A poor bride says “I’m unhappy with my wedding photos. What do I do now?!” Maybe you’ve been in this situation before, so let’s talk about it! Hello! My name is Shaunte, I'm a wedding and event planner in the Southern California area. I've been in the business for over 20 years and my goal is to really help my clients who are on a budget, have the most luxurious wedding practically and within budget. So this photo of a bride caught mid-blink walking down the aisle is from one of the groups that I'm in and it's for people who want to have a wedding under $10,000. Sometimes when you're on a budget, you spend less money on things than you should like a photographer, and then you end up with pictures like this that just break my heart. I am so sorry for this bride, and I hope that they're able to find a solution that works for them. But let's talk about how you can fix that before it even starts. One of the things you want to do first is to make sure you look at photos of the photographer before you book them. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp- look at that and read their reviews. I would never, ever, ever book a vendor who's never done a wedding before. I would also never book a vendor who is somebody's friend of a friend that just started out. Nope, not who I'm picking for my wedding because I want good stuff. Even if they're a great budget deal, I am not spending the money on that. Plus, if they're a friend of a friend, they're going to want to hang out at the wedding and not actually work for you. So I want a vendor who is an expert in the business, and it doesn't necessarily have to be the most expensive photographer, because sometimes more cost efficient photographers are a really good deal. They might be more cost efficient because they're new in the business, but as long as you can see proof that they know how to do good work, you should take advantage of it. Pick somebody whose photo styles you like, because not every photographer shoots the same way. So pick somebody that you like, but you don't have to spend a ton of money on.
The best way to make sure this doesn't happen (gesturing to a wedding photo flop) is to pick a photographer and pick a package that includes engagement photos in your wedding photo package. This is a good idea for both you and the photographer, because when they shoot your engagement photos, it gives you the chance to see what their shooting style is, and it gives them a chance to get feedback from you on what you like and what you don't like. It gives you a chance to get to know each other before the big day. If they're absolutely terrible, and this is what your engagement photos look like, that's a really good time to bail on the contract, get out and find a new photographer ASAP. Because if your engagement photos look terrible, it's a good indication of what your wedding photos will look like. However, if they're a good photographer, they'll take feedback on things that are important to you and make some adjustments so that they can be better for you on your wedding day. Here's my pro tip for you if you're getting a new photographer and they haven't done very many weddings. You want to ask them this one question. That's a big secret and a big way to tell if they know what to do. Ask them, what do you do with your memory cards after you shoot a wedding? Why is this a big secret? Well, because an experienced photographer knows the moment they are done shooting your wedding, those memory cards come out of the camera. They keep cards separate from the equipment because equipment can be stolen or broken or lost and, well, they have insurance to cover the replacement of those. What they don't have insurance to do is to reshoot all of your photos. So they keep the SD cards and memory cards in a separate place. Usually in their pocket or on their person, and then the equipment they might put away and store in the car. That's a really great way to make sure that you get great wedding photos and they don't lose your photos because you can't recreate those.
Look, there's a lot of ways to make sure you get the right photographer. One of them is to work with a really good wedding coordinator or planner. They don't cost a lot of money, and somebody who's been in the business for a really long time can recommend a bunch of people and vendors that they've worked with that are in a variety of price ranges. They can help you find somebody that is good and is going to give you great work. I would never have recommended this photographer to one of my clients, and my packages start as low as $2,000, which is not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things. Most of my clients spend about $30,000 on their wedding. Even if you're trying to get your wedding on a $10,000 budget, a lot of us will do consulting for a low cost to consult and help you find vendors for a much cheaper price. My consulting fee for vendors is $500 and well, that's worth it. Honestly, to make sure your wedding photos don't come out like this, to make sure you get the best photographer and the best DJ, and the best florist and the best bakery, you want their area of expertise because they know how these people work on the wedding day! Use the person who is an expert. So somebody like me and other planners often have packages that are what I call an Expert On Call package, where you get to reach out to us while you're planning your own wedding, and it helps you save money. So that way you don't end up with wonky photos.
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