Hiring friends- non-professionals?

I personally wouldn't risk it on the photographer.

Everything else I wouldn't be too pressed about

FFIL has life long friend who is a photographer so we are getting a great deal - he is a professional though.. as well as our DJ even though we know them personally.. I would still make sure they have the right equipment and know what they are doing

There are a lot of horror stories about couples who have hired friendors (friend vendors). Mixing business with personal relationships gets messy really quickly (price, expressing expectations, professionalism). If it's in your budget, I would avoid hiring friends as your vendors if at all possible.

Photographer I don't think you'd want no professional. You're gonna want some nice pictures to have for yourself.

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This! There are so many posts about how friendors have gone horribly wrong. I also personally wouldn't want my friends and family working at my wedding. I would want them to be present as a guest and enjoy themselves instead of running around.

I never support the idea if having friends/family or non-professionals hired as wedding “vendors“ or helpers. It’s not their area of expertise (also, I want my family/friends to enjoy the wedding as guests). A DJ at a house party or club is not the same as a DJ for a wedding.

We avoided using friends/family for pretty much everything. We wanted vendors that we paid & had contracts with so they were dependable and we knew their work, and we didn't want to assign guests jobs on our wedding day.

We hired a florist who was technically a professional, but I learned after we hired her that she had only been in business for a year. She had done my brother's wedding so I trusted her which was a huge mistake. She forgot the pin for my bouquet that I was using as my something old. She used the wrong colored flowers. I wanted very simple bouquets for my bridesmaids with one rose and baby's breath, but instead she used like at 12 roses for each one. She also didn't know how to properly wrap the stems so she bought bouquet holders and the flowers weren't secured properly so during the ceremony and photos the bouquets were falling apart. My mom and mother-in-law's corsages were to tight. The boutonnieres were falling apart, my father-in-law's was falling was wrong color and she didn't give the usher or ring bearer theirs. She also was supposed to put glitter silver ribbon around the vases the centerpieces were in, but she didn't. After my experience with her, I would never ever recommend hiring something with little or no experience whether they are a professional or just friends.

The only "friendor" I'm having at the wedding is my hair stylist. She's even offered to do it without a cost, as my wedding gift. I told her that if my bridesmaids want theirs done, I'll pay for theirs then (since I'll be saving the money with her not charging for mine, but she'll still get tipped!). Since that'll be done before the ceremony, she'll be able to enjoy the rest of the wedding as my guest. Other than that, I don't have any other friends that I would be "hiring" as a vendor for my wedding.

I think it depends on the level of the friend. I have friends who have DJ'd weddings and events for friends and non-friends alike. I am an officiant and have done plenty of my friend's wedding, I'm even officiating for my bonus son in a couple of weeks. As for combining photographer and DJ, that sounds like a problem waiting to happen. You want you photographer available for the pictures that mean the most to you, you also want your DJ to be there to play the music you chose at the right time, or read the room to change the tone. I honestly don't see how someone could successfully do both at one event.

And I will categorically disagree that "friendors" are the kiss of death. I think it takes two sides coming together professionally to discuss expectations, price, and contingency plans without simply assuming that because they're a "friend" they'll just do it. I meet with every couple I work with, especially friends to make sure we're all on the same page and I can provide what they are seeking. Our caterer was someone my wife has known since before his mom was pregnant with him. He was the hit of our wedding and we have zero regrets hiring him.

Professional photographer all the way. I would not feel comfortable on my wedding day without a professional. You're going to want really good pictures and specific angles to be caught that only a professional can catch. The only "friendor" we will use is our DJ who is a friend of the family...he's has been one for many, many years and is very professional with his own equipment, lighting, etc. He does a great job at the events we've been to where people have hired him. Its a bonus that we know him and know he will go above and beyond for our day; he's willing to do it for free but we will of course give him something for his time.

Please don’t do it!

I had a family friend for my DOC, wasn't the smartest idea but my nephews girlfriend did my hair and makeup and it was amazing.

I do not think I would risk the photographer unless they are a professional and I had seen their work.

The issue here is that even if the friend is a professional, it is hard to keep the relationship professional. For example, what if the photos are terrible? If it were a professional who was not a friend, you could sue them, give them bad reviews, etc. If it is a friend, you might well lose the friendship--either because you did those things, or because you didn't do those things and became resentful.

If you want to use friends for something you wouldn't miss if it were screwed up, fine. But I wouldn't use a friend for anything important to you.

Ok so my friend is an actual photographer and videographer and does weddings. I am going to say it now ... DONT HIRE FRIEND VENDORS. My experience was meh. First off the quality was nice. The finished products were nice! The issues was the delivery time frame. Because there was no contract it took forever. Literally like over five months for my video. I didn't pay her a whole lot but I did pay her some and so it was a bit frustrating at times.

Don’t do it!

We hired a DJ that's my mom's friend. He has been DJ-ing as his side business for over 20 years now

I used a lot of my faily and husbands family. They ste way cheaper and it makes more of a family/close family environment that's a little more comfortable in my opinion then all the strangers at your day.

I’m having my step sister do my makeup (because I suck at makeup and am not making a special trip to our DW spot to have a makeup trial hahaha). My brother is our officiant but he’s done several friends weddings. Other than that, we are hiring everyone else.


I had initially thought about having my cousin do our photos, but then decided against it and hired an amazing photographer for a great price.