Best time to hire a wedding photographer.

If you’ve done any sort of research, you’ll know that the very first thing you should do is lock in a date and location. (generally)You can’t hire a wedding photographer or anyone else for your wedding until you’ve booked a venue.

Some rare few might be obsessed with a wedding photographer and want to book them above all of the rest. They might find an available date with the photographer first, then find a venue that was available during that time. Good for you for going after what you want. All the rest of us tend to start from the top of the list and work our way down.

I would say on average you should book a photographer at least 6-months before your wedding. However, depending on the photographer and their load, 6-months might not be enough time.

• 3-6 months for new wedding photographers
• 6-12 months for seasoned wedding photographers
• 12+ months for popular wedding photographers

It also doesn’t hurt to book sooner for several reasons. First, you guarantee you get the wedding photographer you had your heart set on. Second, you give yourself plenty of time to either save up money for the wedding photographer or you start a payment plan.

Also, the sooner you hire a wedding photographer, the sooner you can get things like your engagement portrait session and bridal portrait session booked. Knocking those out of the park will reduce any stress you may encounter along the way.