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#10380
kbee
Participant

Bit of a necro – I had a photographer friend come and shoot my wedding. She was not a wedding photog, but more of a product and studio photog. I really liked her portfolio, so I knew she could do well. But being good at one thing doesn’t make you a pro at weddings. Weddings are entirely different beasts and I have insane respect for any photographer who can pull off a beautiful wedding shoot.

Don’t misunderstand, the photos she did for us at the bargain price we paid for were great and I truly treasure them. Composed well, no bad tilts, some pretty portraits – they captured my wedding day beautifully. But they’re nothing like the dedicated wedding photographers I’ve seen since, with the full kit and kaboodle you see – preparing, table settings, bouquet, cake, rings, dress, heels, make-up etc etc. All those artsy fartsy photos you see in wedding profiles. My husband and I spent hours and money on hand-crafting invites (I designed and we printed and decorated our own), table settings, customised guest boxes and treats. The ring he got me was custom made, and I had his custom ordered as well. I have only one or two photos of those little details we worked hard for.

So despite all their technical correctness, they don’t have the same coverage, variety and spirit that a wedding photog would have.

Long story short: if you ever, EVER, have any doubt, just say no. Your wedding cannot be redone if you’re unhappy. I never got any video of my husband and I dancing, even when we spent weeks with a choreographer to learn the steps to our wedding song. To this day it makes me beyond upset because we will never get that moment back, I will never look like that and the moment is gone.

Pay what you need to pay to ensure your day is captured properly. Regret is hard to swallow. If I could go back and shift money out of somewhere else and had the local photog shoot my wedding (lord, he’s amazing), I would do it in a heartbeat. Remember: my wedding photographer didn’t take “terrible pictures” either, but I still regret not having a true wedding tog behind the camera.

In 20 years time, your fiance won’t be worried about what togs she passed up for her wedding. She’s going to look at your wedding photos and love (or conversely despise) them. And those memories trump a disagreement over a meh tog.