Dustin and I were recently at a BBQ at my parent’s house, my mom loves to entertain, where a friend of my mom’s was asking about our work. She wanted to know what some of the biggest challenges in this new economy have been. I told her that one of the things we run into most often is the fact that these days everyone knows someone with a digital camera and a copy of Photoshop who is willing to photograph their wedding for little to no money. It will be their wedding gift. At this point my mom’s friend smiled a melancholy smile and replied, “Let me tell you a story. My husband and I have been married for over 25 years and we had a beautiful wedding. Like most people we we’re on a budget. My husband’s boss was an am photographer and as his gift to us, he offered to photograph our wedding for free. We did not want to hurt his feelings and lets face it, free sounded really good. When we saw the photos for the first time, I was heart broken. They weren’t horrible but they also weren’t great. I didn’t like any of them enough to put out but it wasn’t until after we had children that I realized just how important those photos should have been. Looking back now I only have one or two images worth passing on to my children and my grandchildren. It’s been 25 years and I still regret the decision not to hire a professional. In fact it’s the other thing about our wedding that I would change.” She looked at me again and added, “Please share my story with couples considering having a friend or family member photograph their wedding. Unless that person does it for a living, changes are they will be extremely disappointed and its not something you can go back and recreate at a later date.”
Weddings are tricky. There is so much emotion involved and knowing when and how to capture it truly is an art. If you have a family member that is a professional wedding photographer, awesome! Save the money and hire them. But if what you have is someone who takes photos as a hobby, maybe they have even taken a class or two, you may want to consider my mom’s friend. After all your wedding day should be one of the most special days of your life and you can never go back and re-stage it. Don’t you want to be able to share that day with generations to come?
