To spend nearly half of my wedding budget on a photographer?

[HotCupOfNo]

OH and I are having a small wedding in June, it will be just 8 of us and very relaxing and low key.

I have found a photographer who will do me a great micro package deal - her photos are nice, but not AMAZING.

I have found another photographer who's photos are just gorgeous, but will cost me £750 for 3 hours and my budget is £2000. I could possibly stretch the budget using our overdraft.

So yay or nay - do we go with the 'perfectly fine' (and quite boring) photographer and save myself £400, or do we say fuck it and go with the amazing photographer who's photo's are arty and lovely? WWYD?

TIA

I wouldn’t. I’d rather spend it on something to make the day itself enjoyable. 30+ years on, my wedding photo album is in a box on top of the wardrobe and hasn’t been looked at by anyone for years.

That isn't a very large budget for a wedding these days

Eh? For 8 people it's plenty! I had a similar number at my wedding, and spent just over a grand (excluding rings).

Go for it if its something you want and you can afford it. We’re getting married on Saturday and the most expensive bit of ours is the photographer, I had no idea how expensive even an average one is.

The amazing photographer!!! Trust me! You'll cherish those photos forever!

We’ve been married for 30 years and I can’t remember when we last got the wedding album out. I would say it’s a waste tbh.

Like a pp, my wedding album is somewhere in the loft...never been looked at in decades!

I look at my wedding album all the time and it makes me so happy

Definitely the better photographer. I can’t rmemever the rough around the edges but about my wedding, as everything looks so beautiful. So so worth it.

We had a video too, we got it transferred to DVD ten years or so ago but again we haven’t watched it in years, and it’s getting depressing the number of people in it who have since died.

no, it seems very vain.

Book the one you love for the shorter time, the cheaper one will mean you will always look back and regret it. Photos are the best memories and as a keen photographer I can tell you friends and family pictures are rarely any use.

Hardly anyone looks at their wedding photos more than a couple of times.

I personally wouldn't, how many people really look at the photos after a few months? I've been married over 30 years and can't remember the last time I looked at our wedding photos ....

And whatever you say, it will be very distracting to have a photographer at a small wedding, we had a similar sized wedding (7/8 guests) and it would have been a pain having a photographer hanging around for two hours ... what are your guests meant to be doing during that time? .

@Ragwort

I personally wouldn't, how many people really look at the photos after a few months? I've been married over 30 years and can't remember the last time I looked at our wedding photos ....

And whatever you say, it will be very distracting to have a photographer at a small wedding, we had a similar sized wedding (7/8 guests) and it would have been a pain having a photographer hanging around for two hours ... what are your guests meant to be doing during that time? .

Yes it will feel stilted with some stranger darting about.

Buy some of those instant cameras and let everyone have at it.

How much of the 3 hours will they need your full attention? You don't want to miss out on spending time with your friends because you are posing.

Personally I’d go with the better and more expensive photographer. I had to argue this with my now husband, who agreed once we had the photos back that the extra money we spent was worth it - the photos were lovely (neither of us like having our photo taken) and it’s the only lasting product we have left from our covid wedding. I think out of ~£2500 we spent £750 on our photos and £600 on flowers. Some might think that is ridiculous but if I could only celebrate at church and in my garden then I was going to have beautiful flowers in my lovely photos!

Make sure you’re happy with your choice!

It’s just photos, they aren’t the most important part of a marriage so I’d save the money and not go into debt,

We went above and beyond with our photographers (haven’t actually had the wedding yet due to covid). But I know it’ll be worth it. I hate getting my photos taken, they’re all natural photos, no awful forced posing and group shots standing all in a line, super creative and their portfolio was outstanding. The main thing that sold it for me was they still until the evening so we can get some cracking party pics.

My daughter had to keep costs down so went for a cheaper photographer who was recommended. He was busy so sent his colleague who was rubbish. My daughter ended up organising the groups she wanted and the photos were poor .

My photographer cost £500 for 11 hours and the pictures were fantastic! We had them all

However, in the last 8 years since I’ve been married I’ve probably looked at my professional wedding album about 5 times. And I’m not even joking.

I get far, far more joy from looking at my albums that contain all the photos the guests took....there far more happiness and fun to be seen in those than the posed photos of me and DH standing in front a nice tree etc

That was just my experience though.

I know lots of people who never look at their wedding photos and I also know lots of people whose professional photos mean everything to them.

Only you know if having lots of professional photos means enough to you to justify spending such a high percentage of your budget on.

Never had a photographer and I have some lovely photographs. Relied on a friend who was happy to concentrate on taking photos and other friends made sure to take plenty of snaps. I prefered the informality of them rather than staged photos. A relative videoed the whole thing.

Only you know whether you are the kind of person who looks obsessively at their wedding photos, or blows them up on the wall etc, or, like me, someone to whom they are completely irrelevant.

I think it depends on what the money might be used for if not for the photos. We prioritised amazing food and a totally free bar all night at our small wedding (35 people) and had a photography enthusiast friend take photos. They’re great shots, not professional quality, but to us the actual day/night itself was more important than getting perfect photos. I look at them from time to time and have one shot framed and kept in our study. If we’d paid loads for a professional we wouldn’t have had money to pay for so much amazing wine and totally amazing food and cake haha!

We did two lots of photos for our wedding. Those on the day and then after we came back from honeymoon. The nicest ones were from when we got back, as we were so much more relaxed and it showed.

I never really looked back at the photos to be honest, just had one framed one, one from the after the wedding photos.

These days so many people can take good pictures with phones etc. So I would do that again. Spend less on the day and just do some more again after the day.

I just put on my dress and had Timberland boots on with it as we went to a spot that was heel friendly. Didnt even redo make up the same.

Just an idea if budget is a big factor

Spend it! I scrimped on wedding photography - paid only £500 and the photos were shit. Also the photographer was crap at getting people together etc m.

It’s one of the only things I regret not spending more on (and I do regret spending £1500 on a DJ).