Yes, I agree. It\'s ridiculous what you can spend on a wedding. We had a wedding in our family last New Year\'s Eve, and put a disposable camera on each table in the reception hall. The pics from those were wonderful, candid, and keepable. The photographers? Eew. He even forgot to take a picture of the groom and his mother (me) dancing. We had to remind him when the party was almost over. We would have been better off going without the photographer and handing out more cameras.

While 3k does sound pricier than any photograhpers in my area would dare to charge, I have to say that your idea about wedding photography and it's meaning is all wet. Our wedding photographs are some of our most cherished possessions. They could never be repeated or replaced. Your wedding is supposed to be one of your most important events in life, and the photos bring together family, friends, and a beautiful time. If you don't want to remember it, perhaps it isn't as important as it should be.

I dunno reno. The thing is this. My parents have been married now for 33 yrs. I am almost 30. Of the years on this planet, I have seen their album once...about 2 months ago. That was also the first time they\'d seen it in about 30+ yrs. Now I\'m not saying it isn\'t important, but it is the DAY that is important. We already have a video guy, and whereas I DO look forward to a professional photographer, I just think for what you get, you\'re paying way too much. For me, remember my wedding day isn\'t limited to seeing pictures...I suppose seeing my wife everyday would be a good reminder, in the same sense that I wouldn\'t need and never have needed a ring to remind me to be faithful. Perhaps you need your pictures to remind you of a happier time. As for me, my wife to be and children to be will be plenty of a reminder of what a great day and decision that day was/is. Going into debt doesn\'t justify it.

Yep, you\'re absolutely right with everything you say, and it certainly doesn\'t justify going into debt, any more than the whole wedding. I must say though, that the photos from my wedding, while they were expensive, are still extremely important. My father died after the wedding, so the photos I have of him and me are total treasures. I\'m not saying that your wife and children won\'t be constant reminders of your love and bond, but the photos are more than memories, they are a very special moment frozen in time. You will never have those moments again, and you will never be that (young, thin, good-looking, etc.etc.) again! Trust me! Our video is also really important, and we look at it on our anniversary quite often. Whatever you do, congratualtions on your upcoming wedding, and may your life together be full of love and happiness!

Thank you! I think you hit the nail on the head re: the frozen moment, and i agree 100%...its just the cost. We are (relatively) young, and money is already tight. I\'m going with the wife to be on most of it and playing a very active role...my thoughts on the matter have always been tho, that rather than spend all that $$ on a day, to use some of that hard earned cash to start to build a home, buy something that will really help you start your life. I understand the need and the womans desire to have her special day, and im on board, its just when these little added things come in that aren\'t so very little (in importance or price) that I start to think...ya know...$3k could be the difference in my account between being able to buy that place when its available, or not...

Absolutely! We were older when we got married, and paid for the entire thing ourselves, and to be frank, the whole thing cost us $3000, and we had a really nice wedding. It was small, and outdoors, so we cut costs there, but we had decent food and drink, and a video AND a photographer. We spent the most on food and drink and the photographer, and cut back on everything else. True, this was 15 years ago, and prices have gone up. 3K is expensive, (where are you, anyway?), but it may be the going rate now because of expenses, etc. Don\\\'t forget, they (if they are any good) not only have to invest their time, you have to add in equipment, schooling, and their time invested. They spend several hours shooting your wedding, and several more developing and printing, and they have to have the equipment for that, too. It\\\'s not a cheap business to get into. But I totally agree, the money is certainly open for many other things that will last longer. It\\\'s really cool that you are involved in the planning. My husband was too, and not only did I appreciate it, it was more \\

weddings are expensive. i agree. in a few years when the wedding is long gone, aside from your spouse, the only other thing you will have is your album.

Taking great photos isn\'t as easy as it seems. I went to school with some great photo-journalists and their expertise is unmatched. 3K is high, but 1 or 2k is not. If you think about it, the photos will be the only thing you have in 15 or 25 years. Your memories will fade. A quality photographer is worth the price. Just beware, because there are a lot of \"wedding photographers\" who don\'t know what they\'re doing. A true photographer\'s work will be unmatchable and even you will appreciate his or her work.

