Why you shouldn't wait to book your Photographer

During my own wedding planning last year, around this time, there were many things I didn’t know about. This erupted into a fiery google search for all things wedding related, clicking on topics like, “Everything You Need to Know about Wedding Planning,” or something of that nature. After reading what felt like 30 or more topics that all sounded very redundant in some of the same subjects, I decided I would jump right into researching and organizing all the “needs” for my elopement dreams. I honestly cannot remember today all the articles I read or what stuck out to me the most in any one of those articles. I can remember most of them being published by popular magazines or publishing services, though. The truly impactful articles that spoke to me were bloggers. Now, you get the nitty gritty details. You get the pros and cons. You don’t get some scammy marketing tactic of someone telling you how to design your wedding to have it published somewhere (because that’s why we have a wedding, right?). You get real life experiences, raw thoughts on the realness that is wedding planning. It’s no wonder alcohol is truly some central theme to planning a wedding, but I don’t drink so…I knew I didn’t want any part of planning some extravagant 100+ wedding guest party.

I don’t have any advice on everything wedding related. What I do have is why it is so important to book a photographer/videographer as soon as you have set your date with a venue. Here’s 5 reasons why:

Photographers and videographers tend to be booked out a year in advanced leaving very little room for last minute planners. I emailed countless photographers, ones I really really loved, to see if they could be there. I had maybe 10% email back saying they could. (One thing about elopements though, if you do plan on eloping, many photographers reserve their Fridays or Saturdays for big weddings. This was also part of some of the responses I received. ) The pool of photographers or videographers begin narrowing down almost immediately when you’re juggling budgets and a specific style you’re looking for. Keep in mind that each month has approximately 4 weekends. You’re most likely going to have your wedding on a Saturday. There’s only 4 Saturdays a month (with some exceptions). A photographer only needs to book 4 WEDDINGS to be completely booked that month.. If the photographer gets, let’s say 20 newly engaged brides all who want a November wedding, you have a 20% chance of even being able to book a wedding that month with them.
The more time you have between the day of your wedding and booking a photographer, the more affordable it can be. Photographers/videographers are not cheap and finding a cheap one, well that can be a gamble. I don’t know of any photographers that require you to pay upfront the entire amount. Some photographers actually formulate payment plans. If you book so close to your event that it is only say, a month, away, then you set yourself up for paying a lot all at one time. Splitting payments into two warrants more time to prepare for payments. In my opinion, a laptop at $1000 is pretty pricey and I don’t just have $1000 hanging out to give away, am I right? But I can finance that into payments that allow me to afford that. So, the quicker you book a photographer, the more “affordable” it is.
The good ones go first. Okay, so you’re researching and researching photographers you love and you’re like “That’s it, I am obsessed with their work, I need them.” And you want to book them, but you waited because other things got in the way. The chances they are available are probably slim to none by that point. I absolutely got lucky with my wedding photographers when we officially booked them. But I landed on their IG page by accident where I ended up falling in love with their work. Those I had in mind initially when I first began researching, though, had no openings at all for my date. I did not settle for my photographers but had I been looking one month out, I may have had to settle. Never settle for a photographer.
Some photographers cap off how many weddings they take each year. Those that have been in the industry for years and years have made a name for themselves. Sometimes, there are those photographers who want to take on less weddings a year to allow family time. Let’s go back to reason 1. If a photographer decides they want 2 a month instead of 4. You only have 2 Saturdays available a month. Same amount of people looking to book in that same month. You just jumped from a 20% chance to a 10% chance of booking with a particular photographer.
You will always have your wedding photos. When I weighed the most important to least important vendors for my wedding, I knew that hiring a photographer or videographer meant I would always have the memories from our day forever and ever. That put them at the top of the list. Ten years from now, you can tell your story to your own children and use these images or videos to strengthen the story. You may even miss details that you don’t realize until you look at those pictures. At the end of the day, images are powerful. It can induce emotions. That’s why artists do what they do. If you plan on hiring a photographer who has done just that for you in their work, evoke emotions, hire them. Don’t wait.

Ultimately, when nothing is left from your wedding day, your photos, and if you choose video, will be what’s left of that special day. With that being said, DON’T settle. Do not just go with the cheapest one. Go for someone who really clicks with you because that person is more than likely going to spend a good chunk of that day with you, so it might as well be someone you like. Let it be someone who’s also passionate about what they do and it isn’t just another job to them. This is a big day with tons of other elements coming together to make it what it is supposed to be. Don’t delay a very important piece to the puzzle!