The Wedding Photographer Saga

I had no idea how much photographers cost before I started looking for them for our wedding!!!  Holy cow!!  The first photographers I looked at had a STARTING FEE of $3000 - $4000.  Ok, step back, take a deep breath.  My entire wedding budget is less than $20,000, I cannot afford a ¼ of that going to the photographer!  I understand, after the wedding you will just have your photos to look back on the day with.  Oh yeah, I forgot, you’ll have your husband or wife, as well.  I also understand that everyone has to make a living but really….

Let’s put this into perspective for the photographer who charges $4000 for 6 hours of onsite time and that includes nothing but his time, a dvd of your images and online viewing after the wedding day.  Plus say…oh….16 hours (or two 8 hour days) of print editing.  That’s $181/hr.  I don’t even know any therapists who charge this much and I’d need one after deciding to pay that much for pictures for my wedding!!

Anyways, back to reality here.  My photography budget is around $1000-$1500.  It has only moved up to $1500 after seeing the difference I can get from those two price ranges.  The editing is much better at the high range.  So, I looked around and found some photographers I liked.  I spoke to one via just email.  She was in the $1000 range and brings an assistant with her.  I met with one at a coffee shop in Southport.  He was very nice – a retired guy who wanted to do photography as his ‘retirement job.’  His photos were better than the other one I had looked at.  After talking to him on the phone and getting thisclose to confirming him, both Dan and I got cold feet.  So, I called around again.  I found a photographer in Wilmington who took amazing photos and who was able to work with my price range (another thing I found…they will bargain with you if they are not already booked for your date!)  So, I met with him on a Friday night and I fell in love.  I wanted this guy as my photographer.  I told him I had to go home and think on it … oh and I needed a reference, just to make sure.  His references gave him GLOWING reviews.  So, I emailed him on Saturday morning and told him that I wanted him to do our wedding.  I then sent emails to the other two photographers telling them we wouldn’t be needing their services.  I knew he was headed out of town for a few days so I gave him until Monday to respond to my email and then called him.  When I called him, he said to me, “Oh yeah, I meant to call you.  I had met with a couple a few months ago who called me this weekend and had decided to book me for your date.”  Seriously?  SERIOUSLY!?  I didn’t stay on the phone with him long after that.  I was and am still so upset over it all!

So, now it’s back to the drawing board.  I sat down on my computer that night and shot out emails to 6 other photographers.  All are available on my date but I’m not IN LOVE with all of them.  I have meetings with two of them next weekend when I visit Mom and Dad again.  I haven’t made appointments with the others yet because I’m just not sure I like their style.  Styles have definitely morphed in the past 5-10 years to a more ‘story telling’ type of photography.  I love that.  Dan and I both are not posed pictures types of people.  We will deal with the pictures that we HAVE to take – with the parents and our families but other than that, we want the photographer to follow up through the day and tell the story of our wedding through photos.   I’m hoping to find one who I like just as much as that last guy.  Man, this is difficult!  It’s like the dress – I was in love with it but I found something I loved MORE.  Maybe the same will happen with the photographer?

Here’s to hoping….