The following information may be useful.

After you've gathered the information from several different photographers, you can get very confused if you try to compare the different offerings.

I can get 10 more 8x10s from this one for only $20 more, but I like this one's albums, ... etc.

It all becomes much clearer when you realize that first and foremost you are buying a photographer's skill sensitivity and personality. You should choose the photographer who you feel can create beautiful photographs that convey the real emotions of the day in an unobtrusive manner. Then, within that photographer's offerings, choose what you're financially comfortable with. What to look for in the photographs: This is easy. Don't be distracted by how pretty the bridesmaids' dresses are, or the flowers, or anything else that the photographer had no control over. You don't have to become an expert on posing, lighting, or composition. Simply look at the photographs and consider your emotions.

Are you excited?
Does the wedding look like something you wish you had been to?
Do you want your wedding photographs to look like that?
Or are you a little bored? Have you seen this stuff before?

When you see an album that excites you, you've found your photographer.

Just a short comment about the philosophy of photography. As you look at different photographers' work, you soon discover that there are different levels of sophistication.

At the lowest level are the ones that record the events with, one hopes, in focus, correctly exposed images.
These are the ones that are technically adequate.

At the next level are photographers who use lighting, posing, background etc. to enhance their images.
These are technically proficient.

At the highest level are photographers who use their skill to show the real emotions of the day. They try to "reveal the poetry of the moment."

The photographs of the first are ordinary; the second can be beautiful; the last can be moving. I'm always aware of my responsibility to the poetry of the moment.