Some version of this question shows up on r/AskSeattle and r/weddingplanning every few weeks: the wedding is next August, the couple wants both a photographer and a videographer, and Google searches are overwhelming. Where do you even start? The replies are usually a list of names, which helps a little, but a list of names doesn't tell you how to choose between them. Here is the process we'd give a friend, from a husband-and-wife team that shoots both photo and video in Snohomish County and the Seattle area.
Why Googling "Wedding Photographer Seattle" Feels Like a Maze
The first page of results is mostly paid ads, directory sites that rank vendors by who pays for placement, and "top 10" lists written by the vendors themselves. None of that tells you who is good at your kind of wedding. The better starting points are the ones tied to real weddings:
- Your venue's preferred vendor list. Venues see every photographer and film crew who walks through their doors. The ones on the list were easy to work with and didn't miss the ceremony.
- Your venue's Instagram location tag. Search the venue on Instagram and scroll the tagged posts. You'll see real work in your exact light and space, and the credits tell you who shot it.
- Friends who married in the last two years. Ask what they'd do differently, not just who they hired.
- Reddit threads for your area (r/AskSeattle, r/SnohomishCounty, r/eastside). Useful for names; verify them the same way you would any other.
Aim for three photographers and three videographers on a shortlist, or three teams that do both. More than that and you'll stall out comparing.
Decision One: One Team or Two Vendors?
This is the choice that shapes everything else, so make it early. Neither answer is wrong.
One team for both means one contract, one deposit, one planning call and one timeline. The photographers and the videographer already know how the other works, so they aren't stepping into each other's shots during the processional or the first kiss, and your gallery and film come out with the same color and feel. The trade-off: you're choosing one style for both, so you need to love the team's photos and its films.
Two separate vendors lets you pick your favorite photographer and your favorite filmmaker independently. The trade-off is coordination. Two sets of contracts and invoices, two planning calls, and on the day, two crews who may have never met deciding in real time who stands where at the end of the aisle. If you go this way, ask each vendor who they've worked with before and try to pair people who already have a rhythm together.
Decision Two: How Much to Budget for Each
Couples are often surprised that good video costs about as much as good photography. A filmmaker is on site the same hours, carries separate audio gear for the vows and toasts, and spends weeks editing afterward. Set your total number first, then split it, rather than booking a photographer and seeing what's left over for video.
For reference, here is how ours is priced. Photography and videography are each $2,500 (Elopement, 4 hours), $4,500 (Classic, full day) and $5,500 (Signature, 10+ hours), and the combined photo and video collections are $5,000, $9,000 and $11,000. The full breakdown lives on our pricing page, and our wedding photography cost guide covers what the local market looks like beyond us.
Ask to See Full Work, Not Highlights
Highlight reels and best-of galleries are where everyone looks great. Before you book, ask each finalist for:
- From photographers: one complete gallery from a recent wedding, ideally at a venue like yours (indoor, barn, waterfront, rainy day).
- From videographers: a full ceremony edit, not just a highlight film. Listen closely. Can you hear the vows clearly over wind, music and a crying baby? Audio is the part of wedding film that goes wrong most often, and you can't fix it later.
- From teams that do both: the gallery and the film from the same wedding, so you can see how the two fit together.
Questions to Ask on the Consult Call
- Is my date available, and how long will you hold it?
- Who exactly will be at my wedding, and have you worked with them before?
- How do you record audio for the vows and the toasts?
- When will I get my photos, and when will I get my film? (Ours: galleries in 6 to 8 weeks, a 60-second teaser within two weeks, finished films in 8 to 12 weeks.)
- What happens if you're sick on the day?
- If we hire you for only one of the two, who do you like working alongside?
A Simple Timeline for a Wedding Next Summer
- Now through October: set your budget split, build the shortlist, request full galleries and films.
- By November: consult calls, then sign and pay the retainer. Summer Saturdays are the first dates to go.
- Winter or early spring: engagement session, if your package includes one. It's also a low-stakes way to get comfortable in front of the camera before the day.
- Six to eight weeks out: a shared day-of timeline with your photographers, videographer and planner or venue coordinator, all working from the same document.
Where We Fit
We're Sunny and Tina, a husband-and-wife team based in Lake Stevens. We shoot weddings across Snohomish County and travel to Seattle and the Eastside, and we offer photography and videography either separately or together. If you want one team for both, start with our wedding videography page for the photo and video collections, or our wedding photography page if photos are the priority. If you'd rather hire us for one and someone else for the other, that works too; we're glad to coordinate.
Either way, text us your date at (708) 677-7136. We reply within the hour, 7 days a week.