I’ve already mentioned that I viewed (stalked) lot of photographer’s blogs while comprising a list of potential vendors for the wedding. I may have done this before actually getting engaged—but don’t forget, we had to wait months for my custom engagement ring to be made, so I had to fill my time somehow. Anyhow, by the time we did get engaged, I was like a Philadelphia wedding photographer directory. If there was one wedding decision Chris and I made confidently, it was choosing our photographer.

I really like creative, photojournalistic-style wedding pictures. I love those certain photos that look more like art than posed shots. That’s really what made Hoffer Photography’s blog and website stand out to me. Their engagement and wedding pictures are not only beautiful, but also interesting and fun. Chris and I loved their work so much that Hoffer Photography ended up being pretty high on our wedding priority list.

I doubt this is the norm—but Chris and I actually booked our photographer before we booked our venue. In fact, we booked them before we booked anything. We were about 18 months out from our then “to be determined� wedding date, and most vendors had pretty wide availability. However, the Hoffers book up pretty fast, and were already filling up for the spring/summer months we desired. So, shortly after getting engaged, we set up a meeting with the Hoffers (did I mention that they’re a married couple that shoot weddings together? Too cute!). On top of having beautiful work, Tony and Amy seemed like genuinely great people, so we went ahead and booked them without meeting with any other photographers (I’m clearly not good at shopping around).

Chris and I have our engagement pictures scheduled for late Octobe,r so we’re readying our signature looks and practicing smiling with our eyes. I’ve studied a lot of America’s Next Top Model, so I feel like we’re going to nail these shots (I also can do a pretty killer runway walk if you’re interested). I’ll keep you posted with how they turn out …

Did you have a certain vendor that was a super high priority for you? Did their availability actually determine your wedding date? How did you find them?