Are you considering a destination wedding? An international wedding? Many venues include a wedding photographer or give you suggestions for local ones, but we think you should nix this and consider hiring your own destination wedding photographer.

1. Unknown skill

Avoid potential disaster! When you accept the photographer provided by your destination wedding “package” you do not know the skill of the photographer they have contracted out. Oftentimes you don’t even know their names or if your personality jives with theirs! Even more misleading, many times the photos you see on the website aren’t even taken by the photographer they will have contracted for your day. When YOU choose someone, you can make your own judgements and even ask for full galleries to ensure the level of professionalism and skill is to your standard.

2. You don’t get basic cookie-cutter images

When you bring someone to your beautiful international wedding (Be that Ireland, California, or the Caribbean), they will be completely awestruck with the location! They will likely already be seeing and dreaming up extremely creative and epic photographs because it’s not landscape or architecture that they see everyday. Your photos will have a new and unique perspective as opposed to someone who possibly photographs there all the time. Your international photographer you bring with you will go above and beyond to make the experience unique, special, and showcase the place you chose to have your wedding in a beautiful way.

3. You get them the whole weekend

When you bring a photographer with you, they are there for YOU. They have nowhere else to be. Because of this, you’re likely able to have them for your entire wedding weekend! Most international photographers have full wedding weekend collections that cover rehearsal dinners, full wedding day, and day-after portrait sessions. Your photographer won’t be rushing to get home because they are there specifically to photograph your entire weekend.

4. Your relationship with your photographer

This is incredibly important. When you hire a photographer, you’re not JUST hiring them for their skill and style. Especially with destination weddings, you’re going to be spending a lot of time with your photographers. You have to LIKE their personality! It would be awful to show up for your destination wedding, having never met the person who is going to be documenting the most important day of your lives, and realizing their personality does not at all match yours. You’re going to be uncomfortable in front of the camera and you’re not going to get those pinterest-worthy, intimate shots that you’re longing for.

5. Style preference

You have the world at your fingertips. Literally. When you’re planning a wedding (either abroad or national destination), you can choose ANY photographer you want. There are so many different style types and personalities to choose from. You have a wonderful opportunity here that most people don’t have. You get to invest into your imagery in a way that most people wish they could. We encourage you to choose the style, posing, and photographer personality that makes your heart happy and that you can see you and your fiance opening up to. Because that’s when magic happens.

If you’re looking for a destination wedding photographer, click here! We’d love to hear about your plans.