How to find LGBT Friendly Photographers and Vendors
When you are spending, so much money on wedding vendors, the last thing you want is to feel unwelcome or unsafe! Sadly this is the case for many queer couples in the US because weddings are so gendered and heteronormative. Here are a few tips, tricks and Red Flags to look for when picking an inclusive wedding photographer and vendor. If you have any questions/concerns definitely reach out here! Or leave a comment on this post!
Where to Find LGBT Photographers & Vendors
One great place to start is social media!
Almost every wedding vendor has an instagram account, and if they don’t I honestly don’t trust them. And the best way to find unique vendors is off Tik Tok. I find not every vendor has a tik tok, but the ones that do are extra cool and maybe a little narcissistic (maybe I’m just calling myself out lol). I have found a bunch of cool vendors by just searching the hashtag LGBT Wedding on either platform. I find that most vendors who pop up there are either in the queer community or are very experienced with queer couples/polycules. Which is key if you’re a part of the LBGTQIA+ community. I can tell you actual horror stories of past weddings I’ve been to, but I will save that for another blog post. Also who wants to support and sexist, homophobic company when you could hiring family? Plus we won’t make up feel uncomfortable and we’ll use your preferred pronouns!
Another great place to look is google, but here’s a few things to keep in mind. From a Vendors perspective, google takes a lot of work and time to start showing up on. This means that most vendors you find on google are probably going to be more experienced, and also more expensive. If you have a higher budget google is a GREAT place! With more experience usually comes more perks and vendors will be able to give you more advice since they’ve worked more weddings. But don’t let this discourage you from hiring a smaller vendor. While I would personally never use a photographer who had never shot a wedding, I definitely would use a photographer whose only shot a few as long as I enjoy their photos. Vendors with less experience tend to take a little bit longer during shoots, but there is something so special about being 1 of like 10 clients. Usually that means they can give you more personalized attention which I love! So theirs pros and cons to both!
Let’s talk Facebook!
Facebook has this beautiful magical place called facebook groups. It is a great place to get advice from other people planning their weddings, and a great place to find reviews of wedding vendors(which is honestly the best way to find vendor)! I really enjoy the group LGBT Wedding Ideas, Tips and Discussion, but there are also a bunch of different local groups to choose from depending on where you live! Like I’m located in Florida, so LGBT Wedding Vendors of Central Florida is awesome for me and usually they have something similar for most bigger cities! But here’s my unsolicited advice for using facebook like this! I see a lot of posts on Facebook groups from vendors offering free advice just like this blog(definitely calling out myself right here). That is one great place to find reputable vendors(nice subtle plug there Ran). There is also usually some LGBT friendly vendors adverting in those groups as well, as long as you vibe with their message that can also be a great place too! What I would not recommend is posting in a group that you are looking for certain vendors because you will probably get over 100 comments of just local vendors putting their website in the comments. This will honestly just be super overwhelming and not that helpful.
Something to keep in mind: when finding a vendor through facebook; you will probably find vendors with less experience. This is not necessarily a bad thing, just something to keep in mind! I have more pros and cons in the sections above, but basically if you have a smaller budget and you are super chill with your wedding then using smaller vendors is the way to go!
Things to look for while searching:
See how Diverse their pictures are:
Are most of their photos of straight white cis people? Even if a vendor says they're inclusive or has one pride post, I wouldn’t chance it. I have been misgendered by so many wedding vendors who say “they’re LGBT friendly”. As much as I hate to say it there is a lot of “Rainbow Marketing” out there in the wedding industry. Also if you or your partner(s) is BIPOC make sure they have lots of diversity with people of color! As an inclusive photographer, I make sure to edit for every skin tone, so everyone looks gorgeous, but I know that’s not always the case. And who wants to get their wedding photos back, just to see every person of color is too dark or just looks unrealistic. You would think every photographer knows how to edit and expose every person, but sadly that is not the case! It is a great idea to ask potential photographers what they do to make their practice as inclusive as possible! And to request photos of a diverse amount of couples if you don’t see any on their site!
Do they ask for Pronouns on their intake form?
If they don’t, huge red flag! Even if you and your partner(s) are cis gender, what about your guests. I find that the people who don’t ask for pronouns 100% never respect my pronouns at events. And that kind of goes back into “rainbow marketing” They might say they are inclusive, but I find they have not educated themselves enough on what that actually means. And how to make diverse couples comfortable.
Check out their experience page:
My experience page is filled with ways that I make my client comfortable during our sessions. This is especially important if you are a bit nervous on getting your pictures taken. I know a lot of my clients don’t enjoy gendered poses, but some of my clients find those poses to be very gender affirming. So I ALWAYS ask! My business is centered around my client's comfortability and what makes them most gender affirmed. Most truly inclusive photographers will have a statement about this on their site, but feel free to ask if you don’t see anything. Ask them “What do you do to guarantee my comfortability and gender euphoria during our session?” If you are not cis gender is is especially important, but even if you are, comfortability is what will make your experience enjoyable!
Ran & Rami Photography
One amazing and inclusive vendor is, well, me! I’m Ran, a non-binary photographer! I have about 4 years of experience with weddings and like 10 years of experience with photography (If you count all those weird photos I took in middle and high school as photography lol) Anyway my partner and I started Ran & Rami Photography, to provide a safe space for queer people and couples when looking for a photographer and show the queer representation we didn’t have growing up. We are committed to making our clients as comfortable and affirmed as possible through the photography process (which we all know can be a bit nerve wracking and uncomfortable with the wrong people). We are located in St. Petersburg, Florida (which if you haven’t been is a gay paradise just sayin 🥴), but we love to travel all over the world for our craft! So reach out for an estimate, we would absolutely LOVE to chat!
