How To Find A Wedding Photographer

People always ask me how to find a great photographer to shoot their wedding. Here's where I'd look:

• Referrals
• Wedding websites with directories
• Bridal magazines
• Event planners /caterers

Referrals: Ask some of your married friends about the photographer they used for their wedding. Look at their photographs (hopefully they have a website, too!) and if you like them, contact that photographer. If they tell you that they're booked, ask them if they can recommend anyone else. Most photographers know a lot of other great photographs that they've worked with before, trained, or just admire.

Websites: Do a web search. Use the keywords " wedding" "photographers" "your state." If you want a photojournalist, also use the keyword "wedding photojournalists." There are also photosocieties that have websites like AFWPI or WPPI.

Bridal magazines: Check the local ads in them to find a photographer.

Event planners/caterers: A lot of wedding planners like to work with selected photographers because they know the venues, they work well with these photographers, they know their style and work ethics. They know there won't be any problems so if you're using a wedding planner, take their recommendation seriously. Also, the banquet manager at your venue might have a few suggestions.

Ketubah Maven

When you’re planning your wedding, you want everything from your ring to the flowers to be unique and personal. As a photographer, I always prided myself in taking images and making custom albums for weddings that reflected the personalities and taste of each couple. On our site, The Wedding Picture, those are the kinds of photographers and vendors we love to promote and celebrate.

Recently, I ran across an artist who is a ketubah designer for her Jewish and interfaith clients. (A ketubah is a wedding contract whose history dates back to the second century) And I thought some of our visitors at The Wedding Picture would be interested in her services.

Her name is Leslie Pereira and she has a website called Ketubah Maven. A former social worker with a PHD, Leslie uses what she calls her “therapist skills” in active listening to help couples customize their own ketubot in words and images to capture the essence of their relationship. If you look at her website, you can see some samples of ketubot she has designed for her clients over the years.

Leslie and I were also talking about how couples can preserve their ketubah so they last for generations. Most couples like to frame their ketubah (and some of their wedding pictures, of course) and hang them in their home.

Always use archival matting and framing techniques to preserve your ketubah and wedding photos that you choose to display. For more information on preservation, read our article on our sister site, Will It Look Good Over The Sofa. And don't forget to read about archival framing and matting.

It’s always great to meet other creative people in the wedding industry.
Thanks Leslie!