How important is it that your photographer has shot at your venue before?

I don't think it's really that important at all. I mean if they have, that's great, but it's definitely not a deal breaker for me. People hire photographers for destination weddings in states and countries that the photographer has never been to without any issue. A good photographer is a good photographer, no matter the location.

Our photographer has never been to our venue, so we plan to schedule a meeting with her around the same time of day as our first look/ceremony, a few weeks before the actual event, to see the lighting and scope out some possible photo spots.

Unless there is something really odd or just different about the light or rules about where the photographer is allowed to be, I wouldn't worry. Professionals know how to adapt to different environments.

I don’t think it’s a big deal. Most photographers will come look at the venue with you beforehand if you ask.

Personally I really appreciated that my photographer was familiar with the church and hotel. And they know of good places between the two for photo opps. I'm not from the area so those were comforting factors.

It isn’t important to me.

Daughter booked the photographer just about a year in advance, and after doing so was able to set up a walk-through meeting with him at the venue at about the time of the ceremony (3:30 in January) so he could see the many options for taking pictures and the lighting. He's very experienced with a beautiful portfolio, so it wasn't necessary for HIM, but it made daughter feel better. Since both the options you're considering are less experienced, if you go with the one who has not shot at your venue you could ask to do a walk through with them.

I think it depends on your venue. When I started looking at photographers I didn't think it mattered, but after talking with my coordinator at our venue she suggested that I make sure the photographer I chose knew how to utilize the lighting. Our venue is outdoor and on a peak so there is direct sunlight with no shade. Because of that I opted for a photographer that has shot a wedding at our venue before.

I would suggest talking with your venue to see what their thoughts are, but unless you have weird lighting I would say go with the photographer you think is best for you.

If you like the other photographer better, I say go with him. Then, look at other photographers' work at your venue. For example, I googled "Gabrella Manor wedding birmingham" and went to like the third page of google. I found so many photographers' websites and could see what spots photographed well at my venue! Then you can bring these inso photos to your photographer.

My photographer is amazing and has not shot at our venue before, but based on his portfolio I know that he will do a great job no matter what. I think talent is talent and as long as you are ok with their style and portfolio everything will be fine. It was handy that my florist and wedding planner had been in the space before because they were able to advise me on what worked best, but I don't think it's as important for the photographer.

My photographer has not shot at my venue but was going to go to the venue to look around.

We chose our photographer from our venues recommended vendor list! I liked that they had shot there before so they know where to take us for pictures, etc. However, it wasnt a must for us that they shout there. I think it’s a big plus, but a good photographer will know. But since your two options are still new I may lean with the one who shot there before.

My photographer has shot at my venue before, and I appreciate that. She is also on the "newer" side of things, so I like that she has experience working there and will know of good places for photos.

But it's not a requirement that your photographer have experience at your venue, just a "nice to have". If possible, maybe schedule a tour with the venue with the photographer that hasn't worked there (if you choose them), so they can scout out some good locations in advance.

But definitely go with your gut. If you were going to choose the one who hasn't worked at your venue, follow your heart..

Mine hadn’t shot at my venue before. But she got there early to scout the place and communicated with the venue coordinator on where the best places to shoot were.

Great photography was one of the most important things to us. We asked each photographer to show us examples of their work at our venue or somewhere similar (this was more important to me than my husband because I specifically remembered seeing dreadful pictures of stunning ceremonies/receptions). Unless your venue is super unique or photographer is still very new, they can probably find something shot at a similar venue that they can show you. The photographer we hired had shot at similar venues before we hired her and at our venue after we hired her and before our wedding day. She was a huge help in planning our ceremony time and day-of timeline to capture the best light without overheating anyone or having us missing key moments for sunset pics.

For us, it was extremely important that they had shot at a similar place, similar time kind of a deal. However, we were getting married on the beach and I knew that the sun would be behind us. We needed someone who knew how to shoot that. I didn't want blown out, Instagram filtered pics. Everyone we talked to said they knew exactly what we were looking for. After looking at their work, only one really did. We chose her and she has been amazing to work with.

If your venue does not have lighting issues or any other potential problems, I would not worry about it.