Finding a good photographer is easy. Finding a great photographer is difficult. Finding a great wedding photographer in your area is next to impossible. Though you may think the advent of internet search engines has made the task easier, nothing is further from the truth. Unless you are willing to sift through hundreds of names and websites, you probably won’t get much from information from a standard search. So, what is the best method for finding a photographer for your wedding?

Short Answer: The Old Fashioned Way, Recommendations
• Family and Friends: Most lives follow typical patterns and milestones. You and your friends will likely get married within a few years of each other. Unless they all used the same photographer, you have a well-spring of resources in your previously married friends. If you are the first of your group to get married, ask your family members and their friends. Do you have an older sibling who was married? Does your cousin have friends who were married recently? You’ll likely find you know more people who were married in the past few years than you thought.
• Your Wedding Planner: This is not a forum for encouraging you to hire a wedding planner. That being said, it is a good investment. A wedding planner has a list of contacts for venues, caterers, and, yes, photographers. Since her recommendations reflect on her and her reputation, they should be the best of the best. Of course, the more experienced your wedding planner, the more contacts she’ll have. Just because your planner might not know the photographer your best friend suggested, doesn’t mean you should discount him. It just means she hasn’t met him yet.
• Local Venues: In every area, there are favorite locales for weddings. The best or most popular wedding photographers in the area should be familiar to their event coordinators. While you are checking the availability of your favorite sights, ask for photographer recommendations. You’ll be killing two birds with one stone, saving time and effort.

Now What?
Once you’ve compiled a list of recommended wedding photographers in your area, it’s time to go back to the internet. Their websites should give you an idea of their photographic styles. If you don’t like any of the pictures showcased on the website, there is no reason to meet the photographer who took them.
If their prices aren’t in your budget, move on. However, your wedding album is going to be the one lasting memento of your wedding. You may want to consider cutting your budget elsewhere. The food will be eaten, the flowers will die, the band will go home, but your photos will be shown to generations to come.
Despite trying to convince you otherwise, style and price are really the only things you can determine from a wedding photographer’s website. They will help you further narrow the playing field, but won’t help make the final decision. To do so, you will have to meet the wedding photographer in person. In that meeting, you should get an idea of what the photographer offers in his various packages and if you like him. As has been said before, your wedding photographer will be sharing one of the most special days of your life, so be sure you have a good rapport.