Photographer alternatives

I've had a hard time with it too. We are already tight on money and that's just another added expense. The real reason that we are doing an actual photographer is because when I want to look back on our special day I want to see beautiful pictures, not crappy quality from someone's smart phone. Not saying it would be terrible to have pictures from your friend because it's always nice to have photos from different perspectives. Maybe you could see if you could even just hire a professional just long enough to take some good pictures at and after the ceremony

So, I literally just went to my BILs wedding this past weekend, and they didn't hire a photographer. Instead a guest brought her "fancy" camera (no other lenses type of thing) and during photos the battery died and she had no replacement. Rest of photos were done with cell phones. Over half of the photos posted so far have dark shadows over faces, squinting eyes in others, hair blown in faces type of thing. Absolutely, not good. If those type of photos are fine with you I guess, so.

At the end of the day, all you have left is pictures. The money for good ones is worth it. People display wedding pictures in their homes forever. Wedding albums are passed down and admired in families for decades after the event.

I would cut my guest list, go insanely simple on decor, delay my honeymoon, DIY music, etc. before I didn't hire a professional photographer. The best way to save costs is by booking them for fewer hours.

Our photography budget was pretty low. We shopped around quite a bit before finding a photographer we liked and booked them for 5 hours (which is not long for a wedding) total was $600.

Try looking outside of weddingwire. I found our videographer through a Facebook wedding resale group. I just put an "ISO videographer" with our budget and a lot of people commented either advertising their services or suggesting someone they used. We looked through a lot and found one we liked who was easily 10× more affordable and dare I say more talented than most of the WW vendors in our area.

I didn't even think about that. That'd be awful. I really want to look back and be happy with the photos...and actually have photos lol.
Thanks! Now I need to decide between the photographers I have in mind.

View Quoted Comment I've found 2 a bridal shows and they aren't listed on here and I found 1 that's cheaper than the others but seems sketchy.

To represent the other side, my sister hired a photographer and didn't like a single photo he took. Her album is made up entirely of about 3 guests photos.
I don't know if I'd recommend going without, though. Talk to a couple photographers. Talk about their smallest package. We're likely getting 4 hours, which should cover the ceremony, cocktail hour, the first half of the reception and not much else. I'm totally satisfied with that.

A few years ago, my nephew and his wife didn't feel like the had the budget for a photographer (I know his mother, my sister, would have come up with money, if needed...), so they had the bride's father as the "photographer".... The photos he took, while "good" for an amateur, but were not AT ALL what they hoped for. The groom's grandmother (my mom) passed away one month after the wedding.... The LAST photos of her with her large, wonderful, loving family are so-so, at best. The entire family wishes a professional photographer had been part of their day.... If there is any way you can make this work, I highly recommend it. I don't think you'll be sorry.

I saw my friend's wedding pictures and I wanted to cry, and it wasn't even my wedding! They were so poorly blocked. You could barely see anything during the ceremony. Shadows, bad lighting, terrible angles... you name it.

You hopefully only get to do this once... it's worth every penny to look back on that moment and love the pictures and not regret you had done it differently. There's no need to spend $5000+ unless that's what you really want and have the money but you can get a good photographer for a lot less. Even if you ask for a small package so you just get ceremony coverage and some poses it can be much cheaper but you'll have the important moments.

I’d at the very least get ceremony and family photos, and once you start talking to photographers, they may find something that works for you. I’m having a small wedding in a weekday, so my photographer agreed to a smaller fee.

You've gotta spring for a photographer. That's the only piece of your wedding that you'll have forever. Every bride I've talked to said pictures are the most important.

We were on a limited budget. We originally met with a photographer who had a great price. His pricing was a lot lower than any others we had seen. We asked to look at his portfolio and every picture was exactly the same...even at different weddings. His personality also kinda sucked. Met with a photog who had similar pricing to others in the area, more than we wanted to spend originally. We fell in love with her style and her! She knew how to make us relax and everyone had a good time. Attaching two pictures from almost the same moment in the ceremony. The first one was a friend’s camera. The second is the pro. Such a difference in quality. So not only are you paying for the artistic style but also the editing and skill.

To cut costs, we hired the photographer we wanted for fewer hours. I figured I would rather have fewer high quality pictures than a whole lot of mediocre ones. So you might want to talk to one about your budget and see if there's something they can work out.

Maybe look into hiring a photographer just for a few hours. You don’t need the getting ready photos or hours of your guests drinking at your reception. At least look into maybe 4 hour packages. That would cover your ceremony, portraits of you and your spouse, family and bridal party group shots, your grand entrance, toasts, spotlight dances. Then they leave and you can rely on your guests (just put up signs with your wedding hashtag) to share candids from their phones for the rest of the party.

We are very lucky that FMIL is paying for our photographer but before that we were looking for someone we could afford. I ended up finding 2 in our original budget that I would have been happy to go with. It took a bunch of time and energy but found them for under $1000 for about 5 hours. Their work was great and we liked them. One was from out of state and even with travel cost of $150 was within our budget. Ask friend for recommendations, offbeat bride might be helpful. I understand the frustration of this situation. Good luck and I hope you find someone who works for you!

In 10, 15, 20 years..all you're going to have leftover is pictures. We are on a tight budget as well, but photography is the most important thing to me. I've been married before and used a family friend for the pictures and they're just awful.

Moving forward with that knowledge, I am cutting back in other areas to make room to splurge on a photographer.

You will regret it. I promise.

Honestly I would cut literally everything else before skimping on a photographer. FH doesn’t see the big deal, but as a photographer myself, I know what I like. I want amazing photos, not some friend with a half decent camera.

If it helps, I am cutting costs in basically every other area besides the photographer. From what I have heard, the day goes by so fast and then all you have left are the pictures.

If you are super against it still, you can think about renting a photobooth!

Good Luck!

The pictures are one of the most important parts of the wedding, IMO. If you can, try to find a cheaper one who can take some during the ceremony and some family photos.

For the reception, I've seen people get disposable cameras for every table and guests can take photos for you of all the dancing and the table guests. Then you can capture all the photos even a photographer might have missed.

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I agree! You can look (or ask around) for someone that knows someone looking to start off or test their photography skills and hire them for cheap (or even free). If someone with some decent skill and a good camera takes enough pictures, some ought to come out good!! Just have them do the ceremony and family pics and use cell phones for after and get one of those apps where everyone can upload their pics. Honestly, we aren't going for the million wedding pictures thing. We have a photographer (a friend starting out) for 2 hours (and a guest) for $200 an hour and that's plenty of pictures. It's worth a shot to ask around!