Words and photographs: Julie Broadfoot

Who best to advise you on choosing a wedding photographer than... a wedding photographer. Julie Broadfoot gives some practical advice on what you should be thinking about before signing on the dotted line.
Your wedding day will go quickly. You need someone you can trust to capture those fleeting moments to save your memories for the future.
Professional wedding photography goes beyond a great camera and fancy website. We all have different styles, approaches and prices, and whoever you choose will play a part in one of the biggest days of your life.
Typically, wedding photos will include getting ready, your ceremony, couple portraits, the details you’ve spent months planning, family groups (the more formal pics for the mantelpiece), candid shots and dancing. These are photographed with varying degrees of creativity and direction, often straddling categories from traditional to documentary; posed to alternative; classic to fine art. 
Finished edits may look natural, heavily processed or somewhere in between. They may be colour, black and white, or a collection of both.
So where do you start? Ask friends and colleagues for recommendations. Use online directories or magazines. Delve into wedding blogs. Explore Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Look at #weddingphotography hashtags. Visit wedding fayres. Google wedding photos taken at your venue.
Then turn to photographers’ websites and their social media posts. The more you see, the more you’ll know what you want. And what you don’t want.
Before you’re overwhelmed by choice, get in touch to check prices (they’re often not listed online) and their availability. Some dates are booked two years in advance, some two months. Don’t worry about geography. Most of us work all over the country.
E-mail is a good introduction. Include your wedding date, venue and a wee bit of detail. Are you planning an intimate gathering or a 250-strong ceilidh?
If you like their response, start a conversation. Pick up the phone, arrange a Skype chat or, even better, meet in person.
Use your meeting to get to know them and gauge their experience. Make sure you see full weddings in albums, on a tablet or in online galleries. Your photographer should deliver every aspect of your day, not just portfolio highlights.
Talk to them about your location and what you’re hoping for. You might be hankering after portraits in a dark castle in winter or marrying on a remote beach with whatever weather Scotland throws at you. Don’t worry if they’ve not worked at your venue before – a fresh pair of eyes can be great.
People skills are as important as technical know-how. Your photographer needs to be assertive enough to organise group shots and friendly enough to coax smiles from camera-shy guests or those with one eye on the bar.
The two of you will get little time alone and that’s likely to be spent with your photographer. Find someone you like and are comfortable with.
If you’re nervous about being photographed, can they help? How do they make you feel? A good indicator is how their clients look in photos. Do they look happy, relaxed and excited or do they look awkward and bored?
Know what you’re getting before you sign on the dotted line. Will you receive edited digital images? Are you allowed to print them? (You need a licence to print, not copyright.) Can you put them online? 
Will you get prints or an album? When will you get your photos? Timescales stretch in the height of summer. If your wedding is large, can they bring a second pro photographer to capture different angles and extra moments? 
Their insurance should cover camera kit, public liability and professional indemnity. What are their contingency plans if they’re ill or the weather is awful? When and how do you pay? These questions are usually anticipated and should be answered in your contract. 
But if you are confused, just ask. Remember: you don’t need to say yay or nay on the spot. Don’t be pushed to decide by time-limited offers.
Trust your instincts. You only have one wedding, but we do this all the time! www.photographybyjuliebee.co.uk