Photographers....

Now the venue is booked and the registrars have been contacted, we’ve turned our attentions to the other date critical suppliers – photographers (and videographers) and entertainment.

The catering is all sorted as part of the venue package so we don’t need to worry about that just yet, although at some point I’m sure we’ll have to choose the canapés and evening menu and welcome drinks and so on.

So… photographers (and videographers but they’re both quite long words so I’ll just stick with the photo guys for now!). Finding one is proving an absolute minefield with no right answer, especially when you don’t have a bottomless budget.

I’ve been to several weddings – none of them my own, I hasten to add! – and the day flies by for me so it must be an absolute whirlwind of hugs and handshakes and posing for photos for the bride and groom, so the only real memories we’ll have of the day will probably be those captured by the professionals behind the lens. So they have to be good!

But what does that even mean?? There is such a difference in the price range and the level of service included in the package that it’s hard to even use that as a guide to quality. So now we trawl the internet and visit wedding shows to try and speak to the people we are hoping will capture all the best and important parts of our big day. And while it’s hard to use the price as a guide to quality there is a general concern that “you get what you pay for” so its finding a balance between quality and price.

One sticking point is the “full day coverage”, which you would be forgiven for thinking means “the full day”. It does not. Generally speaking it covers the time from bridal prep through to the first dance, which I fully appreciate on a normal wedding could be a long old shift. But Rosie’s wedding prep won’t start until later as the ceremony is later. My question then is “if you’re starting later, would you be willing to stay later?” and the response to that has been varied. (Our evening finishes when the bar closes at 11pm and don’t want to miss out on some absolute gold that you just know will happen in the latter stages of the evening do!)

How not to get our business (based on very recent discussions with actual photographers):

1. Ooh and ahh around the shift you’re willing to work and “if I start a little later and finish at that time then it may work” and generally give the impression you want to be anywhere else but at our wedding, you know, being a wedding photographer;

2. Offer a combined photography, videography AND DJ set package for what seems like a ridiculously low price that includes all manner of props, and then introduce the video that’s currently showing as an example of the service as “this is my wife, [pointing to the screen] she’s ok, she does the video”. Your wife is “ok” at video? Sign us up!

These obviously didn’t make the shortlist.

We’ve spoken to a couple of photographers who say they don’t go home until dismissed by the couple, which is fantastic, and others that won’t budge on the first dance (plus say, half an hour or so). Both approaches are perfectly acceptable and they’re responses we can work with, but the vagueness some photographers provide has been really disappointing.

So now we’re getting down to a shortlist and have been advised by other couples (and various wedding websites) that it’s important to meet them socially before committing to them as you have to feel comfortable with them, which makes sense if they’re going to spend a lot of their day following you round taking photos and videos.

Wish us luck!