Supplier choices - the overwhelm is real!
So you have dealt with the big two - the date and the venue. You’ve negotiated the guest list, you have an idea of the style and vibe you are looking to create… Now to hone in on the other details - food (I mean, the decisions within this are literally endless!!), drinks, flowers, dress, jewelry, hair, make up, readings, speeches, rings, timetables, photos and the dreaded table plan… It’s a LOT! Before you even start making firm plans for some of these though, you need suppliers. Where do you even start? Google, Instagram, Pinterest... Hello overwhelm! Wedding planning is a major project, with so much to consider and so many moving parts, the overwhelm is real and it’s honestly not just you. Let me see if I can help a tiny bit.
Build yourselves a team - it's your people
The majority of the suppliers you use for your big day will be sole traders, individuals with their own businesses lovingly built from a passion for their craft. Yes they are businesses and brands, but underneath that they are just people! My advice to you, on your supplier choices, is to look at the people first. You definitely need to love the vibe and it needs to match what you are looking for but honestly, after you check out the homepage, tick, skip to the ‘about me’ page. This is where you will start to get to know your potential supplier and get a feel for whether you will click.
Some of these people will spend more time with you on the actual day than your friends and family. That’s a big deal. As an example, brides, think of your morning. Your hair stylist and MUA will be one of a handful of people who are in your getting ready space and that’s maybe a third to half of the whole day in terms of hours! You will chat to them and laugh with them, they will be in your photos afterwards, they aren’t just suppliers, they are people, and they will play a huge part in setting the tone and the feel of your morning. Pick people you like, feel relaxed with and trust. Make sure you have a good long chat before you book as well as seeing their work!
As for your photographer (and videographer, if you choose to have both), these people will be second only to your spouse for the amount of contact you have on your wedding day - scary thought haha! No pressure! I mean, you can ignore them if you wish, or you can use them as a wing man (woman!) and pick somebody who will add joy and help the whole day feel easy and relaxed. The pre-booking chat is a must! And, if you want to chat more than once before you decide, don’t feel afraid to ask for this, the right person will get it.
Wedding photographers do build a lot of knowledge over time, and whilst I feel far from an expert, I have come to realise that I am pretty helpful in the run up to a wedding day. Whether it is planning the timings, making sure you haven’t forgotten bits that were important to you, spotting potential glitches and bottlenecks in the flow, bouncing ideas, signposting to other suppliers (including other photographers if I can’t do it!), and generally being a helpful, neutral, objective sounding board. I honestly think you'll get the same from most photographers (the ones I am friends with anyway haha!). We really are pretty useful, use us!! Find someone who is happy to help.
Also, bear in mind that on the actual day, the right photographer can help no end with helping things to flow. Personally, I have one eye on the time all day, a timetable in my pocket, a list of all the important bits and people and my mind, and I'm constantly on alert for the light and the weather and the mood. Checking that someone has the rings, bonding with Granny and helping her down the steps, making sure that you have had a drink after the ceremony or a toilet break before you head into the reception… Generally just gently nudging things along without you realising. It’s an art form!! By the way, re-pinning wonky buttonholes is actually on my CV now, who knew this could be so tricky!
Your photography priorities - and let’s be clear, it’s not the edit style or the showstopper golden hour photos…
So, beyond choosing the people you want around you. What is my best advice, the little things that you might not have thought of that I think should tip the balance and help you choose your photographer? After all, we all tend to say similar things about our work and there are buzz words for photography styles that you will see over and over again. What should you look for underneath the words?
For me, I would start at the end. Imagine yourself on the morning after your wedding day, or the weeks after, it is all finished and, after all that hard work and planning, the day is done. You had the best day ever. You want to rewind time and do it again. What is it you want most from your photographs when that gallery lands in your inbox? Let me tell you what I would be saying in your shoes… it’s the FEELINGS. I would want to feel it all over again. I would want to remember the teeny tiny hidden moments, as they unfolded. It wouldn’t be so much the portraits looking like models (although, don’t get me wrong, who wouldn’t want this after all that effort and expense!), or the flat lay photos of rings, perfume and invitations (again, these are details that you put a lot of thought into, I’m not saying you don’t want some of these types of photos). But the next morning, or the next month, or the next year, it’s not a magazine spread you’ll be hoping to hold on to, but a deeply personal documentary of a day filled with the most love you could possibly squeeze into one place! It’s those moments that got lost in the whirlwind as you lived it, BUT someone was there beside you, watching, catching them, and making that sure you have them forever, to bring back the sheer joy of the day. Choose a photographer who looks for those bits. You should take it as a given that every wedding photographer will capture the key parts - the ceremony, the confetti, the cake cutting, the list goes on. But look for evidence of the tiny bits in between. Look for the story. And notice what you feel when you look at their work. Do you feel the feelings or is it admiration for the whole set up of a particular wedding and vibe? Don’t be fooled by this! Your wedding will look like your wedding, and it doesn’t matter what gorgeous venues your photographer has captured before, there will only be one wedding in your album - yours!
Finally, remember this, getting your photographs on the day is important but LIVING your day and being present is more important. Find the photographer who will get that balance just right and let you live your day without pulling you aside when you are in the middle of enjoying yourself. If you want to be present and enjoy it, your photography priority won’t be perfect light and perfect poses, it will be perfect moments and zero stress, it will be sneaking off for time as a couple when it doesn’t disrupt the flow and then enjoying that time together rather than it being an awkward ordeal. The most beautiful photographs are the ones filled with actual joy. Real life emotions. These are the ones that will be a sparkling, joyful reflection of you and your day. So you live your day, and let the photographer be your shadow, working away in the background to do the rest.