Im starting to come aruond on this. We\'ve done some digging and found a woman with a very good reputation in our area who has a number of different packages. she may be the way we go, but agreed, it is important, its just with as many bills mounting as there are with a wedding, i get a little frustrated.

you just said it all, you\'d totally not do an album and call it a day if \"Your lady agrees.\" Well I don\'t know the woman, don\'t know you, but my spidey-sense tells me you be looking at a nice, expensive wedding album when it\'s all said and done my friend for woman, their Wedding is the Superbowl, and beyond the ring, the album is their Vince Lombardi trophy

LOL. nail on the head! I\'ve rarely heard such an apt analogy. Now, the lady will NOT agree. You spidey-sense is dead on. I tell ya...I tried the whole, we\'ll get the prints, the negatives and it will be a nice project for us to do together! Not biting. Drat...foiled again!

when it comes to Weddings, best to just stand back and let her go to town ,been training since the first time they had Barbie and Ken exchange imaginary \\

Yes, but when they are really good, they are good! When they are bad, its a nightmare. You can get great shots by giving every table the disposable cameras to take candid shots!

That is such a good idea! I've seen the results from other weddings, and they are often some of the very best shots. They didn't have those nifty disposable cameras when we got married -- darn!!

Yes - the cost of a photographer is over the top! - Money was a key issue for our wedding - so when it came to "preserving" the memory - we skipped a videographer and had a friend film it and for the photo guy we combined services and used "The Pro's". We contracted out for the DJ and the Photographer (2 seperate employees). It was great because we had the photographer for 8 hours - anyway we wanted to break it out - so after the event we went to the beach and had beach shots taken. However, the KEY to getting everything we wanted was giving the photographer a VERY SPECIFIC list of what was to be taken. (I'm a female virgo - need i say more - the list had every single shot i wanted - it was 2 pages long!) He followed the list, we got what we wanted and for a price we were willing to pay. I even wanted a "candid" type picture of the kids feeding the ducks - well it rained of course - but as soon as the rain stopped - the phot guy got those kids and "staged" them feeding the ducks! It was GREAT! Plus with "The Pro's" you get 8x10's as your "proofs" AND all the negatives! If there is one in your area you should check it out - they are reasonable!! If not - get what you can afford AND get what you want by giving the photographer a very very specific list of what shots are to be taken. AND table cameras - - we had them too! :-)

As much as I enjoy having a formal wedding album (that did NOT cost $3,000, for the record), some of our favorite photos of our memorable day are ones taken by wedding guests!!! After the wedding, our kids became the most important events, and I certainly didn't have a professional photgrapher in the labor & delivery room with me. The nurse, the doctor, my husband, and I (well, OK, maybe I didn't take the best pictures after natural childbirth) took pictures when the kids were born. Is there a friend or relative who fancies him/herself a wanna-be photographer who could take portraits? Or go for a low-end photographer...and be sure all the guests bring their cameras and get doubles or sends the photos to whoever has the best printer! Being financially responsible does not mean we don't care about the importance of having memories of our wedding days. Good luck!

At my wedding, I was lucky enough to have a friend who is a photographer agree to take the photos for us at a very reduced rate and then she just turned over the film and I paid for developing and copies. I guess we were lucky in that regard. I've also been to weddings where family or friends who are good with photos and like to take pictures volunteer to take the wedding photos. We've all been there and we know what the pictures should be so just have someone who is already coming take the pictures. You can pay them by giving them a nice gift in return and I know when I photograph weddings for friends I'm just happy to have something to do. I've never run across a priest/minister/justice of the peace who cares whether your photographer is professional or not. BTW. . .you'll display a few pics and hand out a few others and the rest will get stuck in an album you never look at.

we have a friend who fancies himself a quasi-pro. I may venture down that avenue...thanks for the pointer. And as for the whole, you display a few, hand out a few, then stick the other however many away and never look again, my point exactly! -I.

When I made the mistake of getting married I found that everyone is just out to see how much they can get. Not only was the photographer full of it but I found the lady who was going to make the cake to be even worse. Now had my cake been decorated like I said it might not have been so bad.However I told her I wanted dark blue roses,her reply was "No Problem" . Yeah right...at the reception I found my cake covered in blue roses that were not made out of icing,instead they were made out of silk and plastic.The blue ribbon was just that a blue ribbon. How much for this dumb cake....$375 in advance with no refunds. If you have not got to the cake you now have something else to look forward to.

