What do you consider when choosing a Wedding Photographer? Where does it fall in the hierarchy of things to sort out for the big day? Is it even important? The following article is hints and tips from couples that have got married and been through the process, what worked for them, what didn't and how they would choose if they had the chance again...

Choosing your photographer could be one of the biggest decisions you make for your wedding, but for some couples I spoke to it was well down the pecking order. This is understandable, after all there's so much to decide upon and organise for a wedding; Church or registry office, all in one venue or separate locations for ceremony and reception, who to invite, the all important dress, bridesmaids, best man, vehicles, music, catering, alcohol, entertainment, decoration, wedding cake, the actual invitations - the list goes on and is as extensive as it is exhaustive! Why worry about a photographer when Mum's got her IPhone (other mobile phones are available) or Uncle Derek has one of those fancy SLR cameras and took some snaps once back in the 70's... Obviously being a wedding 'tog my opinion is biased, but after the day is done, all that is left of it is the memories and when you think about it, your photographer is the person that you are trusting above anyone to capture those memories for a lifetime. But enough from me, what do the married couples who replied to the survey think...

- I guess I was a bit unusual in that my photographer was under strict instruction to stay in the back and keep posed pictures to a minimum. I hate having my photo done and find this slot at weddings boring. He did exactly as asked and we got some lovely pictures! I think the point here is to make sure expectations are worked out early on so they can be met/managed! - Jo Christie

- As soon as we picked a venue I was looking for the best photographer I could find rather than the dress! To me money wasn't a problem when it came to picking our photographer as I know how important it is. My advice to engaged couples is don't look at price list first, look at their style and how they come across. - Laura Hutson

- We personally wanted to meet our photographer before hand and find somebody who could put us at ease on the day - I think having a stranger turn up on the day is hard, particularly if you are more reserved in nature. So picking someone who makes you feel comfortable is important. I think the 'fit' between photographer and client is probably the key to being happy with the end result. - Kerry Bayliss-Gore

- The main thing for us was to be super relaxed with the person taking the photos. So the pics would be 100% us and natural. We met them a couple of times and had a mini engagement shoot. Hugely important. I said I wasn't bothered about 'posed' pictures. Then on the day we decided that actually we'd really like some family shots. Without properly arranging this before they ended up being a bit jumbled. The other is we chose to not have a pre paid album. Just digital prints. This was cheaper. However it took us ages to sort doing an album ourselves. And when we did it's still pretty expensive to do it well and takes ages to sort through them all. It's certainly not as good as a professional doing it. Often these photos are the only lasting thing from the day so they are very important. - Hayley Penny

- The best advice I could give would be not to stint on the photographer. It’s easy to think that all wedding photographers are the same, and when organising a wedding, with all the other things vying for your time and attention, just pick the first one that pops up on a search engine. A lot of the potential photographers we spoke to were quite serious folks and seemed a little wooden in their approach. We wanted someone that fitted in with our day a little better, someone that could almost be a guest. - Dave Llewellyn

- Think about your style of wedding and more importantly how you want to remember it. Are you wanting to capture the emotion of the wedding, the people or both. This will help you decide if you want formal or relaxed photos. Make sure the Church/venue will allow your photographer to take pictures as some will only allow those that they are associated with. Our Church was strict on when you can and can't take photos and which part however due to the Vicar working with our photographer he relaxed the rules slightly. Look at packages and decide what's good for you. A photo album of your photos is always a good memento and is always better quality than the ones you put together yourself. - Becca Reeve

- The best pics I've seen were from photographers who completely blended in the crowd. They were in the middle yet invisible, which was incredible. Afterwards, the more you can personalise the album, the better. Our photographer put a lot of effort in selecting background pictures so that the pictures we selected were not simply on black background. - Aude Duquesne

So there you have it, advice from Married Couples. Thank you to everybody who contributed and made this article possible, I hope it is helpful and good luck on finding the right Photographer for your special day!!