So you’re going to get married. Congratulations! Lets take some stock of what this process is going to involve. I want to point out something silly about this industry, and offer you an opportunity to make the most of the time you have to spend interacting with it.
A dress. You’re going to buy a wedding dress. Cool. But you’re not going to look at pictures of other people wearing it and then just buy it from a catalog, you’re going to walk into a store try it on, twirl around, and then try some more. Eventually, you’ll find one you love and you’ll buy it. Wedding dress, check.
Some Food. You’re going to buy a cake. You’ll find a couple of bakeries, you’ll see what they have, then you’ll go there one day and taste a bunch of them. You won’t just find a picture of something you like and hope it tastes good. You’ll know it tastes good before you make the final decision. You’ll do the same thing with the caterer—-you’ll get to taste a bunch of delightful food before you make up your mind.
A DJ. You’re going to hire a DJ. You’ll check out a few of them, read their websites, check out their reviews. Then, you’ll probably listen to one of their mixes, or you might sneak in the back to watch how they do at a real event—or maybe that’s where you first heard of them. Either way, you’ll pick your DJ after a little experience with them. Not just based on some well written words on their website.
A Florist. You’re going to hire a florist—after you see some of their arrangements in real life.
A Planner. You’re going to hire a wedding planner—after they demonstrate their ability to plan a wedding in some way.
But a Photographer…
All those wedding vendors up there have at least two things in common. First, what they bring to your wedding is fleeting. And second, all of them have the expectation that you should be able to try out their services before you hire them. Do you see where I’m going with this?
Here’s what is so silly. All these wedding vendors leave you with nothing to hold on to except nice memories. Yet, all of them also expect to prove they can meet your expectations before you hire them—which is a good thing for you! But, the one vendor who does leave you with something valuable and and who, arguably, takes the value of all those other vendors and maximizes it through the rest of your lives together—your photographer—just expects you to look at the pictures you took for different people, and just decide, “yeah, they can probably do that for me”.
Portfolios Show Style, But Not Personality
As far as photographers are concerned, a portfolio is a pretty central part of our selling proposition. It shows our style and our artistic sensibilities, two things that are crucial in making a decision; you don’t want to hire a photographer who has a whole bunch of photos you don’t like, regardless of why you’re hiring them. But, for a wedding day where you’ll spend hours and hours with your photographer, and to some extent, remember them each time you see your wedding photos, a portfolio can’t display the criteria second only to whether or not you like their portfolio: their personality with a camera.
Part of the reason people say choosing a photographer is one of the hardest wedding decisions is because you don’t have all the information you really need. When you have a good meeting with a caterer, and like the taste of the food they serve you, you know pretty much everything you need to know. When you look at a photographer’s work online, and then chat with them on the phone or over coffee, you’re still missing an answer to that critical question of “what is it like to be photographed by this person?”. If you had that information, you’d pretty much know already, but you don’t.
Engagement Session Trials
Except, with Petruzzo Photography, you do. We offer “Engagement Session Trials” so you can try us out before you book your wedding. Engagement session trials are short sessions where you can get a sense of our member’s shooting personalities, and get a chance to sit down and chat with them about your wedding day. Engagement Session trials cost just a fraction of a full session, and if you choose to book your wedding they won’t cost you anything. Plus, if you’ve been to an Engagement Session Trial, you’ll be eligible to skip any engagement session included with your wedding package and save $200.
We offer Engagement Session Trials so that you have all the info you need to make an informed decision about one of the most important things you’ll be paying for on your wedding day. Learn more about Engagement Session Trials, or go ahead and join an upcoming Trial Day!