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Splurge splurge splurge (so long as you're not going into debt) on the photographer! Seriously. Cutting back in other areas is really worth it. My thought about the $$$$ on our photographer/cinematographer was this: At the end of our wedding, the DJ packed up, the cake was eaten, dinner was over, wine was drunk. What did I have left? My husband (most important part there!), great memories, my dress, gifts from our guests. Photos were the most important part of remembering how it all happened, what all the little details were, the parts I missed. The day goes by SO fast, trust me, you'll have a bit of a blur about a lot!
I have friends who took the less expensive, "it's not that important" option, and honestly, I've gotten calls from them bawling their eyes out that they hate their photos and that they wished they had gotten the other photographer. So if it's within your means, DO IT! The things you cut back on you won't miss.
@bakerella: This is exactly the advice (or push) I was hoping to find here, thank you so much! I agree with you that, once the day has flown by in a blur, I will want to rest assured that I have amazing proofs waiting. If you dont mind...will you either post or pm me your videographer and photog spending?
I'm not married yet, but the one thing I hear my married friends say/regret is that they didn't spend enough money on the photographer and they wish they would have.
While I have (especially through weddingbee) seen amazing photography, I don't regret my decision to go with a friend as photographer. I think she did an amazing job and while sometimes I look at other people's pictures and think they are more artistic, I think that my pictures are beautiful and captured our wedding perfectly while still leaving us financially comfortable. Of course, I am very practical minded and I understand that it is not the same for everyone. But I just wanted to share my experience. (Also, if you do a less professional photographer, I think that a lot of it depends on your own research and what you bring to the table. I had lots of inspiration pictures and that helped immensely).
You don't have to spend thousands to get a good photographer. It's a matter of finding the right balance. If you're not happy with the cost:quality ratio, keep looking!
@Minutiae: I agree with you on this I think. Maybe if the more affordable photog had a level of quality I was pleased with, this wouldnt even be an issue.
@babymilka74: Thank you for the advice. I will definately want to gather some inspiration pics for whomever I end up going with. You were so lucky to have a friend be in charge of your wedding..if I had any friend who was decent I would definately use them
@.twist.: This is what I wanted to know. Thank you!
I would try to find a better photographer for less. But if these are your only two choices, I would pay for the more expensive one--but remember that your photos may not look like the portfolio, (just warning you so you won't be disappointed).
I was one of the people who was like, whatever, photos aren't that important, and I delegated the task to my husband, whose choices that he was able to find in the very small price range were pretty bad. I managed to find someone for a little more money who gave us a huge discount (not normally a wedding photographer, but a professional who we knew socially) and the photographs are BEAUTIFUL. For someone who didn't care about photos, I look at my photos every day, six months after I got married, adn I love them more every day.
I think Bakerella put it best. My fiancé and I are facing a similar situation. The photog we really want is outside what we originally budgeted for photos. We decided to sign with him after talking with married friends that were very disappointed in the outcome of choosing the cheaper option.
You get what you pay for. This is definitely the area to splurge. Good luck in your planning!
And p.s., the pics will NOT look the same. A huge part of photography is editing skills!
If you've found a photographer that you love that is a financial possibility and available on your wedding day, go with with them.
If not, you're going to spend countless hours wondering what could have been when you look at your pictures from your second choice.
If you have to talk yourself into photog #1, they're not the photographer for you.
Your photographer is one of the most important (if not THE most) important vendor that you'll book. They are the only ones who continue to work for you after the wedding day is over and one of the only ones who will give you something tangible to look back on after the wedding day.
We saved majorly on photography. We had originally wanted to splurge and go with a friend of my husband's, but they were already booked on our date (a year in advance!). Here's my take on our photographer and package:
Pros
Cons
Overall, I'm happy we didn't spend thousands because we didn't really have the money, and to be honest it's not something you look at EVERY DAY. When you first get the pictures you look at them several times and go "OOO AHHH". Then they go away until you take them out years later. But that's just me!
Ours was free- we were lucky enough that hubby's aunt took photography and college. She was AMAZING! Took 1000 pictures, was coming up with tons of poses and cool ideas, and instead of waiting months to get them back, I only have to wait a couple weeks.
Talk to them! See if you can talk them into giving you a discount! This is what we did and ended up getting a MASSIVE discount from our photog. Its worth a try, all they can say is no.
We already chose and put a 50% deposit on our photographers (around $2500 total cost)...it is good to read all this and confirm our choice to go with the more expensive, high quality option. We had to adjust our budget and go DIY in some areas and cut back in others, but it sounds like it will be worth it. Thanks for all the feedback on this topic!
Spend the money on the better photographer and figure out where else you can cut back.
I went with a mid-range photographer because I wanted quality, but I didn't want to spend 4K and up. My photos are good, and there are plenty of "really good" ones, but still, there are certain important shots (first look!) that are overexposed/blasted, and that's enough to make me regret not kicking in the extra $1000-$1500 for the one I really wanted.
I love these comments and even though we have "decided" (but not booked) to go with my faborite photogs, hearing the encouragement still helps. Aside from getting married, I am most excited about the pictures now and thats pretty exciting because like many of you said, its the one thing that will last long after the wedding is over!
SPLURGE!!! Your photos are the only lasting reminder of your wedding that will capture your day in its entirety. You dont want to end up regretting going with someone and not having good photos. 10 years from now whatever money you spent on the photos wont matter, but the photos still will!
Unless you are seriously in debt or this will put you seriously in debt (remember you will be getting $$$ as wedding gifts too), I say go for it. It totally IS worth it, and 1500 dollars in the long run is peanuts.
Sooo....an update on my original post...we booked the photographers we loved yesterday! The addition of 1 hour for E-Shoot + images on CD (she would NOT budget on adding to pkg) and tax brought the total to a little more than I expected which makes me so anxious. But I do think it will be worht the money. I had naively thought all images were highly edited, but she told me only about 20-25 would be re-touched and had features added to. But I suppose I couldnt expect her to do that to every single one of the hundreds she will send me....
Thanks for all your advice!
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I wanted to know what you married ladies would do in my situation. We found a decent photographer who we could use for our e-pics and wedding (2nd shooter, 8hrs coverage) who is cheaper than normal for our area as she just does photography on the side. Photog #1
However, there is another photog couple who I just adore and love love all their pictures and style (Photogs #2). But this couple is about $1500 more than photog #1. We are paying for the wedding ourselves and have a very tight/small budget so I swore I would stay busines minded about this whole wedding thing. BUT I still want photogs #2 SO bad. I dont know what has gotten into me!
So I am reaching out to all your married brides who either splurged or "saved" on their pictures. For those that splurged, was having that perfect photog worth it after it all was over? For those who chose more budget friendly photogs, did everything turn out ok in the end?
I know you all would need lots more detail to make the best decision. But I will say that we could afford photog #2, but it would force us to pull some other things we want out. So I just want to know if the expensive photog was worth it in the end or if the cheaper one did an ok job.