You’re getting married – congratulations! There’s so much to organise isn’t there? The venue, the guest list, the invitations, the cake, who’s going to sit next to who?! And then, all of a sudden, you realise how much it’s all going to cost – OMG! How much?!
You may be tempted to skimp on a few things: Can we manage with just one wedding car? Do we really need that Photo Booth? DO WE EVEN NEED TO BOTHER WITH A PHOTOGRAPHER? Well, put quite simply, YES, you do need a professional photographer. Why? Because all that time, effort, stress and money going into one day – the happiest day of your life – you absolutely need to have it captured professionally.
Can’t I just get my friend/uncle/niece to do it? They’ve got a good camera?
Well you could, yes. There’s absolutely nothing to stop you and, yes, you will save some money. BUT, and it’s a BIG BUT, do you really want to leave it to chance? One of the happiest, most important days of your life? These photos will be your only permanent reminder of the day – and that’s something you absolutely CAN’T skimp on.
OK, tell me what could go wrong then?
First and foremost, a professional photographer will have loads of experience to draw from. A friend or relative will not. Professional wedding photographers eat, sleep and breathe wedding photography. That’s all they do. Photograph and edit weddings. Full time. All the time. They don’t have other jobs. They’re not ‘part-time’ photographers. It’s their full-time occupation.
They will have photographed hundreds of weddings just like yours. They know exactly where to be, and when. They won’t miss any of the critical moments. They will turn up on time and just get on with it. It’s unlikely that your Uncle or friend will have anywhere near the same amount of experience. Therefore, it’s entirely possible that they might miss critical shots. A professional won’t.
A professional photographer will have invested thousands of pounds in cameras and an assortment of lenses. They will have spare cameras with them, in case one fails. Your friend might have a great camera, but if it suddenly decides to stop working (and believe us – it can happen!) will they have another one in their bag they can pull out at a moment’s notice? Probably not.
Will they have spare memory cards, or a load of fully charged batteries? A professional definitely will. And will your Uncle have insurance cover in case things go wrong? Unlikely. Any professional photographer worth their salt will have Professional Indemnity Insurance and Public Liability Insurance to protect you against all eventualities. We do. Just ask if you want to see our certificates.
And should the worst happen: Uncle Bob loses all the photos he took at your wedding. Every. Single. One. Then what? Not only have you lost the only pictures from the day, but it could get very awkward for both you and Uncle Bob. Does Uncle Bob really want that pressure?
Also, what happens when Uncle Bob gets fed up of photographing your day? What if he has a few too many glasses of Prosecco at the reception and decides he’d rather enjoy the day, rather than photograph it? He may well end up strutting his stuff on the dance floor, instead of photographing it. It could easily happen and then what?
Don’t leave it to chance
Don’t leave it to chance. You’ve spent thousands on this wedding. Months and months of planning. Carefully choosing all the details. Get it properly photographed. You will never regret having a fantastic set of photographs to look back on and to show your children and grandchildren. But you may well come to regret it if Uncle Bob does it.
