I have another wedding post and then I'll chill out

[Bernadine]

I feel like it's been too much lately.

Anyway, talk me into or out of spending money on a photographer.  We contacted the woman who did our engagement photos, which we were thrilled with.  She has 3 packages- 1 is $1200 for 3 hours and 25 images, 2 is $1950 for 5 hours and 50 images, 3 is $2150 for 8 hours and every photo she takes.  Plus, we need to pay lodging and gas.  Part of me feels like 25 formal images is fine and then we'll just have the pictures we take on our own, but another part of me wants all the pictures.

Also, I've pretty much decided on silk flowers.  But I'm still undecided on whether an invitation with our photo on it is cheesy.

Help me.

OH, and I want to do bags for guests to get when they check in.  Any suggestions on what to include?

[Saint Monica]

I have no response to your actual Q.

Did you decide on a dress yet and are you going on a honeymoon?

[gretchenindisguise]

Pay money for a photographer.

Unless you hire a bad one - I've never heard of someone regreting that choice. I have heard of people regreting not getting one.

$2150 is a fantastic price. Cheap even for 8 hours of coverage.

[Bernadine]

Jan 2, 2014 11:59:18 GMT -5 Saint Monica said:

I have no response to your actual Q.

Did you decide on a dress yet and are you going on a honeymoon?

I have not decided on a dress, but I want a long one (take that, Mom!  Lol).  We are going on a honeymoon in June- our birthdays are the 23rd and 24th, we're going then but haven't decided where.

[ECB]

I agree- don't cheap out. I'd go w/ 3. That makes sure everything you want covered is covered and you'll get all the pics.

[lovethesun]

I think our photographer was somewhere in the $1,200 - $1,500 range. We had 2 photographers for 4 hours I think. First off, that was not long enough. They were there to capture the before ceremony, ceremony, cocktail hour and about an hour into reception. I would have like them to have been there a little longer. We got a CD with all the images they took which was about 1,700 images. IMO you want all your pictures. That way you can do things with them and make copies without having to go to this lady in the future and having to pay for them.

These are the pictures that you have to remember this special day by. This was the one thing I spent money on and did not mind.

[mcmel]

If I could go back I would have spent so much more money on a great photographer. Don't cheap out on this part. Trust.

[karmasabiotch]

Pay for the photographer.

[Bernadine]

The only thing with the 8 hours is that we're not really having a formal reception- just dinner/drinks and then going out to a bar to dance.

[cereal K]

i agree with everyone else - go with Option 3. you won't regret it like you would possibly regret NOT having the pictures.

re: guest bags - are the majority of guests traveling to the wedding from someplace else? you're doing a kind of destination thing, right? i always liked the idea of snacks/treats local to the area of the wedding.

we did bags for out of town guests and included a couple of bottles of water, some single serve bags of cereal, local BBQ sauce, local cookies, and some local chocolate shaped like the Arch.

[Bernadine]

Ok, you've all convinced me. My first pictures were also shitty.

[greenapple]

Get the best photographer you can afford to hire

No to silk flowers

No to a photo on an invite

I would only put food/drinks in the gift bags. Lists, maps and all that can be found online. No to knick knacks or wedding stuff.

[tacocat]

If you're not doing a formal reception you might be able to get away with package 2. Just make sure they are there to capture the informal moments too. Some of my favorite pictures are the random ones at the reception.

[cereal K]

i would totally take the photo to the bar with you! you'll no doubt get amazing moments there.

[tripleshot]

Jan 2, 2014 11:59:50 GMT -5 ste said:

DON'T CHEAP OUT ON PICTURES.

That's my biggest wedding regret, even to this day.

Me too. I've been married 11.5 years and still regret using a cheap photographer.

[saucyc]

Option 3

guest bags for people coming from out of town: bottled water, mints/gum, advil, snacks and something local (for instance if you lived in Vermont you could put mini maple syrup in the bags)

oh and I would not do silk flowers

[cleo29]

I would spend the money on the photographer. I would also want more than just the formal shots, my favorites in our album are candid shots.

At the last minute I added a videographer and I am so happy I did. And it was not nearly as expensive as i thought it would be.

[wambam]

I am so glad I sold my soul for the expensive photographer!

[Deleted]

1. we went with the pricey photographer, and i don't regret it even the littlest bit (9 years later). and, fwiw, it's the informal images that i love the most.

2. i prefer more formal invitations. thick cardstock. interesting font. minimal frou frou.

