When hiring a photographer for your special day, your first inclination is probably to find somebody who has worked at your venue, whose approach + style you love, and who you vibe with on a personal level. . . NOT somebody who will photograph your florals beautifully, and pay careful attention to the work your florist put into creating your designs. No offense taken, I get it ;)

Hear me out, though: I’m here to share why I actually believe that your wedding photography and florals go hand-in-hand, and why it’s essential to think about your florals when picking the person to capture your day!

How Your Wedding Photographer + Florals Go Hand-In-Hand

As much as I would love to send you the slightly-blurry photos that I take on my iPhone once I’m done setting up your flowers I will absolutely not be subjecting you to my mess of a camera roll—which is why it’s so, so key that you hire the right photographer to creatively, beautifully capture your florals!

If documented correctly, your florals will not only add to your lived experience on your wedding day, and the atmosphere you create—they’ll also add to the photos you look back on for the rest of your lives. Florals help to set the tone for every portion of your celebration, from your ceremony, where you tie the knot surrounded by spectacular blooms and abundance greenery, all the way till the very last song of the night, where you and your guests dance under a stunning hanging arrangement that your florist carefully put together to fit your space. Each and every flower matters on your special day, and every day after that you browse through the photos in your camera roll, thumb through the album on your coffee table, or print your favorites to frame and hang up on your walls.

There are sort of two ways to go about making sure your wedding photographer and florals are in alignment: either you select a color palette that works with your chosen photographer’s editing style, or you select a photographer who you know will capture the true colors of your chosen florals. Neither is right or wrong, it really just depends on what’s a bigger priority to you: having the florals of your dreams, or the photographer of your dreams! (and you can obviously have both, if you do it right!)

How to Find the Right Photographer to Capture Your Florals

While there are many factors that go into choosing your wedding photographer, I firmly believe that your florals should play a role in that decision! So let’s go over the 3 main things to pay attention to when choosing your wedding photographer, as they relate to your florals.

1. Editing style + color accuracy

Choosing a photographer with an editing style you love is important for many different reasons: you want to make sure your photos match the aesthetic you like, represent your wedding accurately, and feel true to you. For the sake of your florals, though, the most crucial thing to pay attention to in a photographer’s editing style is color accuracy.

This is a hot topic in the wedding industry! Who remembers “Sepia Bride” on TikTok?😅 Basically, this bride was really unhappy with the way her wedding photographer edited their photos with a sepia tint, and felt that not only did the photos not accurately reflect the photographer’s past work—they also didn’t portray the true colors of her wedding day. I won’t go into the wild amount of controversy that this sparked, but it prompts an important discussion that you should absolutely have with your partner when searching for your wedding photographer. And goes to show just how important it is that you like the way your photographer edits certain colors!

For example: let’s say that your wedding party is sporting a gorgeous array of greens throughout their attire & accessories—sage, olive, forest, and emerald. Your floral arrangements are full of lush greenery and sprawling vines, as well as deep jewel tones such as burgundy and plum, with a hint of crimson as an accent.

In order to make sure that the greens, purples, and reds that you (and your florist) so carefully selected as part of your color palette, are accurately represented in your photos, you need to find a photographer who will edit those greens, purples, and reds flawlessly, and true-to-color! Otherwise, you’ll end up with colors that look completely different than you intended, and likely invested a hefty amount of time and money into.

Pro tip: Greens and pinks are especially good to pay attention to, as they can vary greatly among different photographers. Look carefully at how your potential wedding photographer edits their greens—do the tones look overly warm? Are they a bit cooler, leaning toward blue? Do they look fairly true-to-life? Do they look different outdoors in the mountains vs. indoors at a venue?

Now, some couples do love the look of a film-inspired, nostalgic editing style, with a hint of extra warmth and slightly muted colors. Some love a more saturated, vibrant editing style with a focus on pastels and playful shades—think Wes Anderson-esque—that make colors pop more than they did in real life.

And there’s nothing wrong with any of these styles, or the way they portray different colors: all that matters is that you’re aware of how your colors will be captured, and that your photographer’s style aligns with what you’re looking for!

