A picture says a thousand words, and if you don't want your wedding photos to say, "I was shot with a disposable camera," it's best to do some research before hiring a photographer. You're going to be looking at your wedding photos the rest of your life, they'll probably be displayed prominently in your home, so you'll want to hire a photographer that you're confident will do a good job.
You'll also want to delegate a significant amount of your wedding budget for your photographer. It's important to look at the pictures instead of the price. If you like the photographer's work, you can save money by not purchasing an album. Most photographers will give you a disc with all of the pictures on it. You can have your favorite images printed or purchase an album at a later date. It's a far better alternative to getting an album with a lot of photos that you're not happy with.
These days it seems like everybody and their brother is a photographer. There is a big difference between a photographer who went to school and has formal training in their craft, as opposed to someone who could afford a nice camera and likes to take pictures of their family and friends. I'm not saying that the photographers without schooling can't get a good shot, but I'm assuming you'll want more than just a couple nice pictures. Your wedding day isn't the time to give an amateur the benefit of the doubt. So when you meet with photographers, its important to ask them what type of schooling or training that they have had.
