Attention to how photos

Photography. “They’re doing a lot of the behind-the-scenes throughout the day.” you and do what they can to make your day perfect, so don’t underestimate the importance of connecting with them and ensuring they’re someone you can trust — they’ll often be doing way more than snapping pictures.

Ask to see a full gallery.

While websites and Instagram portfolios are a great way to get to know photographers, they’re simply curations of their best work across multiple different shoots. To get an idea of how a photographer approaches a single event, ask to see a full gallery. It’s important to examine the consistency of photographs within a gallery, how the photographs are edited, and see if there’s a good mixture of ranges and angles within their shots, as well as how they capture the “little moments” of the day, Olson said.

“There’s so much more than just taking the photos. They’re the ones fluffing your dress, giving you a hug, clearing the room if you can’t handle it, talking to your grandmother, all those things,” said photographer Whitney Olson of Olson Design

Full galleries are good glimpses into what you can expect from a photographer, so if you like what you see, it may be a good sign.

Aubrey Smith is a third-year student at Appalachian State University from Cary, NC studying journalism and public relations. She can be contacted at 919-770-6465 or smithac23@appstate.edu

“DON’T FEEL PRESSURED TO DO ANYTHING YOU DON’T WANT. People are going to say ‘oh, you should do this thing’ - just stay the course and do what you know you want.” -

Sadie

“THERE IS A LOT YOU CAN’T CONTROL - like the weather! So enjoy the day, everybody there and most of all, each other.” - Nikki

“MY ADVICE WOULD BE TO TAP INTO WHAT YOU VISION FOR YOUR WEDDING. Don’t get so captivated in what the media says you have to have. Make it your own and be happy about your own vision. Don’t feel like you have to force the status quo. Be happy with what you chose because you will be the ones looking back on it years later.”

- Brittany

“MAKE SURE TO TAKE THE TIME TO FULLY ENJOY EACH MOMENT OF THE DAY. One thing that helped me stay relaxed during the day: I told everyone to not mention the time, but rather what was next on our agenda. This helped me to not worry about staying on time, and to stay more in the moment rather than dwell on what time it was.” - Natalie

“AGREE AND IDENTIFY YOUR TOP 3 PRIORITIES EARLY ON AND WRITE THEM DOWN! It’s easy to get into analysis paralysis over all the details, but the day goes by way too fast to spend too much time thinking about something that may not even be that important.” - Tracy