Once you’ve secured your wedding date and venue, it’s completely understandable to wonder how soon you need to book your wedding photographer.
The short answer: aim to book your wedding photographer straight after your venue.
Many photographers are booked 1-2 years in advance, so enquire as soon as you find someone whose work resonates with you. Of course don’t be put off if your wedding is sooner than that - it’s always worth checking someone’s availability if you love their work!
How far in advance should we book our wedding photographer?
Most photographers begin booking dates up 1-2 years ahead, but it’s always worth enquiring even if your date is sooner than this. How much priority you give it depends on how important wedding photography is to you, but in general, booking your photographer comes next after you’ve chosen your venue.
What matters most is that you enquire as soon as you find a photographer you love to check their availability on your date. If you really have your heart set on a particular photographer’s work, you could even check their availability before you commit to your wedding date with your venue!
That said, nearly all couples book their venue first and that’s absolutely fine.
Why do photographers book up so soon?
In the UK the majority of couples choose a Saturday between late spring and early autumn for their wedding and these are considered “peak” dates for weddings. There are only a limited number of these dates each year so naturally they get booked up faster than off peak dates across every kind of wedding supplier.
If you’re getting married on a weekday or an off-peak time of year, you may find you have a bit more freedom in securing the suppliers you want for your day.
Why is it worth booking our photographer early?
In general it’s just great to get your important suppliers secured early to take the pressure off your wedding planning! Wedding planning gets easier the more jobs you tick off the list, and securing a few of those key suppliers early means you can relax a bit.
Booking your photographer early in your wedding planning process gives you a greater choice of experienced photographers to choose from to capture your day.
How do I find a wedding photographer?
Your venue’s supplier list. Venues often have a list of suppliers they trust that they recommend to their couples and have a great working relationship with. I am proud to be a recommended supplier at South Farm and Pembroke College amongst other beautiful venues in Cambridge, Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire.
Recommendations from friends and family. If you saw a friend’s wedding photos and loved them, don’t be afraid to ask who they chose! Couples who have great experiences with their suppliers love recommending them to others.
Instagram. Perfect for searching for wedding photographers in your area, or who have worked at your venue before. It’s one of the most popular ways couples find wedding suppliers outside of word of mouth recommendation.
Google search. Searching for “wedding photographer” alongside the area you’re getting married in or the name of your wedding venue is a great way to find local photographers.
Wedding supplier directories. These can be hit and miss, so I’d treat them as a starting point rather than the whole search.
How do I book a wedding photographer?
Enquire to check their availability and ask for more information about their pricing and approach to wedding photography.
Ask to see full galleries from a wedding similar in style or time of year to yours. This is a really important step in evaluating the quality of their work - ideally you want to see everything a single couple received rather than selected highlights of a wedding day.
Have a chat if you’d like to. Some photographers, including me, offer complimentary consultation calls so you can get to know each other and discuss how they’d approach your wedding day.
Pay the booking fee and sign the contract. The majority of photographers require a booking fee which will be deducted from your final balance and the signing of a standard wedding photography contract to secure your wedding date in their calendar.
What if the wedding photographer I want is already booked on my date?
Ask them if they can refer you to someone they trust with a similar style. They may be able to reach out to their network and find out who is free on your wedding date. As standard, I always send couples a list of trusted colleagues I recommend they speak to if I am booked up on their date.
Should we book a second shooter?
It depends on your guest numbers, your venue and how your day is structured, and I’ll always tell you honestly if you don’t need one. I explain how to decide in my post “Do we need a second shooter at our wedding?”
How can we book you?
Fill in this quick form to check my availability for your date, and I’ll send you my brochure, pricing and a link to book in a call if you’d like to chat further! I’d love to hear all about your plans and talk you through my approach. I’m an open book and happy to answer any questions you have!
Hello, I’m Cat.
For over 15 years I’ve been capturing weddings in my unobtrusive, colourful style for couples in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and all over the UK. Having beautiful photos of your wedding isn’t enough for me - I want to make sure you are comfortable and get to enjoy your day too