Choosing the perfect wedding photography collection for you can be tough if you don’t know exactly what you want! If you are an engaged couple, booking your wedding is a unique experience that can feel like a roller coaster. Not only is your wedding a once-in-a-lifetime celebration, but it may be the first time you’ve hired a professional photographer for a major event. Once you combine the fact that it’s a whole new experience and the pressure to make everything perfect, it’s understandable that figuring out your wedding photography might feel a bit scary.

In a past post, I shared some suggestions on how to choose your wedding photographer, but I know there is a plethora of choices and the confusion is real. So now that you’ve found the perfect photographer, you have to figure out how to pick the perfect wedding photography collection. If you’re struggling to pick the wedding collection that is right for you, I’m here to help! Here are a few tips on how to pick the perfect photography package:

1. Discuss priorities with your fiancé .

Talk about what is most important to walk away with once you are married. For many couples I serve, the digital files of their images (with printing rights) is at the top of their list, but I have other clients where this isn’t as high a priority. I have found many couples really want a wedding album because, for them, it’s a tangible, beautifully crafted volume telling the story of their day, and this is the most important thing to have from their wedding photography. Discuss this with your fiancé so that you both have the same goals as you choose your wedding photography collection.

2. Clarify what is included in your photographer’s wedding photography collections.

Most photographers are independent small business owners who have created their photography collections based on their clients’ preferences. This can get complicated because there isn’t one standard basic collection to go off of. Take a close look at the collections that your chosen photographer is offering and be sure to understand what is included in each.

3. Find out if you can customize.

Most photographers have collections for their clients, but many are willing to create a customized collection just for you that meets the needs of you and your fiancé. Don’t be afraid to ask your wedding photographer if they can customize a collection and ask what would that entail. For example, I have à la carte pricing to create a customized collection where we can add hours of coverage based on your wedding day needs or add on a parent album.

4. Touch and feel the options.

When it comes to physical products like albums, most clients don’t realize all the possibilities that are out there until they meet with their photographer and see for themselves.  So if at all possible, get your hands on your photographer’s sample albums in order to truly understand what they are like.

5. Dive into your budget.

The wedding budget is an important consideration, and I would never recommend that a couple disregard theirs! But over the years I’ve learned that many couples’ initial budgets are divided up in a fairly arbitrary way—especially if they decide on those divisions BEFORE they really start researching and planning their wedding. So once you know more about your options and have your priorities set, it’s a good idea to take a hard look at your budget and see if it reflects the priorities most important to you two. You might find that there’s wiggle room to move funds from one area of the budget to another, allowing you to choose the wedding photography collection that will make you so incredibly happy.

Your wedding day will be a fleeting whirlwind of people and excitement. When that whirlwind is over, your relationship and your wedding photos will be the only things that truly remain. Your photographs will be the single, tangible way to preserve your precious memories of that day. I hope that you find these tips helpful as you decide on a wedding photography collection that will really help you feel good about the decision you’ve made!

Are you ready to choose your wedding photography collection or do you still need some help choosing? If so, let’s chat!