As wedding photographers, we go above and beyond to try and give the best experience for the bride and groom. We have always had incredible experiences with our brides, but have heard some hard stories from other photographers about couples that didn’t exactly know how to treat them well. We’ve been thinking a ton about this, as we believe it’s a really important part of your engagement and wedding process – knowing how to honor your wedding photographer! Here’s a few tips we put together:

• Thank them in your long list of thank you’s. When you’re doing your speech, thank your photographer for being there to capture it. It won’t embarrass them – it will honor them for what they’ve done for you the whole day
• Give them a meal. Don’t forget to write down your photographers to get a meal, if you’re having a catered sit down meal. And give them a table! Most likely they will appreciate sitting away from the guests, because the 15 minutes of eating is their only time the whole day without constant interaction. The quiet will energize them again!
• Write to them after your wedding day. Even if it’s just a quick text, and even if you haven’t seen any of their photos yet. Let them know you loved them being there, you enjoyed their personality, or that your guests can’t stop raving about them!
• If they send you highlight photos, RESPOND! It’s amazing how many people don’t respond (I’ve been a bride, I know how hard it can be to find words to text/email back, and it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement without letting the photographer know what you think). Give them a ton of encouragement and let them know which photo you loved the most!
• Send them a thank you gift. I know what you’re thinking – but I paid them! The gift can simply be a handwritten note telling them how much you loved the photos, the wedding favor you gave your guests on the day, the thank you card you send your other guests, or a personalized gift to let them know you appreciate them (see this incredible post by our wedding photographer India Earl about good ideas for gifts for your wedding photographers!).
• Have healthy boundaries. Don’t expect your photographer to respond to your emails at 11pm at night (or you text telling them you’ve just emailed them – that’s never necessary!).
• Withheld from sending them a perfectly curated pinterest board with the best of the best of each wedding photographer – if you haven’t realized, your wedding day won’t be the sum total of the most perfect pinterest photos in one folder. It will be a reflection of your day – and yes, hopefully there are some crazy beautiful shots that take your breath away, but not every photo will reflect your pinterest board. You wouldn’t want it to, anyway. Once you’re married, you’ll want to look back and remember your day – how it felt, smelt, sounded.