Questions to ask before you book your wedding photographer

Booking a wedding photographer is really choosing a person to hand one of the biggest days of your life to, and trust to hold it well. So the questions worth asking aren't about megapixels. They're about how someone works, and how you'll feel with them in the room. Here's the short list I'd want a couple to ask me, or anyone else.

What happens if something goes wrong?

Ask about backups, plainly. Two cameras, dual memory cards so every photo is written twice, spare batteries and lenses. Then ask the harder one: what if you're sick the morning of? A working photographer has a real answer ready, usually a trusted network and a plan, not a nervous pause. You want the person who has already thought about the worst day so you never have to.

How involved are you in the timeline?

This one tells you a lot. A photographer who helps you build the day's schedule is a photographer who is thinking about how the day will feel, not just how the photos will look. It's one of my favorite parts of the job, and it's a big reason a day feels calm instead of rushed.

Can I see a full wedding, start to finish?

Anyone can show you twenty perfect frames. Ask to see one complete gallery from a single wedding. You're looking for consistency all the way through, in the ordinary in-between moments as much as the big ones, because your wedding will have a lot of in-between.

How will you make us feel?

The real question, and the one most couples forget to ask. You'll spend nearly the whole day beside this person. You want someone who makes you feel calm and like yourselves, not arranged into poses you'd never strike on your own. If their answers make you exhale a little, that's usually your answer.