Wedding Blog
Hi… for those more experienced brides out there… what’s the best way to start looking for a photographer? We’re leaning towards having a “destination” wedding (and I say destination in quotes because we’re not talking Hawaii or the Caribbean or something, but a weekend getaway wedding in the continental US that’s accessible to everyone). We want to have a photographer there to capture the weekend of festivities… but I don’t even really know where to start!
We’re in Manhattan, and our first choice venues are in Virginia so I guess if the photographer is based in NJ, PA, DC etc. we might save some money on travel expenses? How did you book your destination wedding vendors and work out travel expenses? Help. I don’t know what I’m doing…
Caroline
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caroline, check out the wpjaa website. it’s a good place to start and there are ways you can look up destination photographers. i combed through there but ultimately ended up going with a photographer my friend used (who is also on the wpjaa website). since i live in ca, it was actually cheaper to fly someone from out of state to take pictures…irony i know but ca photographers are way overpriced.
Where in Virginia are you looking? We’re having our semi-destination in central-ish Virginia (our college town). I actually found our photographer through google. I made a list of sites that popped up and browsed portfolios for a few days, then contacted for prices and availability. I narrowed it down quickly and met with our first choice in person during a big wedding-planning visit, and ended up booking him the same day. It might also help to check some local boards on theknot, either the Virginia board or DC.
Where in Virginia? As luck would have it I work for a company that specializes in wedding photography, and we are based out of the DC area! Haha, If Mrs. Bee can get you in touch with me, I can see if we can help you out, or at least answer some questions!
We’ve chosen someone who was recommended by the owner of our venue. We liked his portfolio.
I too would highly recommend the wedding photojournalist association - http://www.wpja.com. We live in NYC and are getting married in Burlington, VT. I also used a Vermont resource called Vermont Vows. See if the state you’re looking into has it’s own wedding/bridal websites/publications. Then if it’s a place where the knot has vendor listings look there too. That should get you started for sure!
We hired a Vermont photographer. I can’t imagine flying someone there but I guess if you fall in LOVE with a photographer and have the money go for it.
There are literally hundreds of excellent wedding photographers based out of DC that would gladly drive several hours into Virginia to shoot your wedding. It would just involve a little higher travel cost than usual. Check out the Washingtonian Magazine wedding guide for a list of highly-rated photographers.
You can always post your question on the local knot board (local boards are usually more friendly than national). Get as many recommendations as you can from others in that local area, check out the photographers work online, narrow it down to a few, and take a weekend trip to VA and meet with all of them. I did SO MUCH research on my photographer choice, that by the time I had narrowed it down to 2 people, I knew exactly what I was looking for. Then it was only a matter of who we felt more comfortable with personality-wise. I think the more websites/blogs you look at, the more you will learn what you’re looking for, so it will be easier to narrow down the choices. Didn’t Mrs Ant also do a post on her favorite photog blogs also? Good luck!
we will be using dennis drenner (http://www.dennisdrenner.com). he’s actually my fiance’s distant cousin, which is part of the reason why we’re using him, but he’s also an AMAZING photojournalist (he’s done a lot of high profile weddings and freelance for national geographic, nytimes, etc.) - and a really nice guy! i’ve heard from people in the wedding industry that his work is as good as some of the best out there but his pricing is more reasonable. he lives in baltimore but he constantly travels domestically and internationally. you might want to look @ his stuff to at least get an idea if you want the photojournalistic genre, if not actually him. plus he’s close-ish to VA.
Our location suggested the officiant, and the officiant suggested the photographer. Both worked out great.
Yes, the DC photographers are fabulous! If you’re thinking of a wedding in Richmond, Charlottesville, Tidewater, or even Southern VA areas then most DC photographers will travel with the addition of a hotel room.
On the flip side, I hired a North Carolina photographer to shoot my DC wedding. Her rates were a lot less than DC companies and I thought her work was better than the local ones anyhow. She charged me mileage and a hotel night which came to about $200 extra.
Hope that helps… Good luck & have fun planning in VA (I grew up and live in VA and have always loved it here)!
I’m from the DC metropolitan area, so I’ve done so much research on photographers.
I’ve interviewed these folks via email. And, I seem most pleased with these because of their responses to my questions. They are either based in VA or MD.
http://www.eikonphoto.com/
http://www.lorilovephotography.com/
http://www.halophoto.com/
http://www.avonleephotography.com/html/wedding_gallery_i.html
I’m getting married in Virigina and am using the same photographer that SoireeLaura used (in part based on her Knot bio). The photographer’s work has been featured three times on WeddingBee in their “Bio of the week” segment. Her prices are excellent and she has a lot of experience in destination photography and very decent travel fees. You can see the bios at
Knottie SoireLaura http://www.weddingbee.com/2006/09/20/knottie-bios-of-the-week-34/
knottie Mrs. Marin http://www.weddingbee.com/2006/08/23/knottie-bios-of-the-week-30/
Knottie MrsAndrea&Kevin http://www.weddingbee.com/2006/11/01/knottie-bios-of-the-week-40/
SoireeLaura, I hope you see this! We went to middle school together. 
This was one of our toughest decisions. We got married in the Bahamas and, in the end, we decided to fly someone in given the poor quality of local photographers. Photos are the lasting memories of our wedding…we wanted something we would really love.
A good starting place is the Wedding Photojournalist Association website. In the end, most of the folks on there were too expensive or didn’t have availability.
Ultimately, my hubby found someone in Brooklyn on Craigslist that was willing to travel to the Bahamas.
I’ve blogged on the topic if you want to know more:
http://ultimatedestinationweddings.blogspot.com/2007/04/covering-basics-photographer.html
OMG thank you for all the feedback. I’m looking into Williamsburg, VA… any other advice would be much appreciated. Thanks girls!
check out http://www.magnificentbliss.com/knot, go to specialty bios, then click on “dw photographers”. tons of photographers that knotties have used!
Try Charlotte Geary, http://www.charlottegeary.com. I love her work, and her parents live in Virginia, so I don’t think she normally even charges to travel there (she’s based out of Denver).
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