When you might not be able to afford a Wedding Photographer

Yup, if photos are a priority for you, you will really miss having high quality photos. Disposable camera photos from the guests will be a big let down. Do not rely on these as your only photographic evidence of the day.

Go get some floral quotes and price out your rings to see if you can make it all work.

Photography was a big expense for my wedding and 100% worth it. There have been many brides and grooms who come on here after their wedding in tears because they cheaped out on photography. Don't end up like them.

There has to be something between a $2500 photographer and disposable cameras. You do realize that you won't get any really good photos with disposables, don't you? Talk with the photographer about cutting down on his/her hours. You don't need getting ready pics and you don't need them to stay til the end of the reception. Where are you located? There may be brides/grooms on here that can recommend photographers more in your budget.

Oh my god seriously?? You can go on a vacation anytime. You only get ONE wedding day, and your photos are all you're going to have at the end of that day. ZERO chance I'd sacrifice photography for a honeymoon.

No one does disposable cameras for weddings anymore, not since the invention of smart phones. The pictures are poor quality, and your guests likely will not even use them. And you CANNOT rely on your guests to get the photos you want. They might take a couple during your ceremony or first dance, but most likely they're going to be taking selfies with their partners and other people at their tables. I seriously cannot stress enough how bad an idea it would be to not have a photographer and to just roll the dice that someone will get a decent picture of you. And then good luck trying to get everyone to send them to you on top of that. A grainy iPhone or disposable camera photo is not something I'd put in a frame as my wedding photo.

Located in Western Washington.

We do have the benefit of liking minimalizm in our rings (I already got the bling in the engagement ring, I only want or need a wedding ring as it's symbolic purpose) and floral wise, I only really want 4 bouquets for me and my Bride'smaids. So we do have that going for us.

$2500 is a good deal for that package, but there are definitely options out there that will be less cost wise. Ask that photog about doing a 6 hour package instead of unlimited coverage (no one needs more than 30 minutes of dancing pics anyway), or maybe one shooter instead of two, or cut out the engagement session, or all of the above. If they aren't willing to budge on package/price, there are photographers out there who are a better fit for you then. Just because they're recommended doesn't mean you need to use them. I had a $2k max budget for my photos in a very high COL area and I found almost 10 options to choose from with 8 hour packages & 2 shooters. There are even companies out there like weddingbug.com that will match you with a staff photographer in your area, and their prices start at $695 for 4 hours (catch is that you usually don't meet them until you've booked them, but at least you're getting professionally taken and edited photos). Just do some research & don't get overwhelmed or frustrated.

It depends on your priorities. We didn't care much about having super glamorous shots, so we went with a lower budget option, but there are others on here who have it as the highest item on their list so low budget would not work for them at all. I am very satisfied with what we received, we paid $800 for 8 hours and received something like 900 photos all taken by a professional. I think what it comes down to is are you trying to simply capture the memories or are you hoping to have magazine quality photos? If you want magazine quality you'll have to spend that $2,500. If you just want nice photos for your personal use then I think a service like ThePros (which is who I used, they are affiliated with DB) that has great discounted rates for slightly less experienced professionals.

My fiancé and I are doing a one year anniversary trip instead of a honeymoon so we can afford everything we want. I would keep looking for a photographer. I live in a very small town and I have found options in the surrounding area from $3000 to $995.

You can definitely find photographers at a cheaper rate and that will be better than giving guests disposable cameras. Look for photographers trying to break into the industry and build their portfolio and maybe book only a few hours. I feel like if you are seriously considering not having a photographer at all, you won't really miss them if they are only there for 4 hours. That's probably a good compromise for you.

I agree with the PP. Keep looking for another photographer closer to your budget and be willing to sacrifice a top of the line package. Most photographers are willing to customize a package for you if they don't have one that exactly fits your needs. You said photography is a priority for you and you really want pictures so yes I do think you would regret not having them. And it doesn't actually sound like you're making that a priority. It seems like the honeymoon is actually your priority.

You will miss the photos. You're spending all of that money for no photographic memories left of it?

Look into grocery stores if bouquets are the only floral you want. It will usually be cheaper than a florist. You can even order pre-built bouquets from sams club and they can be shipped right to your door 2 days before the wedding. Also look into flower moxie.

Look into cheaper rings for the ceremony and maybe upgrade for your 5 or 10 year wedding anniversary? Or even your first anniversary if you want to and have the money? Blue Nile has nice plain bands and GREAT customer service. If your FH is into the rubber "work" bands, QALO is a great company, and like $30 for a wedding band.

