Meeting the right photographer should feel as powerful as finding the perfect dress. "When I saw my photographer's website, it was like a chemical reaction. I thought, Wow. I want to see what she's going to do with my wedding," says Kate Headley, a Washington, D.C.-based wedding photographer herself.

It was the same for Krissy Payne, 29, a bride from Royal Oak, Michigan, who met with no less than 10 photographers in the Detroit area before deciding to hire one recommended by a good friend. For her as well, it all came down to chemistry. 

"When I sat down with her, we just kind of clicked," she says. "I liked her style, and I liked what she had to say. She said that when she got married, she had gotten so caught up in the artistic part that, when her mother passed away right after the wedding, she realized she didn't have a single photo of the two of them together. I just knew she got it personally."

The person you choose to be behind the lens on your big day will be at your side for the good, the unforeseen, and the deeply intimate -- like those last anxious moments before you walk down the aisle. So it pays to really do your research and locate a photographer whose temperament and artistic style are in line with yours. Here's how.

Zoom In on the Perfect Photographer
Many brides, like Payne, turn to friends for recommendations -- specifically those whose wedding photos wowed them. In that case, not only do you know you like the photographer's work, but personal connections may help snag a super-busy photographer. Another good place to start? Log on to sites such as marthastewartweddings.com, where you can find photographers by ZIP Code (using our vendor search) and read reviews, and WPPIonline.com, the online directory of Wedding and Portrait Photographers International. And once you've decided on a venue, the staff there will often provide leads on photographers who know -- and love to shoot -- their space.

Once you've found reputable shutterbugs in your area, home in on the photographic style you want. Today, you can find professionals who shoot everything from traditional formal images to more artistic photos to the latest trend -- nothing but spontaneous shots of your big day. That's a style often labeled as "photojournalism," but most photographers caution brides not to use the term lightly. "I think people think that photojournalism means 'nontraditional,' " says wedding photographer Headley. "I made that mistake at my wedding. I had said to myself, 'I only want a photojournalist,' but my photographer didn't pose anyone. There are no family photos of everyone together. Now I wish I'd done it differently." 

Headley's own style, in contrast, is more artistic. "I'm on a prop kick right now," she says. "I bought a ton of vintage minks and hats. I used an old-fashioned bicycle and a parasol. I do a lot of posing of the bride and groom." The bottom line: Ask for references, pore over previous weddings each photographer has shot, and sit tight until you see the kind of images that really speak to you.