Why Reading Your Wedding Photographer's Reviews Could Be the Most Important Part of Planning Your Wedding
There’s something I find myself doing almost without thinking these days. Whether I’m booking a hotel for a weekend away, ordering something online or looking for a new café to try, I always end up doing exactly the same thing before making a decision.
I read the reviews.
Not because I expect every business to be perfect, but because I want to know what it's really like once the sales pitch has finished. Photographs can look amazing, websites can be beautifully designed and social media is often full of highlight reels, but reviews are where real people tell real stories. They’re honest, they're personal and, more often than not, they answer the questions we didn't even realise we were asking.
Choosing your wedding photographer is no different.
Your wedding is one of the biggest days of your life. Long after the flowers have faded, the cake has been eaten and the dance floor has been packed away, your photographs will be one of the few things that remain. That's why I always encourage couples to spend just as much time reading reviews as they do looking through portfolios.
Beautiful photographs are important, of course, but they only tell part of the story.
A gallery can show you how a photographer uses light, how they compose an image or how they edit their work, but it can't tell you what they're like when the weather suddenly changes, when the timetable runs behind or when nerves start creeping in before the ceremony. It doesn't tell you whether they'll help calm an anxious groom, make your grandparents feel comfortable or quietly disappear into the background so everyone can simply enjoy the day.
That's where reviews become invaluable.
Over the last seventeen years, I've been incredibly lucky to receive so many kind words from couples whose weddings I've had the privilege of photographing. Every single review means a great deal to me, not because of the five stars beside my name, but because someone has taken the time, often after returning from their honeymoon or settling back into everyday life, to sit down and write about their experience.
What I've always found interesting is that many of those reviews don't actually start by talking about the photographs.
Instead, couples often mention how relaxed they felt, how quickly they forgot there was a camera around or how I helped them enjoy the day rather than taking them away from it. They talk about feeling comfortable, about having a laugh together and about knowing they could trust me to quietly capture everything without constantly interrupting what was happening around them.
To me, that's one of the biggest compliments I could ever receive.
I've always believed that great wedding photography starts long before I press the shutter. It starts by helping people feel at ease. If you're uncomfortable in front of a camera, no amount of expensive equipment or editing can disguise that. My job is to make photography feel like the least important part of your wedding day, even though I know how important the finished photographs will become.
By the time I leave in the evening, I don't want to feel like somebody you've hired for the day. I want to feel like someone who blended naturally into your wedding, someone your family felt comfortable chatting to and someone who quietly documented everything without changing the atmosphere of the day.
Reading through my Google reviews over the years has reminded me that those little things matter just as much as the photographs themselves.
Couples remember the reassurance when plans changed unexpectedly. They remember me helping straighten a buttonhole before anyone else noticed or calming last-minute nerves while everyone else was rushing around. They remember that I wasn't watching the clock or treating the day like another job. They remember how they felt.
That, to me, is what wedding photography has always been about.
Of course I'm incredibly proud of the photographs I create, but if a couple only remembers the pictures and not the experience of having me there, then I probably haven't done my job as well as I could have.
Your wedding photographer is one of the few suppliers who'll spend almost the entire day by your side. From the excitement of the morning preparations through to the celebrations on the dance floor, they'll often see more of your wedding than anyone else. That's why personality matters. Experience matters. Trust matters.
Those are the things that don't always appear in a portfolio, but they shine through in genuine reviews written by real couples.
So, whether you're looking for a wedding photographer in North Yorkshire, the North East, Yorkshire or further afield, I'd always encourage you to read beyond the photographs. Look at what previous couples have said. Notice how they describe the experience rather than simply the images. Ask yourself whether you can imagine spending one of the biggest days of your life with that person by your side.
If, after reading through my reviews, you feel like I'd be a good fit for your wedding, then I'd genuinely love to hear from you.
Because every review on my website tells the story of a wedding I've been lucky enough to witness, but hopefully it also tells you something far more important.
Not just what my photographs look like...
...but what it feels like to have me there.
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