Deciding who will document the big day!

In late July, I drug the unsuspecting fiance to the Houston Bridal Extravaganza with a clear agenda in mind: 1) Find a photographer and 2) Find a linen vendor. Other things, like a limo company and a cake baker, we thought we would just find later. We spent a mere 2.5 hours going from booth to booth, talking only to the vendors we deemed worthy. (Sidenote: I attended this same show in January with my mom a few weeks after being engaged when I had no idea what I wanted and visited nearly every booth. Then, a sheet of stickers with your name, address, wedding date, etc. cost $1 per sheet. At the most recent show, the price was up to $5 a sheet! Print your own at home, ladies! You want to enter your name for every prize available, not scrimp and limit yourself like I did the second time around!) Surprisingly, Andrew didn't hate the show as much as I thought. We met several photographers and got TONS of information. At the show, we already had our venue booked and therefore were nearly forced to commit to one of five caterers (or else incur a huge fee- a story for another post). I thought I knew which videographer I wanted and I had a tentative DJ contract that included another vendor that I want to keep a secret. So, we tried to make this short and sweet. My main focus was photography. That really is the thing that will last forever and could potentially be my biggest regret. The show made me completely obsessed with magazine-style albums. Who wouldn't want to display their wedding day in all its glory for all eternity? I knew a photographer who offered these treasures was a must. I was also adamant on limiting the "cheese" factor in a wedding photographer. "Cheese" photos include, but are not limited to, the following: 1) groom laying across bridesmaids' laps 2) bride being held up by groomsmen 3) bride being intentionally dipped by groom (if that happens during the kiss, awesome. Otherwise, let's leave it out, k?) 4) pictures taken at awkward angles claiming to be artistic. These are definitely not my favorite things. I wanted to find someone who would take a fly-on-the-wall approach and capture what was happening. The little things I would never be able to remember. At the show, we narrowed our choices down to about six photographers, plus one who wasn't able to attend the show that I fell in love with online. I bookmarked all 7 sites and then asked for the groom's opinion. Each site was given a rating on a scale of 1 - 10 for its gallery quality by each of us. Being in either person's bottom 2 was an immediate kiss of death. We were able to easily narrow the range down to three. Unfortunately for one of the three, his prices were only in our budget if we booked him that day, and I wasn't comfortable with that kind of pressure (at the show we told him where we were getting married, and he said since he loved it so much, he would give us $500 off if we booked that day). So, we were down to 2 and we emailed each for quotes. They were both very, very similar. Andrew took a last look at both photographers and decided that he liked Lindsay Perry better than the other. I, in my typical indecisiveness, didn't know who to pick, but I was leaning slightly more towards Lindsay as well. Coincidentally, she and I attended high school together and are the same age: she is facebook friends with my cousin (yes, I stalked), so I think that being younger, she will be in alignment with what we want. We met with her, she sent us a contract, and the rest is history! How did you make your important wedding decisions? What are you looking for (or not looking for) in a photographer?