How to Choose the Right Wedding Photographer in St. Louis, Missouri and beyond
Choosing your wedding photographer is about so much more than finding someone whose pictures look pretty on Instagram.
Your photographer is one of the few vendors who will be beside you for almost your entire wedding day. They're there while you're getting ready, when you see each other for the first time, during the ceremony, through family portraits and all the way to the dance floor.
And when the wedding is over, your photographs become one of the only tangible things you get to keep from the day.
After photographing hundreds of weddings over the years, there are a few things I believe every couple should consider when choosing a wedding photographer.
1. Choose a Photographer Whose Work You Consistently Love
Start with the obvious one: you should love their photographs.
But don't make that decision based on one viral Instagram post or a handful of perfectly curated images.
Look through their website and wedding portfolio. Pay attention to how they photograph different parts of a wedding day.
Do you love their portraits? Their candid photographs? Ceremony images? Family portraits? Reception photographs?
A wedding happens in constantly changing environments, from dark churches and reception spaces to bright afternoon sunlight and unpredictable Missouri weather. Your photographer needs to be able to create consistent work throughout all of it.
I would also recommend asking to see a full wedding gallery before booking. A portfolio shows you a photographer's favorite images. A full gallery shows you how they document an entire wedding.
2. Make Sure Your Photographer Has a Plan for Protecting Your Images
This is one of the least glamorous questions you can ask a wedding photographer, but I think it's one of the most important:
What happens if something goes wrong?
Technology fails. Cameras can malfunction. Memory cards can fail. Equipment can be dropped.
A professional wedding photographer should have systems in place before any of those things happen.
My professional cameras have dual memory card slots, which means I'm backing up your photographs while I'm taking them. I also bring professional backup equipment with me on wedding days so that a camera or equipment failure doesn't mean I stop documenting your wedding.
After the wedding, your photographs are backed up again and kept on multiple external hard drives.
There are never absolute guarantees with technology, but redundancy dramatically reduces unnecessary risk. Your wedding photographs are irreplaceable, and I believe they should be treated that way from the moment I press the shutter.
Exchanging of rings during full Catholic mass at Cathedral Basilica Saint Louis
3. Find Someone Who Understands That Your Wedding Is Not a Photoshoot
This one matters deeply to me.
I love creating beautiful wedding portraits. I love gorgeous light, thoughtful compositions and photographs that feel worthy of being printed enormous and hung in your home.
But I never want you to look back on your wedding and feel like you spent the entire day taking pictures.
You should actually get to experience your wedding.
A skilled wedding photographer should know how to move quickly when necessary, give clear direction and recognize when it's time to put the camera down and let a moment unfold.
I've photographed enough weddings to know where I need to be, what photographs need to happen and how to get through things like family portraits efficiently.
My goal isn't to turn your wedding into one massive photoshoot.
It's to give you incredible photographs of a day you actually got to enjoy.
4. Consider How You Want Your Wedding to Be Photographed
“Candid” and “posed” don't have to be opposites.
My approach combines documentary wedding photography with editorial portraiture.
For much of your wedding day, I'm watching.
I'm looking for your dad's expression when he sees you dressed for the first time. Your grandmother watching the ceremony. Your best friend laughing during the speeches. Your mom fixing your veil. The chaos happening on the dance floor.
Those moments don't need to be manufactured.
But when it's time for portraits, you don't have to magically become a model either.
I'll help with posing, movement, hands, angles and composition so that your portraits feel polished and intentional without losing who you are.
The result is a wedding gallery with both sides of your story: the photographs we intentionally created and the moments you didn't even realize I saw.
5. Experience Matters More Than Just Knowing How to Use a Camera
Wedding photography is different from almost every other kind of photography.
There are no do-overs.
A photographer needs to anticipate what's coming before it happens, work efficiently under pressure, navigate complicated family dynamics, photograph in difficult lighting and adjust when the timeline inevitably changes.
I've been photographing weddings for years and have photographed roughly 250 of them.
That experience has taught me far more than camera settings.
