Its probably the most asked and usually the first question we hear

Photographers hear this question usually as soon as we meet a couple and talk about their day. But its the LEAST important question we get. While we’ve shot over 300 weddings in our career at a St. Louis Wedding Photographer, most photographers shoot 20ish weddings a year. There are roughly two hundred actual St Louis wedding venues in the greater metro area. And countless places that will let you have your wedding at their location even though they aren’t a full blown wedding venue. I did a wedding in a starbucks a few years back (I prefer the coffee at Northwest coffee & La Finca )

So the chances of your average photographer having shot at your venue is pretty low if you believe in odds. But, so are the chances of us finding love. (I did, and I am glad you did too!)

So why do we keep asking this question in the first place?

Because wedding websites aren’t usually written by wedding vendors who are focused on you and your wedding day. They are written by marketers targeting ad dollars and subscribers. Me, I only care about getting my clients to the best team for their day, and helping other couples choose the very very best wedding team for their day.

This is one of those “please don’t follow this advice” moments. I know that every website out there is telling you this is an important question to ask, but they’re wrong.

Your venue is so important as a foundation piece to your wedding story but remember St Louis wedding venues are everywhere and the right one is there for you. A wedding venue is not the central focal piece of your love story.

You are.

AS much as we love all the wedding trappings you and your love are what really matters on your wedding day. St Louis weddings are a dime a dozen (literally 240k happen every year on average). The single most special & unique thing about your wedding is you and your partner.

So you told us what not to ask, so what should we be asking?

The better questions to ask are:

* How many weddings have you photographed?

For me like I mentioned before, A LOT. Over 300 but I stopped counting a couple years back.
The goal for every wedding photographer is to be prepared for what ever lighting opportunities that a venue or wedding day throws our way. The beauty of wedding photography is that it doesn’t matter how many times you shoot at a location or venue, the light is never exactly the same, and that’s what your photographer has to be prepared for the unexpected lighting issues no matter what the venue throws their way. I could talk technically about deciding whether to push my cameras low light capabilities or deciding to break out flashes but I can see your eyes starting to gloss over already so I won’t.

Whether someone has a lot or a little experience with your venue is less important than if they are skilled with the lighting options it most certainly will require.

* Have you photographed a wedding venue similar to mine?
The only time this is really helpful if you have a specific type of venue (castle, manor, garden) and want to see what they’ve created in a similar space before. Again, a wedding venue is just a venue, and it’s going to look different on your day than it does on anyone else’s.

* How would you describe your relationship with most of the wedding vendors and venues you’ve worked with? Do you have any references? You want to use a team player. Someone who is truly interested in getting the best out of all the crew who come together to make your day as great as it can be. I am rooting for our team, every day. Anything I can do to make the team better that’s my commitment. Choose all of your team with in that same mindset and you will pick winners every time.

* Are you on any St Louis wedding venue preferred vendor list? Do you pay to be on that list? (legally that must be disclosed) I am on several vendor lists and its always an honor whether I get a referral from a vendor or venue.

* What is your plan for finding good places for photos at our St Louis wedding venue and using our time effectively?
Its important to talk to your photographer about your ideas and theirs. They should be taking into account your thoughts about locations and ideas and you should be hearing their feed back regarding lighting etc.

* How do you get to know your couples love stories before their wedding day?
Our goal is to figure out ways to make your day about you, get to know you so your wedding pictures look like you and your partner, not the same image we’ve done at this same spot with 50 couples. This is when its not so bad that your photographer hasn’t worked at your wedding venue before – they get to really flex their creative muscles. In my experience photographers worth their salt should have a plan to get to know you, and be able to communicate how they do that and then translate it into their work and your wedding album.

Often, we discuss this at your engagement session, but if there is no engagement session then this is where the questionnaire we send close to your wedding day becomes super important. We are also great observers on your wedding day and are able to read personalities very quickly.

* (If your venue is dark/low light) Do you have the necessary lighting and tools to photograph in dark spaces well? Can I see examples?
An experienced photographer should bring their own lighting to every wedding, because lighting can change in an instant, and that allows us to maintain the same level of quality of photographs no matter what.

We like to show our range not only in our portfolio, but in full wedding albums we are happy to send over (just fill out our contact page) . Whether you’re in the great outdoors, like the Botanical Gardens, a gorgeous estate like the Barnett On Washington, the top of a gorgeous space like the Nobel, or even under a tent on a private location we have the knowledge to make your photos amazing.

* Do you have backup gear with you on my wedding day? Is it the same quality equipment as your main gear?
Our mantra is if you have two cameras you really only have one, if you have three you have two and if you have one you didn’t bring a camera. A wedding photographer of any experience absolutely MUST be committed enough to have backup gear enough to protect all the cameras being used that day. They should also be photographing on a camera with dual memory cards (this means that your photos are being backed up immediately in a second card as they’re being taken). If they don’t have either, you’re taking a huge risk in hiring them.

We have multiple backup camera bodies on site that are at a the same quality level as our main gear, and our cameras have dual memory cards.

* What is the most difficult situation you’ve had at a wedding venue? How did you manage it?
This can be a very telling question. Make sure to listen for any red flags (things like miscommunication with a venue owner, etc).

* Whats your favorite St Louis Wedding venues to shoot at?
This isn’t really a fair question, because the venue is a foundation piece in my mind, the more important thing is the people who work there, and I am super fond of a great team. The team at The Caramel Room is amazing. As I mentioned their space a few times, the team at the Barnett on Washington is top notch. And I love the folks at the Leona, and the team out at The Venue at Maison du Lac are fantastic. And I love the folks at Wild Carrot and The Dogwood.

Now you’re ready for your consultation call or meeting with us and any potential photographers, and are ready to think a little more openly about how you think about choose your wedding photographer (and maybe your vendor team as a whole!)