There are so many photographers in North East Ohio. As a bride or groom it can get very overwhelming very quickly when shopping for this vital wedding vendor. My mission is to be the easiest part of your wedding planning and your wedding day. So, I’m here to tell you what I ask my couples in the very first meeting that is essential for me to be their dream photographer. No matter which Photographer you’re talking to, they should be asking you this too.

“What do you VALUE in your wedding photos?”

Seem like kind of a silly question? At first, you might think, “The photos need to look beautiful”, or “They need to look professional” and “I don’t want you to miss any of the big moments.”

The funny thing is, a lot of people don’t realize EXACTLY what they value in their wedding photos until it’s too late, they’ve already gotten their photos back and the things they valued are missing.

See, folks don’t always realize exactly what they value or how much they value something. A bride might tell me, “I’d like to do a first look with my dad.” If that’s all the information I ask for, I’m in for a real missed opportunity and so is she. If I didn’t ask more questions, I wouldn’t find out that her dad is actually her stepdad, but to her, that’s her father. He raised her. He was there for her through everything. In his first marriage, he had a daughter who sadly passed away too young. Through her wedding planning, she knew it would be difficult for him to know that he would never be able to give away his late daughter at her wedding. So, she wanted to have the special moment for just him and her on her big day. She would even have a tiny photo of his late daughter on her bouquet so she could be there with them in spirit.

Wow. If I didn’t do my job, I might not have focused on his reaction and the moments leading up to it in quite the same way as if I hadn’t known. I would not have been prepared for the moment she would show him the tiny photo and could have missed it all together. What if things were running behind and we only had time for either the first look with dad or fun one with bridesmaids that wasn’t as meaningful to the bride, I might’ve picked the bridesmaids by accident. And the first look would’ve never happened with her dad.

Your photographer should help you identify your core values when it comes to wedding photos and put those values above ALL ELSE.

While all those beautiful photos on Photographers’ websites are stunning, you never know how much or how little the actual couple in the photographs value those pictures. The photographer that finds out what’s most meaningful to them is the photographer you’re looking for.