Woohoo! The time has come!
Your honey has popped the question, you’re rocking your ring like nobodies business, and now you’re planning your wedding day (aka THE BEST DAY EVER!)

Then it hits you. How the HECK are you supposed to choose the person to capture all the joy and romance your day?!
It’s me, Hi, I’m your photographer, its me!

All jokes aside, for real though, there are some incredibly talented photographers in the Geelong area and we all have our own unique personalities and styles, which can make your decision tricky.

Have no fear! I’m here to give you five tips on how to choose the perfect wedding photographer for you and your boo.

Tip One: Pick a Style

Have a think about what you want the overall feel of your photos to be.
More often than not your photos are one of the only thing you will keep after your big day so it’s important to pick someone who’s style you love.

Do you love light & airy? natural? dark & moody? or do you prefer an editorial style?
When I say style I mean the whole image, so how the image and the editing come together to create what you’re looking at.

If you’re not sure have a look at some wedding photos and identify what it is you like about them. Do you like that they look like they could be out of a fashion magazine? do you like how natural everyone looks? or do you like that when you look at the photos you can feel the joy & romance of the day? Maybe it’s a combination of a few things.

Once you narrow down what you love about the photos you’re looking at it’ll make it easier to create a shortlist for you to reach out to.

Tip Two: Head to a Wedding Expo

Wedding expos are an amazing place to check out local wedding vendors in the area. You’ll be guaranteed to meet a few photographers there. You may also find some hidden gems

A fantastic wedding expo in Geelong is the one run by Geelong Wedding Guide – they also have an amazing directory for all things weddings too! I’ve had a stand at their expo for the past two years and it’s so much fun being able to connect with loved up couples in person!

Tip Three: Meet Up With Your Photographer Before You Book

OK hear me out on this one, more often than not you’ll be booking your photographer for upwards of 5-6 hours. This means you’ll be hanging out with this person for pretty much the whole day, on the most important day of your life. Do you want to feel uncomfortable around them or would you rather them feel like a friend?

It is 100% ok to meet a few different photographers before you make your decision on who you’d like to book. In my experience (as a bride and a photographer) it’s so important you feel comfortable around your photographer because this will mean you’ll find it easier to relax and be yourself, which means the photos will look so much more natural.

Now, I’m not saying that your photographer will ever go out of their way to make you feel like anything less than incredible on your day, but people have different personalities and sometimes you just don’t vibe, and that’s ok!

Personally I love meeting up with potential couples because it means you can put a face to my name and we can get to know each other in the lead up to your wedding. That way I’m not a stranger on your day and we’ll most likely already have some inside jokes which will keep the laughter going all day. I want you to not only adore your photos but remember the amazing experience you had while they were being taken.

Tip Four: Ask Your Recently Married Friends for Recommendations

If any of your friends have been married recently and you love their photos, ask them for their recommendations. Chances are they’ll be more than excited to share their experiences with you. They may have met up with a few photographers before they chose the one and may still have the list of who they spoke to stored somewhere.

Tip Five: Use Facebook and Instagram

The power of social media baby!

Jump into a couple of local wedding planning groups on facebook and you’ll find so many recommendations and vendors on there. People love sharing who they used for their wedding which is amazing especially if you’re getting married in an area where none of your friends or family have gotten married before. I know I found these groups super helpful when planning my own wedding as all of my friends had gotten married in the Yarra Valley but I was getting married in Geelong and wanted to support local vendors.

For Instagram try searching up hashtags like #geelongweddingphotographer or #melbourneweddinginspiration and have a cheeky scroll through the posts on there (let’s be honest, you’re most likely going to be scrolling anyway so why not make it productive? hehe) you may come across some hidden gems or at the very least an idea on what you like and don’t like.

And there you have it babe, my five tips for choosing your wedding day photographer.
I hope they’ve helped, and if you’d like any more tips feel free to leave a comment below!

Chat soon,
Nicola x

Ps, If you want to have a chat about me being your photographer then be sure to click the contact button at the top of the page xx