To not have a wedding photographer?

[xela21]

We are having a wedding weekend away with just 10 guests.
Photographer prices are astronomical as soon as you mention 'wedding' but equally don't want to be dishonest - it is still a wedding although very small. Also because of the tiny scale, wonder what really will the photographer have to photograph - not doing the traditional first dance, no bridesmaids/groomsmen etc. All very simple. Instead doing different activities over a number of days. Also, the wedding is very soon (doubt will find a photographer so quickly).

Will I regret not having a photographer?

Personally I would but I love photos and have a lot in my house; for me the cost was completely worth it.

We didn't have one because I couldn't bear to pay £1k+. I got a trusted friend to take photos and we have some lovely shots. No regrets at all. Just make sure you assign someone to taking photos!

We didn’t as we were on a very tight budget and it wasn’t a high priority. We asked friends to Oder an extra set of prints and share their photos with us.
Our daughter is having a photographer for fifteen on Saturday; I think it’s a huge amount of money for photos that don’t get looked at very often after the first look through the album. She disagrees. It just depends what is important to you.

I have occasionally regretted not being able to afford proper photos of our wedding, but it’s a very short lived regret.

Can you ask a friend or one of the groomsmen? I love looking back at wedding photos

We didn’t, a couple of friends brought nice cameras along and shared their shots. No regrets, and we could spend more on stuff for everyone to enjoy on the day (cake, gin, music)

@ForTheLoveOfWine
There's only 10 of us in total. No groomsmen or bridesmaids. A very small scale event. Of course we will take photos just not by a professional photographer.

For me, having lovely photos to look back at were high on my priority list. You will have them forever

We had a smaller wedding last summer and our photographer offered a sort of day rate, so we paid I think about £700. The photos were important to us and we’d already agreed to it being a larger expense when we were planning the original day. All depends on what you want and the type of photographer - we had a reportage photographer so she sneaked around taking beautiful candid images of everyone whilst they mingled (at a distance!) for about an hour outside the church in the sunshine. Then we went off to have our portraits.

We had a bigger wedding but I absolutely love our photos - I’m not a particularly romantic person but I love looking back at them and looking at how everyone was on the day. It was an awesome day and I’m so glad we captured it. Maybe ask around and see if you can find someone with an interest in photography who hasn’t set themselves up as a “professional” but could still do a good job for a reasonable fee?

We didn't. There were 22 of us, 8 of whom were children, at our wedding and we just have photos that we all took of each other.

We still have the traditional group shots of the families and of us cutting the (homemade) cake and I really can't see that a paid photographer would have done a better job.

How happy*

Or drunk. Bit of both.

GingerAndTheBiscuits

You could ask if any students studying photography at college/A level would want to attend for a fixed fee - my friend's daughter did 3 or 4 at £200-250 each for her time , she took loads of photos and edited the best to give around 60 on a flash drive. Basically a day's work.

You don’t have to spend £1k+ keep shopping around.
I’ve paid £850 for mine but I could have easily booked one for £500.

Yes you can asks a friend to take some pictures but they’d never be as good as a professional.

We only had 11 guests so similar to yours. We didnt have a photographer but our family took photos and we got some really nice shots. The main reason we didn't was we both hate having our photos taken but also couldn't justify the cost.

We had the same dilemma (small wedding, didn't want to pay crazy money for a photographer). In the end decided we couldn't trust our guests (parents) to take good photos 😂 and we managed to find a reasonably priced package just for 1-2 hours through Big Day Productions - this could be an option just to get some nice photos during the ceremony and a few shots of everyone afterwards? It was around £200 iirc. We were a bit concerned as they randomly allocate a local photographer but ours was great.

YANBU. We had a photographer and paid nearly £1000 - the photographs that guests took were way better than the photographers.

YANBU. I didn't have one. Still don't regret it 9 years later.

We didn't and I have never regretted it. My cousin took some lovely pictures

I'm a wedding photographer so my opinion might be biased but I think you absolutely will regret not getting a photographer. This past year, due to covid, I've shot weddings from just 4 guests to 30 and each one was just so lovely and intimate which you can see looking through the gallery. Every single couple absolutely loved their images and love being able to look back on their day. You simply can't compare professional photos with mobile/amateur DSLR photos.

Also, we don't put our prices up just for weddings. It's an astronomical amount of work (before, during and after) and we have overheads to take into account.

We had one, but her photos weren't great, and we got better ones from friends and family. We encouraged them to take photos.

I think, to be fair to her, she was used to photographing bigger events - our wedding only had 25-odd people there, including us, because of the restrictions.

And our experience was somewhat soured because she didn't process them within the time that she gave - she struggled with lockdown a lot and got quite depressed, and we only got the photos after chasing her for a few weeks after the three-month deadline.

I'd rather have had the £1.5k back, personally, but I probably wouldn't feel the same if she'd got amazing shots, or if our family and friends hadn't got the great photos they did!

We didn’t have a photographer and I don’t regret it, we were on a budget and we’ve got some lovely photos from family and friends!

Photos were a priority for us and we look at them regularly and have quite a few on display.

I know people who didn't have professional photos taken because they don't like being photographed or were happy with guest photos though. It's up to you.

If you have specific pictures you would like someone to take, e.g. with parents or siblings then make sure you prep someone in advance to take them. The day goes by in such a blur that it may be forgotten otherwise.

Getting a student photographer in or someone starting out and wanting to build their portfolio is a good idea if you'd like pics but with less of a hefty price tag!

I would cut out virtually everything else to still have professional photos personally. You could probably ask them to only do an hour or two but it might not slash the cost much as it's the editing that takes the time.

I didn't have one and have always regretted it. It was a big wedding and we had asked a friend who a professional photographer if they could take some shots but it didn't happen.