Wedding Photographers

[Amby99]

OK, I had no idea until planning a wedding that photographers are around 2K for the day. (That’s actually the ‘cheapest’ I found) Obviously I wouldn’t have any idea because it’s my first wedding. We will pay £2K if there are no other options and we know it’s worth having great photographs because you look at the day forever but there is also the possibility of just booking half a day which would be more comfortable.

to me the most important part is taking pics of the ceremony in the church / outside and also some pictures of us outside the wedding venue in the beautiful grounds. I’m not fussed about wedding speech photos but then first dance / wedding cake pictures is also important which means we’d have to have a full day.

a half day would be easy : church, venue pics - done. But then they’d be hanging around until the cake cutting.

has anyone had wedding photos excluding their first dance or what other recommendations are there for photographers without breaking the back… I’m so naive I thought a day of photography might be £800 max !

When we got married back in the dark ages, the photographer had us pose, pretending to cut the cake, before the other guests came into the room for the Reception, so we had that photo, but he could leave before we / the guests sat down.

I cannot for the life of me understand why you would pay someone for all the 'getting ready' photos. If you really want photos of you in your dressing gown, everyone has a camera on their phone nowadays anyway.
Same with 'first dance'. I wouldn't pay someone an extra 3 hours or whatever, for one photo of me and dh on the dancefloor. Ask a mate to take a photo of you at that point if it is important to have that shot.

I completely agree- I wouldn’t get photos of myself getting ready anyway, I would feel beyond awkward / probably too tired!

As for cake cutting / first dance - that is so true. Nearly everyone has the latest iPhone with a good camera - surely someone will get a great shot. I might just get a photographer in that case for the ceremony and to take pics back at the venue in the grounds

I can’t justify spending that much either so I’m glad someone agrees because I’m wondering how people afford this ON TOP of all the other wedding expenses

Think how often you are likely to look at these photos years in the future? Zero probably. Nice photo of you outside the venue, with and without key family members - that you can frame - fine. Million other pics - nah. Like you said - everyone has a phone with a decent camera. Ask them to send them to you - set up a shared space. You will get much more genuine pics than all the posed stuff.

I've been to a couple of weddings where there were disposable cameras on the tables - much more fun.

We had a friend of my mom do it and they were great! Not as professional al as some but still really lovely ! He’d just done a photography course & wanted to start a small business so needed a portfolio!

might be worth asking round!! It worked really well and although not as professional and glossy as some we still did all the group shots & the photos are less formal and more fun which suited us! It was a fun & social part of the day rather than being a chore!!

we also gave everyone a cd to load their digital photos onto & got loads of great shots this way - guess this dates me a little 😂🤣😂

I have a friend who did a half day to save money and she got some gorgeous photos and has never expressed regrets. Definitely a valid option. I also agree you could get the cake cutting pic before they leave. And then get guests to photograph the real moment too and then you have best of both worlds. I actually massively regret my guests not taking more pics, and my close family, and tbf even myself, but I didn’t have my phone on me. You miss soo much if you reply solely on the photographer. They will not capture all the moments and once they have ‘enough’ of a certain type of shot they won’t be looking to take more. Therefore I have very few pics with my bridesmaids for example as it’s just the formal ones from earlier but nothing of us actually enjoying the day for real. So I think book a half day with a really good photographer then put a big emphasis on your guests taking photos, even maybe recruit some people closer to youlike a sibling or cousin and ask them to just go wild taking pics of everyone and everything and I think you will end up with such a great selection worth so much more that way ☺️