3. if you can do something other than flowers, rather than silk flowers, i think you'll like it more. also, my friend had marigolds at her wedding (she's indian, so it's a thing), but anyway, she said they were super cheap. maybe investigate cheapo flowers. also ALSO, i prepaid for my flowers in january for a march wedding and got them literally 40% off. if you can get the flowers ordered in the next couple weeks, when florists are low on cash but need to buy tons to prep for valentine's day, you may get a similar deal.

4. my mom did bags (WITHOUT TELLING ME) and they sucked. she had like a weirdo itinerary in there (um, no, i don't have time for a tour in the early afternoon) and some off brand granola bars. the bags i've liked the most had water, gum, advil/tylenol, directions from the hotel to local places we might like or need (like a CVS, all night diner, gas station), and a cool localish snack.

[midnightmare81]

I think a lot of it depends on your budget and venue. If you LOVE your engagement pics, then it sounds like you found a good photographer! The only things about option 3 is like you said, it doesn't sound like you NEED 8 hours. Could she maybe do the same thing (all pics vs only a set amount) for a lesser price since she won't be working for as many hours? We paid $200 for a friend who is a non-pro but talented and enjoys taking pics. I love some of the pics, but they aren't all professional quality. I find myself staring at my SIL's wedding pics and wishing we had hired a pro. That said, our entire wedding budget of $6k was just over what she paid for her photographer alone. There was no way we would have had the same quality and quantity anyway.

The part of me that says go with the lesser $ package stems from my own personal issues with our wedding pics. Ultimately, while I sometimes regret not paying more, I'm glad we didn't. We basically had a monsoon the day of our wedding, so pics outside weren't an option. Since those were what we really wanted and missed the most, I would have been more upset spending so much more of our budget to really get the same shots we got anyway. We got married on a friends farm, so there really weren't any places to take those wedding quality pics inside like many venues have. This may be less of an issue if your getting married somewhere that has great indoor options.

[cleo29]

For invites, I know a woman who works out of her house (so no overhead) in MD and you can get a great deal. Let me know if you want her info.

I still love our invitations which I want to get framed.

[jennistarr1]

any chance you can figure out exactly how many hours you need her and negotiate a different price...I would definetly want all the pictures...first package seems worthless to me.

[gretchenindisguise]

Where are you getting married again?

[milosh]

Make sure you get the rights to all the photos, no matter which package you choose. They are your photographs from your wedding, you should be able to do whatever you want with them.

[Amy]

(I'm a wedding planner so I have overly strong opinions feel free to ignore)

go with package 3, it's a great deal

don't do silk flowers, cheap silks will look cheap and good silks will cost as much as fresh (if not more)

I personally wouldn't do a pic on the invite, I would on a save the date though

guest bags : weekend itinerary, direction card/maps, list of favorite area restaurants and attractions, locally made snacks, bottle of water or mini wine bottle

[pantsparty]

That is a really oddly structured package. The thing is, you really don't need EVERY moment captured from your wedding. And you're not going to love every photo, a lot of them will simply be documentation. I would ask her what her editing process is for the third package - because trust me, you don't want EVERY photo, ones with bad expressions and eyes closed are worthless. Does she cull, color correct, and make exposure adjustments? Are the files received ready to print, and high resolution? If you wanted the second package, is there an option to buy additional photos (maybe prints or a disc of images)?

I don't think the price for the third package is bad at all, I just think the way she's structured it is ridiculous. It's meant to push people to package 3, but why offer 2 packages you clearly don't want to sell? LOL.

[bonnie]

For the photos, definitely pay for the best photographer you can. If your wedding day is short enough, do option 2. If not, option 3.

I honestly would skip the welcome bags and spend any savings from that on flowers (real flowers).

[pantsparty]

Jan 2, 2014 12:23:28 GMT -5 milosh said:

Make sure you get the rights to all the photos, no matter which package you choose. They are your photographs from your wedding, you should be able to do whatever you want with them.

To clarify, most photographers give clients a print release, not a full copyright, which the photographer always retains. As long as you have a print release, you should be fine.

[Bernadine]

Jan 2, 2014 12:22:59 GMT -5 gretchenindisguise said:

Where are you getting married again?

Cape May, NJ

The images come on a cd with rights.

[cleo29]

I also think you could still have real flowers. At my cousin's wedding for the centerpiece they clustered carnations together and they ended up looking like hydrangeas. It was really pretty and I am guessing a hell of a lot cheaper.