IDK what kind of decor you want, but the dollar tree has candles for $1 and chargers and candle holders. You can make something similar to the picture below for about $5- $10 a table (without greenery, and the gold candle holders). Simple and elegant. Keep looking for photographers, maybe someone has a package with less hourly coverage that can just get all of the important stuff and be around for 4 hours, you don't technically need an engagement session.

Agreed with PP you also don't need a honeymoon. $4K is a pretty penny to some people and you could EASILY go on a honeymoon for $2K-$3K. (We are literally flying to Hawaii and staying for 5 days in a resort for $2K without food and excursions.)

Get the photographer.

So a lot of people on here frown upon disposable cameras, but I really love that idea. I know a lot of people who went that route, and pictures turned out great. BUT theres always a chance they are awful.

We have decided to have a good friend of mine do the pictures. Shes not a professional, but she did our 1 year pictures and they were great. And I've seen all of her work so I trust her. We are also having a social media friendly wedding, so we will be asking anyone who took pics to upload them using our hashtag on FB, Instagram, and the wedding social app through wedding wire. Lots of people disagree with this way, but honestly its what works for us. Pictures werent a huge must have for us, just as long as we get something to capture the day. Just a suggestion. If you really have your heart set on professional, high end pictures, something HAS to get cut.

Shop around deals on your area and be flexible as everyone is suggesting.

I am getting an amazing deal on a great photographer that I stumbled upon Groupon, believe it or not!

His work is amazing and just what I wanted for our pothos!. I did have to compromise a great price for 6 hours instead of 8, but like others are saying, You won’t need 2 extra hours for random photos. Aslong as the most important ones are taken.

I know someone who used a new grad/student from a local art school who was trying to build their portfolio. The bride did crazy research on doing this and was really happy with her photos. However you run the risk of have a newby doing your photos that it might not be he greatest. But maybe worth considering since you’re on a tight budget!

Holy moly, I feel like there's got to be some middle ground between unlimited coverage and two shooters or no photographer at all. And $4k for a honeymoon! Compromise seems like the word that needs to be your friend. You can have a spectacular honeymoon for $3k and get a great, single shooter photographer for 6 hours. Try playing with your numbers a little more and really think through what your wedding priorities are. If photos are important, find room for a pro because the disposables (while fun!) will disappoint you in the long run

Find something in the middle. If a $2500 photographer isn't in your budget, find something cheaper. Reach out to a range of people and see if they can offer a reduced service. Would they be willing to just do a couple of hours so you get the ceremony and an hour or so of the reception.

Disposable cameras aren't a good alternative. You'll get a lot of selfies or small group photos and miss the ones you really want of yourselves and your families. They'll be poor quality and expensive for photos you don't really like.

Go ahead and spend the big bucks on your photography. Trust me you won’t regret it. You can cut your budget in other places if you need to. Like for instance instead of one big cake, go with one small one and cupcakes for everyone else.

I would absolutely shell out the $2500 for the photos if that seemed like your best option. Floral can be DIYed easily if you don't go for anything too complicated. You can buy really inexpensive bands on etsy until you are able to save up some more but you can't re-do your wedding photos. I wouldn't waste a penny on a disposable camera/developing them when iPhone pictures will be 100x better. I would get 2 $100 bands, spend $500 on floral, and you have $800 left over for decor etc. What else needs to go into that $1500 you have left over?

Yeah, like others have said, there definitely has to be a middle road between disposable cameras and $2500 for you. If you're willing to only have disposable cameras, then I'm sure you'd be willing to cut out an engagement session, or a couple hours, or having only one shooter. You definitely have options.

See if you can adjust your budget to make it work. Can you find one for $1500 - $2000? (without using a friendor.) Then adjust the other areas by small amounts here and there to make that fit.
If you have your heart set on a specific honeymoon that will cost that much, I would wait a year to take the trip and get a good photographer. Make it a 1st anniversary trip and save for it after the wedding.

Photography is SUCH an important thing to FH and I. We really want our wedding photos to be something we would be proud to see hanging in our homes as well as our parents homes. Plus, our future children will see them. If this wasn't something we would want to look back on in 25 years, then I'd say screw it. But since its something i plan to look at and share with people for the rest of my life, we made sure to have a good budget cut out for it. Photography took up a chunk of our budget ($3200) but I know i'd regret going with a cheaper option or not having a photographer at all.

I personally would not trust my guests to take pictures (pictures of quality) throughout the night. I assume most of the pictures would be crooked, cut off, and blurry.