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Be Smart About Your Wedding Photography

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Advice from David Tutera on how to find the right photographer—and make sure that you get all of the shots you want.

By: David Tutera

Brides spend so much time picking the perfect dress, the perfect stationery, the perfect bouquets, and the perfect little favors and accessories that it maddens me when they rush to hire a photographer. The irony: It’s your photographer who is going to capture those special moments and details you spent days and days mulling over. It iscrucial that you pick your photographer toward the beginning of your wedding planning, not toward the end when you’re running out of time to get things done.

casey fatchett

Photo courtesy of Casey Fatchett Photography

Your photographer is going to be one of your very best friends during this exciting (and hectic!) time, so you really need to LOVE him or her—and not just their work but also their personality. They need to understand you, and you need to understand them. If you don’t immediately “click” with a potential photographer, then this person is not the one for you. Get referrals and, if the photographer is part of a larger studio, be sure to request the portfolio of the photographer who will actually be shooting you on your big day (not the work done by other photographers at the studio).

It’s important that the photographer understands your expectations. However, you also need to be realistic about those expectations. I’ll give you a perfect example. I had one New York bride who gave her photographer a huge shot list that she wanted done in the few hours leading up to the ceremony. The bride, groom, and photographer took a town car over the Brooklyn Bridge so that they could take pictures with the Manhattan skyline behind them. Because they were in such a time crunch, they were rushing to accomplish the shot. And then the unimaginable happened—the car spontaneously caught on fire while everyone was still inside! Fortunately, no one was injured… but the photo shoot had literally gone up in smoke, all because of poor planning and unrealistic expectations.

If a big shoot is what you really want, plan it out (realistically!) days in advance and, if possible, get most shots done before your wedding day. But, let’s be honest, you should trust your photographer to know how many shots is more than enough to tell your wedding story.

Down the Aisle In Style,

David Tutera