Four tips for picking your wedding photographer

With engagement season upon us, I wanted to share four tips for picking your wedding photographer! Planning a wedding includes so many details, including picking the perfect wedding photographer for your big day. It’s a big choice to make! Your photographer will be there with you all day, capturing all of the emotion and in-between moments that make weddings so special. And oftentimes, they also photograph your engagement session. I have been honored to photograph some incredible weddings around the South East, and across the world. Not only do I get to capture wedding days, but I am often there to capture so many life moments – from maternity sessions to family sessions!

But where do you begin when it comes to finding a wedding photographer? It’s important to hire someone who is a good fit for you and your wedding day.  These are my four big tips to help you find your match!

Have Your Style in Mind When Picking a Wedding Photographer

When it comes to wedding photography, there a lot of styles to chose from. When it comes to direction, some photographers have a more hands off, documentary style and some have a more curated, editorial flair and will give you lots of direction for posing.  And it’s not just about how they pose couples! It’s also about their editing style. Some photographers only use film, or edit their photos to look like film – light and airy with pastel tones.  Others focus on moody and dark images and some have very bright, vibrant color. It’s important to not just focus on what the wedding photographer calls their style, but how their images look in a portfolio.

At Izzy and Co. we focus on creating bright and happy photos, for playful couples! We love creating fresh and vibrant images, with pops of color. Our style is more editorial and we love creating exciting portraits. Our goal is to document love stories for playful couples with bright & colorful images that make you happy!

Get To Know Your Wedding Photographer

When booking your wedding photographer, make sure your personalities mesh well! Your photographer will be spending a large part of your wedding day right by your side. So it’s important to feel comfortable around them! It’s about you as a couple, so pick someone you both feel great with!  Also get a feel for the experience they will provide, not only for you, but also your families and friends.  How will they manage the timeline, family portraits and reception? Make sure they will treat your people will the same kindness and respect that they will treat you, ensuring everyone is having the time of their lives throughout the day.

I value really getting to know my couples and love meeting in person (or doing a video call if they are destination!). My goal is to not just capture your amazing wedding, but also be a dear friend throughout the process. Our sweet bride Lindsay says about us on her Wedding Wire Review: “I don’t think I have enough room in this little box to profess my undying love for Izzy. She’s just simply the best there is. She loves what she does and it’s so obvious from the first conversation you have with her. She spends a lot of time getting to know you as a couple while preparing for your big day. By the time it’s all said and done, you’ll feel like you’ve been friends forever :) do yourself a favor and hire Izzy. You won’t regret it!”

Book In Advance

As soon as you have your wedding date, it’s important to find your wedding photographer and book them! Often, the photographer is booked as soon as the venue date is. Keep in mind that photographers book out a year in advance, sometimes more! If you are planning a wedding in Savannah during the peak season (March-May and September – October) we sometimes book over a year in advance! At Izzy and Co. we have an incredible team to take care of you, but we do book in advance. So while we can accept last minute weddings (and love shooting them!) If you have your date set now, we recommend booking as soon as possible.  Also keep in mind that your vendors will often keep their Saturdays reserved for larger events.  So if you are planning an intimate wedding or elopement, try and choose a Friday or Sunday instead of Saturday or even be open to a weekday during peek season.

Another benefit of booking your photographer a year or more in advance is the engagement session! You will want to have your engagement session about 8 months prior to the wedding, so you can pick your engagement photo for your save the date – often sent out 6 months before the wedding day. Booking out in advance will give you plenty of time to book an engagement session!

Map Out Your Budget

No matter where you live, The Knot suggests to budget at least 12% to your wedding photography. However, if your photography means a lot to you, I would suggest closer to 20% of your budget. Your wedding photos are one of the only things you will have after the wedding to remember it. Your gown will be put into a box, the food will be eaten, and the flowers will be gone. But your photographs? They last forever!  My biggest tip is to choose the top 3 components of your wedding day that are the most important to you.  Give the most room in your budget to get those 3 things you want and then let the other less important items go.  

Wedding photography is not just about the images either. At Izzy and Co. we work to create heirloom albums for our clients that they can pass down generation to generation. By preserving your images in an heirloom album, you can remember this amazing day for years to come. Plus, it is a great gift for your parents, who have been a huge part of your wedding day.