Your wedding day is one of the most memorable days of your life or at least it should be. You really want to make all of those wonderful memories last forever and the best way to capture these moments is with wonderful wedding photographs. Read on to find out how to choose the right wedding photographer for what should be one of the most important days of your life.

Planning your day so that your photographer has the most possible time to take the photographs is very important. It is advisable that you leave plenty of time between the time of the wedding ceremony itself and the reception afterwards so that lots of photographs can be taken.

You will want to discuss with your photographer what groups you would like but obviously you will want photographs of the bride and groom and all the guests you have invited to your wedding.

The photographer will get better results and the subjects will be much more relaxed if there is no rush to get onto the wedding reception.

The best advice I can give you about choosing your wedding photographer is to make sure that he can show you lots of samples of his work. Be wary of someone who can only show you certain samples of different weddings. Ideally you would like to see most of the photographs from more than one wedding and see that these are satisfactory for you and a professional wedding photographer should be able to do this for you without any problem.

Although more expensive it's a good idea to hire a photographer for the whole day, as once again this make sure that things aren't going to be rushed.

Be aware that there are companies out there who hire individual photographers on a freelance basis. These people are actually salespeople selling the services of a photographer so make sure that you know who you're dealing with. It's better to speak to the photographer who is shooting the wedding in person and if you can find a two-person team and that's an even better deal because you'll have more than one perspective of your wedding.

Certain photographers have more limited styles and only offer traditional photography and then there are others who will do a more journalistic style. If you can, try to find a versatile photographer who is happy to mix traditional with less formal styles.

It is very wise to find out about possible extra charges. For instance, you may be charged more for black and white prints. Black and white can give a very dramatic effect and you may want this but you must know if it's going to be charged extra.

On the subject of extra charges, you must ask your photographer whether there will be any extra charge for manual and digital coloring or digital color separation. Your photographs are much improved when the photograph colors are separated and improved before being printed.

Find out what sort of camera your photographer uses. Does he have a selection of equipment? Will he have backup? Will he use a "leaf" shutter or a "focal plane".

Ask your photographer what lenses he will use. Will there be only one lens available, or will he change lenses? Can he show you some of the different effects that he can achieve with different lenses and then you can choose the ones which you would like to incorporate in your photographs.

Will your photographer make an exclusive package for you that is within your budget?

When you ask intelligent questions you will encourage the photographer to take you seriously and be open with you. You must remember that this is your special day and it's for you to make sure that your wedding photography is something that will live on long past the day and that your friends and family will enjoy the memories the years to come.