As usual, A Practical Wedding is right on the money when it comes to asking the Big Questions... the ones that re-evaluate the standards of the Wedding Industry and wonder if the whole thing is a load of malarky.
Which, honestly, it usually is.
Her last post was on whether it's worth hiring a professional photographer.
Recently I think I've been swayed by the complete inundation of professional photo shoots blanketing the Internet. It's easy to look at artsy documentary photos and think - MY WEDDING WILL NOT BE COMPLETE WITHOUT IT!
Then you realize the LEAST expensive option is... $2500. Maybe. If you're real lucky.
And you think - how often am I really going to stare at the hundreds and hundreds of photos a pro snaps at my wedding? How often will I want to see the sunlight streaming through my dress? Or fondle a closeup of my heels?
Probably not often.
And another critical consideration - do you really want to be stalked by a stranger for an entire day?
I was rather disturbed at a recent wedding when the photographer slithered around the front of the altar and hovered over small children in an attempt to get the Best Shot.
I'd much rather be stalked by a friend or family member who truly cares about getting a Good Shot because they care about ME.
I think this is my very favorite comment from the recent discussion on A Practical Wedding - I hope Meg and Becca don't mind that I've reiterated the wisdom here...
Becca said...
Thanks for this. I love wedding photography... but I'm not sure I want it at my wedding. A lot of the blog photos we see are beautiful pieces of art, but I'm not sure I want my wedding to be art. I want my wedding to be joy, and I resent that there's now an expectation that weddings are now fashion-plate worth events (with price tags to boot).
Which, honestly, it usually is.
Her last post was on whether it's worth hiring a professional photographer.
Recently I think I've been swayed by the complete inundation of professional photo shoots blanketing the Internet. It's easy to look at artsy documentary photos and think - MY WEDDING WILL NOT BE COMPLETE WITHOUT IT!
Then you realize the LEAST expensive option is... $2500. Maybe. If you're real lucky.
And you think - how often am I really going to stare at the hundreds and hundreds of photos a pro snaps at my wedding? How often will I want to see the sunlight streaming through my dress? Or fondle a closeup of my heels?
Probably not often.
And another critical consideration - do you really want to be stalked by a stranger for an entire day?
I was rather disturbed at a recent wedding when the photographer slithered around the front of the altar and hovered over small children in an attempt to get the Best Shot.
I'd much rather be stalked by a friend or family member who truly cares about getting a Good Shot because they care about ME.
I think this is my very favorite comment from the recent discussion on A Practical Wedding - I hope Meg and Becca don't mind that I've reiterated the wisdom here...
Becca said...
Thanks for this. I love wedding photography... but I'm not sure I want it at my wedding. A lot of the blog photos we see are beautiful pieces of art, but I'm not sure I want my wedding to be art. I want my wedding to be joy, and I resent that there's now an expectation that weddings are now fashion-plate worth events (with price tags to boot).
Oh wait! More wisdom! Amen sistah.
Marina said...
I definitely angsted over this. To me, the key was seeing this phrase repeated over and over and over again: "After the wedding, all you'll have left are the photographs."In one sense, this is absolutely true. A wedding is a one-day event, or a one-week event at most, and after it's over and the food's all eaten and the decorations are put away, you've got your own faint memories and whatever memory aids you've got. Like pictures. But that's not what I want, personally, from my wedding. I want the One Thing I have at the end of the day to be the marriage. Even if I can't remember a thing from the wedding day, I'll have experienced a good party fully present, in the moment, and not worrying about what I'll have left afterwards, and I'll have what matters most to me.
I definitely angsted over this. To me, the key was seeing this phrase repeated over and over and over again: "After the wedding, all you'll have left are the photographs."In one sense, this is absolutely true. A wedding is a one-day event, or a one-week event at most, and after it's over and the food's all eaten and the decorations are put away, you've got your own faint memories and whatever memory aids you've got. Like pictures. But that's not what I want, personally, from my wedding. I want the One Thing I have at the end of the day to be the marriage. Even if I can't remember a thing from the wedding day, I'll have experienced a good party fully present, in the moment, and not worrying about what I'll have left afterwards, and I'll have what matters most to me.
{Photo by 2000 dollar wedding}
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