Photos make or break the wedding. Let’s face it, these pictures will be passed down from generation to generation, you’ll want to hang them in your house and post them all over social media. In other words, they’re a big deal. Well don’t fret, it’s an overwhelming task but Windsong Estate, Northern Colorado’s premiere wedding venue, has compiled a list of the top 5 tips for picking a wedding photographer, and even has a list of their preferred vendors to help your search.

1. Settle on a Style. Before you begin to meet with potential photographers, make sure you and your spouse decide how you’d like the wedding to be photographed. You might be surprised and find you have different opinions on the matter! You’ve got all kinds of options for choosing the style that will fit your wedding, like documentary, portraiture, fine art, edgy and bold. Do your research and once you and your fiancee decide the style, you can start meeting photographers!  
2. Judge their professionalism. Seriously, the best photographers in town are usually booked early and you’ll want to meet with them as soon as you have a date planned. Make sure to check out the photographers past work and don’t be afraid to ask for examples of pieces from weddings they’ve shot. It’s your special day and you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for what you want. Remember too, that you want someone with experience, especially one who has shot a wedding before-you want to make sure they capture special moments like the first kiss!
3. Make sure you get along! This may seem silly, but if you don’t get along with your photographer be prepared for major friction during your special day. Communication is key between you, your future spouse and the photographer. If it at all seems awkward or uncomfortable, no matter how amazing their portfolio is, you should reconsider. It’s important to be honest and open with your photographer and if you don’t like their style, chances are they won’t change it for your wedding
4. Pricing. It’s an intimidating conversation but needs to happen before you make your decision. Read over the contract, you want to make sure that you know everything you’re getting before you commit. Wedding photographers typically cost anywhere between $500-$5,000 and for that amount of money you want to make sure you’re getting a great value. You’ll want to know details about the hours they are planning to spend with you and whether or not they’ll have an assistant or team helping them. Don’t be afraid to ask them about discounts and special packages too, you never know and could end up saving money!
5. Talk post-wedding. Know that wedding photos take time to edit, especially since the photographer will taking hundreds of photos during your special day so you probably won’t get them back until a month or so after your wedding day. You’ll want to get an idea of when you’ll be seeing your photos and while it should take time, it shouldn’t take too much time. It’s an important thing to bring up when interviewing photographers and can open the doors to conversations about touch-ups or other requests and the fees that are associated with those requests.