Pictures are worth a thousand words, and the photography is definitely somewhere in which you don’t want to scrimp if you can. When Morgan and I started looking for a photographer it definitely took some time and research. I spent a few hours just browsing the internet, looking at different websites of photographers in the area. There was so much to choose from, so how do you make a decision?

I must have looked at 20 photographer’s websites before narrowing it down to my top three. From there I looked at each photographer’s portfolios and packages that they had available online. Only 2 of the photographers out of my top three even had pricing online, so down went one.

Looking through a photographer’s portfolio gives you a feel for their style of photography. From here you can tell whether or not you like their style and if their photos reflect the pictures that you would like to have of your wedding. This can really help you narrow down your search even more if you find that there are many photographers within your price range.

Although photography is definitely somewhere that you should put a good portion of your budget, there is no reason why you shouldn’t try to get more bang for your buck, so to speak. A good way to save a good portion of money is by finding an up and coming photographer with a good portfolio. Usually with photographers just breaking into the industry you can save a butt load. This is how Morgan and I were able to save quite a bit on our amazing photographers. I didn’t even realize that they were relatively new until we sat down and met with them in person. This year will only be there second year in business, but they already have 20+ weddings booked. That’s amazing! Their prices were way below the rest and their work was comparable, if not better than a lot of portfolios that I looked at. We were able to get 6 hours of photography the day of the wedding and a 2 hour engagement photo shoot for $1300.

Our photographers, unlike a lot of others are giving us the rights to our photos. What does this mean? It means that we get a disc of our photos after the wedding and we are given the right to print them wherever we would like. Watch out for this! Photographers can get you by having lower priced packages, but not giving you the rights to the photos means that if you want any photos printed you have to get them printed through them and that can usually run from $50-75 for a simple 8”x10”. So be sure that if you do sit down and talk to some photographers to ask them about rights to the photos and if you have to get them printed with them or if you can get them printed yourself.

Now that you know how to go about researching for your photographer you can make a more informed decision. Remember that after the wedding is over and ten years have passed, no one will remember the food that they ate or the music that was played, but your photos will live on forever. Be sure to make your photography an important part of your budget.

Our photographers:

Morgan and I are using CSE Photography located here in St. Petersburg, FL. Our photographers Evan and Caroline are a young, recently married couple who have a huge passion for photography. They do absolutely amazing work and are very affordable.

They are so nice and personable and made us feel so comfortable during our engagement shoot. They actually include free engagement shoots so that they can get to know each couple and make them feel more comfortable with them before the wedding. Engagement sessions are relatively new to the industry, but they are definitely a fun way to get you and your beloved comfortable in front of the camera and it gives you some cute photos that you can either use later at the wedding or for your save the dates!

Here are some photos from our engagement session :)

SAY CHEESE!