How to check in on photos with out sounding like a pest

Haha I totally understand this. Went through the same. Just sound polite and ask nicely

"hey *inserts photographer's name" hope you had a lovely weekend. I was just following up based on our previous conversations about the turn around time for our photos. We loved the previews you sent us and we are looking forward to seeing all the photos. Just checking in to see how much longer it would take.

Something along those lines.

Is she emailing them to you? If so, you could say "Hey ___! Hope you are well. Thank you again for our sneak peek of the engagement session, we LOVED them. Just wanted to check in with you on the rest of the engagement photos and make sure the email didn't get lost in cyberspace! Look forward to hearing from you!"

Hi Alyssa! I'm a photographer on the side, which could be what your photog is too. If s/he's got a day job, things could have gotten crazy in the past week or so. I'd just shoot them a friendly message, let them know you loved the sneak peek and ask when you can expect to see the rest because you really want to show all your friends and family! And when they do send them, DO show your friends and family. Building that relationship with your photographer will make the wedding photos (if you choose to use them again) even better because now it's really personal to them, too.

What does your contract say for how long she has to finish them?

I don't think checking in makes you a pest! If it's been longer than the contracted time, feel free to reach out to the photographer

Before I had a chance to message her, she messaged me this morning! Phew, she's planning on sending me the gallery tomorrow!