When Should You Book Your Wedding Photographer?

I had a phone call this morning from a bride-to-be; she wanted a quote for her wedding photography. Nothing unusual in that; but her wedding day is in the first week of December, and that raises three problems.

First, it is just four months away, and if that seems a long way off, you have to realise that the majority of quality wedding photographers are booked as soon as the wedding day is set - most of my weddings are committed nine to eighteen months ahead, so three months is cutting it very fine;

The second problem is that people want to get married in the warmer months of the year - in Sydney (Australia), that's from September through until the end of March. March is the most popular single month for marriages in this country, but more than half of all marriages take place in the spring - the start of September to the early weeks of December-  so looking for a good photographer at this time of year means looking earlier, not later.

The hectic pace for a wedding photographer during those busy months leads to the last problem a couple might face if they choose to marry in December: many of us take a very-well-earned break in December. With a significant amount of post-processing, album design and other fulfillment tasks to complete from the dozen or so weddings we've just completed, the first weeks of  December are very hectic and we are not going to take on even more clients whose work we need to complete over the Christmas period. The rest of the month, with the holiday season upon us, we devote to family.

Does that mean you'll never get a photographer if you leave the booking this late? Not really - anybody with a half-way decent camera seems happy to call themselves a wedding photographer these days, so websites like Serviceseeking, Gumtree and Craiglist can provide quotes from $50 an hour "photographers" who will be more than happy to offer you their services. THere are some quality photographers booking through these sites too,  but the chance of finding one who is free at such short notice is remote.
Of course, there is always the possibility of finding a photographer with an opening due to a cancellation - they do come up. But really, if you know anyone getting married soon, you should be encouraging them to book their photographer as soon as they can. And if you are tying the knot next year, either choose a  less popular time (June or July) or book your photography now!