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This sounds like a bad idea if you don't know what you're doing. RAW files have to be converted to jpegs and if the lighting is bad, you need to know how to adjust that.
Personally, a photographer is one of the most important things at my wedding. Having the perfect flowers, and dress, and reception, is all very important, but you need to have a good photographer to document those important memories. I would encourage you to go with a professional, rather than relying on family members to take your photo's for you.
That being said, try looking for photographers in your area who haven't yet broken out into the wedding industry, they may be able to give you a great deal so that they can expand their portfolio. Also, try going to your local newspaper and ask to speak with their photographers. You might luck out and find one who is willing to photograph your wedding for cheap, just to make some money on the side. And, they would have a ton of experience and all the necessary equipment to take beautiful pictures for you.
As a person who shoots in RAW regularly and does know how to use post-processing programs, my gut is to say NO!
It takes practice to get everything right. Plus time. If you have no background with Photoshop or Aperture or a program like Lightbox you're in for a doozy.
What about having everyone just use their P&S cameras and asking certain people to make sure they capture certain events?
I would definately say no, I understand you on price. I just sucked it up and cut other places. My DH is an "amature" photographer. He shot my BFF wedding for her as a present. He did all her pictures, and it took hours, weeks, mths. Seriously a long ass time. He did give her about 600 edited pictures(For FREE). But still.. it was crazy! I would definately not recommend it.
This is one of hte few times I will point out that I am a professinal photographer on this site.. that being said - Don't do it.
There are tons of phtoographers in every price range who will give you files that you can actually use, that are white balenced, color corrected and look as good as they should when you are paying for them, everybody won't be a Jessica Claire or a Jasmine Starr but you can find someone who is passionate about wedding photography who will be willing to give you great service and images in your budget. You will most likely just spend more time searching for that right person. It will likely be someone with out a ton of experience but someone who is buildig their portfolio will take way more care with your day than someone who is jsut shooting and burning and takin a check and running.
thats my 2 cents and now I will go back to my lurking =0) very very nice to meet you.
Raw files are difficult if you don't know what you are doing, so my gut also tells me no. Do you have a friend of a friend that does photography? Or if you live near a college maybe contact their photography department to see if any of them have students who needs to build their portfolio? They may not have a top of the line camera but my FSIL has I believe a digital SLR camera and it takes wonderful pictures. Also maybe you can look on your local craigslist for photographers and make a post seeking one. Just make sure you review their work before hand and don't pay the balance until they show up. And always have a backup plan (ex: friend with a camera). Good Luck!
Thanks everyone. For the record I do know how to use the post processing photo programs but I probably won't end up going this route. There are a couple guests who are photographers so I could ask them to take a couple of key shots each, and I'd rather allocate our budget to buying a beginner DSLR camera that we can use ourselves for the next 5 years.
With all due respect to everyone, I don't think professional photography is the most important thing. My FSIL got married last summer without a professional photographer and with around 90 guests they ended up with over 12,000 images, that's just people taking pics with their own cameras. Maybe they're not magazine quality but they could fill several albums, they capture all the important moments and the newlyweds were totally happy.
Thanks!
I agree with checking around for local photographers (even from the newspaper) often they are aspiring photographers who would like to open their own business someday but just don't have the time or money right now. Ask around and see if anyone you know has a friend or family memeber who is just getting into photography. Sometimes they could be best because they are soo excited to do it.
You said you were on a limited budget, if you could find someone to do the "raw" pics for you i say go for it, on one hand the pics will be done by a professional, and two if you ask for the disc more than likely they put them on in jpeg format. Every single photog i interviewed told me about the disks being compatable. And as far as editing goes just download and fidget with them. A pro photog. is better than no photog. go for it
Yes. Pro photog is better than no photog. But keep in mind that you'll probably find it hard to find a photog who's trying to build their business and portfolio be willing to release any unedited work to their clients. I know this because I do wedding photog on the side and we will NEVER give out any unedited photos to clients who will distribute them to their friends. It will reflect poorly on the photographer. Why would anyone want to advertise their business using unedited work?
My recommendation is to find a professional and maybe book them for 3 hours of coverage. Maybe they will be willing to work within your budget if the length of the coverage is shorter than most wedding days.
Don't do it! You'll end up just having to pay someone else to convert them to JPEG, also editing is a big part of what makes professional photos look "professional." I'm sending you a PM.
