After the wedding day.
So I Twittered about that, and now it lead to a discussion on Facebook. Yes, I'm a photographer, and I'm not here to be all used car salesman on you, but as a bride myself now getting married in April, I have learned from both sides that yes, wedding photography is one of those things, you get what you pay for. If you love someone's style of photography, but sacrifice that for price, then, well, it's kind of like getting that Louis Vitton knock off that falls apart when you should have just invested in the real thing in the first place (Not that I would buy a Louis, I like Juicy Couture's style better, but you get the drift!) It breaks my heart to get the kind of emails I got last night, or at almost every wedding, a guest comes up to me after seeing their friend's engagement pictures and says "Your photos are amazing, I wish I had paid more to get a good photographer!"
Because I am a photographer, and now also a bride, the first thing I hired was our photographers for our wedding, the amazing husband wife team, Gray Photography, because, not only did Stephen and I love their style, we knew great photography is the most important investment of the day. Jodi could even blackmail me with a few "begging" emails trying to revolve our date around when her and Zach were available. Having created so many beautiful wedding albums for my own brides, I thankfully have not had to learn the hard way that your wedding photos are the only thing (other than the rings and marriage license) that lasts after the wedding day is over.
Some of my my recent brides, Emily & Ashton, say it best in their follow up emails after seeing their wedding slideshows:
What will you say you invested your budget in? The upgrade on those chair covers, or the last picture you have with your dad dancing the father/daughter dance before finding out he had cancer after your wedding? This happened to one of my 2008 brides. Even this year, I had one of my recent brides email me thanking me for a side picture I took of one of her bridesmaids. It was her groom's sister, age 19, who found out she suddenly had an illness that took her life in a few short weeks, and they used my photo at his sister's funeral.
Whether you hire me or someone else who is your favorite that you know you want to splurge on, go for it! This is the one day in your life that changes your life, and you will look back on the rest of your life. The American Express commercials may be cliched at this point... but it's the moments that happen after a wedding day like the one above that prove wedding photography truly is..... priceless.
Labels: Weddings
9 Comments:
As the sister in-law of Elizabeth, the 19 yr old who unfortunately left this world to early. I encourage you to please invest in an excellent photographer regardless of price ( my recommendation is Scarlett, but of course I’m partial ) These were the very last photos we had of Lizzy and they were the most beautiful pictures and really showed how truly happy she was that day. Every time we look at the pictures, they provide some comfort to us, showing how happy she was that day and how much she enjoyed having the entire family together with her that last time. Scarlett’s Photography was THE best investment we made on our wedding day. Thank you Scarlett, your work is truly priceless. <3
Arlene & Jacob Waller
Omg Scarlett this made me cry a litlle!! Thank you for posting this because I am guity myself about saying "man I don't know if I want to pay that much for a photographer," and sooo HAPPY I have you as my photographer! Pictures are amazing memories to look back on even 20 Years from now and it is so important to make sure you have the BEST! We r so excited about that one picture from our engagement pics we seen last night lol I keep looking at it over and over and have looked at it a hundred times today! ;) You r such an amazing person and loved hanging out with you on our engagement picture day and eating some steak haha. Can't wait to see u again! You are truly God sent and Brandon and I are so Blessed to have you be apart of our precious and most exciting day of our lifes!!! Can't wait!!
Love,
Kristi
I am so blessed to have found Scarlett for my March 2008 wedding. My father passed away in June this year and my wedding photos and video have turned into to some of my most prized possessions. All I
can say is INVEST in these precious memories.
Thank you girls! It's an honor to be your wedding photographer and give you those memories! :-)
Scarlett, I couldn't agree with you more! You get what you you pay for. As a Makeup Artist, I have worked with a lot of photographers at weddings and other events and I must say that your work and Stephen's...are exceptional!
I know! I look back & wish we had spent more time & effort on our images, too. :(
Future brides: if you hire your photographer based solely on price, you will NOT be happy. Your wedding images is the ONE THING you will NOT want to have regrets about! It's the only things that last!
too many people splurge on the cake, food and yet they forget the ONE thing they really have to treasure FOREVER are the pictures! INVEST WHERE IT MATTERS BRIDES!!!!
My sister and I had our weddings 2 weeks apart. Ryan and I had a very small wedding and didn't spend a lot of money, but we did splurge on having Scarlett as our photographer. Not only did she take the last pictures of us as a family before Ryan's dad passed 3 months later, but my sister chose to spend her money differently. She spent $500 total for a "videographer" and "photographer". When she got her pictures back she cried because the pictures her friends and family took at the wedding were better than the so-called photographer's pictures (plus, the "photographers" were late! Scarlett was not!)
Invest in the pictures. Ryan and I did not have a lot of money to spend, but we chose not to do some things for our wedding and scrimped for awhile to afford the pictures. We LOVE them (as does everyone who sees them) and we keep the CD in the fire box because its one of the few things we don't want to ever be without!
Love,
Emily and Ryan
I couldn't agree more! We almost made the mistake of not choosing who we wanted due to money, but thankfully, she was amazing and worked with us to get a package we were comfortable with. If I had known about you back then, it would have been hard to pick! :)
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