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• Reputation: 32 Q&A: 0 0 0 32 0 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Expert: 1 topic Weddings Follow Following 0

  9 0 I think hiring professional photographers is really important. I would give it very high priority on your budget. Skip wrapping the trees in tulle. Skip giving away m&m's with your name on them. Buy pies at Whole Foods instead of a wedding cake. Get married in the park. The money you spend on a great photographer is an investment for a life time. If you give them a detailed list of shots you will have stunning photos of your friends and family for years to come. I have had friends who skimped on the photog only to be realllly sad later! Check out some great pics by a broad range of pros. Let me know if you need any recommendations for killer photographers. Cori Ready answered in Weddings about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  3 0 Yes. Yes. Absolutely yes. Seattle is home to a host of insanely talented wedding photographers. You'll get a lot of bang for your buck here, because competition is stiff. The terrible part about wedding photography isn't the day of, it's the editing and color correcting, etc. Even if your friend gives you great shots, will she also edit all the photos you want? Create a video out of them? Make high-quality archival prints? Also, do you really want to do that to your "friend?" I foolishly shot a friend's wedding once and will never do it again. A true friend would have just let me enjoy the ceremony, not work at it. Other things you spend your budget on will not last nearly as long or have anywhere near the impact of quality photography. meeps answered in Weddings about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  2 0 I truly believe photography is one of the things in your wedding that is worth whatever portion of your budget you can spend on it; however, if photographers are less important to you than music or food and beverage, then by all means, go with the friend. Word of warning: I would strongly suggest that these friends should have "wedding photography" experience and not just photography experience. Their expertise in the area will greatly improve your photos! If photos are something that you see as very important, then I would go ahead and splurge. Keep searching for photographers that might fall within your budget - price point does not necessarily reflect the quality of the photography, and finding a photographer that is closer to your budget but still a legitimate wedding photographer will leave you much happier with your photos than a friend who's passion is photography. akurantevent answered in Weddings about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 Unless your friends are professional wedding photographers, I wouldn't use them. Here's an idea: get the most basic package you can from a professional photographer, perhaps just the posed shots of the bridal party after the ceremony. Then ask your friends to take the candid shots of the reception. You might not have to hire your pro's for quite so many hours, which would save you money, and then you could let your friends use their talents as a fantastic wedding gift, or better yet, pay them. Stiny answered in Weddings about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 0 How close are these friends? Have you looked at their photos from past weddings? We took a risk and had a photographer friend do our wedding photos. He was definitely a welcome guest at the wedding, but he conducted himself as a paid professional (he gave us a friend rate of $500), not a partygoer. He did great, but I've heard too many stories of people that get crappy friend photos at their weddings, and then the day is gone forever. Look at pictures they've done from previous weddings. If you are even the least bit unsure, don't do it. Hire a professional, and you'll be glad you did. Ask your friends to take some candids at the wedding while they're there, and you'll get some cool shots while knowing you have a backup. Also, know what you want out of the photographer. There's no reason to pay for services you don't need or want (we had no interest in a wedding video, for example). And definitely make a list of the posed shots you want. It'll make the people-herding process move much faster. Sacrelicious answered in Weddings about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 0 We went back and forth about it and I am glad we went with a professional. I liked the fact that Dani was at the event, but clearly separate at the same time, so we have photos that are really wonderful candids that I dont even recall being taken. I look GOOD though. On the other side of this, we have lovely professionally styled and posed portraits of us and our families and our bridal parties. and we had a photographer that I could simultaneously trust to get the images I wanted and could direct for something different as well without hurting any personal friendships. Our experiences after the wedding and the experiences of our family and friends who wanted to see the photos online has been marvelous as well. Dani Weiss is the photographer we used, so if you see her webpage as you are looking around. Womyn2me answered in Weddings about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 0 I think you'd be surprised to know that you can find a professional photographer for almost every budget. Especially right now photographers (such as myself) have recognized the need to include a package that doesn't include all the bells and whistles but offers just enough hours in coverage to document all the main events of your big day. I didn't start out in weddings and when I made the switch there was a ton I had to change about how I shoot, technically and creatively. Weddings are a whole other ballgame, and it's very rare that an amateur can handle all that is expected of documenting such an important day. Your wedding day is filled with incredibly important, once in a lifetime moments that if missed can't be staged or re-done. Consider doing a bit more searching, I guarantee you'll find a professional willing to document your day that is within your budget. I wish you all the best in your search and congratulations! Katie McKenzie answered in Weddings about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  1 1 I put some thought into this very question, so I will share said thought(s). Basically, it totally depends on what you value and want down the road. If having a big set of beautiful, professional, weddingy shots framed or in an album is really important to you, that means it is a priority - more important than the cake or the flowers. Definitely get a professional with a good reputation/references. (remember, though, things can always go wrong - he or she could show up drunk or be terrible, or not show up, or screw up the developing, so I'd ask friends to take photos anyway). However, that is not the only way (and don't let anyone tell you it is!) My wife and I decided to rely on friends with good cameras and everyone else's snapshots. We were unsure about this, but have been totally satisfied. We had a fun, simple house wedding and like you the photographer was going to end up costing about half of what the entire wedding was going to cost. That just felt ridiculous so we bought some quality film for friends and it worked out fine. A good camera and film in good hands can take some really nice photos, and I liked the style - not posed and cliched (just my opinion). To be safe, I would count on one set of photos to be ruined in development, and rely on multiple friends. This also shares the burden so they can have fun too. Our reasoning was this: we asked ourselves, what do we want at the end of the day? We decided that we really wanted about 5-10 good photos of, bride looking pretty, bride and groom, and a handful with family members. Plus some fun dancing snapshots. Well, we got a lot more than 10, and it only cost about $100 in film and developing. What I think makes the difference is: If a fairy-tale (or just fancy) wedding would be ideal, you just don't have the dough, I would prioritize a photographer anyway, and cut back on other things, because professional photos are part of a fairy-tale wedding. If you just don't think it should be that expensive to get hitched and throw a party, consider doing what we did and ask friends. Congratulations, either way. Bion Satir answered in Weddings about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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