diy photographer?

Personally, photography is the ONE thing I would not skimp on. Once the day is over, all you'll have are the photos. Even photos taken on new smartphones don't come anywhere close to the quality of professional photos.

I’ve heard it can be a hit or miss. You could try asking local colleges if any of their photography students are trying to build a portfolio. You may be able to get someone to take nice pictures for you without the crazy price tag!

I'm not doing professional. I know it's only one day but I dont want to go broke spending alot of money on the perfect shot. Everyones quoting in the thousands ! That's more then my ceremony and venue and food put together ! We have the rest of our lives to take pictures together and well always have the memory in our heart. We have Bill's and kids to take care of and they come first

View Quoted Comment That’s a good idea- we have a really big arts school about 15 minutes away.

Depends how good your guests are at taking photos really lol. A couple of our best photos were taken by guests. But I was actually shocked at how few people took photos. Only a handful of our guests did at all... we definitely wouldn’t have had enough guest photos to compensate for not having a photographer

I would never consider not having a professional photographer. You can't recreate those special moments. Guests can take photos, but they will never look as good as a professional. Yes there are ones I like that our guests took, but they don't compare to the ones our photographer took.

We had a professional photographer for the ceremony, and also several amateurs taking smartphone photos. We were glad we had the amateur ones for a few things the professional missed. But the professional ones were definitely better.

But a lot depends on how important photos are to you. For my first wedding, the photographer sent some proofs, then disappeared, so we never did get professional shots. And honestly, I never really missed them. We've got a few amateur photos that give a general idea of what happened. Those and the memories were enough.

I say you’re making a big mistake. Our photos are one of my favorite things from our wedding! I look at them constantly. We have them framed and hung in our home. It is just something really nice to look back on and remember our day. There is no way I would trust something so sentimental to an iPhone and our guests.

View Quoted Comment Probably doesn't need to be said, but still be sure to get a contract spelling out both parties expectations, timeline, etc. Good luck!

View Quoted Comment I started looking at photographers and they all seem like they’re for much bigger and more elaborate weddings? We are getting dressed at home, doing our own hair and makeup, and I don’t think our wedding party is getting ready with us so we don’t need any of those things? And all the packages are hundreds or thousands of pictures and that’s so many! Why do they take that many? I want like, 20 pictures maximum! Would you still recommend a photographer? What is the point of hundreds of photos? What are they even taking photos of at that point?

Honestly that could work. My moh did our engagement shots and they came out nicely. As long as people have a very good camera it should be fine.

View Quoted Comment I mean like phone cameras; I don’t think anyone has an actual camera.

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Photographers will customize smaller packages for you if you explain to them what you are looking for. We took pictures in several different locations across our venue. Photos with our families. Photos with our bridal parties. Photos during the ceremony. Photos during the reception. The number of photos adds up quickly. Regardless of how small scale you are interested in going, I would still recommend a photographer with an actual camera. Reach out to photographers about customized packages. Or, even amateur photographers in your area.

View Quoted Comment I emailed the head of the photography department at the local arts school to see. We just have a very small budget (about 500 for everything including food/venue/etc) so I just don’t know if it’s possible. Sounds nice though. I’m going to see what we can do

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Checking with the art school is a great idea! Good luck!

View Quoted Comment Thank you!

Photographers offer such large numbers of photos because even if you only want a few final shots, they still have to take hundreds to capture those perfect shots. They also don't have the ability to show you the shots as they take them so they can't really know which ones will be your favorites in the end.

Many professional photographers have elopement packages that will be a much shorter time span. Maybe try looking into that?

I personally wouldn't skimp on photography, because while it's a special moment you wont soon forget, you or your spouse may forget some day (not to be dark) or the inevitable will happen and one of you will be gone before the other and I would want to be able to look back at that time for as long as possible, and share those photos with future family (kids, grandkids, nieces & nephews, etc.)

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We used Lily & Lime for our wedding--they were the most affordable we could find. While others start at $2,000 for pictures, they start at around $700+ (they also have discounts codes). Their photos are amazing and the turn-around is fast. We got all 2,000 pictures 3.5 weeks after our wedding. I hope you find a good photographer at the art school. Best wishes and goodluck.

View Quoted Comment Thanks! I don’t think I’ll be able to do one (700 is more than the entire budget of the wedding) but I’m glad to yours turned out so well! I’m sure I’ll have some nice pictures too, even though they’ll be taken on phones

If you really want photos from the day, I wouldn't rely on your friends and family. You want them to be having a good time as well. I tend to not take too many photos at friends weddings, esp when they are small, b/c I want to enjoy it. If you don't want to spend a lot of money, reach out to a local arts school for students, see if your friends know anyone who dabbles as a hobby, or see if professionals have a cheaper package that they haven't listed. I found. Some photogs who were willing to work with me on price because I don't care about having them there all day, and I don't need complimentary engagement photos or anything like that.