While I agree that 3k's is a bit pricey, there are factors behind the excess of 2500. The equipment - If you hired a professional, he'll better be bringing his pro equipment, otherwise he's screwing you. Look up the prices of (even used) pro equipment, and at these prices, you can see where some of your money goes. This also counts the printing cost/scanners/booklets etc that didn't seem factored into your costs. Quality - While a disbosable might get ok results, there's no assurances. Equally the equipment that a pro would bring would built for consitent QUALITY results. Blow up a disposable camera shot done on a cloudy day to A4 size and you'll see what I mean. The pro would've known what to do to avoid this. Help - For weddings, most photofraphers bring an assistant to help them with equipment, changing film, and rounding up the guests for group shots. That person isn't doing it for free, and that's something the photographer will charge you for, especially when most weddings involve a couple of hundred people. Guaranteed Results & Service- If you check most photo-wedding contracts, most stipulate that they guarantee a certain set of photos to come out properly. That means your romantic portrait by the lake, 300 people all lined up for 'the big shot' or such will be in your hands when you go to collect your prints. Also means you don't have to chase all the guests for their copies, because everything that matters is with the one person. Lastly, I wouldn't want to put my faith in any amount of disposables to make an album, nevermind the quality or the fact that they could get lost/broken at the reception. -IT'S WORK FOR THEM!!!- While the magical day may be great for you, the dude (or dudette) taking snaps is, I promise you, extremely bored and tired. They go to these things every day/weekend, they don't know anyone to chat with, and all the pressure is on them to make sure the snaps are great. If you want to argue why weeding snappers are getting paid so much, what about the corporate guy why drove the company into bankruptcy got a 5m doolars bonus? Did he earn it. Sure he did.... Now out of all fairness, I state that I'm a photographer (not weddings), so I'm a little closer to know what the costs involved. Also to be fair, I like to watch my coins and find that a lot of wedding snappers are taking the piss, but if you look carefully, there is such a thing as competion, and I promise you you can get a photo-student just as capable for much less, possibly even just for thier costs and some cake. Just don't expect it to be under 100 bucks, we've all got to pay our bills.

While I agree that 3k's is a bit pricey, there are factors behind the excess of 2500. The equipment - If you hired a professional, he'll better be bringing his pro equipment, otherwise he's screwing you. Look up the prices of (even used) pro equipment, and at these prices, you can see where some of your money goes. This also counts the printing cost/scanners/booklets etc that didn't seem factored into your costs. Quality - While a disbosable might get ok results, there's no assurances. Equally the equipment that a pro would bring would built for consitent QUALITY results. Blow up a disposable camera shot done on a cloudy day to A4 size and you'll see what I mean. The pro would've known what to do to avoid this. Help - For weddings, most photofraphers bring an assistant to help them with equipment, changing film, and rounding up the guests for group shots. That person isn't doing it for free, and that's something the photographer will charge you for, especially when most weddings involve a couple of hundred people. Guaranteed Results & Service- If you check most photo-wedding contracts, most stipulate that they guarantee a certain set of photos to come out properly. That means your romantic portrait by the lake, 300 people all lined up for 'the big shot' or such will be in your hands when you go to collect your prints. Also means you don't have to chase all the guests for their copies, because everything that matters is with the one person. Lastly, I wouldn't want to put my faith in any amount of disposables to make an album, nevermind the quality or the fact that they could get lost/broken at the reception. -IT'S WORK FOR THEM!!!- While the magical day may be great for you, the dude (or dudette) taking snaps is, I promise you, extremely bored and tired. They go to these things every day/weekend, they don't know anyone to chat with, and all the pressure is on them to make sure the snaps are great. If you want to argue why weeding snappers are getting paid so much, what about the corporate guy why drove the company into bankruptcy got a 5m doolars bonus? Did he earn it. Sure he did.... Now out of all fairness, I state that I'm a photographer (not weddings), so I'm a little closer to know what the costs involved. Also to be fair, I like to watch my coins and find that a lot of wedding snappers are taking the piss, but if you look carefully, there is such a thing as competion, and I promise you you can get a photo-student just as capable for much less, possibly even just for thier costs and some cake. Just don't expect it to be under 100 bucks, we've all got to pay our bills.