

Photography Style/Editing 

When our couples are looking for photographers we send them a list of several styles of photography to see which direction they are leaning towards, that could be a natural light photographer who has a lot of light/bright and colorful photos or a photographer who does a darker moodier edit. 

Photo by Petr Ovralov on Unsplash

Sometimes we find that couple's aren't set on a specific type of edit but rather the style in which the photographer shoots portraits (posed vs more candid shots) etc.  If you love that one photographer gets really unique angles and uses dramatic lighting and editing techniques then we know your list of photographers to meet with will be much different than a couple who really prefers soft natural light photos with minimal editing. 

Coverage

Now that you have narrowed down the style of photography that you are interested in, it is time to start thinking about your wedding day coverage and what your priorities are for photos.  This is important when you are comparing the number of hours included in wedding collections that you are considering. 

For example if you are looking at photographer A who you really love but are thinking of a 7 hour package, you will need to decide when their coverage would begin.  If sunset portraits are important to you then you can also look up with when the sunset is on your date and assume you will do sunset portraits 15-20 minutes before the sun actually sets.  Then work your way backward for the coverage start time.

If you ask us, we always recommend having at least 8 hours of coverage on your wedding day.  This allows you to plan your reception without feeling like you are rushing through all of the formalities to squeeze everything into a 6 or 7 hour photography timeline.

Pricing

We understand that your wedding budget is a real thing, and we want to provide you with options that make sense for your specific needs.  We help you narrow down the options to then reach out to the photographers and schedule a consultation or phone session so that you get to know them and understand more about the value they provide.  

If you have questions about choosing your wedding photographer feel free to reach out to us, we're always happy to help out!

Northern California Wedding Planner | For the Guys

When planning the master timeline, there is a lot of emphasis on the bride and her bridal party as we need to ensure we have a smooth hair and make-up timeline, everyone is where they are supposed to be and that no time is wasted between stepping into her gown to walking down the aisle.  What about the guys you ask? This one is for them!

Photos courtesy of Diane Nicole Photography

As a wedding planner, some of the questions that I ask when building the details for the timeline include:

1) Will you see each other before the ceremony? Meaning where will both parties be and do we need to make sure we have a buffer just in case?

2) Where will the grooms party stay the night before? Often the bridal party or the bride and a close friend or sister will stay together the night before but the groom may stay at home or have friends over.  *We typically get a blank stare at this point because these are details couple's haven't talked over yet! 

3) What will the groom and groomsmen be doing before the ceremony, when will they be getting dressed and where will they take their formal portraits.  Guys have had appointments at the barbers, bowled or even played a round of golf which made for some cool photos beforehand.
Some venues have separate bridal and grooms lounges so it makes it nice for getting ready but if your venue doesn't have this available make sure to consider travel times and your photography timeline so that you can ensure the groom will have time for portraits. 

Photos courtesy of Diane Nicole Photography

We love seeing the guys incorporate their style and personality into their attire and into the wedding itself.  These shots from Juan and Lindsey's Wedding in Live Oak photographed by Diane Nicole Photography are a perfect example of having fun! 

~ Happy Planning~