Planning your big day is complicated. Sifting through dozens of websites and vendor directories to find venues, caterers, photographers, florists, etc. can quickly become an overwhelming task.
In this article, we're covering five US wedding photographer directories to help you understand what to expect from each one and explain which type of couple that each directory serves best.
The Directories
We visited many wedding directory sites and narrowed down the list to the 5 that we believe give the greatest value to a couple looking for a US wedding photographer. Those directories include Wedding Rule, The Knot, Junebug Weddings, Wedding Maps, and (of course) our own directory, Happily Ever Photo. Below, you'll find a quick description of each directory and our recommendation for the type of couple that each directory serves best. We'll then give you a table with a summary of each directory's features.
1. Wedding Rule
Wedding Rule is a general wedding planning site that has lists of venues, officiants, photographers, and more. They also have some articles where they list the "best" vendors in each state.
The only filters available in their directory are "State" and "City", and there are no qualification criteria for listed photographers. Because of this, this directory is good for someone who isn't too picky about the caliber of their photographer and has the time to sift through profiles to determine if each photographer is a good fit.
2. The Knot
We probably don't have to explain this site to any engaged couples, but in case you live under a rock, The Knot/Wedding Wire is the largest online go-to source for wedding planning. It's a sprawling site with an equally sprawling directory of photographers.
While the Knot's directory also has no qualification criteria for its listed photographers, it does have many more filtering options available for your search, including "Starting price", "Award winners", "Style", and more. This directory is recommended if you're wanting the widest selection of photographers, (including amateurs and ones who are very cheaply priced), and you have a couple filtering preferences to help you narrow down the field.
3. Junebug Weddings Junebug Weddings is another wedding planning site with a blog, contests, and their "best wedding photographers" list. Their list has many more photographers in the most populated states than the less populated ones.
The only filter available in the directory is "State". In contrast to the first 2 directories, Junebug Weddings does require that all listed photographers have at least 1 year in the wedding photography industry or at least 20 weddings shot. The best couples for this directory are those who are getting married in a more populated state and want to make sure their photographer isn't brand new to the industry. They must also have time to sift through profiles, since there is only one filtering option.
4. Wedding Maps
Wedding Maps has a wedding photographer directory and also a directory for "best engagement photography locations".
Like Junebug, Wedding Maps only has "State" available as a filter. However, their qualification criteria are the strictest of all 5 directories, ensuring that each photographer has been approved for quality metrics and also has 3+ years in the industry and 30+ weddings shot. Because of this, Wedding Maps is for the couple who is interested in a high caliber and experienced professional photographer. Even with only one filter, there isn't much sifting to do because the qualification criteria keep the state lists fairly short.
Last, but not least, our own directory: Happily Ever Photo. Our site has a US photographer directory for portrait photographers of all genres and also an educational blog. The filters available on our directory are numerus, including "Location", "Editing style", "Years in business", "Studio space", "LGBTQ+ Inclusive", and more. In order to be listed, photographers must demonstrate sustainable pricing, which means they must show that they're charging rates that can support a living wage in the US. Our directory is for the couple who isn't searching for a bargain-basement photographer and has a good idea of what they want in their perfect photographer. While you can certainly browse the list by just state and genre, our other unique filters really shine for those "picky" couples.
Below, you can find a table that summarizes the features of each directory. We hope this article will help to make your wedding photographer search just a little easier. <3