Want to learn about the most popular styles of wedding photography, and how each unique approach might affect the way your florals are documented?

My dear friend (and branding photography extraordinaire), Allie, recently published a blog post about What to Look For When Hiring Your Wedding Photographer, where she dives deep into documentary vs. editorial, cinematic vs. fine art, and more key elements of a wedding photographer’s approach. 10/10 recommend giving it a read!

2. Lighting proficiency

Next, it’s important that your wedding photographer is able to work with all types of light on your wedding day, including (and especially) low-light scenarios. Because as much as I wish that wedding venues could have picture-perfect lighting in every single room, that’s just not the case—and the way your photographer captures different types of light will greatly impact the way your florals look in your final image gallery.

Picture this for a sec: you and your partner invested in the most glorious, stunning array of bright white dahlias, snapdragon, and baby’s breath. The soft white arrangements look oh-so angelic, heavenly, enchanting under the gentle glow of your candlelit reception. . . except when you look at your final photos, the whites of the blooms are wildly overexposed, bright, and blinding—no detail to be seen. Sadly, your photographer didn’t capture the low light of your reception properly in their camera, and had to bump up the brightness when editing—which resulted in your gorgeous, white flowers being totally blown out. Yikes 😬

Another unfortunate result of poor lighting capabilities is the layers, shadows, and textures of your florals being totally thrown off when you look back at your photos. Whether your ceremony is in a super bright spot under the mid-day sun, or your cocktail hour is inside of a dark and moody wine cellar, it’s crucial that your photographer is able to accurately capture the setting, and that their photos reflect the way your florals looked in real life.

As a luxury wedding florist, I’m very intentional with the way I craft and design your arrangements, down to the smallest of details; the delicate highlights and deep shadows of different blooms that play off of each other effortlessly, the frothy textures and layered petals purposefully placed to create a certain effect. . . and with the wrong photographer who can’t properly capture the florals in different settings, that can all disappear in your photos.

When browsing different photographers, pay careful attention to the types of lighting they show in their portfolio, as well as in any galleries they send to you. How do their photos look not just in a perfect, naturally-lit room, but in an old, yellow hotel room with those unflattering fluorescent lights? What do the colors look like? Do the flowers look true-to-life? You want to be confident that they can capture your day beautifully no matter the time, place, or amount of natural light present.

Pro tip: If you’re only seeing flawlessly-lit shots across their social media or portfolio, don’t be afraid to ask to see a full gallery. They should be happy to share one (or multiple) with you to make sure you align with the way they capture the full narrative of a wedding day, from start to finish.

3. Attention to detail

Finally, you want to make sure that your photographer will actually, well, capture your florals in the way that they deserve! I’ve worked with many, many different couples and their photographers throughout my years as a florist, and I’ll tell you that, unfortunately, not every photographer documents florals with the intention and care they deserve. After all, you’re spending a good chunk of money on your floral arrangements—whether that looks like a simple bouquet and boutonniere, or a complex collection of installments across your whole venue—so it’s only right that that is reflected in your wedding gallery!

Not all floral designs are created equal—some pieces make a big splash, while others may fade into the background. Your photographer should be prepared to document each and every one, as they all play a role in the design, look, and feel of your celebration; no detail should be overlooked when telling the story of your day. So when looking through galleries of potential photographers, notice just how much attention each piece of decor (be it florals, signage, stationery, etc.) gets, and make sure that aligns with how you’d like even the smallest elements of your wedding to be documented.

As an eco-luxe florist who creates only the best of the best designs for every couple, I always want to make sure you have the right people + resources in your corner to achieve your dream wedding day. That’s why I believe it’s so important to keep your florals in mind when hiring your wedding photographer, and I hope this advice has helped you learn how to do just that!

Curious about how I can help you bring your wildest wedding floral dreams to life in the greater Seattle area? Get in touch here, and let’s create some magic together. ✨

Browse through my recent wedding & elopement blog posts for more tips like these: