How many TOG's did you meet?

Only met 1! we did our research, and once we met him we knew that although others would be cheaper they would never be as good him so we just went for it. If you do your research into them and think about what is important for you in a TOG then you may not need to see many. go to a wedding fayre maybe when they are all under one roof? You soon get a feel as to whether you like them or not.

We only met one in the end, but I did months of research beforehand. Already knew I liked my tog's pictures the best, so when we met up and both liked her we just decided to book. We have ended up spending far more on a tog than we originally intended to (after seeing some poor professional photos of our friends' wedding!).

Hi think we went to two wedding fayres, our TOG was recommending by our venue, we went to see him, had looked lots on his website so went and booked there and then. he is more than i was expecting to pay but just really love his style and he was so nice and friendly when we met, seemed interested in what i was after. not been disappointed by any of his blogs yet!!!

I am finding it tricky, as it is such a large expense and I am not keen on having my photo taken and I want to see who I like the best!!!

We met 6 at a wedding fair local to where we're getting married, and from that selection we were able to whittle it down to just one that we really liked, and after chatting with him for a bit decided that we liked his work, his personality, and his prices so we booked.

I think it's a lot like dresses - you can find "the one" first time, or spend months looking. There's no real right or wrong answer.

We've met 5, hoping to make a decision soon!

Contacted 3 and only met 1 who happened to be the second to reply to our enquiry. We liked him and his prices.

An engagement shoot/pre wedding shoot can help you to feel at ease with the camera and the tog. We get one included in our package, but I think most togs offer them for a reasonable amount.

It's also important to look at a few complete wedding albums to get a good idea of the togs work, rather than their best shots in a portfolio.

One - we knew from my brothers wedding we wanted him, cos the pictires were lovley, he was un intrusive, friendly, artisitc...went to meet him and spent 2 hours with him!! drinking tea, eating biscuits, watching slideshows etc

After some research online (both at their websites and trying to find reviews of them) we only met with one lot - Murakami Photography. We knew they were the right ones for us .

We ended up meeting with 2 togs after much research on line!

We went with the second tog as she was just fab and knew what we after even though we dont really what we want!!!!!

It also depends on how you feel with the tog. We hit it off straight away with both togs but the second one just made use feel that bit more specially oh and she was cheaper!!!!

I'm a wedding photographer myself and now need to find somebody for my wedding. Really isn't easy, no matter who I choose I'm bound to annoy at least one other wedding photographer friend!

You probably don't need to meet that many in person, to be honest a lot of couples book me without even meeting me, skype, email and a blog goes a long way to making sure we're a good fit.

Alex

I met up with 4 and then had the engagement shoot trial with the one we liked best and went with him. have bumped into him at wedding fairs since and he is always friendly and helpful. . i not keen on having my photo taken and he made it very relaxed and easy. feels more like a friend and trust him to get pics we want. i too saw pics taken by someone else for a friends wedding - much cheaper but i honestly felt i could have done better myself.

I've taken bookings over the phone and taken deposits on the night of meeting couples.

Usually though a couple will see three togs. I met a couple last night who according to them spent 3 hours going through photographers they liked. They then gave each one a rating out of ten, added up the numbers and I came out on top.

That's a real compliment to be perfectly honest and makes up for the times when you might not get the job from a couple.

@ai3x - Whatever you do buddy book them as quick as you can. I met another couple a few weeks back. Drove an hour to meet them, spent two hours geeking out over equipment (they were both wedding photographers) and an hour back only to not hear anything for two weeks.

On the 14th day after meeting them I took a booking for their date from another couple. Which was a real shame as they were really nice. When I emailed them to say I'd been booked they said a photographer friend had offered to do it for free and hadn't made their mind up yet.

It's why I don't hold dates.

Chris - Yeah I know what you mean, I've already got couples fighting over 2012 dates!

A nice, but frustrating place to be ?

After a lottttttt of searching online and chatting on the phone i narrowed it down to 3 and met with each of them. All were really nice guys, and whilst I think all of them would do a really great job one really stood out for me and OH (luckily we agreed which one).

I think meeting with them was really useful, all three of them had plenty of albums for us to see. It was also really useful from the point of view of running through timings/ style of pics on the day and seeing how different people do things.

Maybe you and OH could meet with your top 2, and then if still undecided meet with a 3rd? Im personally glad I met all three, now I am confident I choose correctly!

I met with one, I saw his photos and after that no one else compared for me, we went to see him and saw loads of his photos and he's done a lot of work at our venue all of which I love. He wasn't cheap but I believe he's worth every penny!

Most of my brides have only seen one or two. It depends on the website - ours has a lot of info on it, and by the time they pick up the phone they already want to book us

Before booking in to see 6 or seven, remember that essentially that is chewing up a lot of time for all concerned. i once had a bride who told me she was booking to see 15 photographers. We had to decline the meeting... Flip the scenario around... if we had to have 15 appointments to book a single wedding, we would be out of business sin 2 weeks

We are seeing three. Met two already, both of whom we liked but one of these felt like a better fit personality wise for me (need to feel comfortable around them etc). Meeting one more this weekend. All are a similar price so it really will come down to who we click with most and the quality of the end product they offer.

I have found it really useful to meet them in person and well worth the 5 / 6 hour round trips we have made in order to do it. I wouldn't have met more than 4 though. That is enough after doing the level of research online that you have no doubt done.

Three for us. All were lovely but the one we booked just gave us a good feeling. I think three is a nice number, not too few or too many!

Thanks for all your replies. I think 2 or 3 is a good number to meet then. I defintely want to meet, I wouldnt feel comfortable booking someone who I hadnt met. xx

We met with two, and booked the second. The first was very talented and took lovely pictures and was very pleasant, but just lacked a sense of humour so couldn't really see them adding anything to the day (except a load of beautiful pictures that it would have been a chore to pose for lol). The second was perfect, fab personality and will totally add to the fun of the day so we ended our search there and have booked them. Get slightly less for our money than the first, but its worth it IMO.

For us, the meetings were really about seeing their personalities and how well we'd get on and also getting to see pictures from full weddings. Had neither of them suited, we would have kept booking meetings until we found one that was!