Oh man. I think in ten years from now, you'll definitely miss not having a FEW professional shots. Is there any way that you can "register" for a photographer? Rather than for dish towls or whatever. It sounds like this is a situation where you'll need to think outsdie of the box.
I think you'll be fine with having all your guests' pictures. If you want at least some professional-quality pictures, you might want to hire someone who offers their services a la carte to come in just for the ceremony and the first hour or so of the reception (that's when all the big, "must photograph" stuff happens anyway).
You could also just do a portrait session with your fiance, if that's appealing.
You can NOT open RAW photos without a special program on your computer! If you have a friend in photography than maybe they can help you out? It takes a lot of time converting RAW images to JPEG (which any computer can open).
Check out craigslist & check out any college that has a photography program, you can ususally get a college student at a lower price. See if they've done a wedding before & to view their portfolio.
Hope it works out :).
serabell took the words outta my fingres....
I was just going to suggest looking into a photog student - is there an art school near you or anything? Several of photog students have mini portfolios of their work and you can see their work that way + it will save you a good amount of $$.
Not to mention that RAW files are pretty massive in size. So prepare to have a good storage solution and processing power to process them, if you really want to go that route.
How about instead, post an ad on Craigslist stating exactly how many hours you want someone for and how much you'd be willing to pay? I live in an area with several art schools and there are some seriously talented college students wanting to build their portfolio. Not saying you should sacrifice quality, I would still ask to see work samples, possibly recommendations, etc, but putting your price point out there will save you time and hopefully get you responses of interested people!
Also, scour the internet for photography contests! I keep seeing brides that have won free (or steeply discounted) photos for their weddings.. Not fair!!
Hey I am with ya sister. Photo's were not my MOST important thing. I wanted good food and beer. 
Oh and the dress!
But since my FH is really, really into photography. I conceded to him, and spent more than I would like on photo's because they are important to him. They are also important to my future family, and my family. I just don't want you to do anything you will regret. I would say hire a Photog for 3 hrs, get your key shots, moments. Then get the rest captured from guests. It will probably be cheaper than getting the RAW photos from a Photog. Just a suggestion!
I am sure you will do what is best for you and your hubby! 
I say just keep looking for a photographer you can afford. We looked and looked, also we found a very reasonable vidoegrapher which we thought about foregoing as well. I looked for months, I knew that someone was out there, and I found them!
raw is really not the way to go. keep looking for one that comes with editing and suits your style and budget. unless you have the knowledge and computing power to post-process photos, it's probably best to have the photog do it.
Have you thought about asking a photography student at the local high school or college? If you aren't too worried about photography, and you can do the post-shot changes to it students are often a great way of making a compromise. I know several students at the local high school that are just as good as a professional and you can get them for a much cheaper price.
Not to be a wet towel, but there is no way that I would ever release RAW files to a client. I'd rather do pro-bono work than that. I just don't like people muddying up my stuffs. :(
Oh, I don't think it's that big of a deal. We're doing that. My FI works in publishing (as do I) and he deals with RAW files all the time. We're hiring a super-great photojournalist to shoot in RAW for us, and then we're hiring one of his co-workers to do the editing for us. Otherwise, we could never afford the photographers. Both of our final choices of photographers suggested this as a way to cut down costs (granted, we work in the biz, but still).
Also, I DON'T think photogrpahy is that important--shots from guests will probably have great results. A $700 budget will be very tight to find any pro for a portion of that.
Scissors, I agree with what you are saying 100% If on the off chance I WERE to agree to release RAW images, I would actually charge extra for them, not less. It's actually pretty frustrating when people post looking for photogs saying, "I'll do the editing myself," expressing how they expect to pay less because of it. It's just the opposite for me. I'm affordable enough where if people feel the need to haggle my prices this way, they really just can't afford photography.
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Hi bees!
I have a very limited budget for a DC wedding in June, it's tough! I had initially completely left photography out of my budget because I thought it would be impossible on my tiny budget (like under $700 but hopefully more like $500). Since then I've been trolling through wedding blogs (sooooo addictive!) and one bride mentioned that she got the photographer to come only for part of the day and then basically just give her the "raw" images. She said it was MUCH cheaper because the photographer didn't have to tweek the final photos or upload/host them or anything like that. This sounds ideal to me because I really don't care about the getting ready photos or the tables/decor, etc, I just want lots of pictures of people without stressing out my family to take photos all the time.
Has anyone done this? If so, is there a term for this type of service? Does anyone have other suggestions for making photography affordable?
Thanks!
heidi