Choose One!
How much money does professional wedding photography cost?
Typically 10% to 20% of your total wedding budget should be set aside to cover the services of a professional service. This range varies according to the number of albums and prints desired as well as the level of workmanship sought. The total average cost of a North American wedding currently ranges from $25K to $30K, depending on geographical location. This translates into $2.5K to $6K allocated to photography. The most common error by couples is to underestimate the importance of investing in a great photographer! Opting to hire a "cheap" photographer to capture one of the most important days of your lives, is not only a serious miscalculation, but as inappropriate as ordering a cheap bottle of wine to accompany an extraordinary meal! The images captured on your wedding day are the only permanent memory that survives! Great photographers know how to capture the uniqueness and emotion present at any event! Smart money invests in workmanship and experience! These 2 factors deliver maximum predictability and ultimately, your peace of mind!
I'm sincerely convinced that, there's no part of a wedding budget that can possibly inflict as profound of a consequence, as cut-backs in this area! My professional suggestion: Don't cut your nose to spite your face!
Smaller budget?
So, you can't afford to spend $30K on your wedding? Don't despair, you're not alone and it isn't cause for your event to look "cheap"! An experienced pro can always come to the rescue. A good way to make your event appear "bigger" than reality, is to allocate a larger portion of your budget to photography, using a classy location for your main shoot and of course, a killer dress and accessories! By having the whole thing displayed on a digital album, you maximize your spending power!
Beware of the grand illusion!One particular aspect of wedding photography that has become increasingly noticeable and alarming is the quantity of images offered in packages. I must caution you on this "optical illusion". Just because digital photography allows for endless captures without incurring film costs, it doesn't mean that image quantity is going to make up for lack of ability. Shooting aimlessly is not a sign of value! Choosing from a large quantity of mediocre shots is as undesirable as it is disappointing! The high numbers game is merely a decoy and amounts to nothing more than a false sense of value.
Like a sniper, the photographer needs anticipation, observation and technical mastery to seize a special moment!
Quality is king - not quantity!
Guests/family bringing photo/video equipment to a wedding is a common sight and for the most part, is not a problem until they get out of their seats to shoot the ceremony! In my experience, this puts them in the way of important shots and the idea of having the professional photographer change angles and lose the shot in order to accommodate an amateur, is simply absurd! As a result, I have a policy to deal with this issue: I forbid it!
The second problematic area takes place in the aisle of the church. The smartest way to handle this is to write a note on your wedding program, asking guests to refrain from stepping into the church's aisle to photograph you while you walk by. It defeats and interferes with a professional! You can reassure them by promising to make available plenty of free and much higher quality images after the wedding. Remember, digital images can be emailed to guests! Your request has the best odds of acceptance. Think about it, who stands to lose the most when people get in the way of your photographer? The guest, the photographer or you? The answer is all three! Take a look at the "Path of Glory" and imagine if guests had stepped into the aisle or parked their tripods there in order to get THEIR prized shot. If they had, what would have been the odds of their shot being better? 
What to look for in a photographer?
The compilation of an artist's work should convey a consistent engaging response from you. Your attraction to the photographer's style and technique is what will set in motion the entire process. A portfolio should primarily reflect consistency in the quality of the artist's work. Pay special attention to the quality of compositions as well as how naturally people are portrayed. Are the skin tones natural? Obvious emotion or obvious pose? What about the lighting techniques? Is flash use too obvious? Do backgrounds look natural? Is there an overkill of color saturation? What about special effects? A few here and there is ok but, overkill with vignetting, soft focus, super wide angles or any other repetitive pattern, is an indication of what you'll get! What about the photographer's personality? Is this someone you can closely work with? Tension will show on camera, not to mention that this experience has to be pleasant! The interview should help you evaluate this...
Avoid compromising on the choice of photographer because of price. The word "cheap" reflects on a lot more than the price! You're better off booking for less time to fit a tight budget and get the high quality results you really want vs being sold on gimmicks. A lot of average or mediocre images will never make up for fewer engaging ones! Besides, no one can go back to re-do any shots so, the more reason to be as sure about your choice of photographer, as you are about your choice of spouse!
Good luck and thank you for your valuable time!
All the very best in 2009!
Joe 