A quick search on Yell.com will show you that there are hundreds of East Sussex wedding photographers available. When you also consider that there are hundreds of photographers in London and the other home counties that would be only too happy to travel to shoot your wedding, choosing the right photographer can become a bit overwhelming. We all know that lots of choice is meant to be good for the consumer, but when it comes to real life, choosing the right photographer can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The point of this page is to give you some tips to make it easier to make a decision that you can be happy with. With all the other things you need to think about when planning a wedding, spending too much time worrying about wedding photographers is not going to do anything good for your stress levels!

The reason why it can be stressful is because it can be hard to reach a decision. Indecision is stressful, and when you want everything to be perfect, it can be much worse!

The first step to make the decision easier and less stressful is to have a clear idea of what you want. The wedding photography is going to be your permanent record of the wedding, and will be with you for years to come. Just as you want the wedding to be perfect in the moment, you want the record to be perfect forever.

Just as the style of the wedding dress and the choice of wedding venue allows you to express your own taste, so does the style of the photography. Of course, a hundred years ago, there was only one style - very formal and very stiff (they looked that way because people had to hold the pose while the film was exposed.) But back then, our culture was a lot more traditional. We didn't need to think too much about our weddings because they had already been planned before we were even born!

While these old photographs were elegant, they did not express much individuality - in fact, they all looked much the same.

Nowadays, there are hundreds of different styles to choose from, from formal and traditional to contemporary and individual and even wild and bizarre. What you should choose is something that expresses the character of the bride and groom.

Once you have an idea of what you are looking for, it becomes a lot easier to choose the right East Sussex wedding photographer.

Now for the finding of the needle in the haystack! With so many different photographers to choose from, you are going to have to make some calls - potentially a lot of calls. You can speed this process up by making the "haystack" smaller - reducing the number of people you need to call by working with recommendations - in fact there is a photographer who I recommend later.

But whoever you call, there will be a couple of points that you want to check.

First of all, is the person a real professional? Becoming a photographer is a lot easier than becoming a heart surgeon. A person with a camera and half a clue can say they are a photographer without breaking any laws, but they can still butcher a wedding. On the other hand, if you bought yourself a stethoscope and a scalpel and then said you were a heart surgeon because you owned them, you'd get locked up pretty quick.

The best sign that a person is a professional East Sussex wedding photographer is membership in a professional organisation for wedding photographers, such as the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (or SWPP). To be a member, you must be qualified and experienced, so if your potential photographer is a member, the chances are that he is a reliable professional.

However, even if he is a real professional, you might not like his style. You should ask to see examples of his previous work to see if it suits the style that you thought of previously. Do be sure to tell him in advance what you are looking for, so he can show you photography that suits your taste.

You should also make sure he is easy to work with. He should be easy to talk to, interested in your ideas and be in control of the situation without being too bossy. As a professional, he should know what works and what doesn't but he should also be interested in helping you to realise the effect that you want.

As you are planning your wedding budget, price is important, but it is not the most important thing. You can err by spending too little or too much. Spending too little means that you would not be able to hire a real professional - they expect to be paid a reasonable amount for their hard work.

On the other hand, just choosing the most expensive photographer because they must be the best is a good way to waste money and still possibly end up disappointed.

So have a clear idea of your price range, and then see if you can work within it with your photographer of choice. And remember that you will be looking at these photographs for years, so spend wisely!

As for my recommendation, there is a photographer from London who works in the home counties and has done some really good quality work for my family in the past - have a look at his website and see for yourself.