The first thing most newly engaged brides do (other than tell everyone they’re going to get married) is go to pick out their dress and decide what their bridesmaids are going to wear. However, as important as the dresses and the location of the ceremony are, there’s one thing that’s often overlooked as a very important aspect of the wedding day: the photographer.

Having a photographer at your wedding isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity and it’s just as important as the rings and the dress. It can also be just as hard to choose a wedding photographer as it is the aforementioned items.

The best practice is to first use Google. While friends recommendations are nice, they can also be bias, so you need to make sure that you are doing plenty of research. Reading about your photographer is great, but meeting them in person over coffee is even better. You might not think that a photographer’s personality has anything to do with the way that they take photos, but that’s not true. You and your photographer should have the same idea of what kind of photos you want, and some examples from wedding magazines or blogs can help show what you are looking for to your potential photographer.

Don’t forget to take a good long look at their portfolios. You don’t want to have your photos not taken well or over-edited in post processing. Many photographers, if they haven’t gone to school to hone their craft (and they don’t need to in order to produce brilliant results), have trained with other photographers or have years of experience. A wedding is not the ideal time to hire an amateur photographer just to save some money.

Never be afraid to ask questions. By asking questions, this ensures that there won’t be any surprises on your wedding day. Types of questions can include whether or not they bring an assistant, their photography style and equipment they use. While the last one is not particularly important, if you want to know, don’t hesitate to ask. More ideas for questions you can ask them can be found here.

Most importantly of all, if you are booking a photographer and they have a contract (most professionals do) make sure you read it thoroughly and ask any questions in case you don’t understand. Signing the contract and paying a deposit will reserve your photographer for your date: don’t be stuck looking for one last minute.

For more tips and tricks for the bride to be, don’t forget to check out Best for Bride’s blog for everything you are looking for a wedding photographer.