Professional photographer or not?

[*Pixiedust1438*]

I spent yesterday figuring out how much everything will cost, and know I need to cut out some areas. I 100% want to do a MK/Epcot photo shoot the day after the wedding. I am thinking about just having a family member or friend with a good camera and who knows what they are doing take pictures on the day of the actual wedding, since we will have a professional photographer the day after. It is just so expensive, I feel like we could use that money for something else, like our honeymoon. Any thoughts? Has anyone else done something like this?

 

[pezaddict231]

If you are concerned about budget, I would put that money towards the day of photography. That is your actual wedding day and I know I would want to have good photos of that. I know it is expensive but after the day is over and everyone has gone home, that's what you have to remember it by and that's what you'll have to show your children and grandchildren one day. There are plenty of photographers in the Orlando area that have reasonable packages. I'm sure you'll be able to find someone that can provide you with decent coverage on your wedding day that fits into your budget.

For the in-park photos, while I have seen some very good ones, there have been brides that were unhappy with what they received. You are also paying a lot for a very short period of time. You can also do them later on if you wanted, so you could save up and then do it for your one-year anniversary or something like that.

A good place to cut is floral and decor. Most of your guests will barely notice it and they most likely won't even remember later on anyway. Another good option would be to have a breakfast or lunch reception.

 

[pinkcow]

We had this very same thought, particularly so when we were planning a Wishes wedding as we wanted the ceremony in Epcot, and thus no outside photography. We also had the same thought more recently as we were coming down to the wire.

My mom is a semi-pro photographer, and we have some other good artistic eyes in the family. In the end we chose to have the photography at the ceremony, and hold off on the MK shoot. I didn't want my mom to feel like she was "working" our wedding. I'm so glad we did too! I love my mom dearly, but she was so caught up in the day (as she should be!) that her camera settings were all off. By far the best shots came from our DCL photographer.

I still have a little tingeing feeling that we didn't do the MK shoot, but I'm glad that it's something we can still consider for the future, as we can't get shots from "the" day ever again.

 

[PrincessShea]

I would never give up ceremony pictures. I think if you do, it would be a huge mistake. You can never get that day back. Do whatever it takes to pay for the photographer you want. Popular people here like Randy Chapman and Misty Miotto are not expensive.

I would give up the MK/Epcot shoot for the ceremony pictures. You can even cut back on the honeymoon or do a honeymoon trip later in the year. Again, you will never get that ceremony day back. Don't cut photography.

 

[MsEsty]

Almost repeating what Pezaddict said, I decided that the ceremony photos were the most important because our family will be there. We decided to only use the Disney Photographer for the basic package because of their prices. I'm looking at outside agencies because they will (hopefully) be more reasonable and able to negotiate prices.

While we want the MK & Epcot Photo Shoots, we're going to do that in the future, maybe our 1 Year Anniversary...another reason to get all dressed up

 

[ChocoKat]

Out of experience... when DH and I first got married we didn't have but a friend with a disposable camera take some photos. Now there are only about 3 shots that survive and none of them are very good. Granted, it was just a civil ceremony, and my family wasn't even able to be there, so it wasn't something I was worried about at the moment.

Now that we are going to one of our favorite places and having our family, etc we want to make sure our day is captured to its fullest, our VR isn't until 2011 and we already have our photographers contracted!

Misty and Randy have affordable packages for escape couples and they do great jobs, maybe you could contract one of them for an hour or two?

Someone brought up a great point, you don't want to make a guest "work" your wedding. I have been designated as the photographer for official events and even though it sounds easy it puts a lot of pressure on you, what if you miss "the kiss"? What if you miss "the look"? Etc etc.

Just food for thought.

 

[Rebclay]

I haven't had my wedding yet but i agree with everyone else that's posted so far. And you have to remember, you can go back and do a magic kingdom/Epcot shoot after the fact. It doesn't have to be right around your wedding. You could take another couple of years to save for the Photo shoot later on. But again, you can't repeat your wedding day. Good luck deciding.

 

[bellebride116]

I would most definitely put the money towards your actual wedding day. You can always have a friend with a good camera take pictures of you in a Disney park. If it's one of the other, chances are you WILL be in visiting the parks again in the future, but your actual wedding day only happens once.

