I attended an event recently where I overheard someone talking about the things brides and grooms are doing to save money on their weddings. I was surprised to hear that not using a wedding photographer was one of those things. (And not using a florist was another surprise to me…) I supposed that since everyone and his brother seems to have a decent digital camera nowadays, that could make sense. But does it really? What happens if Uncle Bob’s camera fails, or if Aunt Sue’s camera runs out of batteries? Will they know where to position themselves during the ceremony? Will they have enough memory cards with them to last until the last dance? Do they even know they need to be there until the last dance? Will they color correct your images and assign them the correct printer profile for your lab? Or will you just leave the color corrections up to the folks down at the one-hour photo booth? Listen – it makes sense to have friends and relatives take photos at your wedding. Even two pros cannot be everywhere at every minute. But think about it; what’s left after your wedding day? Of course there is your spouse… But the bride’s wedding gown gets cleaned and stored, the groom’s tux goes back to the rental shop, the flowers wilt and die (or possibly get preserved and put away), the food and cake – well – you know where they go…, the toaster ovens go on the kitchen counter, etc. What’s left are the memories; precious memories. 25 years from now when you are celebrating your silver anniversary, you want to take out your wedding album and relive your wedding all over again. You do not want to be trying to figure out “who that is” because the photos are dark and fuzzy. You want to smile and cry with joy.
For what it’s worth, here’s what I think:
Choose ALL of your vendors wisely; stay within your budget for all of them. If you want to have your reception at the best place in town but it’s not in your budget, consider having your wedding on a Friday or Sunday when rates are discounted. You may even want to forgo the extra crab cake, etc. in order to keep your dream reception venue within your budget. Same with flowers; stay within your budget. Do all the bridesmaids really need a $100.00 bouquet? We recently did a wedding where the bridesmaids each held a single dark red rose. It was elegant… And when choosing a photographer, stay within your budget. If you want the best studio in town to photograph your wedding but their top of the line package is not in your budget, then choose one of their lower prices packages. The quality of the photos does not diminish with lower priced packages, just the coverage time and number of photos, prints, albums, etc. You may also be able to negotiate with your photographer to include some things while forgoing others. We happen to do that and it works out well for all parties.
Bottom line – don’t skimp on memories…
In other news, we’ve been rather consumed by our granddaughter’s situation and I have not been updating my blog as I should. But she is definitely our priority right now. After enduring some rather difficult days, she seems to be heading in the right direction and is gaining weight, etc. We are looking forward to the day when she can come home with her parents and leave those NICU memories behind her…
I guess I’m going to have to shoot w/one hand and let Emma hold a finger on my other hand if I want a photograph of her holding my finger! LOL! I’m actually content to just have the contact with her and letting it be at that…
Jim Strathearn Photography Blog 