Geographic area does have an impact, unfortunately, if your in Connecticut, your in a higher cost of living and therefore, those prices seem completely normal and to me, low.
Now, if you were getting married say in Salt Lake City, where there is a HUGE number of lower budget mormon weddings (in general, they don’t do things as we do them. Everyone chips in, people get married really young, and it’s just their culture not to spend big money.) I’d say that’s really high.
That being said, right before Christmas I shot a last min. VERY tight budget wedding. I’ve also shot weddings where my commission was probably equal to everything else combined…. but because they hired a good pro, their $20 of daisy’s looked like $200. Their homemade cupcakes looks like they came from a bakery, her smile in her portraits said she just had the best day of her life (which she did!).
You “can” find “cheap” photographers, but that’s one of the things I kinda cringe on. I say get who you LOVE no matter what the price. The one that makes your heart jump when you look through their work. You can find cheaper but do you want to.
At the end of the wedding your food is gone, there’s only the picture of it. That’s usually about 60% of your budget right there, gone. The music ends. Drinks are gone. Flowers are already wilting and dying by the end of the reception if they even made it that far. Your dress will have another $200 or so spent on it being stuck inside a box never to be seen again and shoved into your attic. Chairs, linens, rentals go back. The cake is gone. Centerpieces have been stolen by your family.
At the end of the day, all you have left is your pictures. Everyone deserves to have amazing images of themselves, high quality ones at least once in their life.
Then there’s this post. I don’t know how much her photographer cost, but this bride wouldn’t put a price tag on these pictures.
Weekend Mountain Wedding: A Dance with My Papa