 

[kcampbell]

I will reiterate what all the pp's have said:

Absolutely DO NOT forego your wedding day photographer to save $$ and have the MK Shoot. It is NOT worth it and I actually think that any and all of the Disney wedding planners would agree. You simply need to put it in perspective...you are not getting married to have photos in front of the castle. You are getting married to confirm your vows and profess your love for your significant other in front of your family and friends. That day is the beginning of the rest of your lives; capture that moment and don't worry about the rest. Like others have said: do the shoot later if you truly want it or take your honeymoon later. Find other ways to cut costs so you have a professional with you on your wedding day!

Best of Luck!!

 

[lpizzuro123]

I also agree with all the above posters and do not give up on a professional photographer for your actual wedding day.

We had a Wishes wedding and Misty was our photographer. The package we got from her included 800 4x6 photos, some 8x10, some wallet and some other sizes. Honestly, you do not need all that. Misty gave us 4 DVD's with over 3,500 photos on them and over the past year I have printed out all the photos we wanted at our local CVS and they came out beautiful. I even printed out two 11x14 at Staples for about $10.00 and they are wonderful. I did a Shutterfly album and for 101 pages with at least 500 photos in the one album it cost around $125.00. Shutterfly is always having specials.

If I had realized all this before hand, I would have just done a package with her for the DVD's only and the rights to all the photos. I am sure if you work with a photographer you can get this at a much lower price and then you can print your own photos and make your own book.

Linda

 

[MainStMandy]

We also decided that photography of the ceremony was most important. We are skipping having a photographer at the reception but the ceremony is a MUST. The reception I can skip...but the ceremony and that moment of us sharing those vows I want to keep and remember forever!!

 

[Bridie1996]

Another one for not scrimping on the photography, for all the reasons already listed.

You have to make your own priorities, but a honeymoon can always be taken a few months later, and the MK shots can always been done on your 1st anniversary. Your wedding day is one moment in time that you can't get back.

We have Randy and the MK/Epcot shoot. But, we're taking our honeymoon a full 6 months after our wedding. And we like it that way! It is something else to look forward to.


HTH

 

[*Pixiedust1438*]

Thanks for all the feedback. I think we will end up getting a photographer for the day of. One reason I was thinking we could skip, is because we plan on getting the video from the ceremony, so we will have the whole ceremony on tape, but I think we will still end up getting a photographer. Someone suggested having a photographer for just the ceremony, which I think might be a good idea. Hopefully we can figure out a way to have one for both though! I wouldn't mind holding of on our honeymoon, but I know that DF will not go for that, and since he is letting me pretty much do whatever I want for our wedding, I can't take the one thing he wants the most away. I think if we end up not being able to afford everything, we will just skip the MK/Epcot photo shoot and do it another time. That gives us a reason to go back right!

 

[*Pixiedust1438*]

We also decided that photography of the ceremony was most important. We are skipping having a photographer at the reception but the ceremony is a MUST. The reception I can skip...but the ceremony and that moment of us sharing those vows I want to keep and remember forever!!

Who are you going through for your photography, and if you don't mind sharing, I would love to know around what this is costing you? I think this would be a good idea! That way we could get pictures of the ceremony, and a couple with our families, which is one thing I would really like.

 

[dhay]

I just saw this and I am glad you agree with the previous posters. It is important to have the pictures from your ceremony. I was not a woman who grew up dreaming of my wedding but I knew for me photography was the most important part of the wedding. Over a year later I still look at our pics online (I still need to make an album!) and I smile every time I remember the moments. I am glad to see you realize that

 

[receptionist]

Please, please, please don't skimp on the photography!!! You might think now that you don't need a professional, but beleive me years from now you will be so sorry and it will be too late. When you have a friend or a family member take pictures they are not going to get all the shots you want nor are they going to come out with professional quality pictures. After all the cake and food is eaten and the flowers die and the dress is put away all you have left are the pictures and video to remember that special day. I love pictures very much and even to this day I pull out our albums that I have done and relive so many memories. My daughter had disney photography for her wedding last year and also the video and they did a beautiful job!!!! Pictures are very important especially years from now when many members of your family might not be around anymore and you want to have that quality photo of them from your wedding. So photography should be one of the mor important aspects of your wedding.