I've learned when a bride needs a minute. I've learned how to organize a large family quickly. I've learned when we're running behind and need to adjust instead of creating more stress. I've learned how to work alongside coordinators, videographers, DJs, clergy and other vendors without making your wedding feel like a production set.
Your photographer doesn't need to control your wedding day.
They need enough experience to adapt to it.
6. Pay Attention to How You Feel Around Them
You are going to spend a lot of your wedding day with your photographer.
Choose someone you actually feel comfortable around.
Read their reviews and pay attention to what past couples say beyond “the pictures were beautiful.”
Do people consistently mention feeling comfortable? Was the photographer calm? Helpful? Organized? Easy to communicate with?
This matters because your experience with your photographer will inevitably become part of your memory of the wedding itself.
One of the things I'm most proud of in my own Google reviews is how often clients talk about feeling comfortable with me and enjoying the experience of being photographed.
[Read my Google reviews here.]
7. Ask How They Handle Family Portraits
Family portraits aren't usually the photographs couples are most excited about beforehand, but they often become some of the most valuable photographs later.
They're also one of the easiest parts of a wedding day to let become chaotic.
Ask your photographer how they organize family portraits and how much time they typically need.
I want these photographs to matter without consuming your entire cocktail hour.
I work through family portraits intentionally and efficiently so we can document the people you love and then get everyone back to celebrating.
For especially large families, I often recommend prioritizing immediate family directly after the ceremony and finding another opportunity for extended family photographs later in the reception.
8. Think About the Photographs You'll Value in 20 Years
Wedding trends change.
The people in your photographs change too.
This is probably the biggest reason I care so deeply about wedding photography.
Photographs become more valuable with time.
Right now, you may be thinking about the photograph of your dress, your first look or the portraits you're going to post after your wedding.
Twenty years from now, you might be looking for the photograph of your grandmother laughing at your reception.
You might notice the way your dad was looking at you during the ceremony.
Your children may want to see what their parents looked like when they were young and completely in love.
I don't photograph weddings simply to create beautiful content from them.
I'm preserving evidence of the people who were there and the relationships that made that day matter.
That's why I believe a strong wedding gallery needs both beautiful portraits and the imperfect, emotional, fleeting moments happening around them.
9. Know Exactly What You're Paying For
Wedding photography is an investment, and couples should understand what they're receiving before signing a contract.
Don't compare photographers based only on the number at the bottom of the pricing page.
Ask about:
• Hours of wedding-day coverage
• Whether a second photographer is included
• Engagement sessions
• Digital image delivery
• Gallery delivery time
• Printing rights and professional print options
• Travel costs
• Backup equipment
• Image storage and backup procedures
• What happens if the photographer becomes sick or has an emergency
Two packages with similar prices can offer completely different levels of coverage, experience and protection.
10. Choose Someone You Trust
Ultimately, that's what you're purchasing when you hire a wedding photographer.
Trust.
You have to trust them to photograph the moments you're expecting and the ones you never knew happened.
Trust them to take care of your images.
Trust them to step in and direct you when you need help.
Trust them to disappear into the background when you don't.
And trust that when something unexpected happens, they've done this enough times to figure it out.
Your photographer doesn't need to manufacture a perfect wedding day.
They need to faithfully preserve yours.
Looking for a Wedding Photographer in St. Louis, Missouri?
I'm Julia, the photographer behind Jewels Photo Co., and I've spent more than a decade photographing people and approximately 250 weddings along the way.
My approach to wedding photography blends documentary storytelling with editorial portraiture. I'll step in and give you direction when you need it, move quickly so you can get back to your people, and quietly document the moments that don't need any direction at all.
I photograph weddings throughout St. Louis, St. Charles and surrounding areas of Missouri and Illinois, as well as destination weddings and elopements.
If you're looking for a St. Louis wedding photographer who cares just as much about preserving the people you love as creating beautiful portraits of you, I'd love for you to explore more of my work.
Julia Spencer of Jewels Photo Co. with vintage Packard at Silver Oaks Chateau in Pacific, Missouri - Thurmond & Son’s Antique Rentals
